A Replacement Bride

Chapter 251

When Katherine left Noah's room, she closed the door with a barely there click, turned around, and saw Joaquin standing right outside the door.

"Aren't you going in?" she asked. He leaned against the wall of the corridor and shook his head.

When he learned that Noah was his biological daughter, he wanted to see her as soon as possible, but now when he was right outside her room. For some reason, his feet felt like it was weighed by lead, and he couldn't move any further.

Noah had lived a very difficult life for the past five years. Not only did she face hardships in terms of material wealth, but she was also very lonely.

In the past five years, he, the father, had not been by her side to witness her growth and progress. Whenever he thought about this, he felt overwhelmed by guilt and didn't know how to make it up to her.

Katherine raised her eyebrows at his despondent figure, leaned against the wall on the other side, and faced him, seeing through his troubled thoughts. "What's going on here? Don't you dare say that you're afraid of your daughter?"

She wanted to tease him, but she didn't expect him to think about it seriously for a moment and then give her a solemn nod. "Yes."

"Oh..." Katherine scratched her button nose awkwardly and slowly conveyed her thoughts, "There's no need for you to be like this. Noah won't blame you."

In fact, she bet that Noah would be over the moon once she learned that Joaquin was her biological father. Then, maybe, they would see some improvements in her ASD. At that happy thought, Katherine

asked, "Have you ever thought about when to come clean to Noah?"

Joaquin seriously pondered this question and then shook his head. "I don't think I should do it so soon. The most important thing now is to cure her illness. We can take things slowly after that."

The main problem here was that he didn't know how to explain the truth to Noah and that he was her biological father.

Therefore, he straightened, walked to Katherine, held her hand, and walked toward the room next door. "It's getting late. It's time for us to rest."

...

Katherine happened to finish showering first and immediately made herself comfortable in bed. After a while, she heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, and for some reason, she felt her heart race.

Shortly after, Joaquin turned off the bedside lamp, and she felt the spot next to hers become weighed down by a warm body.

Suddenly, her whole body tensed up, and her heart began to hammer in her chest. She felt somewhat out of sorts today, but she didn't know what was bothering her.

When Joaquin wrapped his arms around her slender waist and embraced her from behind, her heart leaped to her throat. Yet, she didn't resist his physical touch, but a different kind of feeling aroused within her.

Joaquin, who was behind her, curled his lips into a sly smirk as he could sense her body stiffening. He kissed her ear gently. "Don't worry. I promise I won't touch you until you feel at ease around me. I value your opinions. Be good and go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to take Noah to the hospital."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped moving. He hugged her, closed his eyes, and went contentedly to sleep.

Katherine only felt safe and relieved once she couldn't feel additional movement from him. Wisps of sweetness flowed from the bottom of her heart. She pursed her lips while she listened to his steady heartbeat and shallow breathing and did not dare to move a muscle, but she gradually relaxed in his arms. After a while, she fell asleep peacefully.

...

The following day, Katherine woke up and realized that she was alone in bed. She stretched her arm out to the other side of the bed and found that it was still warm. That meant that Joaquin had just woken up not long ago.

Her face began to redden when she thought of them sleeping together last night. Although they had slept together in the past, last night seemed different from before.

Last night was the first time the two fully relaxed as they slept together after they opened up about their past.

She never expected anything to be different… Still, she had to say it felt like an odd puzzle finally meeting its match, and they just clicked.

Her mind was running wild as she mechanically went to wash her face. Then, she ambled out of the room.

Noah had already been awake for a while. She knew that Katherine was back, but she didn't want to disturb her, so she sat on the couch in the living room and stared yearningly in the direction of Katherine's room.

Noah immediately jumped off the couch when Katherine opened the door and dashed toward her. She looked up at Katherine with anticipation, joy, and a little anxiety.

"Mom, you're back..." After a while, she seemed to muster up her courage and greet Katherine in a whisper.

Katherine looked at Noah's tender little face and smiled. Then, she instinctively gentled her tone, "Yes, I'm back." Then, she took Noah's hand and asked, "Did you wash up?"

Noah's eyes lit up with delight when Katherine took the initiative to hold her hand. The joy on her face was so evident that it deepened Katherine's smile. She nodded profusely as she reported cheerfully, "Yes, I've already washed up. Mom, I'm a good girl." She looked a little cautious when she said this, and her expression when she looked at Katherine was like a puppy asking for a treat.

Katherine saw through Noah's intention with just a glance, but she just smiled brightly and patted her daughter's cheek softly. "Alright, let's go have breakfast."

Noah grinned from ear to ear when she heard this. She nodded obediently, held Katherine's hand tightly, and walked to the dining room together. Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

Jennifer had already prepared breakfast for the family, and Joaquin was helping out as he arranged the cutleries and plates.

"You're awake. Sit down and eat." Joaquin smiled when he saw Katherine and helped the mother-and- daughter duo to their seats

During breakfast, Joaquin attended to Noah even more gingerly than before, taking care of her every need. Noah was a little puzzled by his unusual behavior but felt thrilled to be treated like a princess. She sounded even sweeter than before when she addressed him as 'Daddy'.

Katherine curled her lips into a serene smile as she watched their interactions.

They went to the hospital immediately after breakfast. Jennifer was getting old and couldn't walk as fast as she used to. Besides, it was exhausting for her to move around, so she decided to stay home and wait for the news.

As soon as Keith entered the hospital, his usual lackadaisical attitude changed into a more professional demeanor. After he communicated with the doctor, he decided to inject the antidote today if possible.

Noah didn't understand what was happening, but she noticed the stern expressions on the adults' faces. She swayed her short legs back and forth while sitting on the hospital bed and took the initiative to hold Katherine's hand. "Mom, I'm not sick. Why did you take me to the hospital?"

From her limited experience, she knew that she would only have to go to the hospital if she was seriously ill.

Katherine gently ran her fingers through Noah's hair, and her gaze unconsciously softened when she looked at Noah's little braids. "Don't worry, Noah. After today's treatment, you'll be completely cured."

"Completely cured? Really?" Noah was slightly surprised to hear this, and her eyes widened in awe.