With her engine running and her hands frozen on the wheels, Reyona stayed that way with her gaze fixed on the entrance to the courthouse.
Gibson had explained how the progression would go for her.
The divorce could be done in her absence.
On the grounds of emotional trauma, Gibson could represent her in court.
What mattered was having the necessary evidence against Thomas.
The evidence Gibson had with him gave him confidence that the judge would be able to grant the divorce without stress.
Reyona wanted to be as confident as Gibson was, yet she couldn't be.
Thomas had proven to be as slippery as an eel recently, just as he had proven to be a vicious man.
A man she did not know existed, despite the fact that she had been sleeping beside him for many years.
Reyona finally understood why she was waiting.
She understood what her real fear had been.
As much as her heart broke about the fact that the home she was building was gone like a puff of air, she wanted to be close by when the deed was finally done.
Though she knew it would make no difference whether it was granted or not, she stayed.
She would be right on hand.
For whatever happened.
Reyona's heart was being dragged through a gallow of torture as memories of the past years played in her mind's eye like motion pictures.
The sudden ring of her phone jolted her out of her thoughts.
That was when she realised that she had not been paying attention to the scene before her.
She had zoned out by getting totally engulfed in her thoughts.
People were coming out of the courthouse already.
Reyona looked at the phone, and her heart thumped when she saw Gibson's number.
She looked towards the entrance of the courthouse as if expecting to see him there with the phone held to his ear.
She quickly picked up the call before it could disconnect.
"Hi." Her voice sounded rusty to her ears, so she cleared her throat again.
"Congratulations, ma," Gibson said with a bit of excitement in his tone.
Excitement was nowhere near the feelings that Reyona was having at that moment. "You... uhm... the judge granted it?"
"Yes, ma'am," Gibson said in a more subdued tone.
He must have picked on Reyona's lacklustre tone.
"Thank you," Reyona said as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the car seat. "Is there anything I should know?"
"The restraint order was granted as well. He was given two hours to vacate your home immediately. He tried to argue that you both owned the house, but the documents were more than enough. He had already lost before he started. You are well rid of him now, ma'am. He wouldn't even dare to breathe the same air as you if he knew what was good for him."
"What happens if he disobeys the order?" Reyona asked as an afterthought.
"If he bothers you in the future by coming close to your home, a year of prison is the least he would get."
Reyona nodded. "Thank you."
"You are welcome, ma'am. I would have your documents delivered to your office today, ma. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need me for anything."
For another divorce? Reyona thought bitterly as the call disconnected.
So it is really over?
"I thought that was you."
Reyona's eyes flew open when she heard Thomas's voice.
He had a sinister smile on his face as he came closer to her car window.
Reyona's eyes jumped wildly from him to the courtyard and back to him as he leaned in through the window.
She punched him straight on the nose.
He yelled and staggered back. "Oh fuck, you bitch. What is it with you and my face?"
A frisson of satisfaction slithered through Reyona as he held his bloody nose while glaring at her.
"I am sure there is a prison room with your name on it." Reyona said calmly, "Weren't you told to stay the hell away from me?"
He swiped angrily at his nose, smearing the blood on his cheek as he wagged his finger at her. "I see that your dog has already delivered the message to you. You couldn't face me in there, could you? Still, you have to come here to make sure the job is done? Oh, Reyona, you will never be anything but a predictable, useless wretch. Do you think you have won? Well, think again, bitch. You have ruined everything, and now you want to walk away? You..."
"I must have missed a lot of things if I am just realising how much of a blabbermouth you are," Reyona said leisurely as she checked her watch.
"Less than 2 hours now. I am sure the judge could easily overlook the difference in time if I told them you were harassing me."
Fury showed on Thomas's face. He walked towards the car door again, then thought better of it as he shook an accusing finger at her. "You would do that to me? You will let them send me to prison?"
Reyona looked at him like he was out of his mind.
"Who are you?" she asked with contempt.
She looked him dead in the eyes and hoping she could fully mean it just as easily as she formed the words, she said, "You are dead to me."
She reversed suddenly, and he had to jump out of the way.
Reyona was just putting on her glasses when she heard, "Ganma, see! my fwend!"
Reyona knew that voice anywhere.
Though it was a bit weaker than the last time she heard it, Reyona swerved her head in that direction.
Standing beside Thomas' car was Ruth.
Her lips were tightened in displeasure as her gaze met Reyona's.
Leah was looking pale and somewhat thinner than the last time Reyona had seen her.
The hand she threw out in a wave at Reyona was stick-like.
Reyona drove past without looking back.
The helplessness she was feeling had been replaced with boiling anger within a matter of seconds.
Those sick duos of mother and son.
How dare they bring such an angel to an ugly scenario like that?
Oh, she wished she could get down and knock their heads together while asking them what gave them the effrontery to expose a kid of that age to such a thing.
As she drove to the company to await the eviction of her new ex-husband, one other issue overshadowed her recent divorce in Reyona's mind.
What happened to Leah?