A Replacement Bride

"I've always heard that you have never lost a battle. I thought you were skillful, but little

did I know that you're not that great either. Please excuse me; I have to hire someone

better since you can't do anything about it."

Katherine put down the coffee in her hand and stood up to leave.

If it wasn't for her grandmother who insisted on hiring a lawyer to retrieve everything that

belonged to the Olsens, she wouldn't even have bothered to do so.

The reason why Katherine's grandma wanted to attain justice for Elsie was because Elsie

had met a tragic end and was even stigmatized in her final hours. Thus, Katherine had to

hire a lawyer to avoid disobeying her grandmother.

It was a pity that Mr. Kestel disappointed her.

She felt that his title of the best lawyer in Ascor was overrated.

"You don't have to threaten me like this, Miss Cornell. You should be aware that it has been

so many years and you have no evidence in your hands, yet you want me to represent you

in this lawsuit and win it. Do you think this is feasible?" After watching Katherine stand up,

Mr. Kestel responded slowly.

He didn't mean to hold her back as he only came because his friend told him to.

It was not worth a single penny to meet her with the kind of reputation that she had.

She only smiled, then left.

Mr. Kestel remained seated and sipped his coffee slowly while appearing unmoved.

Meanwhile, Ben secretly listened to their whole conversation. Then, he took the menu to

cover his face and sneakily went back to Joaquin to sit down.

Joaquin briefly glanced at him; this was the first time Ben acted so nosy.

"I didn't expect it to be Mr. Kestel from the Lichen Law Firm. Your fiancee is looking for

someone to file a lawsuit, but she was sadly rejected."

He shook his head and gulped down a large glass of lemonade from the table before

telling Joaquin the gossip he had just heard.

Joaquin, on the other hand, didn't even bother looking at him; instead, he took a sip of his

coffee and looked at his smartphone to check how the stock market was doing.

"What did the Cornells do to her? I heard that she was kicked out of the family five years

ago, and was sent to Fontan. Back then, the Cornells were pretty well-known, right? Why

was there no news about it?"

Ben continued blabbering.

Joaquin, who had been ignoring him all along, finally responded. He raised his head from

the screen of his phone and gave him a look. "Five years ago, she was caught sleeping

with a man in his fifties. Jorge Cornell felt embarrassed about it, so he drove her out."

"What? That's huge news! He still allowed her to marry you despite this? Do the Levisays

approve this?"

At that moment, Ben was unable to control his volume.

Only after he sensed people looking at him, did he immediately cover his mouth and

looked at Joaquin in shock.

"Do you think that woman would be okay with me getting stronger by marrying an

aristocratic family's daughter?" he retorted with an indescribably sarcastic tone and

smirked.

Ben rubbed his nose; he almost forgot what happened in the Levisays.

He secretly glanced at Joaquin's expression and was relieved when he saw that Joaquin

didn't seem to have any reaction, but he didn't dare to gossip anymore either.

"Joe."

The two of them had already finished half of their coffee when the person they had been

waiting for arrived.

Beatrice wore a white dress. Her long, smooth, dark-colored hair draped over her

shoulders. She was a beautiful woman; she had delicate facial features and wore a soft

grin on her face that drew the attention of the people in the cafe.

After giving Joaquin a quick glance, Ben realized that he should leave, so he came up with

a random excuse and left.

"Did you wait for me for a long time?" she said as she sat down across from Joaquin.

"No. We had just arrived too." He put down his phone, straightened up, and turned to face

the girl in front of him.

Beatrice had an exquisite appearance, a compassionate attitude, and a solid background.

They had been interacting with each other for 5 years, but sadly even after all those

years, he did not feel a thing for her; instead, he felt an innate sense of rejection every

time he saw her.

"Really?" Beatrice refrained from exposing the truth; she was warmed by his words.

Many women throughout the world fantasize about men like Joaquin, yet she was the one

who could own him.

Beatrice repressed the joy in her heart and brought her focus back to the issue. "By the

way, Joe, my grandpa informed me that his research institute will conduct an interview

three days from now. He encouraged me to participate. Do you have time on that day?

Can you accompany me?"

"Research institute?" Joaquin arched his brows just a little bit. He was aware that Mr.

Muller rarely hired people to his research institute. Additionally, according to the data Ben

sent, the goshawks, who were receiving their treatment there, seemed to be recovering

quite nicely.

"Isn't his research institute not recruiting people?" Joaquin asked casually.

"It's not recruiting; however, their research institute recently fired a researcher so there is

now a vacancy. Grandpa has an internal recommendation name list, so he wanted me to

try." Beatrice's face lit up with pride as she stated this.

After giving it some thought, Joaquin decided. "I'll accompany you."

Her smile grew even brighter when he agreed. She was so excited that she gripped

Joaquin's arm as her soft chest pushed closely against his arm. Then, she said in a lovely

voice, "Then I'll wait for you to pick me up and we'll go together."

The expression on his face shifted, and the feelings of resistance and disdain returned.