What Separates Me and You

Conrad scratched his head. "I'd just work?"

He often worked all day. Not to mention, he was now in charge of two companies' affairs. He barely even had time to drink a glass of water most days.

Lewis' expression withered with dissatisfaction at the former's response.

"Chairman Alvarez, why would you ask me this out of the blue?"

"No reason. You may leave."

Conrad hummed in response before sheepishly peeking at Lewis. He felt relieved enough to leave after ensuring the latter had resumed watching the television.

That was when Avery came downstairs. She couldn't be bothered with talking to Lewis, so she pretended not to see him and exited the mansion.

Only after she left did Lewis switch off the television and head upstairs. He sat beside Josephine while holding her hand like it was natural. Just like that, he silently kept her company.

Avery had visited daily at that point. Even so, Josephine's condition never improved. Instead, she looked wearier by the day.

Lewis lowered his head to study Josephine's hand, which had diminished to skin and bones. He could have sworn she had some muscle to her last month.

Mrs. Larson soon brought dinner over. She placed it on the nightstand, then whispered to him, "I'll leave her dinner here, okay, Mr. Alvarez?"

She left after that.

Lewis waited some time before waking Josephine to feed her.

Little did he know that Josephine wasn't asleep. She was merely too tired to open her eyes. With a helpless sigh, she looked at Lewis and allowed him to help her sit upright. Following that, Lewis brought a bowl of soup over. He raised a spoonful toward her lips. "Here. It's not burning hot anymore."

"I don't want to eat, Lewis."

"You should have a couple of mouthfuls, no matter what. So, open up."

Josephine had no choice but to open her mouth. She willed herself to drink two spoonfuls as he had ordered, then refused to have anymore.

Lewis' brows twisted into a conflicted frown. In the end, he surrendered. Silence befell the room as he set the bowl aside.

He brought Josephine's hand closer to inspect her wound, which seemed to have recovered well. Contrarily, her complexion grew paler by the day. Her face was practically translucent. "What's wrong? You've lost so much weight." Lewis' attention shifted away from her face as he pinched her hand.

The corner of Josephine's lips weakly tugged. She didn't know how to answer him or want to speak.

"When will you get better, Josie?"

Josephine leaned against the headboard, stared at him for a second, and shut her eyes. "Why should I get better?"

"So you can do what your heart desires. I promised, remember? I'll let you go as long as you recover." He squeezed her hand tightly for a second. "Okay?"

Josephine wanted to snort. Sadly, she could only manage a half-smile with her remaining strength. "Don't you think it's getting late?"

Lewis' lips thinned as he fell speechless.

Josephine saw no point in recovering because she had nowhere to go. Plus, she didn't want to move and had difficulty speaking now. "Is life without Seth that unbearable for you?" Lewis spoke calmly. Even so, one could tell he was suppressing his rage. Josephine opened her eyes to shoot him a plain look. At that point, she felt arguing with him was a waste of energy. "Yes."

Lewis' gaze heated up like wildfire, but he suppressed it bit by bit. "Do you hate me that much now?"

"Yes."

An abrupt chuckle left Lewis' lips. There was a mixture of rage and helplessness in his laugh. "When did you become this cruel, Josephine? Even if you loathe me, must you punish me like this?"

"Am I cruel? My actions are nothing compared to what you've done." Josephine broke free from his grasp, looked downward, and spoke with a lowered voice.

"Then again, one can't blame you for anything. It's my fault. You kept reminding me not to fall for you in the past, yet I never listened. So, I deserve this. No one is at fault except me."

After everything that had happened to her, she felt death would set her free from the pain of living. Her world turned grim whenever she thought about Seth's words and how disappointed he was when jumping off the cliff. It was so unbearable that Josephine desperately wanted to end her torture.

Sadly, Lewis refused to let her die. He spared no expense in obtaining costly medicines to keep her alive. It left her stuck in a limbo where she wanted to die yet couldn't.

"Josephine..." Lewis held her hand again and gazed deeply into her eyes. He wanted to say something, but the words never came.

Josephine held his stare while waiting for a long time, yet his reply never came. "Lewis, it doesn't matter what you say. No amount of excuses or secrets from you will change anything. Everything has already happened."

Lewis remained silent for what felt like forever. Eventually, he nodded. "You're right. Nothing I say will change what happened."

Josephine's gaze dimmed. "So, it's still my fault."

"No, it's not yours. I'm the one to blame."

"What if I said I never loved you? Would you let me go?" Josephine asked.

Silence befell Lewis again. He didn't even know the answer to it.

Josephine's gaze intensified at him while she pursed her lips. "Would things have turned out differently? The decision has never been up to me. Lewis, you're so selfish. You've only done things according to your will.

"You mentioned wanting to love someone else, but that's an excuse. You could've let me go and choose to fall for someone new, but you didn't. Doesn't that mean you're settling for me until you find someone better?

"Let's think about this figuratively. What if you had genuinely fallen in love with Sierra? Would we have gotten along like we used to? I doubt it. We wouldn't be able to see each other as siblings or family." Josephine believed Lewis refused to let her go because he didn't love Sierra. If he had fallen for Sierra, none of this would be happening now. In her eyes, Lewis' every action brimmed with selfishness and greed.

Not once did Lewis rebuke Josephine's lengthy statement. That proved she was right.

With a chuckle, she asked, "Tell me, Lewis. How can I not hate you? Why aren't you speaking?"

Lewis raised his head to meet her eyes. "I have nothing to say. Everything you mentioned is true." "Does that mean I was right about what you're thinking?"

Lewis scoffed at himself. "Sometimes, I don't even know what I think or feel. No matter what I believe, problems continue to arise, so-" His smile flattened into a thin line. "I think what you said makes sense." He knew Avery often called him a psycho, but even he occasionally felt that way about himself. Like everyone else, he didn't understand his actions either. Lewis hadn't even sorted out the current mess he was in, so he had no explanation, nor could he explain himself.

Josephine no longer wanted to discuss the matter. The truth no longer mattered to her. She only said, "You'd better live for as long as possible, Lewis."

Lewis stiffened slightly.

An eerie smirk crept across Josephine's face. She wanted him to suffer a lifetime of loneliness, torture, and an endless wait for something that would never come, just like she had experienced in the past seven years. She had spent every second in regret and hatred.

In the past few months, Lewis had constantly tried to end his life. That alone made Josephine realize Lewis shared the same plan as her. He was waiting for the perfect time to leave the living world for good, but Josephine would never let him have his way.