The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 258

"Yes, we promised we wouldn't get her fired," Willow continued, her voice dripping with malice. "But if we put the word out, securing that promotion might become impossible. You wouldn't want your aunt to bust her back her entire life only to hit a glass ceiling because of your stubbornness, would you?"

Winona’s hands curled into tight fists. "Fine. I'll be there."

"See? It's so much easier when you just listen."

Winona ended the call and grabbed her purse, heading for the door.

"Is it Willow again?" Rhea asked worriedly. "Do you want me to call Stefan to help you handle it?"

"No, it's fine," Winona shook her head. "I'm guessing she's just throwing a tantrum because I refused to visit Yulen, and she needs a punching bag. But I'm not a pushover anymore. I'm not going to just stand there and take it."

With that, she hailed a cab and headed straight to the Locke Villa.

The moment she walked into the grand living room, she saw Willow and Tallulah lounging on the sofas.

Tallulah glared at her, her eyes burning with thinly veiled jealousy. She had only found out today—upon arriving at the villa—that Yulen was in the hospital. He had completely stopped updating her on his whereabouts, not even bothering to tell her he was sick. The panic setting in was suffocating.

That was why she had shown up to grovel to Willow, hoping to use her mother-in-law to secure her status—and to help her crush Winona in the process.

Winona didn't care about the calculations running through Tallulah's head. She looked dead at Willow. "You wanted to see me. Speak."

"I don't need a special reason to summon you. You are the daughter-in-law of the Locke family. When I tell you to come, you come."

Even though Winona and Yulen had never legally been married, Willow still loved playing the tyrannical mother-in-law.

Winona’s gaze flicked to Tallulah's visibly rounded belly, a cruel smile touching her lips.

Willow scowled. "I'm offering you a job that pays over a million a year to do next to nothing, and you're saying no? Are you stupid? Do you think you're going to find a salary like that anywhere else?"

She looked Winona up and down with sheer disgust. "And don't even try preaching to me about 'pride' or 'dignity.' You can't even get pregnant. Even if you marry someone else, you're destined to be thrown out on the street. By the time that happens, the doors to this house will be permanently closed to you."

Tallulah chimed in, her voice sickly sweet. "Winona, Yulen really needs someone to take care of him right now. You should stay. It's an incredible salary! And once the baby is born, if you want to stay on as my nanny, I’d be happy to pay you out of my own pocket."

Winona let out a sharp, incredulous laugh.

What did they think this was? The nineteenth century? They expected her to watch her 'husband' play house with another woman, and then change their baby's diapers on top of it?

Willow nodded in agreement with Tallulah. "She's right. It's not like you can have kids of your own, and you have no real skills. What's wrong with staying here and helping raise the child?"