Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1196

Winona was a sharp one, and she couldn't help but notice how strange Zane was acting towards Elysia.

When Winona and Priscilla got into a fight, Zane seemed only concerned about Elysia's feelings.

Elysia didn't plan on keeping anything from Winona; she just felt a little sorry for her.

Winona had genuinely liked Zane once.

Elysia gave Winona a look that said, “I’ll fill you in later.”

...

Meanwhile, Zane was fuming, his fists pounding against the steering wheel in frustration.

He had sent his mom to the hospital to keep an eye on Winona, never expecting her to mess things up like this!

If he'd known she was this unreliable, he wouldn't have let her go in the first place!

Zane's mind was a chaotic mess. He wanted to rush back to the hospital and smooth things over with Elysia, but he had bigger fish to fry.

Someone had uncovered his affair, and now they were blackmailing him!

He had to clean up this mess, and quick!

If he couldn’t handle this properly, his carefully crafted image of the "perfect husband" would crumble to dust.

And knowing Elysia's personality, getting her to fall in love with him was a long shot at best.

This situation needed to be dealt with, and fast.

Zane yanked on his tie, trying to calm his nerves.

Impulsiveness would only make things worse.

He parked his car in front of a secluded luxury hotel and made a call.

"I'm here. Where are you?"

The person on the other end gave him a room number, and Zane, after donning a mask, got out and headed inside.

He had thought it over: as long as the demands weren’t over the top, he’d meet them. If they wanted money, he’d pay up.

But if they pushed too far, he wasn’t above taking drastic measures.

Every attempt he made was met with a message saying the number was no longer in service.

Realizing he was being played, Zane shot a glare at the woman and quickly left the hotel.

Back in his car, he sat in silence, piecing it all together.

Someone had drawn him out under the pretense of blackmail but hadn’t shown up themselves. Instead, they set him up with a woman, yet hadn’t forced him into any compromising situation.

What was their game?

Zane brooded over this for a while, but nothing added up.

The hotel remained quiet, and after a moment's pause, he started the engine and drove off.

A sense of unease gnawed at him, as though something bad was looming just over the horizon.

He needed to get Winona back home, pronto!

As long as Winona was under his roof, whatever storm brewed, he’d have the upper hand.

Winona was his leverage.