A Replacement Bride

Chapter 274

Chapter 274

When she reawakened, the sky had turned pitch black. The bed was illuminated by a warm light, and although it wasn't bright, she was still blinded by the light as soon as she opened her eyes. Just as she raised her hand to shield her eyes, a large, warm hand suddenly and gently covered her eyes.

She jolted and was still recovering her senses when a familiar low voice sounded beside her.

"Are you awake? How do you feel? Do you feel better now?"

After taking a second to react, her eyes adapted to the light in the room and she grabbed the hand in front of her to move it away, looking at the man by her bed.

"Huh… Why am I here? This is…"

When Joaquin looked at her bleary eyes and confused expression, resignation filled his eyes. "You fainted. This is one of the guest rooms at the Fraser Residence."

Upon saying that, he couldn't resist furrowing his brows, his expression full of disapproval and even displeasure as he looked at her.

"Your body clearly couldn't handle it, so why did you try to push yourself and save three people all at once? How much energy did you spend in all that time? Do you think you're made of steel?"

The moment he saw her collapse in front of him, he was filled with so much panic that he felt like he was suffocating. As he stayed by her bedside and watched as she remained unconscious, he felt both anxious and worried, dreading that she would remain asleep like this.

This was probably the first time in his life that he had been so worried about someone, and it was a feeling he had never experienced before. Now, he finally knew that falling in love with someone meant

that he would only have her in his heart and that everything about her would stir up this many emotions in him as if nothing else existed besides her.

As Katherine looked at his deeply furrowed brows, her heart skipped a beat for reasons unbeknownst to her. Subconsciously, without putting much thought into her actions, she raised her hand.

Joaquin was puzzled as he held her extended hand. Worried that she wasn't feeling well, he hurriedly stopped chiding her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Katherine tilted her head, her black hair cascading down both sides of the pillow like a waterfall as her clear yet unreadable eyes reflected his figure.

"Come a little closer," she suddenly ordered in a small voice.

Although Joaquin was uncertain, he did not hesitate and obediently moved closer before he lowered his head. Soon after, Katherine's fingertips landed on his tightly wrinkled brow, and she lightly caressed it.

"Stop frowning all the time. It doesn't look good."

Joaquin froze at her sudden words, staring at her blankly as if to see through her eyes and to her heart. A beat later, he finally came back to his senses, his thin lips swiftly curling upward into a smile. He drew her hand toward him and placed it by his lips, leaving a gentle kiss by her fingertips.

"Are you comforting me?" he asked with a smile, his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness that made him all the more seductive.

Katherine felt a little self-conscious by his words and pursed her lips, intending to withdraw her hand. However, Joaquin refused to let go and instead held her hand in his, gently kneading it.

"So, I've always been really handsome to you." He teased her in a voice full of joy. His frown had disappeared from his face as well, making him exceptionally good-looking.

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Katherine looked away awkwardly and mumbled in a small voice, "I just thought you were talking too much…"

Joaquin knew her personality well. Even if she had something on her mind, she would rarely reveal it outwardly, so he stopped teasing her when he saw fit and let out a helpless sigh.

"You have no idea how terrified I was when you fainted. Kathy, I know that you have your way of doing things, but you can't let it affect your health no matter what. To me, nobody else is as important as you. Do you understand?"

It was a rare occasion for him to confide his feelings to her in such a serious manner, and Katherine realized that she had scared him. After pursing her lips, she eventually nodded.

Then, she propped herself up into a sitting position and frowned upon feeling the clamminess on her body.

"I want to take a bath."

Joaquin nodded. "Alright. Wait here and freshen up; I'll get the bath ready for you."

The moment he finished, he got up to leave, but Katherine quickly grabbed him before he could.

"By the way, how are the people from the Fraser Family?"

"They're in a stable condition now. They've been fed the medicine according to your instructions, but they're still unconscious. They aren't showing any signs of waking up yet."

At his words, Katherine looked at the time and pondered for a moment before saying, "In about two hours, they'll wake up one by one. When that time comes, feed them the medicine again. After that, just continue to have someone keep an eye on them, and they'll be fine by about tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll let them know."

Once Joaquin finished speaking, he left the room.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door again. Thinking that it was Joaquin, Katherine leaned back on the bed and said casually, "Come in."

Unexpectedly, the newcomer was Marcus. He was holding a tray in his hand with a bowl of congee and some side dishes on top of it. From a glance, it was clear that the congee had been cooked for quite a while. It was soft and mushy and was still hot.

"Miss Cornell, since you're awake, you should have some food to fill your stomach up."

When Katherine saw that it was him who came in, she was a little surprised, her eyebrows half raised as her gaze fell on the tray. Marcus set up a small table for her on the bed and placed the tray down, showing the utmost care for her. She lifted the bowl of congee and took a taste of it, only to find that it was her favorite beef congee. Plus, it tasted just right.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to go through all this trouble," she said. Although her tone seemed indifferent, there was a trace of sincerity that could be found in her expression.

Marcus waved his hand and said courteously, "It's not a big deal. In fact, Mr. Levisay was the one who instructed Lexie to prepare this for you. He was worried that you would be hungry when you woke up, so he had her simmer the congee on low heat in case you woke up and were unable to have

something warm to eat. When you woke up, he immediately went to inform Lexie. I'm just here to help bring the congee to you since he left to run a bath for you."

At that, he let out a rueful sigh.

"Miss Cornell, Mr. Levisay truly is devoted to you. When you fainted, he was worried sick, and none of us dared to approach him because he looked angry the entire time."

Not expecting that situation to have happened, Katherine froze for a moment, her hands slowing down as she ladled up the congee. A moment later, the corners of her mouth gently curved up, and a smile of satisfaction surfaced in her eyes. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Marcus didn't leave and simply watched her instead. At the sight of her unusually serene demeanor, he couldn't help but lament to himself that Katherine and Joaquin were a perfect pair. They were both incredibly outstanding, but neither of them obscured the brilliance of the other. And if they were to be gentle, they were both so lovely. When he thought about how he was still all alone even though he was in his thirties, he couldn't help but click his tongue, his heart filled with jealousy.

After letting his thoughts drift for a while, he returned to his senses and stowed his cluttered thoughts away, his face swiftly turning solemn as he inquired about the condition of the three people from the Fraser Family.

After finishing her congee, Katherine wiped her mouth and replied nonchalantly, "They'll be fine. Give them a few days and they'll be able to recover completely."