The Wife He Forgot to Marry novel Chapter 44

Stefan had been on his way to the airport for a flight to Meridia Country. When he received her call and heard the panic in her voice, he had immediately told his driver to turn back.

Once she had calmed down, Winona thanked him. "Tonight... thank you so much."

"Of course," Stefan replied, then asked, "Was Micah trying to do something to you?" He had noticed the predatory look in Micah's eyes earlier.

After a moment's hesitation, Winona told him what Micah had done to her back in college. Stefan’s brow furrowed. "I'll handle Micah. You don't need to worry about it."

Relief washed over her, and she was speechless with gratitude that he was willing to step in.

Just then, the sky opened up, and a torrential downpour began. The driver turned to Stefan. "Mr. Goddard, the flights have been canceled. The rain is too heavy to drive safely. Maybe we should stay at the house nearby for the night."

Stefan turned to Winona. "Would you like to come with me?"

Her own home was far, and with the storm raging, she didn't dare ask the driver to take her back. She nodded in agreement.

Arriving at Stefan's villa, Winona felt a little shy. The housekeeper, Zora, was a quiet and dependable woman. Though surprised to see Stefan bring a woman home for the first time, she asked no questions, simply showing Winona to a guest room and providing her with a new set of pajamas.

After Winona had washed up, Zora knocked on her door to ask if she wanted a late-night snack. Winona realized she was indeed hungry. When she went down to the dining room, she found Stefan already seated. A simple late dinner had been set out on the table, along with two bowls of oatmeal.

Intimidated by Stefan’s powerful presence, she sat down timidly, keeping her eyes fixed on her oatmeal, too nervous to look at him. Stefan had been raised with strict table manners, so he stayed quiet as well.

Back at Locke Group, Yulen was in a foul mood after learning that the collaboration with Goddard Group had fallen through. He had his assistant investigate why they had rejected their proposal.

The assistant returned with a report. "I heard that Micah has left the company. The new project manager has their own established network of pharmaceutical partners, so they turned us down."

Yulen frowned. Locke Group's R&D capabilities were among the best in Riverton. For Goddard Group, which was just entering the pharmaceutical industry, partnering with them would have been the most logical choice. He couldn't understand this outcome.

Just then, Tallulah came in with a cup of coffee. Hearing that the deal was dead and Micah was gone, her eyes darkened for a split second. She quickly composed herself, walked over to Yulen, and handed him the coffee. "I asked Micah's assistant about it, too," she said casually. "Micah was very keen on the partnership and kept trying to meet with Winona to finalize the deal before he left. I guess Winona kept putting it off, and that's why the project failed."

Yulen's frown deepened. He wanted to defend Winona, but he also remembered her telling him she didn't want to work with Micah and had asked him to find a replacement. Her unprofessional attitude was something he hadn't anticipated, and a wave of disappointment washed over him.