The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 303

"I told him I didn't want to come tonight," Winona said, meeting Willow's glare with ice. "He forced me. So if I ruin his perfect evening, don't blame me."

"You have absolutely no class!" Willow hissed. "I don't know what Yulen sees in you!"

Before Willow could escalate things, Sylvan Scully walked into the ballroom. Forced to play the gracious host, Willow abandoned her tirade and hurried over to greet him.

Sylvan caught sight of Winona standing nearby. He gave her a look of sheer contempt before turning away to chat with Willow.

Yulen eventually returned in a fresh suit and walked over to greet Sylvan and his companion, Mr. Larson.

"The Locke Group is an absolute powerhouse these days," Mr. Larson chuckled, swirling his drink. "You young guys are making us veterans look obsolete."

"You're too kind. I still have a lot to learn from you both," Yulen replied smoothly.

"I'm serious, the new generation is something else," Larson continued. "I was just talking to Dean Ziegler from the research institute. He mentioned they brought in a young guy to train their new staff, and apparently, the kid lectures better than the senior directors."

Sylvan immediately recognized the description. "You must be talking about Zack Charlton. I've met him—the kid's a genius. I've tried poaching him for my team half a dozen times, but he won't budge."

Yulen filed the name away. Zack Charlton. He was pretty sure his sister Camille had mentioned him before. If the guy was a prodigy, the Locke Group needed him. Remembering that Winona had visited the institute recently, he excused himself and walked over to her.

"Do you know someone named Zack Charlton?" he asked.

"We've met," she said coolly. "We aren't close."

Yulen was weirdly satisfied with her answer. Winona was stunning, and he knew perfectly well how much male attention she attracted in her professional life. But she knew how to keep her boundaries and avoid leading men on. It proved she still cared about what he thought.

He smiled warmly. "That's fine. I'll find another way to network with him."

Winona stared at him, completely baffled by his sudden good mood. Did throwing wine in his face somehow cheer him up?

When Yulen finished his shower and realized she hadn't come upstairs to pick a fight, he was relieved. He thought she was finally being mature about the situation. He quickly transferred another ten thousand dollars to her account as an apology and crashed into bed. He was entirely too drained to play her games tonight.

By the time Tallulah finally went upstairs, she found him fast asleep. A fresh wave of betrayal washed over her. Pulling out her phone, she furiously typed out a string of messages to Quentin.

*

Across town, Stefan Goddard had just finished a brutal day of work. Scrolling through his social media feed, he paused on a photo posted by Mr. Larson.

It was a shot from the Locke Group gala. In the background, Winona and Yulen were standing closely together. The usual coldness in Stefan's dark eyes thickened into something far more intense.

He screenshotted the image and forwarded it to his friend.

*"Is it true that women never truly get over their first love?"*