âWinnie?â Jacinta tensed up when she heard Winnieâs voice coming from behind. She immediately turned around and said, âWhen did you get home? I didnât hear you come in at all! You nearly gave me a heart attack there!âJacinta had actually ended that call long before Winnie got home and was deliberately putting up an act for the latter now.âWhat are you doing?â Winnie asked as she stared at the strings on the bed. âI made quite a lot of noise when opening the door, but you were too focused that you didnât hear me.âJacinta pointed at the bundles of cash that she had tied up. âI was busy counting the money I withdrew from the bank earlier. Iâm tying them into bundles so itâll be easier for Rach and her father to distribute them. Theyâre very busy people, so I wanted to make things easier for them.âSitting down beside her grandmother, Winnie said, âIf Mr. Zimmerman would find this difficult, then youâre probably asking the wrong people for help. Besides, we donât know much about the situation in the village. Not everyone is equally poor, so I think itâs best if you let Mr. Zimmerman decide how heâll distribute the money.âJacinta froze. âWhat? Does this mean my efforts were in vain?ââNot at all! Itâs easier to manage the cash when itâs tied up in neat bundles. By the way, did you know that youâre my greatest role model when it comes to charity? You adopted my mom and took great care of me for so many years. You looked after us even though we werenât connected to you by blood. Iâve always aspired to become as kind as you, Granny!â Winnie replied with a smile.She then wrapped her arms around Jacintaâs and nuzzled against the older womanâs shoulder like she did when she was younger.Jacinta shot her a glance and patted her on the head.âYouâre a good girl, Winnie. Seeing you all grown up and successful makes me really proud, butâ¦âShe paused halfway through her sentence.Curious as to what Jacinta was going to say, Winnie looked up at her and asked, âBut what, Granny?âJacinta frowned deeply as she replied, âOf all the men you couldâve picked, why did it have to be Xavier? Heâs not a good man.ââGrannyâ¦â Winnie let out a huge sigh and let go of Jacintaâs arm.
âWhy do you hate Xavier so much? Heâs not a bad person! How about you tell me what exactly you hate about him? List it all out, and Iâll have him change accordingly.ââWinnie, are you picking a fight with me right now? There are some things that I canât quite explain, okay? I just feel that you two arenât suitable for each other!â Jacinta exclaimed with a frown when she noticed Winnie losing her patience.Displeased with Jacintaâs unreasonable behavior, Winnie stood up and said firmly, âXavier and I are a married couple, and nothing is going to change that fact. You may not think heâs the right one for me, but I believe he is. He has always treated you with the utmost respect, so I think you should try to accept him. Putting aside all the things he has done for me, letâs talk about what he has done for you instead. Remember when he suffered from memory loss? He couldnât even remember me at the time.
He had tons of stuff to take care of after regaining his memories, and yet, he never forgot about you.
He even offered to help you look for your grandson! Meanwhile, Iâve been so busy that I nearly forgot about that. All Iâm asking is for you to give him a fair chance, Granny. Heâs now my husband, and you are one of the most important people in my life. I would really appreciate it if you could treat him a little better. Youâll just make things difficult for me if you keep hating on him.âThis wasnât the first time Jacinta had objected to Winnieâs relationship with Xavier, but it was the first time Winnie had stood her ground so firmly.Jacinta was well aware of how savage Winnie was toward outsiders, but the latter had always been an obedient granddaughter at home.This time, however, a wedge had clearly been driven between them.Winnie knew what she said was a little over the line, but there was no way to take it all back. That was especially the case as everything she said was true.She took a deep breath and continued in a much gentler tone, âPlease take some time to think about what I just said, Granny.âSince Winnie had broken the prolonged moment of silence, Jacinta stood up and said, âWinnie, tell Xavier he can stop looking for the boy.âWinnie frowned in confusion. âHuh? Granny, are you doing this because youâre mad at me?âJacinta let out a huge sigh. âNo. I never had high hopes in finding my grandson, to begin with. Given how our attempts to search for him have been fruitless after so long, Iâd say the chances of us finding him are little to none. Perhaps the clues I have were wrong all along. Iâm done trying to look for him.ââBut youâve been searching for so long, Granny. Are you sure you want to give up now? Now that Xavier is helping you, you donât even need to do anything!âChuckling wryly, Jacinta responded, âThatâs impossible. What if he finds someone who matches the criteria? Can you imagine how disappointing itâd be for me to go do a DNA test, only to find out that itâs not my grandson? Tell Xavier Iâm done searching. Honestly, I had a sudden realization after hearing what you said. If you two are happy together, then how I feel about him doesnât matter. Itâs clear that fate does not want me to reunite with my grandson, so I shall give up on searching for him. If he is alive in this world, then I hope he will find a kind family to live with. You, on the other hand, should hurry up and have children with Xavier. If possible, Iâd like to enjoy the companionship of my great-grandchildren while Iâm still alive.âShe made that sound so convincing that Winnie believed her readily.âReally? You donât object to my relationship with Xavier anymore?â Winnie asked with a relieved smile.Jacinta held Winnieâs hand as she said, âYeah, I have it all figured out now. Thereâs no point in me objecting if it ruins your happiness. The worst-case scenario is you getting hurt by Xavier, but I know youâre a tough and capable woman. Even if he does end up hurting you, I have faith that youâll be able to rise stronger than before. You can count on me to always be on your side, Winnie. Instead of objecting to your relationship, I hereby give you my most sincere blessings.â âThanks, Granny!â Winnie leaned forward and gave her a hug. âXavier, too, wishes to receive your blessings.ââOf course Iâd wish for your happiness, silly! Xavier mustâve been pretty upset when I expressed my dislike for him, huh? Have him come over for dinner someday. Iâll apologize to him in person.ââThat wonât be necessary, Granny. He canât possibly accept an apology from an elder like you. Iâm just glad youâre okay with him now!â Winnie said with a bright smile.Jacinta decided to strike while the iron was hot and said, âThen go tell him to stop looking for my grandson. Think of it as an act of kindness from me to him.âNaturally, Winnie respected her decision. âAll right. Weâll stop looking for him.âJacinta nodded with a smile on her face.She had her reasons for wanting Xavier to stop the search, but giving up on her grandson wasnât one of them.It was actually because she had already figured out her grandsonâs true identity after reorganizing some of the memories buried deep within her head.I know Xavier has been onto me since the fire at the Fairchild residence. On top of that, he probably found out about me withdrawing money from the bank as well. Xavier might discover my secretive past if he continues the investigation. That would definitely spell disaster for me. I donât think Winnie has ever suspected me, though. Xavier probably hasnât told her anything. I should start treating him better so heâll drop his suspicions toward me.Later that night, Winnie followed Jacintaâs instructions and invited Xavier over for dinner.Although Xavier found Jacintaâs sudden invitation a little unusual, her behavior toward him hadnât changed all that much.Jacinta still maintained a somewhat cold attitude around him, which was considered normal for them.Is she accepting my relationship with Dumbo because sheâs genuinely trying to change, or is she simply putting up a convincing act to achieve some kind of goal? I canât tellâ¦Because Xavier wasnât sure about Jacintaâs intentions, he didnât dare let his guard down and continued monitoring her.He even went as far as checking her call history and daily schedule, but he couldnât find anything suspicious.Just like that, three days soon came to pass.Xavier received word that Jacinta was leaving the house, but it came as no surprise since he already knew about it.Apparently, she would be seeing Michael and Rachel off as they went home.As it would be more comfortable and convenient to travel by plane, Michael and Rachel were originally going to take a flight home. However, their flight got canceled due to bad weather, so they chose to go home by ferry instead.The date of the ferry ride was a day before their original return flight.Xavier was able to obtain all of that information with the help of his assistant, so he wasnât the slightest bit surprised when he heard about it. As everything seemed to make perfect sense, he didnât think there was anything wrong with it.Winnie, on the other hand, was shocked when she found out about it.She was driving to Sebastianâs house when she got a call from Jacinta regarding the change.âWhy the sudden change? Old Mr. Xander and I have a very important appointment today, so I canât postpone it.ââThatâs fine. Iâll let Rach know when I see her later. They know youâre busy, so Iâm sure theyâll understand,â Jacinta replied with a chuckle.âOkay. Old Mr. Xander and I are going to visit an old professor at a medical university. His name is Lionel, and he specializes in traditional medicine. We think he might be able to provide us with some useful suggestions for Xavierâs treatment,â Winnie explained.âThat sounds very important. You should just focus on doing what you need to do. Donât worry about anything else,â Jacinta said.âAll right.â Winnie nodded. âWhat time does their ferry leave? Let me know when you plan to leave the house. Iâll have the driver send you to the docks.ââNo need to trouble yourself. The driver might not be able to make it in time, so Iâll just take a cab there later. Itâs a lot more convenient that way. I might have some difficulty getting a ride back, though. Iâll give you a call if I need you to get me a ride home. You can make the arrangements then.ââOkay. Remember to stay safe on the road.ââGot it. You make sure to drive safely too!âThe two then had a brief chat before ending the call.Winnie arrived at the Xander residence about half an hour later.As her time with Sebastian was rather limited, she made sure to pay full attention to his teachings and got to work upon entering the study.Thanks to her efficiency and hard work, she managed to get all the files ready in time for their meeting with the professor.The journey from the Xander residence to the university took a little over an hour, which was about the same as Jacintaâs trip to the docks.Winnie had thought of giving her a call to check on her, but she was too busy to do so.Sebastianâs leg was still in a cast, so he needed Winnie to help him get around in his wheelchair.After walking around the campus for about twenty minutes, Winnie finally found the old professor.The three of them then sat together and discussed Xavierâs condition.Winnie was so focused on the discussion that she didnât have time to call Jacinta at all.Right as their discussion was reaching its climax, her phone started ringing all of a sudden.Upon seeing that it was Xavierâs name on the caller ID, she declined the call and sent him a text: Iâm busy right now. Talk to you later.However, Xavier ignored her text and continued calling her again and again.Lionel knew Winnie was declining the call because she respected him, but he also feared it could be an emergency.As such, he told Winnie to go ahead and take the call.Winnie nodded and stepped aside to answer her phone, only to receive a piece of shocking news from Xavier immediately after.âBad news, Winnie! Zyon has abducted your granny!â