The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 506

But in that exact moment, he couldn't help but make a genuine, desperate wish: he wanted to be with Winona forever, for the rest of their lives.

As soon as the candles were out, Hayes enthusiastically grabbed the knife to cut the cake.

"Stefan, you have no idea! The owner of this bakery is an absolute bombshell. I've been dying to find out if a cake made by a beauty like that tastes sweeter!"

Around his closest friends, Stefan's ruthlessly polished exterior slipped, revealing a surprisingly vicious sense of humor.

He grabbed the first slice of cake and promptly smashed it directly into Hayes's forehead. "Then why don't you have a good taste?"

Covered in frosting, Hayes gasped in outrage. "Oh, you're dead, Goddard! Playing dirty on your birthday?!"

He scooped up a handful of cake and lunged.

Stefan easily pulled Winona out of the crossfire, dodging backward.

The cake flew right past them and splattered directly onto the face of an entirely innocent Julian.

Julian's eyes narrowed dangerously. He slowly rolled up his sleeves and stalked toward Hayes. "You got a death wish, Yarwood?"

By the end of the chaos, absolutely no one got to eat the cake.

Feeling bad about the mess, Winona looked at Stefan. "Should we pick up another cake on the way home?"

Stefan chuckled. "No need. The club will bring out Birthday Vermicelli in a minute. That's tradition anyway."

He really didn't care about birthdays. After all, aside from his grandmother, Violet, no one in the Goddard family gave a damn about it.

When he was growing up, his parents would throw massive, lavish parties for his brother Evander and his sister Roxana, but his was always conveniently forgotten.

If anyone ever asked, Margaret had her canned excuse ready: *"Stefan is the heir to the Goddard family. His entire focus should be on his studies and learning to manage the empire. Why should he waste time indulging in parties and games? The entire corporation rests on his shoulders. He cannot afford distractions."*

The waiters quickly cleared away the ruined cake and brought out four steaming bowls of Birthday Vermicelli.

Hayes finally dropped his playful demeanor, looking dead serious. "Stefan, you eat every last bite of this. You're going to live to be a hundred."

Julian nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You've got to outlive your great-grandfather. Aim for a hundred and thirty."

With Evander's tragic early death and Roxana's chronically poor health due to the family's brutal infighting, his friends genuinely prayed for him to live a long, healthy life, long enough to see his great-grandchildren.

Stefan smiled. "Of course I'll live to a hundred. I have to outlive Winona. I can't leave her all alone in this world after everything we've built."

Winona shook her head, though her heart fluttered. "Stop talking nonsense and eat your Vermicelli."

Through the silence, she could hear the shrill, hysterical screaming of Margaret echoing from the phone speaker.

"Stefan Goddard, my body was ruined bringing you into this world! I've sacrificed everything for you! What more do I have to do before you finally agree to marry Ophelia?! Are you trying to absolutely humiliate me and this family by parading that cheap woman around?! I swear to God, why was it Evander who died and not you?! Evander would never have treated me with such disrespect!"

Winona felt as though a knife had been plunged directly into her chest.

Tears spilled from her eyes before she even realized she was crying.

She walked over, reached down, and abruptly ended the call.

In the dark, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

Feeling the wetness on his cheek, Stefan sighed softly, a helpless edge to his voice. "She's the one screaming at me, so why are you the one crying?"

Winona hugged him harder, her voice choked but fiercely protective. "Next time I see her, I'm going to ruin her for you."

The dark storm clouds that had gathered in his mind instantly evaporated.

He gently kissed away her tears.

"Okay."