Chapter 66: Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Song: ‘Arcade’ by Duncan Laurence

A broken heart is all that's left

I'm still fixing all the cracks

Lost a couple of pieces when

I carried it, carried it, carried it home

I'm afraid of all I am

My mind feels like a foreign land

Silence ringing inside my head

Please, carry me, carry me, carry me home

I spent all of the love I've saved

We were always a losing game

Small-town boy in a big arcade

I got addicted to a losing game

Ooh, ooh

All I know, all I know

Loving you is a losing game

………………………………………………………

ELIJAH’S POV

“Thank you for your feedback, Mr. Norman,” She finally met my eyes with a smile that didn’t reach her beautiful eyes, the tears in hers conflicting with what she’s trying to portray so desperately—to not look broken. “I appreciate it. I’m sorry, everyone, for wasting your time. Now, please, if you’ll excuse me.” My heart constrained looking at her.

The slight tremble of her body didn't go unnoticed by me. I saw fear in her eyes for the first time, and it snapped me out of my ragging trance.

A fear that she didn't fight back.

Isn’t that something you’ve always wanted—for her to be scared of you? Congratulations! Mission accomplished! Well done, asshole.

My rational self chastised me, making me realize something.

Shit! I messed up.

Again.

Regret instantly filled me up.

Fuckkk!

What did I do?

Why did I do it?

I should not have lashed out like this.

I should not have lost control like this.

Maybe I should...

Before I got even to think straight, I saw her avoiding everyone and running out as if her life depended on it.

Dammit! Just one look at her told me that I'd gone too far.

What’s the point of this regret?

Do you think it’ll matter now?

My heartbeat accelerated as the severity of the situation dawned on me. I looked around me and saw complete disbelief on everyone’s faces.

No one has ever seen this side of mine. Except for her.

I’ve never lost my temper in the office, no matter how bad things get.

The business I’m in isn’t easy to run; I have to encounter all sorts of people, good, bad, sincere, and scams, but I’ve never let my emotions get the better of me. I’ve always maintained my calm and stoic persona, even at times when things aren’t going as I’ve planned them, which happens almost next to never.

I’m not a friendly boss; I maintain my distance and silence. Neither of my employees can approach me unless they have direct business with me, and that too if it is of the utmost importance.

The girls that bat their eyelashes when I walk past them mean nothing to me; they try to catch my attention, but they know they can’t cross their boundaries, so all they can do is look at me from afar.

The men, too, aren’t any different. I know they look up to me, wanting to have a fraction of the life that I live. They know they can’t be me or someone I trust because of how unapproachable I am.

To them, I am a mystery.

My professional life has always been about business and nothing more. Nothing personal ever.

This is the first time both these worlds have collided and it's an absolute disaster.

I don’t think most of these people have heard me talk, let alone lash out like I did.

Silence reigned inside the room; no one moved an inch except for Margaret. She met Dad’s eyes, asking for his approval to leave, and he nodded. ‘I don’t work here anymore, so’ mumbled Daniel and followed her outside in haste, the person responsible for all this crisis. I clenched my fists just seeing his face alone.

“Thank you for being here, everyone, but I’d like to talk to my son alone,” said Dad after an eternity of silence, his eyes not wavering away from me for a second. “Ethan, Andrew, please escort everyone out and take care of our esteemed guests.” Everyone nodded, knowing very well that the meeting had ended a long time ago.

“What, why do I have to go? I don’t even work here,” protested Ethan with a scrunched face. I know very well why he wants to be here, for the first time it's me on the recieving end of Dad's wrath and not him.

Andy gave him a stern look that said, read the room. He huffed and led everyone out begrudgingly, clearly bummed out for missing out on the drama, especially one that involved me and not him for a change.

Eva was the last to get out, probably the only person ecstatic about the whole scenario. She winked at me before getting out.

Andy prompted Elena with a confused look, who was still seated with dad.

“What?” She folded her arms. “I’m not going anywhere,” she shrugged, Andy shook his head and left the room.

Dad didn’t say anything, increasing my frustration; I’d rather he just spit it out and end this agonizing silence. And he did just that.

“I was wrong,” his voice echoed in the empty room.

Finally, he knows how wrong his decision was; if he had realized this before, all this could’ve never happened.

Mission accomplished.

But why do I not feel happy about it? It’s all I’ve wanted all along.

“About time, you...” He didn’t wait for my reply but instead said something I wasn’t expecting.

“You’re not ready to take over the company; I overestimated you.” He looked as serious as he did that day when he first told me about Hannah.

“What?” I was taken aback, and Elena gasped.

“Dad, I don’t think that’s fair,” she interjected, clearly choosing her side.

“Elena, stay out of it,” gave her his no-nonsense look. She didn’t say anything after that, clearly getting the idea.

“Who do you think you are?” He looked back at me and said, “How can you insult her like that?” He looked so angry, something I haven’t seen in years. “You’ve crossed all your limits today, Elijah! I am ashamed of you!”

“You don’t expect me to go with something I don’t approve for the company,” I countered with what I knew was a weak argument.

“That was a perfectly fine design, and in case it wasn't, you could’ve made the changes if you wanted, but humiliating your wife in front of everyone is not okay.”

“She’s not my wife in the office; that is the problem; she’s not capable of being here. She’s too immature,” is she not? No, yes, maybe... I don’t know!

Fuckkk!

“And you are? With what you just did, you had the audacity to question her capabilities and maturity while you acted like a spoilt child?” I had nothing to say. “I knew things were not okay between you two, despite how hard that poor girl tried to depict. But I didn’t think you’d become so inhuman.” Being an overachiever, there haven’t been too many instances where I have disappointed him; in fact, it must have been a couple of times that I can hardly remember, but today surpasses it all. I can see it in his eyes how dissatisfied he is with me.

“Maybe it was wrong of me,” he mumbled maybe and snickered, “but this is not a small project that I’d let a design like that be made for what’s about to be the world’s top resort,” I said, holding my ground.

I was so overwhelmed by the events of the day that the smallest of mistakes, almost negligible, irked me to my core.

“No one seemed to question it except you. You know why, because you can’t see what others can see in her. And your ego is so big that you can’t accept how talented and exceptional she is, despite you thinking she’s not.”

I didn’t answer after that, and neither did he say anything further for a while.

“We’re not done with this conversation, Elijah; this isn’t over.” He stood up. “I’ll have to talk to her first and then come to a conclusion, but in no way I will let it slide just because you’re my son or the future CEO.” His words had finality. “Come on, Elena, we’re leaving.”

“You go ahead, Dad; I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” Dad shook his head but agreed and left, telling her to hurry up.

I slumped down on a chair with a thud, feeling the beginning of a headache rising from the back.

“The design really wasn’t bad, Elijah. You know you overreacted, right?” Elena said empathetically, sitting on a chair beside me.

“I’m losing my mind, Ellie.” I tugged at my hair, looking at her with tired eyes.

“You think,” she smiled, trying to humor me. “I won’t say I’m her biggest fan, but clearly she didn’t deserve it. You’re a gentleman; figure it out okay; I’m sure you guys can move past it.” She held my hand and squeezed it to comfort him.

“I don’t think we can; I messed up big time,” I said dejectedly.

“Well, the good thing is that you realize this, and that’s a start. And don’t worry, turn on your charm that makes girls go all mushy for you; I don’t think she’ll be able to resist you then.” She grinned and kissed my cheek. I smiled half-heartedly.

………………………………………………………

I went back to my office, my head throbbing with a killer headache.

I dragged my heavy feet across the room and collapsed on the sofa, glutting in my own misery.

Glutting in your own misery?

What about her and the misery that you caused?

I rubbed my temple aggressively to soothe the pain I was feeling.

Guilt—it’s called guilt!

Her fearful face flashed before my eyes, along with her crippled demeanor, condemning my very being. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much at fault as I did in that moment.

I feel like a monster who mindlessly destroys everything that comes his way.

I pulled hard at my hair, screamed out of agony, and kicked the glass table so hard that it shattered and was scattered into a million tiny pieces.

Apparently, anything or anyone that crosses your path is met with the same fate.

………………………………………………………

“In my office, now,” I hung up.

I didn’t move my eyes an inch from the laptop screen in front of me.

I tried to hold on to my bursting temper, hanging by a loose thread, but I’m afraid I can’t hold it in for long.

Within the next few minutes, I saw her walking into the corridor to my office through the CCTV.

“You know I was waiting all day for this,” she entered my office smiling. “I could tell you won’t be... Oh my God, Elijah, what is this? Are you alright?” She was horrified to witness the absolute mess that my office looks like.

Tiny shards of glass dispersed everywhere, the stuff on the table thrown away haphazardly like a massacre just went through here. Everything was broken down. But I didn’t care.

“You’re fired,” I said, shifting my hardened gaze from the laptop to her.

“What?” To say she’s shocked would be an understatement. “What do you mean?” I can see confusion and dread clearly on her face.

“I mean, you’re fired. Pack your things and fuck off.”

“You can’t just do that,” she said exasperatedly. “I won’t go; I haven’t done anything,” she reasoned.

“I told you to stay the fuck out of my business.” I stood up and walked up to her.

“I don’t know what you’re accusing me of,” she said, trying to shrug it off without meeting my eyes.

“Oh, you don’t. Care to explain?” I turned the laptop screen towards her, and she gasped, her color fading away from her face like that of a ghost.

It’s a CCTV footage of hers from earlier today in which she is seen helping Hannah while she pinched her pen drive and tucked it in her pocket.

I was looking at the live footage of Hannah while she waited for the elevator when Eva popped up out of nowhere, and though the camera doesn’t catch sound, I don’t need to guess what she must’ve said to her. I couldn’t see Hannah because of her back being towards the camera, though I have an idea about it.

That’s when I decided to check for footage of her while she was gone mid-meeting. Don’t ask me why I wanted to or what I hoped to find out.

I rewind back to the time of the meeting to follow her movement from the conference room to see where she went. Seeing her going to our usual conference room, where she was standing before, I went to that particular camera. I pressed fast forward, but something caught my eye, and I paused the video.

It was the footage of me in the corridor along with Hannah and that bastard. I don’t know why but I continued watching them talk casually.

This doesn’t look like a lover's talk much to your dismay, testified my mind.

What caught my attention was when Eva interrupted their chat. I zoomed in on their faces to look more closely. Eva’s face showed a grimace instantly when Hannah backed away to not let her touch her hair. As the video proceeded, she looked confused for a moment, then went inside the room.

When I looked at the footage from inside the room, I saw Eva in the act. Fuck!

I couldn’t believe she could go to the extent of theft just to sabotage her. I knew she called everyone for the meeting just for the purpose of pressuring her and showing how incompetent and unreliable she is, it's not a child's play to be the youngest in a room filled with people, most of whom are important.

Well, your outburst proved just that, did it not?

But I never thought Eva would go through such stretch.

Later, the CCTV footage shows Hannah entering the conference room again, panic written all over her face as she looked for her pen drive all around inside and out of the room, ducking under the table, searching within the chairs. She picked up her cellphone as she typed while continuing to look all around. Within the next few minutes, Daniel entered the room and comforted her with his hands on her shoulder as she looked so close to crying with anxiety. He made her sit down, gave her a glass of water, and then left the room, only to come back with what I assume was a new pen drive. I saw them hurrying and transferring the data as she paced back and forth, constantly looking at the time on her wrist watch. Once completed, they both left together and reached the venue.

Oh, so they weren’t having sex in your office, as you had assumed so vividly, mocked my heart.

I pressed on my already throbbing head as I felt anger rise within me, but this time it wasn’t on her. It was at myself.

Eva put oil  but I was the one to lit the fire, and I just made it worse. I ruined it beyond repair.

Why repair? This is what you wanted, did you not?

“I… I don’t, um, I can.” She stammered, unable to coherently complete a full sentence.

“I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT, EVA!” I lashed out again, my eyes seeing red. She flinched and backed away at my booming voice, her eyes as wide as they could be. “Tell me, are you happy now? Isn’t this why you planned all this for?” I held her arm tightly, questioning her with no intent to find an answer. She didn’t try to give one either. She just looked at me, dumbfounded and scared.

It serves her right—the look of fear she wanted to see in Hannah’s eyes is now reflected in hers.

“You don’t like the taste of your own medicine, do you?” I let go of her with a jerk, which broke her haze.

“You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?” I didn’t meet her eyes. “I was right; I was right all along! You know what? I suspected this, and that’s why I had to step up and do what you intended to do,” she yelled in anger.

“Do not raise your voice at me, Eva. You had no right to do what you did. She hasn’t done anything wrong to you for you to go so low just to embarrass her.”

“She hasn’t done anything? Are you for real? She’s coming between us, and you think she’s all innocent because she acts like one. Didn’t you say this sham was her plan?” She accused me, but I didn’t answer, “And sweetheart, it wasn’t I who embarrassed her. You did it; you made a clown out of her and put her on a cross without me doing anything.” She just shrugged it off like she was innocent in all this.

“She didn’t come between us, Eva; there was never an us to begin with,” I said coldly. I saw her face drop as she realized I meant every word of it.

She knew it all along; she just refused to believe it. But what she said next caught me off guard.

“You’re falling in love with her, aren’t you?” She spat out of envy, “She’s crawling her way to your empty, callous heart and filling your voids, and you don’t even realize it. Your problem is not that she likes others, as you keep claiming; your problem is that she doesn't like you. And you know why that is? Because you’re so used to having girls like me chase you, this new tiny girl is enticing you because she pretends to be different and better than everyone else. She has you wrapped around her little fingers. Just because you say you hate her doesn’t mean shit because you know you don’t. And what you did today wasn’t because I did something but  because you’re so damn conflicted within yourself.”

I looked at her, but I didn’t say anything; I couldn’t. My heart raced at what she said. It was all too much to process.

She can’t be right, can she?

No, no, she’s not; she can’t be.

The way your heart is speeding says otherwise; surely you can’t be that blind.

“You know I’m right, you couldn’t even deny it,” she smiled, but hurt reflected in her eyes evidently, and she didn’t try to hide it. “I’m done chasing the mirage of you at the cost of my self-respect, Elijah. I’ve desperately waited six years for you to see the love I’ve always had for you, but I’m done being the toy for your entertainment just for you to throw away when you’re bored, but not anymore, not at the cost of my sanity. You’re not worth it.” Tears slipped out of her eyes, but she looked more determined than ever.

I just kept looking at her; this is the most real I’ve seen her all this time. I never gave her fake promises, but it calms me down that whatever hope she had for us broke down today. I didn’t need to hear it in her words; I saw it in her eyes.

“Oh, and yeah, not fired. I’ll see you Monday,” she smiled through her misery before leaving the room.

I stood there looking at nothing in particular as I pondered everything that she said in a loop.

You’re falling in love with her, aren’t you?

Your problem is not that she likes others, as you keep claiming; your problem is that she doesn't like you.

There’s no way she can be right about this.

Right?

Or can she?

Am I falling in love with that insane girl I hate?

………………………………………………………

Author’s note:

Boy, oh boy! Some chapter it was.

Elijah is finally getting off his high horse, and it was none other than Eva to do it, well, one way or another.

What I love about these characters is their ability to call out shit without clinging to emotionality. They are not black and white; they are grey.

They’re regular people, just wealthy AF!

And complicated.

Elijah is feeling all emotions at once.

Can he go back and redeem himself to finally emerge as the protagonist?

It must be hard to win Hannah and all of your hearts, but who knows what he holds behind that coldheartedness?

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Much love