The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 370

Jericho pulled out a glossy journal, beaming with pride. "Congratulations, Winona. I submitted your paper to NTDD (New Trends in Drug Discovery), the absolute top-tier international journal in pharmaceutical research. They fast-tracked it for their latest issue. The biggest global industry outlets are already picking it up, and the praise is unanimous."

Winona was genuinely shocked that it had been selected. Humbled, she replied, "I couldn't have done it without your guidance, Mr. Harper. It never would have been accepted otherwise."

"Nonsense. That was all your hard work. I had barely anything to do with it," Jericho laughed. "Oh, by the way, I mentioned this to a few old friends down at City Hall. They all insisted you need to be officially recognized. You haven't just brought honor to our country; you've put Riverton on the map."

Winona blinked, overwhelmed. "Isn't that... a bit too high-profile?"

Jericho knew she was inherently introverted—someone who vastly preferred the quiet of a lab to the blinding lights of fame and networking.

"Keeping your head down and focusing on the work is a fantastic trait," he commended gently. "But when you achieve something of this magnitude, you need to step into the light and claim the recognition you've earned. The Riverton Tech & Innovation Awards Ceremony is in a few days. You absolutely have to go. Let them all see exactly what kind of brilliant student Jericho Harper is producing."

Since he put it that way, Winona couldn't say no.

Satisfied, Jericho immediately fired off a message to his group chat, bragging to his old friends.

Seeing the news, Valor Bell texted back: "What a shame. If Winona had moved to the capital to research under me, she'd be achieving ten times as much."

Sensing his friend trying to steal his thunder, Jericho scoffed and typed aggressively: "My student is a once-in-a-generation genius; she'd shine anywhere. And sticking with me guarantees she'll achieve even greater things!"

The two esteemed academics immediately dissolved into a petty, childish squabble in the chat.

Reading the rapid-fire messages on her phone, Winona couldn't help but laugh out loud.

*

On Thursday evening, dressed in a sleek, immaculate white business suit, Winona arrived at the Riverton Tech & Innovation Awards Ceremony.

Zack Charlton, having recently solved a major technical bottleneck, had been nominated by his research institute for a talent award.

Running into each other in the grand hall, the two naturally sat together.

Zack looked at her with pure, unadulterated awe. "Winona, compared to your publication, my little technical fix is literally a joke."

"As long as it pushes the industry forward, every breakthrough matters," Winona replied with a warm smile. "No contribution is too small."

Witnessing her quiet humility, Zack realized just how arrogant he had been acting lately. He silently vowed to learn from her and keep his ego entirely in check.

Winona slipped off her suit jacket, tied it discreetly around her waist to cover her pants, and hurried out of the venue.

Watching her go and piecing together the situation, Zack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

After an agonizing hour of speeches from various city officials, the award presentation finally began.

Zack walked up onto the massive stage alongside a dozen other recipients.

After receiving his own trophy, he stepped forward again to accept Winona's.

Seated far in the back, Yulen and Sylvan couldn't read the engraved names on the awards.

Seeing Zack accept two trophies—one of which was presented with heavy emphasis on its recognition by top international journals—both men assumed Zack had won double honors.

Their determination to poach him skyrocketed.

The second the ceremony ended, both men made a beeline straight for Zack.