Chapter 74

Chapter 74Ten Billion Dollars
Putting his card back into his wallet, Elijah stared into Mr. Fangios’ eyes coldly and then scoffed before
turning on his heel and walking away with Matt.
“Wait!! How can you guys let him leave?!…” Mr. Fangio’s voice sounded desperate. “He hasn’t
“He has paid his bill, Mr. Fangio.” The receptionist said, interrupting his sentence.
Looking at her for a few seconds, Mr. Fangio frowned and turned his head to glare at the security
guards before chasing after Elijah, shouting, “Wait! Let’s talk more… I-”
The door shut closed behind Elijah and Mr. Fangio picked up his pace, running fast, gaining frowns
from people that knew who he was, and the fact that he was chasing after someone like Elijah made no
sense to them.
When he finally caught up with Elijah outside of the restaurant, he took a second to catch his breath,
watching Elijah glare at him. “Who’s your boss?… I can negotiate a better price… Now, I know that I
underestimated you a bit.” Mr. Fangio stated, breathing hard while trying to regain his composure. “So
I’m willing to offer you.” “A lot.” Elijah interrupted, folding his arms. “You underestimated me by a whole
lot.” Letting his arms fall to his side, Elijah walked over to Mr. Fangio, leaned in so close that the old
man felt a shiver run down his spine, and then mumbled, “I am my own boss… and I don’t like you,
Clyde… not one bit. So, you either decide to stay off my path and out of my way, or else, you and I will
bump heads way worse than what happened to your men.”
For a moment, Mr. Fangio was silent, staring right into Elijah’s eyes as if they held something deep
inside of them, something that he could never understand nor get past, and then he mumbled, “You are
your own boss? So… So…” A half-smirk made its way onto Elijah’s lips and he straightened himself tohis full height, stepped back, and uttered, “Goodbye, Clyde.” “I call your bluff… you are not that
powerful, and you know it!” Mr. Fangio mumbled, watching Elijah open his car door.
Glancing over his shoulder at Mr. Fangio, Elijah’s expression turned serious, and with that single
glimpse, Mr. Fangio fell silent once again as he watched Elijah get in the car.
‘Are you really that powerful and the one who commanded so many thugs to run down my entire men
within less than a week?’ Mr. Fangio mused as he stared at the car while Matt drove off. ‘How?… I
mean… you don’t even seem that capable.’
As his eyes continued to follow the car until it disappeared around the corner, Mr. Fangio mumbled,
“But then again, you just ruined my plan to save you out of debt with the restaurant and jail time, so you
can be grateful to me… But is paying for an expensive meal, the same as owning thousands of
thugs..?”
The dinner table was quiet as Peach slowly twirled her spaghetti, smiling softly to herself lost in her
thoughts.
Everyone around the table’s eyes was on her, but she didn’t seem to even notice, her thoughts on
memories of Elijah which had her feeling warm and fluffy, making her chuckle softly, stroking a loose
string of hair behind her ear.
“Oh, God, why am I being called ‘single’ just by a laugh,” Rookie teased, grabbing Peach’s attention as
she stared up at them, eyes widened and lips pushed up in a pout.
“I am happy for you two,” James mumbled, grinning softly at Peach. His words brought smiles to
everyone’s faces as Peach looked between Rookie and James with a smile, nodding her head gently,
“Thanks, guys… Sorry that you guys found out so late.” A knock on the hotel front door made everyone
seal their lips and then Ryan mumbled, “Do you think Bos… Elijah is back.” “Grace… Grace!!! Can
someone help me open this door?!” Madam Jewel’s loud voice echoed throughout the house.Frowning, James looked over at Peach and mumbled, “It’s that annoying old lady from the other day.”
“Maybe if we ignore her voice, she will go away, “Ryan uttered, squeezing his brows together. “Yeah,
after all, she only ruins others’ moods and causes chaos,” Rookie added, laughing softly as he took
another bite of his pasta.
Pouting again, Peach turned around, resting her elbows against the table and placing her chin in her
hands as she gazed at the ceiling and mumbled, “I wish… I’m sure she’ll leave soon and…”
Suddenly, Miss Grace stood up and Peach looked over to her mother, mumbling in frustration, “Mama,
what are you doing?” “Peach, you will need to put a little effort in not offending Madam Jewel… If you
want to take over your grandfather’s company…” Miss Grace trailed off, sighing lightly. Understanding
what her mother was getting at, Peach drew a deep breath and woke up from her seat, mumbling,
“Fine, I will come with you.” “Then we are coming too.” Rookie declared as he stood up with a nod,
smiling at her. Soon the five of them headed out of the dining room and made their way toward the
lobby of the motel, and Miss Grace unlocked the door.
“Grace, where is peac…?” Madam Jewel blurted out, walking inside, and then stopped when she and
Peach’s eyes locked. “Peach, honey!!” “Grand… Grand-ma…” Peach muttered under her breath
hesitantly. “Good morning.” Taking off her dark shade, Madam Jewel walked over to Peach and hugged
her, mumbling,” Good morning, sweetheart.”
Then she withdrew with a smile, pushing Peach’s hair behind her ear, her expression looking so soft,
until Peach asked with an uninterested expression, “Why are you here, grand…ma?” “I need you to
meet someone.” Madam Jewel said without hesitation. “I want you and I to go meet her…”
“Meeting… Someone? Who? Why am I meeting her?” Peach furrowed her brows as she
glanced over at her mother, wondering if there was more to this meetingA nervous look appeared on Madam Jewel’s face for a split second, her gaze falling to the floor before
she shook her head and mumbled, “I can’t tell you yet… You have to wait till we meet her.”
“Then I am not going,” Peach retorted bluntly, crossing her arms tightly against her chest and then
glowering at Madam Jewel.
Frowning slightly at her daughter’s tone, Miss Grace met her eyes and mumbled, “Peach,” “It’s fine,
Grace.” Madam Jewel cut in quickly, taking Peach’s hand. “I know you are a woman now, and people
can’t be telling you how to handle your life. But… I want you to meet a matchmaker.”
“A what?” Peach replied, blinking twice.
“Matchmaker.” Madam Jewel repeated, smoothening the back of Peach’s hand. “She knows all the
eligible bachelors here. She has connections, and she knows the ones from a family with a good
reputation, good money, strong body structure, and good personalities.”
“If that’s who a matchmaker is, then I don’t need one.. I am already involved with Elijah. We are dating.”
Peach stated firmly with a frown. For a moment Madam Jewel pursed her lips and then smiled, letting
out a soft chuckle, “That may be true… but this isn’t about him. It’s about you. You can do so much
better than him, honey.”
“I don’t want to do better than him. I want him, and I am marrying him.” Peach stated in a firm voice,
clenching her jaw as she stared straight into her eyes.
“Marriage?” “Yes, marriage! I won’t marry some stranger because my heart belongs to Elijah and Elijah
only.”
A frown crossed Madam Jewel’s face as she studied Peach’s expression and then she glared at Miss
Grace, mumbling, “And you are allowing her to go through with this… nonsense?!”“As you said, Peach is a woman.” Miss Grace replied, staring down at her lap. “We must respect that.”
Annoyed, Madam Jewel’s eyes grew wide for a moment, her fists tightening as she gritted her teeth,
and she let out just to irritate Peach, “This is Melina nonsense all over again…” Those words made
Peach feel uncomfortable, and she pulled her hand away from Madam Jewel’s grip and looked away
from her. “No, Grandma, it is not like that.” Peach spoke firmly, narrowing her eyes.
“Peach, you can’t be serious?” Madam Jewel questioned in disbelief, raising her eyebrows.
“But I am!”
“Weddings are expensive! How are you guys gonna afford everything for the ceremony?… Because if
you decide to marry Elijah, we the Hayes will not spend a dime to help with the wedding expenses!”
“Then we will do a court wedding. I don’t care… Whatever budget he and I have, we will work
novelbinwith that and enjoy our day!” The frown on Madam Jewel’s face deepened into a scowl, and she stared
at Peach as if she was crazy, shaking her head and muttering angrily, “At least, Melina got a couple of
million bucks from marrying him…”
Sighing heavily, she shook her head again and mumbled, “But how stupid can you be for a man with no
real money to his name?…. I mean, honestly… You would rather waste your whole life with an
irresponsible lowlife gang member than marry a respectable businessman?”
The door to the motel suddenly opened, and Elijah walked inside along with Matt with a frown on his
face, annoyed because he heard most of their last conversation. “You!” Madam Jewel snapped at the
moment Elijah stepped in, her glare fixed directly on him, “How much will it cost for you to stay the hell
away from my family’s name?!”“A ten billion dollars,” Elijah casually uttered, walking past her and away from everyone, heading for his
room because he was already pissed from what happened early. “What a cheeky bastard!” Madam
Jewel shouted after Elijah, a look of pure rage covering her face. “Oh, so do you have a price.”
“A price that you and your entire family combined can’t raise in this lifetime, so I don’t call that a price,
just a reminder that you don’t have the means to make me change my mind,” He answered without
turning around. “Also, I am marrying Peach, take it or just don’t show up at the wedding ceremony!”
When Elijah’s back faded down the hallway, Peach looked back at Madam Jewel’s red face and gave a
half-smirk
Frustrated, Madam Jewel clenched her jaw and turned away, walking outside of the motel, a storm of
hate and anger toward Elijah flooding her as though the words had physically stabbed into her heart.