Elijah's POV
My grandfather had to be kidding me, this man was nowhere near death but he wanted to have his will read. He was the healthiest seventynineyearold I knew but I would just humor him.
I parked my Audi Q8 in the garage and then headed up to his office.
"Hey Mrs. Smith, how are you today?" I bumped into his housekeeper, the stout grey-haired lady with more wrinkles than I could count, and smiled as she saw me. She was retired now but she never got married or had kids so she practically lived with my grandfather, I suspected something was going on between them but I wasn't going to say a damn thing.
"Elijah, my boy, it's been a while, you never come to visit anymore." I hugged her and bent so she could pinch my cheek. It was our normal tradition.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Smith, work has been hectic. I'll just talk to Grandfather quickly and I'll stay for lunch. I miss eating your famous spaghetti Alfredo."
" I'll make that for you then. Make sure you stay for dinner, my boy." She pinched my cheek again and waddled away. I might be thirty-one but in her eyes, I was still the raggedy seventeen-year-old with a chip on his shoulder and hatred for the world.
I knocked on the door to grandfather's study, " It's Elijah, can I come in?"
"Yes." I opened the door, entered, and shut it. My grandfather, Simon Warren, was a proud and smart man who had grown his father's small newspaper company into a multimillion-dollar empire. To most people, he was stoic and imposing, I had felt the same way about him when I initially met him but after years of knowing him, I realized underneath that stern facade was a huge prankster and manchild.
Right now as his lawyer blotted his forehead with his napkin, trying to keep up with Simon's dictation, the culprit was twirling around in his swivel chair, playing a game on his iPhone.
Grandfather's eyes lit when they fell on me, he placed his phone on the desk, "Elijah, welcome, take a seat, let's get this meeting started." I gave him a small bow and then sat in front of him.
"Scotch?" He gestured to the bottle of liquor on the desk.
"None for me, I'm driving. Grandfather, why did you call for this will reading? Aren't wills supposed to be read when the person is dead?" I rested my back on the chair and crossed my arms and legs.
"Typically, but I'm a nonconventional man, what's the fun in having a will if you can't see people's faces when the will is read? This is much better.'. As I earlier said, a huge manchild.
"Gideon, go ahead with the will reading." Gideon, the lawyer, gulped and pushed his glasses up then began to read, he went through a lot of things that didn't concern me and I blocked him out until I heard my name.
"What! Tell me this is a joke, it's a fucking prank right, haha so funny. Now read the actual thing." I jumped to my feet. As I also mentioned before, my grandfather was a prankster. This was one of them.
Gideon cleared his throat and adjusted his spectacles. "I bequeath my company to my grandson, Elijah Warren. However, he can only inherit it along with my fortune if he marries and has a child within the year that the will is read. Failure to do so will result in the sale of my company and donation of my fortune to Beating Hearts Foundation."
My heart pounded, blurring my vision as though I had hypoglycemia.
"Grandfather, what on earth? Don't you dare! You know very well that I have no interest whatsoever in marriage or children!"
Grandfather smiled; I wanted nothing more than to wipe off his smug expression.
"Elijah, I don't want you to be alone after I'm gone. You deserve the kind of love your grandmother and I shared: someone to come home to and children who brighten up your days."
"Yeah right! Just like Mom brightened up your life when she was high ninety percent of the time?"
Grandfather sighed and scratched his head. "I understand all too well that your parents' toxic relationship was your only experience with family love. Not everyone is like them; for twenty-six years, yours truly enjoyed happiness with Grandma."
"I don't care about any of this! You cannot just cut me out because of personal choices! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked at taking Warren Media where it is today? And now you're kicking me out!"
"Son, "Grandfather spoke calmly, "that's precisely why we are reading this will now—so that it catches you by surprise giving you enough time before next year comes around—to find someone whom you would want as a wife so that together both of you could produce some great-grandbabies for me."
Marriage wasn't something I ever saw myself doing; yet somehow, some way—I needed leverage against him.
"Okay then Simon Warren let's work something out here: while getting married isn’t exactly what appeals most to me right now but having a child might just be feasible...I'll hire a surrogate mother who can give birth on our behalf thus providing us both—that great-grandbaby which means so much for us all!"
Silence fell upon us whilst Gideon gestured towards grandfather signaling they should discuss further behind closed doors.
Eventually turning back around grandad swiveled in his chair extending an arm forward.
"You got yourself a deal young man but remember one thing: make sure that baby arrives before next year ends."
Clasping grandfather's hand firmly into mine shaking it assuredly saying: "It’s settled then!"
"That’s terrible news Mei", Tyler said, pulling me from deep thought and realizing they were staring at me expectantly waiting for a response.
"I’m sorry what did ya say again?" I scratched my head nonchalantly wondering why she appeared distressed.
Mei rolled her eyes"Cora…her sister-in-law Blossom showed up causing a ruckus threatening eviction tossing Cora and Becca’s belongings outside."
Tyler chimed in lawyer mode stating “If the house is not owned by Vince then legally speaking Blossom has every right.”
" She can sue her since she can’t evict without prior notice however won’t change anything or get house back” adding little value given situation bleakness felt throughout the room
Mei frowned and drew her eyebrows together, "I can't believe Cora lost her home. I offered to let her stay with us but she declined. I don't understand why she won't accept my help."
"Well, because Cora is proud. She doesn't like owing anyone and doesn't want any assistance. Let her be; she'll figure things out, "I said while playing with my food, feeling weighed down by my conversation with my grandfather.
Mei gasped, "Elijah, you're so cruel! How could you say that about Cora?"I raised an eyebrow but didn't deny it. "You're right though; we need to support our friend."
I dropped my fork and pushed away my plate while gesturing for the waiter to bring the check. "Coraline is your friend, not mine - good luck."The waiter arrived; I paid for our meal and stood up to leave. "Where is Coraline staying now?"
Mei brightened up at this question: "Oh yes! She's staying at your hotel - The Deluxe! Can you call someone and make sure she has everything she needs?"
Hearing Coraline was supposedly staying at my hotel made me suspicious: there was no way on earth that Coraline could afford a room there! But instead of expressing doubt outrightly, I grinned as a genius idea came into mind: "Really? Okay then...see you guys tomorrow!"And just like that, I left the restaurant and immediately drove straight towards my hotel whereupon entering into reception met Carrie-the concierge.
"Oh wow. Good evening Mr. Warren, welcome back again. The presidential suite should be ready if needed tonight. How may I assist?"She exclaimed.
"No thank you. Carrie, a friend of mine booked a room earlier today. I would love to send in a complimentary dinner for them. Her name is Coraline Warren, she should have come along with a little girl."
"I will check" She replied whilst typing through their computer screen. Afterward, she frowned: "Sir, I am sorry. There seems to be nobody here under such a name"
This confirmed what I had suspected all along: "Are You certain? Perhaps another name was used. If I show you her picture, maybe you can recognize her?"Carrie nodded affirmatively-and thus, I showed Her a clip from Mei's wedding where both Mei and Coraline were present.
"I remember Her. She came around asking questions concerning our rooms and prices, but never actually checked in."
"Okay.Thank You very much, Carrie. You've been helpful. Enjoy Your night!"
Carrie smiled, "Thank You too, Sir".
Leaving the premises, I felt ecstatic. Coraline thought She had deceived Mei-but guess what?-she couldn’t deceive Me! I always stayed one step ahead of Her. I couldn’t wait to rub this fact in Her face tomorrow morning!
**********
Coraline's POV
I barely slept last night, with every small movement I made, the bed creaked, and I was aching in places I never expected to ache. It felt like I had aged ten years. I dropped Becca off at daycare and drove to work.
The first thing I did when I got behind the counter was to make myself a cup of coffee extra strong, I needed all the caffeine I could have to get through the day. After prepping the cafe opened for the day and our first customer walked in.
"Hello people, how's today? It's such a splendid day, isn't it?" Elijah strolled into the cafe, he moved like he owned the place.
My junior barista sighed dreamily as he walked up to the counter, I jabbed her softly. " Don't waste your air on this demon."
"Now, Coraline, I heard that and it wasn't very nice. Did you enjoy your night at The Deluxe?" My shoulders stiffened. Why the hell was he bringing that up?
I curved my lips, " I did, I enjoyed it a lot. I can't wait to go back there tonight."
" Wow, that's a surprise, you see I was at The Deluxe last night, I happen to be acquainted with the owner and I asked for your room number. Surprisingly they couldn't find anyone with your name registered in the system." Elijah ran his finger over the counter.
My whole body reacted to his words, I froze in my spot.
"I wonder what happened? How did you get to spend the night in The Deluxe if your name isn't in the system? I wonder how Mei will feel about this when I tell her." He grinned and retracted his finger.
Holy fucking shit.
Coraline's POV"I should go speak with Mei, is she in the kitchen? I have a premonition that she will be interested in hearing this tale."Elijah adjusted his coat and began to depart, but I reached across the counter and grasped his hand."Don't you fucking dare?"I snarled. Mei would be devastated if she found out that I had lied. Elijah observed my grip on his hand, smirked, then flicked it away."Louise," I beckoned to my junior barista, "can you cover for me for just five minutes? There's some trash that needs taking care of.""Of course, only five minutes though," She replied. It pained me to leave her as we were currently experiencing our busiest period. With my cup of coffee in hand, I escorted Elijah over to a table facing the entrance of the kitchen; in case Mei emerged unexpectedly, I wanted to be able to spot her before she saw us. We seated ourselves and leaned forward on the table.I took a swig of my drink before talking, "So what do you want from me now Eli? Do you want
Coraline's POVShit! Elijah sat opposite me, drenched in a mixture of my saliva and lukewarm coffee. He gritted his teeth, brought out his handkerchief, and wiped his face."That was not how I saw this going. Why the hell did you do that?!" He asked, scrubbing the coffee stain out of his white shirt."What the hell did you expect from me? You just dropped a huge bomb on me. What the fuck is ' I want to make a baby with you '? Who the hell talks like that?" " Look, I'll set you up nicely with a lot of cushion money if you agree to do this with me. I need a baby and you're the only woman who I know wouldn't try to use a baby to lock me down." I couldn't believe the words this Asshole was spewing out."Why the fuck will I want to have a child with you? Why would I hurt an innocent child by doing that?" " Because I'm richer than you can possibly imagine and you need my money. I know you're fertile since you already have a child, I need a baby and you need money." He knows I'm fertile,
Coraline's POV The stench of antiseptics and blood was the first thing that hit me when I regained consciousness. I could hear the beeping of different machines and there was a slight sting on my arm, I opened my eyes and I could see was white, I tried to twist my body so I could look around but my stiff body retaliated."Fuck!" A sharp pain went through my right arm to my brain, I shut my eyes as the pain registered in my brain."Cora! Oh my God, Cora, you're awake?" Mei's face flooded my field of vision. "Mei, what the hell happened? Why are you here?" Mei's forehead creased with worry, " I got a call that you had fainted, I'm your emergency contact, you know. I got here as soon as I got the call. The doctor had already checked you, and he said you fainted because of stress and hypoglycemia, your sugar was fricking below 54mg/dl. Have you even eaten anything in the last 24 hours?"So not only was Becca in the hospital racking up the bill, I had joined her. God, I'll be glad if I
Elijah's POVWhen I saw the unknown number on the caller ID, I had not expected Coraline to be the person on the line and I had most definitely not expected her to say she wanted to be the mother of my child. I mean, I expected her to call me sometime in the future to ask for my help, but I hadn't known it would be so soon."Eli, are you there, or did a flesh-eating monster come out through a vortex and eat your raggedy behind." A smile crept on my face, " I'm here, I was trying to figure out if an alien had taken over your body but it seems like you're still your old deluded self." I could see Coraline rolling her cinnamon-colored eyes while her lips were twisted at the same time, it always amazes me to see her do it."Whatever, did you even hear what I said? I said I'll be your baby machine."" I heard you clearly, you don't have to repeat it, aren't you a little bit excited? And also stop using crass words, I already apologized for how I came off. Now tell me the reason you hurrie
Coraline's POVBecca's surgery had been successful and she was recuperating nicely, She was the easiest convalescent ever according to the nurses. Mei and Tyler had come to visit us for the first time after her surgery. Tyler sat on the chair next to the bed and played a game with Becca on his iPad while Mei sat next to me pulling out the different things she had brought for us.She was quiet and for Mei, that was never good. A quiet Mei was a dangerous Mei. I had a feeling she had a lot she wanted to say but she was still piecing them together."Hey, babe, can you watch Becca for a while, Cora and I are going to get some snacks from the vending machine down in the cafeteria." Mei flipped her hair to look at Tyler as she spoke.He gave her a thumbs up, " Sure, take your time. Becs and I need to beat this high score." " Thanks, let's go, Cora." Mei stood and stuck her fingers in the pockets of her jeans.I stared at the bag of snacks that was on the ground. We had enough snacks to las
Coraline's POVThe duffel bag dropped from my hold and hit the floor with a full thud. It felt like time had slowed and I couldn't understand what the hell was going on."Eli, what crack are you on? What are you talking about?" " Coraline, you told me this place was shabby but that's an underhype, this is a dump. You can't stay here with Becca, I can already count fifteen health hazards in this room."Rolling my eyes, " Eli, I understand your concerns and they are very valid but I didn't plan on staying here more than a week and Becca and I have been in the hospital for over three days. We haven't been here. I was going to use the money from our agreement to rent a nice apartment." He shook his head, " I can't allow that, you're going to be carrying my baby soon, and I don't want you to go through the stress of living in a small space. You'll need all the help you can get when you're pregnant and I can't be halfway across town if you have a weird craving or just want to rant."I rub
Coraline's POVI patted my chest and coughed loudly, my throat burned causing my eyes to well up with tears. "Shit, Coraline, are you okay?" He stood and touched my arm. I shook my head and shot him a glare, did I look like I was okay?"Fuck, you're choking. Water, water, you need water." He hurriedly picked up a cup of water and handed it to me. I enclosed my lips around the cool glass and gulped down the liquid. My airways cleared up and my throat freed up as the water pushed down the bolus.I slammed the glass on the table, anger running through my veins, and twisted my neck to glower at him."Are you insane? How could you tell me that while I was eating? Were you planning to kill me?!" I forgot that Becca was at the table with us until we squealed."Sorry baby, don't mind Mommy, I'm just a little bit tired." I reached over and squeezed her hand then twisted my neck in a creepy manner and glared at Elijah again.He took a sip of his wine before talking, " That wasn't my intention.
Elijah's POV"You're in a good mood, what's up?" Tyler asked as my new investors exited the conference room."What? Why do you think so?" I narrowed my eyes. " Well, you've had a small smile and you didn't snap at your PA when she brought the file two minutes later. You even said thank you to her. I swear I saw her eyes roll to the back of her head, she almost fainted." Wow, was I really that easy to read? Why the hell was I even happy, it wasn't like Coraline was pregnant yet. "It's nothing, I just woke up on the right side of the bed today. Don't give it too much thought, tomorrow I'm going to be my normal grouchy self."Tyler gave me a skeptical look but luckily he didn't press on the matter."Elijah, I didn't want to say this since we've been busy these past few days but now that everything has been taken care of, I can speak freely. What the loving psychotic fuck is going on between you and Cora? Mei told me that you took care of Becca's surgery fees and paid all their hospita
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