Silly Bride

Chapter 374

instant she opened

the gauze, his eyes had been glued to Winnie’s face.When the gauze was taken away, he held his breath.Josiah was in no better state. Even his hands were trembling as he removed the gauze.It was an exceedingly simple matter, but it took several seconds longer than usual due to his overly ginger movements. That made the hearts of everyone in the room lodge in their throats.As he took off the gauze, he even started growing incoherent. “Okay, you can remove your eyes now. No, I mean, you can open your eyes now.”Hearing the man’s blunder, Winnie couldn’t help chuckling softly.The fact that she could still laugh at that time was synonymous with good news to everyone.They all reckoned that she must be able to see. Otherwise, it made no sense for her to be able to laugh.Winnie opened her eyes under the anticipation of the crowd.With a faint smile on her face, she stared right ahead.The person right across from her was none other than Xavier.Right then, Xavier stared at her motionlessly, his eyes shining with hope.He was so keyed up that even his voice quivered. “Can you see me, Winnie?”Once more, Winnie chuckled softly, tears shimmering in her eyes.Nevertheless, she didn’t answer that question directly. Instead, she said, “The flowers Greta brought me are sunflowers, and they’re in full bloom.”“Bingo!” When Greta heard that, she rushed up to her emotionally with the bouquet of flowers.She had wanted to personally hand the bouquet to Winnie.But at the thought that Xavier was also there, she gave it to the man instead.Joyfully, she squealed, “Here, Mr. Fairchild. You can gift it to Ms. Garland.”Rufus, Beatrice, Josiah, and all the medical staff present were over the moon that Winnie could see again.They all exclaimed about the successful surgery jubilantly.On the contrary, Xavier wasn’t quite convinced of the success of the surgery.Taking the flowers from Greta, he regarded Winnie while frowning deeply.For some inexplicable reason, he couldn’t shake off the feeling there was something off with her expression.Can she really see?He transferred the flowers to his left hand before saying to Winnie, “Here, this beautiful bouquet of sunflowers is for you.”Murmuring an acknowledgment, Winnie reached out straight ahead to take the flowers.Alas, all she grasped was empty air because the man had placed the flowers in his left hand.When she sensed nothing, she stilled slightly.Upon realizing that Xavier was testing her, she couldn’t help the tears from escaping her eyes.However, she quickly lifted her hands and wiped her tears. Chuckling dryly, she admitted, “Actually, I guessed by the smell. Although sunflowers don’t give off a strong fragrance, I can still smell them.”While saying that, she stretched out her hands toward Xavier.Xavier felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. He walked over and pulled her into his arms tremblingly. Burying her head in his chest, Winnie inhaled deeply before choking out, “Sorry, I was joking with you guys just now. In truth, I still can’t see anything. The surgery has failed.”She forcibly held her tears at bay. Conversely, tears promptly streamed down Xavier’s face although it was said that a man never cried.He was so distressed that he lost his voice. A long while passed before he uttered, “Don’t apologize, Winnie. Tell me you’re only joking now. I beg you.”“If you beg me, I can consider granting you your wish. But Xavier, I truly can’t see anymore. The surgery has really failed,” Winnie choked out.“How could this be? Isn’t the success rate of this surgery quite high?” As Xavier spoke, he lifted his eyes to Josiah behind Winnie.Josiah hastily jerked his head away and wiped the corners of his eyes. Then, he said to the others in the hospital room, “Old Mr. Fairchild, Officer Lockhart, please step out for a moment. We need to check Winnie over again.”“Sure! You must check her over carefully! The Fairchild family is willing to pay any price!” Rufus, likewise, panicked, finding it a pity that someone as good as Winnie had lost her eyesight.Soon, only Winnie, Xavier, Josiah, and the few medical staff were left in the observation room.The nurse brought a wheelchair over to wheel Winnie into the examination room again.In the face of that, Winnie declined. “No, it’s okay. I might not be able to see, but I can still walk by myself.”Ultimately, she was a prideful person. Xavier didn’t want her to be sad, much less injured, so he held her hand tightly.Ever since Winnie lost her sight, she had been trying her best to adapt to the pitch-black world.Despite being in an unfamiliar environment at present, she kept a moderate pace.In no time, they entered the examination room.Josiah even questioned the ophthalmologist unprofessionally, “Is it because the effects of the anesthetic haven’t passed yet?”Before the ophthalmologist could answer that, Winnie had already spoken ahead of him.Lying on the examination bed with her unfocused eyes looking up at the ceiling, she interjected, “Of course not. What are you saying, Dr. Houghton? The fact that I can’t see anything has nothing to do with the anesthetic.”When she said that, she distinctly felt Xavier’s grip tightening on her hand.She gave a soft chuckle. “It looks like you’re both more dismal and apprehensive than me. Thank you for the concern, but I don’t want to see you in such a state.”While she spoke, she stretched her other hand out in Josiah’s direction.Josiah instantly grabbed her hand and coaxed, “Actually, it’s okay, Winnie. We can still try the artificial cornea transplant. There’ll be a way in the end.”Hearing that, Winnie burst out laughing. “Gosh, are you listening to yourself? Josiah, my problem lies in my retinas and has nothing to do with my corneas.”“Y-Yes, it’s the retina! How silly of me!” Josiah took a deep breath before continuing, “I meant to say the retina. I remember that an old friend of