The moment they left the Newsom estate, Keaton called his real estate agent.
He needed to buy back his villa in the Royal Manor, no matter the cost.
Yesterday, fully convinced that Winona was in a relationship and cutting him off completely, he had impulsively sold the house at a massive loss just to escape her memory.
He had intended to disappear from her life forever.
But today changed everything. Shane was just her cousin.
Even though Winona was pregnant, she was still single. That meant nothing was stopping him from pursuing her.
Over the next few days, however, Winona stayed at the Newsom estate. She didn't return to the Royal Manor at all.
Keaton went days without seeing her.
Even when he specifically organized a New Year's Eve party with their mutual friends, she didn't show up.
Driven half-mad by missing her, he found excuses to drive past her family's house, praying for a coincidental encounter.
But luck was never on his side. He didn't catch a single glimpse of her.
At night, lying alone in his massive, empty bedroom, he would stare at Winona's profile picture on his phone, completely lost in thought.
He desperately wanted to message her, but what could he say?
How have you been these past few days?
Are you in a good mood?
Are you eating well?
Is the baby behaving?
But every time he typed out a message, he would hesitate and delete the entire thing.
He wanted her to know how he felt, yet he was terrified she would find out.
He feared that if this was just a fleeting infatuation, the fallout would ruin any chance they had of even remaining friends.
He had never taken love seriously in his entire life, but this time, he was treading on eggshells.
But missing her was sheer agony. It was absolute torture.
After enduring two weeks of this torment, Keaton finally cracked. He began racking his brain for any possible excuse to see her.
And then, an idea hit him. He could use Shane.
In mid-January, armed with the perfect excuse, he quickly sent Winona a text.
[Are you busy?]
When she didn't reply immediately, he spent the next few minutes pacing his room, overthinking every possible reason why.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem