A Replacement Bride

Chapter 35

Beatrice picked at her clean fingertips, which was now pale. With her head lowered, she stared at the string of digits on her phone screen until it went blank, but her calls were not answered.

As her anxiety persisted, she bit her bottom lip until the shape of her beautiful lips changed while her cold pale face appeared frail.

This is the first time Joaquin missed my call.

Is it because of the woman Ian mentioned?

Who exactly is she?

For the first time in her life, she was panicking as she felt things were going out of control.

Why did something like this happen now after five years?

Feeling irritated, she decided it was time to ring him again.

This time, the call was answered quickly. The man's low and cold voice came through the phone, which had been softened significantly by the audio transmission. Beatrice's heart raced a little as she heard the indescribable bass and gentleness in his voice.

"Why didn't you answer my call earlier?" she muttered, feeling wronged and dissatisfied.

Joaquin glanced at the sleeping Katherine, whose cold expression softened under the dim light. Instead of appearing as icy as she had been in the past, her face appeared more tender.

Hearing Beatrice's complaint, he pursed his lips and gently replied, "I was busy. What happened? Who made you upset, hm?"

Beatrice's heart calmed a little when she heard his familiar tone and the unease she harbored was gone.

"I get nervous when I can't reach you. Joaquin, let's…"

At that moment, she was dying to ask him when he was going to marry her.

It had been five years, but he still had no plans to marry her. She could not figure out what he was thinking.

"Let's wait. Now is not the right time. I'll marry you when the time comes." Joaquin exhausted all his patience on Beatrice.

Since he chose her five years ago, he deserved to be held accountable. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

After all, what his mother told him on her deathbed was still fresh in his mind.

He could not be like his father, who was an irresponsible scumbag.

"But I'm insecure. You're successful and attractive, and you're surrounded by a lot of amazing girls whereas I'm a nobody. I only have you. What do I do if you decide you no longer want me?"

At that moment, Beatrice's voice was filled with worry and vulnerability.

Joaquin stared in disbelief for a long time before slowly exhaling. "There will be no one else, just you."

This was his promise to Beatrice.

"I haven't seen you in quite some time. Can you make time for me? You're my boyfriend, but meeting you is difficult. When other people ask why, I can't even answer them." Beatrice smiled, gripping her phone and acting coquettishly with Joaquin as she heard his promise.

Before hanging up, he calmed her down by saying, "I'm busy these days, but let's meet the day after tomorrow."

Turning around, he noticed Katherine, who was sleeping on the chair earlier, was already awake and now stared at himself with bright eyes.

"I suppose Miss Cornell has a habit of eavesdropping, huh?" Joaquin asked, raising his brow.

"Eavesdropping?" Katherine smirked as she arched her brow.

He was the one who answered the phone and spoke openly in front of her! As a matter of fact, she was forced to listen to his mushy chatter on the phone.

"Let me correct you, my dear fiancé. I wasn't even interested in listening to what you had to say. Plus, I didn't even say anything about the fact that you had to answer the call and disrupt my sleep."

"I see you have quite a temper." Joaquin snickered as he observed Katherine's delicate side profile.

It was apparent that she was exhausted and frail because of how pale her face was. Currently, her brows were furrowed, which made her look rather annoyed.

As she did not want to engage in a conversation, Katherine yawned. "Drop me at the city center. There's something I need to do."

She had just completed an exhausting operation on a patient, which resulted in her pale complexion.

She would get a short fuse when she was tired, especially when she was woken up from her nap. As a result, Katherine conveyed her irritation with her brows tightened. If she could be violent with Joaquin, she would have done so right away.

With a tired expression, she shut her eyes after saying those words. Seeing that, Joaquin decided to stop talking so she could rest.

Alhough the mountain roads ahead were rather flat, there were many road curves. As such, he drove slowly and steadily to avoid waking Katherine, who was fast asleep.

Halfway through the drive, Ian phoned him in excitement. "Captain! Winson is awake! He's wide awake! Greg also stated that his injuries are no longer a concern. He simply needs to rest well for a few weeks! Who exactly is that woman, Captain? How could she be so talented? You should ask her if she wants to work with us. She's more skilled than Greg, and possibly even better than Greg's professor!"

After finding out the patient had woken up, there was a one-eighty in Ian's attitude.

Had he known Katherine's medical skills from the beginning, he would have worshiped her.

Joaquin looked over at the sleeping woman next to him and her brows furrowed as if irritated by the noise, looking like she was about to wake up.

At once, he hung up the phone without hesitation and put his phone on silent after some thought.

Meanwhile, Katherine was not able to sleep and was woken up as soon as Ian called.

The silence in the car was so loud that one could hear a pin drop. However, Joaquin did not bother Katherine, whose eyes were closed. She only opened her eyes when they arrived at the city center. "Stop right here," she said faintly in her clear voice.

Casting a glance at her, he remained wordless and informed the driver accordingly. The driver then looked for a space to park the car after which Katherine alighted from the vehicle.

"I won't be returning to the Levisays for the time being, but I'll be back before the wedding ceremony," she said, pulling the strap of her backpack, and then disappeared into the crowd without looking at Joaquin.

She had a lot to sort out after returning to the country. Aside from the research institute, there were many things to deal with at the company, so she was extremely busy.

Meanwhile, Joaquin took a long look in the direction she was going. His lips quivered before he faintly said, "Let's go."

"Mr. Levisay, where to?" the driver asked carefully.

"Home."

…

Following Katherine's exit from the vehicle, she turned left and right before entering a cafe.

In a quiet private room, a beautiful and competent woman came to deliver a document, and stated solemnly, "The company has been registered according to your requirements. Since the equipment has arrived, production can begin at any time. However, we have yet to find a technician. Also, Miss Cornell, there are many cosmeceutical companies in this country, so we are at a disadvantage. Given that we're starting from scratch, it looks like we'd be in a really difficult situation, so you might want to reconsider."

"There's no need. The technician will arrive at the factory in three days' time and you should be there to welcome them. I'll email the formulation to you shortly, which you can apply for the patent. As for the

rest, you don't have to worry. Just leave it to me."

As Katherine picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip, a faint smile formed on the corner of her lips.

Seeing that Katherine would not listen, the woman dropped the subject and said nothing more.