Silly Bride

Chapter 150

impaired.”Winnie fell silent before she broke into a guffaw. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or a dig at me?”“A compliment, of course,” replied Josiah cheerfully. “Considering how amazing you are, I’m actually kind of worried the hospital that my family runs could wind up being named after you in less than a few days.”Winnie laughed, tickled by Josiah’s words. “Relax. I don’t have any interest in the healthcare industry, at least for now.”The pair continued their banter, and the tense atmosphere within the car quickly diffused into a chirpy one.That was when Josiah tried to channel the conversation back on track. “What happens next? When is the next scheduled flight, and should I drop you off at the airport right now?”“There’s no need for that.” Winnie loosened up and leaned back in her seat. “I’ve already looked it up. There aren’t any more direct flights scheduled for today. A transit flight would require double the travel time and is also inefficient cost-wise.”“What then?”“I’m getting the folks from the other side to come over. They’ll be arriving on a direct flight.”Josiah acknowledged that with a nod. “I was thinking about arranging for you to fly on my private plane, but it looks like that won’t be necessary anymore.”“Yeah. They’ll be flying in on a chartered flight themselves and should have taken off already, so I guess that’s pretty much settled.”“Then where should we go now?”“Back to Garland Group. I still have some stuff to sort out there.”“Will do, Ms. Garland!” Josiah breathed in and remarked in jest, “Seems to me that whenever I’m not fulfilling my primary responsibilities as a doctor, I’m always on the road, chauffeuring either Xavier or yourself around.”“Shall I award you a plaque for being such a good Samaritan so that you may have it on display at the hospital?”Half an hour later, the scurrilous news revolving around Winnie exploded online when the pair was still on the road.At that time, Winnie was napping in the car while Josiah was still behind the wheel. Neither of them was aware of the events that were in motion. It was only when Louis texted Winnie that she got wind of it.Louis gave her a rundown of the situation, with a screencap of the trending news itself appended underneath.In addition, he also inserted a comment of his own: Mr. Fairchild already knows about this.Xavier’s call came in before Winnie was able to view the image Louis had just sent her.As much as she wanted to check out how the media report was framed first, Xavier kept calling her, that she could not decline his calls, even if she wanted to.Even Josiah could not stand it, either.“For the love of god, please pick it up, Ms. Garland. It’s Xavier, isn’t it? It’s so noisy I’m losing my focus driving.”Left with no recourse, Winnie had to answer.Xavier did not sound like a happy camper. “How dare you lie to me, Dumbo! Didn’t you say you were going to visit your granny? What were you doing at the airport in the Northern District, and where were you planning to go?”Winnie was momentarily dumbstruck. “My dear Mr. Fairchild, are you sure you’re not missing the point? Why would I want to lie to you?”“Aha, you’ve finally admitted to it! You were intending to leave me, just as I thought! Tell me where you are right now. I’ll pick you up.”“That won’t be necessary. I’m currently with Josiah.”“What? You’ve hooked up with my friend? Haven’t I been treating you well enough?”“Oh, give me a break.” Winnie was almost fraying at the seams. “He came down to bail me out from the police station because—”“Really? To think that you still have the temerity to say that to my face? Why did you choose to call him instead of me? Why is it that the first man you think of reaching out to isn’t me but some other guy?”He’s not well right now, so I can’t get into it with him. I just can’t! Holding her forehead, Winnie silently repeated that to herself until Xavier was done talking.“All right, I got it. I’ll come straight over to your office, so just stay put and wait for me there. Don’t go anywhere else, okay?”“Splendid! I’ll be right here waiting!”Ending the call gave Winnie some measure of relief.She then regarded Josiah in the seat in front of her. “I’m sorry. I may have to ask you to turn around and drive me over to Garland Group instead.”Glancing up at her through the rearview mirror, Josiah pursed his lips. “You don’t have to stand on liberties with me.