The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 167

Mayo let out a heavy sigh. "You heard me right. Winona is Julian's wife—they've been married for six years now. They have a daughter together, and they adopted a son as well."

Xander just stared, mouth hanging open, completely speechless. His mind buzzed with confusion, unable to process what he'd just heard.

He shot Mayo a complicated look.

But Mayo wouldn't meet his gaze. Instead, he stared at Claud and spoke with regret, "Gallagher, what on earth have we done? Sure, Julian doesn't love Winona, but it's not like Winona ever did anything to hurt him. She's always been quiet and kept to herself, never stepped out of line. Aren't we just bullying her at this point?"

Claud said nothing.

It wasn't possible that he felt no regret at all.

It had been his idea to have Winona bring over the ointment for Mayo.

He'd told Mayo, word for word, "Just call Winona—she'll come. She'll do anything to get on Julian's good side, so she'll be eager to please anyone close to him."

Mayo was still reluctant, so Claud pressed on. "Johnston, be honest—do you prefer Felicity or Winona?"

"Felicity, of course! She's understanding, confident, bright, generous, hardworking, and talented. She's a perfect match for Julian. Anyone with eyes would choose Felicity over Winona. Who'd ever like someone as dowdy and awkward as Winona?" Mayo answered without hesitation.

"There you have it! You yourself called Winona awkward. We're just helping Julian and Felicity by getting rid of someone like that, aren't we? Doing everyone a favor," Claud scoffed.

Mayo gave Claud a look. "Gallagher, do you have feelings for Felicity?"

"Yes," Claud admitted without a hint of shame. "But it's just admiration. I never meant to come between Julian and Felicity. I keep my feelings to myself. I genuinely see Felicity as a friend. That's why I want to help her."

"I absolutely won't let Winona ruin what Julian and Felicity have. It hasn't been easy for them to find each other," Claud said, his tone self-righteous.

Just for that, tricking Winona into coming out and setting her up left Claud deeply uneasy.

He and Xander had thought the same thing: just send Winona far away, thousands of miles from Greenwood, somewhere she wouldn't be able to return from for a long while. Let her fend for herself in some distant place, and that would be that.

But Claud never expected Mackenzie and Hattie to be so ruthless toward Winona.

Now, confronted by Xander's questioning and Mayo's words, Claud stammered, "If Winona hadn't kept coming between Julian and Felicity again and again, we wouldn't have done this to her. Sure, we went too far, but Winona's at least seventy percent to blame! And after what she did to Mackenzie today, I'd say we're even!"

"Ridiculous," Xander shot them both a cold glare.

Without another word, he called a ride, sent Mackenzie and Hattie off, and then drove away alone, his expression icy.

As he drove, his thoughts kept circling back to every single moment he'd ever spent with Winona.