A Replacement Bride

Chapter 23

Hera stiffly looked at the bangle on her wrist. When Katherine was distracted, she secretly tried to take it off. However, she soon realized that she could not take it off no matter how hard she tried. Katherine had slid it so easily on her wrist though.

It was then that she recalled Katherine's story, and her face became even more ugly.

Joaquin was watching from the side throughout the entire encounter. When he saw Hera suffering from a prank, his mood improved.

"That man must have been lying to you. Gold bangles that could not be taken off do not exist in this world," Hera said with an awkward chuckle that sounded extremely forced.

"Is that so? I thought so too. When I have it on, I can take it off whenever." Katherine solemnly spoke as if she did not understand Hera's comment.

That reaction made Hera feel like spewing blood. She pursed her lips and stopped talking to Katherine.

The wedding's details were all settled, and Katherine did not need to know about it anyway.

Once she was done grossing out Hera, she daintily moved to stand behind Joaquin's wheelchair, leaned down, and shyly said, "I… Dad, Madam Sutton, and Mom, since our engagement is confirmed now, can we send a press statement to the media? I'm just so worried that this is all just a dream and that I will wake up one day."

Everyone was surprised by Katherine's request, and they all stared at her in shock.

However, that request was not a big deal.

Jorge would honestly love for the Levisays to send the statement. That way, everyone in the city would know that the Cornells had the Levisays on their side now.

The more he thought about that, the more satisfied he was with Katherine. While she had been a distant child and lived away from him for five years, she still prioritized the Cornells in her decisions. After all, she had done beautifully with her request.

"That is fine. I will have the PR department announce your engagement." Although Hera was thoroughly revolted by Katherine's coy act, she still smiled and agreed to the idea.

"Thank you, Mom. You are the best!" Katherine happily smiled at Hera.

Discomforted by the look in Katherine's eyes and afraid that she might suddenly give her something weird again, Hera hurriedly stood up. "I'll go check in on the kitchen. All of you should stay for the meal before you go."

"Thank you, Mom," Katherine sweetly said.

Hearing that made Hera walk even faster.

The smile on Katherine's face shone brightly as she winked at Joaquin.

He stared back at her, speechless.

She was so good at acting that he was curious about what she had actually gone through in those five years in Fontan.

He had looked into her; her life before going to Fontan had been simple; her grades were average. When she was studying in high school five years ago, a scandal broke out which led to her being sent away by the Cornells. Since then, the report on her life has been blank.

He knew all too well about his subordinates' investigative capabilities. Even they had been unable to find out what she was doing. All they could say was that there was a very skilled programmer who was helping her hide her past.

"Kathy, the wedding will be happening in just over two weeks. What do you still need? Go buy them using the card I gave you. Buy anything you want. Do not hold back, do you understand?" Jorge was so very happy with Katherine, for she was a credit to him.

"Okay. Thank you, Dad," she dutifully answered. She then pushed Joaquin aside and found a seat to sit.

During dinner, John excused himself from the meal using the excuse that he had an important client to attend to. Elizabeth was also not at dinner as she claimed she did not feel well. However, the meek woman who followed after Elizabeth the entire time dined with them.

"Did you study in Fontan? I hear the education in that country is amazing," asked the woman, Bella Cooper, as she feebly glanced at Katherine while slowly eating her food.

Katherine glanced at her as she could feel Bella's hostility toward her; it was likely because of Joaquin.

Katherine swiftly shoved a piece of meat into her mouth. After slowly savoring the meat and judging it to be decent, she grabbed another piece from the shared plate and placed it on Joaquin's plate. It was only then that she replied with a sincere look in her eyes, "You had better cut off ties with the person who told you that. They must be absolutely lying. Fontan is the worst in the entire world when it comes to education. They have no talents outside of being poor and hitting on random girls."

The reply broke Bella as she awkwardly and blankly stared at Katherine due to the shock.

Joaquin had just taken a bite of his food when Katherine spoke. Her reply had him nearly choking on his food. It took him a long while before he caught his breath.

Katherine hurriedly patted him on the back while giving him a glass of water.

"I-Is that so? I-I thought…" Bella stammered with a pale face. She had no idea how to continue the conversation.

"If you really want to know what's going on with Fontan, I suggest you ask your parents to send you over. You will understand after a few years," Katherine interrupted, not giving her a chance to finish speaking.

Bella's face turned even paler as she swayed in her seat.

She tearfully turned her gaze to Joaquin only to see him casually grabbing the piece of meat Katherine had placed on his plate. When she saw him eat it, something snapped in her.

She could not believe her eyes.

Joaquin was always a germaphobe who only ever ate from his own personal plate. He would not eat from the shared plates, let alone food placed on his plate by someone else. She had lived with the Levisays for over twenty years, and this was her first time seeing him eat food given to him by a woman. Moreover, her saliva was still on that piece of meat…

She felt so confused, unable to understand what was going on.

"Have some liver. It is good for blood circulation." Katherine ignored the performance going on beside her and passed Joaquin more food.

He frowned at the piece of liver on his plate. Before he could speak, he heard Bella cautiously say to Katherine, "Miss Cornell, you might not know Joaquin well, but he never eats organ meat…"

She was not even done speaking when Joaquin immediately grabbed the liver on his plate and ate it as if he were trying to humiliate her.

The liver had a weird taste to it and eating it felt like eating dirt. Still, he pushed back his distaste and swallowed the meat.

"What did you just say?" Katherine innocently asked after watching him finish the whole piece.

Bella opened her mouth, but the words stuck to her throat and would not come out no matter what.

Joaquin actually ate the liver!

Just what was going on between him and Katherine? Why was he so very patient with her?