After hanging up, Keaton sat in his car scrolling through the news.


    Seeing the online abuse and calls to boycott Winona, he frowned deeply, then after


    a moment''s thought, he called her.


    Winona answered, "Keep it short."


    Keaton asked, "Busy?"


    "Binge-watching a show."


    "You''re in the mood to binge-watch a show right now?"


    "What else am I supposed to do? Cry about it? My publicist is handling it, I don''t need to worry."


    Keaton apologized, "...I''m sorry about what happened today."


    "You already said that. Get to the point."


    "...Shifra confessed. She did set you up on purpose. First, because you live next door to me and she felt threatened, so she plotted to make you move. Second, because she''s jealous of you."


    Winona gave a dryugh and sniped, "You have terrible taste. Each girlfriend is more problematic than thest!"


    Keaton had noeback. He''d dated so many women before without a hitch. This year, Mercury must be in retrograde.


    "I told Shifra to make a public apology and rification, to go live and set the record straight. She wants to talk to you first. Are you willing?"


    Winona tightened her jaw. Talk to her first, huh.


    She just wanted Winona to let her off the hook with a public apology for Keaton''s sake.


    Before Winona could speak, Keaton added, "If you do talk to her, you don''t have to forgive her for my sake. We''re friends, but you don''t owe me anything."


    "Back when I helped you, it was all because of Tarquin."


    "It was Tarquin who asked for my help, so I stepped in. If anyone owes a favor, it''s Tarquin to me. It has nothing to do with you."


    "With this Shifra business, you do whatever you need to do to feel better."


    Winona''s lips twitched. "So you two broke up?"


    Keaton told the truth. "Not yet."


    Winona was puzzled. Keaton always protected his girlfriends. Why wasn''t he defending this one, even though they were still together?


    Before she could ask, Keaton said, "I may be a yer, but I''m not unreasonable. I can''t just let her get


    away with murder were all adults


    here you make a mistake, you face


    the consequences."


    "I know right from wrong. Even if the victim weren''t you, I''d handle it the same way."


    Winona pointed out, "If she makes a public apology, her career is over. The inte never forgets. They won''t give her a chance to make it in the industry."


    Keaton said, "She brought this on herself. She can''t me anyone else. But... if she does apologize publicly and takes responsibility, then as her boyfriend, I''ll helpher find another way to make a living."


    Winona studied him for a long beat, her gaze unreadable, but she remained silent.


    Keaton... what could you even say about him? He was hard to figure out.


    She let out a breath after a moment of silence.


    "I understand what you''re saying, and your attitude is decent enough. I won''t hold this against you."


    Keaton smiled. "I''ll buy you a drink sometime to make up for it."


    "Okay. By the way, Janelle called me. I overheard Mr. Huber talking about


    teaching you a lesson again. You should probablyy low and got go" home for a bit."


    Hearing this, Keaton felt a pang of guilt. He had royally screwed her over, and here she was, still worried about him.


    It was one thing for Jessamine to warn him, but Winona...


    After everything that had happened, it was a miracle she wasn''t screaming at him. Instead, she was warning him not to go home and get beaten!


    "...I will. You go on and finish your show. And don''t worry about today, I''ll definitely take care of it."


    Winona assumed he just meant he''d make Shifra apologize, so she didn''t think much of it.


    "I know."


    Just as she hung up with Keaton, Shifra called.


    This time, she didn''t hang up. She answered.


    Shifra''s voice was hoarse. "Winona, I''d like to meet and talk."