Elijah's POV Fuck, fuck. Fuck, this was not how I envisioned this going. I wanted to tell Tyler first then let him break the news to Mei. I couldn't be the one to break the news to a pregnant woman that her best friend had miscarried. "Elijah, tell me you're joking. Tell me that you're just making banter with Tyler." Mei stood in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes glassy. How the hell had she moved so fast? I sighed and ran my hand through my head, " I'm sorry Mei, I didn't want you to find out like this but it's true. Coraline miscarriage two days ago, she hasn't been feeling good so that's why I brought Becca here." Mei let out a loud sob and clutched her belly, shit, I couldn't afford for another baby to be lost. "No, no, no, God, not Coraline. God, please not Coraline." She started to slip but Tyler and I immediately caught her and set her down on the couch. "Mei baby, calm down," Tyler begged, squeezing her hand. " Mei, please, take in deep breath
Coraline's POVElijah Warren was one manipulative bastard, I finally saw how he became a billionaire, he was good at getting people to do what he wanted. From the moment the first piece of pancake, I knew I was gone. My stomach cried silently for more food and it took everything in me not to grab the fork from his hand and feed myself. God, what was I doing? Why was I wallowing in self-pity? Why was I hiding away from the real world? My baby was gone and she was never coming back, I had Becca to think about. I missed my baby girl so much, I missed having a purpose and a reason to get out of bed. I should get back into the real world, my problems weren't going to go away if I kept hiding and sooner or later Elijah was going to get tired of taking care of me and he would snap. 'Although I was still enjoying the care he was giving me these days, maybe I should continue acting the way I was for another day or two.' A sneaky thought popped into my head. What the fuck? When did I become
Elijah's POVJordan jerked, shocked at the volume of my voice, I could see the tension leave his shoulders, he was slowly beginning to trust me, fool."I'm sorry boss," Kia grunted, he turned to Jordan, " I'm sorry." "Jordan, do you accept his apology?" I watched him closely, wondering if he was going to be consumed by greed and refuse. If he refused Kia's apology, things were only going to get worse for him when I handed him over to Kia to finish up but if he accepted, I would make his death easy by killing him myself.He nodded, good boy. "So you said you are not a criminal, I accept your words. So why the hell are you here? There must be a reason why you're here." I flipped through the file like there was something important that I was searching for but I was actually giving him some minutes to get his lie ready."I didn't d…do an…anything wrong. I…I s…swear I didn't." He answered in a hoarse voice. He grimaced as he spoke, Kia must have crushed his windpipe while handling him.
Coraline's POVIt was past 8 and Elijah wasn't back yet, it wasn't that I was waiting for him to return but it was past time for dinner and I was starving, I crept out of the room two hours ago and went to the kitchen, the refrigerator was stuffed with food but I contemplated If I should take some food or not. Elijah was a smart man, he might realize that something was missing from the refrigerator. I closed the door and just grabbed an apple from the fruit tray. I would have to make do with a piece of fruit for now. I stayed in the living room until I heard the gates opening, I quickly rearranged the room and ran upstairs to my room. I lay in bed and counted the minutes until Elijah would come to see me, it would take another thirty to an hour for him to get changed, heat the food, and come upstairs. I busied myself scrolling through my Kindle, tricking my mind to think I was reading. After what seemed like an eternity, there was a quick rap on the door, I got myself into position
Elijah's POV"So what you're saying is that she came downstairs today, had breakfast demanded that you bring Becca home, and that she wanted to get back to work tomorrow?" Mei asked, her eyes filled with disbelief."I'm telling you the truth, I was just as shocked as you are right now. When she came downstairs, I almost thought it was a ghost. I thought I was hallucinating but it's true. She claims she's fine now, healthy as a horse, I don't want to believe her and I think she's acting but damn she's a good actress.When I told her I wasn't going to let her go to work tomorrow, do you know what she did? She laughed. Mei, I'm not lying, she laughed in my face and said she couldn't wait to see how I was going to stop her. I swear, she was acting like her old obnoxious and rude self." I slotted my hands into my pockets and rocked on my heels.Mei shook her head, " I just can't believe it but I'm happy though. I'm so happy that she's finally going back to her old self but we should still
Coraline's POVI did not go to work the next day like I had said I would, nor did I go the day after. I laid in bed all day wondering if I was doing the right thing by wanting to get on with my life or if I should still be mourning my dead child. A week rolled over and on Monday I was tired of my little pity party, I got dressed and went downstairs to prepare breakfast for Becca and I, when I was done with that, I woke Becca up, bathed her, and got her ready for daycare. We were eating breakfast when Elijah walked down, dressed impeccably in a charcoal designer suit, his hair was slicked back and he looked ready to dominate the boardroom, so basically the way he looked every morning. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the way I was dressed, his eyes were slightly widened and his body was stiff, " you going somewhere?" He asked.I wiped the crumbs of eggs from Becca's face before responding, " Oh yeah, I'm going to work. It's Monday and I know the cafe is going to be very busy, Mei
Coraline's POVI breezed through the day like I hadn't been off work for three weeks, everything was muscle memory and I could do all my tasks with my eyes closed. My regular customers had missed me and I spent the whole day chatting with different people, mostly asking about my health and I reassured them that I was fine. By the time it was the closing hour, I felt rejuvenated and refreshed, I had made the right decision by coming to work today.Mei walked out of the kitchen while I was removing my bag from my locker, " Are you in a hurry to leave?" She asked, leaning against the wall. I checked my watch, I still had about fifteen minutes left before I had to go and pick Becca up from daycare "I've got some time, you need anything?" Mei wrinkled her nose, " Not really, I just wanted to ask how you are doing like you weren't too stressed today right? If it's too much, you can still take time off or reduce the hours you work." We left the locker room and returned to the main shop.I
Elijah's POVWhat gave her the right to think that I didn't mourn my child? I loved that baby, I didn't get to know them, I didn't get to hold them, I didn't even get to see them but I loved them with all my heart. Fuck Coraline for thinking that about me, what had she expected me to do when she had hit rock bottom, to hit rock bottom as well. I had to be strong for her, I had to be strong for Becca. Hell, being strong was the only thing I knew how to do. I couldn't stand her right now, I couldn't stand to be in this house with her, I needed to get out. I left the house and got into my car, I called Tyler first but he didn't pick and I decided against calling him a second time, he was going to be a dad soon, and he didn't need to deal with my bullshit, I needed to call someone I could get shitfaced drunk with and they would be down for more drinks.I called Kia, we weren't what I would call best friends but I knew if push came to shove, he would have my back for anything and everyth
1 year laterCoraline's POVIt was a balloon mayhem in the Warren mansion. Today was the twins' one-year birthday and it was already off to a disaster. I didn't know who had come up with the genius idea to blow up ten giant balloons and tie the hand of my son, Judah, to it. Now I had a semi-heart attack when I saw him floating in the backyard. Okay, he wasn't actually floating but his legs were no longer steady on the ground. Warren and his ridiculous friends, one whom my son had been named after had been in charge of getting the balloons ready but it seemed that had something else in mind. Something life-threatening and death-worthy, they just laughed and took pictures of him floating. They were having way too much fun with the helium pump and I was not having it."Elijah, bring my son down this instant. Get those ridiculous balloons off him before I get there." I shouted from the backdoor, immediately they swooped into action, Elijah grabbing Judah while the other guys found the sci
Elijah's POVJudah, Kia, and I were in one car, three of my men were in another car behind us, and Tyler and Gavin had stayed back. Gavin was still tracking Coraline's location, he was on the phone so he could tell us immediately if the location changed.Kia pulled up in front of a shabby bungalow on the outskirts of town, if Judah and Gavin hadn't shown up, I would never have been able to trace Coraline to this place.We got out of the car and approached the front door, every man had brought out their guns and we were ready to shout at anyone who wasn't Coraline. That had been my order, shout first, ask questions later.I tried to open the door but it was locked, I moved back a bit and then opened the door with a resounding right kick, breaking the lock.I rushed into the house, Judah and Kia following closely behind me, the living room was deserted, and I spotted Coraline's black purse on the crummy sofa which was a good sign that she was here. "There's no one in the kitchen," Juda
Elijah's POVIt had been six hours since Mrs Smith informed me about Coraline's disappearance, I had my men out searching everywhere for Jeremy. I was reviewing all the places he usually frequented when I had my men watch him and he wasn't at any of them. It took Kia who was my hacker about an hour to track Coraline's phone. It had been tossed on the road, a few blocks away from the cemetery. I had moved Mrs Smith and Becca back to my grandfather's house, I wanted Becca somewhere I could keep my eyes on her. I had a feeling Jeremy was going to come after her and Coraline would never forgive me if Jeremy could get Becca and I would never be able to forgive myself. Right now I was lost, I had no leads on where Coraline was, I had exhausted all the clues I had and they all led to dead ends.Kia and my men were in the kitchen that was now our makeshift conference room. Tyler was here as well and had no idea who Kia and the other men were, he just assumed they were my security. My grandfa
Elijah's POV"Well, you royally fucked up," Judah said from the other side of the call. I sighed and ran my hand over my face, tell me something I already didn't know."I told you then, I reminded you constantly that getting your revenge was going to end badly. Trust me, I've been there, it never ends well for the parties involved." He continued.I kissed my teeth, "I know, dude. I never knew I was going to end up falling in love with her. Everything is so messed up, I hurt Coraline so bad that she couldn't look me in the eye." I was seated on my childhood bed in my childhood room, I looked completely out of place with the grunge band posters on the wall and the large poster of Metallica covering almost half of the wall. God, judging from the kind of music I used to listen to, I must have been such a difficult and troubled teen. How did my grandfather and Mrs Smith survive living with me?I heard Judah shuffling paper from his side of the call. It was already evening here but it was s
Coraline's POVI cried myself to sleep that night. Mrs Smith came over, she said Elijah had asked her to come and stay with us as I would need help with Becca. According to her, Elijah had shown up at his grandfather's house with a suitcase in her, looking like a puppy that had been kicked repeatedly.Janet made sure to emphasize that Elijah was sad, regretful, and wallowing in shame. I acted like I was hard of hearing and couldn't hear a word she was saying. Janet completely took over the operations of the house, she let me get the alone time that I needed and took care of Becca. She brought me food and although I had no appetite, I knew I would be punishing my babies by not eating so I forced myself to eat. Elijah called but I had handed over my phone to Janet so only she and Becca spoke to him. For two days, I was a complete shadow of myself, I barely got out of bed except to eat and pee, I realized that I was gradually falling into a depressive state and I hated Elijah for doin
Coraline's POVI raised my hand, I was not in the mood to hear his excuses because I knew Elijah, he was a sweet talker, he would always have something to say. "Stop. Stop it please, it's exactly what it looks like. I'm not stupid, neither am I blind. I can't believe I ever trust you. I can't believe I actually thought I was falling in love with you. What a big joke. Did your grandfather really say he was going to cut you out of his will or was that just a lie to get me involved with you? You know what, I don't care. I'm done." I snatched my phone from his hand, turned, and rushed out of his room as fast as I could. I entered Becca's room and slammed the door, I hurried to her wardrobe, got out a suitcase, and began to fill it with clothes, toys, and everything Becca would need for some days. I grabbed a backpack and put in some extra things. I wore the backpack and began to roll the suitcase out of the room. Elijah was waiting outside, his eyes widened when he saw the bag in my han
Coraline's POVI hadn't heard anything from my stalker in about two months and I was starting to think he had forgotten about me and had moved on. Jeremy had been away for over a month now and we were holding a welcome back party for him. He had gone back home to stay with his mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily it was quickly detected, she had gotten surgery and was now better. So both of our pastry chefs were out, Mei had to call in a favor from one of her culinary friends and they came with a staff and helped out for the month.I was now eight months pregnant and Elijah had officially banned me from working behind the counter as the barista so my new role was being the manager. Elijah preferred if I didn't work at all but I refused, I couldn't just leave the cafe when Mei was absent and Jeremy as well, it would have been too hard on Louise to keep the cafe running. We had hired no hands to help out in the cafe and increased our coffee stations as the cafe was
Elijah's POVFriday rolled by and we were currently seated in the courtroom listening to the lawyers use legal jargon as they went back and forth with each other. Coraline was shivering next to me but I held her hand tight and drew circles on her lap to calm her down. I had my gaze fixed on Reginald who was clad in a black robe looking regal and supreme but I knew better. He made eye contact a few times and I made to smile at him, acknowledging him. He always looked away quickly and stared at the papers on his desk.I tuned out the happenings in the court at some points as I had no idea what they were talking about and also since I knew there was no way we were going to lose. I came back to reality when Coraline began to shake my shoulders, crying. My heart sank, my first thought was Reginald had pulled a fast one on me, my second thought was to get my assistant to send out the videos of Reginald's son, and my third thought was to call Kia and get him to dispose of good old Reggie.Co
Elijah's POV"I got the information that you wanted," Tyler announced as he entered my office, he waved the file in his hand. He got to the desk and dropped in front of me."Thanks." I collected the file, opened it, and flipped through it."Why do you need it? What are you going to do with the information of the judge in charge of Coraline's case?" He sat down and crossed his legs.I lifted a shoulder and dropped it, "Nothing much, I want to run a background check on him and see if he's reliable. For what it's worth, Blossom could have bribed him to rule in their favor. "Tyler frowned, " I highly doubt that, Judge Reginald is an upright man from what I've heard. I don't believe he can be easily bribed."I snickered, oh how naive Tyler was. I picked up my phone and shot a text to Kia to investigate Judge Reginald, I needed a full background check on him and his family, I wanted eyes and ears on them every minute of the day. I also wanted to know if he had met with Blossom recently. Ki