She turned, briefly continuing her phone conversation before ending the call.

Leonel stepped out of his car, eyeing her broken vehicle. “Car trouble? Need a ride home?"

Alexis responded without hesitation, her tone even, "Someone from the service center will be here soon."

Leonel simply nodded.

Leonel appeared ready to leave, yet he paused, a hesitation in his posture. “About last night..." he began tentatively.

Alexis seemed indifferent. "Let's just forget it happened," she said.

He watched her closely for a moment before a smile crept onto his face.

"You're right. It's best we forget about it, especially now that you have someone else in your life."

Leonel could sense her cool detachment. It wasn't born of hatred; she simply wanted nothing to do with him...

Climbing into his car, he drove off swiftly, catching glimpses of Alexis' diminishing figure in the rearview mirror.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, frustration evident in his voice. “Alexis, why did you come back?" What the hell did she want?

He pondered over the events of the previous night.

It had been too easy, uncharacteristic of Alexis to yield so readily if she was truly unwilling, let alone engage in intimacy multiple times.

At an intersection, he braked hard, lost in thought.

Marcus' words echoed in his mind. "Leonel, do you honestly believe my sister is interested in continuing whatever you have now?"

The realization then hit him.

It must have been Alexis’ plan all along.

The alluring dress, her solitary presence, all orchestrated knowing Leonel wouldn't resist her charms.

The sunlight streamed into the car, but Leonel seemed unaffected, his thoughts elsewhere.

Lighting a cigarette and placing it against his lips, his mind wandered to Evelyn, their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, fragile and thin, her tenderness belying her lack of strength.