Margreet discovered that morning that she could do her job just fine in a dress, and that she felt at home in it. She realized, that wasn't so much because of the dress, but mostly because of how she herself had come to life.

She was almost ready. She was bent over the bathtub rim in the last bathroom to clean it inside. Because she was humming, she didn't hear anyone come in. Suddenly she received a tap on her behind and was grabbed by her hips. When she turned around startled, she was grabbed by Henk by her upper arms. He pulled her tightly against him as he began to kiss her.

"I'd like to experience what you learned from Huib," he growled between two kisses. Pushing against her with his lower body, his hands moved back and forth across her back, finally grasping her breasts. "Small but nice," he commented. He made an attempt to open the zipper of her dress, but an intense rage suddenly gave Margreet unexpected strength. She gave him a big thump between his legs with her knee, pushing him off furiously. Because he collapsed in pain, she was able to slip past him. She ran downstairs to the dining room, where she grabbed Lisa by her wrist and pulled her to the kitchen.

Lisa was completely overwhelmed, and asked her what was going on.

"Henk," Margreet panted in the kitchen, "he tried to grab onto me. Kissing, squeezing, grabbing my breasts, he wanted to know what I had learned from Huib."

"No, aren't you confused?" Lisa startled, "Henk is by no means an easy man, but that?"

Margreet turned around, "Is my zipper still all closed?"

"No... it's open a bit."

Annerieke stared at the young women in bewilderment. "Are you sure it was Henk?"

"Yes of course! I just don't know what to do right now, the only thing that came to mind was that Lisa needed to know. He's already so denigrating to you, but if he's doing this kind of things more often... I just thought you should know, that you should know what he's been doing on other women... I don't know if I'm the only one... and so ferocious, so brute!"

Lisa nodded thoughtfully, "He often treats me that way too, I actually thought that was normal, I didn't know... I don't have a comparison, I just know that my father acted the same way with my mother and my mother seemed to think that was normal."

"Lisa, honey, it's not normal. When a man loves a woman, he looks for what makes her feel good, what enjoys her. Huib didn't even want to call it sex, but had learned from his father that it was about 'making love’."

She looked at Annerieke, who nodded confirming that Erik had indeed spoken of it that way.

Annerieke saw that Lisa was about to collapse and put her arms around her. "Sweet girl, you are a woman, not a rag, not a slave, and certainly not a sex slave. I would so love to see you start living, really living. That's so different from being lived by another human being. Do you know what I mean?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes, I do understand, but how? I don't know how!" she whispered confusedly.

"You'll have to make your own choice, but I can't help but recommend that you divorce him. When you need a place to live, you're welcome to use the attic room here, and we can also store some things for you in the attic and barn. But you have to make that choice yourself."

Lisa nodded again, thinking briefly. "It’s done, enough is enough! I watched you last week, you Margreet, and Huib, and also Anton and Joke and the other guests, and I felt like the odd one out. I began to long to have a relationship like that too. I just didn't know what to do about it or how to move forward."

She spoke softly, because she was afraid that Henk could hear her voice through the door otherwise. "It's terrifying, yet at the moment it's not hard to make that choice. If it's okay with you, I'd like to stay here. I don't know any other place to go for now. How to get my stuff then, I don't know, but I just can't go home with him anymore."

At that moment, the kitchen door opened and Huib entered. He looked at the women in surprise, immediately realizing that something was not right.

Annerieke looked at him: "Huib, just a quick note without further explanation. Can you go with Anton, Joke and Lisa to Lisa's house, so that Lisa can pack her things there together with you three. She will stay here, she can use the attic room. We'll tell you later what prompted this decision, but Lisa really can't stay with him. And she no longer wants to."

"All right," Huib replied, "we'll go out with you, Lisa. Mom, did you ask Anton and Joke yet?" Annerieke shook her head.

"I'll go and do that." Huib already walked out of the kitchen, confused by not quite understanding what was going on, but also determined because he felt a deep need.

He found Anton and Joke in the dining room, talking to Henk. Henk turned to Huib: "Where's Lisa?" he asked bluntly.

Huib looked at him with a played questioning face, shrugged and turned to Anton and Joke, "I need your help, please come with me for a minute!"

Anton and Joke saw from Huibs face and attitude, that something was wrong, felt it was urgent, and immediately went with him, leaving Henk behind in despair.

In the kitchen Anton and Joke were briefly informed, after which they took Lisa to Henk. She was trembling from emotional tension, but her voice was firm when she told him, that she would no longer stay with him, but that she would file for divorce. She also told him that she would now go straight home with Huib, Anton and Joke to get her things.

Before Henk had recovered from his surprise, she had already turned around and left the dining room with her escort. Anton and Joke went with her upstairs to her guest room without saying many words. There they packed her things together and took them to the attic. Henk came after them and started talking furiously to them, but all three of them ignored it.

It dawned on Henk that it was serious. He realized that he had lost Lisa. Strangely enough, this did not manifest itself, as was usually the case, in an outburst of anger. When the group went downstairs, he locked himself in the guest room, plopped down on the bed and burst into tears.

To chapter 53. New plans

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