The Billionaires Crush

Episode 7

Entering his office, he composed himself and sat down. What is going on? He asked himself but did not have answers to his questions. He called Mark, who came into his office. "How far with the investigations concerning the graduation party I asked you to do?" "Nothing much, since it has been a long time, so it's difficult to get the footage, and we will have to contact the owners if we want to go through the right channel, or we would have to hack into their system which wouldn't be great." "So what are we waiting for?" Ernest asked with anger evident in his voice.

"I thought it would be easier for you to call your friend since it was organised at one of the event centres," Mark answered. "Henry?" Ernest turned to look at him to which he nodded. "And you thought it wise to wait for me to ask you first."

"That was the reason I came to your house this morning, but I didn't have the opportunity and later, we got busy and then there was the meeting," Mark said in his defence. " You do realise that you keep getting angry easily in the past two days and I'm the one on the receiving end." "Whatever," Ernest said as he turned to pick up his phone and dial his friend's Number.

"Twice in a week, OMG... I should sleep where I slept consistently. What's up man", Henry said after picking up the phone.

"I need you to pull up some surveillance footage from 10 years ago. That will help me solve at least part of the mystery. Please"

"You don't need to worry. I'm on it. Give me like an hour to work on it." he hung up and, as he promised, within the next hour he called back. Ernest immediately answered. "I've sent it to your email encrypted... I must warn you, you have to be seated to watch the video". Ernest thanked him, opened his mail and downloaded the videos he had received from Henry.

In the video footage, it was captured that an unknown substance was added to a juice drink. Subsequently, the tampered beverage was handed over to Lia, who unsuspectingly consumed it. In the next video, was a scenario where he, Ernest, accompanied by his friends, was coerced into consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Intriguingly, He later entered the same room that Lia had previously entered the previous video."

"It can't be…" he said, which drew Mark's attention. He also came to watch the videos and he was shocked. He muttered. "This explains the DNA test then." He was stumped. How could this happen? Then why did Julia behave as though she was the one there that night? Did he cause her disappearance? What should he do now? Just at that moment, he saw an incoming call from his friend. He picked up instantly. If there was someone there in that past, it was her.

"Hey," He answered.

"What's wrong? You don't sound okay. I was told you finally showed up at the gathering, leaving me to be the only black sheep. I didn't expect to hear you sound so down. Tell me... What going on and don't tell me it's nothing because I have taken time out to call you so now speak." He signed.

"It's Lia. I met her." "Really? Finally... How did you meet her? When ?" "Calm down, let me talk..." Ernest said and then narrated everything to her. "Nattie, I honestly don't know what to do. This was so unexpected." He said after his narration.

"Go find her! Explain everything to her just like you did to me right now. Go get my niece and probably nephew. Nothing is going to happen unless you bridge the gap created. Don't forget to listen to her because from what you said, you definitely left a bad impression before you separated."

"Thanks, Nattie. I needed someone to knock some sense into me. I'll go find her and try to sort things out. I appreciate your advice." Ernest said, feeling a bit more determined.

As he hung up the call, Mark looked at him with concern. "What's the plan now?"

"I need to find Lia, and I need to do it today. I have to explain everything and figure out how to mend things." Mark nodded in understanding..." "I'll handle the personal side of things. Thank you, Mark, for your support through all this time."

Ernest quickly gathered his thoughts and decided to head towards Zelia's last known location. He hoped that the information Henry provided would guide him in the right direction. As he stepped out of the office, he couldn't shake off the mix of emotions swirling within him – uncertainty, regret, and a glimmer of hope.

Meanwhile, Zelia had left the conference room and was going about her day, as she walked through the corridors, she couldn't shake off the uneasiness of being back in the same environment as Ernest. She called Sanddra who was taking care of the kids for the day to meet her up with the kids at the part Adjacent to the hotel. Five minutes later, they arrived they immediately rushed to hug their mum's leg.

"Are you Okay, Mum?' Layla couldn't help but ask. "I'm fine baby. Just a rough day," she said as she rubbed her hands in her hair and brought Eliana and Ethan closer to her. The presence of the kids brought her calm and she was able to forget about her day as she engaged them in the conversations. They told her of the activities they have planned for the week and how they planned on celebrating their vacation in the city." The atmosphere was suddenly serene and filled with laughter but Zelia was mostly lost in her thoughts and gave them small smiles.

Ernest reached the location where Zelia was expected to be, thus, the hotel but she was nowhere in sight. He decided to inquire discreetly, not wanting to cause a scene. After some inquiries, he learned that she had left for a nearby park. Without wasting any time, Ernest headed towards the park, determined to find Zelia and have a candid conversation.

In the park, Zelia sat on a bench, lost in her thoughts. The encounter with Ernest had stirred up memories and emotions she had long tried to bury. She didn't expect to face him again, especially under such unexpected circumstances. As she gazed at the surroundings, she noticed Ernest approaching.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Ernest took a deep breath, gathering the courage to confront the past. Zelia looked at him with a mix of surprise and apprehension. As he reached her, Ernest spoke, "Zelia, we need to talk." She nervously looked in the direction of the kids and noticed they were not close enough for him to see them. Afraid, she nodded and agreed. They then moved to a secluded place with no one around.

"Mr. Anderson, What is it that you want us to talk about." "Please, Lia. Don't do this. I know it's you and I would like to apologise for everything and anything I have done."

"And what could the Great Mr. Anderson from the Anderson Group Limited do to a small PR consultant," she said defiantly. "Any pain I may have caused. I am extremely sorry. I didn't know... I"

"You didn't know what? that I was the one in your bed. cut the crap, I may have been naive then but you don't expect me to believe that now do you?"

"But that's the truth. I honestly thought it was Julia." Zelia was left stunned. That name was a name she refused to mention or encounter again in her life.

"And what has that girl got to do with this?" Ernest noticed the sudden rage in her voice so he decided to tread carefully.

"My friends kept pairing me with her ever since your school came over to mine. They believed we would be the perfect couple and since her company does mortgages which didn't then, my parents also believed a merger would be perfect. But there was nothing going on between us." Zelia scoffed.

"She liked you and your reaction never said otherwise."

"That was because she was always with you and the other girl Afia. I couldn't ignore her because she was your friend and I ... I liked you... I still do."

Zelia was stunned "So what, you mean is I brought my own downfall. Interesting. This is definitely a new development." She was finally calm and willing to listen to him...

"No... no... I was wrong to have not told you how I felt about you earlier. I was to have not stayed clear of her and I was wrong wrong to have found you late. I'm sorry Lia. Please forgive me."

"You hurt me you know. Every night, your hush words still echo in my head. You slut! You finally got what you wanted from me! but let me make this clear, notice is hereby given to you that in no way am I going to take any form of responsibility for what happened last night. So if you think you have me in your palms now, then forget it because you are and will continue to be nothing in my eyes. How would you have felt if you heard this from someone you cared about?" Zelia asked Ernest who was stunned by what he had just heard. He knew he had been harsh but he never expected it to have been to that extent. He bowed his head as he listened in silence as Zelia poured out her pent-up emotions. The weight of his past actions hit him hard, and he realized the depth of the pain he had caused her. Her words echoed with a mix of hurt, anger, and disappointment. He couldn't blame her; he had let her down, and the consequences were now glaring.

"I understand if you can't forgive me, Lia. I don't deserve it," Ernest finally spoke, his voice filled with regret.

Zelia remained silent for a moment, contemplating his words. She looked at him, her eyes revealing the pain she had carried for years. "You don't understand anything, Mr. Anderson. I don't want your apologies; they won't change what happened. I was used and, humiliated by you, and left to deal with the aftermath. You made me question myself, my worth, and my choices."

Ernest winced at the harsh truth of her words. He had caused irreparable damage, and he had no one to blame but himself.