Lisanne pointed her finger in the direction of the door as she spoke resolutely.Winnie didnât immediately leave as she stared at her friend intently.Seeing that blood was still dripping from Winnieâs palm, Xavier promptly removed his tie and wrapped it around her injury to stop the bleeding.âLetâs leave first. Your injury needs to be treated in the hospital,â he informed her before pushing her out of the room by her shoulders instead of waiting for her to reply.Once they were out of the building, he swept her up into his arms.Winnie was shocked as she reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck. âWhat are you doing?
My hand is the one thatâs injured, not my legs.ââI know.â Upon lowering his head to look at her, Xavier spoke authoritatively while appearing slightly angry. âCanât I carry you because I feel like it? Also, were you aware of what you were doing earlier? Do you not want your hands anymore? You shouldâve let her stab me. If I die, then it means I lose. Do you know, even though youâre the one whoâs physically hurt, the pain I feel in my heart is greater than yours?âGlancing at her hand, she replied, âItâs just a minor injury. Although, I didnât expect Lisanne had that kind of relationship with Christopher. Her grief is understandable, but now I donât know how I can comfort her.ââI think you should leave her be for the time being. Weâre a married couple, so itâs possible her anger and hatred toward me might extend to you. You should wait until she calms down a bit before speaking to her again. For now, letâs head to the hospital.âAs Xavier spoke, he had already brought Winnie to the car. Then, he put her into the vehicle before heading toward the driverâs seat.When she saw him ready to take a u-turn to the hospital, she rapidly stopped him. âNo need to go there. The bleeding has already stopped, and the woundâs not deep. We can treat this back in our room.âHowever, he disagreed with her suggestion. âWhy should we do that when thereâs a hospital we can go to? Do you think we can take care of it more professionally than a doctor?âStill, she insisted, âI can handle a minor injury. Besides, weâre in a hurry right now!ââWhat for?â Xavier couldnât help but turn his head back and glance at Winnie. âWhat are you planning to do?ââRelax. Just focus on driving,â she promptly reminded him in response to his action.Frowning, he questioned, âThen answer my question. What do you want to do? Why are you in a hurry?ââTo return to our country! We need to go back now. Itâs very likely Lisanne has already switched to the earliest flight she can get. So, I want to return to our home country as quickly as possible too. Itâs best if I pay a personal visit to the Marsh residence.ââNo!â Xavier denied her request without hesitation.
âYou canât return to the country yet. What if Harold has already arrived in Chanaea and is looking for you everywhere? Weâre in the light while heâs in the dark. As the saying goes, itâs easier to defend against a direct attack than to avoid an ambush. Heâs a cruel and ruthless man. If we arenât careful, we may accidentally step into his trap. You should stay here for now. Give me some time to track down Haroldâs whereabouts. Once I succeed, you can come back. At the very least, we need to know where heâs going and understand what heâs planning. As for Lisanne, just give her family members a call and briefly explain the situation to them. When I return, Iâll keep an eye on her whereabouts, too.âFurrowing her eyebrows, Winnie replied, âI understand what youâre saying, but no one knows when Harold will arrive. We donât even know if heâs dead or alive. If you keep failing to find out where he is, does this mean Iâll have to stay here indefinitely until you do? Thatâs not realistic. Besides, Iâm not the type of person to flee or hide from problems. I still have things I need to do, and itâs inconvenient to keep staying here.â âButâââNo buts! Save your breath. Even if you force me to give in to your demand today, Iâll still buy a plane ticket back to Chanaea tomorrow. So, thereâs no point to this argument.âThat rendered him speechless because he knew she would definitely do something like that.âFine.â
However, Xavier wasnât going to yield completely. âI wonât dissuade you, but you must follow me to the hospital. I made my concession. Now itâs your turn.ââYou⦠Fine, weâll each make a concession.ââMhm.â
He didnât turn his head around this time. Instead, he glanced at her through the rearview mirror. âThatâs more like it. You should listen to me once in a while.âAfter they left the hospital, they went to the manor again because Winnie wanted to bid the Speiser couple goodbye.The elderly couple knew Winnie wasnât someone who could stand doing nothing, so they didnât ask her to stay. They only reminded her to visit them more often.As they were in a hurry, Winnie didnât stay in the manor for too long. Skipping dinner, Xavier and she returned to their condominium.They didnât have a lot of luggage, so it didnât take long for them to pack their things and head to the airport.It wasnât until they were inside the airportâs lounge that Winnie realized she and Xavier had grabbed the wrong phone. That was because their phonesâ appearances were identical.If she hadnât noticed the phone buzzing in her bag, she wouldnât have realized the mistake. When she pulled the device out, she saw it had just received a message from Nate.Without delay, she handed the phone to Xavier. âNateâs looking for you. He said heâs gotten off the plane already. Heâs returning to the country today, too?âXavier was opening a water bottle for Winnie, so he didnât grab the phone. âAh, yeah, he told me about it yesterday. He took a flight that was earlier in the day.ââI see. Look, he sent another photo to you.ââWhat photo?â Xavier still hadnât accepted his phone because he was taking out a straw for Winnie. He thought it would be easier for her to drink water with a straw since her hand was injured.She nodded. âI canât see it. The phone needs to be unlocked first.ââThen do it. You can use your fingerprint to unlock it.âHis answer confounded Winnie, but when she gave it a try, she discovered her fingerprint could, indeed, unlock his phone.It surprised her slightly. âWhen did you register my fingerprint on your phone? Why donât I know about it?âAfter inserting the straw into the water bottle, Xavier put it close to her mouth. âThatâs because you were asleep.ââWhat prompted you to register my fingerprint on your phone?ââI was worried you may be unable to unlock my phone during an emergency in the future. The passwordâs your birthday.ââYou sure know how to plan ahead. Not bad. In that case, give me my phone. Iâll register your fingerprint into the phoneâs system.ââSure.â Xavier speedily pulled out Winnieâs phone. He had been waiting for her to say that.After unlocking her phone, she let him register his fingerprint on her phone by himself. Meanwhile, she opened the photo Nate sent to Xavier.âHe sent you a couple of photos. I think these were taken at the airport earlier. I canât see anyoneâs face in the first one, only their back. The second one is clearer.
Huh, itâs your Uncle Stuart. Hasnât he been lying low in his house recently? Why is he at the airport?ââIs that so? Did Nate say anything else?ââNo. Wait, he just sent another photo. This isâ¦â When Winnie saw the third photo, she instantly frowned.