Chapter 133

Chapter 133A hesitant look crossed Elijah‘s face as he stared at the word “Mother,” blinking a few times before
looking behind to see Peach bareback as she shifted under the white sheet on the bed.
“Son?!” Mrs. Maxwell‘s voice suddenly drew Elijah‘s attention back to the call, and he smiled lightly at
the sound of his mother‘s panicked cry.
“Good morning, mother.” Elijah‘s voice was slightly hoarse from disuse and sleep, but the smile on his
face never wavered.
“Elijah… Son! I have been trying to reach you for months now, and yet your phone always seems to be
off… I know you have to prove something to your father, but how can you put your own mother on a
blacklist?!”
“I am sorry, mother… Please forgive your son for his foolish behavior.”
Silence settled on the line as Elijah looked back at his wife and then he let out, “I miss you.”
“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Maxwell asked softly in return.
“Yes. Everything is fine. I just feel like I am in a better place now… I can‘t talk to dad about these
things…. But I think he already knows–”
“He wouldn‘t let me know anything about your whereabouts or happens, and it makes me so
heartbroken because I want to know, Elijah… As your mother, I would love to talk about your life and all
that entails…”
“…I met a woman–” “You did?!”. “Yes. And she‘s the one… I woke up this morning, and thought it was
time you knew about her.”
“Oh, Elijah…”Listening to her husband‘s soft voice, Peach‘s lashes fluttered, knowing she had never met her
mother–in–law or father–in–law before. But hearing Elijah talk to his mother about her made her feel
like she was one step closer to being welcomed into their family.
“She‘s sweet, a bit wild, a little reckless, but also smart and strong. She has an infectious laugh and the
best sense of humor… She makes me so happy, and I couldn‘t imagine having anyone better to spend
my life with…” Peach heard him say and tears prickled in her eyes, not realizing she was smiling so
hard that her jaw hurt. “And I thought you should know that we are planning to start a family…”
“Elijah! Honey! That‘s a good thing! A great decision! Oh, mine, I am so overwhelmed right now, I don‘t
even have words!”
“I know,” Elijah replied, chuckling at the joy he could still hear in his mom‘s voice. “Mom,” “Yes, son,”
“I was thinking, maybe… Maybe It‘s time she meets you.” “Are you serious?!”
“Yes. I got a couple of things to handle this month, but next month, I think we should be in a good place
for you two to meet.”
Swelling with happiness, Peach pressed her lips together, not wanting to make a sound, even though
all she wanted to do was scream, “YES! YES! YES!”
“Yes! Yes! Yes, son! I would love to meet her!…” Mrs. Maxwell said, almost breathless.
After a while of listening in on the two conversations, Peach immediately squeezed her eyes shut when
she heard Elijah say, “Goodbye, mom.”
Once he ended the call, Elijah looked back at Peach for a long while and then headed over to the bed,
laid down next to her, and kissed her back.The moment his head hit the pillow, Peach rolled towards him and buried her face in his neck, wrapping
her arm and leg around him.
“I love you…” She whispered, kissing the soft skin beneath his earlobe.
Eyes closed and head resting against hers, Elijah sighed, “Me too.”
The silence in the room lasted for a couple of seconds before Elijah raised his gaze, meeting her calm
stare, and said, “I will have to travel for about two days with Ryan, Matt, and Rookie, and I was thinking
your mom and James could be here with you until I get back.”
“Can‘t I come?“Peach didn‘t bother holding back the pleading tone in her voice.
“I would love nothing more than to do that, but it‘s a foreign country, and I don‘t know what to expect. I
am not taking security because I don‘t want to raise others‘ eyes toward me. So…” Elijah trailed off,
stroking his fingers through her hair.
“I can‘t come,”
Hmm. ”
Seeing the look of disappointment on Peach‘s face made Elijah give her a small smile, mumbling, “I will
be back by Monday or Tuesday… Okay?”
“Okay…” Peach whispered.
They lay there in each other‘s arms, neither saying anything for a while before Elijah let out,” Fuck!”
“What?” Peach lifted her head slightly, her eyes wide with concern.
“What‘s the time?”“Huh?”
Pulling away from her, Elijah reached for his phone, turned the screen on, and blurted out, “I am going
to be late.”
“But it‘s Saturday.” Peach called out after him as Elijah rushed out of bed.
“I know. But I have a meeting to attend.”
“Huh?”
Watching Elijah rush into the bathroom, Peach sighed, wondering what kind of meeting her husband
had in attendance, and then the door suddenly opened, and Elijah popped his head
novelbinout, letting out, “I have a shareholders meeting at Delphi Oil Co.concerning the new branch we are
about to launch.” “You have shares in Delphi Oil?!” Peach let out, her jaw dropped open. Not uttering a
word, Elijah gave her a sheepish grin before shutting the door, leaving her staring in disbelief as it
finally dawned on her that it was an act all along… The lowlife image he had created for himself was
nothing but a lie.
For a moment, Peach was numb, and then after a while, emotions came flooding through her, making
her tear up as she hurriedly wore her robe before she ran to the bathroom and opened it, but then froze
as she stared at Elijah‘s bared body.
Her lashes started fluttering uncontrollably as she stared at her husband‘s nudity and her face grew hot
as she mumbled, “Wear something… we need to talk.” Immediately recognizing the universal language
that most men fear from their wives and noticing that his nakedness was the only thing keeping her
from unleashing her words, Elijah gave her a dumbfounded look and mumbled, “About what?” “Wear
shorts first.” Peach whispered, her expression softened, and yet, she still wanted to stay mad. “Babe, I
am already naked. Why can‘t you just say.”“Because I can‘t yell at you while that… That is standing up and staring at me!”
Even though he was fighting to hold it in as he watched her look away from his waist, Elijah couldn‘t
help it and let out a small chuckle which quickly turned into giggles.
“Elijah!” Peach whined and crossed her arms.
“I am sorry,” Elijah said, the smile still lingering on his lips as he struggled to keep a straight face, “It‘s
just… You are so cute, I‘m trying to fight my urges.”
“Don‘t try to escape the inevitable,” “Okay, okay, I‘ll wear pants…” Giving him another look, Peach
nodded and waited for him to change clothes. When he finished and sat on the edge of the tub, looking
up at her with seriousness, Peach cleared her throat, not angry anymore and yet still wanting an
answer, “Was taking a loan from a bank to open a business a lie?… What James said before was not
the truth right?”
“Yes,” Elijah answered without hesitating. “The money you have spent and own… Umm, they are all
yours, right?” “Yes,” “Okay,”
After a brief pause, Peach turned on her heels to walk off, and Elijah took a long look at her back,
letting out, “Give me a month… and I will come clean to you about everything. I won‘t hold anything
back from you then.” His words stopped Peach dead in her tracks. She knew that whatever it was
Elijah hid from her, he wasn‘t ready to tell her. Hell, he hadn‘t been ready to tell her much from the very
beginning, and even though, she was trying to play it off, and yet, it still hurt not to know him
like she wanted to, and she just couldn‘t ignore that feeling that was growing inside her.
“I want you to meet my mother, Peach…” Elijah continued after seeing that she didn‘t respond.Then he got up from the bathtub, walked over to where she stood, grabbed her waist and pulled her
close to his body, hugging her tightly. “I think I am ready for you to take your rightful place beside me. I
want them all to know… to see that you are mine, and that time will come soon. I swear.” Elijah
murmured, nuzzling his nose against her neck, inhaling deeply, and closing his eyes. A small smile
played on Peach‘s lips as she felt Elijah kiss her on the back of her neck before turning her around to
face him. “Okay?” He asked as he cupped her cheeks. Leaning into his touch, Peach softly breathed,
“Okay.” The board room was occupied by a couple of middle–aged men, Joey, and a lady, and they all
seemed impatient, except Joey.
“How long are we going to wait… the meeting should have started twenty minutes ago and we have to
wait for one so–called shareholder!” Mr. Gant angrily said, leaning on the table. “Especially since all the
other shareholders chose not to attend, and yet, we the board have to wait on just one!” Mr. O‘Sullivan
agreed with him as he also leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs and placing a hand on top of his
stomach. “Why can‘t this damn meeting begin already?”
A frown settled on Joey‘s face as he glared at both men and said, “Am I invisible to you all as the
founder and a shareholder of this company?!”
“We know that. That‘s why we are respecting your decision to wait, but how long should we wait to
make a simple decision on choosing a real estate agent to make the branch building purchase from?!”
Mr. Neon let out in a calm tone, watching his words.
“Well, he owns fifty–one percent of our shares, so if he says he wants to be present before we make
our final decision, we are going to wait until he gets here. Are we on the same page?”
“Well… we wait then.”
Suddenly, the door opened, and Elijah walked into the board room, drawing everyone‘s attention to
him.“Mr. Darius,” Florida whispered, fear showing through her gaze as she stared at Elijah.
“Sorry for my lateness,” Elijah said in a humble tone as he shut the door behind him, smiling
apologetically at everyone at the table until his eyes landed on Florida.