Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem

Chapter 827

In the countryside where the Tylers lived, not having kids after marriage was a topic of ridicule.

Back in the day, three years into their marriage, Aiden's folks hadn't had a child. This became fodder for gossip among some spiteful neighbors who whispered that the couple must have committed sins in their past lives, hence their barrenness.

Aiden's father, known for his temper, blamed his wife for their childlessness, leading to domestic disputes that were far from rare in their household. Eventually, the couple vanished, rumored to have gone to the city in search of medical help.

and joy Aiden in tow. They paraded him around like a trophy, not just because they'd finally had a child, but a boy at that—and a strikingly handsome one, no less. In their poverty-stricken community where sons were prized over daughters, Aiden was a slap in the face to their

speak. The same folks who'd been silenced by his birth now jeered, calling him defective despite

been cursed for some past wrongdoing, hence their child's muteness. In their frustration, they even resorted to violence in desperate

just next door, could hear everything through the thin walls. Mrs. Tyler recounted, tears in her eyes, how they once found Aiden bound and suspended from the ceiling, being whipped by his father who hurled insults at

as outsiders, the Tylers

retaliation, the Tylers could only offer clandestine support, sneaking food and medicine to the boy. Then, Ms. Gonzalez, a new teacher, arrived in town. Aiden, not yet of school age but eager to learn, would listen to her lessons from outside the classroom. Ms. Gonzalez invited him in, and it was