Chapter 42 I'm not a crying baby.

Mellisa's words made Zick's blood boil in anger. His ego was already bruised because he hadn't been the first man to touch her, and now she was rubbing salt into the wound by telling him how good Maxwell was in bed. "I want you to get rid of these illegitimate children that you are carrying," Zick said coldly. "After that, I will take you home and fu***ck you until you forget all of his touches," he added, turning to his men. "Bring the pills," he commanded, and one of his men quickly handed them to him.

Mellisa scoffed in disbelief. "Do you really think I'd let you harm my babies because of your ego and obsession? No way! And I'm not going anywhere with you - my husband must be waiting for me at home." She shook her head in disapproval, her voice full of disdain.

Zick's eyes widened in shock, looking like they were about to bulge out of their sockets. Without thinking twice, he punched Mellisa in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, blood dripping from her lips and nose. "How dare you get married again? You found a richer man than me and you decided to trap him with these babies into marriage. Have you no shame?" he asked, his voice full of anger. He bent down and grabbed her by the hair. "I want you to take these pills quietly and come home with me. I don't want to be the one to kill them, but you will if you don't obey me." His tone was stern, but there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Mellisa told herself that she was not going to cry in front of the monster Zick, she was not going to give him the weak Mellisa that he was looking for. She told herself, her eyes lit up when she remembered the necklace that Maxwell had given her, she raised her hand and pressed the button.

…

Maxwell was about to board an airplane when his phone rang with a new notification. He pulled it out of his pocket and his eyes widened when he saw the CCTV footage of the park where Zick was grabbing Mellisa by her hair. Blood was visible on her lips and nose, and his hands clenched around the phone. He quickly dialed Shina's number and, in a few rings, she answered.

"Shina, go home right now with Linda and Michelle," Maxwell said sternly, "and tell R that he's been fired from his job." He hung up before she could respond, disapproval evident in his voice.

Maxwell ran back to the car, pushed The driver out of the car, and drove off, luckily he had the address.

Linda, Michelle, and Shina entered the house with tears in their eyes; Melissa had been kidnapped right in front of them and they had no idea what she was going through.

Tina smirked when she saw them without Melissa, obviously pleased with her plan's success. "Oh, why so sad? Done with your shopping?" she asked, exaggerating her words.

Shina's anger boiled over and, without thinking, she walked up to Tina and slapped her hard across the face she fell on the floor because she was caught off guard. All the maids who were cleaning burst into laughter, making Tina even angrier. "How dare you..." she began, but Shina cut her off. "You don't want another slap, do you?" she asked sternly. "If anything happens to Melissa, I promise you, you'll see the worst side of me. This slap is nothing at all." Shina's words left no room for doubt; she was clearly displeased with the situation and would not hesitate to take action if Melissa was harmed.

Michelle turned to Shina and Linda and said, "Don't get into a fight with people like her. They have nothing to lose and it's not worth it."

Michelle held Shina and Linda's hands as she led them upstairs. She knew Maxwell would bring Mellisa home safe and sound. As the oldest of the three, Michelle had to stay strong.

"What are you laughing at, you illiterate people? Go do your work and stop looking at me like I'm a dead cow," Tina yelled, rising off the floor.

....

Zick was determined to make Mellisa take the abortion pills, but she refused to give in to his threats. He turned her face into a punching bag, hitting her until it was full of blood. He didn't want to be the one to kill her babies, but he wanted her to feel the pain of swallowing the pills, knowing her kids would die.

"Your boyfriend must have trained you well," Zick said, expecting her to change her mind. But to his shock, Mellisa didn't cry or beg him to stop. She was a different person now, and he couldn't believe it.

"Get out all of you," Zick yelled and all his men went out. "I'm giving you one last chance, take these pills or I'm going to fu***ck you now."

Melissa's face was now a pool of blood as she said, "Do what you feel like doing, but I'm not going to kill my babies."

Maxwell's voice echoed throughout the room as Zick reached out to ripen Mellisa's top and was about to touch her breast. "You wouldn't dare touch her if you know what is good for you," Maxwell warned, and Zick fled the scene, proving that men who hit women are often afraid of their peers and so take out their anger on those who are not physically strong like them.

Maxwell rushed to Mellisa, who was lying lifeless on the floor, his heart breaking at the sight of her. He wanted to shoot Zick on the spot, as he had done to many of his men before, but he remembered the promise he had made to Melissa. "Melissa, wake up, I will take you to the hospital now," he said as he carefully picked her up and rushed out of the building.

Mellisa's tears started to fall as she said, "I knew you were going to come and save me from that monster. He hit me so badly, but I didn't cry in front of him. You see, I'm not a crying baby." Her voice was low, and more tears flowed out of her eyes.

Maxwell felt his own tears fall from his eyes. He didn't know why, but seeing Mellisa like this hurt him too much. It felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He felt like he had failed - he was successful in almost everything else, but it seemed like he was unable to take away all of Mellisa's pain.