Silly Bride

Chapter 394

Winnie knitted her brows in response. Not many people would use that tone when calling Xavier’s phone and also address her directly.Moreover, the gruff voice sounded familiar to Winnie. It was one that she had a deep impression of.Just before she could clarify if it was Xavier’s father on the line, Benjamin preempted her. “Why are you answering Xavier’s phone? Where is he?”His hostile tone brought a slight frown to Winnie’s face as she replied flatly, “He’s busy right now and can’t reach his phone.”Winnie knew that she and Benjamin had nothing to talk about. Moreover, she couldn’t bring herself to curry favor with him.Hence, she replied politely, “However, he’ll be back soon. I’ll get him to return your call later. Is that all right?”Despite Winnie’s distinguished identity, Benjamin still didn’t approve of her, a view that hadn’t changed since the beginning.In his mind, she would always be the clown who pretended to be a retard just so that she could seek vengeance for her father.Obviously, that wasn’t the root of his dissatisfaction with her.What infuriated him the most was her undue influence over his son.All this while, Benjamin saw Xavier as the masterpiece he had carved out with his own hands.Little did he expect Xavier to have done many extreme things for Winnie’s sake. Furthermore, his son was willing to sacrifice the Fairchild family’s interest on more than one occasion while doing so.Therefore, Benjamin disapproved of his daughter-in-law due to her—in his mind—unwarranted influence on Xavier.Ideally, he wanted his son to have a bimbo who could bear the latter children. A woman who was capable of manipulating Xavier was nothing but a threat in his eyes.Irritated by Winnie’s answer, he probed further, “Tell me, what in the world is Xavier doing now? I know he isn’t in the country, let alone the office.”“That’s right.” The frown on Winnie’s face deepened. “We’re currently in Rodunst.”“Why? For work?”“No, he came here with me to seek medical treatment.” Winnie chose to tell the truth instead of lying, even though she could roughly guess the reason for Benjamin’s snarky tone. After all, there was no point in hiding the fact from the latter since he could easily find out.“Is it for your eyes?” At the end of the day, Winnie was a daughter-in-law of the Fairchild family. Although Benjamin didn’t return to see her or show any concern, it didn’t mean he was oblivious to what was going on.Scoffing, he went on, “I heard that your condition is pretty serious. Don’t you think that you’re

being a burden to Xavier right now? I’m sure you know how much he has suffered recently because of you.”His words triggered a furrow of Winnie’s brows. Ignoring the fish that had taken the bait, she focused her attention entirely on the call. “Dad, what’s that supposed to mean?” “Drop that familial act!” Benjamin resented her addressing him as “Dad.” “You’re not the daughter-in-law I want, a fact I have made abundantly clear while you were still pretending to be a fool. Even when you were well, you dragged Xavier along on many dangerous endeavors. Because of you, he has also ignored his responsibilities to the Fairchild family. Clearly, a woman like you isn’t good for him, especially with your deteriorating health. All you’re doing is holding him back. If you really care about him, you should leave him and allow him to go on with his life without distractions.”“So, that’s what you mean.” Paying no heed to Benjamin’s words, Winnie retorted with a slight smile, “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. Xavier and I are a married couple, and our bond is stronger than the hardest steel. My affairs are now his. Even if I leave him today, he’ll still travel to the ends of the earth to find me.”“Hmph!” Benjamin couldn’t help but snort over the phone. “You seem to be proud of yourself and enjoy having a man like Xavier fuss all over you. Have you ever thought about what you can give him after all that he has done for you?”“Whatever I give him is our business as husband and wife. As an elder, isn’t it inappropriate for you to delve into something as private as this?” Winnie was a sea of calm as she spoke in a flat voice. In fact, she had begun to tug against the fish that had taken the bait.Faced with Winnie’s scathing yet nonchalant tone, Benjamin felt as if his ridicule had no impact on her at all.Infuriated by her response, he could feel his hatred for Winnie deepen.His tone took a frosty turn while his words became harsher. “After being exposed to radiation, you had better get your body examined to see if you can still bear an heir for the Fairchild family. If you’re barren, you would be useless as a woman, even if you’re a member of a noble family from Yartran. In fact, you can’t even compare yourself to an ordinary woman.”Benjamin’s mention of child-bearing triggered a scowl on Winnie’s face and a sense of unease within her.In a cold and contemptuous voice, she responded, “Mr. Fairchild, I’m surprised you still harbor such outdated views on women in this modern age. Even though you’re Xavier’s father, forgive me for not having much to say to you.”With that, Winnie ended the call without saying goodbye.Shocked by the disrespect Winnie had shown him, Benjamin was subsequently outraged.As

for Winnie, she had always believed in mutual respect. Since Benjamin looked down on her and showed her none, she didn’t see the need to treat him as an elder. She was, after all, not the kind who would show kindness in return for scorn.Even though she didn’t think much about the matter after ending the call, Benjamin’s words continued to echo through her mind, especially the part where he asked her to get her reproductive abilities examined.As the residual poison within Xavier hadn’t been cleared out yet, they hadn’t planned to have children. That was why he used protection every time.Nevertheless, she hadn’t gotten herself checked up and didn’t know if she would have trouble having children.Due to her being distracted by the issue, the fish she was struggling against earlier was close to escaping from right under her nose.In the end, Lucas suddenly appeared to pull it out of the water.“What are you thinking about? The big fish you caught was just about to escape! Don’t you want it anymore?”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g