The Brutal Dismissal

The crisp white paper shook in Serena’s grip. The sharp edges rattled against her fingertips as she gripped the official termination letter, her gaze snapping up to pierce Damon. He sat behind his mahogany desk, wearing a smug, self-satisfied grin that made her stomach churn.

"This prank is way too expensive, Damon," Serena snapped. Her chest heaved with each breath.

He leaned back in his leather chair, a dark, unsympathetic chuckle echoing through the sterile HR office. "You think I am pranking you?"

"This is retaliation." She slapped the heavy parchment down against the glass surface of his desk. "This is just another sick trick to force me to go out with you because I rejected your advances. I told you clearly that I am not interested in you."

Damon let out another dry laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. "You think a lot of yourself, don't you?"

"None of this makes any sense!" Serena gestured to the letter resting between them. "I do not mean to brag, but I am one of the most hardworking employees in this building. I keep my head down, I mind my own business, and I deliver top-tier results. I have dedicated my time to ensuring this company succeeds. I am on good terms with everyone. Why would I deserve a sack letter out of nowhere?"

Damon rested his elbows on the desk, leaning forward. His amusement faded into a cruel, calculated sneer. "Are you sure you are on good terms with everyone? I did not draft this document for fun, Serena. The order came directly from the Boss."

"What? Dominic?" The name slipped past her lips before she could catch it.

He nodded slowly.

"No." She shook her head, taking a step backward. Her mind scrambled to reject the information. "No, that cannot be true."

"Why?" Damon tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Because you are fucking him?"

Serena’s breath hitched. The air vanished from the room. Her heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second.

"Oh, please do not give me that shocked look," Damon mocked, his voice dripping with venom. "Did you think no one would ever find out? You parade around this office pretending to be some untouchable saint. You turned your nose up at me, acting like you were better than everyone else, and look at you now."

Hot, stinging tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She dug her manicured nails into her palms, using the physical pain to keep the tears from falling. "You know nothing about me. I request you keep your mouth shut before you throw baseless allegations at my face."

Damon shrugged, a gesture devoid of sympathy. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, dear. The order came from the top. You are fired. Pack your things."

"How is that even possible?" she argued, her voice cracking under the pressure. "The letter does not even state a reason for my termination."

"Are you blind? You did not check the grounds for misconduct listed at the bottom?"

"What misconduct? I dedicated my life to Vance Enterprises!"

Damon leaned closer, weaponizing her deepest secret to inflict maximum damage. "Fucking the Boss?!"

"You are a piece of shit," she spat, her hands trembling now.

"For someone who just lost her job, you have a lot of nerve," Damon retorted.

Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Her vision blurred with the hot tears she could no longer suppress. Serena did not bother picking up the launch documents she had brought in earlier. She spun on her heel and stormed out of the HR office, pulling the heavy glass door shut with a loud, resounding thud.

Out in the quiet hallway, she snatched her phone from her pocket. Her fingers tapped Dominic’s contact name with frantic desperation. She pressed the device to her ear, pacing the carpeted corridor. The line rang twice before going dead. She dialed again. He cut the call from his end. Driven by panic, she hit redial a third time. The same response followed. He was ignoring her.

She wiped a rogue tear from her cheek, dragging a shaky breath into her lungs. She had to get her act together. Since he refused to answer his phone, she needed to find him in person. She rushed to the elevators, slapping the up button until the metal doors parted. She rode the car to the executive floor, her mind spinning with a hundred different explanations for this nightmare.

The elevator dinged softly. The metal doors slid open.

Serena stepped out onto the plush carpet of the executive lobby. She marched toward the front desk, intending to ask Penny about his whereabouts, but a sudden movement caught her eye.

A few yards away, the doors of the private executive elevator parted. Dominic stepped out. He did not look like a man who had just fired the woman he loved. His broad shoulders were relaxed. His arm rested casually around the waist of a flawless, model-like woman. The stranger possessed pristine, glowing skin and wore a rich designer dress that clung perfectly to her curves. Her hair fell in styled, effortless waves.

They shared a bright, effortless laugh as they walked. They radiated the untouchable aura of a couple who owned the world. Behind them trailed Dominic's usual entourage of bodyguards and assistants.

Serena’s chest cracked open. The sight of him laughing with another woman shattered her reality. She was not someone who enjoyed drawing attention or creating public scenes, but she needed answers. Right now.

Ignoring the gasps and stares of the surrounding staff, Serena threw herself right into their path.

Dominic and the gorgeous woman stopped in their tracks.

Dominic’s gaze swept over Serena. There was no warmth. No hidden affection. He looked at her with a chilling coldness she had never seen before. He stared at her like she was a beggar on the street.

"How can I help you?" he asked. His tone sounded transactional.

Tears instantly spilled down Serena’s cheeks. She swallowed the painful lump in her throat, trying to gather a shred of courage. "Damon just served me a sack letter."

Dominic stared down at her. His response lacked a single ounce of empathy. "So?"

"So?" she choked out, her broken voice echoing in the quiet lobby. She knew he possessed a ruthless personality in the business world, but he had never directed that brutality toward her.

"You are going to obey the termination," Dominic stated, glaring at her. "Or do you want me to call security to forcefully escort you out?"

Serena stood frozen. The tears rolled down her cheeks, hot and humiliating. She did not even bother to wipe them away.

Dominic tightened his grip around the gorgeous woman’s waist, pulling her flush against his side. "Let's go, Babe," he muttered.

"Dominic!" Serena cried out his first name. She took a step forward, trying to physically follow them down the polished hall.

Before she could close the distance, a man stepped in front of her. It was one of Dominic’s assistants. He firmly blocked her path, creating a solid wall between her and the man she loved.

"You should leave, ma'am," the assistant said flatly.

"Why? I did not do anything wrong!"

"I will have no choice but to call security."

"If everyone is being unfair to me, please, not you too," she sobbed, ignoring the fact that more staff members had stepped out of their offices to watch the spectacle.

"I care about you, Miss Serena, and that is why I want you to leave."

"No... no... I need answers," she sobbed louder, her chest heaving.

The assistant looked down at her, his expression turning stony. "Mr. Vance ordered that you be sacked."

"Why? I did not do anything to hurt him."

"He has moved on, and I think you should too," the assistant stated, his voice devoid of pity. "That woman is his actual fiancée. They are getting married this weekend."

Serena stared at him in horror. The words echoed in her ears, refusing to make sense. "What?"

The assistant offered a cruel, tiny smile. "I hope you disappear forever." He turned his back on her, walking down the hall toward Dominic’s private office, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the floor.

Horrified, her reality shattered into jagged pieces, Serena dragged her heavy feet back to the elevator. She rode it down to her floor. With quivering lips and tears streaming down her face, she rushed into her office.

She numbly grabbed an empty cardboard box and packed her personal belongings. She moved like a ghost, tossing her pens, her notebooks, and her coffee mug into the box. Then, her shaking fingers reached into her drawer and retrieved a crisp, sealed envelope.

The pregnancy results.

She had planned a surprise dinner tonight. She wanted to hand him this envelope. She wanted to make him the happiest man alive. Instead, the man who had proposed to her just days ago had thrown her away.

Carrying her heavy box and her handbag, she exited the office building and walked to the parking lot.

She reached her car, opened the back door, and tossed her belongings onto the backseat. She climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut, sealing herself inside the quiet cabin. She turned the key in the ignition, letting the engine hum.

Her trembling hands reached down, clutching her flat stomach. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the leather steering wheel. Harsh sobs tore through her throat. She cried until her ribs ached.

"I promised you today was going to be a very special day," she whispered in agony, her tears soaking the leather. "I told you I was going to introduce you to someone special. I could not even keep my promise. I am so sorry."

The pain ripped her apart from the inside. She had no idea which hurt more: being fired without a valid explanation, or the fact that Dominic had publicly denied her existence right after asking her to marry him. She had never felt this crushed, this lonely, in her life.

After crying until her eyes burned and her throat turned raw, Serena sat up. She wiped her face, shifted the car into gear, and drove out of the parking garage. She needed a place to hide. She needed her bed.

She navigated the city streets through a blur of tears, driving in the direction of her apartment building. Twenty minutes later, she turned onto her familiar street.

She approached her building and slammed her foot on the brakes. The tires screeched against the asphalt.

"What the heck?" she mumbled, her voice thick with congestion.

She threw the car into park and jumped out, leaving the vehicle angled awkwardly by the curb.

Piled haphazardly on the concrete sidewalk in front of the building was her life. Her velvet sofa. Her mattress. Her luggage. Her clothes spilled out of open bags. Strangers were hauling her household items out the front doors.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, rushing toward the first man she saw. "Those are my things! What are they doing out here? Why are strangers touching my belongings?"

The burly man paused, looking her up and down. "Are you Miss Serena?"

"How the hell did you get into my apartment? What are my belongings doing here?"

The man met her gaze with a flat, uncaring expression. "We are carrying out the instructions of Mr. Vance. He ordered us to empty the apartment."

Serena stared at the man in sheer horror. The world tilted on its axis. Fresh tears built in her eyes as the devastating reality settled deep into her bones. Of all the pain Dominic had inflicted upon her today—the firing, the public humiliation, the other woman—she never imagined this. She never thought the man she loved possessed the sheer heartlessness to leave both her and the precious life growing inside her homeless.