A Replacement Bride

Chapter 22
"Yes, I am interested in you." Katherine stopped staring in surprise and studied Joaquin once more.
Except for the strangely familiar aura, the man she was looking at seemed just like a stranger she had never met before.
She was starting to think she was a little too sensitive after returning home; everyone seemed familiar to her.
"Oh?" Joaquin raised an eyebrow at her honesty. The interest gleaming in his eyes grew stronger. "True, you would definitely be
interested in being the wife of the Levisay heir. Unfortunately, you miscalculated. Marrying me might not give you what you want."
"Not really." Her beautiful lips curved in a smile as she looked at him.
She had thought of the Levisays as a huge annoyance and had planned to cancel her engagement. Now, however, the idea of
marrying him would be a good disguise.
She could not tell anyone about her identity because she knew the formulations of many experimental drugs. The moment
anyone with evil intentions found out about her, the only fate waiting for her was an endless stream of assassinations.
Everyone around her would be in danger then.
Being Mrs. Levisay did not seem like a bad idea. No one would think the boring wife of a disabled man to be the infamous Dr. C.
"No matter what, you are the undisputable heir of the family. I would not lose anything by marrying you. At the very least, it is a
better fate than being ignored and powerless with the Cornells. What do you think?" She had a greedy look and spoke
confidently.
If Joaquin had never met Katherine before and witnessed just how powerful and sharp-tongued she was, he would have been
fooled by her lie.
He did not think she would be both witty and a good actress.
His smile deepened. He leaned back in his wheelchair and languidly studied her as he said, "You have a point."
"I think what I said made sense as well. Since you agree with me, why don't we proceed with the engagement? I hope you won't
use some excuse to cancel our engagement again on the eighth of next month." She was very satisfied with his decision.

He was disfigured and disabled, but he was handsome enough that she did not mind trying to save his legs.
Joaquin raised an eyebrow and faintly smiled at her. "Of course, I won't. Do you not mind that I am disabled?"
"Do you mind that I am useless?" Katherine casually shot back.
Everyone in Hovington knew the Cornells' eldest daughter was useless and stupid since childhood and had been sent away to
Fontan to live by herself for five years.
Fontan was infamous for being chaotic. Even powerful men would suffer over there. It was easy to imagine just what would
happen to Katherine, a woman with no power to back her up.
She had only returned home for a few days, yet everyone already knew of her reputation. They were all waiting to laugh at the
Levisays.
Speaking of her reputation, that achievement belonged to Rosemary. If she had not been so eager in gossiping about Katherine,
it would have been hard to ensure everyone believed in her terrible reputation.
"Ha." Joaquin chuckled.
His fiancée was much more interesting than he had anticipated, and with her intelligence and talents, she was well-prepared for
a lot of things.
He wanted to protect Beatrice, and Katherine was the best shield possible.
At that thought, the notion of being engaged was not that bad anymore.
He had to thank Hera for going through all that effort to find someone like her for him.
"Trash and useless; we are the perfect match. Not bad." There was a frigid quality to his smile, but it was blocked from her view
by his mask.
She shot him a confused look; that sensation of familiarity grew stronger.
Perhaps they truly had met before.
As she pondered, he pushed himself over to her. "Since you will be marrying me, let us head downstairs now."

"Okay," she answered nonchalantly, rising to push him down to the living room.
Meanwhile, Hera, Jorge, and Lisa were almost done discussing the details of the wedding. As John did not approve of the
marriage, he did not say a word the entire time and coldly watched them talk.
Elizabeth had decided to just avoid looking at the situation and asked the woman sitting beside her to help her back to her room
for some rest. It was apparent that she was dissatisfied with her future granddaughter-in-law.
When Katherine reappeared with Joaquin, John could not help but frown as he stared at her.
One of her straps had slipped off her shoulder, revealing smooth skin and tiny flashes of a hickey on her neck.
John scowled harder at the sight. He shot to his feet and stormed out of the room without saying a single word.
Katherine merely glanced at his back in response. Her lips twitched upward into a grin as she pushed Joaquin closer to the
group.
Joaquin was an excellent shield for her. She could likely avoid a lot of issues with the Levisays as long as she used him as her
excuse.
"Dad, Madam Sutton, Hera."
She greeted the group in the living room in a sickly-sweet voice as she pushed Joaquin in.
Hera frowned at him before turning to look at Katherine. Then, she let out a cold smirk.
She had been worried Joaquin would pull some trick out of his sleeves. To her surprise, Katherine was a cunning woman who
could make that trash flirt with her. John storming out of the room essentially meant Joaquin would no longer be the heir of the
Levisay Group.
The thought put her in a good mood, and her smile grew brighter.
"Kathy, come sit by my side. Oh, the two of you are getting married soon. Thus, you should change how you call me. Do not be a
stranger, got it?" She patted Katherine on the hand. When she saw the big gold bangle dangling from Katherine's wrist, she
shivered in revulsion once more.

"I know, Mom," Katherine smoothly and obediently answered. At the same time, she took off her gold bangle and slid it onto
Hera's wrist.
Stunned, Hera stared at her in shock. The next thing she knew, Katherine was speaking. "You will be my mother in the future, so
this is a gift from me, your daughter. You like it, right?"
Hera nearly burst out laughing from anger. How could she like something so crude and ordinary?
However, she could not be rude to Katherine. Hence, she had to go against her heart and nod. "I do. I love it a lot."
"That is great. I was worried you would not like it. When I bought this, the seller said the bangle could never be taken off if it
meets someone that suits it. If the new owner wanted it off, they would have to cut it off. However, gold is quite a hard material,
so most tools won't be able to make a dent on it."
She patted her chest as if she had been terrified.
Hera's expression became even nastier when she heard that.