REBEL GRAINED

COMING SOON

Dalai did'nt lie to Thulile's relief. He kept his word and finished the work on the first Rebel-Grained coffee. The businessman invested in everything, including advertisements. He even accepted to have Nandi as an ambassador and Palesa as manager.

Thulile had only one role: To continue creating intoxicating brews like a mad scientist.

The opening was close, and Dalai organized the marketing to the inch of his life. Influencers and celebrities of all sorts got invited to a degustation fest. Many replied, but what got the word out was the economic minister's daughter's dilemma.

"Did you hear the minister's daughter is pregnant? She was known to be barren, and her husband asked for a divorce. She went to that party, and apparently, she drank, and she got pregnant like magic."

It wasn't the only rumor. Sportsmen spoke of how reinvigorated they felt after tasting a few of Thulile's coffees and infusions.

Some even called Thulie a witch. Dalai didn't care about good or bad buzz. Either way, things buzzed to his advantage. The website for the dehydrated versions of the coffee one could drink hot or cold was already running a full regime with pre-orders.

The man succeeded in his bet; people called the drinks God's gift.

"I can't believe it. People come to queue every day, and we're not even open."

"I know it's crazy," Nandi said as she waved goodbye to the high school girls who asked to take a photo with and of her.

Nandi was becoming big, just as Thulile had predicted in their youth. Dalai took the influencer one step closer to stardom by posting Nandi's smiling face and sipping one of Thulile's iced coffees on billboards.

Life finally smiled at them.

Thulile prepared to move to a more residential area. The excitations made her forget Lars.

To say he was a vague souvenir would be a lie.

She spent years with Elije and a couple of months with Lars. Still, those brief instances made Thulile feel special and happy.

Strangely enough, she felt independent by his side, though all she did was lean on him. Thulile had no idea what a savior she seemed to the man who could not redeem his faults.

"Aish, this person again," Nandi frowned at her phone screen.

"What is it?" Thulile asked.

"Ah, you know some people love to go overboard when it comes to fandom."

"Is someone bothering you?" Thulile was genuinely concerned about Nandi. Her friend quit her job at the salon. The public focused on every one of Nandi's moves, and Thulile wondered if it wasn't too much for Nandi.

"It's nothing; the bother comes with fame, right? It's nothing I can't handle."

Thulie nodded; one couldn't expect to please everyone when a celebrity. Hence, Thulile admired how Nandi dusted off rude or bad comments on her socials. Nandi didn't even delete them, for she thought doing so gave the troller the impression they had some power over her.

Nandi refused to give anyone the upper hand in her life.

"You know what, Thuilie, you should be in the spotlight too. Dalai shouldn't be the only one to attract the public eye."

"I don't need more attention. I have what I always wanted: money and peace of mind."

"It's funny; it sounds like a story coming to an end."

The end Thulilie knew it wasn't an end for either one. Nandi had a bright future ahead of her, and she could offer her family a good life thanks to the money she earned. No, their life was at its first season, and their final was yet to come the way Thulile saw it.