Silly Bride

Chapter 182

Xavier, however, still seemed rather unbothered. “Will you only be happy when I’ve recovered?”“Silly you!” Winnie said as she patted him on his shoulder. “Everyone will be happy once you recover. That way, you’ll finally be able to sleep well and—”“I’m not sleepy,” Xavier suddenly interrupted.“Fine,” Winnie mumbled, sighing inwardly. Gosh. I realize I’ve been sighing a lot more ever since knowing him.After a while, she added, “You might not be sleepy, but I sure hope you haven’t forgotten what we’ve been through.”Upon hearing that, Xavier furrowed his brows. “Very well, then. Let me investigate the guy called Harrison Xander. I’ll make the arrangements once I’m back at the hotel.”“Sounds good,” Winnie replied with a nod. “With your help, I’ll be able to make a lot more progress.”“What?” Xavier uttered as he cupped her face. “Are you still planning to continue the search on your own? There’s no way I’d allow that. I won’t let you spend your time and effort on other men except me!”Needless to say, Winnie was more than amused.To think he was so serious earlier, only to return to his domineering self at a flip of the switch. That said, I must admit this quirk of his is starting to grow on me. I’m finding it rather adorable.Josiah, however, laughed so hard that he spat his water out.As efficient as always, Xavier launched an investigation into Harrison Xander and received news the next day.Winnie wasted no time looking through the information sent over by the private investigator and felt it was all highly credible.Thus, she decided to share everything she knew with Sebastian when she sent Xavier to his treatment that day.This time around, not only was Winnie present at the acupuncture session, but Yolanda had also tagged along to learn from her grandfather.Since the former was still unfamiliar with acupuncture and couldn’t possibly take over the reins of the treatment, it was no surprise that Yolanda remained Sebastian’s first pick.Even though Winnie had doubts about Yolanda’s motives, she, unfortunately, couldn’t find any evidence to back her assumptions up.She had gotten people to keep tabs on Yolanda, only to find out that the latter had hardly left the house in the past few days, and even her call history didn’t seem unusual.Yolanda was either truly innocent or had another phone that was very well-hidden.Alas, what else could Winnie do when she hadn’t found any concrete proof? She couldn’t approach Sebastian to voice her suspicions about Yolanda wanting to harm Xavier, could she?

It wasn’t long before the acupuncture needles were all applied, and it was time to leave them in place.Sebastian had wanted to use the opportunity to get Winnie familiarized with the various acupoints on the human body, but to his surprise, the latter had other plans in mind.“Old Mr. Xander, there’s something I need to tell you. It’s about your grandson, Harrison Xander.”Despite his initial shock, Sebastian soon became visibly excited.“What about him? Have you found any information? He’s still alive, isn’t he?”Seeing how happy and hopeful Sebastian was, Winnie suddenly couldn’t bring herself to break the news.After a while, she frowned and said, “No, Master. Didn’t I tell you before that I found out he has a property in Avenport? I had to stop the investigation back then for personal reasons, and it was only yesterday that I asked Xavier to help me with it. Thanks to him, I was informed earlier that we finally tracked down Harrison’s residence in Avenport. That’s why I wanted to share whatever information I currently have with you.”As disappointed as he was, Sebastian quickly recomposed himself. “Oh, well done! I didn’t even know he had a property in Avenport! Show it to me, then!”The truth was, he knew he had reacted too emotionally. After all, what were the chances of his grandson surviving when the latter had gone missing in the Arcvas Desert for two long years?That said, it’d still be a consolation to Sebastian if he could find out anything about Harrison, no matter how trivial.Now that she had gotten his consent, Winnie promptly took out the collated information and handed it over. “Here’s the property in question. The house got purchased five years ago, but Harrison didn’t use it often. In total, he probably stayed there for less than a year.”“Indeed! That’s because I’ve always kept him busy in the research institute, so he barely had time to head out,” Sebastian explained before looking through a stack of photos. “What about these? What are they supposed to be?”“These photos show the items we found in Harrison’s mailbox, which include utility bills and postcards. However, those postcards were all sent anonymously, so we have no idea who the senders were.”“Do you have a clearer picture of these postcards?”“Yes, I believe there are two more. Give me a second,” Winnie replied as she swiftly dug them out.Alas, the moment Sebastian held the photos up for a closer look, his hand started trembling.“That’s Harrison’s handwriting. I recognize it! Where are my glasses? Yolanda, fetch me my reading glasses! Hurry!”Yolanda, who was standing behind her grandfather, couldn’t help but sigh. “Grandpa, you’ve been wearing your glasses this whole time. Where do you

want me to go?”Upon hearing that, Sebastian quickly felt his face, and only then did he realize his folly.He carefully studied the content on the postcards, and even though there weren’t any names, the dates on them were clear as day.Wait a minute. There’s something odd about this. The sign-off date on one of the postcards is after Harrison had been reported missing! “Take a look at this, Yolanda,” Sebastian piped up. “The date written on this postcard was after your brother had gone missing, and I’m sure that’s his handwriting. Furthermore, the postage stamp is from Epea! Do you think he could still be alive? He clearly wrote this to his future self, saying he wanted to drink his own homemade beer and watch his favorite movies two years later. Two years from the date on this postcard is this year! That means he must still be alive! He’ll be back, won’t he?”Yolanda took the postcard from her grandfather and glanced at it. Her reaction, however, was less than enthusiastic.“So what if he’s still alive? It’s been two years, Grandpa, but has he bothered to contact any of us? That shows he doesn’t want us to know anything related to him,” she reasoned. “Besides, the postmark and sign-off date are different. I think the sign-off date was merely an error, and he mailed the postcard before he went missing. He probably visited Epea before going to Alendor and felt happy enough to send himself a postcard to motivate his future self. Nothing unusual about that.”Naturally, that angered Sebastian. “Harrison’s your brother, Yolanda! Why can’t you wish the best for him?”“Ha! Is that what you think?” Yolanda scoffed. “In your eyes, your new student’s the only one who cares about Harrison, isn’t it? Fine! The two of you can continue playing detective to your heart’s content! I’m leaving!”Whenever anyone mentioned Harrison, Yolanda would always feel heavy-hearted, to the point where she’d find it hard to breathe. As such, she couldn’t bring herself to stay with Sebastian or Winnie for a minute longer.Tears started welling up in Sebastian’s eyes as he watched his granddaughter storm off.“Nini, am I overthinking? Do you think Harrison might still be alive?”“I don’t have an answer to that, Master,” Winnie replied with a frown. “What I do know, however, is that the truth is out there. I’ll get someone to look into this matter and check out the place where Harrison allegedly sent the postcard from.”“Thank you so much, Nini. I’m very grateful that you’ve helped me uncover so much. By the way, there’s a two- year period mentioned in the postcard, and that day is coming soon. I’m thinking of going to Avenport and waiting at his house to try my luck.”“Sure, I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Xavier and I live

in Avenport, so you can depend on us once you’re there.”“Thank you. I’ll start packing up now,” Sebastian said before striding off.Unfortunately, he had barely left for a few minutes when Yolanda marched back into the room with a grim expression.“Winnie Garland. What’s the meaning of this?”Winnie furrowed her brows. “What do you mean by that?”“Did you persuade my grandfather to go to Avenport? Other people who had come to him to learn or seek medical treatment have had to stay in Yaleview. You, however, decided to make things convenient for yourself and lured Grandpa to your place. Tell me. Is that why you’re looking into my brother’s disappearance?”“That has never been my intention,” Winnie retorted. “Even before this, we’ve already made plans to stay here long-term for Xavier’s treatment. If Master wants to go to Avenport, I’ll arrange it for him. If and when he wishes to return to Yaleview, I’ll also be more than happy to make the arrangements.”“What makes you think I’ll believe that? It’s all just too much of a coincidence! Who knows what ulterior motives you have…”“Indeed, it’s very coincidental, but I can’t explain how fate can sometimes work in the most mysterious ways. If you’re worried about your grandfather, you can always tag along. Since you’re his granddaughter, I’ll make sure you settle in nicely in Avenport too.”Needless to say, Yolanda wasn’t willing to do as Winnie suggested.I don’t want to give in to her wishes, but then again, it might not be a bad idea to go to Avenport. Nate has been telling me he’s too busy to visit me in Yaleview, so why don’t I go to him instead? After all, he lives there! He won’t be able to run away from me anymore!Just like that, the plan of going to Avenport was finalized, and everyone began packing for the trip.Winnie and Xavier didn’t have much to pack, especially since the latter had bought a mansion in Yaleview where they could leave their luggage behind.They left Yaleview that afternoon and arrived in Avenport a little after eight at night.Even though Winnie had already booked a hotel stay for Yolanda and Sebastian, the latter was too eager to visit Harrison’s condominium.Not wanting to go against her master’s wishes, Winnie complied and led him to the residence.Despite the condominium having a password lock, it only took Sebastian two attempts before he managed to unlock the door and step into the house.Winnie followed him inside, and what greeted her was a thick layer of dust everywhere. From the looks of it, there was no doubt the house had been empty for a long time.Regardless, Sebastian wanted to stay the night in the condominium and wasn’t taking no for an answer. Because of that, Winnie had noPublished by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

choice but to get a cleaning team to tidy up the place.However, when they got to the study, there were so many of Harrison’s personal effects strewn around that Sebastian insisted on cleaning the room himself.Winnie helped out as much as she could, and by the time they completed their chores, it was already way past eleven.During the whole time that Winnie was cleaning and packing away, Xavier never once left her side.Even when they eventually left the condominium, they walked out of the residential area hand in hand and drove home.With them looking like a match made in heaven, it was no wonder other people were envious of them.Yolanda took a picture of the loving couple from a window upstairs and promptly attached it to her text message to Nate: If you don’t meet me soon, chances are these two will live happily ever after. Do you see how loving they are? I bet you must be on pins and needles, huh?