I stood staring at the three faces before me without moving, without saying anything. I stood for seconds, minutes, or an eternity... I couldn't tell. Until finally... I burst out laughing.
"Seriously, Dom? Did you really need that backup?"
"Savi."
"Hi, Mom." I walked down the steps and hugged my mother, disregarding how angry I felt at her. "Hello, Dayna," I greeted Dominic's mother, who was standing beside him.
"You scared us, Savi," she told me kindly.
I stepped back again and stood on the first step. Barefoot as always and in Jayden's t-shirt.
"Listen, Sav." Dominic began. "I'm sorry you had to witness that."
My eyes grew wide. "You are sorry I witnessed that?" My tone bordered on hysterical. "But you are not sorry for doing it, huh?" I jumped at him and started punching him in the chest. "Bastard!"
"Whoa, whoa! Back off, lioness. What have you become?" He took a step back as my mother tried to calm me down. "I got the suit from Dior yesterday," he said, smoothing his jacket.
"Is everything okay, Savi?" Jayden, who apparently had heard the commotion, came over, wiping his hands with a towel.
I turned to him and shook my head.
"So, this is Jayden?" Dominic looked at him haughtily and then looked at me. "A mechanic? Really, Sav? In a caravan?" He chuckled but then continued to speak. "The name Savannah Lewis used to be respected. And here, no one has even heard of the name. Instead, when we asked where to find you, everyone asked, Are you looking for Jayden's girl? Well, there is another definition that fits better—Jayden's bitch."
"Son!" Dominic's mother scolded him.
"How dare you! Get out of here!" I screamed.
I felt Jayden's hand discreetly behind my waist. He seemed to want to calm me down as well.
"I'm counting the seconds until I get out of here. But you're coming with me," Dominic retorted in a cocky tone.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"Savi." Dayna walked up to me. "Will you give me a few minutes to talk?"
I looked back at Jayden. I wasn't sure he would feel comfortable if I left him in Dominic's company. But he nodded at me.
Dayna and I walked a short distance away from the others. As we walked, I turned back—Jayden was pulling out a chair and had apparently invited my mom to sit down.
"Honey." Dayna took my hands. "I'm sorry you felt so hurt. It's all my son's fault. He should have explained everything to you from the beginning."
"What do you mean?"
"This is how things are in our family. It is our duty to care for ourselves and be like a bijou next to our husbands. And they... they have their entertainments, about which we keep quiet."
"You want to convince me that what Dominic did and has done for probably our entire marriage is normal? You're telling me you put up with this too?"
"Every good thing comes at a price, honey. The problem is that your marriage to Dominic started very quickly, it was unplanned, but we had to act on the situation." Her voice was kind. Calm. Controlled.
"What are you talking about, Dayna?"
"When that foolish girl got pregnant by my son and refused to have an abortion, my husband decided that Dominic should urgently get married in order to consolidate his position as a serious man. Sebastian chose you—"
"Wait! Wait! Dominic has a child? And your husband chose me?"
"Yes. You seemed like the perfect choice—beautiful, sophisticated, well-bred, smart, and in love with Dominic. There was no way we would let that waitress get her hands on our family legacy. She didn't want to abort the bastard, but we paid her enough to keep her quiet for the rest of her life."
I jerked my hands away from hers. "You're talking about your own grandchild, Dayna! God! What kind of people are you? Do you have hearts at all? You know, I respected you a lot. You were always kind and good to me. But right now, I'm sick of anyone with the last name Lewis!"
I could not put into words the disgust I felt for these people at that moment. My brain couldn't process all the information that had been hidden from me all these years. Or, perhaps, it'd been right in front of my eyes all along, but I'd been too blind to see it.
Ever since I'd caught Dominic cheating, I'd known my marriage was over. I hadn't regretted my escape for a moment. I had not hesitated to return to him. But after hearing all these horrible and vile details, I regretted that all this had not happened even earlier.
"You'll get used to it, Savi. Please, come back with us. Let the men have their own fun. The important thing is that they come home to us at the end of the day."
"Can you even hear what you're saying? I'm not coming back, Dayna. Forget about me!"
"Are you sure, honey?"
"I've never been more certain about anything else in my life."
"Then run. And never look back." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Do what I never had the courage to do."
I rubbed my eyes. I was trying to shake off the shock. I couldn't, but I went back to the front of the caravan and took my place next to Jayden.
The three were still there.
"Go away, Dominic," I told him again, but in a calmer yet confident tone. "And never come back." Then I looked at my mother. "If you decide that you want to see me, to talk, you already know where to find me. You can come whenever you want. But only with Dad or alone. I'm done with the Lewises."
"Savannah—"
Dominic cut my mother off and took the floor. "Okay. Let's act like adults. Sav, good. I agree. Stay here as long as you want. I'll make up some excuses for your absence. Play with the mechanic some more. And when you get bored, come back to the high class where you belong."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. But could anything surprise me anymore?
"If you're done," Jayden said, standing in front of me. "I am asking you most politely to leave my property."
Dominic tapped his feet as if to clean his shoes. "Come on, ladies. Let's get out of here."
The three turned and left.
The moment I saw their backs, I snuggled into Jayden.
But this time, there were no tears.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
"Yes." I sighed. "I am fine. I dreaded that moment. I didn't think I had the courage to face Dominic. I thought the world was going to end." I lifted my head. "But hey! The world is still here. And you're still here. So, I'm fine."
"I admire your strength, Savi."
"I'll need more. I don't believe this is the end."
"There is a way to end it. The question is, are you ready to take that step?"
I smiled. I was ready.
***
The next day
"Good day. I'm Savannah Lewis. I want to file for divorce and want you to represent me."
"Okay, Mrs. Lewis. Please sit down to discuss the details."
Jayden and I settled into the chairs in Attorney Newland's office—the only attorney within a 50-mile radius.
"What are the reasons we will put in the application?"
"The reason is that I caught my husband cheating. But I have no claim to any of his property or money. I don't want anything from him, so I hope the divorce will be amicable."
"If you don't intend to claim anything, then I expect everything will go quickly and smoothly, Mrs. Lewis."
"Yeah..." I sighed and looked out the window. Was that possible?
After discussing all the necessary things, Jayden and I waited about half an hour for the lawyer to prepare the documents. I signed, and my divorce petition was ready to go straight to Dominic.
We went home to the caravan. Jayden got to work, and I got on my bike and headed to the motel. It was the first time I'd ridden alone outside of the yard. I had decided that after everything was over with Dominic, I would get my driver's license so that I could comfortably afford to ride on my own on routes longer than the 700–800-meter distance from the caravan to the motel.
"Hey, Carmen. How are you?"
"Savi, hi. Okay. And you?"
"Wonderful. Jayden and I just got home from a meeting with a lawyer. I've officially filed for divorce!"
"Congratulations!" Carmen walked over and hugged me.
"Do you want to come over tonight and have a beer to celebrate?"
"I'm not sure I'll make it, Savi. I have a date."
"With whom?"
"With Pamela."
"Didn't she leave?"
"Yes. We have a video date."
"Okay. Come after."
"Well, I don't know... The date might drag on a bit..." Carmen looked dreamily into space.
"And what do you plan to do on this video da—" An assumption popped into my head before I could finish my question. Video date for virtual sex?
Carmen nodded her head as if she knew what I was thinking.
"Oh."
She laughed. "Yes. The date may drag on."
"Okay. I don't want to know!" I covered my eyes with my hands. "Well, so everything between you two is all right?"
"Yes. Everything is perfect. She is planning to come back here again next weekend."
"That is great!"
Carmen and I talked a little more, then had lunch together. I grabbed some food for Jayden, too, and returned to the caravan.
While he finished work in the afternoon, I tried to prepare a meal for dinner—chicken legs with baked potatoes. It didn't seem complicated at all. How, then, had everything managed to burn again?
"This is ridiculous! I'm good for nothing! A child would be able to make this meal!"
"It's okay, Savi." Jayden was standing behind me, and I was sure he was laughing at me. "He reached over my shoulder and lifted one of the legs, all black, into the air. "We're going to have a salad. It's healthier."
"Not funny!"
"I'm not laughing." He hugged me and kissed my head. "Come on, let's have a beer outside before I decide to skip the meal altogether and go for dessert."
His hands had hidden mischievously under my blouse and slid to my breasts.
"Mm... that's a good idea. Hey! I'm still mad!"
"Okay." He took his hands out and held them up. I turned to him. "I'm just reminding you that you're mad at yourself, not at me!"
"I know!"
"Okay. After we cleared that up, let's celebrate."
Jayden grabbed two beers from the fridge, and we went out into the yard.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
We both drank.
"Hello, friends!" Sophia's voice nearly choked me.
Wasn't Dominic's surprise visit enough for a while? What was she doing here?
"I baked gingerbread cookies," she said with a big smile. "Jayden's favorites. I decided to bring some for you, too, to show you my good feelings and to apologize if I offended you, Savi."
Was that girl for real?
Jayden stood up and took the bowl from her hands. "Thanks, Sophie."
I raised my eyebrows. What?
"Well, I'll go. I don't want to bother you. See you soon!"
Sophia waved goodbye with that awful smile and left.
She was up to something, I was pretty sure.