Silly Bride

Chapter 275

never return.But how was that possible?Winnie gave Xavier a smile. “Don’t overthink it. I still love you, Xavier. I will come back.”Winnie’s abrupt declaration of love washed away the anxiety in Xavier’s heart.He looked into her eyes and said, “I love you too, Winnie. I’ll wait for you to come back no matter how long you take.”Winnie parted her lips, but she did not know what to say to him.His words reminded her of the way she had told him to wait for her to return and send him to the hospital back in the forest.Back then, he was about to give up, but to calm her down, he still promised to wait until she returned.Later on, she did return with Yulissa’s car, but what happened after that was something he did not wish for.Winnie wanted to hug Xavier one more time, but the thought of Christopher stopped her from doing that.Instead, she smiled at him and said, “Okay. I’ll be on my way now, then.”With that, she averted her gaze from Xavier.When she stepped out of the ward, she was startled by the person sitting outside.However, upon realizing that the person was none other than Josiah, she let out a sigh of relief.They took one look at each other, and she asked, “You were outside the entire time?”“Yeah,” Josiah said with a slight frown. “I was worried that the two of you would get into a fight, so I stuck around for a little longer. Since you’re both all right, I’ll make a move first.”With that, Josiah wheeled himself toward the other end of the corridor.“Wait!” Winnie hastily caught up to Josiah. “Where are you going? I’ll take you there.”Josiah was still angry with Winnie after the argument, but amusement took over that anger when Winnie suddenly came over and offered to push his wheelchair.“Forget it. Why don’t you look at what state you’re in right now? You’re partially incapacitated too, you know? Take a look at your hand. How are you going to bring me around?”By then, the anger in Josiah had fully dissipated as a touch of laughter laced his voice.Winnie chuckled. “The pot’s calling the kettle black. Look at your leg. You’re in a wheelchair, but you’re saying that I’m partially incapacitated?”“All right.” Josiah lifted his head to glance at her. “Let’s stop taking jabs at each other.”“Okay, let’s not,” Winnie agreed before coming to a stop in front of Josiah.Josiah looked up at her. “What’s the matter?”Winnie pressed her lips tightly together before uttering sincerely, “I was too harsh with my words back at the ward. I hope you won’t take it to heart. We’re friends, and I know that I have a deeply flawed character. I hope you’ll forgive me for my mistakes.”Truth be told, Josiah had already forgotten about it after the laugh earlier.“You don’t need to apologize to me, Winnie. If I look at this from a different angle, I’d be happy if you were to stand up for me when someone says something bad about me.”Winnie nodded. “Let’s go, then. Where do you want to go?”Josiah hummed in agreement before wheeling himself toward the elevator. “I’ll be going to the office. What about you?”Winnie replied without missing a beat, “I’ll be leaving the hospital.”Josiah froze. “No, wait. Are you really going back to Yartran? I heard a little when I was outside, but I didn’t hear everything.”“Oh.” Winnie’s forehead creased. “Yes. I have something to settle, so I have to take a trip back. By the way, do you have your phone with you?”“I do. Do you need to use it?”“No, it’s fine. It’ll be the same if it’s you who contacts Louis. Get him to clean up the ward.”“All right.” Josiah then fished out his phone and typed a message to Louis.As he tapped away on the screen, he asked Winnie, “When will you come back?”This time, Winnie gave a vague answer. “I’m not sure yet. We’ll see after I go back.”Josiah inclined his head. “Maybe you can’t see him the way you used to before everything happened, but Winnie, remember this: no matter what happened, he didn’t mean it.”“I know.”“It’s good that you’re going back for a while too. Time is the best medicine for everything; it’ll wash away all the pain.”Right as Josiah said that, Louis responded.Josiah waved his phone in front of Winnie. “Remember to call us when you’re there. I know you’re feeling terrible right now, but Xavier’s feeling bad too.”“I know, so I’ll be counting on you to watch over Xavier.”Josiah glanced at Winnie. “Do I need you to remind me that?”While they were chatting, the elevator doors opened, and the two of them went in.Winnie helped Josiah press the floor button he was heading to.However, Josiah reached out to undo it. “Let me send you to the first floor.”Winnie made no move to reject him. There was already a car waiting for her downstairs.“By the way,” Josiah started upon contemplation, “have the police found Christopher?” What Josiah actually meant was Christopher’s body, but he did not wish to mention that so directly to Winnie.Winnie shook her head. “I’ve asked them about it, and they said they couldn’t find him.”“Then…” Josiah trailed off.Winnie lowered her gaze. “Just say whatever that’s on your mind. It’s not your style to keep things in.”“All right.” A deep line appeared between Josiah’s brows. “Then be honest with me. Is it true that you’re going back to Yartran?”“Of course it’s true.” Winnie gave Josiah a confounded look. “Where else did you think I was going?”Josiah studied the expression on Winnie’s face and asked, “Are you really not planning to head to Yeringham to look for Christopher?”Winnie tensed up for a moment before letting out a chuckle.She raised her arm, which was still in a cast, and said, “Do I look like superwoman to you? If I go over now, Harold’s going to beat me until I turn to mush. It’s true that I thought about that before because I promised Christopher to bring his body back to his home country. I want to fulfill my promise to him, but I know now’s not the time. I may not be able to bring back all of him, but even if it means bringing some of his ashes or a bone of his home, I’ll still do it when the opportunity comes.”Just then, the elevator doors opened with a ding.Winnie stepped out before turning back to Josiah. “You don’t need to send me all the way out. Rest well and recover, and visit my granny if you have the time.”Josiah nodded. He only closed the elevator doors once Winnie was gone from his line of sight.Right as Winnie got into the car, the driver passed her a phone.“Ms. Garland, I’ve already gotten the reissued phone number per your request.”Winnie hummed in acknowledgment before taking the phone.Without missing a beat, she called Mason.However, unable to get through to him, she called Lucas instead, for Lucas was the one who had made the arrangements for the mercenary team Mason was leading.Lucas told her that he had already sent the final payment to the team, but by then, Mason was no longer the one contacting him.It was only then Winnie recalled seeing