Chapter 54Her plans would get ruined
The last time Madam Jewel was here, things quickly escalated, and Peach didn’t want to experience it
again, and somewhat, she was thankful that Elijah wasn’t here since she knew the hostility madam
Jewel had toward him.
“Sure, but my mom gets to come.” Peach said, calmly staring between Madam Jewel and Dean,
The thought of being alone with these two made her alert, and she didn’t want to face them on her own,
knowing their temperaments.
“Of course. We came to talk to both you and Grace.” Madam Jewel with a sweet smile that made
Peach more uneasy.
Suddenly, the front door of the motel opened, and Peach felt her heart leap into her throat as she
watched Elijah and Matt, walking into the lobby.
His gaze resting on Dean, Elijah’s brows snapped as he blurted out of curiosity, “What’s going on
here?”
A sense of raw animosity and anger filled Dean’s features, keeping steady eye contact with Elijah as he
let out, “It’s none of your business. Get lost.”
“The question was not meant for you,” Elijah said, narrowing his eyeś slightly and raising an eyebrow.
“Peach?”
His voice startled her, making Peach glance sideways to look at Madam Jewel and Dean before
focusing on Elijah and saying, “Umm, they want to talk with my mother and me.”Silently, Dean read the tension between the two, and then he snorted as his nose flared, and his eyes
glared at Elijah as he declared coldly, “What’s your deal here, boy, huh?!”
“Uncle Dean,” Peach said softly, knowing that things were about to get messy from the way Dean
addressed Elijah, and she wanted to defuse the situation somehow.
Turning his cold eyes on his niece, Dean’s fist tightened as he said, “Shut up and stay out of this! It
doesn’t concern you!”
The rise in his voice made the atmosphere in the room tense, and he added intensely with malice, “You
should know your manners and not interfere with matters that do not concern
you.”
Since her father and grandfather died, Dean was like the head of the Hayes family, and even though
she hated Dean for everything he did to them all, she knew how much authority his voice had.
Pouting, Peach glanced away, not wanting to say another word to intensify the situation while Madam
Jewel just stood there with a cold expression. As Dean turned his focus back on Elijah, he took a step
towards him, looking him dead in the eyes, and said, “Just because my brother is dead, you think you
can walk into his wife and daughter’s life and use them as you used my daughter?! Why can’t you stay
away from the Hayes family? Huh? What is your problem, hm?!”
Forcing himself not to show any emotion, Elijah stared silently at Dean for several seconds before
responding calmly, “I am a free man, ain’t I? What I do and don’t do does not concern you,”
“That is some smart mouth you have there…” Dean commented with obvious disdain and disgust in his
tone. “Look at me… Do you think that I have the patience to tolerate such an obnoxious piece of shit
like you!? How about you disappear before you get yourself hurt, huh?”With those words, Dean stepped forward again as the corner of Elijah’s lips curled into a sneer, and
Matt tensed as he hesitated to act, waiting for his boss to react.
“What’re you smiling about, huh,” Dean scoffed, suddenly grabbing Elijah’s shirt and jerking him closer
and growling, “I don’t like you, boy… not one bit, and if you keep making noise around here, I will cut
you down to size myself!!” Looking away from Dean’s eyes, Elijah looked at his clothes tightly in his
grip and casually said, “You are ruining my shirt.”
The calmness in his tone sent Dean’s anger boiling, and he yelled at him again, “Don’t get fucking
sassy with me, I warned you!”
Both Matt and James’ expressions immediately hardened at the sight of Dean that closed to Elijah and
they prepared themselves in case Dean decides to do something irrational, but the calmness from their
boss left them hesitating.
“Uncle Dean!” Peach cried out in panic, and the tension in the room grew heavier.
Worried that Dean would get physical with Elijah, Miss Grace rushed over to him and said,” Please, let
him go, Dean… Please!!”
The calmness in Elijah’s eyes didn’t change, and his face remained indifferent as his gaze remained on
Dean’s crazy eyes. The fact that all Vlad had reported back to him about Elijah was that he spent most
of his time in the motel and didn’t interact with others outside was frustrating to Dean because he
thought by now he would have an idea to take down Elijah.
But not knowing anything important about him was killing Dean inside as he thought, ‘How can
someone be so useless that their life has nothing to offer or to ruin. Just how worthless can he be…?
Seeing Dean struggling to hold himself together and unable to stop his hands from shaking as he held
Elijah’s clothes, Madam Jewel decided to intervene and said, “Okay, Dean, you have said enough,”Slowly, Dean’s grip on Elijah loosened up and he backed off slightly as he glared at him, not too
convinced that there wasn’t more to Elijah than meets the eye.
Shaking her head, Madam Jewel turned to eyed Elijah with a dead stare before looking over at Miss
Grace and saying, “Where can we talk that is free of prying ears?” With an apologetic expression,
Peach stared at Elijah and pouted as her heart ached at his rumpled shirt.
For a moment, he locked eyes with her, and then he walked past Dean and Madam Jewel
novelbinwithout uttering a word as he left the lobby, heading to his room.
Soon, Matt and James followed after him, leaving the remaining people behind in silence, and after a
moment, Peach looked at Dean, annoyed at him for his behavior, and said, “You didn’t have to be so
rude to Elijah. How you handle the situation was totally uness-”
Before the rest of her words could leave her lips, Dean raised his hand and viciously let his palm slam
against her cheek, cutting the corner of her lips and knocking the breath out of her.
“Dean!” Madam Jewel gasped in shock.
Feeling blood trickle down her chin, Peach held back the tears in her eyelids and aggressively wiped
her lips, knowing herself that this was the last act that destroyed the relationship that she shared with
the Hayes.
This was the moment she never wanted to feel weak or helpless ever again. She wanted more than
just to stay silent or stay away and hope that they leave her and her mother alone because she now
knew they were never going to let her and her mother be.
“That was so uncalled for?!” Miss Grace exclaimed angrily at Dean who was breathing heavily and
glaring at him with rage. “Why would you do such a thing to my daughter?!” “Children are not only forparents to train… You should know that since you step out of line too.” Dean said, venom dripping from
every single word that he spat out. “What is that supposed to mean, Dean!” Miss Grace cried in
confusion. Not caring to explain his desire to do that to Peach since his wife told him that Miss Grace
laid a hand on Melina, he simply kept his silence.
Glaring at Dean, Peach clenched her teeth, and her heart ached at the sight of him, trying so hard to
control herself, not wanting to make a big deal out of the situation before her mother got hurt because
of her poor health. “It’s fine, mama.” Peach said with a slight smile. “No, it’s not, honey! You are
bleeding!” Miss Grace cried, her heart-shattering at the sight of her daughter injured. Wiping the blood
off her lip, Peach shook her head, ignoring the pain in her jaw, and insisted, “It’ll heal. Let’s not argue, it
won’t help anything right now.” Then she looked back at Madam Jewel and asked, “What did you guys
want to talk to me about?
Her voice snapped Madam Jewel out of her trance, and she cleared her throat, glaring at Dean before
she spoke quietly, “Your grandfather’s death anniversary is coming two weeks from now, and there will
be a party at the mansion to celebrate the life he lived…”
Pausing as a sense of worry overtook Madam Jewel that Peach wouldn’t agree to come because of the
incident that just happened and her plans would get ruined, Madam Jewel sighed and then said, “Will
you pay your respect to your grandfather by coming?”. The words, “Respect” and “Grandfather,” were
the only thing in that entire sentence that Peach cared about, and even though she knew a nest of
Hayes meant trouble for her and her mother, she ignored her hate and said, “Sure. I will be there.”
“Huh?!” Madam Jewel asked in shock. Then she hastily reached into her bag and took out a fancy
black and gold invitation and handed it over to Peach. 1
Reluctantly, Peach read the elegant script on the invitation and felt something tighten in her stomach
when she looked back at Madam Jewel and asked, “Is that all you guys came for?”