Silly Bride

Chapter 87

Winnie arched a brow. “Are you not busy? I’ve been busy with my plans ever since I got off the boat and came to shore.”“Do you miss me?” Xavier asked longingly, wanting to hear from her lips that she missed him as well.Alas, Winnie did not share his sentiments. “I told you I was busy, so I didn’t have time to think about you,” she told him honestly.On the other end of the line, Xavier said naught a word. Though the silence only lasted for a few seconds, it was an awkward silence.The disappointment was written all over Xavier’s face, but he quickly regained his composure and flashed a goofy smile.Gazing at her, he implored, “Winnie, trust me. You will say that sentence to me one day willingly.”Winnie burst into giggles when she saw how stubborn he was. “We shall see. I like seeing your confidence,” she responded calmly.Xavier scrunched up his brows. “Are you laughing at me?”“No, I’m not.” Winnie shook her head.Xavier retorted, “Fine. I have a question for you. After returning home, you weren’t thinking about me. You didn’t even bother calling me to tell me you’ve arrived home safely. Who were you talking to on the phone?”By the time his question ended, Winnie could sense the change in his tone.His initial concern was long gone, and he sounded as though he was questioning her as his voice tensed.Winnie knitted her brows. For the past ten years, she managed to gain everyone’s respect with her effort and capabilities. She had worked all the way to the top.No one had ever talked to her this way, breathed down her neck, or tried to control her every action. No one had the guts to do that.Displeased, she said, “Xavier, I allowed you to court me. That doesn’t mean we are at the stage where we share our secrets with one another. To prevent any misunderstandings, I think I should tell you I was talking to Captain Bennett from the Narcotics Enforcement Department earlier. It’s his job to gather evidence to arrest Yulissa, Zyon, and those involved in the case. We should cooperate with him as he investigates the matter. Since we’re now on the topic, I need your help with something.”Winnie was as arrogant and confident as a queen. Suddenly, Xavier’s urge to win over her heart completely grew stronger.His heart was thumping as he answered, “Go ahead.” He did not even realize how infatuated he sounded now.“I need to investigate a courier company. The narcotics officers suspect Zyon used the company previously. Ask Louis to contact me.”“Sure. Should we chat a bit more?”Since

the atmosphere from the beginning had vanished, Winnie was no longer in the mood to talk to him. “No. I’m tired, so I’d like to go to bed. You should go to bed too so your leg can recover faster.”“Okay.”After switching off the lights, Winnie climbed into bed. She tossed and turned but could not fall asleep.The entire bed smelled strongly of Xavier.Ugh, the bed smells of the b*stard. I should’ve picked a guest room and slept there. But the bed in the master bedroom looked really comfortable.Perhaps she had missed the optimum time to fall asleep, for she was not sleepy at all.As she could not sleep a wink, she got up and called Nathaniel.Nathaniel had to keep in touch with many overseas contacts, so he kept odd hours despite arriving in Chanaea a while ago.As Nathaniel answered her call almost immediately, she presumed he was still working at this hour.“Hello, Vinnie. You finally remember your partner, huh?” Nathaniel had given her the nickname “Vinnie.” “I’m sorry. I ran into trouble recently and didn’t stay in touch for the past few days,” Winnie told him.“Oh, I should be apologizing. You don’t know which will arrive first, trouble or tomorrow. Are you all right now?”“Yes, I’m fine,” Winnie assured him.“Great. It might be half past four in the morning, but I think you won’t be sleeping anytime soon. Are you interested in reading a proposal about Garland Group?” Nathaniel asked earnestly.“Of course. I want to talk to you about Garland Group, too. Send me the file, and I’ll read it now,” Winnie responded.She put on her jacket and strode out of Xavier’s house, heading to her own house one floor below Xavier’s unit. Her laptop and other equipment were there.She had no idea that Xavier called her again after claiming she wanted to go to bed, but then she could not fall asleep. His call came when she was talking to Nathaniel on her phone.It was a different situation this time. Earlier, Xavier made a WhatsApp call. Thus, her phone showed his missed calls.As she was currently in the middle of a call with Nathaniel, her phone did not notify her about the missed calls.Not knowing that Xavier had called her, Winnie threw herself into work.On an island a few hundred kilometers away, Xavier fell into deep thought after being told by the automated voice that Winnie’s line was currently busy.She’s a liar. She’s lying to me. Who is she talking to this time?Back at her own place, Winnie switched on her laptop and downloaded the file Nathaniel sent her.She glanced at the companies and subsidiaries that belonged to Garland Group and deleted a few names before sending the edited document back to Nathaniel.“Don’t touch all the ocean freight, shipping, travel, logistics, and courierNôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

companies that are connected to Garland Group,” she ordered.“Why?” Nathaniel could not understand her decision. “Garland Group’s shipping company is doing quite well. It also works with a number of travel companies. Their ocean freight service is pretty profitable, too. Why are we giving them up?”“I suspect Hamish might use the ships and the tourists traveling abroad to smuggle and transport drugs overseas. It’s an international syndicate. We can’t touch that in Chanaea,” Winnie revealed.“Do you have a trusted source or solid evidence?” Nathaniel was not about to give up on gaining profit quickly, as it was right before their eyes.Winnie did not have solid evidence connecting Garland Group to the matter, but it was suspicious how Kylie ended up with Zyon quickly. That night, Zyon, Yulissa, and Kylie appeared at the same time on the mountain.Zyon and Yulissa were talking about drugs when Kylie was right beside them. She was not a fool; she obviously understood what their conversation was about.After Xavier took over Fairchild Corporation, he instantly revoked Stuart’s position and power. Stuart would definitely figure out another way to regain his control.Thus, Winnie speculated that Stuart had already started a collaboration with Hamish so he could use the latter’s shipping company to carry out illegal businesses.“Nathaniel, do you trust me?” Winnie asked.Without hesitation, Nathaniel replied, “Ms. Gator, you’re everything to me. Of course I trust you.”“Good. Listen to me. Hamish will take care of his mess and bear the responsibility for his actions. I just need to take back what he owed me.”“What? Does he owe us anything?” Nathaniel was confused.Winnie reiterated, “He owes me.” He owes me, my mom, and my little brother, a fetus with a heartbeat in her womb. He never got the chance to see the world for himself.