What Separates Me and You

When Tyler found Avery, the latter had knelt on the ground while trembling.

Avery covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly. The videos were a lethal blow to Avery, who had experienced a car crash before.

She was already traumatized by it, so watching the videos for one hour was enough to undo her psychological healing. It took her back to the darkest days in her life. "Avy." Tyler bolted over to touch her shoulder.

That one movement shocked Avery into screaming, and she shoved him away.

It caught Tyler off guard, so he fell to the ground. His brows furrowed with concern. He had watched Avery grow up as a fearless child, so he had never seen her in such hysterics.

Tyler had to hand it to Lewis; the latter had a knack for discovering others' darkest fears.

Avery looked up just then. Her frightened expression eased up as she burrowed into his arms. "Tyler!"

Tyler patted her back while comforting her, saying, "It's okay. Everything's fine now."

Avery was utterly terrified. She leaned against Tyler's chest. As she bawled her eyes out, she snapped, "That fucking bastard, Lewis! How could he be so messed up?"

Tyler shrugged and sighed as he hadn't seen his sister throw a tantrum in a long time. "Didn't you already know he's messed up? I keep telling you not to interfere, yet you never listen." When Avery heard that, she cried even louder, as if unleashing all her frustration.

She didn't know how long had passed, but eventually, she stopped crying and whined to get out of Tyler's embrace. She also felt a little flustered from losing her calm. "Let's go home." Tyler petted her head. "Are you still going to seek out Lewis?"

Avery shook her head. "No. That fucking asshole isn't worthy of pity. He deserves to be alone forever!"

Tyler shot her a frown that warned her not to go overboard.

"Fine," said Avery, who pursed her lips. "I won't insult or go looking for him anymore. Happy? I feel so much dread just from thinking of him."

"Alright, that's enough from you. Let's go." Tyler helped her onto her feet before leading her out of the cinema.

The rain had lessened outside.

Avery got into the car and finally felt a sense of security.

She had Tyler's coat over her shoulders while she gripped tightly onto the collar. Then, she turned to look at the light rain outside the window. "I wonder if it's raining where Josephine is now." Tyler's fingers tensed. He turned to look at Avery, who hadn't accepted Josephine's death. "Avy, why are you so hung up over her?"

Avery leaned against the window as memories of Josephine filled her mind. "I don't know either. When I first met Josephine, I thought she seemed cute. She was petite, smelled nice, and gentle ..." Tyler's lips twitched upon hearing the former's words. Avery's descriptions of Josephine would have sounded creepy if she were a man. Luckily, she was a woman.

"Tyler, don't you feel the urge to protect Josephine whenever you see her? She never got angry, no matter how much I teased her.

"Sometimes, I even want to make her my wife. Ugh, that damned Lewis! I can't believe he treated her that way. It riles me up whenever I think about it! What the fuck!" "Avy, don't cuss!"

Avery awkwardly cleared her throat. "Whoops, my bad. I was just too upset. I always wanted to save Josephine from her suffering. Sadly, I couldn't in the end." She kept rambling as Tyler drove. Her words confused him so much that he asked, "Avy, are you still straight?"

Avery stiffened before scowling at him. "Of course I am! But I don't mind going gay for Josephine."

"Hold up. Let's not tell Dad about this for now. It might be too shocking for him."

Avery giggled. "I'm kidding."

As the two chatted, she forgot about her traumatic experience at the cinema. Instead, she started missing Josephine.

After that situation, Avery stopped behaving out of bounds. She no longer confronted Lewis.

Few people knew about Josephine's death, including Quintin. Nobody had told him, so he continued living in his little bubble. Besides, he felt too guilty for what happened with

Josephine to contact her.

Six months later, the year came closer to an end. Elysium became cloudy and rainy. The skies were often dark, with occasional rainfall.

Sierra sat before a mirror in the hospital. While touching her face, she examined herself and smiled.

Her surgery was successful. It restored about 60% of her former appearance.

Still, her features seemed stiff when she smiled. Her grin was barely noticeable, and only the corners of her lips raised. Because Sierra had seen plenty of disfigured faces, her stiff face still pleased her.

She thanked her wealth for hiring the best surgeon who managed to fix her ruined face.

The first thing Sierra did after removing her bandages was find Lewis. When she arrived at the company, everyone seemed to have forgotten her.

No one even spared her a glance because it was evident that she had undergone plastic surgery, and her new face wasn't the prettiest.

Sierra headed straight for Lewis' office. She bellowed before she entered, "Lewis!"

Lewis sat on the couch with both feet resting on the coffee table. He seemed unkempt compared to usual.

Sierra zipped into his office, then sat beside him with expectant eyes. "Look! My surgery was a success!"

"Congrats." Lewis gave a cury reply before refocusing on his newspaper.

"Does that mean you can marry me now?" Sierra grabbed his arm.

Lewis froze, shut his newspaper, and turned to face her.

Sierra's eyes twinkled with excitement.

"You've come right on time." Lewis put down his feet and took out his phone to call Conrad.

Conrad soon entered the office with a document. "Here are the things you requested, Mr. Alvarez."

Lewis handed the document to Sierra. "Sign it."

Sierra dubiously opened the document and saw the big words on the top of the sheet-equity transfer agreement.

She pulled out the papers and inspected them at once. It turned out that Lewis wanted to transfer all of his shares to her. "What's the meaning of this, Lewis?" Lewis stood, placed his hands into his pockets, and shot a dull look at her. "I told you before that I can give you Alvarez Corp if you want it. It will be yours from now on." An utterly baffled look appeared on Sierra's face. "Y-You would rather throw away Alvarez Corp than marry me?"

Lewis chuckled. "My refusal to marry you and whether I want Alvarez Corp are two separate matters. You won't get anything if you don't sign the papers." "You..." Sierra didn't know whether to feel angry or frustrated. She glanced at the document and instantly felt doubtful. "Is there a catch in this document?" "You can hire a lawyer to examine it if you're worried."

Lewis' one reply removed all of Sierra's doubts. Still, she didn't rush to sign it.

She hugged the document against

her chest and said, "Let me think

about it, but I suggest you

reconsider, too. After all, you've put

in so much effort and sacrificed a lot

to inherit Alvarez Corp."

Then, she left with the document since she was no longer the same person. Sierra was much tougher. She and Lewis' were now equals, so she didn't have to be submissive anymore.

Conrad watched the former leave with her chest puffing proudly. He then turned around to peer at Lewis and asked, "Are you sure about doing this, Mr. Alvarez?"