Silly Bride

Chapter 230

mind?” Jacinta objected to the plan straight away. “Do you know how dangerous it is out there? You can’t risk your life just because of an emotional impulse!”“I’m not emotional,” uttered Winnie, knitting her eyebrows even tighter. “Granny, I’m more than calm right now. You should be able to tell by my tone. I have to find Xavier now. I have no idea how he is, so I can’t waste another second. For all we know, he’s probably running out of time!” stated the woman in an even firmer tone.Still, Jacinta tightened her grip on Winnie instead of letting her granddaughter go. “You might be shot dead if you go out! Don’t you see that you’re already hurt? Please don’t go, Winnie. I’m begging you! You’re worried about him getting killed, but what about yourself? Do you really want me to mourn your death?”Winnie shook her head in response. “No, I don’t want to break your heart, but I can’t just stand by idly and let him die!”“There are still others out there, aren’t there?” Jacinta refused to let Winnie leave her side. “They’ll save Xavier. You don’t have to trade your life for his!”Frowning, Winnie removed Jacinta’s hand from her arm. “Granny, I could’ve hired others to save you, but I came anyway because I love and care about you. I simply couldn’t leave your fate to others. I didn’t want you to panic because I wasn’t with you. I knew you’d wish for nothing more than to see me when you’re feeling hopeless. Xavier is a living and breathing human being just like you, and he’s put his life in my hands more than once. That’s why my life belongs to him, and his me. How can I sit by idly while my life is in danger? Can I still call myself a human being if I do?” With that said, Winnie rushed out of the bush despite Jacinta’s disapproval.“Cover me!” the woman ordered Greta before heading out.“Copy that!” Greta then immediately readied her weapon.On the other side, the tires on Zyon’s car had been punctured, so he and his men were forced to stop and attack while taking cover in the vehicle.In comparison, Winnie and Greta could act more proactively because they had more freedom of movement on the wide terrain. Hence, it did not take long for Winnie to reach Mason and the others with Greta covering her.Winnie’s goal was clear—to find Xavier as soon as possible. “Have you guys seen my man?”One of the men quickly responded by pointing to the left side. “I think he jumped into the bushes over there during the explosion!”The second Winnie heard that, she dived into the overgrown plants mentioned without hesitation.She could not care less about the sharp blade-like grass cutting her cheeks because minor wounds like that were nothing compared to Xavier’s safety.The weeds were so thick that they almost blocked Winnie’s vision completely. She could only see what was directly in front of her.Fortunately, she soon found a long and large arm covered with blood in the grass.Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw how much blood there was. “Xavier? Is that you?”The person lying on the ground said nothing in response, but his fingers twitched.Winnie knew she did not have the time to be cautious, so she instinctively took that slight movement as a signal from Xavier and rushed through the weeds to get to the man.His black shirt was riddled with holes because of how sharp the grass was, revealing bleeding wounds.The blood-soaked bandage on the man’s left hand suggested he had torn himself a new one.Looking at the severely injured man, Winnie was instantly filled with guilt.“Xavier, I’m here now,” uttered the woman as she quickly put her gun away and knelt beside the man.Winnie then reached out to flip the person over, only to learn she had made a mistake.It turned out the man in her arms was not Xavier after all.The person, who happened to be wearing a black shirt and had a bandaged left hand, simply looked like Xavier from behind.Winnie immediately figured out what was going on when she got a good look at the stranger. If this person is neither my people nor Xavier’s, he must be Zyon’s.At that moment, Winnie wanted to draw her weapon, but the stranger was quicker than her. He probably planned this because he didn’t take action until I got close enough.Before Winnie could react, the stranger had already gotten her pinned to the ground.He wrapped his hands tightly around Winnie’s throat with a grimace, seemingly ready to choke her to death.Winnie tried to reach for the gun on her hips to save herself, but the stranger noticed it.He immediately pressed his knee on the woman’s hand to stop her.With the stranger’s hands tightening around her neck, Winnie could not get fresh air into her lungs no matter how wide she opened her mouth.Will I be choked to death here? Is today the day I die? Winnie did not think her life would end like that, but her suffocation was getting worse. She could not hear anything but her own heartbeat.With her eyes closed, Winnie wondered if that was the end of her and what she could do to turn her situation around.The woman did not hear anything, but suddenly, she could feel her face splashed with metal-smelling blood.Then, the pressure on her neck and body mysteriously left her.Winnie instinctively took a deep breath before opening her eyes to find Xavier before her.Before the woman could even utter a word, Xavier swiftly pulled her into his warm embrace.“It’s okay. I’m here.” After hugging Winnie tightly, Xavier wiped the blood off her face. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you reach the other side of the road with Rachel? You shouldn’t be here.”For some reason, tears began rolling down the woman’s cheeks the moment she saw Xavier. “Are you crazy? I can’t just leave you behind! Do you plan to keep playing dumb if I don’t say it out loud? You saved my life before, and you just did it again. Our lives are already bound together. You belong to me, and I belong to you, too. So how could I abandon you just like that?”“Really?” inquired Xavier while wiping Winnie’s tears away. “Are you serious?”“Why wouldn’t I be? Since when have you lost your confidence?”“Since the day I fell for you,” replied Xavier before sighing. “I must admit. I’ll probably be this way for the rest of