Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1618

The next morning.

Keaton, leaning over the side of his bed, dry-heaved for what felt like an eternity. Weakly, he called out,

“Tarquin, get me a glass of water to rinse my mouth. Hurry, my mouth tastes disgusting.”

The door to the hospital room swung open, and a familiar scent washed over him...

Keaton's heart skipped a beat as he realized what was happening. His head snapped up.

Standing in the doorway was Winona, wearing a trench coat, her long brown curls flowing, a mask and sunglasses hiding her face. She was stepping in on towering stilettos.

One hand rested on her suitcase handle, the other tucked into her coat pocket.

She exuded an air of sophisticated confidence.

Even though she was all covered up, Keaton recognized her in an instant.

He froze completely, his heart starting to race with a confusing mix of panic and excitement.

He stared at her wide-eyed, completely at a loss for what to say or do.

Winona said nothing. She pushed her suitcase into the room and closed the door behind her.

She took off her sunglasses and mask, walked over to the water cooler, poured a glass, and handed it to him.

Keaton quickly took it, and then... nothing. He just stared at her like an idiot.

Winona pressed her lips together. “Didn't you want to rinse your mouth?”

Keaton nodded quickly, tilted his head back, and chugged the entire glass of water.

Winona blinked. “...Did you want to rinse your mouth, or were you thirsty?”

Keaton looked flushed. “Right. Sorry. I guess I was more parched than I thought.”

“Are you still thirsty?” Winona asked.

“N-no, I'm good.”

“Then lie back down. We need to talk.”

“Oh.” Keaton obediently lay back down like a good little boy.

His presence was completely overshadowed by hers.

Winona pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down, her tone calm.

“It's been less than three weeks. How did you get so thin?”

“They demanded to know what I was doing in your room and asked if I'd taken advantage of you.”

“They caught me red-handed, so I couldn't deny it. I had to lie and say we were secretly dating. Otherwise, they would have broken my legs.”

“Because of that, when they saw the video of us at that dessert shop for pregnant women, they assumed you were pregnant with my baby.”

“The whole thing blew up so fast. I was afraid to tell the truth because I thought it would kill my parents, and I didn't want them to be humiliated. So I just kept putting it off.”

“I was trying to find the right way to handle it, but I couldn't, so it just dragged on until now.”

“I was going to come clean yesterday, but then those two gossips showed up and started taunting my mom, so I chickened out again.”

“And then Beatrix suddenly showed up out of nowhere...”

“I'm sorry. I used you. Whatever you want to do to me, I'll take it.”

Winona looked at him, her red lips pressed into a thin line, her expression neutral.

“Is there anything else you're hiding from me?”

Keaton shook his head vigorously. “No, I swear, that's everything!”

Winona didn't get angry or yell at him. Instead, she asked,