ARLAN’S POV.
“Arlan!” Saraya tried to approach us but the look on my face stopped her.
“You stay right there and wait for your turn while I deal with this mess of a human. There is no need to rush when we are just getting started.” Alex screamed at her while throwing a deadly look her way. “So the woman, Evan was talking about was you, after all.”
I stood up. “Alex, listen to me. I didn’t plan for this to happen. It just… it happened.”
“Matilda is carrying your child, how dare you play around with my daughter? Do you know the dent this will cause my business if this comes out?” Arlan asked.
“I regret this but Saraya’s party wasn’t the first time we met. We had earlier met at an acquaintance’s party.” I tried explaining.
“Regret?” Alex spat. “Then you should have ended it when it came to light she is my daughter.” He said angrily. “But finding out didn’t deter you. But you regret it now that you’ve been caught? You think that makes it better?”
“Dad, please,” Saraya said, her voice trembling. “I know this is hard, but we have bigger problems right now. The blackmailer isn’t going to stop. We need to figure out what to do.”
Alex pointed a finger at her, his chest heaving. “Don’t you dare try to downplay this, Saraya. You lied to me. Both of you lied to me. And now, you want me to help clean up this mess?”
I stepped forward. “Alex, I know you’re angry-”
“Angry?” Alex roared. “You have no idea what I’m feeling right now. You betrayed me, Arlan. Both of you did. I introduced you for business but you two have been having an affair at my back.”
The room was silent except for the sound of Alex’s heavy breathing. He looked at the both of us and was breathing heavily.
“This conversation is far from being over,” Alex said finally, his voice cold. “How could you two mess things up so bad? But let’s talk about the issue at hand, after that, we’re going to have a very long talk and while we are on it,” He said turning to me. “Be prepared to denounce yourself as an executive and transfer your shares to me immediately.”
“Dad, you don’t have to take it this far.” Saraya said, her voice shaking. “Trust me, we ended things but the kiss just happened.”
“Oh really? Did you just listened to yourself or you want me to repeat what you’ve just said, maybe, you will realize how lame it sounds.” Alex replied in a sarcastic manner. He pointed at me. “He’s done working with me. Effective immediately. I can’t have a man like him representing my company and working closely with you.”
I gave out a sigh of relief knowing he wasn’t going to threaten Saraya with her position. I don’t care what he did with me, I was the bigger person and should have managed my affairs better. I was prepared to take anything Alex throws at me.
“Alex,” I began, his face pale. “I know I messed up, but we need to focus on the blackmailer before things spiral further out of control.”
“Don’t you dare try to spin this,” Alex snapped. “You think bringing up the blackmailer absolves you of your betrayal? You’re having an affair with my daughter. My daughter, Arlan!” He yelled. “And what more? There is evidence of your affair. Think of what that could do to me, my reputation, my company.”
“Forget the blackmailer for a second. What about Matilda? Think about how she would feel when she finds out what you’ve been doing behind her back wile she is pregnant with your child?” Alex added.
I looked away, my jaw tightening. “She knows about my feelings for Saraya.” spilling the truth.
Alex froze on the spot. “What?” His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “She knows about your affair?”
Alex’s fists tightened, his voice went over the roof. “You’re telling me Matilda knows about your feelings for my daughter and she stayed? What the hell kind of circus are you running, Arlan?”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. “It’s complicated, Alex. Matilda knows my heart is with Saraya, but I stayed with her because of the baby. I already told you how the baby came to be. I just wanted to do the right thing with her.”
“The right thing?” Alex’s voice rose. “You call this mess the right thing? You’re out here playing house with one woman while pining for another who is my daughter! And you think that’s okay?”
“Alex,” I said quickly. “I know what you’re thinking but I didn’t plan for this to happen.”
“You keep saying that,” Alex shot back. “And yet here we are.”
“Dad, stop,” Saraya interjected, her voice cracking. “Please, just stop. We all made mistakes, but fighting isn’t going to lead us anywhere.”
“Keep your mouth shut and don’t tell me what to do, Saraya,” Alex warned, pointing a finger at her. “You made this mess, the least you can do is to keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything tangible to contribute to this.”
“I know,” she said softly, her eyes welling up. “I know we messed up. But please, help us fix this.”
Alex let out a bitter laugh. “Fix this? You think this is fixable? My daughter and my best friend!” Turning to me. “Do you still deserve being called my best friend and how do I fix this?”
“What more? Paying the money doesn’t guarantee we will be free from the blackmailer when we don’t even know the type of person we are dealing with.” Alex continued. “Everything I have worked for is about crashing down because of your messy affair.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” Saraya said, tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“But you did!” Alex shouted, my voice echoing through the room. “Both of you did! And now you want me to just sit here and help you clean up this mess?”
I stepped forward. “Alex, I’m not asking you to forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it. But whoever sent that email-they’re trying to ruin all of us. If this goes public, it won’t just hurt me or Saraya. It’ll hurt others too.”
Alex glared at me, his chest heaving. “Don’t pretend this is about protecting others because you don’t care. You’re just trying to save your own skin.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “I’m trying to work this-for everyone’s sake.”
“Work what exactly?” I repeated, laughing bitterly. “The only walk we have here is you walking out of my life and family. Because after this, we are done. Do you hear me?”
“Alex, please,” I said. “Don’t…”
“You want to focus on the blackmailer? Let’s do it.” He said cutting me off. “Tell me everything you know.” Alex finally said.
I hesitated, then nodded. “The email was sent from an anonymous account, that means we can only receive mail but can’t reply. The video was taken at Brisbane . I don’t know how they got them, but whoever it is has been watching us for a while.”
“Convenient,” I said, crossing my arms. “You have no idea who it could be?”
“Dominic,” I said firmly, breaking the tense silence. “I’m telling you, I suspect Dominic. I can tell he is obsessed with Saraya and trust me, I don’t like his aura.”
“Oh really?” Alex asked. “You mean you have no choice than to accuse the innocent boy? Have some decency, Arlan and be more objective.”
Saraya looked at me. “Dominic is innocent. I’ve told you this already, Arlan. He wouldn’t do something like this. He has no motive whatsoever, let’s focus on the the other people on our list.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Saraya, you’re missing the point. Right now, no one can be trusted. Not him, not anyone. You can’t call him innocent, besides, we are running out of time.”
Alex scoffed, cutting in before Saraya could reply. “I agree no one can be trusted seeing what you’ve been doing with my daughter behind my back.” He spat. “We’re not getting anywhere with this,” I said, turning to Saraya. “If not Dominic, then who are the others on your suspect list?”
Saraya hesitated before speaking. “It could be Matilda, Ian… or Grandma.”
“What?” Alex’s voice boomed through the room. “You’re joking, right? Ian or my mother? Are you serious?”
“Yes, dad.” Saraya replied. “Grandma knows about my relationship with Arlan and told me she has her eyes on me.”
“Are you saying, your grandmother knows about this messy affair of yours?” Alex asked, dazzled.
“Dad, hear me out-”
“Hear you out?” he interrupted, his tone incredulous. “How much shock is in here for me today, Saraya?” He screamed at her, jolting her. “Evan knows, your grandmother knows, Ian knows. Who else is in the knowing, huh?”
“Mother,” Saraya replied slowly. “But she only found out few days ago.”
“Even Mary?” Alex ran his hands through his hair. “So I’m the only one in the dark.” He staggered and slowly took his seat to balance himself. “What a fool, I have been. Mother and Ian must’ve had a good laugh at my back.”
“Speaking of Ian,” Alex continued. “He is not so cool headed to have kept this under the wraps if he knows, this doesn’t suit this style. Blackmailing for money? He would have probably pushed for your resignation instead. Take Ian off the list, I’ll sound my mother out just to be sure but I doubt she has the time to play around like this.”
Alex paused for a moment. “Matilda?”
“She is innocent as well, I’ve checked and she is clean.”
“Mary and Evan wouldn’t have done this as well.” Alex added.
“So we are left with Dominic.” I chirped in.
“Stop trying so hard to make the innocent guy your victim.” Alex snapped. “So we are back to square one.”
Saraya stood frozen, her face pale and eyes darting between Alex and me.
Alex ran a hand down his face. “This is unbelievable. You should know better than this, Saraya. And you,” he said, turning his venomous glare back to me. “I trusted you like a brother, Arlan. You’ve torn my family apart.”
“Dad,” Saraya interjected, her voice trembling. “Please. We can’t afford to let our emotions cloud this. I’ll take whatever punishment you give but let’s resolve the issue at hand.”
Alex hesitated, his jaw tightening. “I hate this,” he muttered, pacing the room. “I hate that you’ve put me in this position. But instead of trying to figure out who the blackmailer is, let’s wait. We are not the only ones in a fix.”
Saraya stepped cautiously closer to Alex. “So you’ll help us?”
Alex stopped pacing and turned to her, his expression hard. “Don’t mistake this for forgiveness, Saraya. I’ll deal with the blackmailer-for the sake of my company. But once this is over, I will make the both of you pay the price for ridiculing me.”
Alex thought for a second. “Send me the video.”
“What?” Saraya and I said in unison.
“You heard me!” He yelled at us. “You two don’t have to do anything, I’m going to take it up with the blackmailer.”
“How would you do that when we can’t reach them?” I asked.
“That is none of your business, you do as you’re told and get the money ready.”
“What if they don’t stop after paying the money? I’m sure the account won’t be traceable after payment.” I reminded him.
“Do as you are told.” Alex and walked toward the door, he paused, turning back to me one last time.
“Arlan,” he said coldly. “You’d better pray we get through this blackmailer before I lose what little restraint I have left. Because if I do, it won’t be a blackmailer you’ll need to worry about. It’ll be me.”
And with that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him leaving me and Saraya behind.