What Separates Me and You

Heavy rainfall came overnight. Lightning and thunder struck outside Styx Mansion as it rained intensely.

Lewis abruptly opened his eyes. The rain was so loud that it almost overshadowed the television's noise. He picked up the remote and turned up the volume.

Suddenly, Darren opened the front door and dragged someone inside. "Master Lewis, we caught this one behaving suspiciously outside. How should we deal with her?"

Lewis turned toward the person that got tossed over by Gabe. It was none other than Avery. Rain drenched her body.

Her short hair swayed as she shook her head before standing. "Who are you calling suspicious? I was passing by, but you guys captured me unjustly! Watch out. I might sue you for kidnapping!" Lewis studied her before suddenly remarking, "So, you've recovered."

A snort came from Avery, who ignored him.

Gabe spoke up just then. "I've already seen you throwing rocks at the windows several times. How dare you deny being suspicious?"

Avery peered at him. "Do you have any proof?"

"I saw it myself."

"Didn't I see you entering a brothel?"

Gabe froze but refuted at once, "That's nonsense!"

"Hah, well, you started spewing nonsense first."

Avery couldn't care less about her drenched clothes. She sat opposite Lewis and crossed one leg over the other.

Avery continued, "I don't care. You guys wrongfully injured me, so you should pay up! I'm not leaving without getting at least 800 million to a billion!"

Gabe wanted to call her shameless, but Lewis' glare stopped him. He swallowed his words, then left the villa in silence.

As for Avery, she shot a sneer at Lewis. "Gosh, I heard the mighty Chairman Alvarez seldom returns home. So, why are you pretending to be a loving husband now?"

She had stalked Lewis daily and knew he would return home every night. With that in mind, she sized her chance to taunt him.

Lewis didn't take offense. He remained emotionless the entire time.

Avery glanced at the empty home around her. A wave of sorrow washed over her again.

"How does it feel to sit alone in this house? What's it like getting abandoned? Still, this isn't the end. You've got a long way to go."

She continued, "Josephine doesn't want you anymore. She has hidden herself, and you'll never find her in this lifetime again! You deserve this!"

There was finally a shift in Lewis' dull gaze. "Do you know where she is?"

Avery rolled her eyes as if the former was an idiot. "Would I be here if I knew where she has gone?"

That was when she recalled her reason for coming here. "Tell me the truth, Lewis. Is she still alive?"

"Yes, she is." It didn't seem like Lewis was answering her. Instead, it felt like he was saying it to himself.

Avery stiffened. She didn't know whether he told her the truth, but she didn't hesitate to trust him since she never believed Josephine had died.

"I knew it." Her confidence grew as she added, "I bet she hid herself in a place where I don't know. She must be watching you suffer."

Lewis shut his eyes, then grimly stated, "Get out before I blow up, Avery."

Like the former, Avery also became angry. She shot to her feet and frowned at him. "Quit acting like you're all that! Do you think I'd care to come to a rotten place like this if it weren't for Josephine?

"Honestly! I don't understand why you're so arrogant. What do you even have left? You're as pathetic as a mutt! How ridiculous. Did you think you could reach out to someone close to you for comfort?" Lewis' gaze grew colder with every word she said.

Toward the end of Avery's speech, she felt a chill down her spine. Even her voice weakened. "You'd at least have someone who loves you if you had treated Josephine better in the past. You're the one who lost her. How can you blame anyone else? How dare you glare at me? Have I said anything wrong?"

After blurting out those words, she fled for the door. Avery had just stepped onto the threshold when a bodyguard blocked her way. Deep down, she felt slightly guilty. "Get out of my way!" she snarled.

"Why are you running away? Weren't you so great at running your mouth? Go on and say more, then!" Lewis' voice echoed from behind her. It instantly made her scalp tingle. She turned and saw a grim Lewis standing behind her. An intense, hostile energy radiated from him.

"I-I've already said what I needed to. You can digest my words at your own pace. My brother's calling me, so have your men get out of my way."

Lewis' lips curved into a smirk.

Still, Avery gritted her teeth and snarled, "What are you up to? Don't you dare try anything! Josephine will never forgive you if you touch me!"

Lewis took one step closer to her. She was shorter than her, so she naturally noticed the gleam in his eyes. "W-What do you want? Get away from me!"

He stopped at about half a foot away from her. His gaze continued to study her face. "Why are you so afraid if you're bold enough to come here?"

That made her scoff. "Afraid? When the hell have I been afraid? I just find myself unlucky to be here!"

"Is that so?" Lewis abruptly straightened his back. Without waiting for Avery's response, he resumed, "I've already given you plenty of chances. Take her away." Avery's pupils constricted. "What are you doing?"

Lewis had already turned around and ignored her at that point. Meanwhile, Gabe and another bodyguard restrained her before dragging her out of Styx Mansion. "Where are you taking me?" Avery shrilled. Rain fell onto her and blurred her vision.

She wasn't afraid of dying, but she was scared Lewis would use evil tricks against her like last time. Avery shivered when she recalled the past.

The two bodyguards kept mum as they stuffed her into a car. Following that, they drove her away from the mansion.

Avery felt slightly nervous as she watched the car drive in the rain. Right away, she took out her phone to text Tyler.

It wasn't long before the two took her to a cinema. She froze upon seeing the location. Based on her knowledge of Lewis, she couldn't think of anything he could do in a cinema that would terrify her.

That didn't matter because she would soon realize what he had in store.

The bodyguards dumped her into an enclosed room. It was cramped and only had about 50 square feet. There were screens all around her. The moment she entered, the screens lit up like she was in a simulation.

"Hey!" Avery wanted to leave, but the door had gotten shut up. She was still figuring out how to open the door when a loud noise sounded. It jolted her, and her back crashed into the wall behind it. Amidst her shock, she saw a truck on one of the screens. It crashed into a motorcycle. The motorcyclist then died due to the impact.

Her stomach turned once she saw that. Fortunately, she hadn't vomited from disgust.

Avery instinctively looked away, yet the other wall played the same gruesome video.

The videos were high quality and looked so realistic, like it happened before her eyes. She even felt like the blood had splattered onto her face several times.

Avery froze in the small space. Her face paled like chalk while she trembled from head to toe.