The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 581

"Mr. Scully, the team at the research center has been decent to me, but I get the feeling Dean Ziegler is deliberately grooming Zack Charlton and a few of the other rookies. He isn't nearly as enthusiastic about my work. I mean, I get it—they're his protégés, so a little favoritism is to be expected."

Sylvan Scully understood exactly what she meant. Dean Ziegler was trying to marginalize Giselle Reed's abilities to clear the path for someone else to take over the project.

He let out a cold scoff. "I didn't realize Dean Ziegler was playing these kinds of political games. Don't worry, I'll have a firm word with him soon. Just focus on your work. No one is going to steal the position and resources that rightfully belong to you."

*

After wrapping up a meeting with her team, Winona Jowett dove straight back into the lab. It wasn't until ten o'clock that night that she finally emerged.

Ever since the previous incident, Ezra Vane had been standing guard right outside the door.

Winona smiled at him. "Have you been standing here this whole time? Thanks for your hard work."

"Just doing my job," Ezra replied smoothly.

"I still have a few data sets to sort out. Do you mind waiting just a little longer?"

"Take your time."

Winona returned to her workstation and began organizing the results. Killian, who had just returned from a quick dinner break to continue working late, noticed she was still at her desk. He handed her a yogurt and a pastry. "You're still here? Here, take this."

Having worked straight through lunch and dinner, Winona was genuinely starving. She accepted the food with a grateful smile and thanked him.

Killian pulled up a chair to review the data with her. As he scanned the numbers, his face lit up. "I just saw a message from Mr. Bell in the group chat earlier today. His team in the Capital is working on a similar project, but our progress is miles ahead of theirs."

Winona took a bite of her pastry, chewing thoughtfully. "Don't celebrate just yet. The initial numbers look flawless, but traditional mRNA sequencing data can be deceiving. High gene expression doesn't necessarily mean the protein is actually being expressed on the cell membrane surface. If we blindly accelerate the timeline now, it could blow up in our faces."

Killian frowned, unable to come up with an immediate workaround. "Should we consult Mr. Harper? See if he has any ideas?"

It reminded her of college, when a roommate from Riverton would constantly receive care packages, fruit, and homemade soup from her mother. That was the first time Winona realized some girls grew up enveloped in that kind of overwhelming, unconditional maternal love.

Wynne wasn't her mother, yet she consistently offered that same unreserved care. Winona didn't entirely understand why the older woman was so good to her, but she was deeply grateful.

Pulling out her phone, Winona ordered a high-end massage chair online and had it shipped directly to Wynne's address.

Stefan Goddard texted her then, saying he would be home late. Checking the weather app, Winona saw a massive storm was rolling in. She quickly typed back: *'If the weather's bad, just fly back tomorrow.'*

Stefan replied with a photo showing the interior of a private jet cabin. *'Already boarded.'*

Winona sighed, smiling softly. *'Safe travels.'*

The sound of heavy rain began drumming against the windows. Unable to sleep, she opened a delivery app. Stefan was constantly flying between Riverton and the Capital. With the temperature differences and his grueling schedule, it was a recipe for catching a cold. She added some cold medicine, fever reducers, vitamin C, a case of orange juice, a pack of mints, and some premium beef jerky to her cart and hit order.