What Separates Me and You

Dr. Halliday had no choice but to stitch Lewis' wound up again. Even though he had applied anesthesia, he still reminded Lewis, "Mr. Alvarez, it'll sting a little. Please bear with it." "Just do it," urged the impatient Lewis.

Dr. Halliday zipped his lips and sutured Lewis' wound. It was quite difficult because the wound was wet.

Mrs. Larson helped Josephine with the bath and dried her hair before leading her to the bedroom. The door was left ajar. As soon as Josephine entered the room, she could see a man prodding the half-naked man's back with a needle.

Lewis clutched onto the couch tightly. Veins were protruding on the back of his hands, and his pallid face was covered with sweat. It was a painful sight for her to watch.

Right when she wanted to turn around and leave, Mrs. Larson had left the room and closed the door. Hurriedly, Josephine ran out of the room and headed downstairs toward the gates.

To her dismay, the gates were locked. They wouldn't open no matter how she tried.

At that moment, something fluffy rubbed itself against her. She looked down only to see the two golden retrievers. They hugged her legs as if they wanted to jump at her.

Feeling emotional, she gave up on the gates and crouched to carry one of them. Despite its small size, it was really heavy.

The excited puppy rubbed itself against her arms and licked her face profusely. She faced sideways to dodge it, but she ended up flopping onto the ground because of the momentum. Seizing its chance, the other puppy hopped onto her to join the fray.

It was too much for her, so she shoved them away. Yet, the puppies thought she was playing with them as they accosted her again with wagging tails.

Noticing that Josephine was surrounded by the puppies, Mrs. Larson dashed over and carried the puppies.

"They're getting naughtier, madam. They eat too much and keep making a mess. We should put them in the cage," said Mrs. Larson as she carried the puppies to the cage.

Considering that the old cage was too small for the grown puppies, it was replaced with a big one.

Mrs. Larson locked them up, after which they circled in it while barking in protest.

"Madam, you should get some rest. You can play with them tomorrow." She helped Josephine up and dusted off the fur on her.

Holding Josephine's hand, Mrs. Larson escorted her to the stairs. Josephine kept looking back at the puppies that wanted freedom. By the time she pulled her senses back, they were already back in the bedroom.

Dr. Halliday was done bandaging the wounds on Lewis' back and chest, as well as Josephine's bite on his wrist.

Josephine wished to get out of the room, but a look from Lewis was enough to rivet her to the spot with invisible pressure.

Mrs. Larson and Dr. Halliday made themselves scarce and closed the door.

Lewis rose from his seat and wore a robe before striding toward Josephine. She retreated backward in reflex until her back leaned against the door-a dead end. Her fingers clenched her pajamas.

She stared into his eyes, failing to mask her franticness. The man was half a step away from her as he watched her silently. His stare was making her skin crawl.

The fact that he was a bad guy had been etched into her mind during this short period. She couldn't shake off the impression of him being a bad guy.

The corner of Lewis' lips twitched, yet words didn't escape his lips. He raised his hand, wanting to caress Josephine's cheek. However, she dodged it by facing sideways. Her hands clenched the hem of her sleeves tightly. Her hair covered her face, making her expression indecipherable.

His hand froze midair. It took him a while before he called out, "Josephine."

She hung her head low in an attempt to ignore him. At this moment, she appeared so much like a trapped prey-helpless, weak, and anxious.

In the end, he cupped her cheeks to force her to look at him.

"Why-" He stopped halfway through his words.

Biting her lip, she gazed at him in distress. She removed his hands from her cheeks and turned around to open the door. But he pressed the door to stop her from opening it. Her eyelids fluttered as she kept her back to him, not daring to look back.

Her weak state reminded him of the time when she first came to Alvarez Manor. It was the same reaction she showed in the face of mistreatment. She built a wall around her to separate herself from the world. The quiet girl did not interact with anyone. Even if she was bullied, she merely stayed in a corner. She neither got angry nor complained. She seemed so weak yet unapproachable.

It was not until the day he carried her out of the storage room that she first hugged him and buried her face into his neck.

That was the moment she walked out of her comfort zone in an attempt to get close to him. He became her haven thereafter. Despite her young age, she could discern the good and the bad.

Back then, Daphne feigned friendliness and took Josephine to the backyard just to push her into the pool.

Josephine shouldn't have trusted anyone, but she mustered the courage to believe in Lewis after he carried her out of the storage room.

He watched the careful girl grow up into a bold lady.

Everyone knew how important Lewis was to her. It was as if she couldn't live without him. Everyone reckoned that she would never leave his side no matter how he treated her. People even joked about how she might minister to his girlfriend when she was on her period if she was told to do so.

However, Josephine couldn't recognize him now.

Unable to live without him? Her only hope now was to stay away from him. Her gaze on him was similar to that of whenever she looked at Daphne and Mrs. Alvarez-teeming with franticness and cautiousness.

It felt like everything had returned to square one.

Memories of the past 20 years slipped out of her mind just like that within a few hours, and someone had taken his place.

Lewis stared at her for a long time until he withdrew his hand and pulled her into his arms, hugging her from the back. He whispered, "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."

Tears were pooling in Josephine's eyes as she dared not move a muscle. The embrace lasted for a few moments, after which he carried her in his arms.

His sudden action surprised her, prompting her to wrap her arms around his neck. He tucked her in bed, and her eyes were fixated on him. When he sat by the bed, she clutched the bedsheet.