Silly Bride

Chapter 264
Winnie was exhausted. Despite the bumpy ride, she still fell asleep with her head on Xavier’s shoulder.However, it was not a
good sleep. Groggily, she returned to the waking world with Xavier’s voice. He sounded like he was on a call.Her eyes were half-
opened, but she noticed that the sky was still dark. Thus, she muttered, “What time is it?”By the time she asked the question,
Xavier had ended his call. He glanced at his phone and replied, “It’s thirty minutes past twelve. We’ll be meeting with Christopher
and the others soon.”Winnie continued mumbling, “We’re reaching Salinsburgh so soon?”Xavier smiled. “No, we’re only resting
here for a while. I’ve asked around and found out that the authorities at Salinsburgh have been strict recently. No cars are
allowed in or out of the city after twelve midnight, so we’ll only be able to go there when the sun comes back up again.”Winnie
nodded. “It’s great to have you around. I don’t need to think about anything.”Xavier lowered his head to plant two soft kisses on
her forehead. “I’ve always been great. Did you only find out about that now?”Winnie was still sleepy. She closed her eyes and
quietly laughed. “It’s not too late to find out now.”Xavier smiled and ruffled her hair. “Rest well. I’ll wake you when you’re there.
Why don’t you lie down instead? Lay your head on my lap.”“Okay.” Winnie moved toward the side before lying down on Xavier’s
leg. “This is much more comfortable. By the way, who were you calling when I was sleeping?”“Josiah,” Xavier replied. “We’re
leaving this place soon, right? We can’t possibly ditch him here.”“Haha!” A chuckle left Winnie’s lips. “I almost forgot about him.
Where is he right now? How is he?”“You don’t need to worry about him. He’s like a roach. Nothing will happen to someone like
him.”“Good to hear that.” Winnie lifted her arm to touch Xavier’s arm. “If anything happens to either of you, I’ll be overwhelmed
with guilt. I was the reason the two of you came to this darn place.”Xavier held her hand and played with her fingers. “Why are
you saying these things when we’re about to go back?”“I’ll stop, then. I don’t really want to remember this moment ever
again.”“Don’t think about it anymore. I’ll bring you around to do happier and more meaningful things in the future. I won’t let you
have the time to recall these moments. I’ve already made a plan. Once we’re back, we’ll hold the wedding. Does that sound
good, Winnie?”When Xavier heard nothing from Winnie, he lowered his head, only to discover that she had fallen asleep
again.Xavier did not know whether to feel amused or resigned. She had fallen asleep in the blink of an eye, and she had missed
out on the important part of his proposal.Still, it mattered not. He could ask her again after she woke.Approximately half an hour
later, the car came to a stop.The car with Christopher in it was right in front of them. This was the place they were going to rest at
before they depart for Salinsburgh before the sun rose again.Mason was in the car in front, so when the car fully stopped, Greta
exited the car. She was planning to head to the front to talk to her significant other.The sound of Greta opening the door woke
Winnie.As she had been tensed for long periods of time, Winnie bolted upright upon hearing the sound.Xavier, who had been
closing his eyes to rest, was startled by Winnie’s abrupt motion as he too, opened his eyes.“What’s the matter, Winnie? Did you
have a nightmare?” He held her hands.Only after Winnie heard Xavier’s voice did she remember that she was already away from
the wolf’s den.Letting out a sigh, she replied, “I thought I was still at Leandro’s place. The hairs on the back of my neck raised the
moment they brought me into the lab.”“So there are things that you find hair-raising in this world.” Despite Xavier’s teasing

words, his heart ached for her.As he hugged Winnie, he whispered, “We’ll be able to go back soon. By then, we’ll sleep in our
house, and I’ll keep you company every night whether you wake from a dream at night or you wake in the morning. The first
person you’ll see will always be me. That way, you’ll never feel the chills running down your spine stand ever again.”Winnie could
not help but laugh at Xavier’s words. “Haha! Mr. Fairchild, you’re getting better and better with sweet nothings.”Xavier drew his
brows together. “I don’t do sweet nothings. Everything I say is straight from my heart.”Winnie’s smile widened. “That’s about the
same.”“About the same with what?” Xavier asked in confusion.Winnie held his chin and said, “Well, about the same with sweet
nothings.”“Is that so?” Xavier’s eyes darkened as his voice lowered. “Why don’t I find it sweet at all?”“What’s your standard of
sweet, then?” Winnie queried, amused by his answer.Xavier lowered his head a little. “I’ll tell you when I have a taste of it.”As he
said that, he reached out to hold the back of Winnie’s head.Winnie knew what he wanted to do next, but she wanted to keep
teasing him.Hence, just as he was about to kiss her, she turned her head and avoided him.Naturally, Xavier would not be happy
about her avoidance, so he tried to kiss her again.However, Winnie abruptly froze in her tracks.The car window had been half-
opened for ventilation. When she avoided Xavier, she accidentally looked outside.That glimpse she caught made her freeze.In
the next second, she shoved Xavier away.A teasing push felt vastly different from a shove, and Xavier could differentiate them.
He could sense that Winnie genuinely wanted him to move away from her.But why is she pushing me away all of a sudden?
Xavier then raised his head and looked in the direction Winnie was staring at.As it turned out, Christopher was standing outside.
He had not rested since he left the hospital because he was worried sick about Winnie.When he realized that the car stopped,
and when he saw Greta going to Mason, he decided to come over to take a look at Winnie. He wanted to discern whether she
was safe and sound.Yet, the sight that greeted him was Winnie and Xavier flirting.At that very moment, a pang of pain struck his
heart. He wanted to turn and leave immediately, but unexpectedly, Winnie turned in his direction. That was how their eyes
met.Now, even Xavier had noticed him.Awkwardness washed over Christopher like lapping waves, but he managed to squeeze
a smile to his lips. “Sorry, I just wanted to come over to say hello. I’ll leave now.” Winnie knew that Christopher was worried about
her, so she told Xavier, “I have some things to talk to Christopher about, so I’ll get out of the car for a moment. Are you going to
stay here, or are you going to stretch a little outside?”Xavier studied Christopher and Winnie before muttering, “Go on. I’ll be
waiting for you in the car.”While speaking, he moved his hand away from Winnie’s shoulder and leaned over to open the car door
for her.Winnie stepped out of the car and walked by Christopher’s side for a while. Soon, the two of them came to a stop not far
from the car.The area they had stopped at had beautiful scenery without any traces of air pollution. Moreover, the night sky was
starry.Christopher stared at the twinkling stars above for a moment before lowering his head to look at Winnie, who looked even
more brilliant than those stars.With a smile, he said, “It looks like everything’s going well tonight. You aren’t hurt, are you?”“I’m
not. I set Leandro’s warehouse on fire. He doesn’t have enough men, so his focus was full on saving the warehouse instead of
coming after me.”Christopher sucked in a deep breath. “The name Vivian is going to shake the entire Lightspring and maybe the
entire world too. You’ve gotten rid of two nests of evil at once.”Winnie turned to look at Christopher with smiling eyes. “Are you
teasing me?”It was only after Winnie turned did she notice the way Christopher looked at her.Stumped, she scratched her head.

“I... I didn’t tell Xavier about what happened in the basement. After all...”“I understand.” Christopher was not going to put Winnie
in a tight spot. He tucked away the yearning in his eyes and sighed. “Sorry for interrupting you just now. I know that I’ve crossed
the line.”Christopher dared not look at Winnie anymore when he thought about what happened in the basement and in the forest.
He was afraid that he would not be able to control his feelings if he did that.Therefore, he looked up and stared at a glowing
firefly a distance away before continuing, “I know that I’ve requested something absurd in the basement. As for the promise... I
know that you were pitying me because I was about to die. You think of me as a friend, and that was why you want me to leave
this world without regret. I know that. So...”Christopher recomposed himself and made it seem as if he was unperturbed by all
that. “Just pretend as if those things hadn’t happened. I don’t want you to look at me strangely anymore.”Winnie lowered her
head and chuckled. “Do I? Are you talking about the look I had just now? That’s because I was feeling awkward. I’m sure you
feel that too.”“Yes. Anyway...” Christopher rubbed the back of his head. “We’re still good friends. Do tell me if you need any help
just like how you order Lucas around.”Winnie nodded. “That’s great.”The two of them then shared a smile.Meanwhile, although
Xavier did not leave the car, he wound down the window and stared at Winnie and Christopher.He had sensed something amiss
about Winnie when Christopher came over earlier.It felt as if there was something happening between the two.However, before
anything happened to the ring communication device, he noticed nothing amiss about the two.Unfortunately, that device broke
down midway. Xavier realized something must have happened during that period of time and there was an oddity in the air
between the two of them.A good example would be the way Christopher looked at Winnie earlier.Furthermore, Winnie seemed to
have reacted strongly upon her discovery of Christopher’s presence.My Dumbo is no ordinary woman. She kissed me by force in
front of the reporters in the elevator the other time, so there was no way she would be afraid to kiss her husband in front of
Christopher.The more Xavier thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became.After letting out a grim sigh, he opened the
door and exited the car.However, he did not head toward Winnie and Christopher. Instead, he went to the driver’s seat to grab a
pack of cigarettes.Even though he did not have a tobacco addiction, he would still smoke once in a while just like the time when
he thought Winnie was dead.At that moment, he was feeling frustrated, and the darn toxin in him made it difficult for him to
recollect himself.Maybe some nicotine will help with the frustration.He leaned back on the car a little roughly before letting his
eyes drift toward Winnie again. Then, he took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.However, just as he lit the cigarette,
he recalled how Winnie disliked the scent of tobacco, so he threw the cigarette on the ground.Then, Xavier saw Christopher
catching a firefly for Winnie. He could not hold himself back anymore.The blood coursing in him threatened to boil. How dare
they flirt with each other in front of me? What have they been doing when I wasn’t around?Xavier crushed the cigarette under his
foot until it was nothing but a pile of mush before striding over to the two.Frankly, Christopher was not catching the firefly for
Winnie. It had been a subconscious action.A bug had flown to his face, and he had instinctively caught it. Only after catching it
did he recall it was but a harmless firefly.Thus, he uncurled his fingers and let the poor bug fly off—he had no intention to gift the
bug to Winnie.It only seemed like he was gifting the firefly to Winnie from Xavier’s angle.Xavier strode over without a hint of
hesitance in his steps. He knew he must look terrible at that moment as anger enveloped him like a blanket.Still, it was not as if

he could control himself. He did not even know what he would do once he reached them—whether to question them or to
declare that Winnie was his.He was even wondering who Winnie would defend if he lost control of himself and attacked
Christopher.Unfortunately, that was something he would not get an answer to as Christopher turned around and walked away
before he could reach them.Naturally, Christopher saw Xavier on his way back.The two met each other in no time, and
Christopher said to Xavier, “Good timing. She wanted to stay here for a little longer, so head over to her. I’m going back to rest
first.”Xavier hummed in response and nearly let Christopher go.Nevertheless, he somehow managed to remind himself to stop
Christopher and ask, “Can you tell me what happened to you two after you encountered Yulissa?”“Yes, that day...” Christopher
began to explain what happened. Winnie had talked to him about that earlier, so Christopher’s explanation was the same as
Winnie’s.“Okay.” Xavier’s lips curled. “Rest well.”The way he described it was almost identical. Either it was the truth, or they’d
had a discussion on how to describe the event. Which would it be?It felt as if bugs were gnawing away at his heart. Every bite
was not agonizing, but it was rather irritating.