The fragrance wafting off Winnie was too sweet and enticing that Xavier was entirely hooked.âWhy donât we⦠push the press conference back?â he coaxed in a deep voice.Winnie was promptly dumbfounded. Bending her knee, she slammed it into the manâs stomach. Although she didnât put much strength into it, she definitely wasnât playing around either.âYou must have gone mad! A little poison turned you into a man who thinks with his lower body!âThe mere thought of it had her seeing red. If he were to behave thus in the past, she would have long since kicked him away.But presently, after having experienced so much together, she was suddenly a tad reluctant to do so. After all, hurting the man brought her distress.Even when she kicked him just now, she barely put any strength into it.Xavier evidently never expected her to treat him in such a manner. Immediately, the blazing fire in his eyes died out by half.At the same time, a shudder ran through him. If her knee had hit me a little lowerâ¦âDo you know what youâre doing, Dumbo? Hmm?â Xavier hissed through gritted teeth.âWhat?
Lighting your fire? Do you want to say that Iâm responsible for extinguishing the fire I lit?â Winnie huffed.âD*mn it! Do you know you almost maimed your husband?â Xavier frowned, appearing savage and menacing. However, he didnât do anything further.Winnie shook her head defiantly. âNope. I only know that Iâll be maiming you for real if you dare mess up the press conference.âAt her provocation, Xavier wore an expression of disbelief. âDumbo! Donât you think youâre being too arrogant?âPushing him away, Winnie straightened her slightly disheveled hair before the mirror. âHah! There was something I kept hidden from you in the past, but itâs too late to tell you now, even though I want to.ââWhat is it?â Xavier, who had been pushed away, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He wore a devilish smile on his face. âDo you want to tell me that you love me irrevocably? You can still voice it out now. Itâs not too late.âWhen Winnie heard that, her eyes went wide in the mirror, and she snapped her head up in astonishment.Love him irrevocably? How exaggerated!She was a tad speechless. âHaha, you think too highly of yourself. What I want to say is, itâs a pity that youâve now lost your memories and forgot that you once had a broken leg.âAt the mention of the memories he lacked, Xavierâs brows creased. âWhat? I once had a broken leg, you said?âWinnie flashed him a grin. âYes.
But thatâs not the point.ââOh?â Xavierâs expression darkened. Never mind that I donât remember that having happened, but even if itâs true, why is she smiling so widely?Sheer chagrin swamped him, and he grew utterly disgruntled.âGet to the point, then!ââThe point isâ¦â Winnie deliberately created suspense.Stepping up to him with wet hands, she wiped them repeatedly on his dry shirt.Xavier didnât bother stopping her even until the water droplet on her hands were all dried.Withdrawing her hands, Winnie tugged on his necktie and brought his head down to her level. Then, she arrogantly whispered into his ear, âThe point is⦠it was actually me who broke your leg.âXavier narrowed his eyes a fraction.
âYou donât quite look as though youâre joking.âChortling, Winnie dropped her hold on him. âWhat do you think?âAfter saying that, she opened the door and walked out. A few steps later, she added, âKeep up!âXavier lowered his head and glanced at the distinct palmprints on his waist. He chuckled soundlessly.Soon, however, the smile on his face disappeared. He instinctively touched his left leg. My calf indeed throbs sometimes. Could it be that it was really broken once?At the press conference, Fairchild Corporation should have been the star of the day.Right then, however, the journalists present had obviously shifted the focus of the interview to Winnieâs segment thereafter.In truth, they had already started formulating their questions since they received news from Louis that Winnieâs question-
and-answer segment had been changed to a live broadcast.They had also cut back many of the mediocre questions they prepared for Fairchild Corporation, all geared up as they waited to âmake life difficultâ for Winnie.Sure enough, after Winnie gave her first response, a reporter with malice written all over his face rushed to fire off his question.âMs. Garland, you claim that your arrest at the airport was merely a misunderstanding, but from the photos that leaked out, the police did find drugs in your briefcase. According to your statement, Dr. Houghton was the one who requested that you send them abroad for medical research purposes, so it was an exceedingly important matter. Since itâs such a crucial matter, why didnât you make preparations in advance and get all the documents in order? I believe that you wouldnât make such a rookie mistake when youâre so meticulous and intelligent. In light of that, can the public assume that Dr. Houghton is merely an excuse of yours and that you employed certain tricks in hopes of fooling the police?âThat question was incredibly caustic, not allowing one the slightest retreat.As Josiah stood and listened at the side, he couldnât help breaking into a cold sweat on Winnieâs behalf when he heard that question.Xavierâs brows knitted together, and even Louis was prepared to âescortâ the journalist out anytime.However, Winnie merely smiled. Her adaptability was remarkably strong.Not only did she give an impeccable answer, but she even placed the ball into the journalistâs court.Besides, she was also directing her words to a certain someone.âNaturally, I prepared all the documents in advance. I also never thought of fooling the police. But I was in the open while someone else was working in the dark. He wished to stab me in the back, catching me off guard. You might laugh at me when I say this, but Iâm the kind of person who values my life over all else. Under the circumstances at that time, I was utterly afraid that someone would rush out and plunge a knife into me.
It went without saying that following the police back to the police station was the safest course of action for me in such a situation. I handed the rest to my lawyer, for heâs more well-versed in the legality of the situation. I donât think there was any problem with me doing so. As I said, if I really did something wrong, the law would have brought me to justice. What was more, the police wouldnât have released me. The fact that Iâm doing a live broadcast here in front of the whole world makes it clear that Iâm innocent. Instead of questioning me here, youâd be better served to dig deeper into the person who reported me. Perhaps youâll find an unexpected scandal about him. Who knows, he might have been hiding at the airport then, waiting to witness my arrest. There are many people coming and going from the airport, so he might have been accidentally captured in the photos that leaked out.âAs she spoke, she stared right into the camera all of a sudden.She wore a faint smile on her face, but her eyes radiated a sense of chilling iciness.âTo the clown hiding in the dark, I know youâre watching my live broadcast. Iâm picking up the gauntlet you threw down. If youâve got guts, come at me in the open.âMeanwhile, in a mansion under the same sky, a young man furiously threw his phone at the wall.âHow dare you say Iâm a clown and even insinuate that Iâve got no balls? Just you wait, Winnie Garland!â