The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 536

By the time Stefan wrapped up his third consecutive meeting, it was already past seven in the evening.

Samantha gently reminded him about the high-profile dinner banquet he was scheduled to attend.

Standing up, he swapped his suit jacket for a fresh one and headed out with her.

Upon entering the grand banquet hall, several prominent local tycoons immediately spotted him and hurried over to pay their respects.

Stefan shook their hands, one by one. Between the freezing rain the night before and the relentless grind of today's schedule, his voice had taken on a rough, raspy edge.

Noticing this, Mr. Kimball asked, "Stefan, are you feeling under the weather?"

Stefan nodded slightly. "Caught in the rain last night. It's nothing serious, but thank you for asking."

"You're a young man, but you still need to pace yourself," Mr. Kimball advised warmly. "That storm was apocalyptic last night. I had a massive contract signing in the next city over, and I didn't even dare leave my house."

Standing nearby, Mr. Howell chimed in, "I was actually having lunch with Mr. Gallagher from the Aviation Authority today. He mentioned a private jet requested an emergency landing at his airstrip last night. Was that your Gulfstream?"

Stefan nodded. "Mr. Gallagher pulled a lot of strings to make that happen. I owe him a very good dinner."

Mr. Howell shook his head in awe. "You must have had a billion-dollar deal on the line to risk flying through that mess. You're already at the top of the food chain, and you're still working this hard. It puts the rest of us to shame."

Stefan offered a rare, faint smile, surprisingly willing to elaborate. "It wasn't for work. It was personal."

At that exact moment, Sylvan Scully and Yulen Locke were walking past, intending to greet the group. Both men froze, catching the end of Stefan's sentence.

Mr. Howell's eyes lit up with sudden gossip. "Personal? Don't tell me the great Stefan Goddard is in love. You flew through a hurricane for a woman?"

The surrounding executives immediately went quiet, leaning in to catch the exclusive scoop.

Stefan didn't bother hiding it. He answered smoothly, "Yes. I was terrified she might be in danger, so I had to get back."

The group erupted into good-natured cheers and teasing.

"Never thought I'd see the day the ruthless Mr. Goddard threw caution to the wind for romance!"

"Whoever she is, she must be absolutely spectacular to capture your heart like that."

Sylvan and Yulen both knew exactly who the 'she' was. The realization hit them entirely differently.

Sylvan internally scoffed, thinking Stefan had utterly abysmal taste in women.

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