Chapter 25

Manipulative and Deceptive

Looking at the worry in his men’s expressions, Elijah felt a bit dumbfounded that they were staring at
him like that, and he rubbed a hand across his face tiredly and mumbled, “What is it?

Well… you just knock the shit outta some dude,” Ryan said hesitantly, eyeing the others to back him
up.

“How did you guys know about that?” Elijah frowned, glancing between the four of them.

Slowly, Ryan looked over at James, raising his brows with a curious look plastered across his face,
making James sigh before facing Elijah.

“The clip is all over the internet.” He said calmly. “And we are confused because there’s no extra
information about what led to the punch.”

“Well, he insulted my mother, calling me a son of a bitch… My mom is no, bitch.” Elijah snapped,
clenching and unclenching his fists in anger, feeling his breathing quicken with rage. Staring in
disbelief, Matt muttered beneath his breath, “Shit, he had that one coming and deserved it… Well,
more than a punch.”

The room was quiet for a moment as Elijah walked over to the couch, dropped onto it, and leaned
against the backrest with a clenched jaw. Then he looked over at Ryan and said, “We might have our
hands full with a lawsuit.” “I knew it,” Ryan murmured, putting his hand in his pocket. “But I need a clear
understanding of what exactly happened, boss.”

Frowning, Elijah sighed and then sat up straight with a serious expression as he let out,” Melina was at
the hospital when Peach and I got to Miss Grace’s hospital room, and she and Peach got into serious
shit. Peach slapped her in the face-”



“Damn!! Peach did what?!” Matt cursed under his breath with wide eyes before realizing that everyone
was glaring at him. “Sorry, boss. Please, go on.”

It took a moment for Elijah to respond as he tried to recall what happened next, and then he said, “I
guess Melina didn’t like our little encounter, and when we got outside the hospital parking lot, a bunch
of reporters blocked our way and surrounded us…”

“Your ex-wife sounds like a piece of work,” James grumbled, his jaw tensing.

Looking over at his butler, Elijah nodded with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and mumbled,
“Yeah, well…. she really is.”

Another tense moment of silence passed and then he added, “Melina cooked up this sick narrative that
I was cheating on her with Peach and informed the reporters about it.”

“What the hell!?” Ryan exploded angrily with fury in his hazel eyes, staring at Elijah with shock as he
said, “She’s insane. We just met Peach!” “Well, Melina has a lot of media power, and that’s why she
can spin things the way she wants,

“That’s one lunatic… no, she’s a witch… And we can’t let her continue her lies. This is too

dangerous for us to let go.” James replied as he stared in disbelief.

A sigh escaped Elijah’s lips as he lowered his head a little, thinking about the situation carefully.

Then he spoke up, saying calm, “I know. That’s why I need you guys, Ryan, and Rookie to dig into
Melina. There’s no way to clear Peach and my reputation without finding out the true reason she
divorced me…”

For a moment, Elijah held back his tongue, sinking into his thoughts for a few seconds, and then he
said, “I know why she did, but no one is going to trust my words without solid proof, and if I know



Melina, she loves good wine and wealthy men. And that’s all I need to get her to open up!”

A look of confusion crossed all four of their faces as they gaze at their boss curiously, before looking at
each other with nervous eyes.

The bedroom was silent as Miss Grace sat on the couch, watching her daughter on the bed, hugging
the pillow as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Although she wanted to give her space and time to calm down, it had been a couple of minutes and
Peach was still crying, and even after waiting for a couple more, her daughter was still sniffing
aggressively. Slowly, Miss Grace got up from the couch and approached the bed, sitting beside her
weeping child. “Peach,” She whispered gently, touching her shoulder to try and wake her up. “This is
why I want nothing to do with them, mama… how long do I have to take all this misery? Why can’t it
just get better?!” Peach cried loudly, clutching the pillow tightly while shaking her head. “It’s been years,
mama, and these people are still getting away with hurting

us.”

Silently, Miss Grace closed her eyes as tears started to build up inside her eyelids, and slowly, she laid
down beside her daughter, cuddling her in her arms and stroking her hair softly.

“I am so sorry, my dear child. You do not deserve any of this.” She said softly, kissing the top of her
daughter’s head. “You don’t have to be sorry, mama. None of this is your fault. You have suffered as
much as I have,” Peach answered, lifting her head a little to meet her mother’s gaze. “Even more than I
have. I just wish I could make this all better for you… for papa’s sake.”

With that, Miss Grace opened her mouth to say something, but then she stopped herself because she
couldn’t find the right thing to say. So instead she kept hugging her daughter and kept stroking her hair.
Withdrawing his fist from the door, Elijah’s hand dropped to his side as he listened to Peach’s soft sob,



echoing into the hallway. For a while, he drowned in the feeling that her cry stirred within him, and the
sensation of the pain carried in her voice was enough to make his heart ache.

The feeling was raw and powerful, and it tore through his chest, and with it came a deep longing to be
by her side, a desire to hold her, and tell her that everything would be fine. It was a need that he wished
he wasn’t aware of, but he couldn’t deny that it consumed every

part of his being.

He hated the fact that he desired to care for her like some new addiction he had developed, and the
thought made him feel repulsed with himself, especially because he was aware of it now.

Suddenly the door opened, and Elijah’s gaze rested on Miss Grace, standing in the doorway, gazing at
him with a smile.

“I wanted to check… umm… to see if she’s alright,” Elijah said, avoiding her eyes as he cleared his
throat nervously, With calm eyes and a warm smile that never left her face, Miss Grace stepped outside
and said, “She’s still a bit upset, but you can go in.”

Nodding, Elijah fixed his eyes back on her once again, and with a small sigh, he walked over to the
doorway, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

When Peach raised her eyelids and saw him, she wiped the corner of her eye roughly and slowly sit up
on her bed, brushing her fingers against her wet skin as she sniffed and whispered weakly, “Hey,”

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