"Come on, let''s eat before everything gets cold."

Keaton reached out a hand to her. Winona didn''t hesitate-she grabbed his wrist and got to her feet.

As they headed to the dining room, Winona said,

"You went public with your thing with Beatrix. Aren''t you worried she''lle after you?"

Keaton grinned, way too confident. "She wouldn''t dare."

"See? I told you, being my friend is a win for you. Remember to hype me up when you introduce me to your single friends."

Winona nodded, "Absolutely, no problem."

"Oh, and about Zane-I heard. Don''t worry. I''ve got your back. If he tries anything, I''ll make him regret it."

Winona didn''t bother with pleasantries. "Thanks. But about us, you should clear things up with Janelle. The more hope she has, the bigger the letdown. Tell her to set her sights elsewhere-she needs to stop obsessing over me."

"You can tell her Zane broke my heart so bad, I''m done with love forever."

Keaton nodded, "Leave it to me. But seriously, when will you introduce me to those friends of yours? I''m back on the market, ready for romance."

Winona rolled her eyes. "You''re still recovering, barely able to walk around the block, and you''re already plotting a love life?"

Keaton shrugged. "I can start dating now and take her out when I''m fully recovered."

Winona snorted. "You''ll need more than a week to bounce back. At your usual breakneck dating pace, you''ll probably break up before you''re even out of bed. What''s the point?"

Keaton pursed his lips. "You don''t get it. Just set it up, you owe me. Throw one of your legendary house parties, invite all your girlfriends, and I''ll pick."

Winona shot him a look. "What, you think you''re some kind of king holding a royal ball?"

She headed into the dining room and set out lunch-grilled cheese sandwiches and a big bowl of tomato soup.

"Snap out of it, Romeo. Food''s ready!"

...

The Sutton family.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, throwing dirty looks at Beatrix.fn2e52 Th?s chapter is updated by find?novel/fn2e52

Sophus Sutton''s face was thunderous as he snapped,

"You gave it your all and still couldn''t bag the Mrs. Huber title. That''s what you call sess?"

Sophie, who used to back her up when they were guests at the Hubers'', now scoffed coldly,

"I told you, the higher the hopes, the harder the fall. She''s just like her

motherall talk can''t get an

done."  s

SWI

nc

Beatrix''s older sisters chimed in with their own barbs.

"I said it from the start-this whole thing with the Hubers was a pipe dream sure, Mr Huber''s got charm, but their family''s loaded and powerful. He was never going to pick her."  s

"Let''s be real, he only agreed to the engagement to use her as a convenient shield."

"And then she went around spreading that story about him assaulting her-where does she even learn these tricks?"

"Oh please, like mother, like daughter. Bad apples don''t fall far from the tree."

They were mocking Beatrix''s mother.

Beatrix was Sophus''s illegitimate daughter, the result of one of his many affairs. Her mother died- before Beatrix was a month old, so Sophus had no choice but to bring her home to the Suttons  s

The family loathed Beatrix''s mother, and by extension, they loathed Beatrix too.

No exaggeration-Beatrix grew up on the receiving end of their cruelty.

It wasn''t until she started getting straight As and bringing the Suttons some good press that she was grudgingly epted.

Her moment of glory came when she managed to get engaged to Keaton.

For a while, even Sophie, her harshest critic, treated her decently.

Her sharp-tongued sisters stopped mocking her to her face.

But after today''s Huber family scandal blew up, all the pent-up resentment in the

Suttons erupted at once.