NANDI
I get my act together, stand up and wipe my tears. This is not the time for me to be breaking down, not when things are falling apart like this, right in front of me, not when I see my freedom quickly slipping away from me.
"Are you okay?" Sli asks looking at me.
"Yeah, where is he? Did he leave?"
"No, he went upstairs, maybe to your bedroom, I don't know,"
"I should have told him, you were right. Him finding out from someone else made things a lot worse,"
"What's done is done now, you just need a way forward. What are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna go talk to him,"
"Aren't you scared he's going to throw you out? With the way he was yelling, I've never seen or heard him like this, Nandi,"
"Things are bad, yes. But Bangizwe won't go as far as throwing me out. The worst he could do is walk out of here without saying another word to me, that's something he could do,"
"But you're pregnant, he should be considerate of that..."
"I messed up, Sli. There's no way around it. You were right, the first person I should have ran to is him but I was scared, I still am. Him knowing does not change the fact that evidence is piling up on me heavily, before I know it, Detective Hlungwani will be knocking on my door again,"
"It won't get that far, you need to believe that it won't,"
"But what if it does? Will I have to go to jail for a crime I didn't commit?" I can just see it already, if my innocence isn't proven then a failed marriage will only be part of my problems, my biggest problem will be to lose my daughter, not being able to be there for her in the first crucial stages of her life, having to birth her from behind bars? Oh lord, I need help.
"Sisi you need to believe that things won't stretch that far,"
"They have my car in the that location Slindile, I wasn't even there, how are they able to do this? What kind of technology allows them to access my bank account and make it look like I drove past the pastry shop when I didn't? Whoever is doing this wants to see me dead, they want to see me ruined for good, "I start crying again, I don't think the word disbelief even covers half of what I'm feeling right now.
" Ncese sisi, it will be okay... Don't lose hope, "Sli comforts me and holds me tightly.
After a moment I pull away, I need to go speak to Zwe. I understand that pleading with him right now and begging him to believe me is not the way to go because there's both Lulama and I involved but I need to talk to him, everything is pointing at me, I'm pinned against this wall but I know I didn't do it, I did not burn Lulama's pastry shop, I don't hate her and I'm not heartless or conniving like this, I wouldn't...
I walk up and when I don't find him in our bedroom I move to the study, he's got to be in there. He's busy with his laptop and when I enter he doesn't look up. This Bangizwe is scary, I have never, and I mean never seen him like this. He's furious and it's radiating all over him.
"What are you doing?" I ask and only then he looks up.
"Checking our home cameras," He says. I quickly walk and stand behind him. He's on the date of the incident and checking the garage, my car is parked right there.
"It's the same time frame," He mumbles to himself.
"There's no way I could have been in two places at once, it's impossible," I feel the slightest ping of hope rise in me.
