Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)
Chapter 90

"Get lost!" Zyon waved his arm in an attempt to stop Winnie from approaching him. Josiah reacted quickly. He glanced at both sides and pretended not to see Winnie.

"Who are you talking to, Mr. Fairchild?" he asked Zyon in surprise. "Why are you seated on the ground all of a sudden? You have not fully recovered, so you can't just sit on the ground as you please."

Zyon was about to lose his mind. He pointed at Winnie as he backed away. "Are you blind? Can't you see her?"

Josiah deliberately glanced behind him. "Who are you talking about? I can't see a thing. Do you see anyone, Mr. Tanser?"

"Er..." Louis gave a dry cough. Though he felt uncomfortable telling a bald-faced lie, he was very accommodating. "No, I don't see anyone at all."

"Let's go. Help me up!" Zyon had received a curse several years ago in a small country in Southeast Aploth, so he was wary about supernatural matters.

He clutched onto the caretaker's leg and ordered the latter to take him away. This is a hospital. Hospitals are cursed.

Winnie was speechless with surprise as she did not expect Zyon to be scared so easily. That was a spontaneous idea. I haven't even begun to dig in, and he's already in such a state.

The caretaker helped Zyon up, and the door to the ward opened from within just as they were about to leave.

Rufus' butler emerged from the ward and glanced at the crowd in the corridor. "Dr. Houghton, Mrs. Fairchild, and Mr. Zyon, Old Mr. Fairchild requests your presence."

"All right," said Josiah.

"Okay," responded Winnie.

Zyon regained his senses when Winnie spoke. "You're not dead? You're not a ghost! You were messing with me, aren't you? The three of you are ganged up against me in a deception!"

Josiah smirked. "As the saying goes: 'One need not have anything to fear if one has a clear conscience.' Have you been up to no good that you're this frightened in broad daylight, Mr. Zyon? I presume you have something to do with your cousin's disappearance some time ago."

Zyon glared ferociously at him. "Stop accusing me, or I'll sue you for slander!"

Josiah raised his eyebrows. "Then I'll await the letter from your lawyer, Mr. Zyon."

Without another word, he escorted Winnie into the ward.

Zyon was worried that Winnie would run her mouth to Rufus, so he quickly called for the caretaker to help him overtake them and enter the ward before they did.

He was already engaged in conversation with Rufus when Winnie and the rest entered.

They found him putting on an act before his grandfather. "I've just seen Winnie, Grandpa. She's back. Did you know about this?"

"I do," Rufus lamented as he nodded. "Louis already told me Xavier had been looking for Winnie before his disappearance. Though Winnie has made it back, there's still no news of him. Poor Xavier." "Oh, Grandpa." Zyon pretended to wipe away a tear. "Maybe Xavier isn't meant for this world. He became paralyzed after his car accident last year and nearly did not regain consciousness. I'm afraid his chances are slim with him lost out in the vast world. However, Grandpa, you still have me even if Xavier is gone. I'll be by your side from now on. There will be no place but Avenport for me for the rest of my life. I know I'm inferior to Xavier in every way, but I swear to work hard to fill his shoes. I believe that I will become as good as him one day."

"As for Winnie," Zyon concluded as he gazed at Winnie with feigned pity, "I will care for her as Xavier treasured her so."

"Oh, Zyon." Rufus sighed. His eyes turned red as he patted the former's arm. "You are the only grandson I have left now with Xavier gone. Can you really fill your cousin's shoes at the helm of Fairchild Corporation?"

"Don't worry, Grandpa! I am your grandson. You are a giant amongst men, and I, Zyon, will not prove myself incapable! I will be up for the task of leading Fairchild Corporation." Though his expression was grim, Zyon was inwardly delighted.

Rufus' resilience weakened as time went on. Initially refusing to believe Xavier's demise, he appeared to have entirely accepted it then.

He even relented to have me take Xavier's place! Excellent! Truly excellent!

However, a voice of objection rang out at that moment.

"Mr. Fairchild." Louis gazed gravely at Rufus. "You can't just hand the position over to Mr. Zyon before Mr. Xavier is found. He is completely unfamiliar with the company's operations."

"Hold your tongue!" Zyon interjected loudly. "This decision has been made by the members of the Fairchild family. Who are you to object? Is this your place to speak?"

"How dare you!" Louis was so angry that his chest puffed up, and he decided to go all out. "The truth is, Mr. Fairchild, I suspect Mr. Xavier's disappearance to have something to do with Zyon, and I have reasor to believe he paid a private investigator to leak the false news to lure Mr. Xavier out to sea, which is where he met the accident."

"Preposterous! What evidence do you have? I think you're just looking out for yourself. You're afraid to lose the position of assistant to the CEO, so you're smearing my name."

"I am not!" Louis flushed red instantly. "Mrs. Fairchild can attest to the fact that you are a murderer who would risk the lives of others for your own end!"

"Oh?" Zyon was amused. "She's a simpleton. What can she prove?"

"Tell the Chairman, Mrs. Fairchild. Tell him what you went through that night!" Louis begged Winnie.

Winnie pursed her lips. Her wide, discerning eyes filled with tears immediately as she trotted to the side of the bed.

"I didn't become lost on my own, Grandpa Rufus," she said forlornly to the old man. "It was that meanie, Zyon, and my sister. They were the ones who pushed me off the cliff, and I almost fell to my death. Oh, it hurt! My arms and legs hurt. My whole body hurts."

"What did you say?" Rufus gaped at Winnie before turning to Zyon. "Zyon pushed you off the cliff? You are a good girl, Winnie. Good girls tell no lies, do you understand?"

"Yes, I know. Children who lie will grow long noses. My nose did not grow, so I'm not telling a lie." As Winnie spoke, big drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

The stupid woman's tears contain venom. Zyon cussed inwardly while watching Rufus swayed by several words from Winnie.

"Did Louis bribe you?" Zyon asked Winnie at once. "I didn't see you at Grandpa's birthday party, and I'm not even acquainted with your sister. How could I have joined forces with her to harm you? At least think through your lie before telling it!"