Elijah's pov ;
I rang the doorbell, and was irritated when the didn't open for a while. Why is he taking so long?
Finally, the door opened, and the face that greeted instead of Ash made go insane.
Noah stood there with one of his signature glares. "What are you doing here?"
I rolled my eyes boredly. "I should be asking you that. This is Ash's house."
He didn't miss a beat. "Ash is a friend, so naturally I'm always welco here. Unlike so people."
Seeing him standing there so proud made lose my patience. "Where's Ash? I don't have ti to waste on useless things. My ti is precious."
He smirked and looked up and down. "Well, my ti is also precious. So, why don't you take your attitude and leave?"
I crossed my arms and decided to show him his place.
"You think you're so important, don't you? Just because you're holding Luxe Gemstone together by a thread doesn't an you can act like you own the place."
He raised a petty eyebrow. "Oooh, is it bad that I'm looking out for our company? Why do you sll so full of jealousy?"
? Jealous of him? What a joke!
"Funny coming from you when your company is just a sinking ship," I shot back and took a step closer, towering over him. "Where's Ash? I didn't co here to play gas with you."
"Maybe you should once in a while. You might learn how to win for once," He shrugged causally.
I scoffed and ground in frustration. "Winning? From you? Please. Your idea of winning is not going bankrupt. Congratulations."
He smirked again evilly, seeming amused by himself. "And your idea of winning is throwing tantrums until you get what you want. How's that working out for you?"
I clenched my fists, trying to keep my temper in check. "You're infuriating, you know that?"
He laughed, his expression infuriatingly calm. "Take one to know one."
Before I could respond, I heard Ash's voice from inside. "Who's at the door? Who are you talking to, Noah?"
Noah turned slightly, and that's when I saw Ash—standing there in nothing but a towel, wiping his hair. Fury erupted within . So, he shalessly shows off his body like this around his so-called friend?
Yeah, clearly they're just close friends.
His face shifted from confusion to annoyance when he saw . "Why are you here, Elijah?"
"Am I intruding, or did I just co at the wrong ti? Were you two in the middle of sothing?" I asked bitterly.
His brown eyes pierced holes into my face. "And even if we were, why should you care?"
Fueled by anger, I tried to push past Noah to reach him, but Noah blocked my path.
"Get out of the way," I growled. "Unless you want to lose 100% of your company."
"Elijah, don't drag soone else into our ss," Ash stepped in before Noah could say anything.
I turned my icy gaze to Ash. "I wouldn't, but you left no choice. Do you feel bad for him? Moved on so quickly, didn't you? Just traded in for your little sidekick here," I sneered, looking Noah up and down with disdain. "What should I call him? Your backup boy?"
"You don't get to co here and insult us. If you have a problem, talk to , not Noah," He scowled, and I could tell by his tone, how much he cares for this man here.
Does his stupid friend know that Ash is just using him for his skills?
"I have a problem with you pretending to be sothing you're not. You and your new boy toy here are pathetic," My face hardened and I blurted out whatever.
How I couldn't see through his facade in three years? What kind of magic tricks he was using?
"Leave, Elijah. Now," His boy toy interjected.
Ignoring him, I asked Ash. "Why the hell did you block my number? What kind of childish stunt was that?"
"Maybe I just got tired of dealing with an arrogant prick like you," He answered with a cold gaze.
How co I never notice his tongue is so venomous?
"Prick? That's rich coming from a drama queen who can't even handle a simple phone call."
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Please. I don't have ti for your toxic bullshit, Elijah. I have better things to do than listen to you whine."
"Better things?" I chuckled bitterly. "Like prancing around in a towel pretending to be busy?"
"At least I'm not an overgrown toddler who throws a tantrum every ti he doesn't get his way," he exclaid.
I threw my hands up in exasperation. "You're impossible!"
He sneered proudly. "Well, soone has to put you in your place."
"Asshole," I muttered under my breath.
"Dickhead," he said back as he clearly heard .
"Bastard."
"Douchebag."
We stood there, glaring daggers at each other until Noah, looking thoroughly irritated, stepped between us.
"Enough! Both of you. Ash...calm down."
Ash panted but then he sighed heavily. "Elijah, why are you even here?"
"Grandma wants to see you," I let out truthfully.
I was expecting him to throw a tantrum in this as well but his face lit up, his expression softening for a mont. "She does?"
"Yeah," I nodded. I don't want a fraud person like him anywhere near the only family I have left but I can't deny Grandma's wish as well. "So, you've got five minutes to get dressed, or I'm leaving without you."
"Five minutes?" he cried out. "You can't be serious. I need more ti than that."
"Tick-tock, princess," I said, tapping my wrist. "The clock's ticking."
He huffed, giving a last dirty look, he turned on his heel. "You're unbelievable. Fine. I'll be quick. But if you leave without , I swear—"
"You swear what?" I called after him. "Throw another hissy fit?"
His voice echoed from down the hall. "You bet I will, you insufferable bastard!"
I scoffed at his threat. "I'll be counting the seconds, douchebag!"
"Keep counting, shithead!" he yelled back.
Noah groaned, rubbing his temples. "Can you two just stop for once?"
True to his word, he reappeared in record ti, fully dressed and still fuming, he said. "Let's go before you decide to cause more trouble."
____________
Ash's pov ;
As I moved to hug Noah goodbye, Elijah roughly grabbed my arm and dragged away, muttering incoherent nonsense under his breath.
"Hey! Let go, you caveman!" I snapped, trying to pull free from his grip.
"Shut up and move," he hissed, dragging towards the car.
"Neanderthal," I grumbled, but followed along, knowing it would be pointless to argue right now.
Once we were in the car and driving, he turned to with a serious expression.
"Listen carefully. Don't say anything stupid in front of Grandma, alright? She just got out of the hospital and needs rest and peace. The last thing she needs is drama."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not a complete idiot."
He shot a sideways glance. "Could have fooled ."
I smirked. "You know, your concern for her is almost touching. If you weren't such an unbearable jerk 99% of the ti, and a cheater, people might actually like you."
He ignored my jab. "And if she asks about us, our relationship...just say the news of our divorce was all fake. We're still together."
I frowned. "What? That's ridiculous. Why would we lie to her?"
Hi's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "Because she doesn't need the stress. It's easier this way. Just say what you're told."
"Wow, so now we're back to pretending everything's perfect," I said, shaking my head. "Typical Elijah, avoiding real issues while hiding the truth."
"Typical Ash, always making things more difficult than they need to be while pretending to be innocent," he shot back as he drove calmly.
"Cunning snake bastard!" I muttered under my breath. I crossed my arms and stared out the window. "Whatever. I'll play along, but only because I care about Grandma too. Not because you told to."
He glanced at for a second, his expression told he didn't believe . "I don't know if you do. But she's the only person in my life who doesn't deserve to be hurt by all this...crap."
I was taken aback by his sudden openness. Elijah rarely let his guard down.
We drove in silence for a few minutes.
Despite our conflicts, Grandma didn't need to deal with the fallout of our ssy relationship. She was the only one who had always shown unconditional love and support, even when I felt like the world was against .
I glanced at Elijah, wondering how he could be so cold and calculating most of the ti, yet so tender and protective when it ca to her.
It was a side of him that baffled , a glimpse of the person he could have been if he wasn't so wrapped up in his own ego and anger. If he wasn't a cheater and so heartless.
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