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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.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“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.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe 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.
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