Winnie leaned against the wall and poked her head out of the corner to peek at them, much to Josiahâs amusement.Pulling her back, he asked softly, âWhat are you doing? Everyone will know youâre peeking if you act all suspicious like that!âWinnie rolled her eyes at him in response. âYou made my hair all messy, Bad Specky!âJosiah eyed her from head to toe as he teased her, âI think having messy hair suits you really well.âShooting him a fierce glare, Winnie asked, âYou want me to beat you up?ââBring it on, then. Iâll hold still,â Josiah challenged fearlessly with his hands in his pockets.D*mn it! This guy would be dead if I didnât have to keep this act up!Winnie then pinched him on the forearm with all of her might, causing him to wince in pain and shock.Oh, dear⦠She looks really mad! Did I piss her off for real?âOw! That hurts! Go easy on me, will you?âGo easy on you? Dream on, you jerk!Instead of letting go, Winnie pinched him even harder than before.Josiah wanted to yank her hand off but did not dare use too much force for fear of hurting her.Not having that much of a choice, he tried backing off instead, but Winnie continued making her way toward him.Ding!The elevatorâs doors opened all of a sudden, and the person who stepped out happened to be Louis.Seeing the scene, Louis did not know how to feel.Huh, I donât remember Dr. Houghton being the type to engage in horseplay like a child. I know Mrs.
Fairchild is only pretending to be a fool, so that makes their interaction here a little weird. Is it just me, or do they seem to be enjoying this? Hmm⦠For some reason, I feel kind of bad for Xavier.âAhemâ¦
Mrs. Fairchild, Dr. Houghton, what are you two doing?âAs the two of them had their backs facing the elevator doors, they did not notice Louis standing there until he said that.âThatâs enough, Dumbo. Look, my arm is all bruised! I surrender, okay?â Josiah exclaimed.After letting go of his arm, Winnie turned to face Louis and asked, âWhat are you doing here, Louis?âHe would always cringe whenever she called him âLouisâ with that sweet look on her face.Thank goodness Xavier isnât here right now, or heâd probably be glaring daggers at me!âYeah, what are you doing here at this hour, Louis?â Josiah questioned.âMr. Fairchild said heâs here and told me to come over. Have you seen him, Dr. Houghton?â
Louis replied.Of course, Josiah knew Louis was referring to Xavierâs father, Benjamin.Nodding, Josiah replied, âYes, as a matter of fact, I have. He visited Old Mr. Fairchild with Yulissa before us. Do you know anything about this?âLouis frowned. âYulissa? Mr. Fairchild didnât mention anything about her, though.ââWhen did Mr. Fairchild return? Didnât Old Mr. Fairchild order for the flight to be delayed?ââYes.
The plane was forced to land in Pontotium. As all the flights were canceled due to bad weather, Mr.
Fairchild returned by sea instead. As for Yulissa, I believe it was a mere coincidence that he ran into her here.â âA coincidence?â Josiah chuckled and adjusted his glasses as he continued, âEver since she returned to the country, everything that woman does is intentional. Thereâs no way this is a mere coincidence. Come on, letâs go have a look. I didnât want to get too close to them earlier, but it should be okay to head over now.âRufusâ ward was a VIP suite split into two sections. The outer section was for guests to mingle while the inner section had a bed for the patient to rest in.After entering the ward, Josiah sat Winnie down on the couch and handed her a plate of oranges.âHere, have some oranges while you wait. Itâs really sweet, even if it doesnât look like it. Stay here for a while. Iâll let you know when itâs your turn to enter.âNodding, Winnie picked up a slice of orange as she replied with a smile, âThanks, Bad Specky!ââHaha! All it takes is a couple of oranges to please a fool, huh?â Josiah remarked with a chuckle as he entered the ward with Louis.D*mn you, Josiah! Iâll be sure to get you for that when I have the chance!With that in mind, Winnie made a gesture at Louis before she started peeling the oranges.Having received her instructions, Louis made sure to leave the door ajar after entering the ward.That way, Winnie would be able to listen in on the conversation.She heard Josiah greet Benjamin before Rufus spoke up.âTake that away. I donât need your stuff!âJudging by his hostile tone, Winnie could tell he was talking to Yulissa.That was especially the case since Yulissa was the only person who did not enter the ward empty-handed.Sure enough, Yulissa protested immediately after hearing that, âBut Grandpa, this isâââDonât call me âGrandpaâ! Now, if you donât mind, Iâd like for you to leave!ââThis wonât take long, Old Mr. Fairchild! I just need to confirm something with you. Are you guys seriously not going to look for Xavier anymore? What if he isnât dead yet? Maybe heâs just stranded on an island somewhere!ââThatâs enough! Get out, you vile woman! Xavier wouldnât have headed out to the sea late at night if it werenât for you suddenly showing up and ruining his relationship with Winnie! This accident only happened because of you! Now, get out!â Rufus yelled at the top of his lungs.Seeing him in a rage, Benjamin stated, âCalm down, Dad. I donât think Ms. White has much to do with this accident. Right now, you should just focus on your recovery.ââI can take care of myself! Now, tell these unimportant people to get the heck out of my ward!ââIâm sorry for being such an eyesore, Old Mr. Fairchild. Iâll leave right away, but I really hope you wonât give up on searching for Xavier! After all, you guys are the only family he has. If you guys give up on him, then there will truly be no hope left for him!âWinnie nearly dropped her orange when she heard that.What is Yulissa playing at? Why would she insist that Xavier is still alive? Why would she ask the Fairchild family to keep looking for him? She worked with Zyon to try and get Xavier killed, didnât she? Is she trying to kill Old Mr. Fairchild by giving him a stroke or something? Could this be another one of their plans?