after I LEFT,he lost everything.

CHAPTER 1. I remember the day like it was yesterday.it was supposed to be our third wedding anniversary.I had spent 3 hours getting ready.New dress,soft make up and even cooked his favorite meal.And he forgot,worse than forgetting .he remembered to bring me a gift. DIVORCE PAPERS! I was sitting at a table,the food getting cold,when he walked in.He didn't even look at me.He just dropped a brown envelope on the table and say"sign it". my hands were shaking."what is this,Thabo?" "Don't make this dramatic,Lindi.You knew this marriage was never real.You were never meant to be a Moloi wife". three years.Three years of being a good wife.of waking up at 5am to iron his shirts,of smiling when his friends laughed that he married a village girl from Morokweng,of pretending I didn't hear him on the phone with her,Amara. " I can't do this anymore,"he said loosening his tie like i was suffocating him.Amara is back,I need a wife who fits in my world". I looked at the papers.At the place where my signature was supposed to go.My heart was beating so loud,I thought it will jump out of my chest.I expected to cry but I did not. "Why"My voice was small and i hated that. He sighed.Like I was a child disturbing him. "Why?you really want me to say it?Look at you.Look at this house.Look at your life.We are not in the same level.I am 30 Lindi.I am becoming someone.And you..you are just an burden to me,that girl from Morokweng waiting at the taxi rank.i need a woman who can stand next to me in a boardroom,not one who knows how to cook tripe". "I can change",I said.I hated my self the second I said it. He laughed.Not a kind laugh. "Change into what?Amara has a degree.Amara speaks English that clients respect. You..you speak English like you are asking for directions". He slid a pen towards me.A black expensive pen.he always loved expensive things.Something broke inside me and couldn't show it. I picked up the pen.And I signed it.Lindiwe Molefe signed away three years of her life with one stroke. He looked shocked.he thought i would beg.he thought i would cry and cling to his legs as always.I just pushed the papers back to him and smiled. "you lost more than a wife today,Thabo. you'll see". I stood up,took of my wedding ring and placed it on top of the divorce papers.Then I walked to the front door with nothing but my handbag. I opened it.The cold Johannesburg air came in. "Lindi,"he said behind me.For a second I thought he would say sorry. "what about your clothes?" In that cupboard were maybe twenty dresses. All of them he chose.Tight dresses for his company parties where I had to stand,smile and not speak too much village English. I never liked them.They were his wife 's uniform,not mine. "burn them," i said.The only thing that's mine,is this small handbag. The door closed behind me.Not loud just a click like i was never there.Outside,the streets was busy.Cars passing.People laughing.Life going on.No one knew that a woman had just become nothing. I started walking.I did not know where.My legs just walked me to the taxi rank.The big one. BREE TAXI RANK.where all the girls from villages arrive Johannesburg with dreams. The rank smelled like petrol and fried chips.People were shouting."Morokweng!Morokweng!Last one!".the taxi man saw my handbag and shouted,"Sister!Morokweng!only R250". I had only R320,meaning I would arrive with R70.With nothing.How would I face my mother?How would I face the women in Morokweng who sang at my wedding,"our daughter married a city man!"?.They would look at me and say,"she failed.she was sent back".I could not.I just could not. I sat on the cold bench at the rank.i held my small handbag tight on my lap.Around me,people were going home.I had no home.And I whispered to my self,the first true sentence to my new life.I WALKED OUT WITH MY HANDBAG ONLY AND I CAN NOT GO BACK TO MOROKWENG,NOT LIKE THIS. I decided to go into the dirty rank bathroom,locked the door,looked into the broken mirror and washed my face off.Looking in the mirror for the longest made me go through the memory lane.How I was happy on my wedding day to this moment. I broke down.The girl in me couldn't handle all the emotions. I screamed and made my self to the floor.I sat there sobbing,tears running all over my face. I cried for the three years I wasted.For the girl I lost trying to become someone else's wife. I took out my phone.10% battery.One name lit up.My mother was calling. I did not answer.i turned the phone off and drown into my own thoughts.This is not the end of my story ,just the beginning. my name is Lindiwe Moloi,oppsss forgot I got divorced. Let me start again.My name is Lindiwe Molefe,a 24 years old woman and welcome to my life.