The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 69

"Is it really so strange?" Felicity met Winona's gaze, her expression open and unflinching, chin tipped up in quiet defiance.

Winona said nothing.

Her mind had gone completely blank.

At this moment, it was as if she'd forgotten how to put words together.

Before coming here, she'd wondered—could Julian have tampered with something on his computer? But the thought seemed absurd.

From everything she knew about Julian, he was always cold and distant with her, almost like a stranger. Yet with everyone else—the household staff, the entire Nicholson Group team, even with random strangers on the street—he was always respectful, even kind.

And he always kept his word.

He never meddled in other people's private affairs, either.

Once, he'd promised the housekeeper Gemma that he'd pay for her daughter's college and graduate school—ten thousand a year, all the way through her PhD. He'd never once gone back on that promise.

Most of the Nicholson Group employees, and even executives from other companies who'd worked with him, spoke of Julian with the highest regard.

Even his rival, Yves Prescott, had praised Julian's character.

So Winona couldn't bring herself to believe Julian would do something underhanded.

Still, she needed to ask him directly—had he really bought the proposal from that firm in Italy?

If so, she needed to know the seller's contact details.

Then she'd call the authorities.

She wouldn't drag Julian into it; once everything was settled and after their divorce, if Julian ever wanted to invest in her projects, she'd still consider it.

She'd never confuse her marriage with her work.

But what she hadn't expected—what never even crossed her mind—was for Felicity to look her dead in the eye and say, "This project was designed by me."

Winona stared, dumbfounded, glancing between Felicity and Julian.

Felicity let out a cold laugh, not a hint of hesitation. "What did you think?"

If someone with real expertise—an architect, maybe, or a prominent advocate for elder care—had questioned her, Felicity might have faltered. She might even have hesitated.

After all, the proposal had actually been purchased from a design firm in Italy.

If someone truly pressed her on the details, she'd have no answers.

But the person asking was Winona.

A woman who'd never even finished high school, barely literate by most standards. Married at twenty, had a child at twenty-one. A housewife who'd never set foot outside the country, who spent her days clinging to men, causing drama and refusing to let go.

How could someone like Winona possibly understand the complexities of a project like this? Something that dealt with real issues, that actually mattered to people's lives?

What a joke.

The way Felicity saw it, Winona was out of options—reduced to desperate, baseless accusations, hoping to disrupt her and Julian's lives any way she could.