A Replacement Bride

Chapter 166

"Joaquin, do you and Katherine not share a unit?" Tiara followed Joaquin and Katherine into Soulin International with a curious look on her face as she studied her surroundings. At last, she noticed that Katherine walked into unit 1801 while he unlocked the door of unit 1802. Thus, she couldn't help but ask that.

Joaquin cast her a warning look instead of answering. "Are you coming in? If not, you can go home."

"Don't chase me away. I'm coming in," she answered as she quickly slipped into his unit.

He waved at Katherine one more time before he shut the door.

As Tiara walked into the unit, she began to take a look around. The unit lacked decorations and gave her the feeling of the absence of its hostess. She immediately pointed it out. "By the way, Joaquin, I have a question—what's happening between you and Katherine? Are you having a contract marriage like one of the plots in the novel, which you'll divorce after some time?"

He cast her a look without much emotion. "Did Grandpa ask you to monitor us?"

Tiara waved her hands frantically to deny his claim. "No way! That's impossible! Grandpa isn't such a kind of person. It's just that I annoyed him in the house, so he wants to chase me away."

However, Joaquin could see through her lies, and he gestured in the direction of the guestroom. "That's the guest room. You'll be sleeping there. Remember to not touch anything or try to discover anything. Curiosity kills the cat."

"Of course. Can I visit Katherine, though? Aren't you worried about her living alone? I bet the men can't wait to make a move on her, since she's pretty and kind. Aren't you afraid of any love rival?" Pouting at

the lack of freedom, she walked toward the guestroom with her suitcase in tow. Before she opened the door, she darted him a question.

Joaquin wasn't looking at her at the moment, but her words created a huge impact on him.

There were indeed a lot of men around Katherine, and most of them were interested in her.

He couldn't make out the source of the disturbing feeling when he thought about it.

Tiara returned to his side after she put her luggage in the room.

After that, she informed him that she would be visiting Katherine, and eagerly left the unit to find Katherine next door.

As soon as she stepped into the unit, she looked around its interior. "Katherine, do you still have any empty rooms here? I—"

A man with a stunningly beautiful face walking out of the room caught Tiara's attention as she cut off her words.

His existence shocked Tiara, and she stopped in her tracks before turning to Katherine in disbelief. "Katherine?"

"Huh?" As Katherine was lost in thought before this, she finally raised her head to acknowledge Tiara after the latter called her for the second time.

She turned to the back when she saw Tiara was staring at someone with a shocked face, and found that Xavier had left the room.

"How is she?" Katherine left Tiara alone for a moment and asked Xavier the question.

"Not bad. You made the right decision to get her back to the country. She's in a better condition than before and begins to open up to others as she talks a lot. I think that if we keep her going like now, she can return to society and live among people soon. You can send her to kindergarten at that time to see if she can get used to such a life." Xavier didn't pay attention to Tiara as he explained Noah's condition to Katherine.

As he finished his report, she hummed nonchalantly as a response before she finally remembered that the younger woman was still standing at the door, and welcomed her inside.

Tiara wasn't sure what was going on between the two, but her eyes couldn't leave Xavier ever since she walked into the unit.

The man had a laid-back and elegant temperament. He was lazing on the couch in the living room with a remote control in his hand as he watched the television. As he noticed her stare, he turned to her for a moment and shot her a glance before he withdrew his gaze.

For the first time in her life, Tiara met a man who didn't have his eyes on her all the time like the others.

Recalling he walked out of Katherine's room a moment ago, she was more than curious about his identity. Thus, Tiara joined him on the couch and expected him to share some juicy details. "Do you know Katherine? Are you two close? Are you interested in her?"

At first, Xavier had decided to not pay attention to Tiara. However, she was too talkative for his liking. She spoke a lot beside him, much like a parrot without a break.

As he couldn't bear her anymore, he turned to her and shot her an emotionless glance. "Can you shut up? Has nobody told you that you're talkative?"

His attitude was completely different compared to how he casually treated Katherine a while ago, as his rude words were aimed to hurt Tiara.

This was the first time that Tiara was being harshly treated. She was taken aback for a few seconds before tears blurred her vision, and she mumbled sadly, "I-I am just being polite. You don't have to be angry."

"I didn't ask for your politeness." He retorted one more time and paid no more attention to her.

Tiara sat beside him with reddened eyes. She could feel bile in her mouth, and it was upsetting her. The urge to cry was building inside her, but she didn't dare cry in front of him. Thus, she only sat on the couch and glared at him with puffy eyes.

She felt more wronged when Xavier ignored her presence, as if she was invisible.

Meanwhile, Katherine was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. She finally noticed the extreme silence in the living room after she left the kitchen.

The television was on, but no sound was coming out from it. Xavier and Tiara each took a spot on the couch, and an odd atmosphere was building between them.

"What's wrong with you two?" Katherine walked over to them and studied their faces.

Tiara had been holding back her tears until Katherine asked the question. She began to wail in front of them as her emotions outbursts.

Being surprised by the sudden outburst, Katherine cast a confused look at Xavier for the answer.

However, Xavier was as confused as her. Tiara was the first woman he had no idea how he should treat.

Noticing Katherine's questioning gaze, he immediately declared, "It has nothing to do with me."

As he finished his words, he rose to his feet and washed his hand for dinner before he called Jennifer and Noah to join him.

Leaving her room, Noah found Tiara crying in the living room, and she turned to Katherine with a confused look. Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

"Go on and have dinner," Katherine said lightly. Noah nodded and followed Jennifer to eat.

"What happened?" Watching Tiara cry, Katherine could feel the pulsing pain in her temples as she never needed to console a crying person before.

"Katherine, that guy is rude! He even scolds me." For a moment, Tiara struggled to find her voice. At last, she whined through her sobs.

Katherine caressed the spot between her brows to ease the pain. "Let him be. He's always like that. Go wash your face. We're ready for dinner, and Joaquin will be joining us."

"Really?" Tiara asked to have double confirmation.

"Really. I'm telling the truth." Afraid that Tiara would cry again, Katherine immediately nodded.

At that, Tiara finally stopped crying. She washed her hands and followed Katherine to take a seat in the dining room.

At that moment, Joaquin left his unit. As Katherine had recorded his thumbprint for the fingerprint lock at the door, he could instantly go into her house without asking her to answer the door.

Tiara shifted her attention when she heard the commotion at the door. Her gaze landed on him for a long time when he walked into the room, and she finally withdrew her gaze as she stopped pondering.