âAre you all right, Winnie?âChristopher realized that the womanâs expression had changed when she saw Yulissaâs address.âDid something happen?â he asked out of curiosity.âItâs nothing,â Winnie replied, snapping back to reality. âBy the way, since Yulissa gave you a lead, I suppose you donât need the data on those logistics companies under Fairchild Corporation anymore, right?âChristopher frowned at her question. âDo you really know nothing about this?âA frown deeper than Christopherâs stitched on Winnieâs forehead.âWhat do you mean by that? Am I supposed to know something?â she asked.âI thought you knew everything, but it turns out Xavier didnât fill you in on all the details,â Christopher answered. âHe already passed me all the information yesterday. Heâs the one who put me through to Yulissa, and I wouldnât have met her if it were not for him.ââWhat?â Winnie was confused. âThatâs not what Louis told me, though. Xavier didnât mention anything about this either. Besides, Yulissa and Zyon are in the same boat, so it doesnât make sense for Xavier to let Yulissa know he faked his death. Are you sure thatâs the case?ââIâm certain,â Christopher confirmed. âAlthough I have no idea why he did that, I know where heâs coming from.ââReally? I doubt he has any good intentions for doing something like this, though.âWinnie felt slightly disappointed. Xavier and her had always communicated openly about Xavierâs apparent death and Fairchild Corporationâs drug involvement, so Winnie could not help but wonder what he was trying to play at when she found out Xavier had been doing so many things behind her back.âWhat is he trying to achieve?â Winnie asked Christopher repeatedly with a frown.âThe whole thing is too dangerous, so Xavier doesnât want you involved. Thatâs why heâs keeping you in the dark,â Christopher replied.âIs that so?â Winnie doubted, squinting her eyes. âThat would be an acceptable reason, but Iâm sure he didnât lie to and hide things from me because of that.âIt was to Winnieâs distaste that someone would deceive her deliberatelyâespecially when she had gone out of her way to follow up on the investigation of those logistics companies.Moreover, this is the second time Xavier has lied to me.âAlso, Winnie, I need to remind you of another matter.â Christopherâs voice interrupted her train of thought.As he spoke, Winnieâs brows relaxed as if she had come to terms with Xavierâs trickery.Heâs lied to me twice, and I wonât be surprised if he does it again.âWhat is it?â she asked.âItâs about Yulissa. From my conversation with her, it seems like she already knows about you faking your mental illness. Iâm not sure if sheâll blow this up and use this to your disadvantage, so youâd better watch out.ââItâs not a big deal. My plan is already coming to an end, so she canât do anything to me whether Iâm sane or not. Nonetheless, Iâm curious as to how she found out about it. After all, Iâm sure I didnât do anything to give the game away in front of her. Did she tell you who revealed the secret to her?âChristopher recalled every detail of his conversation with Yulissa but shook his head in the end.
âI donât think she mentioned anything related to that.ââDid she say who she met up with yesterday night? Was it Xavier?â probed Winnie once more.Christopher was not an opportunistic person. He was a man marked by integrity, so he told the truth.âI didnât ask, but Winnie, I can tell Xavier really cares about you. He genuinely does not want to put you in danger. The only person who wishes for your downfall is Yulissa. Thereâs no way Xavier will work with her.â âMaybe,â Winnie replied with a faint smile and said no more.Well, many men out there care for me and want me as well, but if any of them turns out to be a liar or cheater, Iâll be deeply offended.Meanwhile, Xavier had just reached the condominium in Aqua Moana.On his way there, he tried calling Winnie several times, but the latter did not pick up.Xavier called because he saw someone who looked like Winnie from the back, walking side-by-side with a strapping man when he drove into the residential area, but the couple had already vanished when he wound down his window.At that moment, Xavier felt an impulse to check if the woman was Winnie, and when his calls did not get through, he thought it was because the connection was terrible, so he headed home immediately.When he reached home, he smelled the scent of custard pudding wafting in the air before he even opened the door leading to his room.Hmm? I didnât have custard pudding yesterday. Neither did I ask Molly to come over. Even if she came today and ate something, she would never eat in my roomâlet alone leave unfinished food inside. She would definitely get rid of the smell.It was not until Xavier spotted the custard pudding in the bin that he understood what had happened.Isnât this the custard pudding Dumbo snapped a photo of when she was having breakfast?
She even asked if I wanted some, and I said yes. Is that why she brought some over? Right, she even asked me where I was three times, and I replied I was here. D*mn it! She must have found out I lied to her. Is that why she didnât pick up my calls?Little did Xavier know, Winnie had toggled silent mode on her phone, so it did not matter how many times he called. She was talking to Christopher and was not checking her phone.A thought budded in Xavierâs mind at the realization.The woman I saw in the residential area must be Dumbo. Who is that man beside her, and where are they now?Xavier went over to the window near the balcony out of instinct.He wanted to see if he could still find the woman he had seen earlier who looked like Winnie from the back.Coincidentally, Winnie and Christopher were walking toward Xavierâs building after talking.Since their discussion had ended, Winnie headed home, and it so happened that Xavier was looking out of the window.Although he was watching them from the thirty-second floor of the condominium and could not clearly see the two peopleâs faces, he could still tell who they were from afar.Thatâs Dumbo and Christopher! What is he doing here? I told that man not to contact her anymore. I canât believe heâs still keeping in touch with her!Anger boiled in Xavierâs heart at the sight, but he breathed deeply in an attempt to calm down and took out his phone to call Winnie again. Alas, his call was not answered.Xavier could not help but feel suspicious. Did she block me?
Fine! I admit itâs my fault for lying to her, but I did it because I didnât want to complicate things. Besides, I have no idea at all that she was at Aqua Moana all this while! Whatever! Iâm bringing her back. I canât let her be with that man!Just as Xavier was maneuvering his wheelchair away from the balcony, a familiar voice rang from downstairs.It was Jacinta, and she was beckoning Winnie from the floor below.âWinnie! Why didnât you answer my phone call? Come on up! I made some soup. Ask the police officer to come up too!âThis rendered Xavier dumbstruck.Iâm on the thirty-second floor, and Jacinta is calling for Dumbo from downstairs. That means sheâs on the thirty-first floor. Since Jacinta is preparing a meal downstairs, that can only mean that either Jacinta or Dumbo owns a property downstairs.
Dumbo knew all this while that Iâm staying here, so Iâm the only one who doesnât know she holds a place here too.