The Wife He Forgot to Marry novel Chapter 50

She looked at Helena and asked softly, “Are you really forgiving Matteo? Is it because of my grandma?”

“It’s not entirely because of her,” Helena said, a hint of sadness in her face. “Anyway, let’s not talk about it. Just go and try to talk some sense into her.”

Winona entered the room and saw her grandmother lying on the bed, her back to the door. She walked over and called out gently, “Grandma.” After she called out four or five times, the old woman finally sat up, her expression a mix of anger and hurt. “Are you hiding a separation from me? Are you divorcing Yulen? How dare you! You didn’t even tell me about something so huge. Do I even matter to you anymore?”

Winona sat down, her heart aching at Nikita’s frail appearance. “No, we just had a fight. We’re not getting a divorce. We actually made up today. He’s the one who just dropped me off.”

“Then why didn’t he come upstairs to see me?” Nikita challenged, unconvinced.

“He has a business dinner tonight, so he had to leave,” Winona explained. “I promise we’ll both come visit tomorrow night, okay?”

It took repeated reassurance before her grandmother finally agreed to get up and eat.

Once Nikita had eaten and gone to bed, Winona left Helena’s. She took a taxi back to her own apartment, sinking onto the sofa and rubbing her temples wearily. She could walk away from Yulen without a second thought, but she couldn’t ignore Nikita’s feelings. How was she ever going to convince her?

*

The next day was so busy at the lab that Winona nearly forgot her promise to Yulen until Nikita called to hurry her along. Only then did she remember and call him. Yulen, assuming this visit was her attempt to reconcile, spoke in a much warmer tone. “Winona, I have one more meeting. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll head over as soon as I’m done, around eight.”

Winona felt a wave of relief. “Okay, thank you.”

“There’s no need for thanks between us.”

She hung up, left the lab, and went to Helena’s house. Knowing Yulen was coming, Helena and Matteo had prepared a lavish dinner, and Nikita was in high spirits. “Yulen won’t be here until eight,” Winona told them. “We should eat first.”

Nikita knew Rhea and was worried, telling Winona to go quickly.

When Winona arrived at the police station, she saw Rhea and her colleague. Both had bruises on their faces, and their dresses were torn, their shoulders covered with jackets lent to them by a female officer.

Seeing her best friend humiliated like this, Winona was furious and deeply worried at the same time. She rushed over and asked what had happened.

Rhea, a lawyer, was shaken but composed. “My colleague and I went to meet a client after work, but he stood us up. As we were about to leave, this guy, Zayden Shipley, started harassing us. He demanded we drink with him, and when we refused, he grabbed our hands. I slapped him, and he had his friends drag us into a private room. They were going to assault us. I had pepper spray in my purse, so I used it on them and we ran out and called the police.”

As Winona listened, anger and dread twisted together inside her.

Suddenly, Blythe, who was standing nearby, spoke up. “Zayden would never force a woman. For all anyone knows, you went along with it. What kind of respectable woman hangs around bars that late anyway?”