The Wife He Forgot to Marry novel Chapter 16

He waved a dismissive hand at Conrad. “You can go now.”

After Conrad left, Tallulah said, “Conrad is usually so demanding and rarely praises anyone. I’m surprised he had such good things to say about Winona. She must be quite charming.” Her words dripped with insinuation, suggesting Winona used her feminine wiles to win people over.

The comment irked Yulen. “I know Winona,” he said to Tallulah. “She’s not like that. Conrad was probably just saying that to be polite, for my sake.” He had been Winona's first man. After they got together, her world revolved around him; she wouldn't look at another man. Besides, what man was more outstanding than him?

At noon, Winona put down her files and headed to the company cafeteria for lunch. In the hallway, she ran into Orion Flynn, the director of the sales department. Orion had joined Locke Group six months ago and didn't know about her relationship with Yulen. Seeing how beautiful she was, he greeted her with a smile. “What a coincidence, Ms. Jowett. Are you heading to lunch? Mind if I join you?”

Winona gave him a polite nod. Seeing she was quiet, Orion struck up a conversation about the company's sales performance, a topic Winona was eager to learn more about, so she engaged with him.

Tallulah saw them walking together and scoffed. She snapped a picture and sent it to Yulen with a message: “Winona certainly has good luck with men. It’s her first day back, and someone is already asking her to lunch.”

Yulen saw the photo and felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was suffocating him. Winona was beautiful—the kind of stunning beauty that captivated you at first glance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so drawn to her in the first place. The real reason he had insisted she quit her job five years ago was that he didn’t want other men around her. In his mind, she belonged to him alone.

He immediately tried to call Winona, but his number was still on her blocklist. Left with no choice, he used the company’s internal line. Winona didn’t want to answer, but in the office, he was her superior. She had to pick up. “Is there something you need?” she asked, her tone strictly professional.

Yulen was stunned. Not only was Winona not admitting her mistake, but she was questioning him. She had always been soft-spoken and accommodating. What had gotten into her? Was she still angry about yesterday? But couples didn't hold grudges overnight. She was being incredibly petty.

Tallulah put down her fork and turned to Winona with a placating smile. “It’s all my fault, I was being greedy. Winona, please don’t misunderstand. I just think of Yulen as family, so I wasn’t being careful about appearances here at the office…”

Winona’s gaze cut to her. “Is the office the only place you’re not careful about appearances?”