The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1774

Thalassa and Lysander were cozied up at the dinner table, indulging in a delicious meal. Just as they were about to finish, Thalassa's phone rang. She picked it up to see Hertha calling. Without hesitation, she answered.

"Thalassa, what are you up to? Oh, right, you've just pulled off a wedding heist, must be all lovey-dovey with Lysander, sickeningly sweet. Unlike me, feeling like I've been put through the wringer, heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys, all aching," Hertha's voice came through the phone, laden with a wish-to-cry despondence.

Sensing something was off with Hertha, Thalassa asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's too much to explain over the phone. Can we meet in person? Do you have time?" Hertha sighed.

Hertha, usually so vibrant and cheerful, sounded so downhearted that Thalassa sensed something serious was amiss.

Covering the mouthpiece, she looked over at Lysander for approval, "Hertha needs me, is it okay if I step out for a bit?"

Lysander dabbed his mouth with a napkin and asked, "Are you done eating?"

"Yeah, I'm full," Thalassa nodded.

"Go ahead, then," Lysander said.

Quickly putting down her fork, Thalassa hurriedly stood up, promising, "I'll be back before 8 p.m."

"Mhm," came Lysander's low, magnetic affirmation.

"That sounds great, though. Where's the license? Let me see it?" Thalassa probed gently, trying to uncover more about Hertha's situation.

Hertha swatted Thalassa's extended hand away with a mournful look, "It fell through, we didn't get it."

"What happened? Why did it fall through?" Thalassa pulled her close, sharing the cool breeze off the lake.

Hertha's eyes dimmed, tears falling as she recounted the day's events, "Three years ago, that night between Georgia and Alaric... Georgia got pregnant with Alaric's child, and the kid's over two years old now."

"What?" Thalassa was taken aback, expecting only a minor spat between Hertha and Alaric, not a revelation of this magnitude!