Then she screamed when Bardak showed her the bag's contents.
"I am going to kill you," said Bardak, taking out a hatchet.
Bardak swung the axe at Ms Buci, hitting her up to three times.
When he was disarmed by a good Samaritan, Bardak tried to strangle her.
More workers from nearby offices rushed into the Brisbane CBD car park after hearing Ms Buci's cries for help.
In the end, up to five men had to restrain Bardak before Ms Buci could finally escape the July 2020 attack.
More than two years later Bardak, 32, was sentenced to 14 years in jail after being found guilty of attempted murder by a Brisbane Supreme Court jury.
Ms Buci, 30, was so fearful of Bardak that she left Australia in 2022, abandoning her legal career.
"I was the subject of a heinous act of violence and terror that has left a permanent mark and stain on me emotionally, psychologically and financially," she said in a tearful victim impact statement on Friday.
"The words of the defendant 'I am going to kill you' while trying to strangle me to death ... after putting an axe to my head will never, ever be forgotten."
She suffered PTSD, nightmares, trust issues with men and lost her independence after the attack.
Simply being in Brisbane made her extremely anxious.
However Ms Buci still returned to give evidence at Bardak's trial.
"Despite everything I knew I needed to do this in the hope that justice would prevail," she said.
Ms Buci recovered from the hand injury she suffered while protecting herself from the swinging hatchet.
But she added: "I am not the same person that I once was".
Bardak broke up with Ms Buci over lunch on the fateful day in July 2020 before bombarding her for hours with text messages ranging from pleas for her to return to "gross, cruel and vulgar abuse".
He bought the hatchet at a hardware store while sending messages.
Bardak told the jury that he only wanted to talk to her at a private place like a car to try and win her back and the hatchet was a "coercive measure".
However, Bardak attacked Ms Buci after she spotted him in the car park later that afternoon and refused his request to enter a vehicle.
Bardak pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm but it was not accepted by the prosecution.
He also pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding good Samaritan David Sturgess who suffered a hand wound when he disarmed Bardak.
Justice Glenn Martin praised all the people who helped save Ms Buci while sentencing Bardak on Friday.
"They are to be congratulated and thanked on behalf of the community," he said.
A serious violent offence order was made, ensuring Bardak must serve 80 per cent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
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