Chapter 1774


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


    "Thssa, 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,den with a wish-to-cry despondence.


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


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


    Hertha, usually so vibrant and cheerful, sounded so downhearted that Thssa 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," Thssa nodded.


    "Go ahead, then," Lysander said.


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


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


    With a smile, Thssa said, "Then I''m off."


    Grabbing her jacket, she headed out while Lysander instructed Fitch, "Have the driver take her."


    "Right away, sir," Fitch sprang into action.


    Thssa found Hertha by theke in the park.


    She was sitting on a bench, facing theke. The breeze lifted her wig slightly, casting a long, lonely shadow under the streetlights.


    Seeing her like this, Thssa''s heart


    ached. She approached, draping an arm around Hertha''s shoulders, and tried to lighten the mood, "What''s got our ''sunshine'' so down? Is it that time of year when the sunshine starts to fade?"


    Hertha snapped back to reality, leaning into Thssa''s embrace with a heavy breath, "Thssa, you know, I was finally ready to let go of the past, not to dwell on ric''s history, and build a family with him, give our kids a whole family. We were supposed to get our marriage license today..."


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


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


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


    Hertha''s eyes dimmed, tears falling


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


    "What?" Thssa was taken aback, expecting only a minor spat between Hertha and ric, not a revtion of this magnitude!Material ? N?velDrama.Org.