Silly Bride Chapter 280


    Chapter 280


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Needless to say, Helen was shocked by Wilhelm’s sudden appearance.“Pleasure to meet you, Mr.


    Wilhelm,” she said as her brows furrowed. “However, I was asking for Ms. Vivian’s opinion, so don’t you


    think you were too hasty in making that decision?”Wilhelm nced at Helen and frowned. “I apologize


    for my abruptness, but my decision is also that of Vivian’s.”Not wanting to give up her golden


    opportunity so easily, Helen turned to Winnie for confirmation. “Is that so?”Winnie immediately nodded.


    “Yes, that’s indeed my decision. Thank you for your invitation, but I’m afraid I’ll have to turn it down.


    We’ll be heading off now if you and Margaret have no other questions.”Since Winnie had already made


    herself clear, Helen knew there was nothing more she could do. “Very well, then. Have a good day. I’d


    also like to apologize to you on Margaret’s behalf.”Winnie merely gave a silent nod of acknowledgment


    before taking Emily by the arm and following V upstairs.As soon as everyone was in the VIP lounge,


    Wilhelm suddenly turned to Winnie and burst outughing.Bewildered, Winnie shot him a nce and


    raised her brow. “Why are youughing at me? Do I look like a joke to you?”To her surprise, Wilhelm’s


    smile grew wider. “My, my. You’ve been hiding your light under a bushel, Vivian. I can’t believe you’re


    the boss of Champes! Say, what other identities do you have that we don’t know of?”“Oh, there are so


    many I can’t even count them on my fingers,” Winnie replied half-jokingly. “I’ve even forgotten some of


    them. I suppose I’ll only recall them when I have another chance encounter.”Wilhelm instantly guffawed


    at that. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d have pegged you as a snob after hearing what you just said. No


    wonder Grandma always receives the best treatment when she’s here to order her clothes. Well, I’m


    d I finally know the reason, but when will it be my turn to enjoy such treatment too?”“My goodness,


    Wilhelm. Champes is a women’s clothing brand,” Winnie said with a hint of annoyance. “If you find


    yourself a wife worthy of my respect, I’ll also make sure to give her the VIP treatment.”“Are you taking


    me for a joke too?” Wilhelm grumbled as he lightly smacked her head.Winnie knew the man would


    never be heavy-handed on her, so she didn’t even bother ducking.“Speaking of which, I think that


    journalist, Helen, looked at you rather oddly earlier,” she suddenly remarked. “She seems to hate you,


    but I’m sure it’s not just because you turned her down on my behalf. Fess up, Wilhelm. Did something


    happen between the two of you?”Without thinking twice, Wilhelm replied, “No!”“Oh, Wilhelm!” Emily


    eximed, looking rather shocked. “How could you deny it? Have you forgotten that you rejected her


    before in public?”Upon hearing that, Wilhelm looked utterly confused. “Grandma, are you sure? Why


    don’t I have any recollection?”“Yes, of course,” Emily said, a deep-set frown on her face. “I’m sure it


    was her.”Before Wilhelm could reply, she turned to Winnie and added, “Do you know why I told you I


    know this particr journalist? Not only did she expose the royal family’s scandal, but she was also the


    onlydy brave enough to profess her love for Wilhelm in public. On top of that, she even got rejected


    by him.”“That’s impossible,” Wilhelm retorted. “I do remember someone professing her love to me, but


    that was at a birthday party three years ago and by a very youngdy. I’m sure it wasn’t that


    journalist.”“Oh, my dear Wilhelm…” Winnie muttered. “Three years have passed since then. Don’t you


    know that appearances change as people grow?”“You didn’t, though. I think you look the same as you


    did three years ago. The only thing different about you is that your skills have improved.”“Fine. It seems


    you never cared much for thedy,” Winnie reasoned. “You know, if she’s someone with high self-


    esteem, there’s a chance she’s still holding grudges.”The moment she finished speaking, V and his


    assistant walked into the room with the tailor-made gown and various haute couture dresses.Dazzled


    by the beautiful clothes, Emily immediately ordered Winnie and Wilhelm to quieten down.“Hurry up and


    get changed, Winnie,” she urged. “I’ll need your help too, Wilhelm. I n on gifting one of these


    dresses to my friend, but I can’t make up my mind. Take a look and give me your opinion, will you?”Just


    like that, the afternoon went by in the blink of an eye. Emily was more than satisfied with the current


    batch of tailor-made dresses. She especially loved Winnie’s gown.As luck would have it, the group was


    leaving the lounge when they bumped into Helen and Margaret walking out of another room.This time


    around, because of Wilhelm, Winnie intentionally paid more attention to the journalist.To her surprise,


    she realized that Helen’s eyes were always on Wilhelm as though she still hadn’t gotten over the man


    who once made her heart flutter.With the dress fitting all done, Emily suggested that Winnie return to


    Speiser Manor with her.Thetter, however, turned her down. “I still have to go to the hospital


    tomorrow, and it’d be more convenient to head there from my condominium than from the manor. My


    ce is only a stone’s throw away from the hospital.”Upon hearing that, Emily and Wilhelm both


    eximed, “What? Are you seriously going back to your condominium?”Before Winnie could reply, the


    two of them began shaking their heads.“You’ll be alone in your condominium, and there won’t be


    anyone to take care of you,” Emily said. “Since it isn’t appropriate for you to stay at Wilhelm’s either,


    why not stay with me?”“Exactly. If that’s the case, I’ll return to the manor too,” Wilhelm hurriedly chimed


    in. “I can take you to the hospital in a while. There’s no difference whether you go today or tomorrow


    anyway.”Winnie, who was at a loss for words, had no choice but to oblige. “Fine… Let’s go with that


    arrangement, then.”As a result, she headed to the hospital to remove her bandages and followed the


    Speisers back to their manor.Unsurprisingly, the news of her return excited their cousins so much that


    they threw a huge weing party for her.If it weren’t for the fact that she needed to rest and


    recuperate, there was no doubt they’d have plied her with wine.It was nine at night in Yartran by the


    time Winnie managed to check her phone.Because of the time difference, it was around four in the


    morning in Chanaea, when the sun had yet to rise, and everyone was still sound asleep.She looked at


    the long list of messages that Xavier had sent, not knowing what she should reply.Xavier had asked


    various questions, such as what she was doing, if she had eaten, and if everything was settled.As


    much as Winnie wanted to answer each question individually, she was more worried that her flood of


    messages might wake Xavier up.In the end, she consolidated her replies into a single long message


    and sent it to thetter.When Winnie failed to receive any response after waiting for ten minutes, she


    concluded that Xavier must still be sleeping and decided to keep her phone away.Not long after, she


    was invited to dance, to which she agreed out of courtesy.Just as Winnie was dancing, however,


    Xavier’s call came through. s, the music in the hall was so loud that it drowned out her ringtone


    completely, and not a single person noticed the blinking notification light.Due to the significant time


    difference and the fact that Winnie had many social events to attend over the next few days, she could


    barely find the time to talk to Xavier. Their phone conversations were often interrupted, and even text


    messages were left unanswered for a long while.Winnie was so busy that she didn’t have time to mope


    around, but Xavier, on the other hand, found it to be an agonizing ordeal.Soon, it was the day for


    Emily’s interview with Helen, and she had Winnie vet her scripts before the journalist arrived.Wilhelm


    was also present when Winnie skimmed through the script. Thetter’s expression instantly slid into a


    frown when she was done reading.“Grandma, are you sure you want to share these old stories?


    Wouldn’t they affect Steffen and the family’s reputation?” Winnie asked. “Steffen is poised to be


    the youngest member of parliament. If his future gets affected because of my background, I’ll feel very


    guilty.”“Don’t worry, Winnie. I’ve already discussed this with Steffen and even had him vet the script,”


    Emily reassured. “Both your grandfather and eldest brother have no problems with it, so you shouldn’t


    let it bother you either.”“Really?” Winnie asked, still frowning slightly. I’m more than aware that


    Grandma only agreed to do this interview because she dotes on me and wants to give me a proper


    acknowledgment. However, I honestly don’t care about the title. It doesn’t matter whether I’m blood-


    rted or adopted, so long as I know Grandpa and Grandma are good to me. I don’t want to drag the


    other Speiser family members into my mess…“That’s right, Winnie,” Wilhelm replied. “I’ve thought it


    through and agree that this is the best approach. The previous mission we entrusted you with has put


    your life in danger, but your enemies only know you as Vivian and not your real identity. If we reveal


    your family background, I’m sure they won’t do anything reckless when they run into you again.


    Besides, since Grandpa and Steffen are on board, you have nothing to worry about.”After getting


    persuaded by Emily and Wilhelm, Winnie finally nodded.“Okay. I’ll go along with it, but I don’t wish to be


    interviewed. I don’t want to show my face,” she said sternly.Wilhelm furrowed his brows at that. “You


    don’t have to participate in the interview, but I think you should reveal your face. I know you don’t want


    the media snapping photos of you, so I’ve chosen this family photo takenst Christmas. Will that be all


    right with you?”Winnie promptly took the photo and scrutinized it. Everyone was smiling beautifully in it,


    but a brte like her still stood out like a sore thumb among the rest of her blond-haired family


    members.Oh, well, I suppose this is better than publishing a solo photo of me.“Okay,” Winnie said with


    a nod. “Let’s do as you say, Wilhelm. I think it’s a good idea to have all of you in the photo with


    me.”Very soon, Helen published an article with the eye-catching headline: After Fifteen Years, The


    Speiser Family’s Adopted Aplothian Daughter Is Revealed To Be Their Biological Daughter!The news


    went viral overnight in Yartran and gradually spread to the rest of the world.Then again, it was hardly


    surprising that the news made the rounds so quickly. After all, not only did the article provide an in-


    depth exnation of Winnie’s background, but it also exposed the scandals of the Speiser family’s


    seventh generation.In reality, Joshua Speiser, the current duke, was the eighth duke of his family. The


    seventh duke was his elder brother, who turned out to be Winnie’s maternal grandfather.How, then, did


    the seventh duke have a granddaughter in Chanaea?As it turned out, the seventh duke’s marriage life


    was anything but smooth sailing. He had agreed to an arranged marriage for the sole purpose of aiding


    his family politically and financially.After the wedding, however, he gradually fell in love with his wife


    and looked forward to building a family with her. Unfortunately, his wife cheated on him with another


    woman, which prompted him to leave Yartran and travel around Chanaea under a hidden


    identity.During his travels, he met Winnie’s biological maternal grandmother and slowly realized he had


    fallen head over heels in love with the beautiful Chanaean woman.The couple’s love continued to


    blossom, and it wasn’t long before she gave birth to Winnie’s mother. But sadly, Lady Luck did not


    smile upon them.Shortly after the birth of their child, Winnie’s biological maternal grandparents


    perished in a tragic boat ident, leaving her mother behind as the sole survivor.Later, after much


    back and forth, Jacinta Sumner finally adopted Winnie’s mother, who subsequently gave birth to Winnie


    in her adulthood.Due to the passing of Winnie’s maternal grandfather, the title of duke was then


    inherited by the current eighth duke.As such, there was nothing wrong with Emily iming Winnie to be


    rted to the Speiser family by blood. If thetter’s maternal grandfather hadn’t passed away, Joshua


    would never have inherited the title of duke.In short, the wife of the seventh duke had an affair, and he


    ran away heartbroken, only to have an illegitimate daughter with a Chanaean woman.No matter how


    well the story was written, one couldn’t deny that it was still a scandal through and through.However,


    the current duke and duchess were determined to acknowledge Winnie as their granddaughter, so it


    was no wonder the news spread like wildfire and became one of the most talked about topics.Naturally,


    Xavier was no exception.By the time the article was published, he had already been discharged from


    the hospital and returned to Fairchild Corporation.Not only did he and all his employees read the news,


    but he also heard them gossiping among themselves.“When Mrs. Fairchild was ying dumb, we all


    thought she wasn’t good enough for Mr. Fairchild. Who can me us, though? She’s an attractive


    woman, but that doesn’t make her worthy of him. We only became impressed when it was revealed


    that she became the biggest shareholder of Gand Group. Even though Gand Group can’t hold a


    candle to Fairchild Corporation, it’s still a pretty powerfulpany.”“That’s right! Then, when it was


    reported that Mrs. Fairchild had been donating to Hope Elementary Schools all over the country, we


    were even more amazed by her and finally found her to be a good fit for Mr. Fairchild. Later, when


    news began going around that she was the Speiser family’s adopted daughter, I made it a point to read


    up on the family and was utterly blown away! I did think her social status had be a little better than


    Mr. Fairchild’s, but then again, she was only said to be an adopted daughter. Now, the tables have


    turnedpletely! I can’t believe she’s the seventh duke’s only granddaughter! If the seventh duke


    were still alive, I’m sure she’d be at the top of the social ranks!”“The current duke and duchess have


    acknowledged her, haven’t they? Did you see where she stood in that published family photo? She was


    virtually the center of attraction. They must love her to bits! Oh, on top of that, the journalist also said


    she’s the boss of Champes! Even the most famous designer, V, is her student. From what I heard, the


    name ‘V’ is derived from her name ‘Vivian.’ Can you think of anyone more impressive than her?”“To be


    honest, I think it’s Mr. Fairchild’s fortune to have married her.”“Hush! Keep your voice down. Then


    again, I have to say I share the same sentiments too. Haha! You know, Mr. Fairchild has been moping


    around ever since Mrs. Fairchild returned to Yartran. I bet it has something to do with this matter, and


    they probably had an argument over it. Here, take a look at this article. It never even once mentioned


    their marriage! Who knows? A prince or aristocrat might soon enter the picture and propose to Mrs.


    Fairchild. When that happens, and Mr. Fairchild loses out to them, there’s a good chance Mrs. Fairchild


    will be a princess!”