Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1398

The man let out a cold laugh.

“Alright then, let’s settle this our way. You got the guts to face me in a ring?”

“If I lose, we’ll drop everything that happened today. But if you lose, not only do you pay up, you get down on your knees and apologize. Loud and clear.”

The Thyania crowd behind him started hollering, egging him on. “Come on, man! Prove you’re not all talk—let’s see what you’re made of!”

The woman shot a sneer at Elysia, her tone dripping with mockery.

“If your family’s too scared to fight, just save us the trouble and get down now—beg for forgiveness.”

“And bring your little troublemakers out, along with that crazy old bat of yours. They can all kneel and apologize, too.”

“After that, my son gets to teach Evan a little lesson. Then we’ll call it even.”

Tarquin didn’t even glance at her. He looked straight at Punikon’s father and asked,

“So, where’s this going down? Your gym work for you?”

The man raised his eyebrows, surprised. “You know we run a boxing gym, and you still want to do this? Got guts, I’ll give you that. Eight tonight, at my place. Don’t be late.”

“Fine by me.”

“If you chicken out, everyone’ll know you’re nothing but a coward!” someone jeered as the group walked off, laughing and talking smack.

“Looks like some weak little businessman to me—this’ll be fun. Let’s show him what Thyania’s champion can do!”

“And if his kid broke our boy’s arm, let’s see if he can handle a taste of his own medicine!”

As they left, Tarquin watched them go, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Elysia frowned, anxious. “You seriously agreed to fight them, knowing their family runs a gym? This is a setup if I’ve ever seen one. We should just call the cops.”

Tarquin turned to her, reassuring. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have agreed if I wasn’t sure I could win. And even if things get rough, they’re not touching me—my security team’s got my back.”

Thinking about Tarquin’s ever-present bodyguards, Elysia felt a bit better.

She let out a sigh and grumbled, “Like father, like son, huh? What kind of parents act like that and expect their kid to behave?”

Most athletes are supposed to be straightforward and easygoing, but that whole family seemed off. Especially the mother—she was totally unhinged.

They chatted as they worked—about the fight at the preschool, about Elizabeth’s funeral, even the weird stuff with the exhumation.

Half an hour later, Tarquin’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Elliot:

Dad, can you come to our room? We need to talk.

Tarquin narrowed his eyes, made up an excuse, and headed upstairs.

The four boys were waiting for him in the little study. As soon as he walked in, they pulled him in and had him sit down.

“Dad, are you really fighting Punikon’s father tonight?”

Tarquin squinted. “Who told you that?”

Elijah spoke up. “I just saw it online—the guy’s already told the Thyania press. Bragging about how he’s fighting that rich guy from Zhinora tonight!”

Tarquin glanced at Elijah’s laptop, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Elijah continued: