Silly Bride

Chapter 233
The car behind fired a few shots at them and ceased firing, seemingly not planning to continue with the pursuit. Winnie and the
others inside the vehicle could finally relax a little because of that.Upon lowering her guard, she shifted her focus from the
scenes outside the window to the happenings inside the car.She noticed that Jacinta wasn’t doing well after scanning the interior
of the car.“Granny, Granny, are you all right?” Winnie called out to Jacinta gently. “Are you feeling distress because of what
happened just now?”Jacinta appeared to be in a daze, as she did not respond even after a few seconds.Winnie couldn’t help but
frown at that sight.However, just as she was about to reach out and caress Jacinta, the latter suddenly sat upright with an
exaggerated movement. Jacinta seemed to be acting slightly unusual.She bored her eyes into Xavier, pointed at his nose, and
shouted, “It’s you! You killed Zyon! You’re the murderer!”Xavier had been absorbed in his own thoughts, but when Jacinta began
scolding him, he immediately furrowed his brows in response.He had wanted to tell her that she fired the shot first, but he
suppressed his resentment and grievances when he thought of Winnie because he didn’t want Winnie to be caught in a tight
spot between having to side with him or Jacinta.He simply grunted in agreement and uttered in a relatively tender voice, “That’s
right, Granny. I eliminated Zyon. This has nothing to do with you, so you don’t have to feel burdened. We’ll be safe soon. Once
we return to Avenport, you can forget everything that happened here and lead a normal life as before.”Xavier maintained a well-
mannered attitude when he comforted Jacinta. He also expressed Winnie’s thoughts in the final part of his speech. Even Winnie
did not expect him to be so considerate.The only reason that prompted him to be so thoughtful was that he treated the people
who were significant to Winnie the way he would treat her.Winnie understood his rationale, so she remained silent and grasped
his hand because she knew that a tacit response meant more than a million words at instances like that.Xavier knew her
intention. He was glad that she could understand his gesture through his simple few sentences, and he enjoyed the mutual
affection they had for one another.When he looked at her, he could not help but curl his lips into a contented smile.Regardless of
how filthy, chaotic, and dangerous the place was, to be able to sense the other party’s appreciation and sentiment as they held
each other’s gaze was already considered a blessing to them.Unfortunately, Jacinta was not a fan of watching their intimate
interaction. She hated Xavier and utterly loathed his guts.Jacinta was aware that she had been unreasonable when she had
pointed at Xavier and accused him of being a murderer.At that moment, she did not mind behaving unreasonably again. She
yanked Winnie’s arm away from him and ensured Winnie was entirely focused on her.Throughout the journey, whenever Winnie
showed the inclination to chat with Xavier, Jacinta would immediately find an excuse to attract Winnie’s attention.Jacinta did not
try to hide her deliberate interruptions, so everyone in the car could grasp her intention, not to mention Xavier and Winnie.Winnie
had no choice but to endure for two reasons: First, she suspected that Jacinta was emotionally unstable after the latter shot
someone to death. Second, she did not feel it was appropriate for her to reason with Jacinta in front of everyone else in the
vehicle, as that would cause the latter to feel embarrassed.Winnie could only rein in her temper throughout the ride.Ultimately,
she decided to shut her eyes and get some rest to avoid looking at anyone.Jacinta stopped stirring a ruckus as long as Winnie

did not pay Xavier any attention.Suddenly, pin-drop silence filled the air in the car.The absence of sound lasted until their vehicle
was forced to come to a halt.Mason, who was driving the car, slammed his foot against the brake pedal at once. “Ms. Garland,
someone is blocking the road ahead. All of you get down. The rest of you prepare yourselves.”“Understood!” Mason’s
subordinates replied simultaneously.Winnie had opened her eyes the moment Mason hit the brakes. She craned her neck a little
to peek ahead. When she did that, the car blocking the road in front of them suddenly honked.The next moment, a man wearing
a face mask and baseball cap poked his head out of the car window.Winnie narrowed her eyes and swiftly recognized that
person.“Don’t worry. He’s one of us,” she announced to everyone inside the car, then whispered something next to Xavier’s
ear.Xavier knitted his brows after listening to her, but he still opened the car door for her chivalrously.Seeing that Winnie and
Xavier were about to get out of the car together, Jacinta quickly grabbed Winnie’s arm and uttered anxiously, “Where are you
going, Winnie?”Winnie hurriedly consoled her, “I’m going down to take a look. It’ll be fine. That person is one of us. I’ll be right
back. There won’t be any danger.”“Okay.” Only then did Jacinta let go of Winnie’s arm. “Be careful, then.”Winnie nodded. “I
will.”With that, she hopped out of the car with Xavier trailing closely behind her.However, instead of moving forward, he stood
beside the car and waited for her while helping her keep an eye on the surroundings.Winnie strode toward the car in front of
her.Before she even reached the vehicle, the door to the passenger seat was pushed open by someone inside the car, hinting at
her to be their guest.Quickly, she got into the car.“Captain Bennett, what are you doing here at this hour? Isn’t it risky for you to
do this?” Winnie asked Christopher, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.Even though he was wearing a face mask at that
moment, she could still sense the faint hint of a smile dancing in his eyes.“It is a little inconvenient for me. That’s why I’m
dressed like this. Although Zyon was not a significant figure, Harold will not let you all off the hook so easily after you killed so
many of their members. I’m here to escort you all. All of you must leave Lightspring at once.”“Yes, you’re absolutely right. We
should indeed leave this place after pulling off the rescue mission, but Rachel is very sick. We need to send her to a hospital
now. Otherwise, I’m not sure how long she can survive.”“All right,” Christopher assented. “I’ll bring you all to the hospital now.
You two follow my car while those mercenaries you hired should go on their separate way so as to not attract attention with our
large numbers. I received news about Zyon’s fate earlier. Thank you for helping me to eliminate this huge trouble. Otherwise, the
years of hard work by the organization would have gone down the drain.”“I’m glad that your effort is not wasted.” At the mention
of Zyon, Winnie recalled Jacinta’s frightened appearance earlier. She frowned slightly and changed the topic of their
conversation. “I’ll go and call them over. You should move your car. You’ve really scared us just now.”Christopher chuckled. “Do
you get scared so easily? I doubt that.”Winnie grinned at him in silence and got out of the car.Rachel was swiftly transferred to
Christopher’s car. After Winnie informed Mason of a few important matters, she got into Christopher’s car too.Christopher drove
the car at high speed the entire way. Before long, they arrived in a different city, and the vehicle eventually stopped in front of a
hospital.The hospital seemed to be relatively huge, but the larger the hospital they visited, the more worried Winnie felt. “Isn’t this
hospital too conspicuous? Will Harold’s men track us down here?” Christopher replied confidently, “They won’t. This is General
Kane’s territory. This place is different from the shambolic Lightspring. Harold wouldn’t dare to pursue you all the way

here.”“Okay. I can rest assured if you say that,” Winnie said while supporting Rachel. “You should hurry up and leave. We can
handle the rest.”Christopher grunted. Then he pondered briefly before saying to Xavier, “Keep her safe.”Xavier was momentarily
stunned. With a frown, he said, “I know that without needing you to remind me.”That should have marked the end of the
conversation, but Jacinta suddenly leaned forward and suggested, “Captain Bennett, can you stay here to protect Winnie? This
place is too dangerous. I can only feel at ease if you’re here to keep her safe.”Xavier was rendered speechless, and his
expression darkened at once.A frown marred Winnie’s forehead as well as she said, “Granny, what are you saying? I don’t need
Captain Bennett’s protection. Besides, he has other important matters to attend to. I’ll go back with all of you right after I bring
Rachel to see the doctor.”With that, Winnie gestured to Xavier for him to handle Rachel while she went to help Jacinta get out of
the car.After that, all of them entered the hospital. Rachel’s condition was severe, so she was admitted straight to the intensive
care unit.Winnie’s head ached because of the turns of events. Under such circumstances, Rachel would not be fit to be
transferred out or travel long distances. The only thing they could do at that moment was to remain in the local hospital for
Rachel to receive medical treatment.They had no choice but to wait for her condition to improve and for her to be transferred
back to the regular ward before they could arrange for Rachel to return to the country.Seeing that Winnie was worried about
Rachel, Xavier could not help but step forward to comfort her, “She will get better. Worse come to worst, we’ll stay here for a few
more days and send Granny back to the country first.”“Yeah. There isn’t a better way for now.” Winnie pinched the space
between her brows. “Actually, I’m also a little concerned about Granny’s condition. She’s been acting weird on our way
here.”“Indeed.” Xavier had noticed Jacinta’s unusual behavior too.Something about her felt off the moment she suddenly fired a
shot at Zyon. Judging by her demeanor at that time, I think her killing intent was not motivated by anger or hatred. It seemed
more likely to me that she was trying to shut Zyon up. After all, dead men tell no tale. Does that mean...Xavier ruminated briefly
before asking Winnie, “What do you think of the things Zyon mentioned before his death?”“What thing?” Winnie looked up at him.
“Are you referring to Zyon claiming himself to be Granny’s grandson?” She furrowed her brows. “That’s impossible. I’ve checked
his chest, but there wasn’t any birthmark as described by Granny.”“Then could it be that Granny remembered wrongly? After all,
this is a matter from so many years ago. Besides, based on the current situation, it seems that Granny can be very emotional
under certain circumstances, so there could be a possibility for her to misremember an important matter or be confused.”“No
way...” The frown on Winnie’s face deepened. “Is there still any doubt about Zyon being your Uncle Stuart’s trueborn son?”“If
you put it that way...” Xavier paused for a few seconds. “Indeed, there isn’t any doubt. Zyon is definitely my Uncle Stuart’s
biological son.”“Okay. Now is not the time to discuss this issue. Since we’re at a hospital, I should just let a doctor examine
Granny’s condition and prescribe her some anxiolytics.”Xavier found a hotel nearby the hospital.Winnie and Jacinta stayed in the
same room, while Xavier occupied a separate room by himself.At night, after taking her medicine, Jacinta went to lie on the
bed.Winnie waited for Jacinta to fall asleep before going to the next room to find Xavier because she had to discuss matters
related to their return to the country with him.Unexpectedly, the electricity supply in the room was disrupted halfway through their
conversation.Xavier opened the window and looked out. He realized theirs was not the only room affected by the blackout.

Apparently, the whole hotel and the buildings opposite the hotel experienced a power failure. The only facility that remained lit
was the nearby hospital.Winnie immediately called the front desk to enquire about the situation.Only then was she informed that
power outage was very common in that area, and if they needed illumination, they could light the candles available in each
room.The receptionist was telling the truth because right after Winnie entered the room, she noticed candles and lighters placed
in every prominent corner of the room.She had been under the assumption that the candles were to set the mood inside the
room. Little did she expect they were allocated for lighting purposes.After hanging up the call, she took out her phone to switch
on the torchlight function of her device.However, her phone was damaged during the day when the car exploded. The device
could still be used for communication purposes, but the flashlight function was impaired.At that sight, Xavier placed a hand on
her shoulder and said, “Sit here. Let me handle it.”Soon, all the candles inside the room were lit, and the room was bright
again.Meanwhile, Jacinta, inside the room next door, had also lighted the candles.She had drifted off after taking her medicine,
but her nightmare had haunted her slumber.She dreamed of Zyon, covered in blood, seeking her out to claim her life. She ran for
her life, but no matter how hard she tried to escape, she could not move an inch forward as she continued to run in place.By the
time she woke up with a jolt, her body was drenched in sweat.The pitch-black surroundings following the blackout instilled fear in
her heart, prompting her to get off the bed and stumbled in the dark to illuminate the candles.Staring at the flickering candlelight,
she involuntarily took a walk down the memory lane.Back then, Jacinta was still living in a small mountain village very far away
from Avenport.She was young and at the peak of her beauty. Her appearance was the most outstanding among all the women
from that region, causing her to garner a widespread reputation among the communities.Her admirers and suitors constantly
flocked to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. Initially, there was a boy she fancied, but her materialistic parents disdained
him because he was poor.Jacinta’s parents knew her beauty was an asset, so they were determined to marry her to a wealthy
family.Coincidentally, a private plane crashed in the mountainous area at that time.To the members of the Sumner family then,
owning a private plane was equivalent to sitting on top of vast amounts of fortune.The person who piloted the private aircraft was
none other than Rufus.Back then, he was still a young, handsome man. He was dressed in expensive clothes and wearing
extravagant accessories.Jacinta’s parents knew he came from an affluent family at first glance, so they brought him home and
took great care of him. In the end, they even forced Rufus to marry Jacinta.However, Rufus refused. He confessed he already
had a family back home and told Jacinta’s parents he would be willing to compensate them with a large amount of money.Her
father and mother were tempted to accept the offer, but they had grander ambitions. They considered how loaded Rufus must be
to offer them the handsome amount of cash. If Jacinta became his wife and had his children, the Sumner family could live a
comfortable life for generations in the future.As such, Jacinta’s parents used an underhanded method to drug Rufus and let him
sleep with their daughter.After that, Jacinta became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy ten months later.