Chapter 26

After stepping away to speak with Daniel, Alexis returns to a fancy dinner with her parents and announces she has officially entered the race for chief. Instead of support, her father scolds her for not reconciling with Neil and belittles her efforts, insisting she try couples counseling. When Alexis calls Neil abusive, Cecil dismisses it because there was no physical violence and threatens to cut her off, revealing he has already disowned Derek for secretly marrying Lola.

Overwhelmed, Alexis flees to the bathroom where Jennifer explains Cecil’s decline and asks Alexis to placate him by attending therapy with Neil. Alexis realizes how impossible introducing Daniel to her family would be and begins to accept that a real relationship with Daniel cannot coexist with her parents’ expectations.

Alexis goes to Bri’s, where a tabloid confirms Derek’s secret wedding to Lola. They process Cecil’s disownment and the broader pattern of control in Alexis’s life. Bri warns that Cecil will move goalposts and urges boundaries.

Determined to reclaim control, Alexis calls Neil and sets terms: he must attend sixteen weekly solo sessions with her therapist, while telling her parents they are in couples therapy; only then will she consider joining. Neil agrees. Alexis and Bri end the night with dark humor and mutual support, as Alexis privately mourns Daniel and the life she cannot have under her family’s rules.