Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 473

But Elysia wasn't exactly thrilled about freeloading off of anyone, even if Elijah was all for it.

The moment she heard Elijah had invited the trio over for dinner at their place, she was on edge.

"Why do we have to eat there? Can't we just have dinner here? Whatever you guys want, I can whip it up."

She was really not keen on the trio mingling with Tarquin.

"There's no need for you to cook, Mom. Dad's decided to put on the chef's hat tonight. We've all agreed to have dinner there."

Elysia was skeptical. "He's cooking? Is today some special occasion?"

"Nope."

"Then why is he inviting everyone over for dinner?"

Elijah scrambled for a reason.

"Dad bought me a new LEGO set, and I thought it would be fun for us brothers to build it together, and, you know, have dinner there too."

Elysia probed further, "Can't we bring the LEGO set here and build it?"

"It's not really convenient. It'd be hard to transport once it's assembled."

Elysia was worried. "..."

Elliot came to her rescue, trying to comfort her.

"It's just dinner, Mom. Don't overthink it. We'll have Emmett do our makeup really well. Tarquin won't recognize us. And the more you resist, the more suspicious it seems. Better to just go with the flow."

Elysia glanced at Elliot, then back at Elijah.

Elijah's eyes were shining, full of hope.

Elysia wanted to refuse, but her heart wouldn't let her, especially with Elliot's logic. Resisting would only raise more doubts.

"Alright… I agree!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Elijah's face lit up with excitement, his cheeks flushing with joy.

Come evening, Elijah sneakily messaged Tarquin.

Dad, we're on our way back. Are you all set?

Almost, dinner can start at 6:30.

Elijah quickly asked, "Did you prepare a surprise for Mom?"

A surprise?

The trio politely nodded back.

Elysia, seeing that Tarquin hadn't recognized Elliot and Evan, finally relaxed.

Noticing four pairs of children's slippers neatly arranged at the door, she felt a pang of emotion.

She had to admit, when it came to kids, he was incredibly thoughtful. Knowing the children were coming, he had even prepared slippers for them.

The young ones shed their coats, slipped into the slippers, and dashed into the kitchen.

"Wow—"

Tarquin had gone all out with the seafood, fresh and lively, much to the kids' fascination.

After causing a ruckus in the kitchen, they retreated to Elijah's room.

Elysia was stunned by the spread!

Once the kids were gone, she quietly asked Tarquin,

"This, this... this blue lobster, and this huge crab, and all of these, they look expensive. How much did all this cost, oh my goodness! I thought you were broke. Where did you get the money for this?"

"..." Tarquin's look of disdain said it all. To him, she was always going to be obsessed with money.