When my husband threw me out, I was shattered. In time, I realised it was a blessing in disguise.
The day he cast me onto the street, I couldnt see a reason to go on. Years later, I understood it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Id married for love, never imagining the trials ahead. After our daughter was born, I gained three stone, and everything changed.
He began tearing me down, calling me “cow” or “pig,” refusing to see me as a woman anymore. Hed compare me endlessly to his colleagues wiveshow elegant they were, how Id let myself go. His words gutted me. Eventually, I found out about his mistressa younger woman he didnt even bother hiding. Hed call her in front of me, text her while I sat there, invisible, our daughter an afterthought.
At night, I wept silently, with no one to turn to. An orphan, no family, my friends long gone after the wedding. Sensing his power, he started raising his hand to me. Our daughters crying infuriated himhed shout, demanding I silence her, threatening to throw us both out.
Ill never forget that day. He came home from work and ordered me to leave that instant. Outside, snow fell as dusk crept in. With one suitcase and my daughter in my arms, I stood in the courtyard, lost. He didnt even let us gather our things. As I stood there, dazed, a taxi pulled up. His mistress stepped out, suitcase in hand, and walked straight into our flat. In my pocket, I had nothing but a few pounds.
My only refuge was the hospital where Id once worked. By chance, a nurse I knew was on duty. She took us in, gave us shelter for the night.
The next day, I went to a pawnshop and sold a thin gold chain with a crossthe only keepsake from my motheralong with the earrings my husband had given me before we married, and my wedding ring. I found an advert for a room in the suburbs, rented by an elderly woman, Granny Edith. She became like family. With her looking after my daughter, I found work.
No qualifications meant gruelling jobsfirst at a slaughterhouse, then as a night cleaner. Later, a client whose home I cleaned offered me an assistants role at her firm, with decent pay. Because of her, I went to university, earned my degree, and became a solicitor.
Now, my daughter studies at Oxford. We have a three-bed flat in London, a car, and take holidays abroad. My law practice thrives, and I thank fate for casting me onto the streets that day. Without it, Id never have succeeded.
Recently, my daughter and I were looking at land for a countryside home. We found a place near the Cotswolds. Imagine my shock when the door opened, and there stood my ex-husbandhis mistress, now heavy-set, behind him. I wanted to unleash everything Id held back, but I just stared in silence. Before me stood a bloated, drunken man, drowning in debt. Thats why they were selling. After a suffocating pause, I called my daughter, and we left.
I still visit Granny Edith, bringing cakes and whatever help I can. Ill never forget her kindness. And neither will my former employer, Eleanorthe woman who gave me back my confidence and set me on this path.
