Silly Bride Chapter 276
Chapter 276
“Inconvenient for him?” Wilhelm’s tone changed immediately. “I can’t believe that you’re actually giving
a vague reason like this. Winnie, be frank with me. Did something bad happen between the two of
you?”Winnie was close to Nathaniel, and Wilhelm had not been soft.Furthermore, there was no sound
coming out of Nathaniel’s earphones.He initially did not n on eavesdropping on Winnie’s phone call,
but when Wilhelm asked that question, he couldn’t help perking up his ears.s, Winnie chuckled
softly. “Not at all. Nothing bad happened between us.”“Really?” Wilhelm sounded a tad skeptical. “Did
the man pick on you?”At that, Winnie couldn’t help bursting into giggles. “Of course not. If I don’t want it
to happen, no one can take advantage of me, much less pick on me. Even if someone picked on me,
I’d retaliate viciously instead of running home with my tail tucked between my legs.”“I’d hope so! If that
man dares to pick on you, I’ll never let him off the hook, nor will the entire Speiser family.” On the
phone, Wilhelm’s voice became solemn in an instant.The familial warmth and affection had a smile
blooming on Winnie’s face.“Got it, my beloved brother. I’ll tell him what you saidter. I’ve got a friend
with me right now, so I’ll talk to you another time. See you at the airport.”She then said a few more
words before hanging up the phone.Seeing that, Nathaniel removed his earphones.After doing so, he
first apologized to Winnie. “Sorry, Winnie. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation earlier, but I
didn’t turn on any music, so there wasn’t any sounding out of my earphones.”Winnie cast a look at
him. “I understand. Besides, this is a public space, not a space that belongs to me exclusively. If you
must apologize to me, then I must say sorry to you too. I shouldn’t have answered a call in a public
space.”“No, no, that wasn’t what I meant. I seemingly heard your family asking about your rtionship
with Mr. Fairchild.” Nathaniel shed her an embarrassed smile.Winnie bobbed her head in affirmation.
“You did.”“Then… do you mind me prying into your private matters?” Nathaniel ventured.They still had
to wait for a long time for their flight, and Winnie didn’t want to be lost in her thoughts. If there’s nothing
to divert my attention, I probably won’t be able to help myself from thinking about Christopher again.It
was a traumatic incident for her, and she didn’t want to be trapped in it forever without being able to
step out.She shook her head at Nathaniel. “Nope. But if it infringes my privacy, I’ll decline answering.”InProperty ? of N?velDrama.Org.
response, Nathaniel grinned. “Of course. That’s your right.”“Go ahead, then.”As Nathaniel stared at the
alluring Aplothian countenance before him, his heartbeat inexorably sped up.He started, “As far as I
know, your family didn’t know about your marriage with Mr. Fairchild at first. Marrying him was likely an
expedient measure at that time. Pardon my intrusion, but does the Speiser family acknowledge this
marriage? It seems that even the duke’s heir is having a political marriage with another prominent
family. What about you, then? Are you free to marry anyone you like?”Winnie didn’t answer his
question right away. Instead, she asked in return, “What about you? As Lord Joseph’s third son, are
you free to marry anyone you like?”Nathaniel gazed at her earnestly. “Of course! When ites to
marriage, my parents granted me the greatest freedom. I’ll only marry a woman I love, for love must be
present in my marriage. As for a political marriage for the sake of the family, it falls on whoever inherits
the earldom. I’m merely a businessman who loves finance and has nothing to do with politics. My
family needs me, but not to that extent.”Winnie bobbed her head. “If so, we share the same sentiments.
It must be out of love that I choose to marry someone. Despite being a pureblooded member of the
Huxley family, you don’t need to have a political marriage, so it goes doubly for me. After all, I’m only
an adopted daughter of the Speiser family. My family name is Gand, and I’m not even a citizen of
Yartran.”“Oh, that’s true.” A wave of disappointment inundated Nathaniel, but still, he couldn’t resist
querying, “What if… Just hypothetically speaking… What if your family were to ask you to enter into a
political marriage with another family now? Would you decline? After all, the Speiser family has few
daughters, as hardly any girls were born in your generation.”Winnie pondered for a while. “That does
seem to be the case.” That’s why Wilhelm and the others dote on me so much.She then continued,
“But that isn’t a reason for political marriages. The Speiser family is sufficiently strong that it has long
since been unnecessary for them to consolidate their social status through political marriages. Besides,
I’m already married now. How could I possibly be part of a political marriage anymore? If my family
were to propose that I do so, I would undoubtedly turn it down.”Nathaniel frowned as he regarded her.
“Then, are the two of you… I mean, are things really fine between you and Mr. Fairchild? After all, I
heard that…”Winnie’s brows furrowed. “What did you hear?”Pausing for a moment, Nathaniel admitted,
“I heard that he’s currently in the hospital. If things were fine between the two of you, why would you
leave him at such a time?”Why would I leave him at such a time? A deep frown marred Winnie’s face. It
turns out that no matter what we talk about, we’ll still make a full circle and speak about something
rted to Christopher in the end.She exhaled deeply. “Sorry, but I can’t answer this question.”“It’s okay.
You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry for having asked something I shouldn’t have asked.” Nathaniel
immediately apologized to her.However, he wasrgely certain that something must have happened
between the couple.This is good news for me. Once, Mother wanted to introduce the adopted daughter
of the Speiser family to me, but I declined the political marriage before I’d even met her. Later, when I
discovered the truth and learned that she was “Gator” and also the Aplothian daughter adopted by the
Speiser family, I regretted it to the core! I should be happy now that something had happened between
her and Mr. Fairchild. But at the sight of her despondency, I simply can’t muster any joy. With such a
beautiful face, she should always be wearing a smile.At that thought, he instinctively stood up and
murmured, “Sorry, but please excuse me.”Winnie nodded. “No worries.”Five minutester, Nathaniel
returned with a cup of steaming hot coffee. He handed the coffee to Winnie. “ck coffee with milk.
This should be your preference, right?”Winnie was surprised. She remembered that she had only drunk
coffee twice in front of him. “I didn’t expect you to remember such a tiny detail.”“Why, of course! It has
always been exceedingly difficult for me to ask you out. We only had coffee together twice, and you
had ck coffee with milk both times. It’s simply too easy to remember,” Nathaniel quipped with a
grin.“Ah, I see.” Lifting the cup, Winnie took a sip of the coffee. “It tastes superb.”“Enjoy it, then. No
matter what, live in the moment. Enjoying life is the most important thing. Let everything that makes
you unhappy be a thing of the past,” Nathaniel said, trying tofort her.A hint of utter dejection
marred Winnie’s countenance, and she muttered, “A thing of the past? But some people and things are
destined to be vibrant and vivid. They’re impossible to be forgotten so easily.”Mistakenly assuming that
she was talking about Xavier, Nathaniel felt that there was still hope for him.At once, he asserted, “No
matter what the past holds, it’s a crucial part of our lives. Perhaps we can’t forget what happened in the
past, but both time and destiny are moving forward. We should also look to the future.”Winnie lowered
her head and stared down at the ck liquid in the coffee cup. “I know, so I’m trying.”Out of the blue,
Nathaniel suggested, “Or perhaps you should take this opportunity to go on a vacation. You can try
challenging some extreme sports such as skydiving, bungee jumping, or climbing Mount Albeise. If you
need mypany, I can go with you.”Climbing Mount Albeise? Winnie’s eyes lit up.Indeed, it’s been a
long time since I’vest gone mountain climbing. Back when I climbed Mount Albeise with Lawrence a
few years ago, we even buried two cans of Sprite at the summit, making a promise to climb to the top
of the mountain and drink them together when we’re free. But then, we’ve both been truly busy in the
past few years that we haven’t gone mountain climbing anymore. As a geologist, Lawrence is currently
doing research in the Arcvas Desert in Alendor, so he probably doesn’t have the time to do so.When
Nathaniel mentioned that ce again right then, Winnie suddenly felt like going there for a look. She
wanted to dig out the two cans of Sprite and snap a photo for Lawrence to see.Her mood abruptly
lifted. “Your suggestion is great, but you can just go about your matters. I’m not a kid, so I don’t need
someone apanying me.”Nathaniel pursed his lips in slight disappointment. “All right, then. I hope
you enjoy yourself.”“I will.” Winnie had merely wanted to leave for some time, but she hadn’t decided
what to do after that.At that moment, however, she had a n.Ten hourster, the nended at the
airport in Yartran’s capital right on the dot.When they were disembarking the ne, Winnie asked
Nathaniel, “Is someoneing over to pick you up? Do you need a lift?”Smiling, Nathaniel queried,
“Are you sure it’s okay? Who’sing from the Speiser family to pick you up?”“My second brother,
Wilhelm Speiser.”Sheer surprise deluged Nathaniel. “Oh my god, Winnie! Mr. Wilhelm is actually
coming personally to pick you up! It looks like you’re not an ordinary adopted daughter to the Speiser
family.”Wilhelm Speiser was a prominent figure in Yartran. Someone whom he would deign to pick up
personally was definitely something else.Winnieughed silently. “So, would you like to experience the
joy of being ferried around by Mr. Wilhelm?”Chuckling, Nathaniel waved his hand in demurral. “I don’t
dare trouble him. I was merely joking with you. There’ll be a caring to pick me up, so I won’t
trouble the two of you.”Winnie nodded. “Okay, then.”Neither of them had any luggage, so they went
right out the VIP passage.Not only was Wilhelm dressed smartly, but he was also handsome in the first
ce. He stood out among the crowding and going from the airport, and Winnie spotted him at a
single nce.Conversely, the man didn’t catch sight of her immediately, for he was talking to ady
beside him, who was elegantly dressed.Winnie took another nce at the spot where Wilhelm stood.
Then, she looked up at Nathaniel and said, “I’ve spotted my brother. What about you? Have you
spotted the personing to pick you up?”Nathaniel looked around. “Not at the moment.”Eyeing
Winnie’s injured arm, he urged, “Go ahead and leave first. Get some rest when you’re back.”Winnie
bobbed her head. “See you again next time.”And so, the two of them parted ways. Winnie hurried
forward with huge strides.Before she had drawn close, Wilhelm noticed her and voluntarily stopped
conversing with thedy beside him.In no time, thedy cast a gentle look at Winnie and shed her a
smile.Disregarding her scrutiny, Winnie smiled at her in return, out of courtesy.Soon, she reached
Wilhelm.Wilhelm frowned deeply as he glowered at her arm in a cast before her chest.Without waiting
for Winnie to greet him, he leaned down and hugged her tightly.After dropping his hold on her, he
introduced her to thedy beside him. “This is my sister, Vivian.”Subsequently, he said to Winnie, “This
is Lady Joseph Huxley.”Upon hearing the family name of Huxley, Winnie reflexively nced back over
her shoulder.Sure enough, Nathaniel was already standing behind her right then.Ah, it turns out that
the person he saiding to pick him up is his mother, Lady Joseph Huxley.She promptly greeted
Nathaniel’s mother, Elisha. Thetter responded by hugging her lightly.“I’ve heard of you long ago.
Rumor has it that you’re a stunning Aplothian girl. Seeing you today, I’m convinced that you’re indeed
deserving of such praise.”“Thank you for thepliment, My Lady. I’m honored.”Only when they had
finished exchanging pleasantries did Elisha cast her gaze at Nathaniel behind Winnie and remark, “Let
me make the introductions. This is my third son, Nathaniel.”Nathaniel looked down at Winnie before
saying to Elisha, “You don’t need to make the introductions. Vivian and I have known each other for
ages. She’s my most outstanding business partner.”Elisha was surprised. “Really? Don’t tell me she’s
that business partner of yours known as Gator?”Nathaniel nodded proudly. “Exactly, Mother.”After
Elisha received an affirmative answer, her gaze carried a trace of admiration and approval when she
looked at Winnie again.“Sure enough, the children of the Speiser family are all talented in finance.
Since you’re acquainted, I’ll take the liberty of inviting you both to my house for dinner. Would you do
me the honor?”