What Separates Me and You

Lewis only relaxed when Josephine finished the entire bowl of oatmeal porridge. Then, he held her hand while tenderly saying, "Rest well. Let me know if you want to do or eat anything." Josephine nodded before looking down at the former's bloodied clothes. "You should head home and change."

Lewis hesitated for a moment.

"I won't do anything. After all, we already made a promise to each other."

Only then did Lewis nod. "Okay. I'll go home and change now."

With that, he pet her head out of habit, then left.

Josephine watched the door close, then shifted her attention to the gauze around her wrist. She grazed her fingers against it but didn't remove it. While she didn't know how long she had left, she knew her body well enough to know it was near its end.

She shut her eyes, but it wasn't because she felt sleepy. She was just tired.

Lewis drove back to the villa, showered, and changed after leaving the hospital. He tidied himself up, which transformed him from a miserable man to the esteemed chairman he used to be. The first thing he did after cleaning himself was return to the hospital.

A sigh left his lips once he saw Josephine resting in the bed. He sat on the seat beside her and guarded her side at all times.

The two co-existed that way for three days.

On the fourth day, Conrad delivered breakfast like he had been doing recently.

That was when Lewis asked, "Where has Yannis gone?"

Conrad froze, then looked around before replying, "Oh, right. He hasn't visited in days and even forgot to replenish your medications. I'll phone him right away."

Following that, Lewis took out the breakfast and fed it to Josephine.

Josephine saw Conrad had tried calling Yannis several times from the corner of her eyes. Yet, his attempts were to no avail.

"Chairman Alvarez, Dr. Halliday's phone has gotten switched off. I can't reach him. Do you think he's in trouble?"

Lewis brought another spoonful of oatmeal porridge to Josephine's lips. "Find him."

Conrad nodded before rushing out to deploy their men in search of the doctor.

Technically, Yannis was a mere doctor, so Lewis didn't need to care where the former had gone. Yet, Yannis' grandfather used to go everywhere with Alan. Sadly, Yannis' father was uninterested in studying medicine. He didn't partake in the family trade.

Meanwhile, Yannis inherited his grandpa's medical skills.

Still, the Halliday family enjoyed the benefits of his grandpa's occupation over two generations. They became trusted figures to the Alvarez family when Yannis' grandfather passed. The Alvarez family viewed them as an essential existence.

Regardless, Yannis was useful to Lewis. The crucial part was he knew Josephine's health the best, so it was natural that Lewis wanted to track him down.

Conrad searched the area once before returning to inform Lewis that Yannis had fled.

"He ran away?" Lewis asked.

Conrad rubbed the tip of his nose. "Yes, he ran away three days ago. On a plane, too. We've tracked his current location to the city, Qoigas. But it's unclear whether he'll leave the country."

Josephine would be discharged from the hospital that day. Her wound had started to scab again. Lewis brought Josephine back to Styx Mansion since she disliked the hospital's disinfectant smell. She would recover there.

Lewis was busy helping Josephine pack. He had just folded a piece of clothing when he heard Conrad's words.

"Ask Henry for help in getting him back here." Upon saying that, he carried Josephine off the bed and left the ward without sparing Conrad another glance.

Conrad rubbed the tip of his nose awkwardly but still helped move Josephine's bags outside.

Josephine had returned to Styx Mansion again.

She sat on the bed with Lewis beside her. He kept her company and was only interested in doing so these days.

Lewis examined her wound to ensure it had healed well. Since it was her second attempt at endangering herself, her injury looked uglier than before. If her previous injury was a simple cut, her current wound looked like someone dug a jagged, uneven canyon in the ground.

That was because her new skin had just grown out and was still attached to her scab when she had ripped it out. It was also why she had bled so much in mere minutes.

Lewis wanted to touch her wound but retracted his hand before he did. He looked up at Josephine to ask, "Does it hurt?"

Josephine shook her head. "No."

She couldn't sense pain at that point. Even her head was heavy and dizzy like she had drank too much, so how could she feel any pain? Josephine could barely understand what Lewis was saying to her too. Lewis tucked Josephine's arm under the blanket, then ran his slender fingers through her hair. He picked up strands of her shoulder-length hair and murmured, "I think your hair grew longer."

Josephine looked up at him. She saw the former gazing down at her hair. The gentle breeze blew against his hair, making him appear more peaceful. All at once, Josephine felt like she had returned to when they were younger.

"Time sure moves quickly." She couldn't help sighing.

Although 20 years seemed like forever at first glance, some things felt like they happened yesterday.

"Yeah, it does," Lewis chimed in while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to reveal more of her face. He almost fell into a daze as he looked at her. "You've grown so much in such a short time." Josephine pursed her lips together without speaking.

Even so, Lewis' fingers kept grazing her face. "I look at you every day, yet I can't tell that you've changed. It's like you've always looked this way since we were children."

The rims of Josephine's eyes stung because she had witnessed his changes over the years. Having witnessed his growth, she noticed that his smiles became even rarer as he grew, and he even started putting on fake fronts. His gaze had also grown more indifferent.

Josephine felt that time was slow when one suffered from painful moments. Meanwhile, happiness lasted fleetingly.

"You used to stay behind me at all times. I thought you'd hide behind me like that forever." Lewis' eyes gleamed when he said that. "But one day, you said you were bored and wanted to go to work. I agreed and allowed you to work at Avery's café. That was when everything changed."

Josephine shut her eyes while turning the other way. She didn't want to recall those memories.

Still, Lewis continued, "You had worked for some time when you asked to divorce me out of the blue. Did you know, Josephine? When you handed me the divorce papers, I felt like our years together were a joke.

"How did you get influenced into behaving like that after hanging out with someone you met for a few months?"

"That's enough." Josephine held his gaze. "My request to divorce had nothing to do with anyone else. Do you really not know why I asked for it?"

Lewis stared into her eyes but didn't speak.

"Lewis, even now, you keep blaming others for our situation. Have you genuinely reflected on yourself?"

That was when Lewis looked away and stood. "I still think everything wouldn't have happened if I didn't allow you to work."

Josephine refused to discuss the matter any further. Suddenly, she felt out of breath, so she pressed against her chest and took deep breaths.

Lewis frowned at once. He leaned over to support her as he asked, "What's wrong, Josie?"

It took a lot of strength from Josephine to shove him away. "Don't touch me."