Thatâs Xavierâs voice. Winnie easily recognized it in a heartbeat.Still, she was rather surprised, for as far as she knew, Xavier had always been an egoistic and conceited individual.Back at Aqua Moana, both of them had already cleared things up with each other. Xavier had even warned her not to appear in his sight ever again.Because of that, she presumed that it had come to a parting of ways between them, so she had never thought of counting Xavier in when she sent the Fairchild family an invitation.Not even in a million years would she expect Xavier to show up uninvited.Nevertheless, Winnie wasnât delusional. In a flash, she connected the dots and reached a conclusion herself.This has to be Grandpa Rufusâ arrangement. He must still be finding ways to matchmake Xavier and me.At the thought of that, she secretly let out a chuckle.She figured that as one aged, the person would eventually grow to enjoy playing matchmaker. Jacinta, for one, also acted in a similar fashion.Her grandmother had been nagging at her for several days already, urging her to invite Christopher over for a meal.However, Winnie was too busy to free up any of her precious time to plan such an agenda.She took a step back and allowed Xavier to pull open the car door.As soon as the car door was open, Rufus stepped out of the car with the support of both Winnie and Xavier.âSplendid!â Rufus seemed impressed as he cast a gaze at Winnie, who was clad in an immaculate, stunning evening gown.âYouâre a very gracious improviser, Winnie. I heard youâve done an awesome job at restructuring Garland Group.
Youâre really an outstanding young lady. Iâm rooting for you!ââThank you for the compliment, Grandpa Rufus. It means a lot to me!â Winnie carefully held his hand and walked with him, wearing a bright grin as she prompted, âThis way.âThe more Rufus looked at Winnie, the more delighted he became. âYouâre really one fine lady. You donât need to be so modest when youâre with me, you know. Just be yourself!âDuring the exchange, one of the reporters approached them out of nowhere, pleading with them ever so courteously, âOld Mr. Fairchild, Mr. Fairchild, Ms. Garland, Iâm sorry to intrude, but could I take a group photo of you all?ââSure.â Considering that Rufus was in a pretty good mood that night, he happily obliged the reporterâs request on the spot.Be that as it might, Xavier had always disliked taking pictures. The second he heard his grandfather agree in his stead, a look of displeasure marred his visage instinctively.However, as Xavier tilted his head to sneak a peek at Winnie standing on the other side of Rufus, he found that the woman had dolled herself up, and she looked especially eye-catching that night. Out of the blue, a sudden burst of desire overwhelmed his heartâhe actually wished to have the photo taken.Sheâs enticing to the core tonight. I must freeze this moment in time.Xavier couldnât be bothered about the purpose of the reporters wanting to have their photos taken at that time, for he wanted it to be regarded as their family photo.He then slipped into deep thought momentarily before hanging his head low to whisper something in his grandfatherâs ear.Listening to Xavierâs idea, Rufus unwittingly glanced at the former. Following that, Rufus bobbed his head in acknowledgment.Soon enough, the trio stood at the spot designated by the reporter, and Rufus quietly swapped places with Xavier.With that, the person standing next to Winnie suddenly turned out to be Xavier instead of his grandfather.Winnie didnât anticipate Rufus to pull off such a trick just to set her and Xavier up. She was amused by Rufusâ act on the inside; on the outside, though, she remained as calm as a toad in the sun as she cooperated with the parade of reporters to have the photo captured.All of a sudden, a cold breeze wafted past her exposed shoulder and arms in her one-shoulder dress. She couldnât help but feel a shiver run down her spine.The next second, a warm suit jacket was draped over her shoulders. It was Xavier who had slid his jacket on her.Upon noticing that scene, the reporters and cameramen began to press the shutter button relentlessly.A frown was then etched on Winnieâs mien because of that.That would be logical, for her impression of Xavier had never been excellent. That man possessed a prideful character, and he was full of himself. Of course, he could be thoughtful and caring at times, but he was definitely not a gentleman.We already broke up, so whyâs he acting so considerate toward me and even putting his jacket on me? Worst still, I didnât even ask for that!Baffled, Winnie hurled a perplexing look at Xavier. The latter knitted his brows, seemingly dissatisfied with that gaze of hers.Lowering his head, he muttered to her ear, âWhy are you looking at me like that? Donât you know the night is bound to get chilly? Why didnât you wear a shawl?âWinnie was bereft of speech.Indeed, Xavier was far from close to being a chivalrous man. Not with those words that escaped from his lips would he ever become one.Winnieâs smile turned awkward as she replied under her breath through gritted teeth, âThatâs none of your business.âJust as she was about to remove the suit jacket from her shoulders, Xavier grabbed her wrist there and then.âDonât do it in front of the media. Youâd only end up dragging both of our familiesâ reputations through the mire!âWinnie was upset to death. âYou shouldnât have used so much strength to stop me either way. Youâre hurting me.âThis guy must be holding a grudge simply because I rejected him. Why did he still put his jacket on me, then? What a pretentious man!Xavier lost himself in his thoughts temporarily upon hearing Winnieâs complaint.He didnât realize that he had exerted brute force. Did I just have a screw loose again?His condition appeared to have escalated, so much so that he even began to experience short-term memory loss.He would abruptly forget what he had just done a minute ago each time his mind acted up.Is it true that Iâve applied too much force on her just now? But why?Right at that juncture, Xavierâs mind became a little hazy. He couldnât seem to recall a thing.As those thoughts popped into his head, Xavier suddenly got frustrated.What the heck is happening to me? How can I ever rid myself of this nuisance?Taking a deep breath, he fished out his phone. âIâve got to make a call!â His tone reeked of naught but impatience.As soon as he dropped the sentence, he walked off right away. Winnie didnât even have the chance to return the jacket to him.The moment Xavier left the spot, the horde of reporters stepped forward and started to toss questions at her.âMs. Garland, rumor has it that your marriage with Mr. Fairchild is going through a crisis. Is it true? Does that mean you two are putting on a show in front of the public a while ago?âWinnie furrowed her brows, listening to that. âWhich media company are you from? How can you openly probe into my affairs like this?ââI represent Avenport Times, Ms. Garland. The arranged marriage between the Fairchild and Garland families is a massive event itself in Avenport. Could you provide a response to that claim?âBefore Winnie could get a word off her mind, Rufus was the first to pipe up, âThereâs no such thing. You lot are the ones working in the media industry, so youâd better not circulate baseless rumors like that since itâs a rather negligent act to do, donât you think? Anyway, I think weâve been delayed long enough here. Itâs time for us to head inside.âSince Rufus had already put it that way, Winnie figured she shouldnât point anything out, for it was better to leave some things unsaid.All she could do was shoot the audience a stern countenance. âToday is Garland Groupâs fiftieth-anniversary celebration. I sincerely hope that you all would shift your focus to tonightâs gala.âEven so, gossip and entertainment news would never fail to garner more attention than they deserved.The ceremony wasnât even halfway through, but the news of Xavier draping his jacket over Winnieâs shoulders at the banquet hallâs entrance, the exchange of disgusted looks between the duo, and all sorts of assertions about how their marriage was actually broken quickly spread like wildfire.What was even more interesting was that somebody unveiled Winnieâs flirtatious behavior and intimate moments with her foreign business partner, Nathaniel, by uploading a video clip onto an official webpage.In that clip, the man was giving Winnie a massage session on the shoulders while smiling dotingly. As for Winnie herself, she was evidently enjoying the moment that even her eyes were narrowed to slits.Both of them were talking in Ustranasion, but their voices were too soft to be audible.
Even though the video failed to record the conversation, their expressions alone showed that they were chattering joyfully.The curtain hadnât even been drawn on the banquet, yet almost everyone had already received a push notification of such news on their phones.After Xavier ended the call with Josiah, the former, too, was greeted by that very news on his phone.Watching the clip where Nathaniel was massaging Winnieâs shoulders, Xavier could feel the annoyance within him intensify in an instant.
The veins on the back of his hands even bulged from all the negative emotions he was experiencing.