The Marvelous Elijah's Return

Round it up to a thousand

Looking at Michael squared in his face, Elijah couldn’t stop himself from glaring at him with his hard and

narrowed eyes and said, “It wouldn’t be necessary coming back here… You heard Peach, didn’t you?

Didn’t you pick up the word, ‘Never,’ in what she said?”

His voice was so venomous and it sent chills through Michael’s body. But he remained strong even

though Elijah wasn’t making it easy on him. When they were close enough, Elijah leaned in and lowered

his voice, glaring into Michael’s eyes and whispering threateningly in his ear, “Showing up in someone’s

face that doesn’t want you to is call harassment, and do you know what happened to people who don’t

know how to take a hint, huh?”

Chills ran through Michael’s body, and he felt Elijah’s warm breath hit his ears as he spoke, and he could

feel goosebumps rising on his skin. ‘Why does he have such an aura…?!’ Michael thought, feeling frozen

and helpless against his intense and dangerous presence, but didn’t want to show any weakness, so he

clenched his jaw and glared harshly at Elijah with his eyes, and retorted fiercely, “Well, who are you to

stop me from pursuing a single woman?”

Looking at the calling card in Micheal’s hands, Elijah frowned, reaching for it, and Michael did not dare

move back as Elijah slowly took it out of his hand and then said, “Because she’s already taken.” The

motel was silent once Elijah finished speaking. A shocked silence spread across the lobby as the words

sank in.

Then Miss Grace’s eyes grew wide, confused and slightly annoyed at Elijah’s words, but she was too

stunt to say anything. A look of shock crossed Michael’s face as he swallowed down thickly, and then his

cocky thoughts awakened and he chuckled humorlessly.

“It’s true, isn’t it? You are a lowlife goldbrick who feeds off the wealth of women… Woo, woo, Woo!” He

started cackling loudly and laughed maniacally. “Are you even a man if a woman is spoon feeding you

like some sort of fucking leech?!” “You! You! Shut up! You don’t know what you are talking about!!”

James yelled at Michael. “Oh yeah? Then tell me what you know that I don’t know?!” Michael retorted,

folding his arms across his chest and glowering, looking directly into James’ eyes. “Who are you again?”

When James didn’t respond because he didn’t want to overstep Elijah’s authority, Michael scoffed and

then let out, “Peach needs a real man… A man that will shower her with gifts, take her on fancy dinners,

make her presentable in the eyes of others…”

Feeling himself, Michael looked around, and then he met Miss Grace’s eyes and wanting to remind her

of the difference between Elijah and him, he uttered, “And, not someone like you to drag her into your

struggle and have her suffer, just because you happen to have an obsession with her… It’s ridiculous!

She needs a man, not a worthless bum like you! Do you have no shame?! How stupid are you?!”

A snort left his lips, but when he saw Elijah’s gaze on him, a chill went down his spine as his stomach

twisted uncomfortably, making his insides feel cold and his mouth felt bitter.

“Let this be the last time you step foot on this property again…” Elijah warned, staring deeply into

Michael’s eyes as he spoke, his face now filled with anger and rage as his gaze made his point very

clear.

“Hah, I don’t remember this place being yours,” Michael shot back arrogantly, trying to hide the panic

growing inside of him when he noticed everyone around them was glaring at him. Breaking the small

distance between Michael and him, Elijah lowered his head to meet his eyes and said, “If you still have

use for your legs, you will understand that what I said was a threat and not a request… Am I clear?”

With a shaky gaze, Michael looked over at Miss Grace, frowning slightly as he thought, ‘Why is this old

thing just standing there and allowing me to get humiliated… Is she blind? Or deaf? Or is she just

enjoying every minute of this humiliation!’ Then he focused back on Elijah, who seemed like he was

getting impatient by the sight of him and thinking about turning his threat into action right at that moment.

“Whatever,” Michael said under his breath, trying to appear calm as he shrugged.

Looking back at Miss Grace, he sighed in annoyance and said, “Madam, can you please give this to your

daughter? It’s a diamond necklace.” As Michael tried to walk past Elijah, he snatched the shopping bag

from his hand and said, ” Peach told you that it was useless for her to mention anything about you to her

mother. Do you think she would want your gift?” Stay in shock about everything unfolding before her,

Miss Grace couldn’t bring herself to utter a single sound or move. “Take your gift and leave,” Elijah

growled as he shoved the shopping bag back at his chest. But Michael was too stupefied to hold onto it,

and it dropped onto the floor, then it took him a second before he lashed out at Elijah, “Do you know how

freaking expensive these items cost? It could buy your life!”

A snort escaped James’ lips as he rolled his eyes. But he kept them locked on the scene before him in

silence and knew better than to interfere. Calmly, Elijah picked up the bag from off the floor, opened it,

took out the box, and opened it, studying the gemstones carefully for a few seconds, before he looked up

and looked at Michael with a scowl.

“You think a fake diamond necklace is worth more than a human life… not even the real one is worth that

much. Hah, what a snob.” Elijah shook his head and handed Michael the box. “Take your shit and

leave.”

A look of raw awe made its way into his eyes as he stared at Elijah, wondering how in the world he could

tell that the necklace wasn’t real despite its size and appearance, mumbling in his head, ‘Have he been

around the real ones often to tell them apart so easily?’ Before Elijah could see his reaction, Michael

quickly grabbed the necklace and threw it in the box, clutching the handle, and said, “What a bluff. You

wouldn’t know what was real or fake… have you seen an actual diamond in your lifetime?!”

Then in shame, he backed away, turned around, and walked away without another word. When he got to

the door, he looked back, and after seeing that Miss Grace didn’t say anything about Elijah’s outburst

and was just looking at him with concern in her eyes, he quickly walked out and closed the door behind

him.

Looking at the calling card in his hand for a moment, Elijah’s face hardened, then he tore it into pieces,

turning around to leave, but stopped when his gaze rested on Miss Grace. For two whole minutes, they

just stared at each other. Then, Miss Grace finally broke the spell with a sigh, and then she frowned as

she asked, “What do you think you are doing?” “Maybe it’s best if you have a talk with your daughter and

based on her words, we can have this conversation later,” Elijah said, his tone taking a humble

approach. After giving her a weak smile, he walked past her, heading out of the lobby, leaving his men

struggling to wrap their heads around their boss’ new mood.

When Elijah got to his room, he shut the door behind him, and then he took out his phone from his

pocket and then called Jerome.

After one ring, his call was answered, and Jerome’s voice came through, sounding worried,” Boss, it’s

good that you call.”

“Where’s Dice?” Elijah asked in a serious tone, and his frown deepened at the memory of what Michael

said to him.

The air was coded in the smell of cigarettes and white smoke with the faint smell of blood in the

warehouse, and Jerome looked over at his father puffing another cigarette, looking bored. “The boss

wants to speak with you,” He said when he and Dice’s eyes locked. Immediately, his father dropped the

cigarette and stepped on it, mashing it for a moment before taking the phone from his son. “What’s up,

boss? What are we doing about the storm blowing your way?” Dice blurted out, looking hopeful.

“I think it’s time we take over the underground… I need you to recruit more men…” Elijah said in a flat

voice.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, and Dice’s voice was hesitant when he said, “. What

number are we talking about? A couple of hundred?” “Round it up to a thousand,” Elijah replied shortly

as his grip tightened on his phone. “Before this storm hits, we should be ready to hit with all of our might

against the enemy.”

Dice hesitated for a while, and then he nodded slowly as a sign of acknowledgment before he added,

“This will be costly?” “Money is not the issue. A couple of million bucks is worth dragging down those

who wouldn’t let a sleeping dog lay.” Elijah exhaled sharply, and continued calmly, “Don’t worry, I will pay

you in full when this is over… Now, we need to get prepared. Because we have to go to the next

phase…”

A look of disbelief crossed Dice’s face at the figure Elijah was willing to pay, and he asked,” Who are you

really, boss?”

“I’m just a man tired of ignorant people pissing on him,” Elijah uttered, his voice filled with

distaste.