A Replacement Bride

Chapter 383

Chapter 382 A Complete Falling-Out

"I don't want the lives of my close family and friends to get disrupted because of me, so I don't think I'm wrong to hide my real identity from them," Katherine said, stressing each word icily. "You and I are fundamentally different! LW Laboratory has never done anything immoral; all its research is done with the purpose of improving human lives and providing better treatment to people. I can say with a clear conscience that I've never done even one thing that gave me a guilty conscience from the moment I set up LW Laboratory until now. But what about you, Jayden? Do you dare to say with a clear conscience that you've never done anything that you feel guilty about?"

Jayden was instantly stumped by her question. Pressing his lips together, he looked terrifyingly sullen.

Katherine let out a sneer without sparing his feelings in the slightest. "Your Lab X only cares about making profits. You don't give a damn about developing some harmful drug; as long as it can earn you money and huge profits, you'll do it without blinking an eye. Can you count how many lives have been destroyed by those reagents of yours? So, Jayden, don't mention you and me in the same breath. You'd only made me sick to my stomach by doing this." She stopped playing nice with the man altogether now that they were turning against each other.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere became extremely tense, and Jayden's face darkened more and more. He looked as black as thunder. "Kathy…" He opened his mouth, trying to win Katherine over as he was still unwilling to fall out with her completely.

Katherine wasn't some saint, though; she never showed mercy to those who had betrayed her. "Don't call me that! It makes me feel like throwing up. Jayden, the novel drug research and development report that you stole from me two years ago didn't come in handy, right? Guess what? That report was incomplete! The research into every reagent would always involve hundreds or even thousands of hypotheses. Some of the data in that research and development report was faulty, so you didn't

manage to develop the final product even after stealing the report from me. Well, I guess that's the reason why you started to have suspicions about my identity, am I right?" Her eyes were full of sarcasm as she had contempt written all over her exquisite features. "You probably have long suspected that I'm a member of the LW Laboratory. It's just that you had no idea what position I'm holding in the laboratory, so you often made advances to me, making up all kinds of excuses to approach me just to discover any clues about it. However, that incomplete research and development report made you think that I'm just an insignificant nobody in the laboratory. Moreover, your men tracked Joaquin and me down and thought we'd departed for Zoscistan, so you let your guard down, thinking that I'm not a senior member of the laboratory, which was why you openly showed up here today. You never thought you'd get outsmarted, but in the end, you gave yourself away."

Before coming here, she had thought that if Jayden really were the mastermind behind Lab X, then she would blow her cover just as he got exposed for who he really was. On second thoughts, however, LW Laboratory and Lab X were on bad terms in the first place. The two laboratories were enemies, so what did it matter if she exposed her real identity? She and Jayden could no longer be friends, anyway. Since they had become enemies, there was nothing wrong with them being through with each other.

Jayden's brows furrowed the moment he finished listening to her speech; his hands clenched into fists by his sides, while blue veins stood out on the back of his hands. "Katherine, do you mean you're gonna sever our friendship? Don't forget that I'm one of the few people who can help you in Kyoland as a member of the Hall Family! What's wrong with us working together? We can make fortunes and live in luxury together! Wouldn't that be good for both of us?" he said before shifting his gaze toward Joaquin. Eyeing the man with hostility, he asked, "Joaquin, did you make mischief between Katherine and me? What did you say to her?"

Joaquin couldn't help but find it amusing that Jayden still had the cheek to question him as if justice were on his side. "Jayden, what makes you so confident to think that Kathy will forgive you and remain friends with you after all the bad things you've done? You know why she turned up her nose at you?Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Anyone sane would think it'd be strange for her to take a liking to someone like you. My Kathy is the best woman in the world. Wouldn't it be a match of beauty and the beast if she really were to go out with you?"

Jayden's temples instantly throbbed with rage at these words. "How dare you!" Grinding his teeth hard, he rested his piercing gaze on Joaquin's face for a moment before turning to look at Katherine with a complicated look in his eyes. A moment later, his eyes grew more and more ferocious as he stopped concealing his selfish desires altogether. "Katherine, this is the last opportunity I'm giving you. Are you gonna work with Lab X or not? Think about this again!"

Katherine let out a sneer at his words. "Are you threatening me right now?"

Joaquin's eyes darkened. "You can interpret it that way. The decision is up to you, but I can make it clear to you that LW Laboratory will eventually be mine! Starting today, I want not only all the reagents of your laboratory but also to have the whole laboratory at my disposal! If you're willing to work with me, I'll show you mercy, but if you're not willing to do so, Kathy, then don't blame me for being merciless to you despite all the years of our friendship!"

His threats didn't induce the slightest fear or anxiety in Katherine. Instead, she felt like laughing. "You're overestimating yourself, Jayden. Do you seriously think your Lab X can have its own way in Fontan? Do you think LW Laboratory is definitely weaker than Lab X? You want to take control of my laboratory? Show me what you've got, then!"

With the last pretense of cordiality gone between them, the atmosphere at the scene instantly became volatile.

Just then, Joaquin reached out and held Katherine's wrist before dragging her behind him. Then, he narrowed his eyes, which flickered menacingly. "Jayden, you're gonna have to walk over my dead body if you want to touch Kathy!"

"Is that so?" Jayden smirked in ridicule without taking Joaquin's warning seriously. He said, "Joaquin, I think you're the one who's overestimating yourself. Who the f*ck do you think you are?! You've got no right to say this to me, whether in Hovington, Kyoland, or Fontan! Don't forget how you lost to me five years ago. You've lost to me before and will always do!" He had never come to terms with Katherine's marriage to Joaquin, which added fresh grievances to the past grudges he held against this guy. He had wanted to raise his hand against Joaquin for a long time!

He thought Joaquin would fly into a rage at such words, but the look on the latter's face surprised him. Instead of getting angry, the man had indifference written all over his dashingly handsome face, whereas his lips curled into a nonchalant smile in an offensive manner, as if Jayden's taunts were useless against him. "I've lost to you? Jayden, you seem to have forgotten how you fled with your tail between your legs when I brought my men to Fontan to deal with your laboratory!"