The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 326

Winona was exhausted. Arguing with Margaret felt like speaking to someone from an entirely different century. There was no point in debating morals with a woman who had fully embraced her own subjugation.

"Why are you really here?" Winona asked, cutting to the chase.

Margaret pulled a blank checkbook from her designer bag. "Name your price. How much will it take for you to walk away from my son?"

Winona almost laughed. It was exactly like the melodramatic soap operas she used to watch with her grandmother. She hadn't realized billionaires actually did this in real life.

If she told Margaret that she had no intention of marrying Stefan anyway, the woman wouldn't believe her. So, rather than waste her breath, Winona said, "What do you think is a fair price?"

After all, she was lying in a hospital bed because of Maeve. Since Margaret was so dead-set on protecting the Mallory family, making her pay the damages felt entirely appropriate.

Seeing that Winona was actually willing to take the money, Margaret sneered in absolute disgust. "And here I thought you'd be playing the noble martyr, rejecting my money for true love."

She thought for a moment. "Ten million dollars. Is that enough?"

Ten million was an astronomical sum for an ordinary person.

Winona's face remained utterly blank. "Fifty million."

Margaret's face flushed dark red with anger. "You greedy little gold digger! What on earth does my son see in you?"

Winona smirked. "If I actually dated him, I could probably get a lot more out of you, couldn't I?"

Terrified that Winona might actually decide to stick around just to spite her, Margaret gritted her teeth. "Fine. Fifty million. But once you take this, you are never to contact my son again."

She scribbled the amount furiously, tore the check free, and tossed it onto Winona's lap.

Winona picked it up, a faint smile playing on her lips. "You're very generous. Don't worry, I had no intention of wading into the toxic mess that is the Goddard family anyway."

Winona breathed a massive sigh of relief as the door clicked shut. She casually tossed the check into the nightstand drawer. Fifty million dollars just for having a ten-minute argument? Not a bad deal.

Out in the hallway, Margaret answered her phone. "Stefan already promised me he's letting Maeve out tomorrow. Also, I just bought off Winona Jowett. She won't be bothering him again."

"Is she really willing to leave him?" Mrs. Mallory asked anxiously.

"Of course she is. I gave her fifty million dollars. Who wouldn't take that deal? At the end of the day, she at least has the self-awareness to know she doesn't belong with him. Better she takes the cash than holds onto some Cinderella fantasy of marrying into wealth."

Mrs. Mallory sighed heavily on the other end. "Maeve really crossed the line this time, but Stefan was entirely too cruel to her. I'm terrified this trauma is going to make her mental state even worse. My husband is already incapacitated... If Maeve breaks completely...

"Margaret, we've been best friends for decades. My husband threw himself in harm's way to save Stefan purely because of how close our families are. You can't just abandon us over a few harsh words from your son. It would break my heart."

"Don't worry," Margaret reassured her firmly. "I'm not an ungrateful wretch, and neither is Stefan. Even if he refuses to marry her, the Goddard family will take care of Maeve for the rest of her life."