Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem



Tarquin remained silent, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance.

Elysia's cheeks flushed a crimson red. "Don't be ridiculous, that doesn't count! We're discussing serious matters here. Emmett, who taught you that word?"

"From Evan."

Elysia turned her head towards Evan, feigning anger.

Evan tilted his head up, gazing at the sky. His deep, dark eyes rolled around in their sockets, deliberately avoiding her gaze. Soon after, he dragged Emmett away to grab some food.

Elliot glanced at Tarquin with a slightly narrowed gaze and said to Elysia, "Mom, I'm gonna go find my brothers."

A proud smile graced Elijah's face as he said, "Dad's got Mom's back, so I'm relieved. I'll go catch up with Evan and Emmett."

As soon as Elijah caught up with Evan, he said, "Doesn't this earn Dad some points? He stood up for Mom just now."All content is © N0velDrama.Org.

Evan nodded. "Yeah, give him a point."

Elijah, trying to bargain, asked, "Can't we give him two points instead? Adding points one by one, when would they ever finish?"

Among the four, Elliot and Emmett remained neutral, but Evan was the most critical of Dad. If they could win Evan over quickly, the four brothers would be united in purpose! Then, they could all work together to bring Dad and Mom closer!

Seeing Evan's hesitation, Elijah turned to Elliot for support.

Elliot chuckled, "Dad did good today, dealing with those two troublemakers. Let's give him two points."

Evan, always listening to Elliot, conceded, "Alright, alright, two points it is. That makes it three points in total."

Tarquin was oblivious to the fact that, in Evan's eyes, he was now worth three points. And that was only after Elliot and Elijah's intervention!

Finally, Gideon made his way down from upstairs, and Tarquin called out to Elysia, "Let's go, time for dinner."

Elysia's face was a picture of embarrassment; Emmett's sudden outburst had left her feeling awkward. Fortunately, he seemed to have moved on as if nothing had happened. Elysia steadied her nerves and gathered the four little ones, getting ready for the family dinner.

As the other guests noticed Gideon, they too made their way to the dining room. The Bradford family, despite its tradition of single inheritance, was not short of daughters. Along with the relatives from the extended family, they were quite a prosperous and populous household.

The large round table that could seat dozens was not nearly enough, and the dining room was arranged with several smaller tables to accommodate everyone.

Gideon took his place at the head table, with Tarquin of course, and Elysia and the four little ones joined them at the head table. Despite some murmurs of disapproval from those who felt Elysia didn't deserve to sit at the main table, the events that had transpired earlier silenced any open objections.

As everyone settled down, Gideon was about to speak when Tarquin suddenly pulled out a share transfer document. The sight of it instantly shattered Gideon's composure, his face darkening and his blood pressure skyrocketing.

Tarquin, unfazed by his reaction, handed the document to Elysia, "Sign this first, then we can eat."

Elysia, puzzled, asked, "What's this?"

She glanced down and saw the words "Settlement Agreement."

To avoid revealing his true intentions, Tarquin had cleverly added a page about a settlement agreement to the share transfer document. "Grandpa accidentally hurt you at home today, and he feels terrible about it. He's agreed to give you a million dollars as compensation for medical expenses. If you have no objections, just sign on the last page."

Tarquin said, flipping directly to the last page to keep her from seeing the words "share transfer."

"How much?!" Elysia's eyes widened in shock.

Tarquin repeated, "One million dollars."

Elysia was astounded. Sure, she had gotten a bit hurt today, but there was no way her medical bills would amount to a million dollars!