Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)

“We don’t have any other clothes on the boat, and this raincoat is all that’s left,” the lady

said as she handed it to Winnie. “It’s still better than nothing, though. You can wear it if

you don’t mind. I doubt it’d be convenient for you to walk around a boat full of men in that

state.”

“Thank you. The raincoat will do nicely,” Winnie replied while putting it on.

Alas, it was also then that she realized her period had come, and to make matters worse,

it was a heavy flow.

Despite burning with embarrassment, she had no choice but to ask the old lady for a pad.

“Sorry, I don’t have any,” the lady answered. “We don’t usually go out to sea when we’re

having our periods because that’s a taboo. Bear with it for a while. We should be back on

the island once day breaks.”

Winnie frowned slightly. “Okay. Thank you, anyway.”

“It’s okay. Stay and rest here in the cabin. I’ll tell the men outside not to come in.”

After the old lady had left, Winnie leaned against the cabin walls and eavesdropped on the

conversation outside.

“What happened to you guys? Did your boat capsize or something?” the boat owner

asked.

“Yes, our navigation system failed, and we lost our way. The yacht capsized right after

that.” the bodyguard immediately replied. “By the way, are you a fisherman from Sirona

Island?”

“That’s right. We’re from Sirona Island. Are you guys headed there for a vacation?”

“We’re looking for someone,” Xavier, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly piped

up. “May I know if any new people have come onto your island recently?”

“What do you mean by new people? I don’t understand.”

Xavier frowned and added, “I’m talking about a young, pretty, but mentally challenged

woman. Do the people on your island buy women from other places to be their wives?”

“What nonsense is that?” the boat owner scolded. “Who still does that in this day and

age? Besides, we’re all law-abiding citizens on Sirona Island. We won’t let such criminal

activities happen on our watch!”

“Calm down,” Xavier persuaded, his voice deep and steady. “We aren’t the police, and

we’re not here to investigate any cases. I only want to look for my wife. She has a lower IQ

than most people, and I lost her a while back. However, I recently heard that she might be

on your island, so please tell me if there’s anything you know. In return for your

assistance, I can buy your fishing boat for ten times its price.”

“Ten times?” the boat owner exclaimed as he stared at Xavier questioningly. “Do you know

how much my boat costs?”

To his surprise, the latter remained unfazed. “Is it two, three, or five hundred thousand? In

any case, it doesn’t matter. No matter how much it is, I can afford to pay ten times of it.”

Upon hearing that, the old lady tugged at her husband and whispered, “Dear, this guy

looks like a rich man. If we can really get two million from him, we’ll be able to do

anything we want!”

After a short discussion, the old lady finally turned to Xavier. “To be honest, there has been

such an incident recently. The Briggs family has a son who contracted polio, and I heard

they found him a wife. She’s quite a looker, except she’s rather dim-witted. Unfortunately,

we’ve never met the alleged wife, so we can’t be sure if she’s the one you’re looking for.”

“That’s right,” the astute boat owner chimed in. “Once we return to the island, I can take

you to the Briggs residence. However, doing that will effectively destroy our relationship

with the Briggs family. I do hope you can compensate us for that.”

“Don’t worry. Whether I find my wife or not, I’ll still keep my promise and buy your boat for

ten times the price. I just want things done fast.”

“No problem. I’ll increase the speed and get us back to the island as soon as possible.”

With that, the boat owner stood up and walked toward the bow.

His wife, however, remained standing in her spot, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. “Don’t

mind me asking, but I can tell from your mannerisms that you belong to the upper class.

Why, then, would you marry a dim-witted woman?”

Seeing how straightforward the woman was, both Xavier’s driver and bodyguard broke

into a cold sweat for her.

Thankfully, Xavier didn’t seem offended by the question, and Winnie perked up her ears

even more.

“It was a twist of events that led to our marriage,” Xavier replied. For some reason, being

in the midst of the dark, boundless sea gave him an urge to pour his heart out. “Initially, I

didn’t really care about her. It was only much later when I realized all that time spent

together had made me unknowingly develop feelings for her. But to her, I’m no different

from anyone else. Her mentality is a lot like a kid’s, and she doesn’t understand anything.

In fact, her innocence and naivety once made me think I was a psychopath, so I did

everything I could to distance myself from her. “

After a pause, he continued, “I didn’t want to hurt her, especially since there are times

when I will lose control. Besides, I want to get my condition treated too. And because of

that, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I used another woman to chase her away,

thinking I’d finally be able to turn myself normal. I lost her ever since, and I’ve regretted

my decision every day. Even if I know someone’s leading me on with fake clues, I still want

to hold on to that glimmer of hope. After all, she’s my wife, and I want her back. When I

open my eyes every morning, my desire to find her is stronger than the day before. If God

takes pity on me and returns her to my side, I swear I’ll love and protect her with

everything I have. Even if she remains dim-witted for the rest of her life, I’ll never let her

down again.”

Back in the cabin, Winnie was stunned and speechless.