The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 608

"He's been very quiet for the last twenty minutes," Stefan defended himself smoothly, popping the lid. "Good behavior requires positive reinforcement."

Winona rested her chin in her hand, grinning at him. "Stefan, if we ever have kids, they are going to wrap you around their little fingers in two seconds flat. You're a total softie."

Despite having grown up utterly starved of parental love, Stefan had a breathtaking capacity to give it. Beneath his terrifying, cutthroat corporate exterior was a man who couldn't even say no to a puppy.

Later that night, as they were getting ready for bed, Winona's phone lit up with a flood of photos from Roxana Goddard.

*Winona! Look at these bridesmaid dresses! Which aesthetic are we going for?*

Only Roxana and Stefan's grandmother, Violet, knew they were officially getting married. Roxana had instantly appointed herself Maid of Honor.

*They're all gorgeous,* Winona texted back. *You pick your favorite, and we'll go with that.*

They texted back and forth for a while until Winona mentioned the dog food incident.

Roxana replied with a string of shocked emojis. *Are you kidding me? My brother is the most terrifying man on the planet. I can't believe he's babying a dog!*

*He's actually a massive sweetheart,* Winona defended him.

*No, Win,* Roxana shot back. *He's a sweetheart to YOU. The dog is just collateral damage because he belongs to you. It's the halo effect.*

***

At the lab, Winona's work was advancing at a breakneck pace. The data looked flawless, and she was confident they'd hit clinical trials before the end of the year.

Jericho Harper was ecstatic, constantly bragging about Winona's genius in their elite private medical group chats.

Valor Bell, deeply envious, tagged Winona directly in the chat, publicly offering her a blank check if she'd relocate to the capital and join his institute. Jericho immediately fired back, and the two world-class scientists spent the afternoon bickering over her like aggressive sports agents.

"Then take it up with him." Winona brushed past her.

Karina fumed. If she could have convinced Stefan, she wouldn't have bothered ambushing Winona in a parking lot. "Look, if you let me move in, I'll put in a good word for you with my aunt. Margaret hates you, you know."

"I really don't care," Winona said, opening the door to the armored SUV where Ezra Vane was waiting behind the wheel.

"Hey!" Karina lunged forward, trying to grab the door.

Winona slammed it shut right in her face. The SUV smoothly pulled out of the lot, leaving Karina choking on exhaust.

Furious, Karina stomped over to her imported sports car, slammed it into gear, and floored the accelerator. She merged onto the road, weaving recklessly through traffic to catch up to Winona.

Seeing an open stretch of road ahead, a crazy, vindictive idea seized her. She slammed the gas pedal to the floor, aiming the nose of her sports car directly at the rear bumper of Winona's SUV.