Alexis gritted her teeth as she realized the man was mocking her.
"Son of a b---!" She mumbled under her breath and clenched her fists tightly in anger.
Then, she managed to mask her fear with a flat expression.
"Who are you? What do you want? Where is my driver? And where the hell are we?" She asked the questions with urgency, her voice sharper than she intended.
As she spoke, she shifted slowly to the far end of the seat, putting as much distance between herself and the man as possible.
The man's face hardened, his eyes narrowing as he studied her.
"Which one of your questions do you want me to answer first?" He demanded with an amused scoff.
"Any one!" Alexis snapped back without thinking.
The man hissed in irritation.
"You are lucky I was asked not to harm you. If not…" He left the threat hanging in the air, as he stared at her coldly.
Alexis scoffed, still maintaining the flat expression even though she could feel fear creeping up her spine.
"Answer my questions." She said firmly.
For a moment, the man glared at her, as if weighing his options. Then, after what felt like an eternity but was actually a minute, he spoke up.
"I was sent to warn you."
"Warn me? By who?" Alexis asked, cluelessly, narrowing her eyes.
"The woman you are dragging a husband with." He sneered at her.
The words hit Alexis like a punch to the gut and her mind flashed back to Jane's smug face in Mikel's office, the way she lingered around him like she owned him.
"Of course, it is that woman... That shameless homewrecker!" She mumbled and she could feel her anger rising, the betrayal burning in her chest.
"Listen up, you pathetic, lowly thug..." She was going to snap angrily at the man but he didn't allow her to finish before shooting out his hand towards her face.
The slap landed hard across her face and the sharp sting left her momentarily stunned, making her head snapped to the side.
She blinked as her vision blurred from the unexpected assault.
"Don't mess with me or I will make you regret it." The man said, his voice dangerous.
Alexis touched her cheek and could feel her skin burning from the slap.
"How dare you lay your filthy hand on..." She wanted to retaliate, to scream, but stopped when she caught sight of the gun the man had pulled out from his pocket.
He pointed it casually in her direction, as if it was just another part of the conversation.
"Now you will listen to me carefully. I was told to give you a message." He continued in a smug tone.
Alexis stayed silent, her eyes locked on the gun.
"You are to go up to the penthouse, pack your things quietly, and leave without looking back. The rightful owner of your husband will be moving in soon." He said, emphasizing each word.
Alexis gritted her teeth but had no choice than to keep shut.
"Got it?" The man asked with a smirk as he leaned closer. He was clearly enjoying how speechless and fearful of him, she had become.
"Fuck you and the person that sent you the message!" Alexis gritted inwardly and clenched her fists again, but she dared not say the words aloud.
Her face burned with humiliation, but she kept her expression neutral, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
When she didn't respond, the man chuckled.
"Good girl."
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the car.
"What the hell was that?" Alexis gritted out as she sat there, her whole body trembling with rage and humiliation.
"So, I haven't been dreaming all along? This is my reality now?" She wondered aloud. It was as if the slap had just waken her up from her slumber.
Then she unclenched her fists, and brought her hands to her face.
"This is real..."
Tears spilled down her cheeks at the bitter realization. She had held them back in front of him, but now, in the silence, there was nothing to stop the flood.
She sobbed quietly at first, but the weight of everything—Mikel's betrayal, Jane's smug victory, the humiliation of being treated like a disposable object—was too much.
Her quiet sobs turned into heavy, ragged cries.
"How could he do this to me? After everything I have done for love?"
"I have given Mikel everything—my love, my loyalty, my support, my dreams of a future together. And now, he is leaving me to face this nightmare alone?"
"This humiliation?" She yelled that out as if someone was close by to hear her.
"He made me go through this when all I have ever done was to love him. No, this is so unfair to me..."
"How can life be this unfair to me?"
The thought burned in her mind and the tears kept coming. Each drop telling how much her heart was breaking and rage she was feeling.
For a long moment, she let herself cry, the sobs shaking her entire body.
But then, as the tears began to slow, another thought crept into her mind—cold and unrelenting.
"Instead of this humiliation, instead of this heartbreak…"
She lifted her head slowly, her teary face now calm, almost eerily so.
"I'm going to end it."
The decision settled over her like a dark cloud.
"I can't bear the thought of walking into that penthouse, packing my things like an obedient servant, and walking out of Mikel's life without a fight." She said firmly.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the seat, as she took a deep breath, steadying herself.
"No more humiliation. No more pain."
Without thinking, she opened the car door and stepped out, her legs feeling weak but determined.
Ahead of her, in the distance, she saw a bridge.
Her heart pounded heavily as she began to walk toward it, but her mind was fixed on one single, desperate thought;
"I need this pain to go away. Goodbye, my miserable life!"