The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 388

"I have two pieces of news for you," Camille said, her tone dead serious.

"What is it?" Yulen asked, taking a seat.

"First, I've scheduled surgery for next week to have my breast tumor removed. The doctors say my recovery will take a minimum of three months. During that time, every single one of my responsibilities will fall on your shoulders."

"What?" Yulen was taken completely off guard. With Camille always managing the heavy lifting behind the scenes, he had enjoyed a relatively smooth ride at the top. The sudden realization that he'd have to steer the entire Locke Group alone momentarily rattled him.

But he quickly collected himself. After all, he had just single-handedly secured multiple massive contracts in the Capital. The company was thriving under his leadership. He was more than capable of handling this.

"Second," Camille continued, her voice tightening, "I just got off the phone with Sylvan Scully. We've had to fundamentally restructure our partnership with the Scully Group. Locke Group is slashing our profit margins by fifty percent, and we are cutting the retail price of the new drug in half. It's the only way to save on the massive marketing budget we'd need to rebuild trust..."

Yulen stared at her in disbelief. "Camille, if we slash the price that much, our margins will be practically zero!"

Camille shot him a venomous glare. "We just became the center of a massive industry scandal! If we don't take a dramatic hit to win back public favor, who is ever going to trust the Locke brand again? Plus, by absorbing the loss and cutting the marketing overhead, Mr. Scully agreed to maintain the partnership. If we didn't bleed a little, he was ready to terminate the contract completely thanks to this PR disaster."

"Fifty percent is too aggressive," Yulen argued. "Sylvan and I are good friends. He wouldn't just drop us over one incident. Let's renegotiate—a thirty percent cut is more than enough."

Camille laughed, a cold, harsh sound. "Business is business, Yulen. If Locke Group becomes nothing but dead weight to his brand, do you really think your 'friendship' is going to save us?"

Yulen couldn't argue with that. He stood there in heavy silence.

Exhausted from the conversation, Camille leaned back, her face pale. "Just do exactly as I say. At the end of the day, all of this is Tallulah's fault. While I'm recovering, you need to stop spoiling her. If she triggers another catastrophe, neither of us will be able to clean it up.

"My condition was perfectly manageable. It never should have progressed to the point of needing surgery. But the sheer amount of stress and rage she's put me through over the last six months pushed it over the edge. I genuinely regret forcing you to divorce Winona. At least she knew her place and didn't actively sabotage us."

However, Tallulah's card was a basic tier, strictly limiting them to the crowded second floor. Naturally, the sisters waited until the staff looked away and snuck up to the VIP third floor.

Lacing up, they hit the ice. Lily was clumsy and clung to the outer rail, inching her way around.

Suddenly, a small girl bumped into her. Lily scrambled to grip the rail, barely keeping her balance. Already possessing a nasty temper, she took one look at the quiet, modestly dressed little girl and assumed she had sneaked in just like them. Lily immediately unleashed a barrage of harsh insults.

Greta stammered an apology, but Lily kept yelling. Terrified, the little girl froze, shrinking back in fear.

Seeing this, Winona rushed over, immediately pulling Greta protectively behind her. "She bumped into you by accident, and I apologize on her behalf. If you're hurt, we'll take you to the hospital for x-rays and cover all the medical expenses."

Hearing the commotion, Shirley skated over. The moment she recognized Winona, her face twisted into a vicious sneer. "Winona Jowett? Does a homewrecker like you really have the nerve to show her face in a place like this?"