Jareth felt every hair on his body stand on end as he saw Evadne's brother, Elvis, stride into the room with the casual swagger of a rockstar.
People called Jareth the "Grim Reaper," but in the presence of Elvis, Jareth might as well have been Casper the Friendly Ghost. And since Elvis was Evadne's brother, well, Jareth wouldn't dare lift a finger against him.
"Mr. Fairhaven, I'm so sorry." Lily panted, her gaze filled with regret as she looked at Jareth.
Jareth swallowed hard, his voice rising urgently, "Don't be foolish! The mighty Elvis doesn't stoop to brawling with women. That's just bad form!"
"So what, I'm supposed to stand here and let she beat the daylights out of me?"
Elvis yawned with the indifference of someone who had seen it all, "Do I look like a masochist to you?"
His words left Jareth without a comeback.
He knew Lily too well; fierce and loyal, with eyes only for her master. Anyone who dared cross her boss would face her wrath, no holds barred.
"But you're right, I don't hit women."
With a devil-may-care shrug, Elvis released his grip and raised an eyebrow suggestively, "Lucky for you, dollface, you're a woman. Otherwise, I would've snapped those kitty claws of yours already."
"Jerk!"
Lily was fiercely proud and couldn't tolerate such humiliation. She clenched her fists, ready to go another round, but Jareth's stern voice halted her.
"Lily! Stand down! He's Ms. Ashbourne's brother!"
Lily froze, her eyes wide with realization.
Her brother?
The man before her – wild and untamed like a lone wolf – was Evadne's brother, the scion of the Ashbourne family?
Elvis playfully stuck out his tongue at the stunned Lily before turning a cool, hard gaze on Jareth.
"Evadne and Thaddeus, they're with you, aren't they?"
Inside the room, there was a tender atmosphere.
Evadne noticed a bruise on Thaddeus's face, a mix of shock, anger, and concern flitting across her features as she cradled his face, "Who did this? Tell me!"
"I fell on the way here," Thaddeus offered a weak, wry smile, caressing her hands gently.
"Bull! You fell face-first? Are you that clumsy?"
Evadne's cheeks flushed with anger, "When you visited the other day, did Emeric and my brothers rough you up?"
Thaddeus hastened to assure her, "No, really, it wasn't that."
"It was them! It had to be! You were in the peace corps, for crying out loud, you can handle yourself. Even Elvis could only hold his own against you! Who else could've done this to you unless you stood there and took it?"
Tears swirled in Evadne's eyes as she hesitated to touch the bruise, not wanting to cause more pain, "Even if you have a beef, there's no excuse for hitting the face! What's wrong with them?"
Thaddeus's eyes were soft with affection, already over the incident.
Yet seeing his girl in such distress, he was a maelstrom of happiness, sadness, and regret. His eyes reddened as he tightly grasped her hand, unwilling to let go.
"Evadne, none of that matters. Nothing is as important as having you back by my side."
His voice thick with emotion, Thaddeus nearly choked on the last few words.
With tears streaming down her face, Evadne threw herself into his arms, "Thaddeus, I'm back. I never want to leave you again."
Suddenly, urgent knocks disrupted the moment.
"Thaddeus! Evadne! Open up!"
Evadne and Thaddeus exchanged puzzled glances, "Is that Marilla?"
Thaddeus lifted her from the bed, supporting her waist as they approached the door and opened it—
Marilla stood there, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks smeared with frosting, "Thaddeus! Evadne! Trouble! Someone's after Evadne!"
"Trouble?" The couple was taken aback.
The next second, Elvis's tall, lean figure materialized behind Marilla, his eyes clouded with a frosty mist.
"Evadne."
"Elvis!"
Evadne paled, crying out, "Thaddeus! Close the door, quick!"
Thaddeus, usually calm and collected, was momentarily flustered at the sight of Elvis.
But Marilla snapped to action, beads of sweat on her forehead as she scrambled to help close the door.
Yet, no matter how fast she was, she wasn't faster than Elvis, whose strong hand forcefully stopped the door from shutting.
Marilla pushed with all her might, but couldn't close the gap.
Seeing his once close sister now as terrified and resistant as if seeing a ghost, Elvis sighed deeply, a wry smile on his face.
"Evadne, don't hide from me. I didn't come to drag you back."
Thaddeus's eyes trembled, and Evadne stared in disbelief, "Huh? Elvis."
"I never intended to keep you two apart."
Elvis looked at the couple who had suffered so much yet couldn't find peace together, his heart heavy, "I came to make sure you were safe, not sick, or hurt. Don't be afraid."
Those simple words struck straight to Evadne's heart!
Elvis was visibly moved, his lips pressed tightly together.
After all this time, he never would have imagined that among Evadne's family, there would be someone willing to stand by him, someone willing to trust him.
"Elvis!"
Evadne stepped forward and embraced him, and he returned the embrace warmly, tenderly stroking her hair, "You silly girl. Jumping from a five-story building to get away. If you had hurt yourself, how could we live on?!"
"Evadne!" Thaddeus's eyes widened in shock!
"I'm fine, aren't I? It was just five floors." Evadne sniffled, unabashedly wiping her nose on Elvis's black shirt.
"I know you too well. Who could ever stop you from doing what you set your mind to? Forget about five floors. You just jumped out of an airplane on Star Island!" Elvis scolded, his eyes filled with affection as he pulled out his tie and tenderly wiped her nose.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus)
Please upload further chapters...
Please upload further chapters...
Where is the continuation of this story? You should not have started writing a story if you dont intend to continue till the end you left us hanging, thats very unprofessional as a writer....
Next chapter please.....
1 chapter per day??...
Hurry up and load more better yet just load the whole book...