A Replacement Bride

Hovington in June was hot and dry during the day, but cool and refreshing at night. There

was even the faint, sweet scent of wood and grass lingering in the air.

Katherine massaged her aching temples as she retracted her gaze. She returned to the

bedroom and took some pills to ease her headache, then lay back in bed to get some

sleep.

She tossed and turned again until 7.00AM, whereupon she finally fell into an uneasy

slumber. However, she had only just dozed off when a series of loud knockings on her door

woke her up.

Her lack of sleep was evident in her grumpy mood and bloodshot eyes.

Knock-knock-knock!

The thumping on the other side of the door belied the person's impatience. If Katherine

did not know better, she would have thought someone was trying to kick her door down.

She pushed the covers off her and walked up to the door before opening it irritably.

In the hallway, Rosemary's fist paused in mid-air, and she was shocked to see the stormy

look on Katherine's face. Subconsciously, she took a wary step back.

However, after remembering she was here with good reason and that she did not need to

back down as the rightful young lady of the house, she gave a haughty reply.

"Don't you know what day it is, Katherine? You should be getting ready by now." Wicked

amusement glittered in her eyes as she grinned maliciously.

Pressing her fingertips to her temple, Katherine resisted the urge to punch Rosemary in

the face.

"What do you want?"

She had only just woken up, but the hoarse edge to her voice somehow made her sound

even more alluring. If it were not for her stone-cold expression and the hard set on her

jaw, she might actually look like a temptress.

"Dad wants you to know that it was customary for us to visit the Levisays after they

agreed to the arranged marriage yesterday. You'll be meeting the man you're going to

marry, and we'll be meeting our in-law," Rosemary explained, seemingly pleased with this.

She was admittedly excited to see the cripple Katherine would be stuck with for the rest of

her life.

Word had it that Joaquin was a cripple with a disfigured face. Imagining him as the man

Katherine would be forced to settle down with filled Rosemary with an inexplicable rush of

joy.

Meanwhile, Katherine narrowed her eyes unhappily. She did not think she would need to

head over to the Levisay Residence.

She already had plans to drop by the research institute later this afternoon to evaluate

Alex's progress. She and Theodore were also going to assess the medication to see if there

were any other existing or potential side effects. All in all, she had a busy day ahead.

"Got it," she said nonetheless, then impassively slammed the door shut in Rosemary's

face.

She had no courtesy to spare for the likes of her stepsister.

Rosemary, who had nearly lost the tip of her nose just moments ago, began seething with

rage. However, she took a deep breath and kept her anger under control, then stomped

downstairs.

An hour passed while Katherine washed up, put on a change of clothes, and went

downstairs.

She was wearing a bright red dress from one of Charovsky's collections, but it had an

unflattering cut and a jarring color. There were also countless sequins on the dress that

made it look like it was pulled from a cabaret performer's closet. In short, it was a tough

dress to pull off.

Nevertheless, with Katherine's attractive silhouette, she wore this dress like she was doing

it a favor. As opposed to a cabaret performer, she looked like a socialite or a young lady of

nobility.

Rosemary gritted her teeth when she saw how beautiful Katherine was and felt bitter

jealousy coursing through her.

Lisa, on the other hand, frowned as she took in Katherine's somewhat bold and

provocative get-up. She did not bother reminding the girl that they were going to the

Levisay Residence today for a formal visit, thus requiring a more appropriate ensemble

than a bright red sequined dress.

After all, she could care less if Katherine were to embarrass herself during the visit.

The lack of sleep fully caught on to Katherine once she got into the car. She eased herself

into a more comfortable position, closed her eyes, and dozed off.

Unfortunately, the human chatterbox that was Rosemary did not give her a moment's

peace, and she was getting on Katherine's nerves.

"Driver, stop the car." Katherine would have put up with the inane chattering, but her

patience wore out completely when she sensed that Rosemary, who had raised her voice

at some point, might be doing this on purpose.

The driver dared not go against Katherine, so he pulled up slowly to the curb.

Without warning, Katherine opened the car door and unceremoniously kicked Rosemary

out of the vehicle. Then, she pulled the door closed, locked it, and ordered indifferently,

"Drive."

The driver broke into cold sweat after watching this display, but he did as he was told and

started driving.

"Katherine, you b*tch! You piece of sh*t!" Having tumbled out of the vehicle and onto the

road, Rosemary was covered in dust as she clambered to her feet and screamed after the

car as it sped off.

She could not believe that Katherine had such little regard for her!

They arrived at the Levisay Residence an hour later.

The Levisays were a blue-blood family that thrived on really old money. Their sprawling

estate alone took up acres in a city like Hovington where real estate was scarce.

As the car drove onto the estate, just the sight of the boulevard that led up to the main

house was enough to make Jorge and Lisa grin from ear to ear.

They had known of the Levisays' fortune right from the beginning, but they did not think it

would be so unbelievably vast.

Just a pinch of the Levisays' fortune could launch the Cornells to new heights in the elite

social scene.

The car soon rolled to a slow stop outside the front door.

Jorge and Lisa got down from the car. Only then did they turn to glance at the car that

pulled up behind theirs.

"Miss Cornell, we're here," the driver said trepidatiously, trying to rouse the sleeping

woman in the backseat.

Katherine's brows furrowed as her eyes fluttered open. She straightened up and looked

out the window, then aggressively opened the door and got down from the car.

"Where's Rosemary?" Lisa asked with a frown when she saw that Katherine was the only

one who got out of the vehicle. She walked over to open the other door, only to see that

her daughter was not in the car at all. Dumbfounded, she called out lamely, as if the girl

would pop out of thin air. "Rosemary?"

She had specially hired a designer to make a dress and commissioned jewelry for

Rosemary in anticipation of today. This was so that the Levisays could have a good first

impression of Rosemary and consider setting her up with their second scion.

With Joaquin wheelchair-bound, Robert Levisay, his younger brother, would become the

successor of the family fortune.

Presently, Katherine gave Lisa a brief look of disinterest. Anyone with half a mind could

figure out that the woman wanted to marry Rosemary off to the second Levisay son.

A small smile tugged on Katherine's lips. Don't even think about it, Lisa, she thought

deviously.