Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem ( Elysia and Tarquin)

With just a little more pressure, he could've ended him right there.

"Bernard!" Evan yelled, sprinting over, panic all over his face.

Bernard frowned, silent for a moment, then let go and stood up.

"I'll be waiting for you up in the mountains. Come find me when you've toughened up! Now get lost!"

The big guy with the scarred face flushed red, coughing like crazy.

Evan dashed over, anxious. "Hey, are you alright?!"

The scarred man glared at Bernard, his eyes red and wild. He didn't bother wiping the blood off his face, just wiped his tears away roughly, not saying a single word.

He got up, limped off deeper into the woods, heading down the mountain.

Evan stared after him, worried, then rushed forward and shoved a bottle of painkillers into his hand. "Here, take these. They'll help."

The scarred man shot him a strange look, but took the bottle and disappeared into the trees.

Evan watched him go for a while, then hurried back to Bernard. "Bernard, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bernard grunted.

"What about him-?"

"Let him go!" Bernard snapped. "With his skills, he's not about to get eaten by a bear or anything. But with that attitude, trying to get revenge? He'll wind up dead, and he won't even know how it happened!"

Bernard glared down the path after the scarred man, fuming. But beneath the anger, his words were laced with frustration-like he expected better from him.

Once the scarred guy was out of sight, Evan nudged Bernard again. "Bernard, what's going on between you two? What happened?"noveldrama

Bernard sighed a long, heavy sigh. Suddenly, whether from the fight or from something weighing on his heart, he coughed hard and spat out blood.

"Bernard!" Evan shouted in alarm.

Tarquin rushed over too. "You okay, sir?"

Bernard wiped the blood from his mouth. "I'm alright."

"Here, sit down, take it easy," Tarquin said, helping Bernard lower himself onto a big rock at the top of the hill. Evan fished out some medicine from his backpack— just aspirin, but it was better than nothing-and handed it over.

Bernard caught his breath, then finally spoke, his voice gravelly. "He's my mentor's son. My little brother in a way. Back in the day, our mentor was betrayed-set up by some foreigners. On his deathbed, he asked me to look after his wife and his boy."

"He was just a kid back then, maybe eight or nine. I was a hotheaded young man full of fire, angry as hell. All I could think about was getting revenge for our mentor. I ignored his widow's pleas, and I went overseas, helf bent on settling the score."

"When I left, the kid clung to my leg, crying his eyes out. He'd always depended on me. But I wasn't going on a vacation-I was heading into danger. I couldn't let him come along."

"I tore myself away from him and went to Alerasia. The men who betrayed our mentor had to pay. My mentor had done everything for me. I couldn't just let it go. I was ready to die for that vengeance."

Bernard broke off, coughing again, his face twisted with anger.

After a moment, he continued, “Looking back, I was too young too cocky. I got to Alerasia, challenged their champion in a fight to the death, and killed him in front of everyone in the ring."

"After that, I traveled across seven

countries, taking down their best fighters, making sure everyone knew my mentor's name. I thought, was strong, that proved my mentor was strong. All I cared about was revenge. I didn't think about my mentor's wife or my little brother back home..."