A Replacement Bride

Chapter 41
Ignoring Joaquin, Katherine scanned the cafe and found the person whom she was looking for.
She walked over.
While lifting up the cup of coffee, Joaquin kept his gaze fixed on her. He watched her walk to a seat in the corner and sat down.
From his position, he could faintly see a man in a suit sitting across from her.
"Oh my God! Joaquin, I think your fiancee must have a crush on you. Why is she always everywhere you are?"
Seeing her walking in and heading toward another direction while ignoring them, Ben assumed that she was playing hard to get.
He turned around to look at her seating and spoke to Joaquin with an exaggerated expression.
However, Joaquin solely gave him a chilly glare and felt that he was being too noisy.
...
"Mr. Kestel." Katherine sat down and looked at the man in front of her.
The man looked as if he was in his early thirties. He was in a custom-made suit and wore gold spectacles, giving him a gentle
and innocent aura.
"I have the answers to your question. This lawsuit is impossible to defend. You have no chance of winning," he said while
pushing his spectacles up his nose bridge; his gaze fixed on Katherine's beautiful face.
"What if I found evidence of their murder? Is there still a case for this lawsuit?"
Katherine slowly picked up the coffee and took a sip.
She hated the bitter taste of black coffee the most.
"If there is evidence, you should report it to the police rather than asking me to file a lawsuit on your behalf." The corners of Mr.
Kestel's mouth twitched as he grinned.

"I've always heard that you have never lost a battle. I thought you were skillful, but little did I know that you're not that great
either. Please excuse me; I have to hire someone better since you can't do anything about it."
Katherine put down the coffee in her hand and stood up to leave.
If it wasn't for her grandmother who insisted on hiring a lawyer to retrieve everything that belonged to the Olsens, she wouldn't
even have bothered to do so.
The reason why Katherine's grandma wanted to attain justice for Elsie was because Elsie had met a tragic end and was even
stigmatized in her final hours. Thus, Katherine had to hire a lawyer to avoid disobeying her grandmother.
It was a pity that Mr. Kestel disappointed her.
She felt that his title of the best lawyer in Ascor was overrated.
"You don't have to threaten me like this, Miss Cornell. You should be aware that it has been so many years and you have no
evidence in your hands, yet you want me to represent you in this lawsuit and win it. Do you think this is feasible?" After watching
Katherine stand up, Mr. Kestel responded slowly.
He didn't mean to hold her back as he only came because his friend told him to.
It was not worth a single penny to meet her with the kind of reputation that she had.
She only smiled, then left.
Mr. Kestel remained seated and sipped his coffee slowly while appearing unmoved.
Meanwhile, Ben secretly listened to their whole conversation. Then, he took the menu to cover his face and sneakily went back
to Joaquin to sit down.
Joaquin briefly glanced at him; this was the first time Ben acted so nosy.
"I didn't expect it to be Mr. Kestel from the Lichen Law Firm. Your fiancee is looking for someone to file a lawsuit, but she was
sadly rejected."
He shook his head and gulped down a large glass of lemonade from the table before telling Joaquin the gossip he had just
heard.

Joaquin, on the other hand, didn't even bother looking at him; instead, he took a sip of his coffee and looked at his smartphone to
check how the stock market was doing.
"What did the Cornells do to her? I heard that she was kicked out of the family five years ago, and was sent to Fontan. Back
then, the Cornells were pretty well-known, right? Why was there no news about it?"
Ben continued blabbering.
Joaquin, who had been ignoring him all along, finally responded. He raised his head from the screen of his phone and gave him
a look. "Five years ago, she was caught sleeping with a man in his fifties. Jorge Cornell felt embarrassed about it, so he drove
her out."
"What? That's huge news! He still allowed her to marry you despite this? Do the Levisays approve this?"
At that moment, Ben was unable to control his volume.
Only after he sensed people looking at him, did he immediately cover his mouth and looked at Joaquin in shock.
"Do you think that woman would be okay with me getting stronger by marrying an aristocratic family's daughter?" he retorted with
an indescribably sarcastic tone and smirked.
Ben rubbed his nose; he almost forgot what happened in the Levisays.
He secretly glanced at Joaquin's expression and was relieved when he saw that Joaquin didn't seem to have any reaction, but
he didn't dare to gossip anymore either.
"Joe."
The two of them had already finished half of their coffee when the person they had been waiting for arrived.
Beatrice wore a white dress. Her long, smooth, dark-colored hair draped over her shoulders. She was a beautiful woman; she
had delicate facial features and wore a soft grin on her face that drew the attention of the people in the cafe.
After giving Joaquin a quick glance, Ben realized that he should leave, so he came up with a random excuse and left.
"Did you wait for me for a long time?" she said as she sat down across from Joaquin.

"No. We had just arrived too." He put down his phone, straightened up, and turned to face the girl in front of him.
Beatrice had an exquisite appearance, a compassionate attitude, and a solid background. They had been interacting with each
other for 5 years, but sadly even after all those years, he did not feel a thing for her; instead, he felt an innate sense of rejection
every time he saw her.
"Really?" Beatrice refrained from exposing the truth; she was warmed by his words.
Many women throughout the world fantasize about men like Joaquin, yet she was the one who could own him.
Beatrice repressed the joy in her heart and brought her focus back to the issue. "By the way, Joe, my grandpa informed me that
his research institute will conduct an interview three days from now. He encouraged me to participate. Do you have time on that
day? Can you accompany me?"
"Research institute?" Joaquin arched his brows just a little bit. He was aware that Mr. Muller rarely hired people to his research
institute. Additionally, according to the data Ben sent, the goshawks, who were receiving their treatment there, seemed to be
recovering quite nicely.
"Isn't his research institute not recruiting people?" Joaquin asked casually.
"It's not recruiting; however, their research institute recently fired a researcher so there is now a vacancy. Grandpa has an
internal recommendation name list, so he wanted me to try." Beatrice's face lit up with pride as she stated this.
After giving it some thought, Joaquin decided. "I'll accompany you."
Her smile grew even brighter when he agreed. She was so excited that she gripped Joaquin's arm as her soft chest pushed
closely against his arm. Then, she said in a lovely voice, "Then I'll wait for you to pick me up and we'll go together."
The expression on his face shifted, and the feelings of resistance and disdain returned.