A Replacement Bride

Chapter 123
After Katherine had left, Beatrice said, "Joe, I never thought Miss Cornell would be so skilled in medicine as to be able to treat
your severe injuries. That being said, you really scared the hell out of me this time. Could you stop doing such dangerous stuff
from now on?" She looked at Joaquin bitterly, only to be overwhelmed with resentment when she saw how his eyes were glued
to the door. What is so good about Katherine that makes Joe care so much about her? Could he have learned about what
happened five years ago? No, that's not possible. If Joaquin had learned about it, he wouldn't have been so nice to me.
Reassuring herself a little, she pouted her lips while acting like a spoiled child in front of him.
Joaquin withdrew his gaze to look at Beatrice. This time, he no longer looked at her as tenderly as he used to. Instead, he fixed
her with a frosty, threatening stare.
Beatrice's heart jumped when she noticed the look in his eyes. Looking as pale as a sheet, she almost failed to hold back her
tears. "Joe, you—"
Joaquin didn't spare her feelings, though. He said straightforwardly, "Our mission was meticulously planned this time so that no
mistake could've happened, but our location was leaked. It was your doing." He did mind what had happened five years ago,
which was why he was especially kind and tolerant toward Beatrice. However, the accident this time had cost the lives of two of
Area Seven's members; even he had nearly lost his life there. Furthermore, two other members of Area Seven were crippled for
life in the accident, and an even larger number of people were injured.
When Beatrice heard this, her eyes flickered for a moment. Not daring to meet the man's gaze, she replied in an injured tone,
"Joe, I thought you trusted me at least, but why would you have such a wrong idea about me after Katherine showed up? Did
she say something to you?"
Joaquin replied, "She didn't say anything." Seeing how Beatrice was still trying to pass the buck to Katherine at this very
moment, he grew more and more disappointed. The Beatrice I remembered isn't supposed to be like this. She was gentle,
considerate, kind-hearted, and poised. And now? He felt that the present Beatrice was really alien to him.
Beatrice's heart did a complete somersault when she saw the disappointed look in Joaquin's eyes. Instinctively, she shifted all
responsibility to Katherine, saying, "It wasn't me, Joe. How could I possibly harm you? Someone must be trying to frame me for
this in order to turn us against each other. It's got to be Katherine. She's got to be the one! She wants to steal you away and
strengthen her position as your wife, which is why she's slung mud at me like this. Joe, you mustn't believe her!"

The look in Joaquin's eyes grew increasingly frosty. After closing his eyes wearily for a long time, he finally said impassively,
"Just go away. For the sake of what happened five years ago, I won't do anything to you. I can ensure that you'll be well provided
for for the rest of your life, but that's the most I can do for you."
"Joe?" Beatrice's eyes popped in disbelief. Joaquin is actually going to give up on me? No, that's not possible! She understood
Joaquin's character better than anyone else did. He was good in everything, only that he had a strong sense of responsibility. It
was exactly for this reason that he had been nice to her for five years because of the night they had spent together five years
ago.
Everything she owned was thanks to Joaquin. And now, she was crippled in both legs and no longer stood a chance of joining
the research institute; even Theodore had given up on her after becoming thoroughly disappointed with her. If she were to lose
Joaquin, she'd really lose everything. Grabbing his arm in a panic, she cried, "Joe, you can't do this to me. Now that I'm already
in such a state, what should I do in the future if you leave me?"
Joaquin ignored her cries with a frosty expression. "Please get out of here before I change my mind."
Beatrice pleaded with him for a while, but she instantly saw red when she saw that he no longer went soft on her as he used to.
Looking at him with a sinister expression, she swore bitterly, "I know why you're doing this, Joaquin! It's just because you've
fallen in love with Katherine, no? I admit that she's prettier and more capable than me. Indeed, I'm no match for her; she's made
so many achievements at a young age. But what qualifies her to have so many achievements? Do you think she really is as pure
as you see? I'm telling you, she wouldn't even let go of my grandpa in order to be able to get ahead in her career! She's a b*tch
with no sense of shame!"
Joaquin's face darkened as he listened to her wilful slander on Katherine. He looked at her frostily without speaking.
Seeing the change in his countenance, Beatrice felt more and more delighted. She continued, "What's the matter? You don't
believe me? My grandpa is the top scientist in the country. Do you really think it's that easy to join his research institute? I only
managed to join the research institute as a research intern by taking advantage of his status. If I want to become a permanent
researcher of the institute, I still have to work hard for three to five years. Katherine is younger than me, so what qualifies her to
join the institute as a senior research fellow who is able to be on an equal footing with my grandpa? Isn't that just because she is
great in the sack and has an affair with him? Joaquin, you'll regret it sooner or later!" With that, she turned her wheelchair around
and left quickly.
Joaquin watched her leave with a scowl. After a long time, he finally released his grip on the sheets, which he had clutched and
ripped up.

He was really afraid that he'd lose control of himself and kill Beatrice if he hadn't tried hard to restrain himself. It really astonished
him that Beatrice would actually be so vicious as to say such things. Perhaps this was what she truly was? He had never tried to
understand her over the past five years; he just wanted to take care of her out of responsibility.
After Beatrice left, Ben finally sneaked in. Seeing Joaquin's sullen face, he gave a cough and said gingerly, "Mr. Levisay."
"What's the matter?" Joaquin shot an impassive glance at him.
Ben hesitated for a moment. Then, he asked Joaquin, "So you actually know it's because of Beatrice that the contents of our
mission were leaked this time? Did you ever think about why she'd know the place and contents of your mission?"
Joaquin explained, "I had a GPS installed on her phone back then to allow her to locate me at all times in order to reassure her."
Upon recalling this, he thought that he must've had rocks in his head at the time. No wonder they say that lust can only dull your
mind. He just wanted to make it up to Beatrice at the time. She had just reached 20 years old, so it was normal for such a young
lady to feel insecure after such a thing had happened. She was always worried that he would leave her, so whenever she
couldn't reach him, she'd kick up a fuss or even threaten suicide. He had no choice but to install the GPS on her phone in order
to put her mind at rest, but little did he think that the GPS would actually harm the lives of several of his comrades. "It's because
of my negligence that our mission failed this time," he said in a grave voice. Obviously, he was in a terrible mood right now.
Ben didn't want to rub Joaquin up the wrong way. Seeing the latter like this, he dared not say anything else, so he quickly turned
around and left.