Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)
Chapter 160

The person outside Xavier's office seemed determined enough to knock down the door.

"Can I come in, Mr. Fairchild? There's some urgent business."

Winnie could not stand the persistent knocking any longer and left Xavier's embrace.

She said, "Let him in. It could be a complicated matter." At the same time, she straightened out Xavier's tie for him.

Despite his reluctance, Xavier agreed, caving to his principles.

He was the CEO of Fairchild Corporation, and he made sure he performed his duties responsibly while at work.

He knew when to prioritize his work over his identity as Winnie's husband.

Hence, Xavier strode to his desk and pressed a small button under the table, unlocking the office door. Winnie was dumbstruck. She asked, "Did you lock the door from the inside?"

"What do you think?" Smirking, Xavier added, "I don't want anyone to interrupt me while I'm cuddling you."

An exasperated Winnie asked, "Weren't we working just now? Or did you already have this all planned out?"

Xavier laughed in response. "Dumbo, I was the only one working. You were playing games. Plus, I have more foresight than to leave the door unlocked while you're around."

"Fine, you win." Winnie pouted good-naturedly and admitted, "I was playing games, and I'm going to continue playing it now. You can let your staff in.”

Then, she plonked herself back on the couch.

Xavier reluctantly retracted his gaze from his wife and called out to his employee outside.

"Come in."

The door opened from the outside.

Both Xavier and Winnie had expected Louis to come in, having recognized his voice earlier.

To their surprise, the first person who rushed into the room was Jacinta.

"Granny?" Stunned, Winnie leaped to her feet and asked, "Why are you here?"

"So you were here, Winnie!" Jacinta immediately approached her granddaughter and seized her wrist. "You told me you couldn't accompany me because you were busy with work. Were you with Xavier this whole time? How could you lie to me? I always thought you were pulling extra hours at the company until I saw the news on the Internet calling you the Vinnie Couple. There was also some livestream thing. That's how I knew you'd been cooped up in Fairchild Corporation for the past two days. What did you promise me in the past? You said you would cut off all ties with this man once you avenged your mother." Xavier was still standing beside them in the office. Winnie did not think he would be affected by her grandmother's words until she brought up the last bit about cutting ties with Xavier. She worried that it would agitate him.

The medication he was on tended to amplify every emotion he felt. It was all well and good if he was feeling positive emotions, but any hint of negative emotions could potentially spiral out of control and spur Xavier to harm others or even himself.

Sadly, though Xavier's mind was affected, his hearing clearly was not.

He had heard every single word of Jacinta's rant, and his expression darkened instantly.

Sadness and disbelief warred in his heart as he asked, "Dumbo, is your granny telling the truth?"

Winnie struggled to muster a reply. Eventually, she said, "Granny, things have become quite complicated. It's hard to explain everything in a few words. Why don't I talk to you somewhere else?" "Somewhere else?" Jacinta's grip tightened on her granddaughter's wrist as though fearing Winnie's escape. "Where do you want to go?"

Winnie furrowed her brows before shooting Louis a subtle glance. "Mr. Tanser, help me prepare an empty guest room."

"Sure!"

"Wait!" Jacinta frowned at her granddaughter and questioned, "Why can't we talk about this at home? Why do it on someone else's turf? I came here to bring you back. You're following me home right now!" "But Granny, I can't leave now." Winnie lowered her voice cajolingly. Sometimes, the elderly and children were equally clingy and difficult to persuade.

Jacinta insisted, "Why can't you leave? Those are your legs, not his. You can leave as and when you please."

"Granny, if you want to know the true reason, let's talk somewhere else."

"Stay right there!" Xavier stepped forward and blocked Winnie's path once he noticed she was leading Jacinta out of the office.

He demanded, "You still haven't answered my question. Was your granny telling the truth?"

"Of course I am!" Jacinta answered instead. She pulled Winnie behind her like a protective mother hen before continuing, "Why would I lie about such a thing? Tell him, Winnie!"

Winnie had voiced the possibility of divorce and splitting up with him before, and as long as Xavier had not forgotten that part of his memory, he would not have been surprised by Jacinta's words.

It had pained him back when Winnie first suggested breaking up.

Now that he had lost part of his memories, hearing the suggestion again would undoubtedly hurt Xavier again, even if those words were uttered by another person.

Xavier stared at Winnie and insisted, "Answer me. Now."

She sighed heavily despite having a reply ready in her mind. Regardless of how she answered, someone would be hurt.

Still, she refused to be indecisive or lie to Xavier and Jacinta.

Finally, as she tightly knitted her brows, Winnie replied somberly, "Xavier, I admit that I've said those words before, but that was in the past. People change, and I'm formally retracting my old statement. On that note, I never meant to lie to my granny either, and I have to explain to her why things have changed for me. Please trust me. I'll be away now for some time. I'm not asking for your permission; I'm merely informing you of my wish. Even if you're petty and refuse to let me go, I have to leave today. Do you understand?"

She conveyed her words with both sincerity and conviction.

Xavier's mind was a mess. He had no idea how he had fallen so hard for a woman nicknamed Dumbo, yet it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

He furrowed his brows and responded, "I won't stop you from leaving. Here, let me see you out."

"No, thank you!" Jacinta planted herself between the couple and declared, "We know the way out."

Then, she dragged Winnie with her and uttered, "You've really let me down, Winnie." Her hand was shaking with rage.

Winnie frowned lightly and coaxed, "Let's go, Granny. We'll talk about this at home."

As they left the office, Winnie attempted to break the tense silence between her and Jacinta.

Alas, her grandmother huffed pettily and turned away from her olive branch.

They stepped out of Fairchild Corporation, and Winnie prepared to hail a taxi. Suddenly, Jacinta spoke up.

"We don't need a taxi. Someone's here to fetch us. It's the black car over there." She pointed into the distance.

Winnie followed the direction of her finger and unwittingly frowned.

Her grandmother had pointed at a luxury vehicle with a car plate she did not recognize.

Why is Granny riding around in some stranger's expensive car? Who's the owner?

"Why are you daydreaming? Let's go." Jacinta tugged on Winnie's arm and asked disbelievingly, "Are you regretting your decision already?" "Granny, whose car is that?"

Jacinta did not answer her question and replied vaguely, "Well, you'll replace out when you get in."

Winnie was about to say something else when she was suddenly swarmed by a group of people.

They were clearly reporters, judging by the camera or microphone in each person's outstretched hand.

"W-What's going on?" The flashing cameras flustered Jacinta to no end.

Spying her grandmother's discomfort, Winnie hurriedly pulled Jacinta behind her and demanded, "What are you doing?"

“Ms. Garland, I'm a reporter from Orange News. Is it true that you're actually from Yartran and not a Chanaean?" Frowning, Winnie asked, "Who told you that?"

"So it is true? You aren't Chanaean?" another reporter piped up eagerly.

More questions ensued. "Did you know that Garland Group is as good as a national business of Chanaea? It has been around for decades. You forcefully took over the corporation from your biological father and changed the company forever. How do you plan on running Garland Group now? Will you turn this Chanean business into a Yartran business instead? Please answer the question, Ms. Garland." Winnie was perplexed.

She had no idea where these reporters had gotten their information from, and she hated the invasion of privacy.

Coldly, she replied, "That's nonsense."

She prepared to lead Jacinta away after her curt response.

Unfortunately, the sea of reporters and photographers surrounded them, preventing them from leaving.

A microphone almost hit Winnie in the face.

"Ms. Garland, everyone knows your business partner is Nathaniel, who's also a foreigner. He has helped foreign investors to obtain sizeable stakes in many corporations in Chanaea. Is your collaboration with him a sign of your future plans to sell Garland Group to foreign investors?"

Winnie frowned in displeasure, more from the uncomfortable proximity of the microphone to her face than the difficulty of the question.

Coldly, she stretched two fingers out and elegantly pushed the microphone aside.

Then, she declared, "Please have some professionalism. You're trying to interview me, not murder me with a microphone."

In fact, this is far more than an interview. Someone was livestreaming the entire incident.

They had already hired a slew of ghostwriters to post comments on the livestream. Thus, the livestream immediately attracted a crowd once it began.

The ghostwriters and trolls were already busy posting nasty comments: Get lost from Chanaea, you foreigner! Return our national corporation! Winnie Garland, get out of Chanaea! That was the gist of most of the comments.

After all, the ghostwriters had been paid off to turn the issue into a political and national saga.

They easily swayed any clueless netizens who chanced upon the livestream.

A small group of Winnie's supporters and shippers of the Vinnie Couple tried their best to defend Winnie. Alas, they were quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught of vicious comments. However, Winnie's exceptionally calm demeanor appeared to turn the tide.

She remained as serene as ever despite the reporters' questions. Her composed reaction, including labeling their allegations as nonsense, elegantly pushing away the microphone in her face, and pointing out the reporter's lack of professionalism, began to win over the livestream audience.

The comments ensued: Haha, oh my God, that was hilarious! What kind of a bossy female CEO is she?

Hahaha, right! What a perfect burn. That reporter is so unprofessional. How can you stick the microphone right in someone's face?

Yeah! Didn't he see the elderly woman beside Winnie? They're just snapping away with no concern for her wellbeing. Is it just me, or are Ms. Garland's fingers super pretty? Oh my God, they're gorgeous! They're so slender and pale.

Count me in! I am in love with her hands.

Hey, why is everyone crushing on her now? She hasn't even answered the reporters.

One of the ghostwriters quickly changed tack when they noticed public opinion shifting in Winnie's favor.

Someone commented: I'd advise you to search the livestream comments. There's clearly evidence that she's working for foreigners.

Yup. They even posted her foreign ID card.

That topic's trending on Twitter now.

Hmm... Mods, I think someone is bribing ghostwriters to slander Ms. Garland. The livestream started less than fifteen minutes ago. How can the topic of her nationality be trending on Twitter already? Yeah! You wouldn't replace this many viewers on a livestream breaking news of an A-lister's marriage scandal!

I had a feeling someone was trying to slander our dear Ms. Garland. Must we make life so difficult for a woman trying to build a business in this cutthroat world?

Winnie was blissfully unaware of the livestream's existence or everything that was unfolding on the Internet.

All she knew was that the reporters were upsetting her grandmother.

Firmly, she declared, "I'm open to answering all your burning questions, but please stop taking photos of my grandmother. I will arrange a suitable time and place for a professional interview. In fact, we can even have it at Garland Group if you don't mind."

One of the reporters continued blocking Winnie's path.

She smiled at him and said, "If you insist on such shenanigans, you might be better off losing that reporter's license and working at a factory instead."

Her words caused chills to run down the reporter's spine. He subconsciously cleared the path for her.

Just then, the owner of the black luxury car made his way to Winnie.

He was none other than Winnie's business partner, Nathaniel.

"Winnie, Mdm. Sumner, are you all right? Check this out!"

As he spoke, he passed his phone to Winnie.

Only then did Winnie realize everything that transpired earlier had been shared on the web through a public livestream.

Comments were flooding the livestream page at that moment.

A comment read: Look at how generous Ms. Garland is. She's even providing the space for a proper interview!

Please, what generosity? You should be praising her sharp tongue! My God, I had a good laugh over that!

Ms. Garland fears nothing.

The innocent will prevail. I believe in you, Ms. Garland.

Stop blindly supporting her. I saw her foreign ID card. It's legit. The truth is plain to see. All of you will eat your words tomorrow.

Winnie could not help but narrow her eyes when she read that comment.

Trying to nitpick my nationality, eh? Hmph!

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