The kid had a point; he shouldn''t have butted heads with Elijah. He should''ve done exactly as Elliot suggested: support whatever Elijah did, even if it meant pushing Elysia to reject Elijah!


    Imagine if Elijah had dered, "I''m aiming to be Elysia''s son, and you, her husband."


    And he''d replied, "No problem!"


    Would Elijah still be mad at him? Would he still have spewed those angry words?


    Of course not!


    Then, he''d go to Elysia, mention the n, and surely, as Elliot predicted, she''d seek out Elijah for a chat.


    That way, he wouldn''t have to marry Elysia, Elijah wouldn''t me him, and who knows? Maybe after Elijah hit a wall with Elysia, he''de looking for a shoulder to cry on. It would''ve been the perfect chance for a heart-to-heart between father and son!


    It would''ve been a win-win!


    Tarquin regretted not thinking of handling it that way at the moment. Acting on impulse!


    The room fell silent for a bit before Tarquin, squinting, asked Elliot, "Who''s your dad?"


    Elijah and Emmett shivered at the question, eyeing him warily, then shifting their gaze to Elliot. Elliot squinted back, "Why do you wanna know about my dad?"


    "Just curious."


    "Don''t wanna say."


    "...What does your dad do?"


    "Don''t wanna say that either."


    Tarquin eyed him for a moment longer, genuinely impressed, "You take after your dad."


    "Huh?"


    "Your mom''s a bit of a ditz, doesn''t have the smarts. You must''ve gotten your brains from your dad''s good genes." "Ha!" Elliot scoffed again, "My dad''s not that sharp either. Him ending up with my mom was the luck of his life!" "... You don''t like your dad much?"


    "He''s just a stepdad. Doesn''t matter if I like him or not; I only care about my mom."


    "A stepdad?"


    "Yep, didn''t raise me but ended up with a bunch of big sons anyway. Cheap way to be a dad, huh?"


    Tarquin was curious, "Why didn''t he raise you?"


    Elliot stared him down, "That''s a question for him!"


    Tarquin frowned, feeling like Elliot''s gaze was trying to see right through him!


    It was like the kid was talking about him!


    But they had nothing to do with each other; it couldn''t be about him.


    Tarquin honestly remarked, "Not raising your own kid makes you a lousy dad." "Yep! A lousy dad!"


    This time not only did Elliot agree, but Elijah and Emmett nodded too.


    No matter the reason, not raising your kid makes you a lousy dad!


    He was scolding himself, and rightly so!


    Suddenly, Elijah, unable to contain his agitation, blurted out,


    "If I were you, I''d go all out to make her happy! Racking my brain to find ways to bring her joy! Never doing anything I''d regretter!" He was referring to Elysia.


    Elijah was so frantic, as if he couldn''t wait to make his own dad see,


    Elysia is your one true love!


    Snap out of it, step up, and go after mom!


    If walking doesn''t catch her, and running doesn''t either, then crawl if you have to!


    Whether it''s ying the sympathy card or winning her over with love, just get her back at all costs!


    Such an amazing mom, if you don''t chase her now, what if someone else sweeps her off her feet?