A Replacement Bride

Chapter 56

Hera was secretly unhappy as she got that artwork from Iono Aoki for a hefty fifty million and it was clearly a very valuable piece. The thought of letting the Cornells have it just like that upsetted her, especially when Katherine was smiling so smugly now. It was the look of someone that got a good deal, which annoyed her even more.

Still, no matter how displeased she was, she still had to maintain her smile albeit a frozen one.

Meanwhile, Joaquin looked at Katherine somewhat surprisingly.

Being the one that knew his stepmother the best, he understood that she was extremely stingy to the point where she would not give out a single item from her collection even on Elizabeth's birthday. He did not think that she would be so generous as to give her Iono Aoki's personal work.

Looking at Katherine again, he switched his attention to focus on Hera's expression. Joaquin suddenly felt his spirits lifted upon seeing that his stepmother had to maintain her facade even though she was absolutely livid inside.

"Kathy, how can we receive such a valuable gift from Madam Levisay?" Rosemary finally had a chance to speak and reminded her sister.

"Oh, Rose. This gift is not meant for me; it's for our father. This valuable artwork signifies the close relationship our families share." Katherine looked at Rosemary with a weird gaze while explaining seriously.

Hearing that, Rosemary dared not speak another word as her expression changed. After this exchange, Hera started to look at her in a completely different light.

Katherine, who made an excuse to leave due to her father's birthday, went back with Rosemary in the Levisays' car.

As soon as they entered the car, Rosemary immediately darkened her expression and glared at her sister. "Are you doing this on purpose, Katherine?"

"Doing what on purpose?" Katherine questioned back, perplexed.

"You know that I wanted to continue staying at the Levisays, but you intentionally made me leave. Aren't you doing this on purpose?" Rosemary nearly wanted to slap her.

Katherine then put a hand on her shoulder and explained, "My dear sister, you are wronging me right now. I did it for your own good."

"Hmph. You think that'll convince me? I think you just don't want to see me get married." Rosemary snorted at her words.

Katherine sighed and continued, "Think about it. You don't even have an official status within their family and yet you're living comfortably at their home. How do you think Madam Levisay and their servants are speaking of you? They'll just think that you are a shameless person that lacks self- awareness while trying to get something out of the Levisays."

With infallible logic, Katherine explained to her in such a way that Rosemary found irrefutable and even somewhat agreed.

Wanting to approach Robert, she initally thought that staying at the Levisays would be the most effective way, yet she did not consider that.

Through Katherine's reminder, Rosemary suddenly found cold sweat forming on her forehead as she held onto her hand in panic. "T-Then, what should I do now? I've already been staying there for a few

days now. Why didn't you tell me this beforehand?"

"Do you think that would have been useful? Would you have believed me? You would only think that I was lying to you." Katherine sighed while wearing an innocent expression.

"Oh, cut the crap, Katherine. Why would you help me out so readily?" Rosemary snorted, not moved by her acts. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"If so, then I won't need to play the act that I've prepared for you. Looks like you are set on courting Robert on your own."

"What? What have you prepared?" Rosemary, who was distracted by Katherine's words, asked with an excited look.

Smiling, she knew that her sister was not the sharpest shed in the tool. She's much easier to deal with than Lisa.

"If you listen to me, I can make sure that you become the second young mistress of the Levisays. But, you also have to give me what you promised." Katherine reached out and touched Rosemary's hair with a jolly smile on her face.

"Okay, but if you dare lie to me, Katherine, I will never forgive you!" Rosemary could not resist the temptation as she threatened her.

This made Katherine snorted secretly. This? Is all it takes to fool her? How gullible.

Originally, she thought that it would be challenging to convince Rosemary, but she did not think that her mere suggestions were enough for her to take the bait.

"Let's go home first. It'll be Dad's birthday in two more days. You need to invite the Levisays. If you do, Robert will naturally show up. I'm planning this so you can have a shot at him. When the moment

comes, you need to grab it and complete the plan in one go. Do you understand?" Katherine whispered her plan to Rosemary.

Nodding profusely, Rosemary had a pair of sparkling eyes as she fully believed in her sister.

Since it was already late by the time they arrived home, Katherine decided to stay put and returned to her own room.

How many years have I not been in this room? Memories started to flood into her brain as she recalled all those years back when she was still the daughter of the Cornells and her mother was still here; they were a family of three. We were happy.

Spending the night in silence, Katherine got up very early the next morning. After washing up, she went out for a jog only to find Jorge already having breakfast in the living room.

Now that Lisa was hospitalized, it became much quieter around the house.

Rubbing her eyes, Rosemary slowly came down the stairs and asked her father upon finding her mom missing. "Dad, why is Mom not here? Where did she go so early in the morning?"

While sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper, Jorge suddenly threw the paper aside and replied somewhat unhappily, "Your mother is not here."

"Okay? Why are you yelling at me?" Rosemary looked at him funnyly.

This made Jorge sense that he was too harsh on his daughter, so he took a breath to compose himself before saying, "It's nothing. Your mom was in an accident and is now hospitalized. She will be going through surgery today. If you want to visit her, you might make it now."

"What?" Stunned, Rosemary asked about the location of the hospital before telling the chauffeur to send her.

On the other hand, Katherine had just returned from her jog as she greeted Jorge and wiped her sweat before heading upstairs. When she came down, she found that he was still there, so she knew that something was up.

"Dad, do you have something to tell me?' Katherine asked with concern.

Jorge looked at his daughter comfortingly, thinking that Katherine was extremely sensible and caring, unlike Rosemary, who only cared about Lisa.

"It's just that a small hiccup happened on the project we're collaborating with the Levisay Group. Could you perhaps ask them to go easy on us?" Jorge rubbed his palms together and asked somewhat embarrassingly.

This made Katherine a bit shocked, for she did not think that he had the guts to do the unspeakables with a project of this size.

"Alright, Dad. I'll ask Joaquin about it then, but he doesn't really care about the affairs of the company anymore, so I'm not sure if he can settle this. Also, I've told Madam Levisay that your birthday is in a few more days, so the Levisays will also come. If Rosemary can use this chance to get together with Robert, then your issue with the company will be solved."

With carefully curated wording, Katherine's statement brightened Jorge's eyes as he started to draft up a plan for himself.