Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1810

When Elysia finally reached the Blythe family's door, Folly was the one who answered it.

He looked thoroughly surprised to see her. "Elysia? What are you doing here?"

"Lancelot called me. He told me Blossom got into a huge fight with you guys and was in tears."

Folly scowled and let out a harsh breath.

Instead of letting her inside, he stepped out into the hallway, pulled the door shut behind him, and lowered his voice.

"Elysia, give it to me straight. What exactly is going on between Blossom and this Axel character?"

Elysia decided not to sugarcoat it.

"She's entirely serious about him, Folly. She's deeply in love with him."

Before, Elysia had assumed Blossom's crush was just a fleeting infatuation, the kind a teenage girl might have for a celebrity.

After all, Axel was drop-dead gorgeous with a physique that could put A-list actors to shame.

His intense, brooding aura made him undeniably magnetic.

It made total sense that Blossom would be swooning over him.

But when Blossom gave Axel the protective talisman she had worn around her neck for over twenty years right before he left town, Elysia realized just how high the stakes really were.

The tiny charm wasn't worth much monetarily, but to Blossom, it was everything.

She guarded that talisman with her life.

She constantly preached that it was her ultimate lifeline, never taking it off for a second—not to shower, not to sleep, not for anything.

She genuinely believed she had a fragile destiny and had narrowly escaped death several times as a child.

It was only after getting that charm that her life had stabilized. She was convinced she would have died years ago without it.

Whenever she spoke about the piece, her tone was deadly serious.

She'd always insist that some superstitions were worth believing in and vowed to wear it until the day she died.

And yet, she had unclasped it and handed it over to Axel.

In Blossom's eyes, that was the equivalent of offering up her own soul to keep him safe.

If that wasn't true love, what was?

"She is going to send her mother and me to an early grave!"

"She was foolish as a kid, and it seems she hasn't grown a brain cell since!"

Elysia completely understood his frustration. Fathers were notoriously critical of any man their daughters brought home, but this situation was uniquely explosive.

Axel's lifestyle involved real, visceral danger.

What father would willingly let his daughter marry into that kind of risk?

Beyond that, Lancelot was visibly devoted to Blossom, whereas Blossom was the one hopelessly chasing Axel.

Naturally, a parent would prefer the man to be the one fiercely pursuing their daughter.

Because in the brutal game of romance, the one who falls first is always the one who ends up bleeding the most.

Steeling herself, Elysia tried to run interference.

"Axel really is a good person, Folly. And he's remarkably accomplished."

But Folly cut her off.