Chapter 350

“What is it?” Seeing her pause, Alaric asked, breaking the silence that was beginning to stretch uncomfortably.

Hertha’s round eyes, bright as a pair of marbles, rolled around twice, her words catching in her throat.

She had been ready to admit the truth about the quadruplets, but the words died on her lips.

She swallowed them back.

Despite her desperate need to clarify that she was single, childless, and had never been with a man, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Because if she did, it would mean betraying Thalassa.

Alaric was Lysander’s close friend. If Alaric learned that the quadruplets were Thalassa’s children, Lysander would soon know too.

And currently, the tension between Thalassa and Lysander was not just about him disliking children or the Sinclair family looking down on Thalassa. It was a web of old grudges and resentments.

Lysander now saw Thalassa as an enemy, wishing nothing more than her downfall.

If he found out about the children Thalassa had birthed in secret, he would ruthlessly snatch them away, denying Thalassa any right to see them.

That, after all, would be the most painful punishment for Thalassa.

Thalassa had lost everything. All she had left were her children.

If she were to lose them too, what would become of her?

Hertha was here to help Thalassa, wasn’t she? She couldn’t just push Thalassa into the fire before she even had a chance to save her.

Despite her growing feelings for Alaric and her desperate urge to explain everything, she held her peace.

“Why are you quiet?” Seeing Hertha’s troubled expression, Alaric prompted her, his brow furrowed.

After a moment of stuttering, Hertha finally found her voice, “The quadruplets are my treasures. They are irreplaceable in my heart.”

This was Thalassa’s true thoughts and situation.

Hertha was merely voicing Thalassa’s feelings.

As Thalassa’s best friend, she could guess what Thalassa was thinking.

No one could ever replace her children in her heart.

Hearing Hertha’s response, Alaric wasn’t surprised. A mocking smile played at the corner of his lips, “Don’t worry, no one’s going to steal your children. You’ve done me a favor today. Name your price, and I’ll transfer it to you now.”

He pulled out his phone, found Hertha’s account, and prepared to make the transfer Seeing his decisive action, Hertha felt a sudden pang of anxiety and pain.

She was single. She hadn’t ever been in a relationship, and certainly hadn’t given birth.

She wanted to experience a passionate romance with him. When he had kissed her earlier, her heart had raced, her body had tingled, and she recognized the feeling of intense attraction.

Her affection for him deepened.

But he had rejected her, thinking she was a mother of four. He was apparently uninterested in a woman with children.

For Thalassa’s sake, she had to endure the torment.

As he started to enter the amount for the transfer, Hertha quickly grabbed his hand, “If you really believe I’ve helped you, you don’t need to pay me. Just do me another favor, and we’ll be even.”

As she spoke, her gaze fell on his phone screen.

It was the same conversation from when he had rear-ended her car and transferred her a thousand dollars.

She had asked him out for dinner, but he had declined.

After that, there was nothing. No more conversation.

The only other time he had initiated contact with her was for another transfer. This time it was to sever ties with her.

Hertha felt a sharp sting in her heart, as if bitten by an ant. It was a small, lingering pain that seemed to never fade.