Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1382

After hanging up on Tarquin, Elysia just couldn’t shake her worry. So, she headed over to Tanhe Manor.

She packed the self-defense gadget Walter had made—his own take on pepper spray—and some ointment for injuries.

The pepper spray was for Winona.

The ointment was for Keaton.

When the doorbell rang, Winona answered, surprised to see Elysia standing there.

“Hey! What are you doing here? You didn’t even text before coming over!”

Before Elysia could reply, she caught sight of Jessamine Huber sitting on the couch.

Jessamine spotted her too, immediately jumping up, both surprised and delighted.

“Elysia!”

Elysia blinked. “Jess? What are you doing here?”

Jessamine wiped her eyes, still a little teary. “I came to check on Keaton! And I wanted to thank Winona for looking after him these past few days.”

Elysia remembered Jessamine was pregnant with her second child and quickly helped her sit back down.

“Take a seat—did you just get back from Border City?”

Jessamine nodded. “Yeah, I got to Jindale City at dawn, stopped by my parents’ place first, and came here as soon as it was light.”

Elysia said, “Honestly, I thought you’d just settle down in the States for a while, maybe come back after the holidays.”

Jessamine shook her head, smiling. “No way. You know, you said something that really stuck with me—no one cares for your own kids like you do!”

“Why hand my own kid off to a stepmom when I’m right here?”

“I even canceled the fancy maternity clinic I booked in Alerasia. I want my baby to be born right here in Zhinora, to be a true local.”

But after talking to Elysia, she started to see things differently.

Trying to live abroad just for citizenship? That cost a ton, and all you were really doing was boosting someone else’s economy.

And even after all that, you still got treated like an outsider—looked down on and discriminated against. What was the point?

It was better, she realized, to stay home and raise her baby in her own country.

Winona poured another glass of warm milk for Jessamine, handed Elysia some tea, and asked, “You came because you’re worried about Zane breaking out, right?”

Zane’s escape was all over the news—his face plastered everywhere. The whole country was on alert.

Elysia frowned. “I can’t believe he actually managed to get away!”

Winona, lounging in her silky pajamas with her hair loose, somehow looked both relaxed and regal.

She shrugged, a stubborn gleam in her eye. “If Zane really wants to come after me, let him. If he manages to kill me, well, maybe that’s just how my story’s supposed to end. I’ll accept it.”