Before I could say another word, she hung up on me and I was greeted by a single beeping sound that signalled the end of the call.
I exhaled deeply and my eyes gleamed with a knowing look as I muttered the next few words under my breath. "Let's see what she is going to do this time…"
I didn't waste any time as I quickly grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. As soon as the lift doors opened, I stepped out and my eyes swept across the large lobby when it finally landed on someone. I could recognise that familiar figure from a distance.
Her long jet black hair and slender figure clad in luxurious clothes was not hard to miss.
I walked towards her confidently, the sound of my heels clicking against the polished floor echoed in my ears. She whipped her head around before I could reach, only a few steps away from her, I watched as a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips the moment her dark eyes fell on mine.
"You're here," she said with a smug look that stretched across her face, as though she knew that I would appear before her eyes just because she said so.
"Yes, I'm here now, what exactly do you want?" I asked curtly, annoyance and frustration evident in my tone.
A soft chuckle left her parted lips. "Follow me."
She turned around and walked off, with the smirk still lingering on her lips.
I heaved a soft sigh but followed behind her mindlessly nonetheless. I didn't want to find out what she could possibly do to me, or worse, to Xavier…
My head buzzed with endless thoughts and possible scenarios that played out at the back of my mind. Then her sharp voice pierced through the air, jolting me back to reality. I found myself standing in the parking lot that was mostly empty at this time.
"Get in," she demanded, gesturing to the black car that was parked in front of me. I hesitated for a moment and she could definitely sense it as she spoke up again. "Don't worry, I'm not kidnapping you. Just wanted to bring you to a nice and quiet place…" she trailed off.
A scoff left my lips as I raised my brow at her. "To what? Kill me?"
Another laughter slipped through the gaps of her fingers. "No, darling. Of course not," she proclaimed. "At least not yet, that might be the last resort," she warned half-jokingly as a smirk started to form on her lip and an evil glint crossed her dark eyes.
"I'm not going with you," I said as I backed off, stepping back a couple of steps to maintain a distance between us as I looked at her cautiously. "Whatever it is that you wanted to say, you could say it to me right here."
The words just left my lips and I watched with wide eyes as the guards stepped out of the car and walked towards me with an expressionless look plastered across their faces.
"No, stay away from me, I'm going to call the cops," I warned as I reached to grab my phone.
Paula narrowed her eyes into thin slits as she glared at me before turning to face the guards.
"Get her inside."
They snatched my phone out of my hand and reached out to grab me by my arms, forcing me into the back of the car. They slammed the door shut, locking it before they sped off.
I was pressed against the edge of the seat as I looked at Paula who was sitting next to me, my eyes darting around anxiously. "What the hell is going on? Let me out of here!"
We locked eyes and she smiled at me. "Calm down, Aurelia. You will be fine. I'm not going to do anything to you. Like I said… I just wanted a quiet place to chat and make my deal."
My heart pounded loudly against my chest as I kept my gaze steady.
"What deal are you talking about?" I questioned as my brows were furrowed together to form a frown. "Are we going to act like you didn't just fucking kidnapped me?!"
"Oh, relax darling…" she drawled, amusement dancing in her dark eyes as the smile on her face widened ever so slightly. "I just needed to get you into the car, it's no big deal."
"You are crazy, Paula," I muttered under my breath but she seemed unfazed, only letting out a deep chuckle.
"Call me crazy if you want. I'm just doing this for my son's sake. You will never understand," she spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth as her voice trembled with rage.
"You are right," I retorted. "I will never understand. I will never understand why you would want to break apart a marriage that is perfectly fine and healthy."
She scoffed loudly. "Perfectly fine and healthy?" She echoed after me, an incredulous look was plastered across her face. "A marriage like yours is far from that," she sneered with obvious disdain as she glared at me.
The feeling of uneasiness washed over me and an uncomfortable silence settled over us for the rest of the ride. It felt like an eternity but the car finally came to a halt and I watched as the doors opened automatically on its own where the sudden brightness invaded my eyes.
The guards came to pull me out of the car before I could step out on my own, listening to Paula's command, they let go of me.
"Come on, let's go."
Soon I found myself sitting in one of those private rooms in a restaurant where it was just the two of us staring at one another from across the table. I looked at her as she sipped at her hot green tea with a serene look etched onto her face, as if she hadn't just kidnapped me and forced me here.
The soft jazz music played in the back and the chatters outside were muffled by the thick walls and door.
I asked crudely, breaking the silence that lingered in the air.
"So, what do you want?"