A Vow of Deception, A Vow of Revenge novel Chapter 16

Compared to Tyson's simmering anger, Winona was as calm as a cloudless sky.

"Mr. Goodwin, if I remember correctly, weren't you the one who said we shouldn't let personal matters interfere with work?"

Tyson's eyes narrowed.

"What's the matter—now that it concerns Celia, have you conveniently forgotten?"

He tugged at his tie, agitated. "That's true, but you can't go around throwing juice at her either."

Winona immediately caught the implication in his words. "So you do know it wasn't me who threw coffee at her in the break room, don't you?"

So he knew all along.

And still, he chose to take Celia's side.

Tyson's gaze darted away. "Celia, she…"

He'd understood the truth as soon as he'd seen Winona's reaction. She hadn't thrown the coffee. Celia had staged the whole thing herself. But he couldn't bring himself to confront Celia. She'd suffered so much—loving him in secret because she was just the adopted sister, forced into a marriage overseas only to end up with an abusive husband, longing for a child she couldn't have.

How could he blame Celia?

So he had to blame Winona instead.

But now, looking into Winona's eyes, he suddenly didn't know what to say.

Winona wasn't surprised. After all, if he could cover up something as serious as that car crash for Celia, why would this little incident be any different?

After a long pause, Tyson finally spoke again, his voice gentler. "Alright, Nona, Celia just doesn't know any better. Don't hold it against her, okay?"

He got up and walked over to her, taking her hand. "I heard there's a new designer bag out—let me buy it for you, alright?"

Winona slipped her hand from his. "I don't need it."

Who told him that—Celia? Was he trying to run his old one-gift-each routine again?

"Come on, for my sake, don't be upset, okay? When you're unhappy, it gets to me, too."

He'd always coaxed her like this when she got upset before. Back then, she'd thought he was sincere. Now, it all seemed disgustingly fake.

Was he really comforting her—or just trying to smooth things over for Celia?

Sure enough, Tyson's next words were: "And Celia's really having a rough day. This new project—she just took it on, there's a lot she doesn't know, and she upset the client today. Could you help her out? Otherwise, months of everyone's hard work could go up in smoke."

Normally, a client wouldn't just call Tyson directly, not without some kind of notice—he was, after all, the head of Goodwin Enterprises now. Clearly, the client was furious this time.

Tyson picked up, and while the client's tone was polite, there was no mistaking the message: Winona had to remain in charge of the project. If Tyson insisted on replacing her and the project ended up a mess, they'd cut all future ties with Goodwin Enterprises.

Tyson was deeply annoyed, but losing such a reliable partner would be a huge mistake. He had no choice but to agree.

When he hung up, he looked back at Winona.

"Nona, you'll stay on as lead for this project. Celia… she can be your assistant."

Even now, Tyson was still trying to carve out something for Celia.

"Assistant?" Winona let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Mr. Goodwin, unless I'm mistaken, I'm the one with control over this project now."

Tyson frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, if you want me to keep running this project, Celia is out. From now on, she has nothing to do with it."

Just then, Celia emerged from the lounge. She'd overheard Winona's words and shrieked, "Ty, you can't!"