“Nathaniel?” Winnie was extremely shocked to see the man in the motel at the foot of the mountain.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you on a business trip abroad?” she queried.

There was a look of shock on Winnie’s face, but on the other hand, Nathaniel seemed pleasantly surprised to see her.

He walked over to her with a smile hanging on his lips. “The project has been temporarily canceled, so I flew back here shortly after. I’ve already settled a bunch of things in advance because of the project, and since the schedule that’s already set in stone can’t be altered, I decided to just give myself a break.”

After a brief pause, the man continued to explain, “When I thought of a holiday, the first place that popped into my mind was Mount Albeise. I didn’t expect to meet you here either, but I suppose that’s fate, huh?”

“Yeah.” At that point, Winnie was still completely unaware of the rumors that had spread like wildfire about her upcoming engagement with Nathaniel.

Flashing the man a courteous smile, she said, “What a coincidence indeed. The only difference between us is that I’ve already descended the mountain, whereas you still have a long way up.”

“You’re right.” Nathaniel nodded, and a thought instantly crossed his mind. But if I can spend the rest of my time here with you, I’ll gladly forgo my hiking plans.

He couldn’t help asking her, “What are your plans after this? Are you planning to stay for a little longer to do some sightseeing, or are you heading back?”

Not giving her a chance to respond, he then proposed, “I know a town nearby that has a wine cellar that produces good wine. You should go try it if you get the chance to. I can take you there if you want, and if you’re interested, we can also go hunting together. There are a lot of moose around here.”

“Is that so? It sounds great, but I think I’ll take a rain check.”

Winnie had witnessed an avalanche while she was on the mountain the previous day. Although she had been tens of miles away at the time and hadn’t been in any danger, she could still feel the intense pressure of that moment.

When the avalanche occurred, she instantly had a flashback to the explosion that happened on the dock.

The danger and fear she experienced back then was no different from what she felt about the avalanche, but what made the former incident so memorable was the people she had experienced it with—her lover and her friend who had jumped in to save her with little regard for their own safety.

Hence, after the avalanche, Winnie knew it was time for her to go home and take care of some matters as no one knew exactly what life had in store for them.

She couldn’t keep harboring resentment for something or someone because of an incident, nor could she miss out on everything she should’ve cherished at that moment.

With her mind made up, Winnie politely declined Nathaniel’s invitation. “I’ll come back and experience it when I get the chance, but I’m in a bit of a rush to go back to Chanaea now.”

“Are you going back to Avenport so soon? It doesn’t seem like you’ve been here for long,” said Nathaniel, a hint of disappointment evident in his tone.

He had already seen the news about their supposed engagement and also read the Speiser family’s response to it.

Truth be told, Nathaniel was delighted to see Wilhelm deny the fact that Winnie had ever married Xavier.

I thought this would be my chance, but I didn’t expect her to go back so soon. Besides, judging by her behavior, it doesn’t seem like she knows what has been going on in the outside world ever since she came here.

After pondering for a while, Nathaniel asked, “Winnie, is the reception bad up there? Have you contacted anybody in the outside world recently?”

“The reception is pretty bad in the mountain. What is it? Did something happen? Does it involve me?”

The woman was simply too sharp, so Nathaniel could only flash her a wry smile and come clean about the situation. “All right. Since it seems you’re truly unaware, I think we need to find a place to sit and talk.”

“Sure.”

your backpack. It must be heavy, right? I’ll carry

the man, “No need. It’s

choice but to retract his hand and

so he took the initiative to reach his

a bespectacled man standing in a corner of

for him, however, his flash was on, and

one another

a

as she glanced at the man who was taking

man strode toward them instead of waiting for them to approach

like they were expecting and openly

didn’t expect to bump into you two. May I have the honor of interviewing you guys?

as she mulled over the man’s words. “Thank you for your interest, but why are you interviewing us if you’re

at the foot of

Winnie didn’t outright reject him, the bespectacled journalist even pulled out his handy dandy

that you and Mr. Nathaniel are preparing for your engagement. We’ve asked for clarification, but we weren’t able to get any reliable information. I didn’t expect to bump into you and Mr. Nathaniel here at all. Are you two really dating? When are you two planning to get engaged or perhaps get

plastered all over Winnie’s face when she heard the journalist’s words. She even lowered her gaze

are you talking about, Mr. Graham? What arranged

“How can you not know about this, Ms. Vivian? Look, I even took a picture of you and

crease appeared between Winnie’s brows as she looked over at Nathaniel. “What’s

journalist piped up first, “Ms. Vivian, if you’re unwilling to answer that question, why don’t I ask you another one? Is it true that you married a Chanaean

sorry, Mr. Graham, but until I figure out

it that hard to answer a couple of questions? Could it be that

frown grew deeper. “What does this have

that you were ever married in Chanaea. He also said that you have the freedom of marriage. There are people who are speculating that you two are doing this for your upcoming marriage into the Huxley family. Do you have any

her, and his questions were deliberately phrased

wasn’t an interview but rather a scheme to lure her into acknowledging matters she hadn’t even heard of, and Winnie

Winnie scolded, “Please abide by your professional ethics, Mr. Graham. I didn’t agree to your interview, nor did I answer any

Winnie and the journalist.

caught the attention of the motel’s receptionist, and she was already holding onto the phone

her the order, she

he had been too hasty and

it. Not only did she ask him to leave, but she also made him delete the

left, Winnie instantly found a table

front of her

and explained everything that had

Winnie couldn’t help but scoff. “As expected,

by your reaction, did you already know she’d

her bad side. Still, I didn’t expect she’d come up with such a story. It’s completely absurd! Does she intend to take revenge on my brother

chimed in, “It… isn’t entirely

mean? Don’t

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