The Marvelous Elijah’s Return

Chapter 25

Manipulative and Deceptive

Looking at the worry in his men’s expressions, Elijah felt a bit dumbfounded that they were staring at him like that, and he rubbed a hand across his face tiredly and mumbled, “What is it?

Well… you just knock the shit outta some dude,” Ryan said hesitantly, eyeing the others to back him up.

“How did you guys know about that?” Elijah frowned, glancing between the four of them.

Slowly, Ryan looked over at James, raising his brows with a curious look plastered across his face, making James sigh before facing Elijah.

“The clip is all over the internet.” He said calmly. “And we are confused because there’s no extra information about what led to the punch.”

“Well, he insulted my mother, calling me a son of a bitch… My mom is no, bitch.” Elijah snapped, clenching and unclenching his fists in anger, feeling his breathing quicken with rage. Staring in disbelief, Matt muttered beneath his breath, “Shit, he had that one coming and deserved it… Well, more than a punch.”

The room was quiet for a moment as Elijah walked over to the couch, dropped onto it, and leaned against the backrest with a clenched jaw. Then he looked over at Ryan and said, “We might have our hands full with a lawsuit.” “I knew it,” Ryan murmured, putting his hand in his pocket. “But I need a clear understanding of what exactly happened, boss.”

Frowning, Elijah sighed and then sat up straight with a serious expression as he let out,” Melina was at the hospital when Peach and I got to Miss Grace’s hospital room, and she and Peach got into serious shit. Peach slapped her in the face-”

“Damn!! Peach did what?!” Matt cursed under his breath with wide eyes before realizing that everyone was glaring at him. “Sorry, boss. Please, go on.”

It took a moment for Elijah to respond as he tried to recall what happened next, and then he said, “I guess Melina didn’t like our little encounter, and when we got outside the hospital parking lot, a bunch of reporters blocked our way and surrounded us…”

“Your ex-wife sounds like a piece of work,” James grumbled, his jaw tensing.

Looking over at his butler, Elijah nodded with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and mumbled, “Yeah, well…. she really is.”

Another tense moment of silence passed and then he added, “Melina cooked up this sick narrative that I was cheating on her with Peach and informed the reporters about it.”

“What the hell!?” Ryan exploded angrily with fury in his hazel eyes, staring at Elijah with shock as he said, “She’s insane. We just met Peach!” “Well, Melina has a lot of media power, and that’s why she can spin things the way she wants,

“That’s one lunatic… no, she’s a witch… And we can’t let her continue her lies. This is too

dangerous for us to let go.” James replied as he stared in disbelief.

A sigh escaped Elijah’s lips as he lowered his head a little, thinking about the situation carefully.

Then he spoke up, saying calm, “I know. That’s why I need you guys, Ryan, and Rookie to dig into Melina. There’s no way to clear Peach and my reputation without finding out the true reason she divorced me…”

For a moment, Elijah held back his tongue, sinking into his thoughts for a few seconds, and then he said, “I know why she did, but no one is going to trust my words without solid proof, and if I know

Melina, she loves good wine and wealthy men. And that’s all I need to get her to open up!”

A look of confusion crossed all four of their faces as they gaze at their boss curiously, before looking at each other with nervous eyes.

The bedroom was silent as Miss Grace sat on the couch, watching her daughter on the bed, hugging the pillow as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Although she wanted to give her space and time to calm down, it had been a couple of minutes and Peach was still crying, and even after waiting for a couple more, her daughter was still sniffing aggressively. Slowly, Miss Grace got up from the couch and approached the bed, sitting beside her weeping child. “Peach,” She whispered gently, touching her shoulder to try and wake her up. “This is why I want nothing to do with them, mama… how long do I have to take all this misery? Why can’t it just get better?!” Peach cried loudly, clutching the pillow tightly while shaking her head. “It’s been years, mama, and these people are still getting away with hurting

us.”

Silently, Miss Grace closed her eyes as tears started to build up inside her eyelids, and slowly, she laid down beside her daughter, cuddling her in her arms and stroking her hair softly. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“I am so sorry, my dear child. You do not deserve any of this.” She said softly, kissing the top of her daughter’s head. “You don’t have to be sorry, mama. None of this is your fault. You have suffered as much as I have,” Peach answered, lifting her head a little to meet her mother’s gaze. “Even more than I have. I just wish I could make this all better for you… for papa’s sake.”

With that, Miss Grace opened her mouth to say something, but then she stopped herself because she couldn’t find the right thing to say. So instead she kept hugging her daughter and kept stroking her hair. Withdrawing his fist from the door, Elijah’s hand dropped to his side as he listened to Peach’s soft sob,

echoing into the hallway. For a while, he drowned in the feeling that her cry stirred within him, and the sensation of the pain carried in her voice was enough to make his heart ache.

The feeling was raw and powerful, and it tore through his chest, and with it came a deep longing to be by her side, a desire to hold her, and tell her that everything would be fine. It was a need that he wished he wasn’t aware of, but he couldn’t deny that it consumed every

part of his being.

He hated the fact that he desired to care for her like some new addiction he had developed, and the thought made him feel repulsed with himself, especially because he was aware of it now.

Suddenly the door opened, and Elijah’s gaze rested on Miss Grace, standing in the doorway, gazing at him with a smile.

“I wanted to check… umm… to see if she’s alright,” Elijah said, avoiding her eyes as he cleared his throat nervously, With calm eyes and a warm smile that never left her face, Miss Grace stepped outside and said, “She’s still a bit upset, but you can go in.”

Nodding, Elijah fixed his eyes back on her once again, and with a small sigh, he walked over to the doorway, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

When Peach raised her eyelids and saw him, she wiped the corner of her eye roughly and slowly sit up on her bed, brushing her fingers against her wet skin as she sniffed and whispered weakly, “Hey,”

“Hey,” Elijah breathed, walking toward her and sitting beside her on the bed.

After several moments, Peach looked at him and said softly, “I am sorry for.”

“Please, stop apologizing,” Elijah cut her off, running his fingers through his hair anxiously as he said, “You shouldn’t be apologizing.”

Both of them fell quiet, looking anywhere except at one another, and Elijah took a deep breath to get his head straight. Finally, he lifted his eyes to hers, and then looked at the ground as he asked quietly, “Are you alright?”

“No,” Peach whispered, biting down on her bottom lip before leaning forward, hugging her knees. “I don’t think I am ever going to be okay. My whole life is just so fucked up, and everything hurts so bad right now.”

Resting her chin on her kneecap, Peach studied Elijah’s eyes and said, “I am sorry for dumping my problems on you as I have.” With a soft sigh, Elijah nodded faintly before glancing over at her and saying, “It’s okay. I don’t mind, really.” Smiling faintly, Peach’s eyes fell from his face and rested on his bruised knuckles, and she softly cried, “Your hand!” Confused, Elijah looked down at his hand where his knuckles were swollen a bit and bloody, and then he glanced at her with narrowed eyes as he said, “It’s fine, Peach.” But she shook her head and got off the bed, walking over to her dresser, opening a drawer, and taking out a box of bandages and ointment with cotton and alcohol. Then she walked back over to the bed, sat beside Elijah, and put the items on the blanket, saying, “Please, let me take a look at your hand… okay?” Looking at the hint of concern in Peach’s eyes that he had never seen in Melina’s, Elijah felt conflicted.

He didn’t want her to touch his hands, but the more he looked at her, the more he realized that she cared about his well-being and wanted to help ease his pain, which was something he hadn’t experienced in his relationship with Melina.

Silently, Elijah placed his hand in hers, and Peach pouted at his cuts, her expression turning serious as she reached for the alcohol, mumbling, “It’s going to stink a little… sorry.” Without uttering a word,

Elijah watched closely as her soft fingers touched his hand, applying the alcohol gently and cleaning it carefully, and then rubbing it with cotton and pressing it firmly to the wounds.

When Peach raised her gaze and saw him flinched, she bent slightly and started blowing a breeze onto his hand to cool it down.

But Elijah suddenly pulled his hand from her grip, making her glance up at him and he mumbled, “Don’t do that again,”

“I’m sorry…” Peach replied softly, lowering her head and staring at her hands as she played with her fingers. “…It’s a bad habit I developed because my mother used to do it to me when I got hurt as a kid, so I-”

“I am not a child, Peach. I’m a man…”

Pausing, Elijah felt his heart raced in his chest when she stared at him, surprise was written all over her face, and her eyes slowly widened in realization as she stared at him. “Don’t look at me like that,” Elijah muttered awkwardly, averting his gaze from her soft blue eyes, unable to take any more of the intensity she was giving him. “Huh?” Peach said confusedly, raising an eyebrow. “What did I do wrong?” Elijah took a deep breath and said, “Look… it’s really hard to explain, but I don’t want you staring into my eyes.” “Why?” Peach whispered curiously, tilting her head to the side as she observed him closely, but avoiding his gaze, her eyes showing slight confusion. Silently, Elijah stood from the bed and then turned to face her, saying, “Because they are deceptive and manipulative”

“I don’t understand,” Peach said hesitantly, frowning lightly. With a soft scoff, Elijah swayed his gaze to the bandage on the bed and reached over for it before focusing on her, saying, “I will take this… You should get some rest.”