The Substitute Bride: Idiot Or Not?

"That's her."

When they entered the Fairchild residence, Xavier had Yulissa join the other women at the party.

He had no choice but to bring Winnie along to introduce her to Rufus. However, she was terrified of him, as she kept her distance from him the entire time.

The way she reacted frustrated Xavier, but he kept his cool when he said to Benjamin, "She's just a decoration."

"Is that so?" asked Benjamin before he scanned his son from head to toe. "Then what's wrong with your lips? Did you and this silly woman—"

"No," Xavier cut his father's words short. "It's Yulissa. She's back."

Benjamin furrowed his brows. "The granddaughter of that professor?"

"Yes."

Benjamin snorted. "I guess she's better than this idiot, but a smart person does not dwell on past actions. You must have heard of this saying, right?"

As Benjamin spoke, his gaze shifted to Winnie once more. He saw how clueless and scared she was, and that upset him, so he waved to the butler. "Take her away and don't let her show her face without a good reason. After dinner, have the members of the Garland family stay behind. I'd like to have a word with them."

The butler did as told and was reasonably nice when he took Winnie away.

Winnie was delighted with that. She couldn't wait to get far, far away from Xavier.

Before she was out of hearing range, she heard Benjamin asking Xavier an important question. "I will talk to the Garland family tonight about terminating the marriage. You're okay with that, right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" The injury on Xavier's lips was still aching. It doesn't matter anymore. As far as Dumbo is concerned, I am just a disgusting pervert... After mocking himself internally, Xavier grinned and said, "It's what I've been dreaming of."

Winnie hadn't gone far away. When she heard the father and son's conversation, she balled her fists.

Oh, Xavier, you b*stard! You've been dreaming of divorcing me, huh? Well, go to hell. You're lucky to have me as your wife for a few months.

The Fairchild residence might be a residential property, but it was better described as a castle.

It was so big that it encompassed mountains and rivers, and the view was incredible. It even had a natural hot spring within its compound.

Rumor had it that the water from the hot spring could wash all illnesses away. It would be a great honor for the guests who stayed overnight if they were allowed to go for a dip.

That day, every member of the Fairchild family would be presented with the opportunity.

Naturally, that gave Winnie's grandmother, Jacinta, a great opportunity to find her grandson.

Every member of the Fairchild family would be gathering together. They would inevitably reveal their arms when they go to the hot spring, so she could see everything. The only catch was that the surveillance cameras had to be in place.

However, as the Fairchild family was worried that others would spy on them, they did a good job of securing the place. They even made sure that the signal jammer worked well. That was why Winnie had to risk going to the black market to buy some military-grade surveillance cameras.

Ordinary equipment would be utterly useless, so she had to make sure that her surveillance cameras were top-notch.

Benjamin had asked to have Winnie taken away. The political statement was that he wanted to let her rest, but the truth was that she was isolated because they were worried that she would embarrass them. Still, that worked well for Winnie and her grandmother. They were happier and freer with that arrangement.

"The steam from the hot spring will affect the cameras, and the camera will have to be placed somewhere secluded to avoid detection. That means there will be moments when our vision is blurred. Our best shot is to find our target in the changing room. Pay extra attention because we'll be monitoring from many angles, and I might miss something if I work on my own."

Winnie was working on the screen of her phone at that time, and Jacinta was working hard to decipher what Winnie was saying.

"Okay, so we have three phones with us. When the time is right, all I have to do is pay attention to the blue one, right?" asked Jacinta.

"That's right, Granny."

"Is there anything else I need to note? Nothing will go wrong, right?"

"The probability of anything going wrong is low because the signal is strong."

"That's good to know," murmured Jacinta. She thought about it for a minute before adding, "I heard what Xavier's father said earlier. He meant to say that the two of you will be divorced soon, right? Oh, that is wonderful news. I just hope everything goes smoothly later."

"Don't worry, Granny." Winnie gently held her grandmother's hand. "It doesn't matter even if things don't go smoothly. I will still leave the Fairchild family."

A little after the party was over, the two of them were released and taken to another room.

Both Xavier and Benjamin were already inside that room when they went over.

The two ladies had just sat down when Hamish and Yara made their way there.

Noticing how upset both Xavier and Benjamin were, they admitted defeat before anyone said anything.

Hamish went straight to Winnie and grabbed her arm.

"Winnie Garland, what is going on here? Did you make your husband angry? Didn't we teach you what to do before you get married? Once you are married into the family, you will be their daughter-in-law and you will have to obey your husband's every word. You are not allowed to do anything to piss him off."

Winnie was speechless. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and swung his arm away. "Winnie is not at fault here. Daddy, you're hurting me."

"Hamish Garland, why, you little." Jacinta couldn't stand it anymore. "You heartless, unthankful brat. The two of you killed my daughter all those years ago, and now you're hurting my granddaughter! You don't get to get away with everything. I'm going to kill you for this."

Jacinta's eyes turned bloodshot with tears when she thought about her precious daughter who had died terribly all those years ago. She couldn't find the right weapon then, so she grabbed her shoe and tossed it at Hamish right away.

Hamish couldn't move away in time, and the sole of her shoe smacked right onto his face and almost made his nose bleed.

"You crazy old woman! Your daughter died of an illness. What does that have to do with me? Don't assume that I will show you mercy just because you're old."

"Enough!" shouted Benjamin. He had no time to listen to them. "Deal with your family's drama at your own time and in your own place. My time is precious, and I'd like to get this over with in ten minutes."

Benjamin's aura was strong, and it prompted Hamish to shut up. "O-Okay, just speak freely. We're listening."

"Good, then take your daughter home tonight. The Fairchild family will not accept her as one of our own."

Hamish had already predicted that his mentally challenged daughter would be abandoned, but he was still upset about it.

Back then, he had fought for his second daughter's happiness by marrying his first daughter off to Xavier. Yet little did he expect Xavier to regain consciousness soon after.

As a result, not only did his favorite daughter lose a shot at being a powerful socialite, but he also offended Xavier. That, in turn, got Garland Group in so much trouble.

He had made a tremendous loss from that deal, and he wanted to do something to minimize his loss.

"Well... Mr. Fairchild"-Hamish wanted to make the best out of the bad situation since he had never had the chance to meet Xavier until that very moment-"it's my fault for marrying my eldest daughter into your family, and I have since learned my lesson. If I promise to take her away immediately and terminate the marriage, will you consider showing my company some mercy?"

Winnie was speechless. Is he really that optimistic or is he just plain dumb? It's obvious that Benjamin only talked to him about the divorce out of courtesy. Does he really think he has any grounds for any negotiations at all?

Winnie couldn't handle the level of absurdity she was witnessing anymore. Besides, it was almost time for everyone to take a dip in the hot spring. That meant she had to make sure that someone was there to monitor the surveillance footage.