Shifra froze. Thest person she ever expected to see in this hospital room was Winona.
She stared at Winona for a long moment before snapping out of it and offering a weak greeting. "Winona... hey."
Winona didn''t respond. She just continued to study her, a sly smile on her red lips, her beautiful eyes narrowed.
Shifra was dressed for innocence today: light makeup, a high ponytail, a collegiate- style sweatsuit, and a pair of canvas sneakers.
The whole preppy look made her look like a high schooler at first nce.
Winona immediately thought of Keaton''s first love, that girl named Clementine.
She let out a disdainful scoff and thought to herself:
*Shifra''s a smart one, alright. She knows how to y to her strengths and give him what he wants.*
*Keaton was only with her because she looked like Clementine.*
*She might not know Clementine by name, but she must have guessed that the one person Keaton could never forget would be his first love.*
*After all, first loves happen when you''re young and impressionable. You remember them for a lifetime.*
*Her dressing up all innocent like this is a ploy to look more like Clementine, to win Keaton back.*
*The idea is sound, and her method of seducing a man is on the right track. Like I said, she''s smart.*
Feeling unnerved by Winona''s stare, Shifra forced a smile that didn''t reach her eyes and tried again. "Winona, I thought you were out of town for an event? When did you get back?"
Winona had secretly flown back to Jindale City overnight, without even her agent. Almost no one knew.
Ignoring the question, Winona turned to Keaton. "Am I your ancestor?"
Keaton blinked, then nodded. "Yep! You are!"
"Good. Then I''m going to have a little chat with her. Settle some personal business. You stay out of it."
She didn''t know if Keaton was nning to get back together with Shifra, so she had to strike first. After all, Shifra looked just like his first love.
If they reconciled, it would be much
harder for her to get her revenge. She''de back to deal with Beatrix, but since Shifra had served
herself up on a tter, she might''s
well take care of her too. Save herself the troubleter.
Of course, Keaton had no objections. "You two talk. I won''t interfere."
Winona stood up and walked toward Shifra.
Seeing the dangerous glint in
Winona''s eyes, Shifra''s guilt kicked in, and she quickly apologized.
"Winona, I''m so sorry about wham et
happened at the beginning of the month. It was all my fault I was just too jealous. I truly realize Lwas wrong now. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Winona shut the door to the hospital room, turned around, and pped Shifra hard across the face. *Smack!*
Shifra: "!"
Keaton: "!"
Winona looked down at her imperiously. "You''ve already done the unforgivable, so don''t bother saying you''re sorry. I won''t ept it."
"And I don''t have a big heart. Quite the opposite, in fact. I''m petty, I hold a grudge, and I hate being taken for a fool."
"But if a dog bites me, I don''t bite it back. I just put the dog down."
Shifra clutched her cheek, staring at Winona with a mixture of terror and fury.
She turned to Keaton, her voice a pathetic whimper. "Keaton!"
Keaton was just as stunned as she was. He hadn''t expected Winona to get physical.
"!"
Winona didn''t even spare Keaton a nce. "Calling him won''t help. He can''t control me. Didn''t you hear him admit it? I''m his ancestor."
Shifra''s eyes widened. "?!"
"Of course," Winona continued, "I''ll still give him some face. I''m not going to actually kill you. But I can''t just let you walk away, either. I need to blow off some steam!"
As soon as the words were out, Winona delivered a rapid series of ps. *Smack, smack, smack!* Shifra stumbled and fell to the floor, but Winona wasn''t done. She unleashed a flurry of blows.
Shifra cried out in pain, instinctively
trying to fight back, but Winona grabbed bath of her hands, pinning her down. "My fighting skills are just average but it''s more than enough to handle you. I''ve been doing Taekwondo for over a decade, you know. I''m a ck belt."