Chapter 174 Final Warning
The final warning came in the form of three men standing in the driveway of Luke’s mansion.
Liyah wanted him to feel the weight of his action and regret ever raising his voice against her.
William and Arabella stood by the window, the old fear reigniting in William’s eyes. He was about to move and talk it out but Luke came in between.
“I.. I don’t want to bring you any troubles, Luke,” William whispered worriedly.
“You have spent all your life shielding me. It is time you step back and let me protect you.” Luke declared coldly, turning towards the door. “I will see the men who dared to trespass my home.”
Luke stepped out first. His head high in pride, hands resting in his pockets. Peach walked beside him, her heels clicking against the marble.
“Oh, we have company?” A vile smirk spread on her lips, observing the situation, inducing a thrill in her.
"This is private property," Luke snarled, stepping in front of Peach as the men reached the top step.
"Get out before I have the police haul you away."
The lead man, a hulking figure with a scarred knuckle, let out a dry laugh. He didn't look at Luke; he looked at the house behind him.
"The clock has stopped, Mr. Grayson. We want what’s ours. And we don't care who gets bruised in the process."
He reached out, his hand moving with a sudden, disrespectful speed to grab Peach’s wrist, intending to shove her aside to get to the door.
Luke’s eyes flared– a sudden, possessive rage taking hold of him. He was about to intervene, his hands already curling into fists to protect the woman he had only just decided to trust again.
But, he never got the chance.
In a blur of motion that defied her elegant silhouette, Peach didn't flinch. She didn't scream.
Instead, before the man’s fingers could even tighten around her skin, she let out a pocket knife from inside her coat and pointed the blade at his throat.
The attacker froze, his breath hitching. The other two men stopped dead, their eyes wide when Peach had zero hesitation to dig deep as a red line already began to form on his throat.
"You dared to touch what is Luke's,"
Her voice was steady, dripping with a dark authority that had dominated endless boardrooms.
"How should I punish them, my love? Shall I start by cutting these hands off? They seem... redundant now."
Luke stood frozen, staring at his wife, her devilish side emerging once again that ran everyone’s blood cold because they knew.
She won’t think twice. She stood atop of the Galaxy Chain as the ‘Spoilt Princess’ for naught. One slide is all it takes.
"Who... who are you?" the man at the knife-point wheezed.
"Run," Peach enunciated, her emerald eyes narrowing with a dangerous twinkle.
"Before I decide that Liyah isn't the only one who needs to lose everything today. And I mean it, everything."
She retracted the blade with a flick of her wrist. The men didn't wait for a second invitation.
They scrambled back, stumbling over their own feet as they fled toward their car, the tires screeching in a desperate retreat.
The silence that followed was absolute. William and Arabella watched from the doorway, stunned.
Luke turned to his wife, his heart racing- not from fear, but from the sheer, overwhelming power radiating from her.
She turned to Luke, a slow, dark grin spreading across her lips. The moisture from her earlier plea was gone, replaced by a terrifying devotion.
"I told you, Luke," she said, stepping into his space, her gaze locked onto his.
"I will do anything for you. I can crush empires, and I can bury secrets. Liyah wants to play with fire? Let her."
She reached up, her thumb tracing his lower lip.
"She has no idea what I am willing to do just to make you love me back." And then glanced at Arabella, remembering the comment she made.
“To show that I am not ‘unlovable’ and can be a wife too.”
Arabella passed a feeble smirk, holding William firmly as the couple entered the room. Luke smiled, giving William’s shoulder a pat.
“I told you, I’d handle it.”
William smiled, "You have… truly grown, Luke.”
Exchanging a nod of approval they went to their studies.
The adrenaline from the confrontation in the driveway still hummed in the air, but inside the study, the silence was heavy.
Luke stood by his desk, staring at Peach
“When did you…” He paused, voice cracking with a strange desperation as his eyes narrowed.
“When did your feelings grow this much? Didn’t you hate me and wanted to ruin me, Peach?”
“My theory: Love isn’t the only painful thing in the world. Is still valid. But…”
Peach looked at him, her emerald eyes softening with a weary feeling.
“Guilt is far more gut-wrenching. I returned to a hollow world. I lost what I missed all my life, presence, love, affection.”
She reached into the inner pocket of her blazer and pulled out a small box that looked entirely too familiar.
Inside sat a ring– the one Luke had given her years ago, the one lost to the wreckage of their past.
“And I am still carrying it, My love. That one day, the one who brought it will slide it in my finger.”
Luke’s breath hitched.
He stared at the diamond, a symbol of a promise he thought he had broken. “You’ve been carrying that ring... all these years?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded, a screen of tears forming, her shoulder shaking, indicating she could shatter any moment.
“I-I love you, Luke. I can’t lose my great treasure, not this time. I will prove my love-”
Without a warning, Luke crashed his lips on hers, his fingers tangling in her hair, pressing her against him to submerge in the pure desperation and longing.
Peach was stunned at first but eventually closed her eyes, kissing him back with the same unwavering dedication, colliding their lips in a perfect rhythm.
“You have done more than enough to prove your love, Peach. ” He pulled away breathlessly, cupping her face.
“You stayed with me when I wasn’t there for myself. When I wanted to die, you married me, you saved me…” His gaze lowered with a dejection, their moments flashing in his mind.
“There is no past left for me. I am sorry, you are not unlovable. You are the most lovable person in my life.” His hand led to hers, kissing her knuckles with a gentleness brimming in his heart.
“And I promise you, I will try my best to be a better husband. To build a future where we will be without any envy or heartbreak.”
Tears finally broke free, spilling down Peach’s cheeks as she threw her arms around his neck. A reunion of two souls that had been lost in the dark for far too long.
Outside the door, the war with Liyah was still brewing, and William’s secrets were still waiting to explode, but inside this room, for the first time, there was peace.