Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 700

She released him, huffing as she turned to glare ahead.

At the red light, Tarquin brought the car to a halt, turning to soothe her with a charm that was hard to resist, "Whatever you say, hon. Please, don't be mad."

Reaching for Elysia's hand, he was met with a slap on the back of his hand.

Far from being deterred, he clasped Elysia's hand even tighter within his own.

Just as Elysia was about to snap at him, he gave her a pitiful look and said, "I think I'm coming down with something."

Elysia paused, her anger subsiding into concern, "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

"It's everywhere. I only feel better when I'm close to you, the closer the better."

Rolling her eyes, Elysia smacked his hand again, "Focus on driving!"

With a goofy grin, Tarquin hit the gas as the light turned green, driving off with the joy of a peacock in full display.

He couldn't even stop himself from humming love songs...

On the second day of their love affair, they walked hand in hand through the streets, grabbed a bite to eat, and caught a movie, sneaking kisses in the street, the mall, the cinema...

By the third day, the kids were back to school, and Keith had lost his job.

Tarquin had put pressure on the preschool to fire Keith, and since Keith was badly injured and confined to his home, Elysia didn't feel guilty about the kids being at school.

But Tarquin turned into a whole new problem.

Insisting on taking the kids to school himself, he risked exposing them—after all, Elliot, Evan, and Emmett didn't wear makeup to school!

With no other choice, Elysia, along with Blossom, had to drop the kids off at school half an hour early.

Yet, every night, Tarquin lingered until well past midnight before leaving.

Then came March, bringing spring and the promise of renewal.

Just when everything seemed to be going right, disaster struck out of the blue.

One day, Tarquin's Volkswagen spontaneously combusted in the parking lot!

They were kissing under a nearby tree when the car exploded, bursting into flames.

Elysia screamed, haunted by nightmares for days after.

Tarquin later investigated but found no signs of foul play, attributing the fire to spontaneous combustion. The insurance company would handle it.

Then, not long after, just when Elysia had begun to move past the incident, another, far more severe tragedy struck.