The Wife He Forgot to Marry novel Chapter 43

The assistant left, and the heavy door clicked shut behind him. As the sliver of light from the hallway vanished, Winona's heart skipped a beat.

"I know you're not much of a drinker, so I poured you some juice," Micah said, gesturing to a glass he'd filled for her.

It was the last thing she would have dared touch. Winona’s expression turned icy. During her junior year of college, Micah had crashed a dinner she was having with some classmates. He had poured her a glass of juice, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up in his car. She only managed to escape by threatening to jump from the moving vehicle. Now, looking at his face, she felt that same suffocating sense of danger closing in.

Micah's greedy eyes roamed over her body as he smiled. "Winona, you're sweating. Are you hot? Why don't you take off your jacket?" He hadn't planned on making a move so quickly, but he'd heard her marriage to Yulen was a sham and that Yulen's family despised her. That made him bold. With no one to back her up, he could do whatever he wanted.

His voice was like that of a predator stalking its prey. "If you know what’s best for you, stop fighting it. I’ll let you go when I’m done with you."

Winona remembered the rumors from college about several of his ex-girlfriends committing suicide. Had they really killed themselves? She suspected the truth was far more sinister.

Fortunately, she had come prepared. She pulled a men's wristwatch from her purse and, forcing herself to remain calm, said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to keep you company. It's just... I'm with someone else now."

As a high-level executive at Goddard Group, Micah frequently attended corporate meetings. He instantly recognized the watch as belonging to Stefan Goddard.

He narrowed his eyes, skeptical. "You didn't just find Mr. Goddard's watch somewhere and decide to use it to fool me, did you?"

Winona took out her phone, put it on speaker, and dialed Stefan's number right in front of him. The phone kept ringing, and with every second, her pulse climbed higher. If Stefan didn't answer tonight, this maniac would surely attack her.

After what felt like an eternity, the call was finally answered. "Hello?" a deep male voice rumbled.

"Stefan!" Winona blurted out.

"And you know him so well?" she retorted.

In truth, Micah didn't know Stefan at all. His family was wealthy, but nowhere near the level of the Goddards. Time ticked by. A thin layer of sweat broke out on Winona's back. An hour had passed. What if Stefan wasn't coming?

Micah's initial frustration morphed into a look of smug certainty. "It seems you don't rank very high with either Yulen or Stefan. Winona, tonight, you're destined to be mine."

He reached out to put his arm around her shoulder. Winona tried to pull away, but he grabbed her wrist. At that exact moment, there was a sharp knock on the door.

*

Sitting in Stefan's car, Winona was still shaken, her heart pounding with lingering fear. In that moment, she could have worshipped the ground he walked on. She felt that indebted.