A Replacement Bride

Chapter 244

When Katherine heard this, she cheekily thought that this was a golden opportunity to tease him. So, she deliberately donned a grave expression as she raised her eyebrows imperiously and remained silent as she stared at him.

Joaquin felt his heart reach his throat when he saw her reaction. It was an utter torment to be in this position right now. He had never experienced such a thing for more than two decades. Suffice it to say, this was an occurrence that would only happen when he was around her.

A hint of joy flashed in her eyes when she saw him staring at her nervously. Therefore, she slowly let out a sigh after she figured that she had had fun.

"It's all in the past now. You've explained your part of the story, and I believe you. It's just a misunderstanding, and it was not like you were of sound mind. What else can I do? Should I torture you or beat you to a pulp? Or should I hate you for something that you were also a victim of? We should let bygones be bygones. I forgive you, and I'm happy to say goodbye to the festering anger that had bogged me down in the past. I want to embrace the future fully, and I'm no masochist, so I want my nightmares gone. You've given me the closure I've sought for all this time, and I would be a fool to dwell on nonexistent injuries."

Her voice turned into a low murmur when she said the last sentence, and a bleak light gleamed in her eyes. Although she had truly forgiven him, the pain she had endured couldn't just disappear magically. She needed time to heal from her torment.

Joaquin's heart ached when he heard Katherine's words. He tightened his hands slightly before reaching out, taking her hand, and carefully holding them in his hands.

His shoulders drooped slightly as he curled into himself in relief when he realized that she didn't avoid his touch. Nonetheless, he was wholly earnest and solemn as he intoned, "Kathy, I know it's not easy to let bygones be bygones, but that doesn't matter. From now on, I'll always be by your side, and I'll protect you from any harm as best as I can."

She knew that he was serious. So, she nodded slightly in response and said nothing more.

The room fell silent as both parties came to terms with the truth. After the confession, the atmosphere between the two became charged with something other than anxiety and guilt.

Joaquin fixed his gaze on his beloved Katherine. He couldn't bear to look away, and his heart felt like it was bursting at the seams with his affection for her.

played a cruel prank on them. Who would have thought that the woman back then

tried to uncover her identity for five years. But when he learned the truth, he had already become her legal husband. Their union was so baffling yet somehow just right. He felt so choked up

as long as he had Katherine for better and for worse. He felt grateful that she had given him a chance to atone for

raised her head to

Beatrice was the woman you had hurt back then, so you protected her, right? Frankly, I don't

and he protected and showered

for you, but I ran into Beatrice. She claimed to be you and was also the only Cechirusian there, so I didn't doubt her claims. But, over the years, I did feel something was off. The first thing that made me suspicious of her was that she never evoked the same emotions within me as you did. But the instant I thought of what I had done, I couldn't bear to ask her the truth. So many chances

snatched her hands out of his, and stared at him with a mirthless smile. "You couldn't feel what you felt back then when you were with her?" She repeated his words expressionlessly and even raised her voice toward the end

confines of Joaquin's mind as he hurriedly explained, "No! No, that's not what I meant! I just thought that she didn't look like you back then. I didn't do anything with her. You know

was smiling, she felt anything but happy. She

and held her hands desperately. He clasped her hands and squeezed them to prevent her from

was telling the truth. Beatrice had told her that he had never touched her or slept with her all these years, but

first, but as he scrutinized her, his eyes lit up, and he curled his lips into a smirk. "Kathy, you're jealous, aren't you?" he

eyes. "As

so?"

So, she shook him off and rose to her feet. "What? Are you questioning me now? Don't push your luck, got