Winnie was dumbfounded. Why is she so stubborn? Sheâd rather die than leave this place.Winnie massaged her forehead. She could not bring herself to get mad at a grandmother like that.After studying Jacinta for some time, she nodded in resignation. âAll right, then. Looks like I canât change your mind today. Rest early. Iâm going to get some sleep too. Iâm going to pay Rach a visit tomorrow morning.âJacinta finally smiled when she heard Winnieâs words. âNow thatâs more like it. I wouldnât be able to sleep tonight if you insisted I go back tomorrow.âWinnie flashed Jacinta a smile as well. âLie down now. Iâll turn off the lights.âJacinta hummed in response and lay back down.Winnie watched Jacinta pull the blankets over her before reaching out to press the light switch beside the bed.After that, she pulled out her phone and swiftly sent a message. Upon receiving a satisfactory reply, she closed her eyes.The next morning, Winnie was not in the room by the time Jacinta woke up. She even went looking in the washroom, but Winnie was nowhere to be found.Just as Jacinta was panicking, Winnie suddenly opened the door and entered the room.Jacinta heaved a sigh of relief and hurried toward Winnie. âWinnie, my darling, where did you go so early in the morning? I thought something happened to you. What am I going to do if you get into trouble here? I donât even know where I should go to find you.âWinnie handed Jacinta the plastic bag in her hand with a chuckle. âWell, Iâm right in front of you, arenât I? I just went out to get some breakfast. No matter what, we still need to have breakfast, no?âStill frowning, Jacinta scolded, âYou gave me a scare. You shouldâve asked me to go with you. Do you have any idea how worried I was?âWinnie quickly admitted her mistake. âThere, there. Quit worrying already.
Itâs my bad. I promise I wonât make such a mistake again. Iâll give you a heads-up before going anywhere in the future. How about that? I only went out to buy some things anyway. I know youâre worried about me. And if thatâs the case, have you ever thought about it from another point of view?
Surely you can understand my worry about you too. SoââKnowing what Winnie was trying to get at, Jacinta interrupted, âAll right, thatâs enough. Didnât we already agree on it last night? Why are you going back on your words after a nightâs rest? Anyway, Iâve already decided. I wonât change my mind no matter what you say. Iâm going to wash up now. Just leave the breakfast there. Iâll be out in a while.âWinnie said nothing as she watched her stubborn grandmother leave. She then walked over to the table and put down the breakfast.It was a simple breakfast with two buns and a cup of soy milk for each person.Winnie purposely waited for Jacinta to come out of the bathroom to enjoy their breakfast together.At the table, Jacinta spoke before Winnie even had the chance to open her mouth. âDonât speak while eating.âWinnie sighed. âFine. I wonât bring up that topic, then. What do you think? Is the bun okay?ââItâs so-so.â Seeing that Winnie was not going to bring up the matter of sending her back, Jacinta added, âThe filling is too little, and the crust is too dry and hard. Itâs as if itâs been left exposed to the air for one night. I can tell it hasnât been proofed well just by the looks of it. Itâs so hard to swallow.ââThen maybe you should have it with the soy milk. Iâve tried it already. Itâs not bad,â said Winnie.âOkay. Let me try,â Jacinta responded while bringing the cup of soy milk to her lips.Eyeing the cup of soy milk in Jacintaâs hand, Winnie asked with a smile, âHow is it? Itâs good, right?âJacinta nodded. âYes, it is. Itâs from a different stall, isnât it? Their buns shouldnât taste so bad if they can make such yummy soy milk.âPerhaps the bun was so dry that Jacinta took a few more gulps of the soy milk, finishing almost half of it.Seeing that, Winnie decided to skip eating the bun.When Jacinta saw Winnie putting down her food, she could not help but ask, âWhy arenât you eating? Is there something wrong?âWinnie only nodded in silence.âWhatâs wrong?â Jacinta asked Winnie. Suddenly, she felt a little dizzy.Even her vision was getting blurry.However, she did not realize what was going on. She raised her hand and knocked her own head. âWhatâs wrong with me? Why am I getting a headache all of a sudden?âWinnie finally hummed a response. She got up, rushed over to Jacintaâs side, and held the unconscious woman.Indeed, Jacinta had passed out.Since she would not cooperate with Winnie to go back, Winnie had no choice but to spike her soy milk.Winnie got the drugs locally, so she only used a little because she was worried that the effects could be too strong, which would bring harm to Jacintaâs body.In other words, Winnie had very little time to carry out her plan. She had to send Jacinta off right away.After helping Jacinta up, Winnie kicked the wall twice as hard as she could.Xavier soon came over from the next room after hearing the signal. As soon as he opened the door, another man immediately walked in with a wheelchair.He was someone Winnie had seen beforeâXavierâs bodyguard in Avenport. He was someone who could be trusted.Handing Jacinta over to him, Winnie said sternly, âIâm handing my granny to you because I canât leave at the moment. You must take her back safely and keep us posted. Inform us first thing once youâve landed.âThe bodyguard promised, âDonât worry, Mr. Fairchild, Ms. Garland. Iâll definitely bring her back safely.âAfter he took Jacinta away, Winnie felt so much more relieved.Winnie and Xavier went to the hospital first to check on Rachel before getting in touch with Josiah.Things were not going well at Josiahâs side.He had been following Yulissa according to the information Xavier provided, but she was still nowhere to be found.Winnie grew anxious, but Xavier seemed calmer than her despite the fact that he was the victim.He even comforted Winnie, âItâs okay. My relapses arenât that frequent for now anyway. We still have a lot of time.âAlthough she felt much calmer, she still glared daggers at him. âUgh, can you please have a sense of urgency? I feel like a servant whoâs more concerned about the king than the king himself.â
With that, she turned on her heels to walk out of the room.Xavier quickly hugged her from the back.
âWhy are you angry? I just donât want to see you in a bad mood. Besides, you said something wrong earlier.âWinnie snapped, âWhat?âXavier tightened his arms around Winnieâs shoulders. âHow could you call yourself a servant? Thatâs unacceptable. In my heart, you are my kingâI mean, queen.âWinnie was amused. âHow is it Iâve never realized youâre such a sweet talker? Where did that quiet man go?âXavier let out a chuckle. âIâve got to admit, I never knew how to say romantic things like these in the past. I havenât got a choice, though. This skill was unlocked the moment I met you.ââEnough. Let me go. Iâm going back to my room.âXavier frowned. He sounded displeased as he said, âHuh? Granny has already left, yet you still want to sleep in a different room? Weâre a legally married couple.ââI know.
Thatâs why Iâm going back to pack my things and bring them all here.ââSit here, then. Iâll bring them over for you.ââItâs okay. Iâll be right over. Just take care of your matters and donât worry about me.ââAll right.â
Xavier nodded. Indeed, he still had some work to deal with.Quickly, Winnie returned to the room next door.Since Xavier was not around, she turned on another system on her phone and dialed a number.
âWilhelm, do you have any updates on that person? I asked around two days ago, and there arenât any new formulas here.ââI was just about to call you, Winnie. Iâve gotten some information, but itâs not much. You still have to carry out some investigations there.ââOkay. Tell me whatever that is useful that youâve gotten so far. Iâll be the judge of it myself.ââThat personâs code name is Big Black Bear. We have no idea about their gender or what they look like, but thereâs one thing weâre sure of. Big Black Bear could be an Aplothian, but we canât rule out that he might have a mixed heritage.âWinnie knitted her brows. âThatâs all? Thatâs difficult. Itâll take luck and time to find him.ââI agree, but heâs already alerted when the people from Erihal were hunting him. He fled to Jipsdale. Youâre more suited to carry out this mission since youâre an Alplothian. No matter what the outcome of the mission is, Iâll be proud of you all the same.âWhen Winnie heard that, she could not help but laugh. The heavy atmosphere suddenly became lighter.âAre you sure youâll be proud of me if I donât complete the mission? Iâm afraid Granddadâs going to beat you up.ââThatâs impossible, Winnie. Everyone knows he loves you the most.
As long as I praise you in front of him, heâll never punish me no matter what happens. Oh, I have something else to give you. If Big Black Bear refuses to reveal himself, perhaps you can carry out Plan B. However, your safety is of top priority. The mission needs to be accomplished, but you must be safe too.ââI know, Wilhelm. Iâve got someone I love now. I wonât risk my life as I used to even if itâs for him. Iâll bring him to meet you guys once everythingâs settled. Now, tell me about Plan B.ââAll right. Plan B goes like thisâ¦â After explaining the details of Plan B, Wilhelm reminded her, âRemember, you must take good care of this document Iâm sending you. Although weâve processed this carefully and made precise calculations, it still has its risks. It must never fall into another personâs hands.ââGot it.â With that, Winnie hung up and hurriedly downloaded the document Wilhelm had sent.She only needed to read it once to remember all the information.Once that was done, she quickly deleted the original document on her phone and changed the system of the phone to the original version.Just as she was changing it, Xavier suddenly came in. âDidnât you say you were packing your things? Why havenât you done anything at all?âWaving her phone, Winnie answered calmly, âI was answering a call.âXavier did not suspect anything at all. âLooks like I still have to help you pack. This is my first time helping someone else pack. Youâre a lucky woman, Dumbo.âWinnie teased, âOh well, you donât have a choice. Itâs your fault for being so loyal to me. I canât seem to chase you away no matter what I do.âXavier arched a brow and ruffled Winnieâs hair. âMust you really tease me?ââWhatâs wrong? You canât accept it?â Winnie raised her brow as well.âOf course. Iâm a man, after all. Besides, teasing is not a big deal. Actions are the real deal.âWinnie was about to tell him she would satisfy his desires another day when Xavierâs phone suddenly rang.He answered it at once. âHello? What? How could you let this happen? Where is she now?âSeeing Xavier frown, Winnie asked worriedly, âWhatâs wrong? Who were you talking to just now? What happened?ââItâs the bodyguard. He says Granny woke up halfway. She doesnât want to go back, so she purposely caused trouble and ran away. But she fell down the stairs while running. And now, sheâs getting treated at the hospital.ââWhat?â Winnie almost lost her mind. âHow did this happen?
Which hospital are they in now? Where did she get hurt? Is it serious?ââThey didnât go far. The bodyguard sent her to the hospital near our place. She should be fine. The initial diagnosis states that she has a fracture and mild concussion.ââWhat theâ¦â Winnie almost cursed out loud. âCome on. Letâs go there now.âOn the way, Winnie, in a bad mood, could not help but complain to Xavier, âI just donât understand whatâs going on with Granny. Sheâs been acting weird ever since she came here. Back then, sheâd still listen to me when I reasoned with her. Why is she so stubborn this time? I canât convince her no matter what I say.ââDonât panic. There are many things we canât figure out at once. We have to give ourselves some time.âXavier needed time to look into Jacinta, while Winnie needed time to accept a possibly harsh truth in the future.Winnie sighed. âI really donât understand, but youâre right.
What we lack the most now is time. Letâs head over first.ââOkay.â Xavier took her hand, and they quickened their pace.However, the moment they stepped out of the hotel, a car stopped a few inches away from their feet.