Chapter 28

Olivia's POV

"Tell me the truth," Elijah said in a voice laced with anger. I knew that he already knew the truth but was waiting for me to confirm it.

"So what if it says a source close to me confirms it? They are just lying." I don't know why I continued to lie; perhaps I couldn't face him, or I wished he didn't find out this way.

He gave me a blank stare. I could tell a million thoughts were running through his head at the same time. "Why did you do that to us?" he finally asked, his voice breaking.

"Elijah," I tried to grab his hand.

"I saw your face when I said a source confirmed it to you. It is true. You cheated on me with that girl? And what have you been running around bragging about?" He pulled his hand away, and said with rising anger.

"No, it's not like that. Please let me explain." I pleaded. I didn't even know what I wanted to explain.

He turned around and walked out the door, leaving me in tears. He's not wrong. I know I cheated, and I know I hurt him, but still, all I could think about is how Ava can do this to me.

I flinched as I heard the penthouse door slam behind Elijah. I grabbed my phone and saw I had a couple of messages from Ezra and Zoya, asking me if I saw the article. I knew Ezra must be very upset about this. All of this bad publicity will take attention away from the show and focus on my private life. He warned me, and I didn't listen.

Deciding that I should talk with him in person, I reluctantly got dressed and made my way to the studio, bracing myself for another confrontation.

As I walked into the studio, I felt eyes falling on me as whispers continued to grow louder until Ezra's voice broke the whispers. "Is it the first time we have fake rumors circling around one of us? Let's focus on work and be professionals. Leave the gossip to the paparazzi," he said in a strict voice that was enough to quiet down most of the whispers.

"Olivia, let's go through the scenes in my office. The writers made slight changes to your role," he said as he made his way to his office.

"What changes?" I said, quickening my steps to catch up to him.

"No changes; I just didn't want them to think we will be discussing this and making it a bigger deal than it already is," he said as he opened the door to his office.

My eyes immediately went over to Zoya, who was sitting on the edge of the chair, ready to run away from the conversation we were about to have.

Her eyes met mine, and she shot out of her chair, running towards me and wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Calm down, it's okay," I whispered against her ears as she tightened her hands around me.

"It wasn't me," she said in a weak voice, as if she is pleading for both Ezra and me to believe her.

"Zoya, I am certain it wasn't you," I said as I pulled away from her arms and held her face.

"But Ezra said…” She didn’t continue the sentence and glanced toward Ezra before finding my eyes again.

"There is no way it was Zoya," I told Ezra as I understood the reason why she was that shaky.

"I didn't say it was her; I said it could be her. Everyone that knows is guilty in my eyes until we get to the bottom of this," Ezra said, crossing his arms in front of his body.

"So your brother is guilty?" I scoffed angrily.

"Yes, he is," he deadpanned.

"Elijah knows," I said.

"What?" Both of them screamed in unison.

"How? When?" Zoya asked worriedly.

"He showed me the article, and the way I reacted gave it away," I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

"And is he going to be a problem?" Ezra asked anxiously.

"Ezra, I understand you are worried about your work, but this is my life we are talking about. He didn't even listen to me, and I definitely didn't ask him if he will ruin my career," I said, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.

"We need to find out if anyone has actually made these claims and if there is any proof to support them. You might even have to do an interview to refute these claims," Ezra said, gesturing towards both Zoya and me.

"What do you mean refute them? If Oli and I do decide to get together, this could blow up in our faces," Zoya said, intertwining her hands with mine.

Part of me felt elated, but I couldn't shake off the fear of potential repercussions. The thought made me uneasy. I had worked so hard for the past ten years to be free from my current contract, and I had finally looked forward to living life on my own terms. What if this scandal destroyed everything I had built?

Zoya had nothing to lose; she was just starting her life, while I was risking everything.

"Oli?" Zoya's voice brought me back to the present. I looked down and saw the fear in her eyes.

"I think it was Ava," I said, avoiding Zoya's gaze, afraid she might read my mind. I had asked her to stand by me, and now that we had reached this point, I wondered if I would ever figure it out.

"Ava?" Ezra said incredulously. "She wouldn't do this. Why would she? It would be idiotic to her, considering her career is essentially in bound to yours."

"She only found out recently, when she caught Zoya and me in the dressing room," I explained, stealing a glance at Zoya's hand still clasped in mine.

"Here? That was so irresponsible," Ezra said angrily, breaking Zoya's grip from mine. She looked at him, visibly scared, as she rubbed her wrist, trying to release herself from his firm grip.

"Don't do that," I said, stepping between them, trying to ease the tension.

"Please, try to understand the seriousness of the situation," he told Zoya before sitting back down.

"She gets it, let's give her a moment," I said, giving Zoya a reassuring look. "Maybe we should talk to Ava," I suggested after a brief silence.

"I think she's around here somewhere. I'll go find her," he said as he rose from his seat. "You two keep your distance," he warned before leaving the room.

"What are we going to do?" Zoya asked once Ezra had closed the door behind him.

"We'll follow the advice of our PR and lawyers," I replied, taking a seat opposite her and still avoiding eye contact.

"And Elijah?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Let me handle my personal life; we need to focus on our work life right now," I answered absentmindedly.

"Am I not a part of your personal life? This situation will directly affect me as well," she said, her voice low and shaken.

"Zoya, this really isn't the time," I said as I massaged my temples.

"Of course, I understand," she said after a moment of silence as she leaned back in her chair.

After several long moments of silence, the room was filled only with the sound of my anxious footsteps tapping on the floor.

My attention snapped to the door as Ezra and Ava entered. Ava wore a hard look on her face, as if the entire situation didn't concern her.

"Please, be seated, Ava," Ezra said, taking a place on the couch.

Ava glanced at Zoya before rolling her eyes and sitting next to Ezra. "I told you so," Ava said, crossing her arms.

"Told me what?" I scoffed in disbelief.

"I told you that you can't trust her. Look at the mess she made," Ava said in a cold voice.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Zoya retorted defensively, rising from her chair.

"Sit down," Ezra said firmly, causing Zoya to return to her seat.

"Maybe it was you, you didn't seem so happy with the news," I suggested. Ava looked at me, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Me? Are you insane? What's in it for me?" Ava said, resting her hands on her knees.

"And what's in it for me?" Zoya retorted. We all looked at her; truth be told, she was the only one who would gain anything from this.

"Oh, come on," she said, putting her face in her palms. "Oli, it was not me!" she mumbled against her hands.

"I wouldn't ruin my best friend's career and mine along with it," Ava said, adopting a relaxed posture, seeming relieved after making her point.

"This is getting us nowhere. We could be pointing fingers when no one actually said anything," Ezra said. "I will talk to Sebastian at home," he added.

"No, wait. Do you actually believe it was me, Liv?" Ava said, holding a hand in front of Ezra, refusing to end the conversation.

"Elijah seemed convinced I did it, and you are the only one talking to him," I said, feeling a slight guilt creep into me. Maybe I am doubting my friend for nothing.

"Ezra talks to him all the time. What's your point? It seems you are considering everyone that stood by you and not this girl that showed up from thin air and evidently obsessed with you," Ava said before getting up and leaving the room.

"I will get in touch with the journalist and request an interview. We will deny the claims and move forward, and both of you will be cautious," Ezra said.

"I will talk to my lawyer just in case," I added.

"And Zoya, not a word. You will do as we say; your feelings are irrelevant in this matter," Ezra said, pointing for both of us to leave.

"I will go get ready for my scene," Zoya said, wiping her eyes.

"Both of you can go get ready," Ezra said. Zoya hurriedly left the room, refusing to look at me. I was slightly grateful, as I didn't know what to say.

"Liv, I will talk to Elijah, calm him down, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. But you have to talk to him and clear this up," he told me once we were alone.

"Deny it?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"That's your decision, as long as this decision remains between you two until the TV show airs. We won't have bad publicity focusing on scandals and away from the work we did," Ezra said. I understood that he couldn't guide me, even as a friend. This was my own life, and I needed to sort it out.