Chapter 281: Silly Bride Chapter 281

“You’re right! The tables have turned, and it’s now Mr. Fairchild who isn’t worthy of Winnie Garland!

What a twist!”Xavier, who had been listening intently, fumed with anger.That’s all just a load of nonsense! I shouldn’t take their words to heart!Alas, despite telling himself to hold back, Xavier lost control and kicked the door of the pantry open.Upon hearing the loud bang, the two employees in the pantry turned ashen-faced and reeled in shock.“M-Mr. Fairchild, we were only joking. We didn’t mean what we said! All we did was repeat what other netizens commented.”“Get out! You’re both fired!”

Xavier shouted. He believed he had exercised enough self-restraint, but his cold-eyed stare still sent chills down their spines.“M-Mr. Fairchild…” the employee uttered, trying his best to salvage the situation. “I honestly didn’t mean what I said earlier. Could you please give me another chance?”Unfortunately, that only riled Xavier up even more. “I will not repeat myself. Get out! The company will give you your severance pay, but I want you out of my sight before I kick you out myself!”When they saw Xavier’s eyes turning red with rage, the two employees knew it was their cue to leave.Given that they had struck their boss’ nerve, what other choice did they have but to flee for their lives?As soon as the two gossipmongers were gone, Xavier suddenly felt his heart race.The more he thought about it, the more he realized the heart palpitations could be a side effect of the new medicine that Riley had formulated for him.Well, this medicine sure is effective. Even when I lost my temper earlier, I could feel that I’d gotten a better grip on my emotions. At the very least, I didn’t fall into a manic state or lose my sanity.That said, the side effects of the medicine had kicked in, and the pain was so excruciating that Xavier could no longer stand upright.He leaned against the wall and sat down, trying everything he could to calm his anxious heart.The moment Louis came over and saw the pale-

faced Xavier sitting on the ground, he, too, instantly turned white as a sheet.“Are you okay, Mr.

Fairchild?”Xavier had slowly lifted his head when he heard footsteps approaching, but as soon as Louis’ voice rang out, his eyes glazed over with disappointment.When he finally saw Louis, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to himself.Ha! What a fool I am! Why did I even think it’d be Dumbo showing up?

Since Xavier refused to go to the hospital, Louis had no choice but to have Josiah make a trip down.Sometime later, in the lounge of Xavier’s office, Josiah felt his anger rising when his friend made little effort to cooperate with him.After sucking in a deep breath, he turned to Louis. “Why don’t you head out first? I’ll call you if the need arises.”Louis instinctively glanced at his boss, hoping to get the latter’s consent.Alas, Xavier didn’t even bother looking at his assistant as he continued to lie on his side in bed.“Ignore him and follow my instructions,” Josiah muttered while staring at Xavier’s back with furrowed brows. “Why? Do you not trust me?”Louis had complete trust in Josiah, of course, so he hastily nodded. “I shall wait outside, then. Call me if you need anything.”With that, Josiah tucked his hands inside his coat pockets and smiled as Louis took his leave.However, as soon as the latter was out of the room, Josiah’s smile faded.Furiously, he threw his stethoscope onto the bed and yelled, “What’s wrong with you? Do you not want to live anymore? Or do you not have basic medical knowledge? You should be old enough to know that a pain in the chest is no laughing matter! I understand if you don’t want to go to the hospital, but why won’t you cooperate with me? Do you want to throw your life away? Fine. I’ll open the windows right now so you can jump out. Don’t call me over if you have no wish to help yourself! Stop wasting my time!”After getting such a harsh scolding, Xavier frowned and slowly turned to face his friend. “Are you out of your mind?”“Me? Out of my mind?” Josiah fumed. “What? Did I say anything wrong? You weren’t cooperating with me at all!”“What the hell are you talking about?” Xavier retorted as he suddenly sat up. “Why must you always beat around the bush to make a point? I don’t have the patience to listen to your blabbering.”“I don’t give a damn whether you listen to me or not! I’m here to treat you!”“I’m not sick!” Xavier hollered, his voice easily drowning out Josiah’s. “I’m f*cking furious! Do you understand? I’m mad as hell!”“Fine. Tell me, then, what are you so angry about? What was it that pissed you off so much that you had to fire two employees on the spot?

Have you forgotten that one of them’s in upper management? What on earth is wrong with you? Not only have you given yourself a heart attack from all this rage, but you’re also refusing to listen to your doctor. How much more stubborn can you get?”As it turned out, Josiah was already in a bad mood because his family had tried forcing him into an arranged marriage. Xavier’s lackluster attitude, unfortunately, only made the day worse for him.Now that Xavier had calmed himself down, he noticed the pain in his chest had also disappeared.Having realized that Josiah didn’t seem like his usual self, Xavier quickly turned his attention back to his friend. “What’s wrong with you? Did something happen?”“Nothing’s happened!” Josiah snapped as he plopped himself down on a chair and extended a hand toward Xavier. “Hand me my stethoscope.”Xavier did as instructed and added, “Come on. What is it?”“Nothing important. It’s just some family matters. What about you? What made you so angry?”A deep frown once again crossed Xavier’s brow as he began recounting everything that had happened.“You should still go to the hospital if you can. Nothing beats the equipment there,” Josiah advised. “I’ll draw two vials of blood from you today and get them tested.”“Okay. Let’s do that. I’ll head to the hospital once I’ve gotten the test results.”Josiah nodded. “I’ve also read the news about Ms.

Garland, and to be honest, I’m not all that surprised. It just feels that her life is full of unexpected twists and turns.”Then Josiah suddenly broke into a cheeky grin. “That said, the two gossipmongers did bring up a good point. From the looks of it, you no longer seem good enough for her. The Fairchild family may be powerful, but the Speisers easily outdo you in all aspects. The influence they hold is simply incomparable. All I can say is it must be true love if your Dumbo has fallen for you. Think about it. She has everything that you have and also those that you don’t. Why else would she stay with you if it weren’t for love?” Instead of replying, Xavier glared at his friend.“Why are you staring at me like that?

You’re giving me the chills…”“Are you in cahoots with the two employees I just fired? Must you attack me like that?”“Of course not! I was merely stating the facts! I swear on it!” Josiah exclaimed. “This is nothing more than my objective analysis, and I’m sure I wasn’t as harsh as your employees. Otherwise, you’d have fired me, too, wouldn’t you?”Upon hearing that, Xavier fell silent.Argh! Those thoughts did cross my mind too. How could they not? Ever since I heard what those two had said earlier, I’ve been agonizing over this matter!“I can’t go on waiting like this,” Xavier said as he looked at Josiah. “I’ve barely spoken to her these past few days. If this drags on, I’m worried she might forget about me.”“Huh? Is her love that cheap? Why would she forget about you just because she’s back in Yartran?

Besides, didn’t she live there before she met you? Can’t she just be taking a trip back to visit her family?”“I never said her love is cheap!” Xavier snapped. “But you know very well that her attitude toward me has changed after what I did to Christopher. There’s no doubt about that!”Josiah frowned as he pondered about it. “Try putting yourself in her shoes. If you were her, wouldn’t you also want to have some quiet time after such a harrowing incident? So, what are your plans now?”“I want to find her!”“What? You, of all people, should know how firm and assertive she is,” Josiah uttered, his frown deepening. “Do you think she’d be happy if you showed up uninvited at her place? Besides, it’s also possible that the Speiser family may not acknowledge you, Xavier. Or rather, they’re aware of your existence but choose to ignore your marriage in Chanaea. If that happens, how are you going to deal with it? Don’t you think your actions will repulse her? What about her relationship with her family? If the Speisers object to your marriage, will she put family or love first?”When Xavier didn’t reply, Josiah continued, “You don’t have any answers at all, do you? I know your mind’s all clouded now, so I’m advising you from a completely objective standpoint. Don’t be reckless and run off in search of her. You have to communicate with her first! More importantly, you’re still getting used to your new medicine.

You can’t just leave whenever you like! Have you forgotten how much hardship she endured while tracking down Professor White to formulate the antidote for you? Have you forgotten how many times she almost lost her life? If you still have an ounce of rationality left, I’m sure you’ll know better than to waste her efforts!”Thankfully, Xavier was clear-headed enough to see sense. “Yes, you’re right. I should give her time and discuss everything with her.”“There you go!” Josiah exclaimed, his lips slowly curling into a smile. “Now, be good and stick your arm out so I can draw your blood.”The next second, Xavier shot his friend a look of disdain. “Please don’t talk to me as if you’re coaxing a child, Dr.

Houghton.”Amused, Josiah was about to say something when Louis suddenly knocked on the door.“Come in,” Xavier said and waited for the latter to enter. “What’s the matter?”“Your aunt has come over and is currently waiting in the guest lounge. Is this a good time for you to meet her?”By then, Josiah had drawn a vial of blood from Xavier and was starting on the second one.“You’re done here, aren’t you?” Xavier asked his friend.Josiah nodded and smiled. “You don’t want to worry your aunt, huh?”“Yes, but more importantly, I don’t want Grandpa to find out,” Xavier replied before turning to Louis. “Did my aunt say what she’s here for?”“She came straight from Fraser Group, so I think she’s only dropping in to pass you some snacks.”Beatrice doted on her nephew a lot, and every time she delivered some delicious food to her husband, she’d never forget to include a share for Xavier. As such, the latter had long gotten used to her frequent visits.“Very well, then,” Xavier said as he stood up from the bed. “You can send her in once I’ve cleaned up the place.”“Oh, I think it’d be better to wait until I’m gone,” Josiah hurriedly added.Louis nodded. “Understood!”To everyone’s surprise, Xavier and Josiah had only just tidied up the room when Beatrice suddenly marched toward the office while answering her phone.Even though she was wearing high heels, there was no doubt she could walk fast in them as she soon burst into the room.After exchanging glances, Xavier and Josiah promptly dropped what they were doing and turned to Beatrice.The latter, who had a paper bag in her hand, hastily placed it on Xavier’s table and prepared to leave.Bewildered, Xavier quickly got up to stop his aunt.

“Aunt Beatrice, why don’t you sit down and finish your call? There’s no hurry.”“That’s right,” Josiah chimed in. “There are no strangers here, so please make yourself comfortable.”Since she was still busy talking on the phone, Beatrice merely nodded and did as instructed.“What do you mean you lost his tracks? In that case, who was the last person he contacted before he went missing? Do you have the exact day, time, and name? Yes, go ahead and look for the information. I can wait,” she rattled on.

“What? Private plane? Are you sure he took a private plane? Huh?”Halfway through the phone call, Beatrice suddenly turned around to glance at her nephew.Despite feeling slightly worried, Xavier didn’t interrupt his aunt and patiently waited for her to be done with her call. Five minutes later, Beatrice finally hung up the phone.By then, Xavier and Josiah had more or less figured out what the conversation was about.As it turned out, Beatrice was looking for Nate’s whereabouts because he had yet to return to Chanaea.Back then, in Yeringham, Xavier didn’t realize that Yulissa had colluded with Nate to find out about the landing point of his helicopter.On top of that, Xavier only found out what happened to Nate when he returned to Chanaea and heard Josiah talking about it. He, unfortunately, couldn’t remember much about his cousin at all.At that moment, Xavier and Beatrice were staring at each other, with the latter having a worried yet expectant look in her eyes.“Xavier, your cousin has been missing for ten days now. I’ve searched all the places he might have gone to, but there are no signs of him! However, I did hear that he had checked the flight route of our family’s private helicopters before he disappeared. Do you have any idea where he went? Those helicopters are primarily for your use, aren’t they?”