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 li

ke 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 exclaim

ed 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 a

nd 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 protectiv

e over the one they are interested in and would do whatever it takes to keep them protected no matter w

hat, 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 ey

es.

“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, makin

g everyone feel uneasy.

A nervous laugh filled with uncertainty erupted from Melina‘s lips as a sense of raw panic rose inside of h

er 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 droppin

g 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 t

o 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 e

mbarrassment.

Annoyed at her brother‘s harsh words, Melina pouted and whispered, “We don‘t even know for sure if Pe

ach 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 fr

om shrinking away. “Josh....” Dean warned quietly, glaring at him in a warning. A heavy sigh escaped Jos

h‘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 eac

h of their faces.

After some quiet seconds, Madam Jewel took another sip of wine and continued, “My biggest concern no

w 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 tak

es 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 han

ds 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 t

he room as everyone started thinking about how to deal with the situation. All of a sudden, Eli leaned for

ward 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 Check

s,” Dean replied, nodding his head and rubbing his chin. Looking at her son with a smile on her lips and a

n understanding sparkle in her eyes, Madam Jewel nodded her head and said, “That is a good plan. Dea

n 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 Mel

ina‘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–“M

elina 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 h

ead, 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 str

aight 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 h

ead 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 notice

d 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 sma

Slowly shaking his head, Elijah cleared his throat and forced out, “No, nothing. You just seem more lively.

The sound of her heartbeat increased and her stomach twisted in nervous knots as she shifted stiffly, glan

His gaze subconsciously rested on the bruise on her lip, and he raised his hand towards her mouth, strok

“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

“Don‘t waste your feelings on me, little buddy. I have had my fair share of a relationship, and I shouldn‘t be

Stopping in her

tracks and turning around to face him, Peach blinked several times, frowning a bit at his remark before mu