The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 489

With the Goddard Group project successfully wrapped up, Winona seamlessly transitioned back to her regular duties in Jericho Harper's lab.

During a full team meeting, Mr. Harper stood at the head of the table and addressed the room.

"Going forward, the primary focus of our lab will shift to the R&D of the PD-1 inhibitor. This is the absolute frontier of anti-cancer treatment. The underlying logic is a complete departure from the past; rather than developing highly toxic drugs to kill cancer cells—which damages the patient—we are working on releasing the 'brakes' of the immune system, empowering the human body to identify and clear out the cancer cells on its own."

He paused, letting the weight of the project sink in. "This is an exceptionally high-profile initiative. The Riverton local government will be personally coordinating the infrastructure. Our lab will provide the core scientific technology, while the Goddard, Scully, and Mallory enterprises will inject the capital to co-fund the development. Given the stakes, I want Winona to lead this project."

Eloise, who had been sitting quietly, bristled at the announcement. The thought of handing such a monumental, career-making project over to Winona felt entirely unjustified.

"Mr. Harper, Winona hasn't even been with our team for very long," Eloise argued, unable to mask her jealousy. "How could a project of this magnitude fall into her lap? Killian just returned from an intensive study program abroad. He has consistently been the most outstanding senior member of our team. Wouldn't it be far more appropriate to have him lead it?"

Killian, however, immediately waved off the suggestion. "Winona managed to execute the Goddard project flawlessly in a fraction of the expected time. If I had been leading it, it would have taken months longer to yield those results. Based on sheer capability, Winona is far more qualified to lead the PD-1 inhibitor R&D than I am."

Mr. Harper looked directly at Eloise, his tone stern. "Winona's technical abilities are the most exceptional in this entire lab. Handing her this critical project was a heavily considered, merit-based decision. Eloise, I expect not to hear comments like that from you again."

Eloise pressed her lips into a thin line, suffocating under a wave of deep resentment. She had joined the lab long before Winona, yet Mr. Harper had never given her a real chance to prove herself. If she had been given the reins, she was certain she wouldn't have performed any worse than Winona.

Once the meeting concluded, Winona walked out with the rest of her colleagues.

She noticed Eloise shooting her daggers from across the room, but Winona simply ignored her and walked back to her desk.

Upon arriving at her workspace, Winona stopped in surprise. Sitting perfectly on her desk were two massive bouquets of flowers.

Killian walked by and grinned playfully. "Winona, do you have a secret admirer we don't know about?"

Winona picked up the bouquets to examine them. One had absolutely no card attached. The other had an elegant little card that read: "Happy Birthday"—signed by Yulen Locke.

It was only then that she remembered today was her birthday.

During their five years of a miserable, fake marriage, Yulen had never once bought her a single flower and had consistently forgotten her birthday entirely. Now that they were fully divorced, he suddenly remembered and decided to send flowers?

Winona found the gesture utterly laughable and immediately tossed Yulen's bouquet straight into the trash can.

But that still left the other bouquet sitting on her desk. Who sent this one?

Assuming it had to be Stefan, she quickly texted him: "Did you have flowers delivered to my office today?"

A moment later, Stefan replied: "No. Who sent you flowers?"

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