What Separates Me and You

Josephine's head shot upward with a flabbergasted expression at Lewis.

The latter smiled slightly before speaking with a gentle voice. "You can finish your meal later if you don't have the appetite now."

Still, Josephine kept her gaze on him. She wanted to find traces of the old Lewis on his face, yet she only saw a stranger.

That was when Lewis' phone rang in his pocket. He took it out, noticed it was a call from Sophia, and put his phone away before petting Josephine's head. His tone remained tender as always. "Rest well, and don't forget to eat."

With that, he left with his phone.

Only then did Josephine retract her gaze and look at Mrs. Larson, who knelt on the ground.

The pitiful Mrs. Larson gazed at Josephine. She wanted to ask the former to eat but was too afraid to speak.

Josephine looked down at the dishes on the dining table that was no longer warm.

Mrs. Larson kept her attention on Josephine. Under her anticipating stares, the latter gradually picked up a bowl to eat. A relieved sigh left Mrs. Larson's lips when she saw that.

Numbness overtook Josephine's senses as she ate. She couldn't taste anything but swallowed everything whole. One could sense a tinge of rage from her as she ate almost all the dishes, which equaled an entire day's portion of food for her.

That made Mrs. Larson worry.

"I've finished everything. You can get up now."

Mrs. Larson rose and then cleaned up the dishes on the dining table. "Will you be okay after eating all that food, Mrs. Alvarez?"

"I'm fine." Josephine lowered her head to gaze at the gauze on her wrist. There was a brief flicker in her gaze.

Mrs. Larson hadn't noticed that. Instead, she hurriedly gathered the dishes and rushed outside to give Lewis a status report.

Lewis hadn't left. Instead, he had stood in the hallway and answered his phone call from earlier. Mrs. Larson soon brought a tray of emptied dishes to him. He glanced at them, then raised his chin to dismiss her.

Meanwhile, Sophia asked on the phone, "Is Seth really dead?"

"Why? Do you want to avenge him too?"

That rendered Sophia temporarily speechless. It took a moment before she responded, "My grandpa values him a lot. I'm merely worried now that this has gotten out of hand ..."

Lewis leaned against the railing of his stairs and casually spoke. "There's no need for you to worry. Just focus on completing your task."

"Well, what about my grandpa-"

"I'll handle it."

Sophia sighed. "Okay, then. Be careful."

Lewis had just hung up when Conrad rushed over with information about Quaddew Productions that he had asked the latter to research.

Once Conrad handed over the document, he explained, "Quaddew Productions got established a year ago. Their business scale is small, but their investor has an influential background."

"Elaborate."

Conrad answered, "Their investor is from abroad, and this person has a close relationship with Veda Group."

Lewis gave the document a quick flip through while he spoke. "It seems Kiran's still in Elysium."

"What?" Conrad asked.

"Deploy our men to search for him. I want him found and brought to me, even if it means turning over every stone."

Conrad nodded. "Got it. I'll do that right away."

"Wait."

"Do you have any other orders for me, Mr. Alvarez?"

Lewis brought his fingertips together while appearing to muse over something. At the same time, he voiced, "Kiran is most likely remaining in Elysium because of Tanya. Find and use her to lure him out." Conrad's eyes lit up at once. "Why didn't I think of that? Understood, Mr. Alvarez."

Tanya was Kiran's mother. Previously, Lewis had spread the news of Kiran's death to lure Tanya out and ask Tanya to appoint him as a candidate for Alvarez Corp's new president.

However, Tanya didn't believe Lewis and kept delaying her departure from the country. She refused to leave Elysium. That much proved she and Kiran weren't in contact with each other.

Lewis knew that and suddenly found the situation interesting.

Kiran might be ruthless, but that was only toward outsiders.

He was exceptionally grateful and kind to his mother. Kiran even viewed her as more important than his life. Not to mention, he had come to Elysium and joined Alvarez Corp not entirely because he wanted to inherit Robert's wealth; Kiran was merely obsessed with getting what he lacked when he was a child.

With that thought, Lewis returned to the living room and found Josephine sleeping in a fetal position on the couch. He approached to scoop her up in his arms. Yet, she awoke once he touched her. Josephine's eyes widened at him.

"You should sleep on the bed." Lewis gazed down at her before carrying her to the bed. That wasn't all. He had also lay down on the bed with her.

Josephine turned the other way so her back faced him.

Lewis didn't mind it. He hugged her from behind while interlocking his fingers with hers. That way, he locked her in his embrace.

Although neither spoke, Josephine could feel his determination and stubbornness in his every move. It was as though he declared he would never let her go, no matter what she did. Josephine could never escape him, except if she died.

She shut her eyes and sank into the silence. Only then did her wrist hurt so bad that she couldn't sleep.

Lewis stayed at home to keep watch over her for the following days. The two never spoke again, but he didn't care whether she would talk to him. What mattered more to him was getting Josephine to eat her meals and change her bandages.

He didn't mind her ignoring his presence as long as she did those things. However, he ensured the other household employees would suffer anytime she refused to comply. Josephine no longer had the strength to fight back by then.

One week later, Dr. Halliday removed her gauze bandage. A thick scab had formed over the wound on her wrist. It bulged out and felt jarring if one ran their hands against it.

"You won't need to apply any more medication, but refrain from getting it wet, at least until the scab falls off on its own."

Josephine fell into a daze while staring at the dark reddish-brown scab on her wrist.

"Are you listening, Mrs. Alvarez?"

Josephine looked up just then. The corners of her lips tugged into a slight smile. "I heard you."

The sun's bright beams shined onto the ground while some of it illuminated Josephine's face. It highlighted her sickly, pale countenance.

Dr. Halliday shot her a dubious glance. He couldn't help finding her condition odd, but he didn't know how to explain it. So, he packed up his medical supplies and headed out. "I'll be on my way." Josephine leaned against the headboard while taking in the warm sunshine outside. Her finger trailed up and down the rough scab on her wrist. She stayed that way until night came.

By then, Lewis had brought her dinner and sat beside her to feed it to her.

Josephine's eyes remained on him while she obediently ate every spoonful of food he gave her.

"Is it yummy?" he asked.

She nodded.

A smile curved on Lewis' face as he continued feeding her. He didn't kick up a fuss and even had an improved mood because she had been tame this week. Not a trace of annoyance showed on his face as he fed her dinner. Not only was he patient, but he also seemed to enjoy doing it.

Josephine felt Lewis had behaved like usual before Robert died, but now? She found Lewis more and more odd. It was like she was looking at a stranger whenever she saw his face every day.

"What are you thinking about? You seem distracted while eating," he murmured into her ear before reaching for some tissue to wipe her mouth.

Josephine forced herself to remain still. "I'm full."

Lewis tossed the tissue into the bin. He didn't force her to continue eating. "Then, let's stop here."

He handed the tray of food to Mrs. Larson and waited until she left before carrying Josephine into the bathroom. Then, Lewis helped clean her body. After taking her back to the bed, he lay by her side and hugged her like usual. He also shut off the bedroom lights while leaning into her ear, "Get some rest."