"But I don't have any feelings for him. Even though he's very outstanding, I am not willing to marry a stranger."
"It was his offer to pay for my brother's surgery in exchange for marrying him that compelled me to agree to get a marriage certificate."
Joanna didn't want to divulge these things.
However, she didn't want Lady Octavia to think that she coaxed Ashton into getting a marriage certificate.
The proposal to get a marriage certificate was originally made by Ashton.
At that time, she was unwilling.
Why should she swallow this insult and bear the blame for "deceiving"?
She wanted Lady Octavia to be clear about this.
It wasn't her coaxing Ashton into marriage, but Ashton using the surgery for Jeremy as a condition, forcing her to have no choice but to agree to marry him.
"What did you say?" Lady Octavia frowned, her eyes filled with surprise as she was evidently astonished by Joanna's disclosure.
In her heart, her son was the best in the world.