My Wife is a Hacker by Summer

"What did you say? I didn’t catch that." Doretta noticed Ellar's clear displeasure, her own face losing some color at his reaction.

Before things could escalate, Patricia stepped in, "Jumping to talk of marriage is jumping the gun, don't you think?" "But Aunt Emma adores you.

She's quite keen on the idea of you joining the family," Doretta couldn't help but smile again, trying to lighten the mood.

Noticing Ellar's continued annoyance, Patricia subtly pinched him as a cue to ease up.

"Ouch!" The pinch caught Ell ar off guard, making him grunt involuntarily.

"Ellar?" Doretta's confusion grew, looking between them for an explanation.

Catching Patricia's subtle cue, Ellar took a deep breath, attempting to soften his stance.

"Like we’ve mentioned earlier, marriage isn't on our agenda for the next few years.

Mom's on board with that decision, so it's not something we're rushing into." "Oh, I understand," Doretta replied, her smile returning.

"Well, in that case, Ellar, you'll have to really look out for Patricia.

It'd be a real loss if you let someone as wonderful as her slip away." Ellar mustered a tight smile in response, choosing to keep his peace.

hold back any comments that might

the restaurant

main dining area rather than a secluded private room turned out to be a fortunate choice, considering the addition

dynamic less awkward than it might have been in

their orders, a palpable silence descended over

lent an almost ghostly air to the meal, with each person focusing solely on

already in a foul mood, silently wished for the meal to end quickly so they

her diplomatic energy during the car ride, found it increasingly difficult to engage with someone as chatty

as naturally reserved as Patricia, Doretta's incessant talking

from Ellar and Patricia, chose

they prepared to head back, Doretta spoke up, 'I won't be coming back with

errands I need to take care of." "Alright

about the specifics of her errands, nor did he try to convince her

came quickly, without

Ellar's car drove off, her face turning notably more somber once

then turned her attention to a car parked

cautious glance around, she swiftly

the matter?" Doretta's tone

you've started at

need of an internal