“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 occupying 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 and composed Winnie could not help cursing. “Aren’t there security guards protecting Old Mr. Fairchild inside that d*mned place? Why hasn’t a single person come 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 collapses 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’re coming out! The people inside are coming 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 ambulance!”
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 moment later, 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 were coming 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. After coming 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 him come 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 a large 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 flames. 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, he 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 blanket 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 blanket 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 flame 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 blared, and four large 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 glanced at the firefighters, then raised his voice and shouted, “Quick! Hurry up and tell Winnie to come back! Get her back here!”
Alas, 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 unrelated personnel, please stay away!” they said loudly, speaking over the sound of the roaring blaze 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 place 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. Upon coming 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 flames 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 you come to save me?”
Winnie hugged him tightly, then gave him a hard shove.
Her heart pounded as she gazed at his blackened and dirtied face, and she could not stop herself from slapping 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 to come out quickly? There’s no one inside anymore,” she yelled loudly.
After hearing that, the firefighters immediately used their communication devices to contact those who had gone into the burning building.
Thanks to the firefighters’ impeccable 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 succeeded in getting the fire under control until it was extinguished.
Xavier gently took Winnie’s hand as she was wiping his face while explaining, “I escaped through the secret room in Grandpa’s study. That area wasn’t that badly burned.”
Holding her fair and delicate hand in his large palm, he furrowed his brows.
“Why did you slap me just now? A scolding would’ve been sufficient. Your hand hurts from hitting me, doesn’t it?”
Winnie raised her head and glanced 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 accord. 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 placed in the same place.”
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 blackened 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 hornet 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 ambulance should be here already. It’s nothing serious,” Winnie murmured, comforting 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 place 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!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)