A Replacement Bride

The doctor exhaled and carefully informed Joaquin of his situation.
"You've witnessed her condition for yourself, so you should have a rough guess on what's going on. I've looked through all her
test results. Nothing is wrong with her. She is not suffering from any injuries nor is there anything abnormal to be found in her
blood test results. When I talked to her just now, I realized there is something off about her mental condition. She keeps jumbling
up her sentences and contradicting herself. It is a condition usually seen in patients suffering from mental disorders or
undiagnosed severe amnesia."
Joaquin was not surprised to hear that.
Just as the doctor said, after what he had witnessed over the last two days, he had guessed it.
However...
"What could be the cause behind her amnesia? Could the tests not tell us?" he asked solemnly.
The doctor hummed in thought. When he finally spoke, his face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "The tests are unable to
find anything wrong for now. On the surface, she seems completely fine. I'm actually quite curious about just what could have
turned her into this state. However, there is a chance that it is simply due to shock."
Amnesia caused by overstimulation?
Katherine was not that weak, and Joaquin did not think it was possible.
However, since the doctor could not come up with any other explanation, Joaquin did not wish to continue with the same topic.
"How should we cure her then? When will she recover?"
The doctor shook his head. "I can't say for sure. Some recover in just a few days while others would take three to five years.
There are even some who... would live out the rest of their life with a hazy mind. I have no way of giving you a sure-fire answer.
All I can say is that you should do your best to treat it."
At that, Joaquin went silent. In the end, he nodded and left the room with Katherine and the prescribed medicine.
When they walked out of the doctor's office, she blinked in surprise upon seeing David waiting in the hallway.
"Huh? Why are you here, David?"

David was stunned to hear her ask that. He subconsciously glanced at Joaquin.
When Joaquin shot him a look in return, he immediately understood what was going on. He could not help but sense a headache
building.
Nevertheless, his only choice was to play along as he calmly nodded and replied, "Hm? I'm here to check in on you."
She smiled. "What is there to check on? I'm fine. Stop worrying."
She then looked down at Noah and ran her hand through Noah's hair. "Don't worry, Noah. I'm perfectly fine."
Her blinding smile stunned Noah. As Noah dazedly stared up at Katherine, she felt like her mother had turned into a completely
different person.
While Katherine had been nice to Noah before, she had never smiled at Noah with that kind of smile.
This was the first time ever.
The four of them left the hospital with three of the party dazedly shuffling along. Katherine was the only person who had a
carefree smile on her lips the entire time.
Before getting into the car, she turned to look at the hospital with a deep stare.
"Everyone says doctors are angels, but I never want to step foot in a hospital again. It's terrifying being hooked up to all sorts of
machines while my blood is taken from me and every inch of me has been scanned from inside out."
Joaquin was opening the car door when he heard that. He froze and turned to look at her. "You are afraid of that? Don't you
handle those machines all the time?"
"Who handles those machines all the time?" she asked, shooting him a confused look. "Me? That's impossible. I'm not a doctor."
As soon as she said that, everyone else went stiff and stared at her in disbelief.
David was unable to resist exclaiming, "What do you mean by that? Aren't you..."
Halfway through his question, he suddenly realized what sort of situation he was in and hurriedly stopped talking.

Something flashed in Noah's eyes as she stepped forward to tug at Katherine's hand and whisper, "Mom, you are an amazing
doctor. You've always been the one to help me nurture my sickly body, remember?"
Katherine burst out laughing as though she had been told the world's greatest joke. "How is that possible? I don't even know a
single bit about healing anyone. Noah, are you trying to flatter me?"
It was then that they realized what was going on.
Her amnesia had affected her other memories to the point where she had forgotten her skills as a doctor.
Joaquin pursed his lips and darkly said, "Let's get in the car. We'll talk back home."
On the drive home, he contacted Theodore while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
Coincidentally, Theodore was currently at Kyoland. The instant he heard Katherine was suffering from amnesia, he hurriedly set
a time and place for them to meet up.
...
Jayden was informed of the new developments not long after.
"What? She even forgot about her own skills as a doctor. Are you sure?" The news shocked him so much that he shot to his feet
to give Hansel a hard stare.
Hansel swiftly nodded. "It's absolutely true, Mr. Hall. According to the doctor my men interrogated, he said that based on Miss
Cornell's current behavior, her memories had been jumbled together. She might even be suffering from amnesia. The men also
overheard Katherine saying she is not a doctor. She seems like a completely different person right now. Mr. Benedict did say that
there would be side effects if the drug was not administered at the correct dosage. I believe this is one of the side effects."
Jayden scowled. His mood worsened instead of improving upon hearing that piece of news.
He had not expected the situation to develop to this stage.
How could Katherine have forgotten so much about herself, especially her incredible healing skills?
That was what he wanted control over. How could she forget about it?

He flew into a fit of rage and slammed a palm against his desk, causing every molecule in the room to tremble in fear.
"Useless fool! Absolutely useless! You can't do a single thing I tell you to do. Look at what you've done! You've ruined
everything!"
Hansel quivered in fear as well. His eyes darted all around the room as he forced himself to reassure Jayden.
"It's not all that bad, sir. Think about it. Now that Miss Cornell has health issues, Joaquin would surely comb through every inch
of the earth to find someone to cure her. We could actually seize this chance to get our hands on Miss Cornell once more. Then,
she would be firmly under your thumb."
Jayden fell silent when he heard that. After he spent a few moments considering the suggestion, the ugly look on his face faded
slightly.
A moment later, he sat back down with a dark look on his face and ordered, "We'll keep an eye on every move they make.
Report back to me the instant something happens."
"Yes, sir!" Hansel responded, frantically nodding.