Silly Bride

Chapter 288

said, “Winnie, I won’t let you down.”His words warmed Winnie’s heart, and she subconsciously pursed her lips. “I know.”As she was on speaker with Wilhelm around, the two of them did not say much.Furthermore, Xavier did not wish to put Winnie in a tight spot, so their call did not last for long.After ending the call, Winnie said nothing else to Wilhelm.All she did was silently take out some gauze from the first aid kit before quietly wrapping up her wound.When Wilhelm saw that it was inconvenient for her to do it alone, he stepped forward, wanting to help her out.However, Winnie was a little upset with Wilhelm at the moment, so she avoided him.“Don’t be like this, Winnie. Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t ignore the injury on your hand. You can’t treat it by yourself.”Hearing that, Winnie paused in her tracks.As she looked at the brother she admired, she frowned. “So you know I’m mad, but you still did that.”Wilhelm hung his head to stare at Winnie for a moment before he crouched down in front of her.“All right, Winnie,” Wilhelm started in a much softer voice. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken your phone without your permission just now. Can you forgive me for my mistake?”“What?” Winnie arched a brow. “Is that all, Wilhelm? You’re apologizing because you took my phone without asking me about it? Is that all you’re apologizing for? Do you think it was fine for you to declare something without my knowledge and say those words to Xavier?”Wilhelm stared at Winnie for a while before rising to his feet. “Yes, if you look at this from my perspective, I think you’ll realize that I was right to do that.”Wilhelm was a man who commanded attention with his presence, and he was quite tall as well.His sudden change of position made the small motel room feel smaller and made the tension in the air increase.However, all Winnie did was furrow her brows. In the next second, she stood up as well.In a firm voice, she said, “I don’t accept your apology.”Wilhelm was livid. He was older than Winnie by nine years, and in a way, he had watched over her since young—he saw how she had transformed from a mentally challenged child to her current state.Yet, she was arguing with him for a man she only knew for a short time, and that made him feel sad.Thus, his tone turned forceful, and he even stopped speaking Chanaean.“Do whatever you want. Regardless of everything, that man has to gain approval from me and our grandparents. Even if you don’t care about how I feel, I’m sure you won’t risk a falling out with the family for a man, right? If not, rhat’ll be a foolish move!”With that, Wilhelm ignored Winnie’s hand injury and left without closing the door behind him.Winnie was rarely at the end of his stern scolding, so she rushed over to the doorway and slammed the door shut.Yet, just as she closed it, someone knocked on the door.With a frown, she pulled the door open and questioned, “Haven’t you left? Why are you back?”However, just as those words left her lips, a wave of awkwardness hit her.The one outside the room was not Wilhelm but Nathaniel.Nathaniel gave her a small smile. “Sorry, Winnie. It’s me. Maybe you’d like me to get Mr. Speiser back here?”“No need!” Winnie rejected it right away. “I was rude not to have told you about my departure earlier. Please excuse me for that.”“It’s fine.” Nathaniel then studied Winnie from head to toe before his gaze landed on Winnie’s injured hand.“I heard from the reception that they were sending a first aid kit to your room. How is your hand? I’m not sure if it’s fine for me to ask this or not, but is your injury related to Mr. Speiser?”“No.” Winnie knew that Nathaniel was worried about her, but she shook her head. “I accidentally knocked over a glass in my hurry. Wilhelm was the one who asked for the first aid kit. It was just that we had an argument after that. My injury is nothing serious.”“But it looks like it’s still bleeding. Do you want me to bandage it for you?” Nathaniel asked politely.However, Winnie shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about me. I can deal with this myself. You should work on your stuff instead.”Winnie did not invite Nathaniel in, so he remained outside. “But you might have some trouble bandaging it yourself. Maybe I should get a doctor for you?”“There’s no need for that.” Winnie lifted her brows. “Not at all.”Nathaniel chuckled and deliberately said, “Then you must think I’m too clumsy to even help. Why don’t I ask for one of the staff to help you out instead?”Winnie did not want to make things troublesome, so she invited Nathaniel in. “I just didn’t want to waste your time. I don’t think badly about you.”As Nathaniel wrapped up Winnie’s wound, the two of them chatted away.Nathaniel asked none of the questions he was not supposed to ask. He only asked Winnie when she was planning to leave.Glancing at her hand, she replied, “I’ll leave once you’re done bandaging me.”Nathaniel was surprised by her answer. “That soon? Are you going straight back to Avenport?”“No,” Winnie said. “I’m heading home first. I’ll only be going back to Avenport a few days later.”“Well…” Nathaniel began. “Coincidentally, I’m going home too, so let’s go together.”Winnie drew her brows together. “Didn’t you say you wanted to go mountain climbing?”“Yes.” Nathaniel shrugged before fixing his aqua-blue eyes on her. “I wanted to do that, but something personal cropped up, so I have to hurry back.Mr. Speiser looked angry just now. If you don’t feel at ease with his presence on your way back, at least you’ll still have me around. We’re friends, I can even carry your luggage for free.”“Well, let’s go then!” Winnie did not try to question him anymore at that.The two of them soon packed and left the place.Winnie, who had been keeping an eye on her surroundings, noticed that Wilhelm was nowhere to be found.Nathaniel, too, noticed it and commented, “It looks like Mr. Speiser has left. It seems like the argument you had with him earlier was quite bad.”Winnie frowned and huffed. “Who cares about him? We’ll go there ourselves.”Nathaniel nodded and helped Winnie open the door. He had already called for a cab to send them to the airport, and that car was waiting for them a short distance away.“That way. We’ll be taking that car to the airport.”Yet, just as Nathaniel put their suitcases in the trunk and was about to open the car door for Winnie, Wilhelm popped out of nowhere.He grabbed Winnie’s arm and grumbled, “Why aren’t you going into my car?”Winnie’s eyes went wide. “I thought you left.”At that, Wilhelm became angrier. “I came here to look for you, so how can I possibly leave alone?”Nathaniel never expected Wilhelm to stay in a car outside the motel the whole time either.However, when he noticed the tension between Winnie and Wilhelm, he stepped forward, thinking of clarifying things up.Yet, just as he started his sentence, Wilhelm glared at him. “Stay away from my sister!”“Wilhelm Speiser!” Winnie stared at her brother in dismay. “Why are you taking your anger out on my friend? Have you lost your mind?”Instead of replying to her, Wilhelm took Winnie’s suitcase from Nathaniel’s hands and pulled Winnie into his own car.Winnie did not struggle, for she did not want to drag the innocent Nathaniel into the mess.Nevertheless, once Winnie was in the car, she exploded. “You’ve really let me down today, Wilhelm. Are you still the brother I admired?”Just as Wilhelm began driving, his phone rang.He grabbed his phone and threw it on Winnie’s lap. “Pick up the call.”Not only was Wilhelm ignoring her, but he was even asking her to pick up the call for him. That irked Winnie.Still, when she saw that it was grandma who was calling, the wrath in her chest dissipated partially.She then put the call on speaker before switching to a tone as lighthearted as she could.“Grandma, it’s me, Winnie. Wilhelm’s driving right now.”“Oh, it’s you, Winnie.” Emily’s voice soon traveled out of the speaker. “It looks like your brother has picked you up. That’s great. Are you planning to come back now?”“Yes, we’re on our way to the airport. We’ll be back soon.”“How was your mountain climbing experience? Did you enjoy yourself?”“It was good, and I had fun.”“I’m glad to hear that. But, Winnie…” Emily abruptly lowered her voice. “I saw that a reporter posted a photo of you and Nathaniel. He even wrote suggestive things in the article. Did you go there together?”“What?” Winnie’s brows snapped together in shock, but she soon recomposed herself. “That’s so unprofessional of that reporter. Nathaniel and I noticed him sneaking shots of us, and I’ve asked him to delete the photos in person. I never thought he would make copies. I should have been warier. But Nathaniel and I only bumped into each other. Moreover, we’re just business partners and friends. It’s not like what they say. Grandma, you said you wouldn’t intervene in my marriage in the past. I—”“That’s enough,” Wilhelm interrupted. “We’ll talk about this when we’re home. Talking about this now will only affect my driving.”“You—”Emily could hear something amiss about the way the siblings were talking with each other, so she called out to Winnie. “Winnie, let me have a few words with you alone.”Winnie knew what her grandmother wanted, so she turned off the hands-free mode.That way, Wilhelm would not be able to hear what Emily had to say to her.“What is it, Grandma? I’m listening.”“Here’s the thing, Winnie,” Emily quietly started. “I sense the tension between you and Wilhelm. I’m sure he has expressed his thoughts about you and that Mr. Fairchild from Chanaea. You’re angry, and I’ve expected that. But Winnie, I hope you’ll be more understanding. Wilhelm isn’t the only one worried as your grandpa and I are worried too. We don’t wish to accept your marriage just like this because we don’t know Mr. Fairchild that well. That’s why I’m hoping that you’ll try to put yourself in Wilhelm’s shoes. He’s terribly worried that love has made you blind, and he’s anxious that you’ll be scammed and feel hurt afterward. He’s worried that Nathaniel has come to you because of your looks, and he’s worried that Mr. Fairchild wants to be with you because of your status. He might seem hostile toward Nathaniel and Mr. Fairchild, but he doesn’t really mean to do that. Maybe he’s a little too forceful about this, but I won’t take a stance as extreme as his. I just hope that you can arrange a meeting between Mr. Fairchild and us as soon as possible. We need to make sure that Mr. Fairchild is a good man.”It was the same concept, but Emily’s gentle explanation—which was completely different from Wilhelm’s style—made it much easier for Winnie to accept it.Subconsciously, Winnie turned to give a glance at her brother, her anger toward him no longer as intense.Emily was still explaining things to her, and she said many things to Winnie, who gradually figured out the worry Wilhelm felt about the possibility of his dear younger