THE BILLIONAIRE’S RETURNED LOVER

YOU ARE LEAVING?

"He wants them to build a house? Has he gone mad?" Stella's cold voice rose in the air sending shivers down everyone's spines except Eli. She sat pin up straight in her chair, her black hair tightened into a fierce bun.

Eli watched her narrow her black eyes into a slit and pressed his lips into a line, repressing the fury that bubbled in his veins. How could she?! How could she treat his father's death with such looseness as if he were irrelevant?

"That was Mr Carter's last wish." The Lawyer responded flatly. "And now on to the will."

"That certainly must be better than some flimsy mandate." His mother grumbled loud enough for everyone in the living room to hear. He heard Ivory gasp and from the corner of his left eye, he noticed Madeline glaring hatefully at Stella, who hurried the lawyer into reading the will.

She made him sick. Elijah hunched over, clasping his hands to still the trembling that threatened to take over his whole body. He had to get out of there before he did something as horrible as wringing his mother's neck like a piece of wet cloth.

"And to Ivory, the daughter I never had-"

"Will you skip all that?! I don't have time for Al this dilly dally. Go to the part where he left me something." Stella demanded, staring intensely at the lawyer until he cowered under her gaze.

He had to leave.

Launching to his feet abruptly, he ignored the questioning look in Ivory's sweet hazel eyes as he walked past her, towards the door. He had spent the entire afternoon trying to get her to look at him in the face without turning as red as a tomato, or scampering off like one too.

"Bull shit." He muttered, his lips pulled in a taut grim line and he walked out of the mansion stiffly.

Outside, the sun's rays marred the sky in a swirl of pink and orange against the pale blue sky, that reflected in the huge pool a few metres in front of the mansion. Thick and tall flower shrubs surrounded the fifteen-meter-long pool that sat majestically in the centre of the huge compound, filled with memories he didn't want to recollect.

Like the time he, his father and Ivory had tried to build the pool themselves. It had been stupid, silly, and they never made it past digging one foot, but it had been fun.

Stray tears leaked from the corner of his eyes. A cool breeze whipped against his face, sifted through his cotton black shirt and pants, as he stomped down the stairs that led into the mansion and then picked up his pace towards the pool. A wave of emotions swirled through him, making him stagger and he held on to the prickly flower shrubs next to him.

"f**k this!" He muttered and stopped abruptly looked up at the sky and roared. "f**k this!!! How could you do this to me Dad?! "

Four days and it still dawned on him as fresh as snow. He had known Frederick would die when his father had taken him to the Carter Industries Head Quarters and handed over the CEO position in the last year, Elijah had known cancer had worsened.

"And I couldn't do s**t about it." He tightened his hands in a fist glaring at the pool. The clear blue waters glared at him in return. His best friend, father, mentor and worst wingman ever was gone. And left his darned, awful, prissy wife who thought anyone who didn't obey her was of the same status as the gum beneath her shoe.

"You still play the worst jokes, Old man." He murmured, tugging at his blonde locks. Everything was a mess. There was his cold-ass mother whom he never got along with, and then there was Ivory.

Sweet, tempting, delicious Ivory.

Since the first day he had moved to LA, Ivory had captured his heart. She had batted her sweet hazel eyes at him in wonder, unable to form proper coherent sentences and calling every boy that came her way 'Bob'. At three years old, Ivory Stars became the star in his life. He watched her bloom, blossom and grow until she left. Drove a knife straight into his heart.

And then she came back.

And she twisted the knife deeper ensuring it hurt.

Elijah groaned audibly, lowering himself slowly to sit on the pavement by the pool. He took a glance at the water, gauging its temperature and shook his head. It would be cold as heck. A shudder rippled his shoulders as he recalled the graze of Ivory's sharp fingers against his scalp the night before.

"Damn." He muttered, suddenly realizing the implications. He had shagged his best friend. No no, it was more than that. He had kissed, licked, sucked, f****d Ivory. A lump clogged his throat and he swallowed feeling his pants tighten. The view of her pale heaving breasts offered to him, a rather mouth-watering sacrifice plagued his thoughts. Thick cheery red n*****s that hardened in his mouth, and drove him nuts. And she was so darned responsive. Arching her back as he stroked, touched-

"I suppose it isn't funny this time, is it?" A cold female voice intruded on his thoughts dampening his spirit.

To the press, Stella Carter was a diva. Diva to the prominent Montgomery family, before marrying her unruly, non-conforming jokester of a husband, Frederick Carter. Eli had grown up, seeing newspapers and blogs label his father as a gold digger, marrying a rich woman to rise the ranks. It was probably true. But he didn't care. If there was one thing he knew about his father, it was that he had built and raised Carter Industries from scratch. Nothing the press or his entitled mother said could change that.

From the corner of his eyes, he could make out the sharp black stilettos his mother had worn on the floor beside him.

How on earth had he not noticed her walking towards him?

"I'm talking to you, Elijah," Stella said icily, and the hairs on his back rose in apprehension. He felt like a little boy under her condescending tone. The little boy who had grown up, begging his mother to love him.

And Elijah. Hated. It.

Speedily, he sprang to his feet, his large body loomed over her delicate structure. The simple green dress she wore stopped right above her knees, accentuating her slender figure. Stella arched a brow at his stance, irritating him further.

"Get out." He gritted through his teeth.

Unaffected his mother reached into an emerald-stoned purse that hung over her shoulder. "While you're sulking over a rather ridiculous mandate, Do you know what I got Eli?"

"I don't know. And I don't care!" Eli growled. "Get out! Go the hell away! You wanted to know what was in his will huh? Now you know what you got, so stay the f**k away from me!"

"What I got?" Stella yelled back, her catlike eyes fierce with anger. Whipping out a piece of paper from her purse, she waved vigorously in his face. "He left me a freaking therapist session! And houses in Louisiana? Really? Your father is a pathetic joke."

"Mother!" He bellowed, grabbing her shoulders. Damn, he wanted to toss her into the pool. No, he wanted to do more than that. And it would've helped if she looked just a tad bit afraid, but his mother stared defiantly at him, daring him. Taunting him. Reluctantly he let her go, turned around and kicked the floor in anger.

Stella gave a harsh horrid laugh. "Still a wimp I see. It's no wonder that Ivory girl walks all over you."

Eli gave her a nasty glare. "You're sick." He hissed.

A dark look came upon his mother's face and she smiled. "That's not a very good way to talk to your mother now Eli."

His stomach rolled in fear at the look on her face. s**t! His mother smiling was never a good thing. She ran her eyes over him, slowly and leisurely, tapped her chin in thought then nodded.

"I'll be on my way now I suppose. We'll talk when you're being less savage." She said haughtily and walked past him towards her car that was parked next to the black gate. Mutely Eli watched her slide into her silver Aston Martin, and drive out of the compound.

She was planning something, he was fairly sure of that. And it could not be good.

A rustling behind the flower hedge caught his attention. When he tried to look through the vines and twigs, he caught a flash of stark black hair and heard a tiny 'ow' sound. There was only one other person with black hair in his home, as far as he knew.

"Come out Ivory." He said exasperatedly.

The look on her face was sheepish as she stepped out from behind the flower shrubs, walking towards him in slow apprehensive steps.

"Sorry... I...I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything." She stuttered, a tinge of pink coated her cheeks in the fading sunlight. She also wore a black t-shirt and rather unattractive faded jeans. "I just wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine." He grunted, waving her off and turning his attention to the closed gate.

Beside him, Ivory shuffled on her feet, looking at the pool. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Uhm, I'm sure she doesn't mean what she says-"

Rubbing a hand down his face in mild frustration, he turned his gaze on her. "Please, tell me, you didn't come here to advocate for my mother."

Her hazel eyes widened at the irritation in his voice and she shook her head vigorously. "No no. No. Uh, no. I didn't."

His forehead crinkled in a frown. "Why are you here then?"

Ivory's already wide eyes, widened even more and she touched her hair, laughing. A habit of hers when she was nervous. "Would you look at that, the sun is setting. It's seven I should probably be on my way-"

Eli's brows shot up as her words sunk in. On her way?! She was leaving already? He growled and turned to face her, green eyes blazing in accusation.

"You're leaving?!"