Silly Bride

Chapter 290

bullets from a gun.On the other side, Emily could not help but nod approvingly at the screen. “This Mr. Fairchild is not half bad after all. Not only does he respect the relationship you two have, but he’s also a very sensible businessman. To tell you the truth, Winnie”—Emily fluttered her eyelashes at Winnie—“I believe Wilhelm’s three contracts are flawed. Mr. Fairchild knew he would face a great loss if he were to take a shortcut like that to attain success. Still, he showed himself to be a dependable man who’s not easily swayed by promises of quick success.”“Of course,” voiced Winnie with pride in her eyes. “After all, he’s the man I’ve chosen for myself. I’d never settle for someone lesser.”“You’re right to think like that. The fact that I chose to marry your grandfather all those years ago shows that I, too, have a good eye for men.”Emily and Winnie began chatting casually, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became more relaxed.However, that was quickly interrupted by Wilhelm, who stormed in with a grim face.Emily immediately lowered her voice when she saw how upset Wilhelm was.“I think he’s angry, and if I have to guess, it’s because of the contracts. Besides Mr. Fairchild, nobody has ever dared to tear his documents in front of him like that,” whispered Emily to Winnie.After glancing at Wilhelm, Winnie responded to Emily in a volume that she was sure only her grandmother could hear. “Wilhelm’s always been so proud. It’s time someone humbles him.”“My goodness! I think he gets enough humbling from you. If your husband’s anything like you, Wilhelm will lose it!” stated Emily with a chuckle.Even though Wilhelm could not clearly hear what Winnie and Emily were saying, he was sure that they were talking about him.With displeasure written all over his face, Wilhelm sat down across Winnie. “How do you like the result of your little test, my dear brother? As I said, Xavier doesn’t have an ulterior motive for being with me. You may find this hard to believe, but he fell for the broke, innocent woman I pretended to be at the beginning. Then he fell for the real me. None of that has anything to do with my identity as a Speiser,” said Winnie while leaning back in her chair.Wilhelm knew Winnie was right since the same thing happened to him.He, too, doted on the innocent and warm woman Winnie had pretended to be, and as time went by, he learned to love the real her.Although Wilhelm believed what Winnie said, it did not mean that his test for Xavier was over.He reached out to tap Winnie’s phone on the table and ordered with an uncompromising attitude, “Send Xavier a message.”“What kind of message?” asked Winnie, furrowing her eyebrows.“Send him your condominium address and have him meet you there,” replied Wilhelm.From Wilhelm’s tone, Winnie could tell that he was not finished, so she knitted her eyebrows even tighter. “And then what? I can go home afterward?”“Of course not. You’re going to tell him that you’re home, but you won’t actually be there.”“But why? Why do I have to lie to him like that?”“Because I’ve only tempted him with money. Who’s to say he’ll be just as adamant when tempted by beautiful women? I have to continue with my tests.”“Do you really think that’s necessary, Wilhelm?” inquired Winnie somewhat helplessly. “With his status, he can get almost any woman he wants in Chanaea. If you don’t mind me saying, I think this test of yours is pretty dumb. As Xavier said just now, not only are you insulting him, but you’re also insulting me.”“Winnie!” Wilhelm’s face darkened. “That’s such a harsh word; I’m not trying to insult you. As I said, this is just a test. You saw it yourself. He’s been nothing but courteous from the moment he entered the room; he spoke with carefully chosen words.”Emily agreed with Wilhelm, so she decided to persuade Winnie. “Why not? It’s a great thing that you and Xavier trust each other, but I don’t see how Wilhelm’s test will do any harm. Even those applying to be sanitation workers have to go through interviews and tests. We live in a world where trials and tests are almost unavoidable, so don’t worry yourself too much.”Winnie did not want to go along with what Wilhelm had in mind, but she sent the message anyway just so she could shut her brother up for good.After putting her phone down, Winnie uttered sternly, “This will be the last test! I still believe that he won’t betray me.”Xavier had just left the building when he received the text message from Winnie.He immediately called her, but she did not answer.Winnie simply sent Xavier another message, telling him she was waiting for him at her condominium.The man immediately got suspicious since Winnie could respond with a message but not answer his call.He quickened his pace, intending to reach Winnie’s condominium as soon as possible.Just when Xavier was about to hail a ride, a black convertible sports car suddenly stopped in front of him.Xavier looked through the car window and realized Nate was in the vehicle.When he sensed Xavier’s gaze, Nate immediately removed his sunglasses before smiling at his cousin. “Need a ride, Xavier? It’s free of charge.”“Where did you get this piece of junk?” complained Xavier while opening the car door.“Junk?” Nate’s jaw dropped when he heard that. “Did you seriously just call my Porsche a piece of junk? You’re not taking your anger out on me because somebody upset you, are you?”Xavier placed his suitcase in the back seat with a deadpan expression before rolling his eyes at Nate. “It doesn’t even have a proper place for my suitcase. What do you call it if not a piece of junk?”“Fine.” Nate put his sunglasses back on. “I knew I should’ve rented that Bentley instead. It was definitely cheaper. So where are we heading?”“Give me a moment.” Instead of telling Nate where to go, Xavier set their destination on the GPS of the vehicle.“That’s pretty far away. What is that place anyway?” inquired Nate after glancing at the screen.“That’s where Winnie lives now,” replied Xavier absently as he took his phone out to go through Winnie’s messages again.“I see,” responded Nate before moving on to another question. “Where did you go just now, and what did Winnie’s family say to you? They didn’t give you a hard time, did they?”“Focus on driving and stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” said Xavier without looking at Nate.The two kept quiet for a while before Nate suddenly started talking again. “Xavier, that’s where I rented the car. Should we get a new one since you don’t like this one?”“And why would we want to do that?” asked Xavier rhetorically after shooting Nate a look.“I’m just trying to be accommodating. Are we really not getting another one?” inquired Nate, unsure how best to respond to Xavier.To that, Xavier insisted, “That won’t be necessary.”“Okay, then. I guess we’ll stick with this convertible.”It started to rain not long after that.The place had unpredictable weather and would often be foggy in the morning, sunny at noon, and rainy in the afternoon.Xavier’s face turned as grim as death when raindrops began to fall on him. “Is there a reason why you haven’t raised the roof?”The rain was so heavy that Nate could barely keep his eyes open. “This model doesn’t have one. I did ask if you wanted to get another car, and you said no.”Xavier had thought he was lucky that he got a ride as soon as he left the building. But at that moment, he changed his mind.Nate drove as fast as he could and finally reached their destination after half an hour in the rain.When the two got out of the car, they were already soaking wet.Xavier pressed the doorbell, but no one responded.“Could she have gone out?” asked Nate as he wrung the corner of his shirt.Xavier took out his phone and discovered that Nate was right. Ten minutes ago, Winnie had sent him another message telling him that she had gone out and that he’d have to let himself in.Also in the message was Winnie’s passcode to open the door.Even though Xavier thought something was off, he opened the door and entered the condominium anyway.Nate wanted to go with him, but the latter stopped him.“You’re not welcome here. Go find yourself a hotel.” Xavier coldly shut the door on Nate before entering the house.Since every piece of clothing on him was drenched, Xavier took them off one by one as he moved.He was already half naked when he reached the