The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 639

On her way home from work, Winona received a call from Jasper Shepherd.

"Ms. Jowett, would you be open to sitting down for a talk?"

His tone was incredibly polite, so Winona agreed. "Alright."

Jasper had booked a private dining room at one of Riverton's most exclusive restaurants, clearly pulling out all the stops to show his sincerity. When Winona walked in, she was greeted by a beaming Jasper and a visibly sulking Karina.

Jasper offered a warm greeting and immediately shot Karina a sharp look.

Karina pretended not to notice.

With a heavy sigh, Jasper poured a cup of tea and set it firmly in front of his daughter. "Apologize to Ms. Jowett."

Karina crossed her arms, refusing to budge.

Jasper leaned in, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Did you forget our deal? Or do you actually want to go to jail?"

Reluctantly, Karina stood up, holding the teacup with both hands. "Winona... I wasn't thinking straight, and I made a mistake. I've realized what I did was wrong. I hope you can forgive me."

Winona's expression remained perfectly neutral, as if the apology had been spoken to the wall.

When Winona didn't respond, Karina panicked and looked at her father.

Jasper smoothly took over. "Winona, I know Karina caused a massive headache for your lab, and we are genuinely here to make amends. How about this: I will personally inject an additional twenty million into your current project. What do you say?"

Winona casually traced the rim of her teacup, her face unreadable.

Seeing her lack of reaction, Jasper immediately doubled down. "Forty million?"

Winona offered a faint smile. "You're very generous, Mr. Shepherd. However, investing in my project is a guaranteed return on investment for you anyway. Mr. Harper might be willing to officially settle the matter with the lab, but on a personal level, I won't forgive your daughter."

"Then what are your terms?" Jasper pressed.

Winona thought for a moment. "If Karina completes a full month of volunteer work at the Riverton Orphanage, I'll consider letting this go."

A month of hard labor would do wonders for grinding down Karina's obnoxious entitlement, keeping her too exhausted to plot any more disasters.

Without a second's hesitation, Jasper accepted on her behalf.

"She's a Shepherd heiress. Even if we locked her up, her family has enough leverage to pull her right back out," Winona explained rationally. "Since they're willing to heavily fund our project, and Karina has been sentenced to a month of community service, I'm willing to give her this one pass."

"Understood. I'll file the paperwork to withdraw the charges," Hayes confirmed.

Late the next evening, Winona's phone rang as she was leaving the office. It was Margaret.

"I'm waiting outside your building."

Winona walked out and easily spotted Margaret's luxury sedan. They relocated to a nearby café.

Margaret skipped the pleasantries, her tone dripping with condemnation. "I heard you actually tried to sue Karina. You've got quite the nerve, Winona."

"This is between Karina and me," Winona replied coolly.

Her unapologetic attitude only enraged Margaret further.

Stefan already refused to listen to her. If he married a woman who was equally defiant, the two of them would become an impenetrable wall. How was she supposed to control her son then?