Silly Bride Free Preview

Hamish Garland arrived back at his family mansion one day to find his wife, Yara Fandel, and their daughter, Kylie Garland, both in tears with their arms around each other.

“I don't want to marry Xavier anymore, Mom. He's a vegetable! I'm not going to marry someone who's in a coma! My life will be ruined! I'm begging you, get Dad to annul the engagement with the Fairchild family. I'd rather die if you force me to go through with this. I'll jump off a building, hang myself, or slit my wrists! Anything's better than being married to a dead man!”

As Kylie wailed, she made to grab the fruit knife from the coffee table.

“Stop!” Hamish strode over to stay his daughter's hand. “What's the meaning of considering suicide for every little thing?”

“Dad!” Kylie sniffled. “You're back just in time. I'm going to show you my determination today. I would rather die than marry Xavier.”

“That doesn't mean you should hurt yourself!” Yara held on to Kylie and turned her pleading gaze up at her husband. “Is your heart made of stone, Hamish? Kylie is our daughter. How could you bear to watch her die?”

Hamish was at his wit's end. “You know the standing of our family as well as I do, Yara. Marrying Kylie off to them shows we are worthy of them. Us Garlands will be finished if we call off the wedding the moment something happened to Xavier.”

He collapsed helplessly onto the couch as he continued, “I, too, can't bear to watch our daughter suffer, but I have no other way. I hope the two of you will be able to understand me.”

“What do you mean no other way?” Yara took the reins as soon as Hamish showed signs of swaying. “Xavier is betrothed to Ms. Garland. They're not going to care what the bride's first name is, be it Kylie or whatever else, in light of Xavier's condition!”

“What do you mean?” Hamish did not quite understand.

“Hamish...” Yara sat next to him and clung to his arm. “Have you forgotten that you have another daughter? She's two years older than Kylie and the eldest daughter of the Garlands. Kylie is actually the second child.”

“Are you referring to Winnie? No way!” Hamish protested at once when his wife mentioned his other daughter.

“Why not? Kylie would be spared if Winnie married Xavier.”

Hamish glared at his wife. “Are you out of your mind? Winnie is mentally challenged. Marrying a simpleton to them is as good as calling the Fairchilds fools!”

“That simpleton has been raised in the countryside for years, Hamish. The world is not aware of her existence, much less knows she's a simpleton. Let's marry her off first, then find an excuse. We'll tell them she bumped her head and lost her wits, and no one would ever know.”

Yara continued, “Xavier is comatose, Hamish. He's pretty much blind at this point and wouldn't know who he will marry. Besides, you'll still be responsible for the simpleton if she isn't married off. However, you wouldn't have to bother with her once she becomes one of the Fairchilds. We can kill two birds with one stone by doing this!”

Hamish thought his wife had a point. He gazed at his beloved, suicidal daughter and nodded at last.

“All right. I'll have somebody bring Winnie back from the village.”

Soon, Hamish's secretary, Wendy Wilkerson, retrieved Winnie from a secluded mountainous village in Avenport.

Winnie Garland was Hamish's daughter with his ex-wife.

Years ago, Hamish was a broke, illegitimate child banished by his family. His ex-wife was a gentle and kind woman.

Aside from bearing him a child at a young age, she helped him reestablish himself. However, the unfaithful Hamish began an affair once he became rich. After being welcomed back into his family, he cast aside his ex-wife and daughter.

Winnie, on the other hand, suffered from brain damage due to an untended fever in her youth.

She promptly abandoned her grandmother, who had cared for her for decades, at the prospect of following Wendy to the big city for candy.

At the moment, Winnie was leaning against the car window with a silly grin on her face. Her clear eyes were like those of a child's.

Wendy felt sorry for her young charge, so she handed her phone to the latter.

“Speak with your father, Ms. Winnie. He's on the other end.”

Winnie continued to smile. Under Wendy's urging, she finally took the phone and bit it. “Delicious! Can I eat this?”

Wendy snatched back her phone and stepped away. “Ms. Winnie is still the same,” she reported to Hamish on the phone. “She doesn't even know what a phone is. All she wants to do is eat.”

Unbeknownst to Wendy, Winnie was smiling coldly at her back at that moment.

Her wide, discerning eyes twinkled, most unlike a mentally challenged simpleton's.

Xavier Fairchild would have had a large wedding had that misfortune not befallen him.

That car accident had rendered him comatose. Lying unconscious in bed at that moment, he was unable to attend his own wedding.

As a result, the Fairchild family did not plan a wedding ceremony. Instead, they brought Winnie over to Xavier's mansion.

Worried about the premature reveal of the bride's idiocy, Yara entered the newlyweds' bedroom unabashedly during the wedding night.

Xavier's bedroom was on the second floor of the mansion. Despite his condition, tradition dictated that the bride and groom consummate the marriage.

To that end, Mary, the housekeeper, led Winnie and Yara upstairs.

To disguise the truth about Winnie's mental condition, Yara had specially dressed her in traditional wedding attire.

At that moment, Winnie's vision was obstructed by a heavy, red veil that rendered her blind to her surroundings.

Yara, on the other hand, got a good look at the bedridden man. He looked thoroughly pale, and medical equipment surrounded his bed. She knew at a glance that he was not long for this world.

Once more, Yara was thankful that it was not her own daughter she married off.

However, Winnie was not going to abide by her stepmother's wishes. The more Yara wished to conceal the truth, the more the former was determined to expose it.

She whipped off her veil and made a loud slurping noise before shouting, “I'm hungry, Mommy! I want to eat something! I want meat!”

Yara jumped at Winnie's outburst, having told her in the car that Yara would give her candy on the condition that she kept her mouth shut once indoors.

I can't believe she would do this right now!

Embarrassed, Yara hurriedly clapped a hand over Winnie's mouth before fumbling to replace her veil. “How could you disrespect tradition like that! You're not supposed to lift the veil by yourself!”

“What's going on, Mrs. Garland?” Mary noticed the odd manner in which her new mistress spoke.

Yara hurriedly sent Mary away. “Nothing. This is the way she is. She has been a glutton ever since she was a child and must be hungry right now. Could you make her something to eat?”

However, Mary had a funny feeling that her new mistress was not temperamental as Yara claimed. The girl looks like a simpleton instead.

As soon as Mary left, Yara dragged Winnie impatiently to the bathroom.

As it was more discreet in the bathroom, Yara planned to execute her plan there.

Unnoticed by Yara and Winnie, Xavier, who had been lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes when they entered the bathroom.

“Mommy, why did you bring me here? Are we taking a shower?”

Winnie sneered silently behind Yara when she noticed the woman locking the bathroom door.

In truth, she had overheard Yara's plan.

As Yara did not want the Fairchild family to know that they had sent their retarded daughter to marry Xavier, she planned to injure Winnie on her wedding night and conspire with the hospital to claim that she had gotten into an accident that damaged her brain.

“Be good, Winnie. You've done so much today, and you must be really tired. Come, let me wash your face for you. Lower your head.”

“Okay!” Winnie looked at Yara with her innocent big eyes and lowered her head with a smile on her face.

When the opportunity seemed right, Yara extended her hand, intending to slam Winnie's head against the basin.

The basin in the bathroom was made of marble and was extremely hard. As such, it would be easy for one to suffer serious head injuries with just one knock against it.

However, before Yara could execute her plan, Winnie turned around suddenly and let out a loud shriek.

“Ahh! Mommy! There's a cockroach! I'm scared! Mommy, protect me!” Winnie exclaimed as she hugged Yara's waist and knocked her against the wall.

As Winnie had executed that move with all her strength, the back of Yara's head was injured and blood could be seen trickling from the wound.

“Ouch! That hurts! Let go of me, you dumbass!”

However, not only did Winnie not let Yara go, she continued to bump Yara against the wall.

“The cockroach is on the wall! Crush it! Mommy, crush it! Mommy's the best!” Winnie cried out, carrying on with her pretense.

Although Yara was boiling with anger, she could neither scold nor hit Winnie. Not only that, she even had to pacify her.

“Don't be scared, Winnie. Mommy has already crushed the cockroach, but both of us are injured now. So let's go to the hospital,” Yara said, suppressing her urge to strangle Winnie before smearing some of her own blood on Winnie's forehead.

Being cooperative, Winnie started wailing. “I'm bleeding! I'm injured! Mommy, please bring me to the hospital!”

“Sure, Mommy will take you to the hospital right away.”

That was exactly the outcome Yara was hoping for. However, she did not expect that she would be the one getting injured instead.

Winnie could not help but feel amused by what had happened. That was a prime example of going for wool and coming home shorn.

Yara took Winnie to the hospital that she had arranged for prior.

Meanwhile, the Fairchild family had sent their housekeeper, Mary, to the hospital to understand the situation. None of the elders from the family was there.

The doctor announced his diagnosis in the presence of both Mary and Yara. He had come to the conclusion that as Winnie's brain was more fragile than usual, there was a high chance that she might suffer from mental retardation due to her injury.

Mary froze in shock upon hearing the doctor's words. When she headed to Winnie's ward after that, what she saw confirmed the doctor's diagnosis. Winnie was sitting on her bed and playing with children's toys.

“Big sissy,” Winnie greeted Mary sweetly when Mary entered the ward.

“Big sissy, do you want to sit in this car? Both of us can fit into it.”

Mary was utterly speechless and rang Rufus Fairchild, Xavier's grandfather, immediately to update him on the situation.

As Xavier's father was overseas during that period of time, Rufus was the one handling all matters related to Xavier's marriage.

Due to his son being in a vegetative state, Xavier's father had initially wanted to break off the engagement as he did not feel that it would be fair to the bride.

However, Rufus was a superstitious old man who firmly believed that his grandson would be able to ward off bad luck by getting married. Besides, a tarot reader had told him that Hamish's eldest daughter was Xavier's lucky charm.

As such, even though Rufus went to the hospital the next day and personally confirmed that Winnie had become mentally retarded, he still ended up taking her home.

Rufus had dominated the business arena in his younger days and was definitely not a benevolent elderly.

However, he could not help but feel his heart soften when he was with Winnie, who only had the mental ability of a child.

Winnie was an ethereal beauty with exquisite features that looked extremely alluring even without makeup.

Rufus loved the way she called him “Grandpa Rufus.” As such, when the woman pointed to a toy shop and requested to go inside and buy toys, he agreed immediately.

After entering the toy shop, Winnie looked around for a long time before deciding on a Peppa Pig suitcase and a watch.

She gave it some thought before stuffing the suitcase with other toys. After all, she needed some props to make her pretense seem real.

When they arrived back at Xavier's mansion, Winnie coaxed Rufus into giving her a playroom just to store her toys.

After dinner, Winnie went into her playroom straight away and started playing with her toys.

Rufus stayed with her for a while before leaving. A few minutes later, Winnie closed the door after making sure that no one would enter the room.

She opened the flap of her watch, revealing a sophisticated electronic display screen that allowed her to make calls after verifying her thumbprint.

“Hey, Gator! You're finally online. I've been waiting since forever. I have no idea what to do with the few billion worth of assets that I'm holding on to, and I'm waiting for your instructions.” Nathaniel, who was on the other end of the line, started ranting the moment the call went through.

“Gator” was Winnie's code name, which was known to everyone in the financial investment industry in the western part of the world.

However, apart from her code name, no one knew anything else about Winnie. That was because she had never divulged any of her personal information to any of her business partners, including her real name and gender.

Winnie was rather amused when she heard Nathaniel airing his grievances. “Oh please...”

However, she quickly ended the call before she finished her sentence.

She realized that her voice modulator was not working, and she had spoken using her real voice earlier on.

A moment later, her communication device rang again. It was Nathaniel, but Winnie did not pick up.

Instead, she opened one of the compartments in the Peppa Pig suitcase and took out a laptop.

The moment she appeared online after logging into her account, she was bombarded with voice messages from Nathaniel.

“OMG! Gator! You're a woman?”

“That's totally mind-blowing! Your voice sounds so young. I'm guessing that you're at most twenty-five?”

“OMG! I heard that you're currently in Chanaea. I'm also planning to return to Chanaea. Can we meet up?”

Winnie frowned as she typed her reply: If you insist on invading my privacy, I wouldn't mind terminating our collaboration. I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better consider it carefully.

“No! No! No! Gator, I completely understand. I swear that I'll never try to find out anything regarding your private matters. Let's start analyzing the situation.”

One hour later, Mary went to the playroom and brought Winnie to Xavier's room.

Rufus was initially worried that the daughter of the Garland family would not be willing to share a bed with a man who was in a vegetative state.

However, the bride had ended up becoming mentally disabled and just one candy was enough to coax her into sleeping next to Xavier.

In the middle of the night, Winnie noticed that there was someone standing next to the bed, and she turned on the lights instinctively.

She saw that the person was none other than Xavier. What's going on? Isn't he supposed to be in a coma?

When she realized that Xavier was scrutinizing her, Winnie snapped out of her shock and regained her composure at once.

Putting on a confused and innocent expression on her face, she said, “Handsome, did you wake up to use the bathroom? I'd like to go relieve myself too. Carry me, Handsome.”

After Winnie finished speaking, she sat up on the bed and opened her arms wide.

Xavier scoffed coldly and asked, “Are you really retarded?”

Winnie started sobbing. “You're a bad guy, Handsome! You refused to hug me and even scolded me! I'm not retarded. People love me!”

“Is that so?” Xavier lowered his head and glanced at her. “We'll find out if you're really retarded soon enough.”

“Handsome, you're a bad guy!” Winnie declared with her lips pursed. She raised her fists and punched Xavier's arm lightly.

Frowning in displeasure, Xavier bent down without warning and picked Winnie up. He then strode to the bathroom.

“So? Do you need me to take off your pants?” Xavier observed her carefully.

“Sure!” Winnie flashed a goofy grin. “Handsome, you're a good guy!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!” Winnie gave a firm nod.

Despite the frown that marred his brows, Xavier reached out and helped her out of her pants.

However, he couldn't bring himself to remove her underwear.

“D*mn it!” he cursed under his breath. I can't believe I'm helping a woman to pee!

“Do it yourself. Don't tell me you don't know how to do this!”

“Handsome, stay.” Winnie grabbed Xavier's arm. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she pleaded, “I'm afraid, so please stay with me.”

Xavier heard the sound of running water.

Did she just... Fine. She's mentally challenged, so I won't take it to heart. I heard what happened in the bathroom last night in bed, though.

He parted his lips and spoke. “You're dumb—”

“Hey! I am not dumb!” Winnie huffed.

“Fine.” Xavier corrected himself. “You're so cute. Was it because you hit your head in my bathroom last night? Or have you always been this cute?”

“I've always been like this, of course!” Winnie grinned from ear to ear. “I've always been this cute!”

“Oh?” Xavier narrowed his eyes. Is Winnie mentally challenged all the while? I didn't get to meet the eldest daughter of the Garland family before the accident, but I've never heard that she's mentally challenged. Is she a substitute?

“The woman who sent you here yesterday. Was she your mom?” he asked.

Winnie bit her finger and thought about it. “She is, but not really. She gave me candy, so I called her 'Mommy.' She's my dad's wife, and Dad told me she'll treat me well.”

“Oh? How many wives does your dad have? What about your real mom?” Xavier prodded.

Winnie answered his questions obediently, and Xavier finally learned the entire story.

After getting to know the truth, Xavier snickered inwardly. Ha! I can't believe Hamish used a dumb woman to fool me! He's pretty bold, huh?

“Then you...” Xavier wanted to ask another question when he turned over his shoulder to see Winnie already sound asleep. She was drooling, making it obvious that she had put her guard down.

She's indeed dumb.

As she was asleep, Xavier went to the balcony. He made a call to ask his subordinate to investigate Winnie and find out who she was.

Before dawn, he received the results of the investigation.

It turned out that Winnie didn't lie. Hamish abandoned her in the village when she was still a little girl. Too poor to seek treatment, Winnie had a high fever that caused damage to her brain in her youth, so she had been mentally challenged for decades.

She was, in fact, a victim.

Xavier stared at her gorgeous looks as she was sleeping and suddenly felt bad for her.

The first thing Winnie saw when she opened her eyes was the handsome face inches away from hers.

She had to admit that Xavier was a hunk, befitting the nickname “Handsome” she gave him last night.

“Good morning, Handsome!” Winnie flashed a smile as she wiped her drool away.

Xavier sympathized with her. She's gorgeous. It's a pity that she's dumb.

“Let's play a game, Dumbo.”

“Handsome, my name is Winnie,” Winnie protested.

“Fine. Winnie.” Xavier reached out and fished out the candy and toys she hid underneath her pillow.

He warned, “You can't tell anyone I'm awake or that you've talked to me, okay? Otherwise, I shall confiscate your stuff.”

“No! Handsome, give them back to me!” Winnie reached out to get the candy, but Xavier merely lifted his hands, so they were out of her reach.

“Be a good girl, Winnie. If you agree to play a game by keeping everything a secret, I'll give them back to you.”

“Okay.” Winnie caved in for the sake of her candy and toys. “I won't tell anyone about you.”

“If someone asks about me, tell them I'm sleeping.”

“Okay! If someone asks about you, I'll tell them you're sleeping soundly.”

“Good. Here you go.” Pity flashed across Xavier's eyes as he returned the candy and toys to Winnie.

Delighted, Winnie flung her arms around Xavier's neck and gave him a kiss. “Thanks, Handsome! You're so kind to give me candy.”

Xavier was taken aback.

Did she just kiss me? The audacity!

Nonetheless, he refused to lower himself to her level and decided to let the matter slip.

On the other hand, Winnie seemed really happy as she removed the candy wrapping and offered one to him.

Xavier didn't like candy, so he dodged away. The moment he did that, the candy fell into his pajamas.

“Oh! The candy dropped!” Winnie lowered her head and fumbled with Xavier's pajamas.

Xavier hated it when others touched his body. He was about to shove her away when it occurred to him that she was mentally challenged. Forget it. I don't want her to yell and attract unwanted attention.

Fortunately, Winnie found the candy quickly and popped it into her mouth.

After breakfast, Xavier had something to attend to.

Winnie padded into the playroom.

She shut the door and called her maternal grandmother, Jacinta, in the village.

“Hey, Granny. I checked Xavier's body this morning, and he doesn't have a birthmark. Are you sure my cousin ended up in the Fairchild family?”

“I'm sure, Winnie. The Fairchild family took him in. I finally got this clue after searching my entire life!”

“I'll continue my search, then. There are many young people in the Fairchild family, so it might be someone else. Don't worry, Granny, I'll find my cousin.”

“Thank you, Winnie. I'm sorry you had to marry into the Fairchild family against your wishes and endured being bullied by the Garland family just for my sake.”

“Granny, stop it. I'm just doing my job. Besides, I have something else to accomplish this time. I won't show the scums in the Garland family any mercy!”

Indeed, Winnie returned this time to teach the Garland family a lesson.

She only discovered that Jacinta was searching for her grandson in the Fairchild family a few days ago, so she didn't have time to launch a thorough investigation yet.

Now that she had married into the family, it was time for her to know her enemy better.

After ending her call with Jacinta, she gave someone else a quick call.

“I need information on the three generations of the Fairchild family. Send it to my email in an hour. That's all.”

“Hey, you—” Before the person on the other end of the line could finish his sentence, the call had been cut. He flashed a resigned smile.

She's efficient as usual. She does fit the bill of a domineering CEO of a company.

Fifty minutes later, Winnie received a detailed report about the three generations of the Fairchild family.

She had just finished reading the report and switched off her laptop when someone knocked on the door.

“Mrs. Fairchild, it's me, Mary. Can I open the door and come in?”

Winnie's brows furrowed together, but she still raised her voice to portray a little girl's voice. “Oh, Mary. Come on in, Mary.”

Thus, Mary came into the playroom with the guest to see Winnie drawing with a watercolor brush.

Her fingers and clothes were stained with paint.

As for her drawing, it looked worse than what a kindergarten kid could draw.

Winnie thought her act would suffice, so she kept her watercolor brush away.

Curious, she pointed at the man with glasses beside Mary and asked, “Mary, who is the man wearing glasses?”

She had actually read about him in the Fairchild family's report a few minutes ago.

The man's name was Josiah Houghton. He was Xavier's best friend and personal doctor.

He had been taking care of Xavier ever since the latter fell into a coma.

Mary had told her before that she wasn't in charge of the second floor, for an expert was handling Xavier's affairs.

Obviously, the expert she meant was Josiah. Josiah most probably knew that Xavier wasn't in a coma.

“This is Dr. Houghton,” Mary introduced. “He's in charge of taking care of Mr. Xavier. Mrs. Fairchild, you're sharing a room with him now, so there are many things to take note of. Dr. Houghton will let you know everything. He'll bring you upstairs now.”

Josiah looked like a gentleman, but his gaze was sharp.

Winnie didn't like how he was observing her.

He seemed reluctant to believe she was mentally challenged and kept scanning her with his eyes behind the glasses.

“No. I don't want to follow Specky.” Winnie curled into a ball and inched away to a corner in the room. Fear crept into her gaze as she said, “He's scary when he looks at me with his glasses. I don't want to leave with him! Mary, protect me!”

Amused, Mary shot Josiah a look that seemed to say, “See? I told you she's dumb.”

“Mrs. Fairchild, look what I have here.” In the end, Mary had to resort to candy to bribe Winnie.

Mary discovered that Winnie would listen to her obediently whenever she offered food.

As expected, Winnie was attracted by the candy.

Seeing that, Mary gave the remaining candy in her pocket to Josiah. “Mrs. Fairchild, listen to Dr. Houghton, and he'll give you candy.”

Winnie followed Josiah to Xavier's room on the second floor.

However, Xavier was nowhere to be seen in his bedroom. They heard the sound of running water in the bathroom and realized he was taking a shower.

Knowing Josiah was still observing her, Winnie kept her act and deliberately drooled everywhere as she sucked on her lollipop.

Suddenly, Josiah tossed one candy to the ground beside Winnie's feet.

He was obviously testing her, so Winnie stared at the candy for a while before picking it up. It was the first candy.

The second candy was tossed to the TV cabinet, and the third landed at the corner of a wall.

The fourth was dropped into the dustbin.

Every time Josiah tossed out a piece of candy, Winnie would run over to pick it up. She seemed delighted by his actions and allowed herself to be teased like a dog.

I'm trying to insult her, but she doesn't seem affected at all.

Josiah's brows furrowed up. If she isn't mentally challenged, she must be good at putting up an act!

He strode over to her and was about to ask a few more questions when the bathroom door was pushed open.

“That's enough, Josiah.” It was Xavier, who was done with his shower.

A towel was wrapped around his waist, exposing his upper torso. His expression was dark as he warned, “Don't go overboard.”

“I just wanted to confirm things. You know it's an occupational disease of mine.” Josiah shrugged nonchalantly.

“Still, it doesn't mean you can bully her this way!”

At the moment, Winnie was busy digging through the dustbin but was laughing hysterically deep down.

It looks like Xavier pities me for being dumb. If that's the case, I don't mind making my image more miserable.

After finding the candy, she hurried over to Xavier and hugged him tightly, ignoring the fact that he had just stepped out of the shower.

“Handsome, protect me. Specky is an evil man! He threw away the candy Mary gave me. They're mine! Handsome, you should beat him up!”

Xavier only had a towel wrapped around his waist.

He felt extremely awkward as Winnie hugged him tightly and wriggled about.

“Winnie.” Xavier stiffened as his voice grew gruff without him realizing it. “Let me go.”

“No!” Winnie tightened her arms around him. “Specky is glaring at me. I'm scared!”

She was no innocent woman. It wouldn't hurt for her to hug someone as handsome and built as Xavier.

If the chance were to arise, she didn't mind sleeping with him a few nights.

“Winnie, be good. I'll teach him a lesson. So just let go of me first, okay?”

How could she... This is pure torture! She has no idea how soft her body is, huh? Look at her, all pretty and seductive.

Sensing the change in Xavier's body, Winnie knew it was time to let him off the hook. After all, it wasn't the right time to satisfy their desires.

She whined, “Okay. Beat him up. You must beat him up! Beat him until he dies!”

After stating her request, she released her grip on Xavier.

Alas, the towel was already loose as she was moving around earlier.

Winnie pinned the towel to his body when she hugged him a while ago. Now that she had released him, the towel naturally dropped to the ground.

“Wow!” Curious, Winnie squatted down and asked, “What is this?”

Xavier, who often scowled, grimaced, or looked sullen, had never blushed in the past twenty or more years of his life. That day, his cheeks suddenly flamed.

Josiah's cheeks also turned pink even though he had seen countless patients' bodies in his career.

She has a cheeky grin on her lips even though Xavier had just flashed himself. No woman in their right mind will act this way! I guess she's really not acting.

“Are you still in the opinion that she's just putting up an act?” Xavier demanded crossly after putting on some clothes.

Feeling awkward, Josiah pushed his gold-rimmed glasses higher. “Not anymore.”

When I said I had the same thing, she looked like she wanted to pull my pants down to confirm it.

“I told you. I sent someone to investigate her background and discovered she had been dumb for decades. So don't do that again. It's pretty childish. Remember, even though she has the IQ of a five or seven-year-old kid, she's still my wife in name. I can sue you for sexual harassment for what you said earlier,” Xavier warned.

Josiah didn't share his sentiments. “Are you serious? Forget it. Are you sure she won't tell anyone that you've recovered?”

“Well, I need to show myself when the time is right anyway. So Let's keep it a secret for now. We can tighten the net pretty soon.”

“Yes, you can tighten the net in the Fairchild family, but what about the Garland family? Hamish fooled you with his mentally challenged daughter. Are you going to let him off the hook? That doesn't sound like something you'd do. Old Mr. Fairchild gave them a lot for marrying their daughter to you when you're in trouble.”

“Ha!” Xavier snorted icily. “That scum doesn't deserve anything from the Fairchild family!”

Xavier's bedroom on the second floor was a huge luxurious suite completed with a study, bathroom, and living room.

Right then, Xavier and Josiah were talking in the study with the door shut. They left Winnie in the living room.

However, they had no idea that Winnie had left her children's watch on purpose in Xavier's study when she insisted on joining him there earlier.

Her Peppa Pig children's watch was equipped with many functions, including eavesdropping on someone.

Thus, she heard their conversation in the study clearly.

When Winnie heard Xavier calling Hamish a “scum,” she realized the man shared her sentiments, too.

Did they say Hamish received a lot from Rufus? Ha! Those should have been mine! I was the one who married the “vegetable” instead of Hamish, Yara, or Kylie. They took the stuff that should have been mine and enjoyed their lives without even asking for my approval.

Winnie was about to figure out a plan to ask the Garlands to return the stuff to her when Yara showed up unannounced.

Yara claimed she was concerned about her daughter and wanted to take her for a walk. Thus, she left Xavier's mansion with Winnie.

Winnie's anticipation grew when they both got into Yara's car.

What does Yara have in mind? I can't wait to battle with this vicious woman.

In truth, Winnie reckoned she could do something to Yara's car so that the latter would get into a car accident.

If she got lucky, Yara would die on the spot. If she was not, Yara might have to spend the rest of her life in bed.

However, that wasn't satisfying enough. Back then, Yara resorted to despicable means and sent Winnie's mother to the psychiatric hospital. In the end, Winnie's mother was severely tortured until she died.

As her mother's only daughter, Winnie would never let Yara off the hook that easily.

Besides, it was illegal to tamper with someone else's car. Unlike those scums from the Garland family, Winnie was a law-abiding citizen.

She was putting up an act like usual on Yara's car.

Meanwhile, back in the mansion, Xavier watched the surveillance footage with his brows knitted together.

He had installed surveillance cameras in the living room of the mansion.

“Don't you think Yara is a hypocrite?” Xavier asked Josiah, who was watching the surveillance footage with him.

“Yes, she is. When Mary was around, Yara was nice to your dumb wife. The moment Mary left, however, she showed her true colors. Still, there's nothing strange about this. Some parents dislike their mentally challenged children. Besides, Yara is your dumb wife's stepmother, not her biological mother,” Josiah replied.

A chill ran down Josiah's spine when he realized his friend was shooting daggers at him.

“W-Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Josiah.” Xavier looked menacing as he said, “Haven't I told you that she's still my wife in name? So stop calling her my 'dumb wife.”‘

“All right. Got it, Mr. Fairchild.”

Xavier relaxed slightly upon hearing that. “Follow her. If her stepmother tries to harm her, you don't have to hold back.”

“Me?” Josiah pointed at himself.

“Who else?” Xavier shot him a look. “Do you want me, the vegetable, to go after them?”

Yara soon brought Winnie to Garland Group.

Some things had to be done in secret, so it would be safer for her to do it in her territory.

In the underground parking lot, a person who shouldn't even be there showed up out of nowhere.

Yara dashed out of her car when she saw who it was.

“Kylie? Why the hell are you here? Didn't we send you overseas to further your studies? We're still busy dealing with the Fairchild family, so you have to lie low for now!” she admonished.

“Mom, I don't want to study abroad. My Ustranasion and Ferropenian suck! I can't even communicate with the locals,” Kylie complained.

Her words could only mean one thing—she didn't get on the plane to Epea. Instead, she stayed in hiding in a hotel.

After spending two days in the hotel, she got bored and came back.

“Mom, who is that in your car? Don't tell me it's that dumbass.” Kylie glanced at the car. “Why did you bring her here?”

She didn't bother hiding her displeasure as she continued, “That dumbass became the eldest daughter of the Garland family and took my spot away from me! How could you bring her back to the company? What are you trying to do? Are you going to announce that she's the eldest daughter of the Garland family to everyone?”

“Shh, lower down your voice! Someone else might hear you!” Yara chided.

Overwhelmed by jealousy, Kylie was practically screaming. “You brought her to the company to show her around and sent me overseas to hide me from everyone, but I can't even complain about it? Mom, have you gone nuts?”

“Kylie, why are you so reckless?” Yara comforted her daughter and pulled her aside to explain everything to her in a low voice.

After learning the truth, Kylie broke into a wide grin.

She eyed Winnie with gloat.

“Mom, I can't believe you and Dad have one last trick up your sleeve. Winnie didn't even realize she had been tricked! Ha! What a dumbass.”

Winnie snickered inwardly. Who's the dumbass here?

Her sharp gaze landed on Kylie and Yara's back as the window rolled up slowly.

This is going to be interesting.