The Marvelous Elijah's Return

Silently, leaving the sofa, Elijah walked over to the desk, took a seat in the chair, and said,” Let’s begin.”

Pacing around the lobby, Peach kept nibbling on her nails, worried that Elijah wouldn’t be able to get the

money.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she thought of everything that could go wrong. And she didn’t

know why, but for some reason, she started to wonder if she should have gone with Elijah, Matt, and

Ryan.

“You might have no nails left before Elijah gets back.” James teased as he sat behind the counter.

Immediately, she stopped in her steps, rushed over to him, and leaned over the desk, asking,” What

does Elijah do for a living?”

That question came as a surprise to James as he looked at her with widened eyes before answering,

“Well, he’s an investor.”

A sense of pride washed over James as he smiled at his response, amazed that he could think of such a

good lie under such difficult circumstances.

Peach narrowed her eyes at him before asking, “An investor in what? What kind of investments does he

do?” James shrugged before answering nonchalantly, ‘He invests in things?” “Huh?” Peach questioned,

looking dumbfounded at him. “Like what?” “Oh, you know… stocks, real estate… bonds, cars, that kind

of stuff?” James suggested, throwing his random thoughts in the open, hoping she grasped a clear

understanding and stopped asking him questions.

But Peach looked even more confused as she continued to stare blankly at him, and then mumbled,

“When did he start this, and which business has he invested in?”

“Oh, um… the thing is, well…” James hesitated, trying to think of an excuse that would convince Peach,

“… He has not started investing yet… This is just a business plan in the making, and Elijah is going to

create the firm soon.”

Nodding slowly, Peach continued staring at James for another five minutes, until he mumbled, “It’s a loan

that he recently took from the bank that he’s going to use to establish it.

As Peach sat on a stool, her face darkened with sadness, and she rested her cheek on her fist as she

said sadly, “What Melina did to him must have pushed him to better himself… I don’t know if that’s a

good or bad thing…”

It was quiet between James and Peach for quite some time, until he broke the silence and asked

curiously, “Did you know Elijah was Melina’s ex-husband when we came here.”

“I know it will sound like a lie, but, ‘No.’ Peach said, picking at her nails nervously. “I didn’t know at all.

How could I have known? I tried to avoid anything concerning the ‘Hayes.’ News, magazines, TV shows,

movies, or even just the mention of that name, I don’t want to know about it. It hurts me deeply to even

speak that name aloud.”

Feeling hesitant, James study her teary eyes,

and after a moment of reluctance, he said softly, “How did you come to have such hate for your own

family?”

“Half family,” Peach corrected him as she wiped her tears away with her thumb.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize..”

“It’s fine. My father was the legitimate child of my grandfather… he was my grandmother and his only

heir… But all that changed when Grandma Elena died at a young age…”

More tears began flowing down her cheeks, but they were different than those earlier ones. She wasn’t

crying because of pain, anger, or grief… she was crying because of love. “Grandma Elena was so ill for

quite a while after having my father, and at that time, my grandfather sought comfort in the arms of

another woman… who he bore children, years later…” Peach closed her eyes tightly, biting down on her

bottom lip and feeling her heart ache slightly for her grandmother. After hearing those words, James felt

like maybe he shouldn’t have pried into it anymore, but it was already too late.

Opening her eyes, Peach weakly smiled and said, “When my grandmother found out, her health got

worse and worse. But even in her ill days, she fought to secure this motel from my grandfather’s property

for my dad, wanting to give her son an easy way out.”

The salty taste of her tears lingered on her tongue as she whispered, “That’s why no matter how

desperate we became for money, my father refused to sell this place… It’s a piece of his mother to

him…”

Her soft cry echoed around the lobby, and then she added, “And it’s also a piece of my father to me too.

His death hit my mother hard, and she had her first heart attack. Thankfully, the motel was still running a

bit successfully. However, my uncle…” 1 Noticing how hard Peach had clutched her fist, James reached

out and put one of his hands on hers, gently stroking it with his thumb.

“They decided that they wanted this land, so they cooked up their devilish plan to drive away our

customers and make business here impossible. They threatened us, treated my mother and me like

scums to force us to leave…” Peach paused and inhaled shakily. “My mother and I went bankrupt almost

immediately…”

“How could a family be so insensitive and despicable?!” James exclaimed. “They have no right to treat

anyone like that! Why did they do that?! What right did they have!?”

“It was straight after my father died too.”

“Oh my God!” A sense of grief filled the air, and Peach felt her heart clench in pain once more, thinking of

the past few years. “I’m sorry,” James muttered quietly. “I really am.” Suddenly the sound of the front

door opening got their attention, and Peach subconsciously looked back, her wet eyes meeting Elijah’s

calm gaze.

Seeing that her cheeks were soaked and her eyes red, Elijah’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched

Peach, wondering what had happened to her.

When he reached Peach, she quickly struggled to dry her face with the sleeves of her white shirt, and

then shyly mumbled, “You are back-” “Did something happen to Miss Grace?” Elijah interrupted and

asked her, taking a closer look at her face.

Blushing in embarrassment, Peach shook her head and looked down as she answered, “No, my mother

is fine.”

“Then why are you crying so badly that your eyes get so puffy and your nose is running?” Elijah asked

her, frowning slightly in concern. “Umm… I was… James and I were…” Peach muttered, aggressively

sniffing in her snort. Looking away from Elijah, she stared at Matt, holding a briefcase, and the concern

on Ryan’s face as the two gazed back at her. “It’s nothing,” Peach said with a quick sniff, looking back at

Elijah.

But he seemed to see through her lie, seeing how her lips quivered and how her eyes were swollen with

tears, and he let out, “Follow me!”