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The atmosphere at the conference table immediately grew intense as Mathew, Dean, Tommy, Eli, Elmer, Cora, and Amelia sat at the table the moment Dean uttered, "Mother has confirmed that Peach is hell-bent on marrying Elijah.""This is all your daughter's fault," Elmer mumbled underneath his breath, rubbing his temple in frustration."What did you say?!""It's Melina's fault for bringing that damn bastard into our lives... If she didn't bet on his ass, Peach and her mother would have still known their place beneath us, Tommy would have eventually driven those two out of the motel, and I wouldn't be losing my company to those two. Damnit!"As Dean moved his lips to speak, his phone started ringing, causing him to pull it out of his pocket. When he noticed who was calling, he answered, mumbling, "Mason,""Who is Melina's ex-husband?!" Mason's voice boomed from the other side of the line, sounding furious."Elijah? Why are you asking about him?""Who is he, Dean?!"A frown crept across De
As Matt drove the car in silence, he looked back at Elijah, staring out the opened passenger window, and then he mumbled, "I know you don't talk a lot about your marriage to Melina, but I think Peach is really in love with you...""You will think those words twice after being with a manipulative, twisted psychopath who is willing to do anything to get what she wants," Elijah mumbled, not taking his eyes off the scenery. "Women know the power that they have... They use it like a weapon. They know how to wield it, to control it. To get them what they want."Sighing, Matt turned around and looked at him for a second, seeing the pain reflected in Elijah's brown eyes as he said this before looking back at the road ahead, mumbling, "Not all of them are like that.""I know. And I am hoping for Peach to just be Peach... I don't think I can handle her changing on me later because, to be honest, I am..." Elijah mumbled, pausing as he stared at a store and then blurted, "Make a stop over there.
Even though the atmosphere of the Hayes mansion was calm, their expressions as the family sat around the table were anything but peaceful. Slowly, Madam Jewel set her glass down, then looked up from her plate at everyone else sitting with her.“Iris, honey… It's been a while since you have stopped by the mansion… I hope your father is not still mad at Josh.” Madam Jewel said calmly."Well," Iris mumbled, holding back her words.“If he is, we can try to explain it to him and make amends. But in all honesty, Josh really didn't know that Elijah was in a gang and had so many men to his name, you know? It wasn't like Josh knew what he did for a living… He didn't know he was a thug.""The thing is," A nervous look crossed Iris's face as she darted glances around the table and back to her grandmother-in-law, letting out, “My dad is still upset... I tried talking to him, but he wouldn't listen to anything that has Josh's name in it..."There was a brief pause as Iris remembered how distur
With a scowl on her face, Melina turned around to look at Peach, and then she looked over at Matt, a few distances away from them, standing close to the wall, his back resting against the concrete, his arms crossed tightly over his chest."Who is he?" Melina asked her tone hard, making it evident that she wasn't letting this go easily.Knowing that the only reason she and Elijah were here was that that was what her mother wanted, Peach tried not to show anything on her face, trying her best to keep her emotions hidden."He's Elijah's friend," Peach answered after taking a deep breath and calming her raging mind."Elijah has a friend?" Melina scoffed in confusion, raising an eyebrow at Peach before glaring at Matt."What do you want, Melina?" "Elijah,"Silence fell over them, Peach holding her gaze straight ahead as Melina stared angrily at her, waiting for an answer, only finding it odd when Peach kept silent with an unreadable expression."I want Elijah back... After all, I was marr
Gazing calmly at her reflection in the mirror, Peach just stared, trying to find words to describe what she was feeling as she smiled softly, whispering, "I'm getting married..." Many mixed emotions were running through her mind, and some of them seemed a little too loud for her to be silent, but she was happy, ecstatic even. For so long, it felt like this would be a day that would never come, marrying Elijah was something she never really thought would happen, but here she was, about to wed him. "Why am I so shaky?" She giggled out nervously, not knowing how to handle the rush of emotions flowing through her as her heartbeat raised. "Peach, honey," Miss Grace's sudden voice echoed from outside her bedroom door, causing her to flinch slightly. "Can I come in?" "Yes, mama," Peach called out, looking back at her door frame. A second later, Miss Grace came inside, closing the door behind her with a smile on her face, crying softly, "My baby." Since Albert died, it had just been h
As her hair was getting done, and her face touched up with makeup, Peach kept telling herself to breathe, and knowing that Elijah was waiting on her at the altar made her less afraid."Mama, what time is it?" Peach asked, her eyes closed as the lady brushed a soft peachy color eyeshadow on her eyelids."Two o'clock," Miss Grace said with a smile, and yet, tears stained her face, feeling overwhelmed by her daughter becoming a bride before her eyes, and every stage of Peach growing up from an infant to a woman kept playing in her head."The wedding starts at three... do you think we will be late?" "No, honey. The drive to the ceremony is not that long."Pulling her hand away from Peach's face, the makeup artist smiled and said, "Well, the bride is ready to get dressed."Slowly, Peach opened her eyes to see her reflection staring back, and her lips pulled upward into a soft smile."You look beautiful, honey." Miss Grace whispered as Peach stood from the chair."Thanks… can you please h
Without saying a word, Elijah put his phone back into his pocket, trying to compose himself, even though rage was eating at him from the inside.“Are you okay?” Peach whispered, seeing a slight shift in his expression when his gaze rested on the Hayes, glaring at each member of the family.“Yeah, I am...” Elijah muttered, turning towards Peach with a smile and then kissing her lightly on the head to distract her from the fact that his eyes still had a glint of anger hidden there.Resting his chin on her head as he pulled her into a hug, Elijah's gaze met with Madam Jewel, and his jaw tightened.At five the reception hall at a beachside hotel was filled with the sounds of chatter, laughter, music, and the noise of the ocean crashing onto the sand.And the audacity of the Hayes to follow them to the reception party had Elijah clutching tightly onto his wine glass while a bunch of his men with their girlfriend congrats Peach, pulling her into calming chitchat.His grip only tightened as
The dull morning light in her face with her body wrapped into Elijah's arms, Peach just stared at him, his lashes, the details of his lips, unable to look away. Her hand rested on his cheek, and looked at his shut eyes, stroking his skin lightly as she felt her breathing become slow and steady. “I know it was just nonsense that she said, but I still can’t get her words out of my head...” Peach whispered, leaning in closer until there were no more inches between them, their breaths mingling together. “What can't you get out of your head?” Elijah asked, his voice low and soothing as his eyelids slowly opened. Not expecting him to even be awake, Peach froze, trying desperately to think of something, anything because she didn't want to tell him about the conversation between Melina and her. “Nothing,” Peach quickly replied, pulling her face back, feeling a heat rise to her cheeks. “It's nothing. You should go back to sleep. Yesterday was hectic, and my crying kept you up late.”