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“Well? What is it you want to ask me?”
The female voice on the other end of the phone enunciated, “It’s about Winnie Garland. How is she now?
Have you finished her off?”
“Well? What is it you want to ask me?”
The female voice on the other end of the phone enunciated, “It’s about Winnie Garland. How is she now?
Have you finished her off?”
“No.” While answering that question, David cast a surreptitious glance in Winnie’s direction.
At the same time, Winnie had also perked up her ears upon hearing her name.
Then, David continued, “She isn’t dead, but she will be soon. She inhaled a bottle of radioactive gas and
passed out. I don’t think she’ll be able to survive, but even if she does, the rest of her life will probably be
hell.”
“Really? If you’re not lying to me, this is truly great news.” The female voice on the other end of the
phone chortled gleefully.
At once, a frown marred David’s countenance. “What do you mean by that? Why would I lie to you?”
“Calm down. That was just a casual remark. Just hide and wait for me to save you.”
After saying that, the person hung up right away.
Shrugging, David said to James, “She didn’t reveal her current location at all.”
James dipped his head a fraction in acknowledgment before turning to Winnie. “Do you know of any
woman Harold once had who holds a grudge against you?”
“No,” Winnie denied firmly. “He’s been intimate with countless women, that’s for sure, but then I’ve never
heard of him collaborating with any of them. Besides, the female voice on the phone earlier sounded
unnatural to me. It’s highly likely that the person used a voice modulator.”
James nodded. “That’s indeed a possibility.”
After he said that, he asked Greta, “Did you record the conversation just now?”
“Yeah. I’ll take it back to the team for analysis later.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Okay. Make it fast.”
After James and the others left, Winnie plunged into deep contemplation.
Seeing that, Xavier couldn’t help lifting his hand and caressing her hair. He called out to her softly.
Only then did Winnie jolt out of her thoughts. “What is it?”
“What are you thinking about that you’re not even talking to me anymore?”
Chuckling lowly, Winnie groped for his hand. “I’m talking to you now! I’m thinking that the person must
detest me to the core, considering the fact that he was so glad after learning about my current condition.
If that voice was a result of a voice modulator, it was most probably a man. Other than Leandro, I can’t
think of anyone else fitting the description of a man who’s in collaboration with Harold and wants me
dead.”
With his gaze pinned on her eyes in anguish, Xavier replied, “You’re right. You’ve already told Officer
Clark and the others about this, so they’ll investigate thoroughly. The only thing you’ve got to do right
now is—”
Knowing what the man wanted to say, Winnie cut him off and completed his utterance. “Adhere to the
treatment plan. I know! Don’t worry. I don’t want to die. I’ll value my life, no matter for the sake of myself,
you, or those who love and care about me. I’ll cherish it greatly.”
“Okay. I’m glad you understand. You’re going to have the surgery tomorrow, so don’t overthink things
today. Be sure to stay positive and relaxed. Adequate rest is vital before the procedure. You can’t strain
your eyes. As for the result, you don’t need to worry either. The doctor has said that there are a lot of
cases of such retinopathy. The success rate of the operation is pretty high,” Xavier rambled, spouting
advice after advice.
Although Winnie couldn’t see him right then, she could imagine that he was undoubtedly frowning and
looking exceedingly fretful.
Perhaps he wouldn’t be so nervous even if he were the one undergoing surgery soon.
Following that thought, a wealth of warmth suffused her.
Raising her hand, she tentatively reached out for the man’s head. She cradled it and planted a light kiss
on him by approximating the position.
While her kiss fell on the face shield used for quarantine purposes, Xavier abruptly went silent.
As he was no longer talking, Winnie immediately declared, “I wanted to seal your mouth. So, how was it?
I got it right, didn’t I? Sure enough, you’re not nagging me anymore.”
“Yeah, you got it right,” Xavier fibbed in a muted voice.
In truth, she hadn’t gotten the position right. Her kiss had almost landed on his forehead.
Verily, he felt as though he was on the verge of suffocating.
If possible, I’m willing to exchange everything I have for the success of her surgery tomorrow!
Every time Xavier visited Winnie, he didn’t want to leave anymore.
This time, more than ever, he remained there, unbudging despite her efforts to get him to leave.
Later on, Josiah came over.
He was likewise worried that Winnie would be anxious about the surgery tomorrow. He deliberately made
a trip over to inform her about the things she had to look out for.
Conversely, Winnie wasn’t the least bit perturbed. She merely asked him for a favor to take Xavier away.
Josiah reasoned with Xavier for some time. In the end, he successfully got the latter to leave with him.
It wasn’t until Winnie heard the sound of the lights flicking off and the door slamming shut that she went
to the bathroom to wash up.
Unbeknownst to her, Xavier didn’t leave.
Instead, he continued watching her from outside the glass door.
Standing beside him, Josiah patted him on the shoulder lightly and asked, “Aren’t you leaving when you
can’t even see her anymore?”
However, Xavier’s gaze remained fixated ahead. “Right now, all she sees is vast darkness regardless of
whether it’s day or night. It’s probably the same as the sight before my eyes presently, huh? How about
you beat me up?”
“Why?”
“Back then, you urged us to go back, but I turned a deaf ear to you. I said I’d protect her. Yet, I failed to
keep my word.”
“If so, you should also beat me up. I should’ve gone after you both at that time!”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Both of them were racked with guilt, especially Xavier.
Whirling around, he leaned back against the glass and slowly slid down to the floor. “She’s going to have
the surgery tomorrow. I want to stay and keep her company here tonight.”
In the darkness, Josiah stared down at his best friend, who was over one point nine meters tall yet curled
himself up into a ball at that moment. He said in a choked voice, “All right. I’ll come and pick you both up
tomorrow morning.”
After saying that, he walked off. However, he didn’t really leave.
Despite leaving space for his friends, he also wanted to keep them company. He sat on the bench in the
corridor outside the entire night.
Winnie, on the other hand, had a dream when she was sleeping. Accurately speaking, it was a
nightmare.
She dreamed of Harold advancing toward her with a hideous face littered with scars.
As he closed in on her, he yanked off the layer of grotesque skin on his face.
While doing that, he ordered, “Look at me! I’ve had plastic surgery. See how I look now. Here, have a
look! I promise you’ll like it for sure!”
In the dream, Winnie found the sight of the man ripping off his face indescribably revolting.
However, she knew that she was already blind while Harold was already dead. It was impossible for her
to behold a dead person then, so it was definitely a dream.
Loathed to continue watching the gory scene, she wanted to wake up, but she couldn’t open her eyes no
matter how hard she tried.
She kept calling out for Xavier, but even when she had done so at the top of her lungs, no sound came
out of her mouth.
She stayed frozen in bed for a long time before finally struggling awake.
Right before she woke up, she unexpectedly glimpsed a transformation in Harold’s face.
It really appeared as though he had undergone plastic surgery. Alas, she had already jolted awake
before making out his countenance.
She couldn’t see who exactly he had turned into.
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