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“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 plan on eavesdropping on Winnie’s phone call, but when Wilhelm asked that
question, he couldn’t help perking up his ears.
Alas, 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 said later. 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 sound coming 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 relationship with Mr.
Fairchild.” Nathaniel flashed 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.”
In 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
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtfamily 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 it comes 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 Garland, 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 related 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 was largely 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 minutes later, Nathaniel returned with a cup of steaming hot coffee.
He handed the coffee to Winnie. “Black 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 black 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 to comfort 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 black 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 my company, I can go with you.”
Climbing Mount Albeise? Winnie’s eyes lit up.
Indeed, it’s been a long time since I’ve last 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 place 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 accompanying 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 plan.
Ten hours later, the plane landed at the airport in Yartran’s capital right on the dot.
When they were disembarking the plane, Winnie asked Nathaniel, “Is someone coming over to pick
you up? Do you need a lift?”
Smiling, Nathaniel queried, “Are you sure it’s okay? Who’s coming 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.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWilhelm Speiser was a prominent figure in Yartran. Someone whom he would deign to pick up
personally was definitely something else.
Winnie laughed 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 car coming 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 place. He stood out
among the crowd coming and going from the airport, and Winnie spotted him at a single glance.
Conversely, the man didn’t catch sight of her immediately, for he was talking to a lady beside him, who
was elegantly dressed.
Winnie took another glance 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 person coming 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 the lady
beside him.
In no time, the lady cast a gentle look at Winnie and flashed 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 the lady 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 glanced back over her shoulder.
Sure enough, Nathaniel was already standing behind her right then.
Ah, it turns out that the person he said coming to pick him up is his mother, Lady Joseph Huxley.
She promptly greeted Nathaniel’s mother, Elisha. The latter 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 the compliment, 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?”
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