A Replacement Bride

Chapter 171

Katherine stepped into the study. A box half the height of a person was waiting for her there.

Picking up a knife from the desk, she opened the box.

The hematology analyzer that Aberama had in his hand was one of the most advanced analyzers in the world. Unfortunately, not even the local hospitals were using such advanced equipment.

She assembled the machine and then drew a bit of her own blood for analysis. Within three minutes, the device quickly came out with the analysis.

When Joaquin entered the office, Katherine was carefully studying the printout.

He stood by her side and waited patiently for her to finish perusing the printout before asking, "Are you feeling better? Have some sugar water."

This made her jump in shock. She hadn't noticed him coming in. He held out a glass of sugar water for her.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "I'm fine. Really."

However, he pressed the cup into her hands. "Have a drink anyway."

Katherine couldn't think of an easy way to refuse his kindness, so she took the cup.

After taking a sip, she couldn't help but frown and silently set the cup aside. Seeing this, Joaquin asked, "What's wrong? Is it not to your liking?"

"No." Katherine shook her head wordlessly. She forced herself to swallow the small mouthful of water she had taken.

It was far too sweet, and a faint taste of ginger made her stomach turn unpleasantly.

Her menstrual cramps had subsided with only a bit of lingering discomfort. And now, after drinking the water, it made her want to throw up.

Katherine tried her best but couldn't hold back the rising puke. Finally, covering her mouth, she rushed to the bathroom and puked into the toilet bowl.

Thankfully, there was no rash. However, the vomiting was unbearable as she threw up what she had just eaten.

At this moment, she could feel her guts burning and winced from the pain.

When he saw how Katherine reacted, he felt that something was wrong. So, he took a sip and his expression changed dramatically. Then, he walked straight out of the living room with the cup in his hand.

Joaquin set the cup down in front of Tiara. "Did you add ginger to this?"

Tiara was startled by the sudden question. "Ginger? It's just brown sugar and water. I bought it online and it came in a bag. I usually take it for my menstrual cramps. What's wrong with it?"

She picked up the glass and took a sip. "It tastes fine. That's what it usually tastes like. What's wrong? Does Katherine not like it?"

"She doesn't fancy ginger." Joaquin stared into Tiara's bewildered and innocent face. Although this girl loved to gossip, she wasn't a bad person and wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone.

He guessed this was an honest oversight.

Jennifer studied the anxious look on Joaquin's face. She smiled and comforted him, "No need to be so worried. Kathy will be fine. This will be a good experience for her. It'll let her face reality and overcome her anxieties."

"I'd better check on her," muttered Joaquin. He still felt uneasy about the whole matter.

Allergic reactions could be relatively harmless, or they could be fatal. He wasn't willing to take any risks.

If something went wrong with Katherine, things could get dire.

He stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for her to call.

He could still hear the sounds of vomiting from inside the bathroom. Then, there was a long period of silence that was finally broken by the sound of a flushing toilet.

When Katherine stepped out of the bathroom, her face was sweaty. She was pale, and her breathing was heavy. She gave him a weak look before she staggered straight past him.

"Are you alright? Should we go to the hospital?" Joaquin clasped Katherine's wrist. Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

Amidst his worry, he forgot that she was a fantastic doctor. The local hospital stood no chance if she couldn't treat this illness.

Katherine removed his hand from hers. "There's no need. I'm fine."

At this point, Tiara cautiously entered the room. She glanced at Katherine apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were allergic to ginger. I'm the one who bought that drink. I get pretty bad menstrual

cramps too, and that drink always made me feel better. I didn't know there was ginger in it. Please don't be mad. My brother's got nothing to do with this. He knows nothing about it."

"I'm okay. There's no need to apologize." The guilt on Tiara's face told Katherine that the girl wasn't lying.

Although she was highly uncomfortable, the drink didn't trigger the severe reaction to her allergy that she had expected. Instead, she just couldn't get used to the taste of ginger and threw up.

There were no signs of any rashes on her body, nor did she have diarrhea. She also took her pulse, which was strong and steady. It was clear she was fine and that there was nothing wrong with her.

Tiara continued to mumble, "I'm really sorry, Kathy. I really didn't know. Please don't be angry at my brother. He really cares about you." Tiara couldn't help but feel guilty. The more nonplussed Katherine appeared to be, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Katherine looked at Tiara's helpless face and couldn't help but pat her consolingly on her head. "I'm really okay. There's no reaction. Please forget all about this. I still have some things to attend to, so why don't you guys go ahead and watch some TV?"

Tiara cautiously studied Katherine's face. "You're really not mad at me?"

Katherine nodded and repeated once again that she wasn't mad at all. Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Tiara happily went back to watch TV with Jennifer.

Katherine was so exasperated that she didn't even know where to begin.

Tiara really was an airhead.

"Are you really okay? Do you not have to go to the hospital?" Joaquin was still uneasy and continued to study Katherine's face.

She stared at him helplessly. "I'm fine."

After he conceded that she looked perfectly fine, he still did not feel entirely at ease. "Well, don't push yourself too hard. Maybe you should go to bed early."

Nodding, Katherine went back to her study.

She already had a sample of Noah's blood. With a deep breath, she placed the sample inside the analyzer.

The machine began its work. Katherine stared in anticipation at the place where the results would come out.

Half an hour later, she had a blood analysis report.

She carefully studied every word of the report. The more she read, the uglier the expression on her face became.

She had always thought that Noah had leukemia. She guessed that the toxins that Noah was exposed to in her mother's womb had caused his cells to mutate. She hoped that Noah's condition would improve once a bone marrow operation had been done.

All these years, she had kept an eye out for a suitable bone marrow for Noah. However, it turned out that Noah's disease had nothing to do with her bone marrow at all. So even if she went through with a transplant, the child still wouldn't get better.

The report now told her that all the blood in Noah's body was poisonous. She had been poisoned while she was still in his mother's womb.

Katherine was very sure that she had never been poisoned. If she had nothing to do with it, then the poison must've come from Noah's biological father.