The Substitute Bride: Idiot Or Not?

Hamish gave Winnie a phone so it would be easier to reach her.

Winnie used the device to watch Peppa Pig as soon as she got home.

After all, she was pretending to be a mentally handicapped person who had the mind of a child.

She had only watched a few episodes when Josiah came home.

"So. you have a phone now, huh? What are you watching?" asked Josiah from behind Winnie, startling the young woman.

"Mary said I can watch Peppa Pig for half an hour, and I still have a few minutes left. I always listen to Mary because I'm a good girl," explained Winnie after quickly hiding her phone behind her, pretending to look guilty.

"Maybe you should take a good look at me first. Do I look like Mary to you?" teased Josiah with a chuckle.

After looking up, Winnie widened her eyes before pouting at the man. "It's you! Bad Specky!"

She no longer called Josiah "Specky" but "Bad Specky" instead. Even though she had to act dumb, she was not about to forget what Josiah did to her.

"I prefer 'Specky,' if you don't mind. Come on. Let's go." Josiah had to keep up the pretense since Mary was around. "You should talk to Xavier more. Maybe that'll help him regain consciousness." Just when he was about to take Winnie upstairs with him, Josiah suddenly thought of something.

He then turned to Mary. "I heard that Mr. Zyon's back. Is that true?"

Mary seemed surprised because that was not something she would know. "Really? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure. Would you like something to drink before heading upstairs, Dr. Houghton?" "No, thank you." Josiah did not think Mary was one of Zyon's spies.

Xavier knew what had happened the moment Hamish's car pulled up.

Yara was the one who took Winnie out a few hours ago, yet she came home with someone else. For some reason, Xavier began to worry about Winnie.

Still, he could not do anything because he was supposed to be in a coma.

Even though Josiah took Winnie to him not long after she came home, Xavier could not let the woman know that he cared about her.

Hence, Josiah and Winnie saw Xavier reading a book in bed when they entered the man's room.

Josiah was somewhat puzzled by the sight because he did not take Xavier as much of a reader, especially since the man was reading a book about religion.

It had been a while since Winnie last saw a man look that good reading a book in casualwear.

She had seen many good-looking men, but none of them were like Xavier, who was not only charming and composed but also seasoned and knowledgeable.

Not to mention his figure was better than most international male models she had met. Winnie believed Xavier would have crushed them if he were to become a model himself.

Even though Josiah was also attractive, Winnie did not think he had anything on Xavier.

Hence, Winnie returned the chocolate Josiah gave her without hesitation before throwing herself at Xavier.

She then started sobbing. "Bad Specky gave me a disgusting snack. Not only does it taste bitter, but it also looks disgusting. Look, Handsome!" With that, Winnie stuck out her tongue to show Xavier the chocolate still in her mouth.

The truth was that Xavier had already lost focus on his book the second Winnie stepped into the room.

He got even more excited after Winnie threw herself into his arms, for they were extremely close.

Wait a second. She's a dumbass with the mind of a child, so I can't be feeling this way for her.

Xavier took a deep breath to recompose himself before voicing in all seriousness, "That's just how chocolate is, Dumbo. Don't eat it if you don't like it."

Suddenly, Xavier noticed a scratch mark on Winnie's face.

He did not notice it at first because he was too distracted by the woman's complaint and the sweet aroma coming off of her.

He could immediately tell that she was scratched by a woman's fingernails. She was fine before heading out, so what happened out there?

For some reason, Xavier began to boil with anger. He thought it was just because he had been cooped up in his room pretending to be in a coma for too long.

"What happened to your face?" All of a sudden, Xavier's tone became icy-cold. "Who did this to you? Was it Yara?"

Winnie wanted to tease the handsome man in front of her, but he did not seem interested in playing along.

"Who's Yara? Is she edible? Does she taste worse than chocolate?" questioned Winnie casually, somewhat disappointed.

"Dumbo..." Xavier was upset before because of the scratch mark on her, but his anger quickly subsided after hearing her silly questions. His tone even softened up a little. "Yara is your mother; she's the one who took you out this morning. Tell me. Did she hurt you?"

Winnie shook her head in response. "No. Kiki did this."

"You mean Kylie?"

"Yes. Kiki's an idiot!"

"She's definitely an idiot for scratching your face," scoffed Xavier.

"Josiah, treat her wound later."

"You can't be serious, Mr. Xavier. That's not much of a wound. Besides, it's already healed," responded Josiah, who immediately got a sharp look from Xavier.

After that, Xavier asked Winnie about what had happened at Garland Group that day.

Even though Winnie played coy, she answered all of Xavier's questions and told him everything she wanted him to know.

Xavier thought he would be angry at Hamish for coveting his family's shares. To his surprise, what upset him more was hearing about how Kylie bullied Winnie. So what if Winnie's mentally challenged? She's still my wife! She's my Dumbo! How dare those b*stards bully my wife!

"It's okay, Winnie; don't cry. I'll make that woman regret that she ever laid a finger on you! You're a Fairchild now, so I won't sit by idly while you get bullied," promised Xavier.

Winnie was still sobbing. "You're the best, Handsome! You treat me even better than Granny."

Josiah then glanced at Xavier. "So, what do you plan to do to the Garlands?"

"It's time for them to go bankrupt," replied Xavier with a devilish smile.

Winnie, who had buried her head in the man's chest while pretending to cry, could not help but notice how alike their way of thinking was.

However, she was determined to be the one to deal with her family. There's no way I'm going to let Xavier get to them first!

That evening, Winnie continued to watch Peppa Pig on Xavier's bed. The man sighed helplessly after glancing at the cartoon pigs on the phone screen.

"Give it here." Xavier then snatched the device from Winnie and quickly entered his number to set up a speed dial.

"Remember, if you ever need to reach me, just press and hold the number one. Now go to sleep. You'll ruin your eyes if you keep staring at that small screen." Xavier was unhappy that Winnie only cared about watching the cartoon instead of talking to him.

Not long after Xavier turned off the lights, the two fell asleep.

Around one o'clock at midnight, someone in the Fairchilds' mansion opened the front door to let a person in.

That mysterious person then sneaked upstairs and went straight to Xavier's bedroom.