Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem



"Male."

"Well, that opens up a whole can of worms. This lady could be his girlfriend or wife, maybe his secret crush, or even what his mom looked like when she was younger."

Tarquin: "..."

"Hey, now that you mention it, he might actually have a daughter."Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Tarquin's heart skipped a beat, "How can you tell?"

"Look at this watercolor painting. It's a countryside scene, there's a pink bunny over here, a pink backpack there, and over here, pink flowers and pink balloons.

Pink is a color most little girls adore. Pink bunnies, pink backpacks, pink flowers, and pink balloons, they all hint at a little girl. So, the person who painted this must have a daughter.

And he must really love her. Look at how tenderly he painted these pink objects, every stroke is precise, careful, and beautiful. It shows he's thinking of his little girl with love, joy, and fondness."

Tarquin's frown deepened!

He hadn't studied these details closely due to time constraints.

Then, after one thing led to another, he hadn't gotten around to it.

But now, hearing Elysia's analysis and piecing it together with the voice message Declan sent before he died, Tarquin was more convinced than ever that Keith had a daughter!

And it couldn't be his, or else there'd be no need for secrecy!

Was Keith the mysterious figure?

Was Keith raising his and Elysia's daughter?

Did he and Elysia truly have a daughter out there somewhere?

What did Keith want with his daughter?

Was Keith trying to use the girl to threaten him?

But if he wanted to threaten him, why would Keith grow fond of her?

And why hadn't Keith played this trump card to crush him?

What was Keith's endgame?!

As these heavy questions flooded his mind, Tarquin's breathing grew heavier.

"What's wrong?" Elysia, noticing something was off, asked with concern.

Tarquin looked at her with a complex expression. She was oblivious, her face filled only with curiosity, no sign of anxiety.

If she knew now, she'd probably go insane!

After the initial shock, she'd desperately want to find their daughter. If they couldn't, she'd be anxious, worried, nervous.

She'd lose her appetite and suffer from insomnia.

So, telling her now would do more harm than good.

Tarquin calmed himself, deciding to keep it from her for the time being, "I'm fine. Can you tell where his daughter might be?"

Elysia shook her head, "It looks like a beautiful countryside, but I can't pinpoint which one. Why? What's your connection to them?" "...Just look at something else."

Elysia didn't press further and continued examining the other items.

After more than an hour, she concluded: "This collector is burdened with heavy thoughts, probably has a dark past, but he's hopeful about the future!

And he's holding two people in his heart, a beautiful woman, and a little girl!"

Right now, Tarquin didn't care who the beautiful woman was; he was focused on the little girl!

He still didn't fully understand his feud with Keith, but he knew they were heading for a showdown!

Before the battle, he had to figure out the situation with his daughter!

Now, with Declan and Elysia's discoveries, it was almost certain that Keith had a daughter!

Later that night, after tucking Elysia into bed, Tarquin immediately grabbed his phone and called Axel,

"Start a wide search around Keith for a little girl Elijah's age! Focus on beautiful countryside areas, and start tonight..."