The Wife He Forgot to Marry novel Chapter 73

It was the woman who had been clinging to Stefan last time.

Winona stared at her, surprised. The woman shot Winona a venomous glare, snatched a glass of water from the table, and lunged to splash it in her face. But Stefan caught her wrist.

His eyes were dark as he stared at her. "Maeve, that's enough. She's my friend. You will not be so disrespectful."

Maeve's eyes welled with tears. She had never seen him defend a woman like this. The thought of him being with someone else drove her into a frenzy. "I don't care! You can't be nice to other women! You belong to me, Stefan! I can't live without you!"

Startled by her shrill screams, Winona instinctively moved away. The woman seemed to have some serious mental issues. Winona couldn’t help thinking Stefan must have a miserable time dealing with her.

Stefan signaled his bodyguards, who restrained Maeve, gagged her with a handkerchief, and escorted her to the airport. Maeve struggled violently, her beautiful face contorted with fury. Dressed in expensive clothes, she looked like a madwoman. Stefan watched her melt down without a trace of sympathy.

Once she was gone, Stefan seemed to deflate, sitting silently and sipping his red wine. For years, no matter what city he was in for business, Maeve would fly over to 'celebrate' their engagement anniversary. Their engagement had been called off long ago; he had no idea why she was so obsessed.

He had specifically invited Winona to dinner tonight to show Maeve that he had moved on. He wanted her to understand that he wasn't single and waiting for her. He wanted her to finally move on.

After a moment, Stefan called Maeve's father, Kieran Mallory.

Kieran tried to smooth things over. "Stefan, please, just help us out and try to go along with Maeve. She's still just a kid, and we've spoiled her. Just be patient and humor her a little."

In his heart, he still hoped they would reconcile.

But Stefan offered no such hope. "I'm sorry, I can't do that," he said coldly. "Kieran, if it's this bad, you should get her a psychiatrist."

Kieran was speechless, feeling utterly humiliated. He mumbled an excuse about being busy and quickly hung up.

Feeling Winona's curious gaze, Stefan's voice softened. "I apologize for using you. I invited you to dinner tonight to get rid of my mentally unstable ex-fiancée."

Seeing this, Stefan didn't push. He went upstairs to pack his bags for the airport.

Violet turned to the butler. "When do you think a loner like him will ever settle down?"

The butler just smiled, unsure how to respond.

Violet sighed. "It's all his mother's fault. She introduced him to that crazy fiancée. Anyone who gets involved with that Maeve girl is asking for trouble. Stefan must be resisting marriage because of her."

*

The lab was collaborating with a foreign research institute, which offered two spots for a short-term visiting scholar program. Jericho Harper specifically nominated Killian and Winona.