A Replacement Bride

Chapter 138

Katherine continued to chat with Jessica for a while before she saw that it was almost time for her to go into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Joaquin only came out of the room then. Seeing him, Jennifer looked at him from head to toe before her gaze eventually fell on the mask on his face. She casually asked after looking at him for a while, "You live here too, Johdy?"

Joaquin walked over and sat down beside Jennifer before he obediently answered, "I live next door, Grandma. I am here to help during the few days that you are here."

Joaquin, who usually wouldn't falter even in the face of violent criminals, was actually a little nervous being scrutinized by Jennifer.

"Oh? How can you help by staying here?" Jennifer's expression didn't change as she asked. It might seem as if she was just exchanging pleasantries with him, but her every word was fishing for information.

"I help with—"

"Joaquin, come and help me wash the vegetables." He was just about to answer when Katherine's voice came from the kitchen.

"I am coming," he quickly agreed and beamed at Jennifer.

Jennifer only quietly looked at him with a half-smile, her gaze pausing on both his wounds.

He then stood up and headed to the kitchen to help Katherine.

As he stepped into the kitchen, Katherine passed the vegetables she was holding to him and reminded, "Don't tell my grandmother too much. She is not young anymore. I worry that we will scare her."

After pondering for a while, he gave her his evaluation. "Your grandmother is really something."

"She is just a normal grandmother." She peered at Joaquin. "There is nothing special." Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

He didn't say anything in return, but he knew that no ordinary person would make the government come forward and arrange for someone to protect them.

However, seeing as to how Katherine didn't want to elaborate on this, he, too, stopped talking.

They worked well together, and it only took half an hour for them to prepare dinner.

After Katherine wiped her hands dry, she went and got Jennifer to come over for dinner.

Joaquin automatically helped with placing the cutleries on the table. Indeed, he looked like he really was here to help.

"The two of you are about to get married soon. The younger generation doesn't care much about the older generation's traditions, but there are still some things you have to pay attention to. You should go back next door tonight, Johdy. People will gossip about it if they found out that you were staying here." After they had dinner, Jennifer sat on the couch and made a straightforward request for Joaquin to leave.

Joaquin was taken aback when he heard that, and he looked at Jennifer with his lips pursed.

He could tell that Jennifer was very satisfied with him. It was just that, now…

"Grandma—"

Katherine, who was stopped from speaking with a glare from Jennifer, rubbed her nose and obediently sat aside without uttering another word.

Joaquin had an idea of what was going on when he saw this—Jennifer probably wanted to have a private conversation with Katherine.

Upon realization, he immediately stood up and announced, "I am off, then. The wedding will be in two days anyway. Rest well today, Kathy. We have to take a few wedding photos tomorrow that we have to use during the wedding."

At that, Katherine hummed in acknowledgement.

Joaquin then left after bidding Jennifer farewell.

He had just stepped out of her home when Jennifer's face turned solemn and she glared at Katherine.

Katherine could only pout and pitifully look back at Jennifer.

"Tell me the truth, Kathy. Have you been frank with Johdy about you?" Jennifer looked at Katherine with a sullen face and demanded in a serious voice.

Katherine's smile swiftly disappeared, and she quietly pressed her lips together when she heard Jennifer's words. She immediately understood what Jennifer wanted to say.

Seeing this, Jennifer sighed. "You are going to marry him soon. I don't care if you agreed to the marriage voluntarily or for a purpose, but I am telling you now that a couple that wants to marry and be together has made the decision to support each other for the rest of their lives. Since you want to spend the rest of your life together, there are things that you should be honest about. You should find a chance to talk to him about Noah before the wedding. "

"Grandma..." Katherine frowned disapprovingly, but when she saw Jennifer's serious expression, she suddenly sighed. "Grandma, Joaquin and I—"

"Johdy is a fine lad. I know that he will treat you well, but do you think he can accept the truth if he finds out one day that you have hidden so many things from him? There are a lot of things you have to be vocal and direct about to save yourself from possible future troubles. I was the one who was tricked into returning to Hovington this time, but what if Noah is the one who is brought here next time? Do you think your marriage can survive such a surprise?"

Katherine lowered her head and stared somewhere near her toes when she saw the grim look on Jennifer's face.

Jennifer continued, "Noah is your child no matter what. You have to accept her even if you don't want to. That child has suffered enough all these years. She has never kicked up a fuss despite you not being by her side. I am back in Hovington now, and you will have to bring her back eventually as well. Are you planning on never seeing her? Why did you give birth to her in the first place then?" Jennifer had never asked much about Noah in the past because she knew that Katherine had her own problems she hadn't solved. However, she thought that Katherine needed to resolve certain things, now that she was going to marry Joaquin.

"I understand, Grandma. I will talk to him about it," Katherine replied emotionlessly.

Tired, Jennifer could barely keep her eyes open at this point.

"Just think about it tonight." She reached out and patted Katherine on the shoulder before she stood up and went to her room.

After that, Katherine sat there through the night. Her head was too preoccupied with the incident that happened five years ago for her to feel sleepy at all.

She still didn't know who the man from then was.

As for Noah… Katherine had to admit that she still couldn't come to terms with the girl's existence. That was why she had never cared about Noah throughout all these years.

Still, Jennifer was right. She would have to face this problem head-on some day.

…

Ding dong!

The sound of the doorbell ringing broke her out of her reverie. She stood up and went to open the door, only to be greeted by the sight of Joaquin with numerous loads on him. He was startled when he saw how haggard Katherine looked.

"What is going on with you? Did you not sleep last night?" he asked with a frown on his face as he peered at the dark shadow under her eyes.

"Mhm. You are here early." She tilted her body to let him enter her house.

Seeing how sickly she looked, he finally couldn't hold it in and offered, "Go take a rest for a while. I will keep Grandma company today."

Katherine raised her eyebrows and glanced at him when she heard those words. She felt that his attitude toward her had changed a lot recently. It felt different from the past.

After she studied him for some time, she thought about what Jennifer reminded her last night, and she suddenly felt her temples throb as a headache hit her.

"I will catch some sleep. I will be counting on you to take care of Grandma." As she massaged her temples, she threw that out and strutted into her room for a nap.

The man stood there watching her leave, and he eventually let out a chuckle.