The Billionaire's Redemption

Chapter Three

With the act he put on towards his father, he knew that it wouldn't end there. He knew his father not to back down on anything of his interest until he achieved it. 

He had resorted to many dirty and illegal practices to secure contracts and deals on numerous occasions, as he discovered during his investigation of the company at his request.

One of the reasons he didn't take over the company was because of the secrets and dirty acts he discovered during the investigation. 

He entered his car, pressed the ignition button, and when he was about to drive out of the mansion, the thoughts of what happened flashed in his mind again.

"When will this end for God's sake?!" His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, and his face contorted into a mask of rage. 

With a grunt, he slammed his fist down on the wheel, then again and again. With each blow, his anger intensified and his frustration mounted.

His frustration became palpable as his emotions spilled over, like a dam bursting.

Exhausted by his outburst, he sank lower into his seat, his head resting on the steering wheel. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, trying to calm the storm that raged within him.

Suddenly, he ripped his tie from his neck, the knot loosening under the force of his yank. He then hurled it towards the backseat. 

As the pain from his throbbing head began to register, he adjusted his seat, reclining it slightly in an attempt to ease the tension. His body slumped further into the plush leather, his muscles relaxing as he surrendered to the weight of his thoughts.

His mind was a whirlwind of emotions—anger, frustration, and helplessness, swirling together in a chaotic storm.

"In just a few minutes, they ruined my happy day." He muttered. 

His joy was overshadowed by the conversation and its outcome, so he reached out to his therapist and friend, Henry, for support.

Henry was not a professional therapist, but he liked calling him that because talking to him in such situations did calm him down.

His friend told him that he was busy in his office.

"What's up? You sound down." He probably noticed from his tone.

"Nothing. I thought you were free so we could grab one or two drinks." He lied because he didn't want to disturb him with his problem, which might seem trivial to strangers.

Only he knew how much the situation weighed on him. He knew if he had told him that he needed his company and about what happened, he would instantly be on his way to be with him, leaving what he was doing.

"That's why you should get yourself a girl. Although you might not be in a serious relationship with the girl, finding a girl who is sexually attracted to you might help in this kind of situation by helping you to take your mind off your troubles." His friend chuckled.

He hung up immediately, hearing the word 'girl'. He despised that gender and wanted to have nothing to do with them. If he was opportuned to put an end to their existence, he wouldn't think twice before doing it.

He preferred having males around him except for the few, like his secretary, whose significance was essential.

As he adjusted his car seat, preparing for the journey away from the castle, he couldn't help but reflect on his past attempts to employ male secretaries. None had matched the competence and dedication of his current one, who was a female.

He drove to his favourite bar, a quiet place where he could relax and forget about his troubles. 

As he pulled into the bar's parking lot, he cast a wary glance around, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of attention. 

Because of his personality, he preferred a quiet and remote place for such kinds of situations to avoid paparazzi and people, especially ladies, disturbing his peace and seeking photographs with him and his autographs. Some had even tried to seduce him on several occasions.

One of the advantages of owning a famous entertainment agency was that he was more popular than some celebrities. Some ladies even formed a fanbase for him, which was full of people who could literally die for him. He just had to act like he appreciated them because it was one of those things that came with the job.

When he saw nobody, he hastened inside the bar.

With a cautious step, he entered the dimly lit bar, its familiar atmosphere enveloping him like a comforting embrace. The chatter of patrons, the clinking of glasses, and the subtle hum of music merged into a soothing symphony, lulling his troubled mind into a state of tranquilly.

He walked inside the bar with his baseball cap, which he had kept in his car for such occasions, and went to the counter, seeing that most of the seats were occupied.

He entered the bar and took a seat at the counter. He ordered a drink and took a sip, letting the alcohol burn a path down his throat. He felt a wave of relief wash over him.

With each sip, the weight of the day seemed to lift, replaced by a sense of calm and detachment. 

Beside him sat a man, his face flushed with drink and his eyes glazed over with a drunken stupor.

Immersed in the calming ambiance of the dimly lit bar, he found solace in the company of the soothing melody that gently flowed through the air. His worries, like fleeting shadows, seemed to recede into the background as the music enveloped him in its harmonious embrace. With each note, his head swayed subtly.

Just as he was fully immersed in the melody's embrace, the drunk man disrupted his peaceful reveries.

His lips moved in a disjointed attempt to form words, but his speech was a garbled mess of incoherent sounds. 

Alex sighed, trying to return his attention to the music, until the drunk man said something that caught his attention.

"To hell with all the women in this world! They should never have existed. No wonder Eve misled Adam. If she hadn't, we wouldn't have been in this situation." His despicable speech towards women got his attention as he wondered what could have prompted the utterance.

He tightened the baseball cap to conceal his anonymity and asked the man, "I am certain that a woman is the reason you are in this state." 

"How do you know?" He faced him, probably happy that someone finally gave him an ear to listen to his rants.

Alex slouched his drink, waiting to hear the man's tragic story.

"Would you believe that..." He belched and said, "Sorry."

"My girlfriend. What do I mean? My ex-girlfriend..." He pointed at his chest to reinforce his message, as if Alex were deaf.

"She cheated on me. If it had been someone worthy to cheat on, it wouldn't have pained me to this extent. She cheated on me with my employer, man. With the person that I pay salary to. Would you believe that?" He made an inebriated laugh.

Alex knew he was in pain, but he could only laugh because he was under the influence of alcohol.

"Really? That's so bad." Although Alex was also in pain, he wanted to hear the full gist of the man's pain, which would probably soften his own.

"The funniest thing is that there's nothing I didn't do for her. I provided everything for her. Every damn thing! Just mention it. Is it love? Is it my time out of my busy schedule? Is it money? Just mention it! " His voice reverberated off the walls of the bar, catching the attention of the entire room.

"You can never trust that gender."

Alex leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "That is why they are called snakes." 

 "I know the feeling. Women can be like that, can't they? They have this way of getting under our skin, making us feel things we never thought possible." He confessed.

"Yes! They are snakes. Women are shite!" The drunk man shouted.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one that knows they are, although you realised it late." Alex muttered, his gaze fixed on the amber liquid swirling in his glass.

"But you know what?" Alex said, his voice taking on a tone of gentle persuasion. 

"It's not worth letting them get to you like this. They're not worth your tears, your pain, or your despair."

"So you've ended things with her?" He asked him.

"Why not. I tried to forgive her after she apologised, but I couldn't get the scene out of my head. I mean, with my employer. I asked her what made her sleep with him, but she couldn't find a genuine reason." 

"What about your employer? Did you sack him?" A waitress who was stationed at the bar and served Alex asked.

"What about him? It's not his fault. I mean, if she threw such an advance at or that he did, I would have fucking slept with her." He replied, smiling sheepishly. 

"So you could cut ties with your girlfriend, now your ex, abruptly but couldn't do anything to your employer? Even the slightest rebuke? Uh?" She nodded in disbelief and chuckled simultaneously as she continued cleaning some glasses on the counter.

"What do you mean?" For the first time, Alex was prompted to throw a question not work-related at a female.

"I know it's a societal construct that makes the female to be blamed more than the male when things like this happen, but why would he call us such a pejorative word because of just one woman? Because of just his girlfriend. I mean, that's not sensible. It has become normal for men to cheat on their spouses, while it is often considered taboo or shameful for women to do the same. This double standard is unfair and unreasonable. Judging an entire community based on the actions of a few individuals is illogical." She scoffed again, not making eye contact with Alex, as her attention was focused on what she was doing.

"Your opinion isn't needed, woman!" The man rose up from his seat like he was trying to hit her, but Alex was fast enough to intervene and calm him.

The lady didn't flinch a bit at the man's reaction, which was surprising to Alex.

He wondered what could have happened if he hadn't interfered.

"Mister Perfect, I only have some pieces of advice for you." She dropped the last glass on the glassware rack and looked in his direction.

"If your name is Harry and on the next street or somewhere in the world, another person who bears your name steals something, and as a result, makes people or even the whole world label you as a thief because of something that the person did..." She paused, trying to sink the words into the man's brain.

"Not you, and you have never stolen anything in your life before. How would you feel? Is the world and people that labelled you a thief right or wrong for doing such?" As if she were an employer warning his employees, everywhere was so quiet that the sound of the needle that fell to the ground could echo in the club.

The music, once a rhythmic backdrop to the lively atmosphere, faded into an eerie silence. 

Her words were like a gentle breeze, stirring up the dust of complacency and revealing the flaws beneath, sending a shiver down the spines of those who listened. 

The music, which was audible before, seemed like it had stopped.

"The summation of what I said is that you shouldn't judge all ladies because of the bad experience you have had with your ex-girlfriend and maybe with some others, in case you don't grasp it due to the unnecessary sober state you are in. The weather is not always the same all over the world. Simple!" She took out some sets of glasses and started cleaning them like she didn't drop a bombshell by uttering words that made the club remain silent, exploded people's minds, and caught their attention as their jaws hung slack and their eyes gazed at her, including Alex', who was particularly mesmerised.

As much as he disliked women, the lady got his positive attention because he had never met anyone with such a mindset. He couldn't label her a feminist because most feminists would not agree with the assertion that society favours men over women in matters of infidelity. 

He quickly gulped his drink, paid, and left the club with his mood lightened—not because of the man's story anymore but because of the lady's words, which pierced into his impenetrable heart like a bullet piercing into a bulletproof vest.