A Replacement Bride

Chapter 112

Meanwhile, Katherine arrived at Soulin International, easing up on her movement, when she heard some noises next door. Then, she saw the door next to her unit open before Joaquin, who was wearing a casual outfit, showed up with a gray mask on his face to dispose of his garbage. When he saw Katherine, he was stunned, whereupon he curled his lips upward and asked, "How do I look? I look great, don't I?"

Nevertheless, Katherine rolled her eyes upward in response, cringing at his mischief before she opened the door and entered her home. What's wrong with me? I must have been out of my mind to have thought that Joaquin was the same person as the thug I saw at the hospital the other day. Gosh! I can’t believe I even sized him up for a few moments. Although the two of them may look like they're about the same size, I'm sure they're not the same person at all. After entering her home, Katherine subconsciously placed her hand on her chest, confused by her rapid heartbeat. What's wrong with me? I don't feel right now. Is it because the treatment took a toll on my body? Katherine tried to convince herself that her exhaustion was due to the treatment as she went ahead to take a shower and hit the hay.

…

On the other hand, Tessa and London arrived at the VIP ward on the top floor of Hovington Hospital, where they saw Hebert taking his medication while sitting on the bed like a healthy man. "How come you're awake?"

Hebert was startled by the voice as he frowned and looked at the door. Then, feeling unhappy with the way Tessa put her words, he coldly questioned her. "What's wrong? You seem disappointed to see me awake, don't you?"

It was then that Tessa realized she had blurted out quicker than her mind could react. Thus, she shook her head in denial and tried to explain herself. "N-No. Of course not. Why would I be disappointed, Dear? I was just too… Happy and surprised to see you back to your senses."

However, Hebert ignored his wife and continued to take his medication. At the same time, Tessa stepped forward to take a closer look at the medication her husband was taking, catching a pungent smell that left her wondering what he was taking. Out of curiosity, she asked, "What is it that you're taking, Dear? You mustn't take any medication that you barely know anything about due to your concerning health condition. After all, you won't know what it'll do to your body. If anything happens to you, I don't know how I'm going to live without you."

"You're imaginative, aren't you? How much more complicated can it get than taking a simple medication? The way I see it, you just want me dead as soon as possible so that you could have the entire Leigh Family for yourself, right?" Hebert then smashed the bowl on the floor, shattering it just as the impact sent the broken shards flying at the ladies' feet. Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.

While the ladies were shocked by the man's reaction, Tessa quickly denied it and explained. "It's not what you think, Dear! Someone must have spoken ill of me behind my back. You mustn't believe them!"

Nevertheless, Hebert didn't want to listen to any more of her words as he impatiently waved his hand in rejection. "Leave if there is nothing else important. I need some rest now and wish to be left alone."

"Dear, I…" Tessa had more to say, but when she noticed Hebert's darkened expression, she swallowed the words that were forming at the tip of her tongue. After that, she engaged in a brief exchange of pleasantries with the others in the ward before leaving the ward with them. Just when she was about to walk out of the ward, she turned her attention to Albert, who had been silent all the time, and glared at him hatefully.

However, Albert only pretended as if he didn't see that, remaining silent as he always did like a statue in the background. As soon as everyone else was gone, Hebert looked at his son and sighed. "You have no idea how grateful I am for the sacrifices you have made over the years."

"I only decided to help you this time because I wanted to repay you for having raised me up. Once you recover, I'll leave the Leigh Family and cut ties with all of you." Albert kept his head down without looking at his father, fixing his eyes on his feet. In the meantime, Hebert didn't say anything in response, seemingly approving of Albert's decision in silence.

Meanwhile, Katherine was sound asleep at home after a long day, not knowing that Tessa was searching for her whereabouts everywhere in a high-profile manner. With ample resources and connections, she eventually found some useful leads from Jorge, whom she knew was too ashamed of himself to leave home ever since the Cornell Group was acquired by another company after its bankruptcy.

In reality, Jorge was exactly like what Tessa knew about him, as he didn't have the guts to step out of his own house. After all, he was haunted by his insecurities, assuming his old friends would taunt and mock him for his failures should he run into them. "Dad, I'm back with Mom." Rosemary was seen holding Lisa, who had lost one of her hands, and entering the door while Jorge was sitting on the couch in the living room with a sigh.

When Lisa saw Jorge, her eyes were filled with hatred and grudges. However, her resentment was quickly replaced by glee as she gloated. "You finally get what you deserve, Jorge!"

"What are you doing back here?" Jorge was panicky the moment he saw Lisa. After all, he was hoping Lisa could be his scapegoat, but little did he know that she was sent to North Peak Nursery Home, which was a widely known mental asylum. Because of that, Lisa unknowingly saved herself from ending up as Jorge's scapegoat.

"What's wrong? Can't I come back? Do you seriously still think you're the man you used to be back then, Jorge? You're just nothing but a pathetic fool with nothing left. Do you know why you're so miserable today? This is all because of your beloved daughter!" Lisa expressed her satisfaction to see Jorge suffering from the consequences due to his own karma, having waited for that moment a long time.

"W-What did you just say?" Jorge couldn't believe his ears, doubtfully staring at Lisa, whose words were confusing him.

"Don't you get it? Katherine is the reason the Cornell Family fell apart! Like I told you before, your daughter is different from anyone else! In fact, I lost my hand because of her, but you wouldn't believe me. Do you see what I was trying to tell you now? Have you realized your mistakes? Katherine is not as simple as she seems to us! I'm sure she has a secret agenda, and she is only back for one thing— vengeance!" Lisa's face was seen with an eerie expression as she haughtily made her point.

"That's impossible! How was she capable of something like that? If she was that capable, she would've saved herself from being sent to Fontan. No way! You must be lying to me, Lisa! I can't believe you're still trying to drive a wedge between me and Kathy at this point! Kathy was the only person who showed me kindness and sympathy when I hit rock bottom in my life. Instead of gloating over me when I was about to be sent to prison, she let me stay in this house and allowed me to continue living a comfortable life. So, I won't buy a word you said because I won't let you ruin my relationship with my daughter!" Jorge clung to his rationality while trying to convince Lisa that his daughter was innocent.

"Just wait and see then! Soon enough, you're going to see her true nature with your own eyes, and I'll be looking forward to that." Lisa chuckled sinisterly while Rosemary helped her walk upstairs.

Jorge had his eyes fixed upon the mother and daughter, feeling as if all of his energy had been drained from his body. At the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about Lisa's words and even began to

question himself about his daughter's innocence. Is Katherine really the kind of scary woman Lisa says she is?