The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1856

"Hey, Hertha, come on, don't be like that. Everything I said earlier was true." Richard was getting anxious seeing Hertha's cold response.

Alaric had threatened him, saying they'd be through if he didn't smooth things over with Hertha.

Richard truly valued his friendship with Alaric.

"Mr. Richard, you might as well leave. You're ruining our dinner. We were enjoying our meal until you showed up, and now we've lost our appetite," Hertha said, clearly not interested in prolonging the conversation.

Richard was taken aback, "What do you mean? Do I look that off-putting to you?"

"Take it however you want to. We're going to eat now," Hertha picked up her fork and knife again, resuming her meal, ignoring Richard completely.

Getting the hint, Richard nodded, stood up, and walked away.

The table fell silent again. Hertha chewed her food, but it tasted bland, and she felt a sudden weariness, as if all her energy had been drained.

"Maybe you should give Richard a chance?" Thalassa leaned in and whispered to Hertha.

Hertha gave her a glance and said, "Even you caught the obvious flaws in his story. How can we trust him? I'd rather trust the police."

"But what if it's true..."

"Even if it is, there's no going back for me and Alaric." Hertha cut Thalassa off, her voice tinged with sadness. "Alaric and Georgia have a child together. That's a barrier too high for me to ever cross."

Thalassa opened her mouth to say something more but stopped at Hertha's clear reluctance to discuss it further.

Richard exited the restaurant and immediately called Alaric.

"I don’t need it!" Alaric hung up, furious and disappointed.

Richard sighed as he stared at the disconnected call screen, regretting how things had turned out.

Meanwhile, at the Sinclair Group's headquarters.

David and his team were at the main entrance, ready to welcome Lysander.

Today was the scheduled shareholders' meeting.

Lysander was invited to participate, marking his quickest route back into the Sinclair Group fold.