Chapter 5

Lost in deep thought when the washroom door cracked open without warning, my brows raised at the person in front of me. He smiles and matches me without an invitation.

"You? What are you doing in the female washroom?" I questioned Darren with a glare, moving towards the door.

"I knew you were in here. So, I'm just here to say you're gorgeous," he says and I scoff at his grin.

"Thanks, but that wasn't necessary," I add, grabbing the door handle to leave the washroom.

Staying in the same room with him suffocates me. His hand on my wrist prevents me from achieving my mission, he spins me around to face him.

His eyes were pleading with mine as we maintain contact, I look away trying not to be deceived by his mischievous plead.

"I'm so sorry, Liz. I still need you more than ever," he says.

"I don't need you. I'm better off without you, we're better without each other. Remember, it was your idea to break up with me," I screamed at him and he sighs while looking

away.

"You cheated on me and you still have the guts to come plead for forgiveness. You're disgusting."

Now, I'm going crazy. I hate feeling this way, Darren has done a lot to me. I have forgiven him but I'm hurt. He's the reason why I'm a playgirl, I just wanted to let out my hurt by hurting other people's feelings.

I yanked his hand away and stumped out of the washroom with my pulse rising, I fold my fist tightly, breathe in and try to calm myself.

When I feel this way, I take something strong enough to get my mind away from the feeling— the substance. But here I am, my head spinning without a remedy. I held my head and stop walking, trying to breathe in at some intervals, to suppress the attack.

My efforts were in fruition, my eyelids closes and I collapse before realizing what is going on. Before I lost consciousness, I felt a hand holding me, preventing me from dropping to the floor. Strawberry, is the smell of the person.

A hand is tightly wound around me as I slowly open my eyes for the second time trying to adjust to the bright lights in the room, the room was familiar but not mine. Victoria disengaged from the hug careful enough not to hurt me, she sat and looks at me with a frown.

"What was the meaning of that?" She demanded.

"Meaning of what?"

"What happened to you in there? What did he do to you?" She questioned with a fixed glare while tapping her legs in furry.

"Who?" I ask with a lost gaze.

"Alex. What did Alex do to you? I saw you collapsed in his arms," she is now pacing around the room with her hands on her forehead.

I tried lifting my weight from where I am lying, clearing my throat. I tugged myself upward, my feet touching the cold tiled floor. I ignore the banging on my head and walk closer to Vicky who's now watching my every move, my right-hand touches her shoulder and we stood face to face.

"He did nothing wrong," I whined and she sigh in disbelief.

"Are you now taking his side, Liz? Alex is aware of us, he's up to something and I'm afraid to break this, but you need to stay far away from him. Just keep the relationship strictly business, okay?" She said.

"Why? Is it because of what happened tonight? Common Vicky, Alex saved me from my regular panic attack," I tried to calm her but she flings my hand from her shoulder and bolts out of the room, her room.

I can't believe Victoria is blaming this on Alex William. Darren is to be blamed, he is innocent, and he showed up at the right time to save my butt. What exactly did she do to him?

Rushing out of the room to get Vicky to tell me the details of what happened after I collapsed.

She is in the kitchen busy with the vegetables, cutting in absolute silence even though she heard my steps when approaching the kitchen. Without sparing me a glance, she moves to the pot and opens it, placing the vegetables and adding a little spice. I lean on the kitchen cabinet and watch my furious best friend. I know her so well, she cooks whenever she is angry, pissed, and stressed. Cooking is just a kind of therapy for Vicky, the same way running is to me.

I walk over to stand beside her after some minutes of watching her cook without saying a word.

"I'm sorry Vicky. Alex didn't do anything to me. I promised, but he didn't. I only had an encounter with Darren, I couldn't handle the emotions so I passed out in the process. He just came in time to save me from disgracing myself, you have to believe me," I narrated.

"Okay. I don't trust him. Trust my instinct, Liz, I know you're feeling something for him but look at it from my angle just this once. The Williams are dangerous, I don't trust him when he smiles when he acts like a gentleman when he tries to be the hero. I don't trust Darren either."

With that, she makes her way out of the kitchen leaving me to trail behind her once again. The feeling in my head is painful and unbearable, I didn't argue with Vicky when she insisted that I sleep over at her place. She made dinner and we ate together with her mother, Mrs. Jackson. Mrs. Jackson has always been a mother to me since I knew Victoria, she's here to visit her daughter. Victoria's parents don't stay in the city, but they do come around to visit her.

It will be okay to say that I had a good night's sleep. I dreamt of him again but this time, he wasn't coming after me, he was loving me. Here I am all smiling and dressing up for work, Victoria is out on a mission which means I'm the only one remaining to leave for work.

"See you later Mrs. Jackson," I peck her cheeks and she kisses my forehead with a smile, I embrace her before leaving the house.

Getting to the office is what I do every day so it's not a big deal. I had Mabel read out the daily schedule before I begin with the day. Hopefully, today is not such a busy day according to Mabel's schedule. I am enclosed between my working desk—the computer and my chair. The usual beep of my phone has my attention, it is a message from Vicky, with my attention drawn to the message and the sender, I pick up my phone and tap on the message.

Check out the news headlines.

Victoria's message reads, grabbing the remote of my office television, I tuned in to the London news channel. The first headline had me grabbing my chair for support.

"No, this can't be," I search for my phone and clasp it with my hands shaking, I dial Victoria's number and place the phone on my ears while my legs are still vibrating in shock.

"Who did that?" My voice came out harsh and loud.

"I have no idea. But I'm aware that the person is close to you. Choose between Alex and Darren, one of them is the culprit," she says.

"I can't afford to be in the news again Vicky, you know the damage this can cause to my reputation and my business."

"Yes, I am aware of everything. I will call the media house so we can take it out from the net. Just be careful out there," Vicky assured and I nodded even though she can't see me, I'm sure she can feel it.

Appearing in the city's news is one sure way of getting attention, I'm glad to appear as a business tycoon, definitely not as a ruckus. It is everywhere, popular business lady and the city's playgirl, Elizabeth Moore has been captured by a London news channel passing out at a party.

"Could this means our business lady is a drug addict?"

"Caught with another prey. Who is he?"

"This is one of the hottest news the billionaire playgirl has been featured in so far"

All these and many more are what the city is saying about me. Who took the picture and who is responsible for this ruckus?

My head hurts with the attempt of thinking too much, once again my breath changes and I'm feeling suffocated. I've been having many panic attacks lately and this is the worst timing for such news. My hands begin to shake as I gasp for air, with my mouth wide open, I reach out for the drawer and grab my medication. With the tip of my finger dipped into the substance, I bring it in contact with my mouth and lick while still gasping for breath.

At exactly 4pm, I left the office to get my head cleared of the news and the aura. I haven't heard from Vicky since but the whole company isn't working right today. Driving my way to my favorite coffee shop to have a sip.

The aroma of freshly made coffee greets my nostrils as I walk into the Cafe. I didn't get in the queue like everyone else, I made my way to the secluded spot where I usually sit. Don't ask me how I got in without being recognized by the masses. Of course, I have my face covered up with my favorite black hoodie.

My cup of coffee is served and I smiled at her, she reciprocated and left without another word.

Coffee is my best thing, I drink it whenever I feel any kind of emotion. It always has its way of boosting my mood. But right now, I guess this isn't working, the taste is not what it used to be. I look at my phone and sigh, Vicky hasn't called till now. What exactly is going on there?

With curiosity in me, I decided to call the only person I'm suspecting, Darren.

"Hello, beautiful. Today must be a very special day," he says.

"Why did you do it?" I questioned, cutting him off from the unnecessary sentiment.

"Will you believe me if I tell you the truth?"

"What truth Darren? You got my picture taken and it's all over the news. What truth do you want to tell me," I fired at him with all the bottled-up emotions in me?

"I guess you already know the answer, I will see you soon," with that, he hangs up without warning.

I pushed the phone away and go for my cup of coffee. Gulping down the hot liquid which is now tasteless on my tongue, not minding its burns. I held tightly onto it, squeezing the life out of the cup with the liquid dropping into my mouth at a steady speed.

"Wow, you might want to slow down Miss Moore."

I paused immediately and looked up to see the person standing in front of me with his regular smile. How did he get here?

With another glance, I narrow my eyes at him and he chuckled.

"I never knew you visit here," he says.

I'm lost for words, I don't even know how I'm feeling now or how I should be feeling but having Alex William standing in front of me all smiling should lighten up my heart.

The creepy smile curled up my lips and I let it out, my legs carries me up as if on steroids, and at a steady speed, I ran into his arms and held him tight. I'm not letting go, not even anytime soon. I closed my eyes and breath in the new air that's mixed with strawberry, I smile as his hands slowly engulf me. I'm sure he is smiling as well, I can feel it by the way my heart is beating faster and the way the butterflies are jubilating in my stomach.