A Replacement Bride

Chapter 249

Jennifer and Keith were both dumbstruck by Joaquin's sudden confession. They stared at him unblinkingly as they tried to digest this bombshell.

"W-What?!" After a long while, Keith stammered, his face filled with disbelief.

Joaquin pursed his lips and intoned deeply, "Yes. The man from five years ago Kathy was looking for is me."

At this moment, Keith abruptly jerked to his feet and started pacing agitatedly. Jennifer finally came to her senses and stared at Joaquin with her mouth agape. "Y-You were that man five years ago! Y-You are Noah's father!"

As she muttered to herself, she shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. "No, how can that be? How can it be such a coincidence?"

She frantically looked at Katherine and wanted to hear it from her lips. "Kathy, is that true? Tell me! Are you guys trying to fool me because you didn't find that guy? I may be old and useless, but I'm not stupid. So, don't even try lying to me!"

Keith also exclaimed in frustration, "Grandma's right! Kathy, this is impossible! That man was a piece of sh*t! He raped you! Only a scum and b*stard would do such an awful thing! Joaquin is such a nice guy. He wouldn't do something so horrible. No way, he's not that jerk! Is this a joke to you? It's not funny, okay? Don't make such a lousy joke!"

Joaquin was rendered speechless by Keith's insults, and his lips twitched with each derogatory term.

A piece of sh*t? Scum? B*stard? Jerk? Hah...

As soon as Keith finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine and trembled in response. He scratched his nose in confusion and quickly sensed someone boring a hole into his body with their gaze alone. He turned his head and was even more aghast when he met Joaquin's eyes and saw the mirthless smile on his face.

Their reactions highly amused Katherine as she hurriedly explained, "Grandma, it's true. Why would we lie to you about this? H-He is indeed that man back then."

When she confirmed Joaquin's words, the huge living room suddenly fell quiet, falling into a strange and awkward silence. Keith and Jennifer's eyes simultaneously flicked back and forth between Joaquin and Katherine. Then, they stared at Joaquin as if seeing him for the first time. This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.

After a while, Jennifer finally spoke, "Joaquin, are you really that man from back then?"

Joaquin's heart skipped a beat when she addressed him as Joaquin instead of Joe, and he quickly figured out that something would go wrong if he didn't explain himself. Therefore, he nodded solemnly and recounted the events from five years ago before Jennifer turned into a rampaging bull. "Grandma, I know it's too late for me to say anything now, but I didn't mean to hurt Kathy. In fact, I swore at that time that I would love Kathy and only Kathy for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, something happened, and we missed each other's path for five years. I can assure you that my oath has not changed. Please believe me."

Jennifer didn't expect that something so complicated had occurred five years ago. Although she knew he wasn't entirely at fault, she still couldn't accept this. Instead, she felt furious and saddened for Katherine because she saw first-hand how that incident had hurt Katherine.

When she thought of the hardships and grievances Katherine and Noah had endured in the past five years, she felt irritated and conflicted.

Keith felt the same way too. His only family in the world were Jennifer and Katherine. So, when he learned the truth, he naturally felt biased toward Katherine, his sister.

No one could bring themselves to break the silence. Thus, the atmosphere suddenly became tense and heavy. The air seemed stagnant, and everyone in attendance was like frozen statues.

Joaquin stood rooted on the spot, and his breathing turned light as he waited for the verdict to fall. This was the first time in his life that something could make him more nervous and anxious than being inspected by his superiors.

Katherine sighed when she sensed the awkwardness hanging in the air and spoke softly, "Alright, Grandma, Keith. We have already cleared the air about what happened five years ago, and I've forgiven him for what he did. But things happened, and he didn't do it on purpose, nor did he intend to hurt me. So, let’s just let bygones be bygones. We should focus on Noah's illness right now. She needs us right now."

Jennifer and Keith pursed their lips upon the mention of Noah, and their expressions changed slightly.

Finally, Jennifer let out a long sigh, and her wrinkled face was full of helplessness and sorrow. "Well, things happen for a reason. Who would have thought that you guys would meet in that bar five years ago and that something so bizarre would happen? Even more unexpectedly, you guys were engaged ages ago and are legally married. Noah is also the byproduct of that night. There are too many coincidences between you to wave things away and force you apart. There is no right and wrong regarding this matter."

"Grandma..." Joaquin was touched when he heard her words.

Nonetheless, she cut him off with an austere tone, "I'm going to ask you a question, and I expect you to answer me truthfully. Can you do that?"

Joaquin nodded without hesitation. "Yes!"

"Everything that happened in the past was absurd, to say the least. So, I want to ask you, what are your feelings toward Kathy?"

This is the one thing that bothered her the most. She desperately wanted to know how Joaquin viewed his marriage with Katherine after knowing the truth.

Joaquin's usually calm and stern expression changed slightly when he heard the question, and he was momentarily struck dumb.

Regardless, he immediately curled his lips into a genuine smile, and his expression practically radiated sunshine and contentment. "Grandma, I understand your concerns. You are worried that I'm choosing to be with Kathy because of the guilt I hold toward her. I can reassure you right now that you have nothing to worry about. The moment I proposed to Kathy, I'd already made up my mind to love her and adore her no matter who she was, what kind of woman she was, and what kind of status she had. She will always be my wife, who I will cherish and love for the rest of my life."

At this point, he seemed to recall something, and his smile deepened. "Besides, I admit that I was a little apprehensive before because I made an oath five years ago that I would never take that woman for granted. Because of this, I struggled with my feelings for Kathy and that oath, but I could never bring myself to hide my affection for Kathy. Later, when I learned that Kathy was the woman five years ago. The woman I love and the one I wanted to protect are the same person… I feel very blessed by the gods. I've never been one to believe in superstitions, but I can't deny that, at that moment, I felt truly fortunate to have met and fallen for Kathy."