Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem ( Elysia and Tarquin)

Zane was absolutely livid.

"Oh, I'm the villain, and he's the perfect gentleman?!" he spat, voice shaking with rage. "If he's such a great guy, maybe he shouldn't be dragging you along to mess with deadly viruses and their cures while telling you he loves you!"

He jabbed a finger in Elysia's direction, eyes wild. "Do you even realize how dangerous this virus is? One slip, and you could get infected! And let me tell you, it's not pretty-just pure agony!"

"He's putting you in harm's way. He doesn't care about you at all!"

Elysia's face flushed with anger. She clenched her fists and fired back, "Tarquin didn't manipulate me into this! It was my idea to help with the research!"

"He only let me join because he knows there's no stopping me-not because he doesn't care!"

"But you—" she pointed right back at him, voice trembling, "You know how dangerous this is? You know how much people suffer after they're infected? Yet you still unleashed this on the world! How could you be so heartless?!"

Zane's voice rose to a guttural roar. "I did it for you! I was trying to make more money so you could have a better life!"

"For me?" Elysia let out a bitter laugh. "Don't kid yourself. You did it for you!"

"You're just looking for a fancy excuse to ease your guilty conscience, but deep down you know exactly what you've done!"

Zane fell silent, breathing hard, unable to hide how much the truth stung.

Elysia took a couple shaky breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

"Zane, just wait. You'll get what's coming to you. And don't even think about loving me-it makes me sick!"

With that, she spun on her heel and marched toward Tarquin.

Zane lunged after her, but Tarquin was faster-he stepped in and shoved Zane hard, sending him stumbling backward. Zane lost his balance and crashed to the floor.

Tarquin wrapped a protective arm around Elysia, glaring daggers at Zane. "Keep your hands off my wife!"

Zane scrambled up, spitting blood and fury. "She'll be mine one day, just you wait!"

Without another word, Tarquin landed a solid punch across Zane's jaw, knocking him down again—-this time, two teeth went flying.

From the shadows, the bodyguards, seeing Tarquin throw a punch, started to move in. After all, why let the boss get his own hands dirty over a nobody like Zane? That was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Totally unnecessary.

But Zane wiped the blood from his mouth, got up once more, and sneered at the entourage. "What, you gonna hide behind your lapdogs now?"

"If you didn't have your fancy family name and all that money, you'd be nothing! Give me half your privilege, and I'd outshine you a thousand times over!"noveldrama

"You entitled trust-fund brat-you don't deserve Elysia's love!"

The bodyguards bristled, ready to pounce, but Tarquin raised a hand. "Stand down."

He shot Zane a cold, piercing look, then turned to Elysia. "Are you done talking to him? Let me have a word in private. Benjamin's upstairs waiting for you-go see him. I'll be up in a bit.”

Elysia hesitated, worry creasing her brow. Tarquin gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I can handle myself."

"Okay, I'll go find Dr. Benjamin."

"Good."

She shot Zane one last withering glare and stepped into the elevator. Tarquin watched until the doors slid closed, then started rolling up his sleeves as he walked toward Zane.

By now, the sun had set, and the hospital corridors were quiet. This was one of those elite private clinics-never crowded, especially at night.

With the bodyguards gone, Zane pulled himself up, eyes burning with hatred.

Seeing Tarquin approach, Zane clenched his jaw. He took a deep breath and strode forward to meet him head-on.

Truth be told, Tarquin had always rubbed him the wrong way-and the feeling was mutual.

There were some grudges a man could never let go. And Zane had been hitting the gym, even taking boxing classes twice a week. Tonight, he was ready to settle the score.