The Marvelous Elijah’s Return

With someone powerful
The dining hall was eerily quiet as everybody slowly digested what Madam Jewel had revealed. “A man like Bryan Checks is
getting involved with our family?” Mathew, second to Dean, questioned, frowning slightly.
“Why? How can a man like that possibly be interested in helping Peach and Grace though?!” Eli exclaimed angrily, clenching and
unclenching his fists, feeling angered and confused.
Looking at Madam Jewel, Cora frowned slightly at the stress she saw in her mother‘s eyes and mumbled, “He is someone that
never just gets involved with people without ulterior motives, Eli! He loves money and power... nothing else matters to him.”
“Money, power, and women,” Amelia said, meeting her sister‘s eyes.
“What?”
“We are all missing the bigger picture here. Peach is a woman. Bryan is a man. Men usually get protective over the one they are
interested in and would do whatever it takes to keep them protected no matter what, right mom?”
t‘s like a light bulb switched on in Madam Jewel‘s mind and the realization hit her hard, causing the color to drain from her face,
as she stuttered out, “Oh my..”
As soon as those words left her mouth, the whole family turned their heads to stare at her with curious eyes.
“Peach can not be with a man as powerful as Bryan Checks... she can‘t be with anyone with that kind of power or prestige,”
Madam Jewel stated quietly, her voice wavering slightly. A couple of silent minutes passed and nobody uttered a word. The
tension in the air grew thicker, making everyone feel uneasy.
A nervous laugh filled with uncertainty erupted from Melina‘s lips as a sense of raw panic rose inside of her chest.
“There‘s no way a man like Checks would love a woman like Peach, right? That is so... SO stupid and so unbelievable.” Melina
blurted as her eyes darted from person to person as she tried to find some type of confirmation.
But when no one answered, she stared at her brother, Josh, and he scowled at her, aggressively dropping his fork on the plate,
locking eyes with her. “Peach is out there getting involved with a man like Checks, and you choose that no–good, worthless ass
to marry!! How could you be so stupid! You‘re supposed to be smart, smart enough to not let some loafer screw around with your
reputation.” Josh exploded, spitting mad at his sister.

Flinching at his furious outburst, Melina shrunk back into her chair and lowered her eyes in shame and embarrassment.
Annoyed at her brother‘s harsh words, Melina pouted and whispered, “We don‘t even know for sure if Peach is in a relationship
with Checks! After all, she and her mother are still harboring my Ex–husband...” “Stop referring to that... that lowlife as your ex,
you moron!” Josh spat harshly, slamming his
hand down onto the table as he shot her a glare, causing Melina to flinch slightly, unable to stop herself from shrinking away.
“Josh....” Dean warned quietly, glaring at him in a warning. A heavy sigh escaped Josh‘s lips as he dropped his gaze back to his
plate and pushed the remains of his dinner away, mumbling, “You guys shouldn‘t have allowed her to marry that punk. That‘s all I
am saying.” Staring at her son pleadingly, Martha looked toward her husband for a moment and then said, “Josh, son, please
don‘t take it out on Melina–”
“You are right. It‘s that trashy ex of hers. If he wasn‘t so useless and dumb, my sister‘s reputation wouldn‘t have taken such a
beating!” Josh growled, glaring at his sister. Frowning, Madam Jewel reached for her glass of wine and took a small sip before
turning her eyes on Josh and saying, “You four can have your separate meeting as a family to scold Melina for marrying a loser.
But not tonight, and not at the meeting I arranged!” The raise in her voice caused everyone to turn and look at her, a look of
seriousness on each of their faces.
After some quiet seconds, Madam Jewel took another sip of wine and continued, “My biggest concern now is Peach and Bryan
Checks... I need to be sure that Peach doesn‘t have a man as powerful as Checks at her disposal and is involved romantically
with him.”
“Well, finding out if Checks is involved with Peach is going to be difficult because he is someone who takes pride in his privacy
and doesn‘t reveal much about himself to people,” Dean commented with a frown, placing a hand on his forehead in thought.
“You all should know how big of a threat that man is to us because of his high position and influence,” Madam Jewel said darkly,
leaning forward on the table and resting both hands heavily on it, staring at each member of her family in turn. “And if Peach has
him in her grip, we won‘t stand a chance against her.”
The dining room remained quiet after hearing the last statement and a sudden wave of anxiety engulfed the room as everyone
started thinking about how to deal with the situation. All of a sudden, Eli leaned forward with a serious expression on his face,
narrowing his eyes at the table, and uttered, “Dean, don‘t you have a few friends in higher places? Maybe you can use them to
get a meeting set up between Checks and you to find out the truth.” “Well... I mean yes... I have a few business partners who I
trust with something like that... They might be able to pull some strings and get me a meeting with Checks,” Dean replied,
nodding his head and rubbing his chin. Looking at her son with a smile on her lips and an understanding sparkle in her eyes,

Madam Jewel nodded her head and said, “That is a good plan. Dean can use such means, and I will talk with Peach and see if
she will open up to me.” “Be careful, mother. That brat has gotten way too disrespectful and cocky recently,” Tommy grumbled,
his arms crossed across his chest as he rolled his eyes. “And Melina‘s so–called Ex–husband seemed to be pretty close to her
and has been helping her act like the spoiled brat that she is,” Patricia remarked, raising an eyebrow slightly as she gave Melina
a sideways glance.
“He‘s just looking for another set of hands to feed him. That’s how Elijah is... he‘s a leech that lives off of anyone‘s money, and
treats them with so much care that you wouldn’t even feel him sucking you dry–“Melina ranted, her face turning bright red in
anger.
With rage burning in his eyes, Josh looked over at his grandmother and said, “I will take you to see Peach... It‘s best if you have
someone to protect you while you visit her..” Nodding her head, Madam Jewel placed her glass down and smiled slightly, “Thank
you, grandson. I would appreciate that.” “It‘s no problem, grandma,” Josh said with a faint sneer, his eyes filled with malice.
Staring into the empty bowl, Peach chuckled faintly as she stared at Elijah, mumbling, “Let me get this straight when you were
little you used to cry a lot, huh?”
A laugh escaped her lips when Elijah‘s cheeks flushed and he averted his eyes from her and shook his head lightly at her words,
not knowing how their little game got to such a sensitive place.
But he could see that Peach was completely relaxed and her mood had changed from stiff to lighthearted, and she didn‘t seem
to care about anything. In fact, she appeared to be enjoying herself. When Peach noticed Elijah‘s intense stare, she furrowed her
brows and asked, “What is it?” “Nothing... you just look different right now,” Elijah stated calmly, trying to keep the awkwardness
from his voice.
«How?”
“I don‘t know... Just different,”
A sudden silence took over the room as Peach fluttered her eyelashes slightly and pursed her lips, a small smirk forming on her
face, and she replied softly, “Is there something wrong with that?”
Slowly shaking his head, Elijah cleared his throat and forced out, “No, nothing. You just seem more lively... happier.” Blinking
twice, Peach slowly lifted her eyebrows and asked, “Do I?” Nodding his head, Elijah said, “Yes, you do.”

The sound of her heartbeat increased and her stomach twisted in nervous knots as she shifted stiffly, glancing up at Elijah and
smiling awkwardly at him, mumbling, “I can say the same about you.” “Hmm,” Elijah mumbled.
His gaze subconsciously rested on the bruise on her lip, and he raised his hand towards her mouth, stroking his thumb along the
tender flesh gently. “Sorry about this,” Elijah apologized, letting his fingers linger over her lip. “For what?” Peach questioned,
tilting her head to the side, wondering why he felt the need to apologize.
“I should have been more gentle.”
“Maybe... next time you can be...”
The words that left her lips made Peach‘s eyes widen instantly, and she let out a soft gasp, her heart skipped a beat at the
comment and her mind went into overdrive. Embarrassed, she hastily stood from her seat, grabbed the tray, and mumbled, “I
should take these to the kitchen.”
“Don‘t waste your feelings on me, little buddy. I have had my fair share of a relationship, and I shouldn‘t be giving you false
hopes,” Elijah muttered under his breath,
shaking his head as he stared at her retreating figure.
Stopping in her tracks and turning around to face him, Peach blinked several times, frowning a bit at his remark before
mumbling, “I am not Melina, so please don‘t judge me based on what she did to you.”