Silly Bride Chapter 204


    Chapter 204


    Winnie stared at the zing fire before her with a frown deeply etched between her brows.“You don’t


    have to stop me. I know what I’m doing.”Despite being older than Winnie, the butler was nowhere near


    how imposing she was.He did not attempt to stop her anymore, nor did she continue moving


    forward.While dialing Xavier’s number, she turned to the butler and asked, “How much longer will it


    take for the firefighters to get here? Has the hose in the garden been connected?”“The firefighters are


    on their way. The hose isn’t long enough, so we’re trying to think of another way. The main concern is


    that the winds are too strong tonight. As soon as the sparks fall to the ground, they’ll catch fire


    immediately. All we can do now is wait for the firefighters to arrive.”“D*mn it!” Although Winnie heard


    what the butler said, she had no time to pay attention to those matters. The only thing upying her


    mind was that Xavier’s phone was going unanswered.Thick clouds of smoke have already engulfed the


    area outside, and the chances of surviving inside the building are only getting bleaker.The usually calm


    andposed Winnie could not help cursing. “Aren’t there security guards protecting Old Mr. Fairchild


    inside that d*mned ce? Why hasn’t a single persone out?”The butler was also feeling anxious.


    “Don’t get angry, Mrs. Fairchild. No one knows what’s going on inside. Perhaps… Perhaps everyone


    inside is safe.”As soon as he had uttered those words, the room in front of them came crashing down.A


    house with a wooden frame copses especially fast. By the looks of things, even if those inside are


    fine now, there’s no saying whether they’ll be able to get out!“Where on earth are the firefighters? Why


    aren’t they here yet?” Winnie was racked with worry.Immediately after she asked those questions,


    someone in front yelled, “They’reing out! The people inside areing out!”Upon hearing the


    shouts, Winnie looked ahead and spotted several people rushing out from the inferno. One of them


    was carrying another person on his back.She hurried forward without hesitation.Those who just


    escaped had wet towels wrapped around their faces, so she could not tell who they were.Suddenly,


    she heard someone say, “Quick! Old Mr. Fairchild is unconscious. Hurry up and call for an


    ambnce!”Then, that person lowered Rufus from behind his back.Seeing that, Winnie and the butler


    quickly went to help.Rufus’ breathing became easier after getting out of the burning building. Soon, he


    opened his eyes and could even talk.After seeing that Rufus was fine, Winnie began calling Xavier’s


    name.As she shouted, she tore away the damp towels covering the faces of the others around Rufus.


    However, none of them were Xavier.Her heart lurched and seemed to stop beating for a split second.A


    momentter, she regained her senses and asked the people around her worriedly, “Did you see


    Xavier? He went in about a few minutes ago to save Old Mr. Fairchild. Did you see where he was when


    you wereing out?”Two of them shook their heads at once. “No. We didn’t see him.”Another person,


    the security guard who had carried Rufus out on his back, piped up, “I heard Mr. Xavier’s voice. The


    door was locked from the outside at the time, and we couldn’t open it from the inside. The person who


    came to open the door for us was Mr. Xavier. However, we had already retreated next to the window,


    so he rushed into the room. Aftering in, he went to get wet towels for us, then told me to carry Old


    Mr. Fairchild out first. It was a life-or-death situation, so I did as he said. I thought Mr. Xavier would


    follow us out, but it’s clear he didn’t. I don’t know where he is now either.”Upon hearing what happened,


    Rufus was so agitated that he started coughing. He fixed his gaze on the butler and said, “Save him!


    Hurry up and get Xavier out of there! No matter what it takes, I want to see hime out alive!”“Old Mr.


    Fairchild, the firefighters and fire trucks will be here any second now. They’ll definitely find him in


    time!”“By the time they get here, Xavier will have suffocated to death!” Unable to think of another way,


    Rufus grabbed the hand of the security guard next to him.“All of you go in and save him. If any of you


    manages to rescue my grandson, I’ll give each of you one hundred million. And if you perish inside, I’ll


    give that money to your family.”Even with such a choice, the security guards did not feel tempted. The


    fire is so intense that going back in will only mean certain death. There are no two ways about it. One


    hundred million is arge sum, but what good is all that money if we’re dead?The security guard,


    whose hand was in Rufus’ tight grasp, said, “The fire inside is too strong, and we don’t have any


    equipment to fight the mes. There’d be no way of escaping once we go in. We have elderly parents


    and young children back home, so we can’t take such a risk.”All those at the scene could empathize


    with everything he said. However, humans are selfish creatures and naturally want their nearest and


    dearest to survive.Rufus’ gaze flicked toward the security guard. “You do know Xavier was the one who


    gave you the towel to wrap around your face, don’t you?”The man was momentarily stunned. Then, heMaterial ? N?velDrama.Org.


    quickly fell to his knees in front of Rufus. “Yes, I know that! M-My entire family and I will never forget Mr.


    Xavier’s kindness!”Not wanting to waste time, Winnie picked up a wet nket from the ground and


    covered herself with it.“That’s enough talk. I’m going in to search. Xavier isn’t someone who’ll die so


    easily. As long as there’s a path cleared for him, he’ll surely make it out alive.”Rufus had a wet nket


    wrapped around him while getting carried out, and she guessed it was Xavier who had prepared it for


    the older man.He gave all chances of survival to his grandfather!However, Rufus grabbed Winnie’s arm


    just as she was about to rush in.“Winnie, you’re Xavier’s wife. If something has happened to him, I


    don’t want to see you also—”“That won’t happen. Have you forgotten? Didn’t your friend say I’m


    Xavier’s benefactor? I believe that as long as I’m by Xavier’s side, we can surely turn any misfortune


    into a blessing,” she reassured Rufus with a steadfast look in her eyes.With that, she continued running


    forward. After she had gone some distance, she suddenly turned around and shouted, “Grandpa


    Rufus, if anything happens to me, help me look after my granny!”The fire up ahead burned fiercely, and


    the tongues of me rose so high that they threatened to devour everything.Everyone watched as


    Winnie ran forward with determination. It seemed as though she was ready to face death unflinchingly,


    never to return.At that moment, fire truck sirens suddenly red, and fourrge vehicles drove into the


    compound one after another.After turning and taking a look, the butler said to Rufus excitedly, “It’s the


    firefighters! The fire trucks are here, and there are four of them! There’s hope for Mr. Xavier!”Rufus


    nced at the firefighters, then raised his voice and shouted, “Quick! Hurry up and tell Winnie toe


    back! Get her back here!” s, no matter where they looked, there was no sign of Winnie.The fire


    department had dispatched a fire truck, a water truck, a foam truck, and a rescue truck. The well-


    trained firefighters were clear about each of their tasks, and they carried out the rescue operation in an


    orderly manner.They stopped Winnie at the entrance to the fiery scene.“This is a fire scene. All


    unrted personnel, please stay away!” they said loudly, speaking over the sound of the roaring ze


    and dissuading her from going any further.Gazing at the group of firefighters in full protective gear,


    Winnie knew she would only be an inconvenience if she went in.She was very calm as she spoke in


    her loudest voice to make sure the firefighters could hear her clearly, saying, “My husband is still inside


    and is the only one left. He’s likely trapped in one of the bathrooms or somewhere with water. I leave


    the rest to you.”“Got it. Hurry up and leave. Go to a safe ce and wait for our news.”After saying that,


    the firefighters charged into the raging fire.Not wanting to cause any trouble for them, Winnie turned to


    leave.However, she had just turned around when she felt herself being pulled into someone’s arms.At


    first, she thought a firefighter had pulled her aside to evacuate her. However, realization struck her


    instantly when she felt the hand on her waist and got a whiff of the familiar scent of the shower gel.It’s


    him! What the hell! It’s Xavier!Xavier had managed to get out through a different exit, narrowly


    escaping. Uponing out, he was shocked to see Winnie about to rush into the fire and ran like the


    wind to stop her.Amid the blistering heat from the mes and smoke billowing in the air, he embraced


    Winnie tightly and refused to let her go.After maintaining that position for some time, he lowered his


    head and pressed a fierce kiss on her forehead.He was still panting heavily from running so fast earlier.


    “Dumbo, did youe to save me?”Winnie hugged him tightly, then gave him a hard shove.Her heart


    pounded as she gazed at his ckened and dirtied face, and she could not stop herself from pping


    him.“I told you not to make me worry again. If you dare to pull something like this again, you’re a


    goner!”Having said that, she pushed him aside and ran over to the foam truck.“Excuse me, but my


    husband got out already. Could you please let the other firefighters inside the building know and tell


    them toe out quickly? There’s no one inside anymore,” she yelled loudly.After hearing that, the


    firefighters immediately used theirmunication devices to contact those who had gone into the


    burning building.Thanks to the firefighters’ impable teamwork, those inside the building soon


    retreated.Although it was a massive fire, fortunately, there were no fatalities.Nobody at the scene was


    hurt, and thanks to the firefighters’ concerted efforts, they quickly seeded in getting the fire under


    control until it was extinguished.Xavier gently took Winnie’s hand as she was wiping his face while


    exining, “I escaped through the secret room in Grandpa’s study. That area wasn’t that badly


    burned.”Holding her fair and delicate hand in hisrge palm, he furrowed his brows.“Why did you p


    me just now? A scolding would’ve been sufficient. Your hand hurts from hitting me, doesn’t it?”Winnie


    raised her head and nced at him, her heart aching slightly.“It does hurt a little, but your cheek


    probably hurts more. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s just that I got so angry when I thought about how I


    nearly went in and perished together with you.”Xavier smiled. “Even if something does happen to me,


    there’s no way I’d ask you to die with me. You chose to go in on your own ord. You must’ve been


    worried to death about me, weren’t you?”Winnie rolled her eyes at him. “I was worried you were dead,


    not worried to death about you. In any case, if you dare to die without my knowledge in the future, I


    won’t spare you.”“Oh? What will you do?”“Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ll probably just have you cast


    into a statue to guard my grave after I die.”He let out a long sigh and pulled her close. “That won’t do. I


    have to be by your side. Even when we’re ashes, we must be ced in the same ce.”Winnie wound


    an arm around his waist tightly and responded in a condescending tone, “All right, then. I’ll grudgingly


    grant you that honor.”“Excellent. It’ll be my honor.” He lifted his hand and gently ruffled her hair.“That’ll


    do. Don’t touch my hair anymore. It’s already messy as it is. Grandpa Rufus is still waiting for us. You


    should go and see how he is.”The pair pulled away, then held hands while walking over to Rufus.Rufus


    sighed as he surveyed the ckened ruins before him. “Even the study is destroyed. When I get my


    hands on that b*stard Zyon, I’ll make him pay for this! Xavier, send someone to track him down at once.


    There’s probably still time. Also, your Uncle Stuart must be in contact with him. As for the burned


    documents in my study, there are copies of most of them in the bank’s safe. However, some of them


    require urgent attention. You’ll have to make the arrangements for those as soon as possible.”Xavier


    nodded. “Got it. I’ll get on it at once.”“Good. That b*stard also shot and wounded your cousin. I’ve no


    idea where he got that gun, but it’ll also be tricky if the Fraser family starts questioning the matter.”The


    mention of the Fraser family brought a frown to Winnie’s face. “Nate was involved in a little incident


    earlier. The gunshot wound wasn’t anything serious, but a ho got into his trachea. I’ve performed a


    tracheotomy on him, and he probably needs to be hospitalized for the time being. It’d be good to give


    him a little extra care and attention, Grandpa Rufus.”“What?” Rufus pinched between his brows and


    continued, “I can’t believe something like that happened. It’s truly a case of when it rains, it pours.”“The


    ambnce should be here already. It’s nothing serious,” Winnie murmured,forting the elderly


    man.Then, she turned to Xavier and said, “You should get on with what you need to do. I’m going to


    check on Granny. I don’t know how she’s doing and whether she got a fright.”He squeezed Winnie’s


    hand. “The fire didn’t spread to the west side, so she’s probably fine.”“I know. What worries me now is


    Zyon. This ce is massive, and there’s no saying where he could be hiding in whichever corner. Well,


    I’ll be heading over there now.”“Get a few of the security guards to go with you. I can’t help but feel


    uneasy if you go alone.”“There’s no need to waste human resources on me. It’d be better for you to


    gather the guards to help search for Zyon. After all, he may not have gone to where Granny is.”Hence,


    Winnie walked alone to where her grandmother was.She called the older woman while on her way


    there, and after making sure nothing had happened in that area, she heaved a sigh of relief.However,


    she walked quickly, and because she was moving at such a fast pace, she did not have time to observe


    her surroundings.Suddenly, a dark figure sprang out from the shadows!