Chapter 81

Chapter 81Up in flames 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. 1 “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 help me put on my gown, mama?” Peach uttered, looking at the garment bag on her bed.
Nodding, Miss Grace smiled and then walked over to the bed, unzipping the bag, pulling out this full-
length gown with a sultry, unlined illusion lace bodice with beaded lace and a deep sweetheart neckline
with delicately beaded spaghetti straps.
After helping Peach get into the dress, she stood behind her daughter, rested her chin on her shoulder,
and whispered, consumed with emotions, “You are now a bride… God, I want Albert here with us so
bad… to see what we made from love finally find love.”“I miss him too, mama. But this is papa… this entire motel… Every inch of it has a memory of him,
even the zinc and the ceilings…” Peach said with a chuckle.
“I know… he used to make me worry so much about him when he turned into a carpenter.”
“Yeah? Back then, I thought he was a superman whenever he was up there with his tools… But I
understand… After Elijah got beat up in front of me, I think I know what your worry was.”
A knock on the door made Miss Grace and Peach turn around simultaneously, listening to Matt and
Ryan say almost in unison, “Two very handsome bridesmaids are reporting for duty.”
“Your bridesmen are here,” Miss Grace chuckled, feeling relieved that Elijah had a group of supportive
friends that adored her daughter.
There was a brief moment of hesitation, and then Peach’s heart filled with warmth as she asked,
“Where is Elijah?”
“He’s on his way to the ceremony,” Ryan said, eyeing his buddy.
“Peach… umm, your entire family is at the beach,” Matt uttered, not wanting her to be more startled
seeing them there when she arrived.
There was alense two minutes silence before Peach woke from her trance and asked, “All of them?”
“Yeah,” Ryan said calmly.
When Peach looked up at her mother, Miss Grace stroked her cheek and spoke softly to her,” Don’t
stress about them. It’s going to be fine… this might be a good thing, that they showed
“Mama, we both know that’s not inue” Peach mumbled with a weak smile.The wind at the beach was calm, and the setup for the wedding looked simple but gave off a soft,
sweet, and romantic vibe with blush pink and white decorations, lighting, an arch covered with blush
pink flowers, and chairs on both sides of the aisle.
“What the hell,” Dean mumbled, still trying to take in the scene, expecting something less breathtaking
than this setup, and his mind couldn’t seem to settle on anything else other than just how gorgeous all
of this was.
“How can a man who doesn’t have a job afford such a decent wedding like this?” Amelia muttered,
looking over at Madam Jewel.
“It’s not shocking to me… since he’s a thug… Guys like him are nothing but a bunch of thieves and
hoodlums…. They are into shady shit, so who knows what he did to fund it.” Josh mumbled, clutching
his fist as he tried not to lose himself.
Frowning as she looked at the people seated on the left side of the aisle, and then those seated at the
back of them, Cora sighed softly before looking at their mother and then let out,” Who’s all these
people? When did that bum or Peach become so famous for this number of people to turn up to their
wedding.”
“These people don’t seem ordinary… My best guess is that they are a part of the gang he’s in… “Eli
trailed, looking at his brother.
“I agree,” Elmer mumbled as he looked at Tommy. “None of these men looks familiar from the business
circle or high-class people, so they must all be lowlife thugs, playing dress-up in fancy suits.” Scoffing,
Tyson looked at his father, and then he mumbled mockingly, “This is a gangster wedding,”
“What other shitty things and people that idler is involved with?” Elmer mumbled, frowning in disgust at
all the people.Looking around at his brothers, Matthew shook his head in disbelief and said, “This guy is going to fuck
up our family reputation with all this low-class filth he’s involved with… Mother,
A sigh slipped from Madam Jewel as she looked back at the two empty rolls between her family and
those in the back, and then she looked at her son, letting out, “We are not here to celebrate or care
about those people… so we should stay clear of them… We only came to prove that we were here and
nowhere else.”
The sudden sound of clap and excitement drew the Hayes’s attention towards the back, and their gaze
rested on Elijah, walking down the aisle, his expression deadass serious as Rookie and James walked
behind him.
When his gaze locked with Madam Jewel, Elijah’s eyes darkened, and she frowned slightly, looking
away from him.
After Elijah arrived at the arch, a group of men led by Dice suddenly walked over to where Madam
Jewel was sitting with the rest of the Hayes, at the front roll, and took the two empty rows right behind
them.
‘Is this idiot threatening us?!’ Tommy thought, growing, a bit still in the shoulder at the overwhelming
feeling of having twelve men sitting right behind them.
‘He put watchdogs on us, Haha… this arrogant bastard!’ Eli thought, clenching, his jaw and narrowing
his eyes. Looking at Elijalı, Melina frowned, anger flooding her system as she thought, ‘You were not
supposed to get the better end of this divorce, Elijah. I will not be a laughingstock… Someone who was
replaced within a short time by her good-for-nothing husband, like I am easy to forget. That is not how
our story ends!’
The mere sight of the Hayes family had left Elijah in such a tense mood and it lasted for a great length
of time until he heard the bridal chorus, and then everyone suddenly stood up, leaving the Hayes asthe only ones sitting down. Their faces contorted with hate, anger, and pure loathing, their fingers
clenched as they tried to maintain their composure and calm themselves.
All that tension in Elijah suddenly softened when he saw Miss Grace gracefully escorting Peach
towards the arch.
His heart began pounding loudly against his rib cage and his emotions suddenly took over him, in a
way that he never thought he would feel, especially when he never wanted to get married again after
Melina and what she did.
But this moment, in front of hundreds of people, Elijah found himself giving in to that feeling that he had
been suppressing for so long, and just for a moment, he allowed his entire heart to see Peach and feel
her.
“Here,” James mumbled, tapping him on the shoulder with a handkerchief.
A soft sniffle came out of Elijah as he accepted the piece of baby blue cloth and wiped at his damp
eyes, clearing the tears away from his face.
The sight of that made Peach grin lightly from ear to ear, her smile reaching her teary eyes, surprised
that she would see this side of him and that gave her a lot more hope about the future, even if they
would have to deal with some tough times, she felt like they could make it through them together.
The original plan had to be shifted because of the Hayes’ presence, so Matt along with Ryan marched
closed by Peach and Miss Grace, instead of ahead of them.
When Miss Grace brought her daughter over to Elijah, she gave him a soft smile and whispered, “She’s
yours now… Please don’t disappoint me, Elijah.” Then when Peach let go of her arm, she adored her
child for a moment before heading over to her seat, intentionally sitting with the Hayes, just to give hernovelbindaughter that sense of peace on her special day. “You look breathtaking,” Elijah whispered as he and
Peach turned to face the priest standing
at the altar, putting a smile on her lips.
“Dear beloved, we gathered here today to join Elijah Darius and Miss Peach Hayes in matrimony in this
holy sacrament, which is based on faith, covenant, commitment, and love… And may God bless this
union.” The priest spoke with a solemn tone.
The ceremony went on for a while, and then the beach grew quiet, allowing only nature to reign
supreme for a couple of seconds before the priest announced, “I now pronounce you Elijah Darius and
Peach Hayes as husband and wife! You may kiss the bride.”
Locking eyes with Peach, Elija leaned forward slightly, slowly moving closer to her, and then he lifted
up one of his hands to cup Peach’s cheek tenderly before he gently pressed his lips against hers.
The crowd erupted into cheers once they started kissing, causing Peach to giggle, and then Elijah
pulled her closer, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and burying his face on her neck,
whispering, “I wanted to do this all morning.”
Smiling widely, Peach brushed her palm gently against his hair and whispered, “Me too.” ‘Why didn‘t
the priest ask if someone wants to object to the wedding?!’ Melina cried in her head, glaring at Elijah
and Peach, her eyes darkening. When Elijah pulled away from Peach, his eyes subconsciously landed
on Dice, and the look of worry that flashed in his eyes made Elijah’s brow furrowed.
Suddenly his phone vibrated in his trouser pocket, and Elijah eyed Peach for a second before pulling
the device out of his pocket and unlocking the screen, reading a text message from Jerome.
“The motel is on fire, boss. It is up in flames… the entire building is burning down.” Elijah read, and his
heart immediately dropped when he looked up and saw Peach smiling brightly at him.