Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1357

Janelle’s tone was sharp—unyielding.

“Don’t call me Mom! As of now, we’re done. You and I? No more mother and son.”

She crossed her arms and glared. “When you finally show up with a girlfriend—when you come back to actually talk about getting married—then you can call me Mom again. Until then, we’re finished.”

She barked at the security guards, “Well? What are you waiting for? Get on with it.”

The guards exchanged nervous glances, not sure what family drama they’d walked into, but no one wanted to cross Mrs. Huber. They shuffled over to Keaton.

“Sorry, man. Orders are orders,” one muttered apologetically.

“Hold it!” Richard’s voice boomed across the foyer.

Sure, Richard was angry—furious, even—but Keaton was the only son of the Huber family. You didn’t just toss out your only heir in front of all your ancestors’ portraits. That was madness.

Richard grabbed Janelle by the wrist and pulled her out onto the front porch.

He kept his voice low. “What’s gotten into you? Did Winona say something? Why are you so worked up?”

Janelle scoffed. “Are you blind? I’m not angry—I’m just pulling a classic ‘tough love’ move. You want a wolf, you gotta bait the trap.”

Richard frowned. “What are you talking about?”

She shot back, “Did you even ask your precious son? What’s going on with him and Winona?”

Richard sighed. “He told me they’re just friends. They met through Tarquin and Elysia Thorne. She’s just checking in on him, like any friend would.”

“Apparently, they were both in a crappy mood today, so they ended up drinking together.”

Janelle rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. The guards told me Winona got all teary-eyed when she heard Keaton hadn’t eaten or slept. She really cares about him.”

“So you think Winona’s into him?” Richard asked, finally catching on.

“I think there’s definitely something there! At the very least, he treats her way better than he ever treated Beatrix Sutton.”

“The Sutton family tried to force him with a false accusation, and he still wouldn’t marry her. That says a lot—he really doesn’t like her.”

“We need to get to the bottom of what happened at that hotel. If the Suttons set this up, we’ll deal with it. If Keaton really did something wrong, we’ll apologize and make it right. But marriage? That’s off the table.”

Richard rubbed his temples. “Still, isn’t this all a bit much? Throwing him out, disowning him… What if things don’t work out with Winona?”

Janelle just huffed, “Oh, ye of little faith! If it doesn’t work, then get ready—you’ll have a bachelor for a son, and the Huber family line will end with him!”

“I’m not joking, Richard. Winona is this family’s last hope!”

Richard mulled it over, face growing darker by the second. Then, with a determined stride, he marched back into the ancestral hall.

In front of the whole Huber clan, portraits and all, he called out to the guards:

“Throw him out. The Huber family is done with him!”