Still, she was rather surprised, for as far as she knew, Xavier had always been an egoistic and conceited individual.
Back at Aqua Moana, both of them had already cleared things up with each other. Xavier had even warned her not to appear in his sight ever again.
Because of that, she presumed that it had come to a parting of ways between them, so she had never thought of counting Xavier in when she sent the Fairchild family an invitation.
Not even in a million years would she expect Xavier to show up uninvited.
Nevertheless, Winnie wasn’t delusional. In a flash, she connected the dots and reached a conclusion herself.
This has to be Grandpa Rufus’ arrangement. He must still be finding ways to matchmake Xavier and me.
At the thought of that, she secretly let out a chuckle.
She figured that as one aged, the person would eventually grow to enjoy playing matchmaker. Jacinta, for one, also acted in a similar fashion.
Her grandmother had been nagging at her for several days already, urging her to invite Christopher over for a meal.
However, Winnie was too busy to free up any of her precious time to plan such an agenda.
She took a step back and allowed Xavier to pull open the car door.
As soon as the car door was open, Rufus stepped out of the car with the support of both Winnie and Xavier.
“Splendid!” Rufus seemed impressed as he cast a gaze at Winnie, who was clad in an immaculate, stunning evening gown.
“You’re a very gracious improviser, Winnie. I heard you’ve done an awesome job at restructuring Garland Group. You’re really an outstanding young lady. I’m rooting for you!”
“Thank you for the compliment, Grandpa Rufus. It means a lot to me!” Winnie carefully held his hand and walked with him, wearing a bright grin as she prompted, “This way.”
The more Rufus looked at Winnie, the more delighted he became. “You’re really one fine lady. You don’t need to be so modest when you’re with me, you know. Just be yourself!”
During the exchange, one of the reporters approached them out of nowhere, pleading with them ever so courteously, “Old Mr. Fairchild, Mr. Fairchild, Ms. Garland, I’m sorry to intrude, but could I take a group photo of you all?”
“Sure.” Considering that Rufus was in a pretty good mood that night, he happily obliged the reporter’s request on the spot.
Be that as it might, Xavier had always disliked taking pictures. The second he heard his grandfather agree in his stead, a look of displeasure marred his visage instinctively.
However, as Xavier tilted his head to sneak a peek at Winnie standing on the other side of Rufus, he found that the woman had dolled herself up, and she looked especially eye-catching that night. Out of the blue, a sudden burst of desire overwhelmed his heart—he actually wished to have the photo taken.
She’s enticing to the core tonight. I must freeze this moment in time.
Xavier couldn’t be bothered about the purpose of the reporters wanting to have their photos taken at that time, for he wanted it to be regarded as their family photo.
He then slipped into deep thought momentarily before hanging his head low to whisper something in his grandfather’s ear.
Listening to Xavier’s idea, Rufus unwittingly glanced at the former. Following that, Rufus bobbed his head in acknowledgment.
Soon enough, the trio stood at the spot designated by the reporter, and Rufus quietly swapped places with Xavier.
With that, the person standing next to Winnie suddenly turned out to be Xavier instead of his grandfather.
Winnie didn’t anticipate Rufus to pull off such a trick just to set her and Xavier up. She was amused by Rufus’ act on the inside; on the outside, though, she remained as calm as a toad in the sun as she cooperated with the parade of reporters to have the photo captured.
All of a sudden, a cold breeze wafted past her exposed shoulder and arms in her one-shoulder dress. She couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down her spine.
The next second, a warm suit jacket was draped over her shoulders. It was Xavier who had slid his jacket on her.
Upon noticing that scene, the reporters and cameramen began to press the shutter button relentlessly.
A frown was then etched on Winnie’s mien because of that.
That would be logical, for her impression of Xavier had never been excellent. That man possessed a prideful character, and he was full of himself. Of course, he could be thoughtful and caring at times, but he was definitely not a gentleman.
We already broke up, so why’s he acting so considerate toward me and even putting his jacket on me? Worst still, I didn’t even ask for that!
Baffled, Winnie hurled a perplexing look at Xavier.
The latter knitted his brows, seemingly dissatisfied with that gaze of hers.
Lowering his head, he muttered to her ear, “Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you know the night is bound to get chilly? Why didn’t you wear a shawl?”
Winnie was bereft of speech.
Indeed, Xavier was far from close to being a chivalrous man. Not with those words that escaped from his lips would he ever become one.
Winnie’s smile turned awkward as she replied under her breath through gritted teeth, “That’s none of your business.”
Just as she was about to remove the suit jacket from her shoulders, Xavier grabbed her wrist there and then.
“Don’t do it in front of the media. You’d only end up dragging both of our families’ reputations through the mire!”
Winnie was upset to death. “You shouldn’t have used so much strength to stop me either way. You’re hurting me.”
This guy must be holding a grudge simply because I rejected him. Why did he still put his jacket on me, then? What a pretentious man!
Xavier lost himself in his thoughts temporarily upon hearing Winnie’s complaint.
He didn’t realize that he had exerted brute force. Did I just have a screw loose again?
His condition appeared to have escalated, so much so that he even began to experience short-term memory loss.
He would abruptly forget what he had just done a minute ago each time his mind acted up.
Is it true that I’ve applied too much force on her just now? But why?
Right at that juncture, Xavier’s mind became a little hazy. He couldn’t seem to recall a thing.
As those thoughts popped into his head, Xavier suddenly got frustrated.
What the heck is happening to me? How can I ever rid myself of this nuisance?
Taking a deep breath, he fished out his phone. “I’ve got to make a call!” His tone reeked of naught but impatience.
As soon as he dropped the sentence, he walked off right away. Winnie didn’t even have the chance to return the jacket to him.
The moment Xavier left the spot, the horde of reporters stepped forward and started to toss questions at her.
“Ms. Garland, rumor has it that your marriage with Mr. Fairchild is going through a crisis. Is it true? Does that mean you two are putting on a show in front of the public a while ago?”
Winnie furrowed her brows, listening to that. “Which media company are you from? How can you openly probe into my affairs like this?”
“I represent Avenport Times, Ms. Garland. The arranged marriage between the Fairchild and Garland families is a massive event itself in Avenport. Could you provide a response to that claim?”
Before Winnie could get a word off her mind, Rufus was the first to pipe up, “There’s no such thing. You lot are the ones working in the media industry, so you’d better not circulate baseless rumors like that since it’s a rather negligent act to do, don’t you think? Anyway, I think we’ve been delayed long enough here. It’s time for us to head inside.”
Since Rufus had already put it that way, Winnie figured she shouldn’t point anything out, for it was better to leave some things unsaid.
All she could do was shoot the audience a stern countenance. “Today is Garland Group’s fiftieth-anniversary celebration. I sincerely hope that you all would shift your focus to tonight’s gala.”
Even so, gossip and entertainment news would never fail to garner more attention than they deserved.
The ceremony wasn’t even halfway through, but the news of Xavier draping his jacket over Winnie’s shoulders at the banquet hall’s entrance, the exchange of disgusted looks between the duo, and all sorts of assertions about how their marriage was actually broken quickly spread like wildfire.
What was even more interesting was that somebody unveiled Winnie’s flirtatious behavior and intimate moments with her foreign business partner, Nathaniel, by uploading a video clip onto an official webpage.
In that clip, the man was giving Winnie a massage session on the shoulders while smiling dotingly. As for Winnie herself, she was evidently enjoying the moment that even her eyes were narrowed to slits.
Both of them were talking in Ustranasion, but their voices were too soft to be audible. Even though the video failed to record the conversation, their expressions alone showed that they were chattering joyfully.
The curtain hadn’t even been drawn on the banquet, yet almost everyone had already received a push notification of such news on their phones.
After Xavier ended the call with Josiah, the former, too, was greeted by that very news on his phone.
Watching the clip where Nathaniel was massaging Winnie’s shoulders, Xavier could feel the annoyance within him intensify in an instant. The veins on the back of his hands even bulged from all the negative emotions he was experiencing.
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