The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1700

Alaric peeked inside the house, and upon catching sight of Hertha's shocked expression, he quickly averted his eyes. Seizing the moment, he said to Kimberly, "If you agree, we can get our marriage license tomorrow and start planning the wedding right away. Don't worry, I'll give Hertha the wedding of the century, one she'll never forget."

This was the best news Kimberly had heard in three years. She couldn't stop smiling, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go grab her ID right now. You should head home and get yours too."

Alaric, beaming like a kid on Christmas morning, exclaimed, "Great, I'll go home and get my ID right away."

With that, Alaric left, barely containing his excitement.

Once he was gone, Hertha approached Kimberly with a worried look, "Mom, are you really that eager to send your daughter off? You barely know anything about Alaric's background and you're already rushing me into marriage with him?"

Kimberly's face fell, and she shot Hertha a reproachful look, saying, "A family that can casually hand out two million to make a problem go away isn't exactly poverty-stricken, now is it? Your dad and I did some digging yesterday. This Alaric is quite the catch, a real-life prince charming from the Falconer Group. We're talking genuine, blue-blooded royalty here."

Hertha was in disbelief. Her mother had actually investigated Alaric!

But it was true, a quick internet search revealed all there was to know about Alaric's background.

Hertha asked, "And you found nothing about him being a notorious playboy? Plus, his mother offered me two million to leave him, clearly looking down on our family. Are you sure you want to push me into this fire?"

"I spent all night up, worrying and checking into this, Hertha. I know about Alaric's past and present. My daughter isn't marrying some heartbreaker. But Alaric, he's different with you," Kimberly insisted, her tone turning serious.

"Of course, I did," Kimberly snorted, giving Hertha a sideways glance. "Don't treat me like I'm clueless. I've got all the dirt on Alaric's love life these past three years from my sources."

"After you two split, Alaric got engaged to Georgia Whitman, but they never made it down the aisle. Recently, he left his family's empire to work as a project director at Crawley Group, all to break free from his engagement with the Whitmans. It's clear as day."

"Don't you see? Alaric's engagement was nothing but a family arrangement. His rebellion and departure were all about getting out of that engagement, because he couldn't forget you and wanted a fresh start."

Hertha's jaw nearly dropped at her mother's analysis, "Mom, where are you getting these wild theories?"

"Wild theories?" Kimberly laughed, giving Hertha's forehead a playful tap. "You're just too naive, which is why you're still single at thirty!"