Mr. John crossed his legs on Mrs. Greene’s office couch, with a bandage wound around his face. A momentary silence enveloped the room, with Daniel standing behind Mrs. Greene like his bodyguard. “I am sorry for this,” Daniel said, trying to look away from Mr. John’s devastating face, but sheer curiosity would not allow him to. “That fool will pay, I promise you. But can you please drop the charges against him?”Daniel could not believe those words could proceed from his mouth, as he forced them out. His gut turned inside out. “And why should I?” Mr. John asked with an elfish grin. His smile stretched from one side of his face to the other and then relegated to a cold, harsh expression. “Look at me!” he yelled, pointing to the bandage around his head. He clenched his teeth like a shark holding a firm grip on its food. “Just look at me. Why should I let him go?” Daniel swallowed his breath, taking a glance at Old Mrs. Greene who stared into bare space. Her calmness made
Haylee fell to her knees with her face down, she saw it as a means of redemption for herself. “Grandmother, I---” “There is no room for negotiation, Haylee,” Daniel said, cutting her halfway in her speech. “The deal has been made already and there can be no further discussions aside this.”Haylee rolled her eyes in disapproval of Daniel’s unruly interference. “I will do whatever makes you happy, grandmother,” Haylee said, with no trace of emotion in her voice, which made Daniel and Mr. John really doubt if she had any ulterior motive behind her words. “You will?” Daniel inquired, looking surprised as well as disbelieving. “I don’t believe you.”Haylee kept her head bowed before Mrs. Greene without replying Daniel and his taunts. Mrs. Greene adjusted her glasses with a laser focused attention on Haylee. “Alright, Haylee,” Mrs. Greene finally responded, “don’t do anything irrational this time around.”Mr. John chuckled, “of course she won’t. I’m not letting my guard dow
“Hey, you can leave now.”The voice of the police officer echoed in Elijah’s head. “Free? How can I be free?” He thought to himself. At first, he thought Bishop Leo had gone against his order and pulled strings for him amid the higher-ups, given his family’s influence. But he canceled the thought, realizing that such a thing would be impossible without Bishop Leo having to reveal his identity. Judging from the police officer’s harsh treatment, his secret was still safe, because no one heard the West’s name and did not tremble. However, it still disturbed him that he was free. Could the Greene family have cared about him that much? As he got out of the station, he squinted his eyes at the headlight that nearly blinded his eyes, at the opposite end of the he identified Bishop Leo’s Mustang. “Congratulations, young master,” Bishop Leo said, as Elijah settled into the car. Elijah groaned, holding his head. “How did you know I have been released?” he asked with a grunt lacin
“You dare ask me what I am doing?” Haylee yelled at him. “Don’t even think of acting pitiful and all, you useless fool.”Elijah’s ears twitched at the sound of Haylee’s words. His eyes bulged out, threatening to jump out of their sockets. He had never seen Haylee this angry for the past three years of their marriage. He had no idea what was going on with her, staring at her cluelessly. “Haylee, why are you hitting me?” Elijah muttered with tears in his eyes to keep up with his act. Haylee said with a sneer, “My grandfather brought you into this mansion because you had nothing and could become nothing. I hated the idea of getting married to you, but because of the love I had for my father, I obliged his interests. I had to put my desires away just to ensure that I keep my father’s promise, “, she pointed her finger at him, “but all you have ever done is to cause me pain.” Elijah could not fathom where Haylee’s anger stemmed from. And for the first time in his sane state of
She had sex with him? for what reason? Elijah reasoned within himself. Although his marriage to Haylee was merely an act of charity and compassion by Haylee’s grandfather who bought him into the Greene mansion, Elijah still felt jealousy overwhelming him. it was not as if he’d had anything to do with Haylee since they married, but Elijah wanted to still be regarded as her husband. It would not have mattered much to him if he was still the foolish Elijah they thought he was, regaining his memory made it worse and more painful. With the cocky smirk that glued to Tory’s face, it was obvious to Haylee that she intentionally said such a thing in Elijah’s presence. But Elijah’s presence did not freak Haylee. “It does not matter whether he was aware of my marriage status, dear cousin,” Haylee said, “the only thing that matters is that he will never enjoy what he enjoyed with me if it happens to be you.”Tory’s smile morphed into a frown, that gave Haylee unending pleasure. Tory’s
Elijah raised a brow at the sudden change in Bishop Leo’s tone. It had to be something juicy, “What is it?”Bishop Leo heaved a mixed sigh of confusion and relief at the same time. “Your brother…” he said, then paused as if he was trying to process what was coming out next like a low-processor computer. “…he is not dead.”Elijah’s eyes widened with a bulge his face etched with worry. He leaned back into his chair and rubbed his forehead with his palm, “do you mean what you say?” he queried Bishop Leo. “Positive. Some of my men saw him in California two days ago, together with your uncle.”The light on his cigar was starting to run out, Elijah squeezed the cigar with his bare hand, not minding the hotness of the little flame on it. “Since when have you been on this?” “Right from the very day you showed up in my house, alive and well,” Bishop Leo stated, “I was not ready to take my chances with him, so I had my men track him. I was told he went missing barel
“What do you want with me? We can settle this amicably, the easy way,” Elijah said in an undisturbed tone, his voice as calm as a silent river. He took little steps backward, while his predators got closer to him sandwiching him right in the middle with no space to move for him. “Hard way it is,” he whispered and made the first shot.He threw a fist into the face of the biggest of them staring at him. His fist, thundered on the big guy’s face, knocking him out cold. The three guys left were shocked and enraged simultaneously, as they beheld their strongest man kiss the road’s dust. They charged at Elijah immediately, little did they know that the heir of the West empire, or the foolish son-in-law of the Greene family as people know him to be, is a black belt holder of three martial arts types. He bashed and thrashed them like they were nothing. To the ordinary man, his heavy predators would have been too much of a problem to face, but to Elijah, it was nothing short of a cakewalk.
----- THREE YEARS AGO---- “Happy birthday, Elijah,” the man said with an affectionate smile at Elijah standing outside of the birthday hall. Elijah’s face brightened up the moment he saw the man and went ahead to wrap the man in his embrace. “I never thought you’d come,” Elijah whispered.Tears welled up in the man’s eyes but he pushed it back, covering it up with another smile, “Why won’t I come, Elijah. Afterall you’re my son.” “I have missed you dad. Can you not go again?” The man sat Elijah down by the pavement of the mansion’s doorstep. He placed his right hand around Elijah’s neck peering directly into his eyes, “Elijah, today is your 25th birthday and you have to be happy. It does not matter whether I am here or not, all that matters is that you live a good life.” The man’s shaky voice was not missed by Elijah. “Are you going somewhere again?” Elijah asked, noticing how guilt skittered across his father’s face. His father responded with a nod and Elijah ref