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.”
Ignoring Jerome's call, Elijah met Peach's eyes and let out calmly, “Answer it,” Her eyes darted upward to meet his gaze before looking down at her phone screen and then accepting the call, putting it on speaker. “Peach, dear! Are you alright?” Madam Jewel's voice came from the other end of the line, causing Elijah and Peach to scoff at her fake concern. “Why wouldn't I be?” Peach said calmly, not breaking eye contact with Elijah. An awkward silence settled on the line, and it took a while before Madam Jewel spoke again. “Are you... sure?” Her tone was almost concerned, but they could hear the underlying hint of disappointment in it. “Yes,” Peach mumbled, struggling to cage the anger that flared up inside of her. “But... I heard... this morning that the motel burned down, and I was worried because that's where you and Elijah with Grace stayed.” “Yeah... It did burn down.” “And you are fine... Where are you guys staying?” Not wanting to answer that question, Peach didn't m
Anger immediately started to rise inside of her as Peach glared at Madam Jewel with a look of pure hatred, and without even realizing it, she blurted, “Grandpa left that company for me, and you can't just take what he gave to me away!”A faint chuckle escaped Madam Jewel’s throat as she gazed down at her granddaughter, before she replied, “Oh yes, I can... you know, I thought you were getting married to this... this human being because you want to own something in this family and be a part of us...”A pause followed her words as she watched Peach’s eyes for a sign of fear and submission and when she saw a slight flicker of emotion in her step granddaughter’s eyes, she smiled, knowing that she managed to hit Peach’s weak spot.“I will not tolerate the disrespect I am seeing from you, Peach, and since that's how you want to behave, I am taking this opportunity to let you know you aren't fit to take over any of the family business. I don't need an arrogant, selfish, and prideful woman w
The words that Elijah said to Jerome never left Peach's thoughts, even though the morning was now evening, and Elijah was sleeping.Adjusting her head on his warm chest, Peach looked at him, just staring, allowing her thoughts to run wild in her head, as she listened to his heart beating, feeling his chest rise and falling, listening to his breathing.‘What package were you talking about?’ Peach wondered as she bit her lower lip, thinking furiously.All of a sudden, she heard his phone go off, causing Elijah to shift slightly on the bed, hugging onto her waist tightly, and burying his face deeper into her neck.“Elijah, your phone,” Peach whispered, feeling reluctant to wake him and yet, also wanting an answer.“Hmm…” He mumbled sleepily, his voice barely audible.“Your phone…,” Peach repeated, her tone a lot louder than a few minutes ago as she tried again to shake him awake.Finally, Elijah opened his eyes, blinking slowly for several seconds. After a few more seconds he seemed to
A look of fear entered Meeks’ eyes, his expression twisting with anxiety, terror, and helplessness as he and Elijah continued to stare at each other. “Which will?" Mr. Meeks finally questioned. "The will that Mr. Hayes left Peach," Elijah stated plainly, averting his gaze to stare straight into the old man's eyes, daring him to try and lie. “Whi-ch o-ne…?” Mr. Meeks murmured, barely audible for anyone to hear. Then he saw Elijah's brows furrowing, and he knew that he was getting impatient as his eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward slightly in his chair. “Don't act like a dummy with me... speak louder.” Elijah uttered in a stiff tone. Immediately, Meeks' face turned pale, his body tensing, and then his eyes widened as he blurted out, “Oooh! Oh!! Do you mean the will Madam Jewel gave Peach the night of Mr. Hayes's death anniversary party?!” “Is there another will for Peach?” Elijah asked as he raised his eyebrows. “No! No... no... I was just scared and my mind took its time to
Gazing intensely into the bathroom mirror, Elijah reached for his toothbrush but then paused as a memory of Lawyers Meeks' words kept replaying in his head, the looks on his face when he said those words, and the way his body reacted a bit nervously to question about the will.Immediately, he grabbed his phone off the sink and scrolled for Ryan’s number until he got to it, dialing it.After ringing his number, the call got answered and Ryan's voice popped up through the speaker, “Good morning, Boss...”“I need us to discuss something important later on today, and I also need Matt and you this morning,” Elijah said as he watched the bathroom door reflection in the mirror slowly pushed open, and Peach popped her head inside.“Are we coming for the same reasons, or-”“Something like that, but there's more I need to pick your brains about.”“I am getting Matt, and we are on our way.”“Good, we will wait on you guys before we leave, so be here by nine.” Wondering who her husband was talki
As the security guards approached Elijah and the others, Ryan calmly took out a file from his briefcase and looked back at Elmer and the investors. “Well, I am a lawyer with a couple of degrees, including A Doctor of Juridical Science degree, and this is a valid will that both Mr. Hayes and the law enforcement officials' signatures are on, which proves everything that Peach has told you guys, that this company is now under her management,” Ryan explained calmly, taking out the document and showing it to the investors. “I have worked with Meeks before, and that is definitely his signature on this paper. He's a man of honor, and so am I,” Mr. Walker immediately stated, glaring at Elmer. The security reached the scene but immediately stopped out of confusion, seeing that no one was attacking Elmer and just stood there looking at each other. “It could be a fraud! Who knows...” Elmer answered, shrugging nonchalantly. “But we do know. You just blurted out that you thought the will got
The anger that ate at Elijah slowly faded, and he looked back to see his wife staring calmly at him, and yet, he couldn't stop caring for what she was thinking at that moment about him.Sighing, Elijah looked back at Elmer and scoffed, letting go of his collar, causing his back to hit the tile, and a cry escaped his throat.Elmer lay on the floor, holding his chest, crying and moaning, shaking his head as he tried desperately to hold in his sobbing, the room became so quiet that the sound of a pin drop could've been heard. Everyone was shocked by what was happening in the lobby, and Natalie's hands were trembling as she tried to remember the police number, her mind a mess.“Natalie! Have you called the police yet?!” Mr. Elmer cried in rage as the pain from his face intensified because of the volume of his voice, and he moaned out, “Natalie!!!”“Yessir, I’m sorry sir, um, I need help here...” Natalie stammered with a shaky tone.“What help?”“Umm... What's the police number?”“What th
This is the end of Elijah and Peach's chapter. I am thankful to everyone who has been with me from the beginning of this book till this very moment. The success of this novel happened because of your support. For the gem, coin, Reviews, and comments, I appreciate it all. This was one heck of a journey that I am glad to bring to an end. There are so many of you readers whose comments about your love for this book literally inspired me to update and finish it, and for all the positive energy most of you brought to this piece of work, I will forever remember those heartwarming comments.Goodbye.Signing out,Author Rever.
“Piki, stop.” Dan cried, afraid that she was going to get punished because of him.The noise coming from the children's section got the grown-up's attention, and then they hear a little girl, “Piki is beating up Kelvin.”Immediately, Peach and Elijah ran to the backyard with the other adults, and when the kids saw Elijah coming towards them, they split up, giving him access to his daughter.“Get off him, Piki,” Elijah said, frowning as his daughter raised her fist to strike Kelvin in the face again. “Now!”When she refused to listen, he grabbed her by her jumpsuit and pulled her off Kelvin, hugging her in his arms.Immediately, she started crying on her father's shoulder, choking on her tears.“Now what are you crying about?” Elijah said, caught between wanting to discipline her and comfort her.“Kelvin kicked my gift and hurt Dan!! I just wanted him to stop being mean to Dan!!” Piki cried, hugging her father's neck.Looking down at Dan, Elijah saw the cut on the back of his hand, and
Six SUVs in rolls came to a stop in front of the Syldavia Supermax prison, and five of their doors immediately opened and a bunch of men in black suits rushed for the third car's back door.When one of them opened it, Bryan Checks stepped out, adjusted his coat, and walked into the building. When the security on duty saw him, they immediately saluted him, and Bryan nodded before walking past them. “He’s such a faithful son. Even though his father is in prison for posting threats to the life of the president and important government officials and trying to kill him, he still shows up here every year to visit him.” A guard said as he watched Bryan walk away.“Yeah, he's a great son.” The other guard mumbled under his breath.A while later, after following all the prison procedures, Bryan was placed in a room with his dad cuffed to the table.“Get out of my face!!!” Mr. Landon screamed as loud as possible. “I don’t wanna see you! Get the hell out!!”A smirk played on Bryan's lips as he
The breathtaking garden in the back of the Maxwells mansion was extremely decorated with white tents with a makeshift ceiling designed with floral chandeliers.The altar was framed with a few oversized floral arrangements. It was simple but extremely elegant, and even the weather seemed to be in a good mood that day.“Da-Da!” Piki shouted in Mrs. Maxwell's arms when she saw Elijah approaching them from the opposite direction. “Dada! Dada!“There’s my Princess,” Elijah said when he reached them, grabbing her from in his mother's arms and kissing her cheeks repeatedly as her wild laughter filled the air. Then he looked at his mother and said, “I can't believe I am doing this for the third time again.”“You know what they say. Third time is the charm,” Mrs. Maxwell replied, smiling. “This time you and Peach are in a better place in your life. Piki is one year old, and you guys have given yourself a long time to heal from the past. Now, you two can seal your future again and start a new
“Three months! She's three freaking months,” Elijah mumbled, looking down at his baby and smiling at her in her crib. “Can she stop growing?”A laugh escaped Peach’s lips as she stared at her husband standing over their daughter's crib and then she walked over to him wrapping her arms around his waist, saying, “She is not going to stop growing. You have to prepare your heart to watch her become a woman.”“I don't want her to...” Elijah said as Piki grabbed his hand, trying to pull it into her mouth. “There’s nothing we can do about that, honey. All we can do is be there for her and record her growth, so we can have something to look back on. That's why today is important.”“I know, babe… Honestly, I can't wait for them to meet her.”A knock on the couple made Peach let go of Elijah and walked over to the door, and when she opened it, Miss Grace was standing there with a smile on her face.“Matt and the others are here.” Miss Grace said, causing Elijah to raise his head and gaze at th
Like a madman, Deacon opened fire on the SUV, bullets flying everywhere as he screamed, “Go to hell!”As the sound of bullets hitting the car from every angle, Matt, Dice, and Rookie kept their head down, and Matt could hear Elijah screaming from the other end of the call, “Matt, say something! Please! Are you guys okay?! Is anyone Hurt? Fucking tell me something, anything!”“We are okay, boss!” Matt shouted back, because of the deafening sound of the fires.Finally, silence ceased the atmosphere, and immediately, Dice raised his head, feeling glad that he was working for Elijah because of how built their vehicles were, and even though the car took a lot of hits, a single bullet didn't penetrate the car.Staring at Deacon, Dice immediately guess that he was out of bullets, and with a fifty-fifty chance that that was true, he jumped out of the car, causing Rookie to scream, “Dice, no!”When Deacon saw him coming toward him, he turned to run for his car, but like a wild cat, Dice lunged
With a smile on his face, Elijah held Piki with one hand, and in his other hand, his phone as he walked around the garden.It took a moment for his call to get answered, and when Bryan's face appeared in the video call, he blurted out, “I can not believe I am saying this, but congratulations, Senator Checks on winning the election.”It grew silent for a second, and then both men burst into laughter, excitement clear in each of their voices. “Thanks, Bro,” Bryan said after they had caught their breath. “For everything. I mean it from the depths of my heart. Today wouldn't have been possible without your help.”“I was just paying my debt to you.” Elijah teased, and then said with a bit of remorse in his voice. “I am just sad that I couldn't be there in person today to watch you speak to the public. But all of my men are going to be there to show my support.”“I appreciate that. Also, you got Piki and Peach to be there for, so I understand.” “Yeah,”The call went silent for a split sec
The sound of Piki screaming made Peach feel for Elijah, her fingers poking his nose and eyes as her palm rubbed against his face, and she whispered, “Babe, the baby is crying.”Sleepily, Elijah opened his eyes and then closed them, moaning out a breath as he mumbled, “I am up.”Yet, he was still laying with his eyes closed, but another scream from Piki made him jump from his sleep, shouting, “I am up, baby! Daddy is up!”Then he jumped from the bed, rushing to her crib, and reached into it, scooping her up and cradling her, singing nonsense words at her that made Peach giggle sleepily.Even though the two weeks of taking care of a newborn were challenging, Elijah refused a nursery for the baby, allowing her to sleep in his room, and denied the offer of a nanny. His heart won't let him trust a soul other than his internal family around his daughter, after everything that he and Peach had gone through.“Shush,” Elijah murmured quietly at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Is your p
Early that morning, Madam Maxwell was a bit on the edge as she walked around the kitchen, tasting and giving instructions for every meal the maids were preparing. Her eyes would occasionally flicker from stove to pots and pans, her lips pursed in concentration. Finally, the sound of Miss Grace's voice drew her attention to the kitchen doorway when she heard, “Elijah, Peach, and the baby are home.”A look of raw excitement came over Lisa's face and she smiled widely as she rushed out of the kitchen with Miss Grace following closely behind.When they got into the living room, both their eyes were wet with tears to see little Piki in the car seat that Elijah was hoping for, and suddenly, the two days of waiting felt worth it for both grandmothers.Not wasting a second, Miss Grace ran to Elijah while Mrs. Maxwell rushed for Peach and they pulled the couple into a tight hug.“Thank you, Elijah. Thank you.” Miss Grace cried at her son-in-law.Even though Elijah was trying to keep up the t