My Wife is a Hacker novel (Nicole)

Chapter 3146

"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.

wiser to hold back any comments that

trio reached the restaurant Ellar

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

of conversation lent an almost ghostly air to the meal, with each

silently wished for the meal to end quickly so they

difficult to engage with someone as chatty as Doretta. For someone as naturally reserved as Patricia, Doretta's incessant talking was becoming a test of her

Ellar and Patricia, chose to mirror their

to take care of."

Ellar's car drove off, her face turning notably more somber once it was out of

road. After a cautious

matter?" Doretta's tone carried a touch

you've started at BayCorp. Might you be in need of an internal ally?"

gotten my foot in the door. How could I possibly arrange for someone else to

help seemed to her more of a complication