The Marvelous Elijah's Return

Divorce A faint laugh left Peach‘s lips, her shaky eyes on Elijah, wondering if he was

kidding or not, and yet the seriousness in his gaze told her what she feared.

There was so much emotion flooding her that Peach had no idea how to deal

with it all. She did know one thing though, the feelings were too strong for her to be able to hold them in

and pretend like everything was fine.

“I have this thing with my dad that requires me to keep my identity a secret and…” Elijah trailed off, seei

ng the hurt in her eyes as she darted her gaze away from him, her shaky hand nervously exploring the

skin of her face. “Peach… I couldn‘t tell anybody… I…” “It‘s just a name, but why does it hurt so much t

o know that you lie about it, Elijah?” Peach whispered looking up at her once more. “How can just a na

me leave me with so much doubt about you, about us?”

Seeing her body shudder, Elijah reached for Peach‘s hand, but she

pulled back, awaking from the bed, and his heart ached as he let out, “Babe, I know you are mad–”.

“I am not mad, Elijah. I am hurt! Do you know how proud I was to be called Mrs. Darius every time? It‘s

not so much about the name… it‘s the fact that you looked me sincerely in my eyes every time I called

you that name, knowing I was making a fool out of myself… Are we even legally married then?!” Peach

said, tears forming in her eyes as she wiped them away, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

“Babe, I am so–”

“Don‘t finish that sentence… Don‘t you dare say you are sorry… Give me time to feel all these emotion

s you have caused me and process the fact that our

marriage was a lie, and I am not wedded to the man that you are, but some made–up name!”

Overwhelmed with so many feelings, the frustration on Peach‘s face was raw as she clapped her hand

over her mouth, her tears rolling down her cheeks, as

she tried to control her breathing, trying to contain the pain. “Okay… I

won‘t say it. But I am here and willing to mend this with you… So I am begging you to tell me how to fix

this because I know that I messed up. You have every right to feel what you are feeling… But please do

n‘t shut me out, Peach.” Elijah pleaded, slowly getting up from the bed.

“I can‘t do this with you right now,” Peach muttered through clenched teeth, running

her fingers through her hair. “I feel so dumb.”

Looking at her through moist eyes, Elijah watched her turn away from him, and as she headed for the d

oor, he shoved the cover off him, pushing his bruised body to stand up, only to hear her say, “Please

don’t leave that bed. Dr. Wilson said that you shouldn‘t put pressure on the wound.”

“Babe, come on. Let‘s talk about this, okay?… please!” Elijah begged, resting back on the bed, ignoring

the pain as he watched her grab the knob. “Don’t walk out the door… Babe! Come

on! Let‘s talk, plea–”

But his words were drowned out by the slam of the door behind her, and Elijah fell back against the

bed, tears falling onto his pillow as he closed his eyes, trying not to think of

anything else but her.

“Elijah is awake?” Miss Grace asked as she stood in the hallway with a cup of hot tea, and the look in h

er daughter‘s eyes as tears streamed down her face told Miss Grace enough. “What happened?” 2

“It shouldn‘t hurt this bad, mama!” Peach cried, covering her face with her hands as a

small whimper escaped her lips.

Hearing her outburst echo into the room, Elijah squeezed his eyes, a sense of regret eating away at his

insides. He never meant for things to go this

far, for their relationship to get this far, and it still surprised Elijah how fast il took for her to win his heart

and how easy it was for him to give himself completely over to her, to allow her to take over his life, his

mind, and heart.

Straining his body, Elijah reached over to his phone on the nightstand, and once he got it, he scrolled u

ntil he reached the contact labeled, “Father.”

After the third ring, the call got answered and immediately Elijah

said, “Hey, Dad… I need your help on something.”

“You are awake!” Mr. Maxwell‘s voice echoed in his ear, laced with shock and

excitement.” Since that‘s the case, we can talk over coffee.”

“What?”

“I am in the country?” “What country?!” “I am in Syldavia.” 1

Head resting on her mother‘s lap, Peach blew her nose in another tissue, mumbling, “I mean, how can

he lie about his identity over and over in my face! And we are planning to have a child! So what?! Our s

on or daughter was just going to carry a made–up name!”

A small smile tugged on Miss Grace‘s lips as she stared at her daughter‘s face, not saying a word to let

her work through her emotions.

“I feel like I shouldn‘t be mad because we all knew he was lying about stuff about himself, but I thought

we were finally at a point in our marriage where we fully trust each other, just for him to prove me wron

g… and according to his birth certificate, we are not even legally

husband and wife!… That‘s the part that hurts, mama.” 1 “Do you think this is it?… This is something to

call it quit over?” Miss Grace asked, stroking Peach‘s hair gently.

Suddenly, Peach‘s eyes widened, and she woke from her mother‘s lap, staring

at her like she had spoken a forbidden language.

“Do you mean, like divorce my husband?” Peach mumbled, all the emotions crowding her slowly fading

as she stared at her mother in disbelief. “Technically, you two are not married… So

you can just walk away from that liar.” Miss Grace said with a straight face, even though she was dying

of laughter inside. 1

“Mama!!”

“What?!”

Divorc

“I am not going to break up with Elijah just because he’s now a Maxwell, instead of Darius. He’s still the

same man… The same guy that stole my heart at first glance the first day we met… Honestly, he has

become a way better version of himself since then.” “So, you are not leaving him because of his

change of name?”

“No!”

Finally, a laugh came out of Miss Grace‘s lips, her heart swelling with joy, and then she said, “

If that‘s the case, then go talk things over with your husband and you guys fix it. Hesitating, as she

rubbed her neck nervously, Peach drew a breath and whispered, “Do you think I overreacted?”

“No, you didn‘t. Your feelings are valid. But I think Elijah is sorry, and it will be healthy if you guys don‘t d

Watching the sunlight creep into the room, Elijah

sighed, and mumbled, “You idiot! Why did you wait this long and hurt her?”

Suddenly the sound of the door cracking open made

him look to his right to see Peach slowly sneaking into the room, and when their eyes locked, his

heart ached at her puffy red under eyelids.

“Hey,” Peach whispered with a pout. “Hey, love…” Elijah mumbled, afraid to say, “Sorry,” and yet desper

The silence in the room felt awkward as Peach approached the bed,

and then sat beside him, stroking a loose string of hair behind her ear.

“So, Elijah

Maxwell… Hmmm… Peach Maxwell… I don‘t hate the sound of it.” Peach said, smiling faintly at her ow

hand under her chin, gently caressing her cheek as he brushed some hair away from

her eyes, looking deep in her gaze with a hint of guilt, confusion, fear, and more than anything… love.

“I am so, so sorry, Babe… for the lies, secretiveness, and… most of all, for hurting you so much. I am an

lies. I will be your open book.”

Sitting quietly for a few minutes, Peach nodded her head slowly, before she

whispered, “I forgive you, Elijah Maxwell… That‘s the real one, right?”

As a faint laugh slipped past his lips, Elijah looked into her eyes, and then leaned towards her, pressing

his forehead against hers, whispering, “Yes. That‘s my real name.” Slowly, his hands wrapped around

her waist as he pulled her close to him, holding her tightly, resting his chin on her head, “I love you,

Peach Hayes.” “I love you too, Elijah Maxwell.” Peach smiled, letting out a content sigh, and closing her

eyes, she snuggled closer to him. Like a light bulb had clicked one in his head, Elijah calmly uttered,

“Oh, and, my father is in the country, and he’s on his way here.”

Divorce

“What!” Peach blurted out, all her nerve