FreeNovel
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
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwrong 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,
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwhich 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.
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