Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1655

Something unreadable flickered in Winona’s gaze, but she quickly masked it to reassure Janelle.

"You won't have to worry about Beatrix bothering you anymore. After tonight, she won't have the nerve to show her face in front of you again." Richard and Janelle showered Winona with praise. "..." It was getting late. After chatting a bit more, Winona persuaded the older couple to go home and get some rest. Just as the older Hubers left, Keaton said to Tarquin, "Let's go out for a smoke." Tarquin glanced at Elysia, then nodded. "Alright." The two of them left, one after the other. Keaton didn't glance at Winona once the entire time. Winona watched Keaton's back as he left, a heavy feeling tightening in her chest. She had dealt with Beatrix, and even though he hadn't said anything, he was obviously unhappy. Fine, let him be unhappy! Anyway, it's not like I killed Beatrix or had her thrown in jail! Beatrix had Alicia hurt her before, and this time she scared Janelle into fainting. If I didn't deal with her harshly, she'd definitely cause more trouble in the future! Winona didn't think she had gone too far. People like her bring it on themselves. Beatrix had no one to blame but herself for ending up in this mess. She deserved it! But even with that thought, Winona still felt depressed, her chest tight. She leaned her head on Elysia's shoulder, sulking. "Elysia, do you think what happened to Beatrix today was brutal?" Elysia told her the truth. "Brutal is an understatement. It was devastating. You basically ripped off her mask and exposed her true self for everyone to see." "Now, in the eyes of her professor and classmates, she's a cruel, manipulative user. It's going to be tough for her in the research team from now on." "Tate Joubert could never love her again; he probably hates her guts now." "And the Suttons, who already disliked her, will probably beat her half to death after this." "Most importantly, once word of this gets out, her reputation will be completely ruined. Forget the Huber family, who would ever marry her now?" "Her life is basically over. It'll be almost impossible for her to make a comeback." Winona asked again, "So... does that make me just like her? Cold, calculating, and cruel?" "Huh?" Elysia looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about? How could you be like her? It's not wrong to be calculating. You didn't go after her unprovoked! This was just fighting back!" Winona let out a heavy breath. "Be honest, Elysia. Was I a monster tonight?" "Of course not! Who said you went too far?" Winona pouted. From the look on Keaton's face, he definitely thought she'd gone too far. Winona didn't reply, so Elysia continued, "In this world, showing mercy to people like her only leaves you vulnerable. It was eat or be eaten. You did nothing wrong, and you didn't go too far. Don't overthink it." Winona sighed again. "..." Elysia sensed something was off and asked her, "Are you in a bad mood?" Winona muttered, "Keaton is definitely blaming me." Elysia said, "...How do you know?" Winona replied, "Didn't you see the look on his face? He's been unhappy ever since Tate Joubert proposed to Beatrix. He's been frowning and scowling this whole time, and he's still upset." Elysia was speechless. "..." Winona complained, "What does he have to be unhappy about? He's the one who said it was fine as long as I didn't kill Beatrix or put her in jail." "I made Beatrix's life miserable, sure, but I didn't kill her! I didn't send her to prison! What right does he have to be dissatisfied?" "Besides, I wasn't the one who started it with Beatrix. She came after me first, remember?" "And he knew all along that I was going to deal with Beatrix, and he didn't stop me. And now that it's done, he's throwing a fit!" "If he didn't want me to touch her, he should have just said so before I did anything!" "He doesn't stop me, he doesn't say anything beforehand, and then he gets upset after the fact! What kind of person is he?" Elysia listened to Winona's rant, then slowly said, "Winona, are you starting to fall for Keaton?" "Huh?" Winona froze. "Of course not!" Elysia looked at her seriously. "Then why are you always watching his moods? And why do you care so much about how he feels?" Winona was speechless. "..."