Keaton''s face suddenly turned grim.

Normally, he was all jokes and grins, but now his expression was weighed down, as if something serious had just shed through his mind.

It took him a moment to pull himself together. When he finally did, the mischievous glint was back in his eyes as he squinted at her and said,

"This is between me and Beatrix. I can''t really talk about it, but trust me I''ll handle it, okay?"

"I promise, I won''t drag you into this. Just give me a sec, I need to make a call."

Before heading out to the deck, he handed Winona a napkin and tried to cheer her up, “Come on, stop crying. You''re about to turn into the ugly duckling over here."

Winona watched him step outside, frowning. She''d been sobbing her eyes out and he still wouldn''t tell her what was going on!

What in the world was between him and Beatrix?

Was it really that top secret?

Her phone suddenly buzzed, the ringtone slicing through her thoughts.

She nced at the screen: Janelle was calling. Swiping away the tears, she steadied herself before answering, "Hey, Janelle."

Janelle didn''t waste a second. "Winona, did Beatrixe after you?"

Jessamine had just told her that Beatrix had shown up, and Janelle was clearly rattled.

"I''m fine, Janelle. She just wanted to talk, that''s all," Winona replied quickly.

Janelle''s voice was tight with frustration. "She''s unbelievable! After everything that''s happened between her and Keaton, I know my son''s innocent. I''m furious with the Suttons, not her!"

"I''m a woman too, I get what she''s feeling. No matter what happened, she''s the one who got hurt here. I always wanted to make it right for her. And now she''s got the nerve toe after you?"

"Don''t worry, Winona. If she tries to mess with you, Richard and I will have your back, you hear me?"

"We''ve already had the Huber family''s PR team put out a statement. The engagement between our families ended ages ago. Beatrix is not, and has never been, my future daughter-inw. She doesn''t have anything to do with the Hubers anymore!"

Janelle knew exactly what Beatrix was up to-trying to paint Winona as the "other woman." That kind of scandal could wreck an actress''s career overnight.fn013f The rightful source is find~novel/fn013f

The Hubers had kept quiet before, trying to work things out with the Suttons behind closed doors. But as

soon as Janelle heard that Beatrix

was causing trouble for Winona, both she and Richard had had enough.  s

Kon

They could take the hits themselves, buty a finger on their chosen daughter-in-

They didn''t care what Keaton

thought. As long as the Hubers made their position clear, if Beatrix tried to trash Winona in public, the

tide of public opinion trix

turn against Winona.  s

They had to nip this crisis in the bud.

just

After Winona got over her shock, she felt a warm rush of gratitude.

Other than her own parents-and maybe Elysia and Blossom-no one else in the world would stand up for her like Janelle and Richard did.

"Winona, don''t you worry, and don''t let her scare you. If the sky falls, Richard and

I will hold it up for you. We won''t let Beatrix bully you, not on our watch..."

Janelle kept going, and Winona felt her nose start to tingle.

She couldn''t help but think of Prisci. People always say you don''t know what you''re missing until you see the difference.

If only Prisci could be more like Janelle...

But never mind—there''s no "if" in real life. Janelle could never have raised a jerk like Zane, anyway.

And the thought that she might not end up with Keaton, that she might let Janelle down, made her heart ache just a little.

After a moment, Winona managed to smile and say,

"I''m fine, Janelle. Just because she calls me the other woman doesn''t make it true. She has to prove it, and I know she can''t. You and MoHuber don''t need to worry about me  s

"Ugh, this whole mess is Keaton''s fault, that knucklehead..."

Janelle spent another few minutes venting about her own son before finally hanging up.

Winona was about to put her phone away when a breaking news alert caught her eye.

Keaton had just shared an article about the Huber-Sutton engagement falling apart, and added his ownment: