The Marvelous Elijah's Return novel Chapter 50

Peach doesnt deserve that 

Peach doesn’t deserve that The living room of the Hayes mansion was quiet, until Dean walked into the doorway, and saw his mother, reading a newspaper. Shutting it, Madam Jewel watched the look of disappointment on his face and then asked, “ Why do you look so dejected?” 

Sluggishly, Dean shrugged and sat down on the couch opposite his mother, before speaking again, “Elijah got nothing to lose!”

Those words made Madam Jewel raise her eyebrows in shock, and she put down her paper to give her son an incredulous look.

“After waiting one week and expecting an answer, is that all Vlad has to report?! What kind of nonsense background investigation is that!” Madam Jewel questioned, looking at her son with disdain.

“Well, he did his job, but no one in the country seems to truly know who Elijah is… except it’s related to Melina or rumors about him and Peach. He has no work history, no family or friends, and he doesn’t seem to even go to school or college…” Dean said, trying to figure out how else to explain the situation.

When Madam Jewel suddenly slapped the chair arm, rage glowing on her face, Dean jumped from the couch, backing away as far as he could get while still sitting on it.

“How could you allow your daughter to bring such a disappointment and useless man into our family and attach himself to our good name and reputation. How am I supposed to drag a man that is practically a ghost down and teach him a lesson?!” Madam Jewel shouted in a fate of rage. “Sorry, mother!” Dean said, adjusting himself in his seat. 

“Right now, the public‘s eyes are on Elijah too much, so I can not make any wrong move that could jeopardize our family reputation... So... put a spy on him.” Madam Jewel said, snapping her brows together as she glared at her son.

Seeing how angry and disappointed his mother‘s expression was, Dean nodded quickly in agreement and said, “I will get one of my men to tail him and report back to me… I promise you, mother, he will get what‘s coming to him.” “It better be because I will not tolerate getting humiliated by a street rat that crawled its way into my granddaughter‘s life and dared to act up against us.” Madam Jewel said in annoyance. “I understand, mother.” “Good,” 

After a brief pause, Madam Jewel spoke once more in a calmer tone, “About Peach, alert the rest of the family to meet up here tomorrow for lunch, so I can tell them what my plans are.”

Without a hesitation, Dean nodded and said, “I will have that done right away, mother.” When Elijah brought the car to a stop in front of the motel, he stepped on the brake and

Peach doesn’t deserve that 

sighed, listening to the engine die down before unbuckling his seatbelt and saying, “Let me do the talking,”

Worried about the risky decision his boss had made today, Matt glared at him, uttering, “Boss, about Dice…” 

“Have you ever wrestled with a man covered in filthy mud without getting muddy yourself?” Elijah interrupted, meeting Matt‘s eyes. 

“No… whatever dirt on him will rub off on you during the fight.” 

“Okay, in the world of business, they are shady people as much as they are honest ones. It doesn‘t matter if we‘re dealing with an asshole or a saint, everyone is doing something shady. That is why we need to know where each of them stands… We need eyes in the darkness.”

“But,” 

“The only one that truly knows how to handle a dirty person... is another shady person. You can not hire an angel to do the devil‘s work, and the devil can not do the angel‘s job. If I am to make a name for myself in this country, I need assistance from both worlds, the underground and the business community.” 

Knowing that his boss’ words made sense, Matt let out a long sigh, “Fine, boss. Just be careful.”

After a slight nod, Elijah unlocked the car door, pushing it open and stepping out of the vehicle, making sure to slam the door shut. 

Both Peach and James were sitting on the leather couch in the lobby, and Miss Grace had just walked in when her eyes lighted at the sight of Elijah and Matt, walking through the front door.

When Peach saw them too, she could finally allow herself to breathe again, and the relief she felt was immense.

“How‘s the young man?” Miss Grace asked with a small smile. “He‘s alive and at the hospital,” Elijah answered, withdrawing his eyes from Peach. Then he tried to walk past Miss Grace, but she grabbed his arm and said, “I am sorry, Elijah... To you and all your men.” “Mama,” Peach whispered, feeling heartbroken at the sight of her mother‘s teary eyes. Looking back at the concerned look on Peach‘s face, Elijah sighed and said, “There‘s no need for any apologies, Miss Grace.” 

“No... Today, it finally became clear to me that what you helping us has caused you... It‘s hard to believe that Josh or Madam Jewel will hire someone to do something so harmful to you... but I am not shocked that it was them.” Miss Grace said with a sad smile.

A look of confusion formed on Elijah‘s face as he looked back at Peach and thought, ‘You didn‘t tell your mother what you heard between Jerome and me,‘ Nervous by his stare, Peach looked the other way, yet desperate to know what he was thinking with his gaze.

“Well, you see how Matt handled him, so there’s no need to worry or apologize about it. We are all line, and that‘s all that counts.” Elijah said, looking into Miss Grace’s eyes with a soft expression Glving a nod, Miss Grace released his arm and smiled as she murnbled, “Thank you...” 

A faint sense of guilt troubled Elijah for a second, but he brushed it off and nodded before walking away.

When Elijah got to his room, he headed straight for the shower to clear his mind a bit with a cold bath

When he reached in front of the face basin, the reflection staring back at him was someone new, someone, he knew he needed to learn to accept. 

“Change is good... when you are going through growth. It‘s okay to change because that is part of being human... but you cannot let it dictate you, because if you do, you‘ll become like them...” Elijah mumbled, staring intensely at his own eyes, “And there is nothing worse than becoming like those you hate.” 

Pacing back and forth in the hallway, Peach kept biting the tip of her nail, feeling nervous and hesitant to knock on Elijah‘s door. 

“It‘s safe... it‘s okay... I can handle being in a close space with him, alone without anything intimate happening... right! I‘m just walking in to ask him a question.” Peach reassured herself, taking a deep breath before softly knocking on the door and then grabbing the handler.

When she pushed the door wide open, immediately Elijah shouted, “Don‘t come in!” But it was too late for her to unsee his naked body fully, and Peach shut down, her eyes frozen on the sight of his abs, his bare chest, and the water droplets slowly falling from his wet hair. 

‘No!!‘ Was screaming on repeat in her head as she blankly stared at his exposed skin.

Finally, when Elijah picked up the towel off the ground and tied it around his waist, Peach closed her eyes, turned around and breathed deeply to calm herself.