A Replacement Bride

Chapter 344

Joaquin could see how much Katherine blamed herself and he squeezed her fingers. "Don't think too much about that. It's already in the past, plus you didn't want things to turn out this way. You have done your best. Honestly, it's my fault. If I had not mistakenly identified…"

His eyelashes fluttered and he lowered his gaze. "Noah wouldn't have such a repressed childhood."

As the atmosphere became grave, Katherine exhaled and turned her palm to grip his hand, thereafter gently moving it. "That's enough. Is this a confessional? You're right. It's all over now and things are getting better, so let's not mention the past anymore."

Joaquin inclined his head. After some hesitation, he asked, "When are you going to tell her about her grandmother's passing?"

Katherine fell silent at that and she looked slightly reluctant. "I haven't thought about that yet."

He knew why she was so conflicted. "I know that it's difficult. Noah's grandma was her closest relative and I'm worried that Noah cannot accept it as she has just recovered. However, you should know that she is a perceptive child and will suspect that sooner or later after not seeing her grandma for a long time."

Just as he finished speaking, a child's voice came from behind them. "H-Has Grandma passed away?"

The couple turned around to see Noah standing at the entrance of the ward. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders, revealing her pale face. Her sharp gaze was fixed unblinkingly on them while Keith stood behind her, shrugging helplessly and spreading his hands.

Katherine's heart stuttered and her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say.

Joaquin sighed internally when he saw the anxious little girl. Stretching out a hand, he murmured, "Come here, Noah."

The girl bit her lip and slowly shuffled toward him.

He carried her up and placed her between him and Katherine before kissing her forehead gently. "Noah, we didn't tell you earlier because you were still sick."

Before he could finish, she argued, "I'm okay now. I want to hear it, Daddy. Is my great-grandma really gone?"

She looked up at him with a stubborn expression. "She wouldn't go so long without coming to see me. Something must have happened to her, right?"

He fell silent and looked up at Katherine, who did not hesitate any longer and gritted her teeth. Her voice was gentle when she spoke. "Noah, great-grandma is gone. She couldn't come back and is now buried together with your great-grandfather in Kyoland. I will take you there to visit her when I have the time. I didn't tell you immediately because I was afraid you could not accept it. Besides, your great- grandma wouldn't want you to be sad for her and hurt yourself."

Tears flowed from Noah's eyes and left damp tracks on her face. She did not sob loudly or throw a tantrum. Instead, she cried silently with her mouth slightly open, voice choked with how much she was holding back her sobs.

"I knew it. I knew it already, Mom. I saw her cloth bag in your luggage when you came back, so I knew something had happened to her since she always carried it about. She has definitely passed away because she was always unwell and suffering from her illness. She was just holding it in."

The little girl rambled on, the tears running down her cheeks a testament to her heartache. "It's good that she has passed as she doesn't have to suffer any longer. She was always thinking about my great-Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

grandpa. They're probably reunited by now."

Katherine felt heartbroken at Noah's reaction. She bit her lip and held the girl silently as she gently patted her back. The girl shivered briefly before hugging her mother tightly, no longer able to contain her sobs.

"Oh, Mom… I only have you and Daddy now…" Noah cried so hard that she only stopped after a long time and she slowly fell asleep.

Katherine then carried her back into her room and cleaned her tear-streaked face with a towel.

Joaquin watched on, feeling sad yet reassured.

Just then, Keith approached him with a serious expression. "Kathy, Joe, someone is here."

Joaquin was the one who asked first. "Who is it?"

Not many people knew that Noah was in the hospital, so whom could it be?

Keith hesitated but before he could say anything, a pretentious voice rang out. "Joaquin, it's Mom and Dad!"

The four people in the group froze in unison and turned around.

In the next moment, Hera walked over with her hands full of bags. Without waiting for Keith's permission, she walked into the room while John and Elizabeth trailed behind her.

Joaquin stood up with a frown. "What are all of you doing here?"

His tone was unfriendly, which caused Elizabeth to slap the armrest of her wheelchair with a stony expression. "Joaquin, watch your attitude. We are the elders of the family, yet you refused to greet us

and even interrogated us in that tone. What is this behavior?"

Elders of the family? He snorted and his gaze turned scornful. "What? Did you come here to reprimand me?"

The atmosphere turned tense and Hera's gaze shifted briefly before she immediately tried to smooth things over. "Oh Joaquin, what are you talking about? Your grandmother didn't mean that. We are here because we heard Noah was sick and wanted to visit. See? I brought her so many things."

She lifted the bags and shook them briefly before pretending to complain about Katherine. "And you too, Kathy. Why didn't you tell us? Even if Noah isn't related by blood, we are family, after all. You are married to Joaquin, so your child is his as well as the Levisays'. How can you treat us like outsiders?"

A scornful look flashed across Katherine's features when she saw Hera's fake smile which stretched ear to ear. Chuckling lightly, she mocked, "Really? So, you do understand social cues. I may have blamed you by mistake since not one of the Levisays ever talked about Noah. I thought none of you cared about her and you are all just here for a favor. Now that I know you are here to see Noah, I feel much more reassured."

Her words made the expressions of the three visitors change slightly. They hadn't said much, yet she had already made them swallow their words.