The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1642

Hertha couldn't let her mom get the wrong idea any longer. Clearing her throat, she put on a serious face and said, "Mom, what are you even thinking? He just came over to my place today. We didn’t even get a chance to do anything before you walked in on us."

"Are you blaming me now?" Kimberly's voice rose with a mix of concern and irritation.

Hertha quickly reassured her, "No, no, not at all. I'm actually grateful you showed up. Otherwise, I might have made a mistake that so many women fall for, getting swept away by a handsome face."

As she spoke, Hertha moved closer to Kimberly, playfully putting her arm around her mother's shoulder, and said in a cajoling tone, "I should be thanking you, mom, for showing up just in time to stop me from making a mistake. This guy, Alaric, he's just too good-looking. It's almost criminal."

"Enough with your sweet talk, what’s this guy’s name?" Kimberly got back to the point, allowing Hertha to continue, though she was wary of the conversation spiraling into absurdity.

"His name is Alaric," Hertha said, her voice barely above a whisper.

She had hoped to sidestep further interrogation, but it seemed her mother was not ready to let it go just yet.

"Do you really only know him for a few days?" Kimberly asked, looking at her daughter with a seriousness that demanded the truth.

"Yeah," Hertha nodded, feeling a bit guilty.

"Why do I feel like I've seen him before? Especially those eyes, they seem so familiar," Kimberly suddenly frowned, puzzled.

Hertha's heart skipped a beat, worried her mother might connect the dots between Alaric's eyes and Helena's, potentially guessing the truth.

Trying to divert her mother's train of thought, Hertha interjected, "Mom, there are lots of people with striking eyes. You probably saw someone similar somewhere and it just stuck with you."

Hertha felt cornered.

She realized she had fallen into her mother's trap. The conversation had made a full circle, with her mother subtly advising her to take her relationships seriously. And in trying to pacify her mother, she had inadvertently confirmed Alaric as her boyfriend. She had planned to claim they would break up soon to escape any commitment, but now she found herself stuck.

"But mom..."

"But what? You’re already thirty. Do you plan to stay single forever? In a few years, you’ll be in your mid-thirties, and it’ll be even harder to find someone. He doesn’t know about the kids yet, does he? Keeping it a secret isn’t the way. You should find the right time to tell him. If he can accept it, great; if not, it wasn’t meant to be," Kimberly said, her words laced with concern and a touch of sorrow.

Kimberly and Hertha's father had once been fond of Spencer, a man they thought was perfect for Hertha. But Hertha, in her stubbornness, had missed out on a good man, and, following in the footsteps of a close friend, ended up a single mother to two children.

Now, as Hertha approached her thirties, Kimberly couldn’t help but worry about her daughter's future – a future where she might end up alone, with her children busy in their own lives, leaving her in solitude.