What Separates Me and You

Damian carefully answered the phone as he plastered on a smile, "Mr. Berg, how can I help you?"

Conrad replied, "I'm just wondering whether your son has signed the divorce agreement, and is it convenient for me to send someone to get it from you now?"

Damian didn't look too well. He hemmed and hawed, not knowing how to answer Conrad.

His silence irked Conrad, who scowled and said with displease, "Mr. Fowler, you promised me. Are you going back on your words?"

Damian immediately left the bedroom, replying ingratiatingly on his phone, "Rest assured, Mr. Berg. I would definitely do as I promised. I've come across a minor issue, you see. Give me a bit more time, and I guarantee I'll pass you the divorce papers personally."

Conrad said, "It's been almost a week. Are you facing some sort of trouble, Mr. Fowler? Or do you, as a father, have no say on something trivial like this?"

"Of course not. I do have a say. As I said, something unexpected came up. I won't ever renege on my promise. You should know my style, Mr. Berg. That's my way in business, more so when it comes to something so insignificant."

"Alright then. I'll give you another day, after which I want to see the divorce agreement signed."

"Yes, sure, sure."

Conrad hung up, and doubts began to creep into his mind. It appeared that things were not progressing as smoothly as he had initially presumed. Seeing how Damian had failed to talk Quintin into signing the papers after so long, Conrad doubted whether Damian would succeed even with the extra time given. Anyhow, Conrad would also be in trouble if Damian botched his task. Conrad's head throbbed at the thought of that.

Lewis left the restaurant with Josephine after she finished eating and drove toward Alvarez Manor.

Nancy was having a headache because Baron had been crying non-stop these few days. "Lewis, you're finally back." Upon seeing Lewis, Nancy handed Baron to the nanny and walked toward him. Lewis glanced at the baby cradled in the nanny's arms and asked, "What's wrong?"

Nancy replied, "I'm not sure either. He's been crying continuously recently. We've been to the doctors and hospitals, but no one knows why. We've kept him warm, fed, and dry. So why is he crying again?" Lewis led Josephine to the sofa. After another glance at the baby, whose eyes were puffy because of all the crying, he asked, "Didn't Seth come home to check on him?"

Nancy's face darkened at the mention of Seth. "Him? I would've forgotten all about him if you'd never brought him up. Look at how he's playing his role as a father. He's not been back for several months as though this child isn't his!"

Lewis didn't reply and took the baby from the nanny instead. Unexpectedly, Baron cried even more hysterically when Lewis held him.

Josephine watched Baron curiously-what a tiny little thing. He looked especially pitiful when he cried. She couldn't help but reach out and prod his cheeks.

Baron raised his arms and waved them about. With his eyes closed, he caught Josephine's finger with unerring precision. His hand was soft and small. Josephine's heart melted at his action, and she looked at him affectionately.

"Do you want to hold him?" Lewis cast a glance at her.

Josephine was nervous. She looked at Lewis with anticipation and hesitation-she wasn't confident about doing so.

Lewis promptly placed Baron in her arms, and she held him, disconcerted. Standing stiffly, she dared not move an inch. The child was so petite she was afraid she would hurt the child at her slightest movement.

Nancy watched her coldly, a look of contempt flashing across her face when she saw Josephine's clumsiness, but she held in her temper because of Lewis. Besides, Baron's cries had slowly died down when he was in Josephine's arms, and that shut Nancy up just when she was about to stop Josephine.

She asked the nanny to lead Josephine out, along with Baron, obviously having something to say to Lewis.

The nanny tugged Josephine, who followed her out of the living room, walking stiffly. She moved about cautiously, constantly worried about dropping the baby.

Nancy only spoke after they were out of sight, "Lewis, have you looked into what I told you earlier?"

Lewis casually sat on the sofa, folding his legs and calmly saying, "No."

"Why not? That geezer has been missing for half a month."

"And how is his disappearance of my concern?" Lewis retorted

Peeved, Nancy replied, "That's your father we're talking about. Besides, what if he'd taken all his money and eloped with another woman?"

Lewis lit a cigarette and said with an indistinguishable expression, "How much money could he have?"

"How am I supposed to know? It's a considerable amount for sure."

With the cigarette between his fingers, Lewis' thoughtful gaze fell elsewhere.

Nancy urged again, "Say something, will you?"

Lewis regained his senses and looked at her without batting an eyelid, taking in her uneasiness. His lips curved suspiciously. "It's better this way, isn't it?"

"What?"

"I mean, if he's gone for good, you'll be the head of the Alvarez family. Why do you even need him?"

Nancy was stunned. His statement seemed tempting. Then, she thought of something else. "But even if I'm the head of the family, I'll still be the laughing stock if everyone else knows he has run away with his mistress."

"How sure are you that's what he did, though? Has it crossed your mind ..." Lewis' eerily tranquil eyes fell on Nancy, whose heart pounded against her chest, as he continued, "That he may be dead?"

He spoke very softly, but Nancy felt goosebumps crawling all over her out of nowhere. Her face paled as she stared at Lewis, horrified. She lowered her voice, "Are you crazy? He's your dad!" Lewis smirked, "Do you think he has ever thought of me as his son?"

Nancy was suddenly at a loss for words. Robert's recent doings had angered her too.

"What a pity."

"What is?"

Lewis leaned back and said nonchalantly, "It's a pity that he'd transferred all his shares to Kiran."

The more Nancy thought about it, the more she felt something was off. She couldn't help but sized her son up several times. After a short while, she asked hesitantly, "You know where he is, don't you?" Lewis lit a cigarette and slowly puffed out smoke rings. Several moments later, he answered, "How would I know? Maybe we should make a police report. It's peculiar for him to go missing for so many days." Nancy's brows furrowed, "Are you sure?"

The subtext of her question hinted at Nancy's concern regarding whether Robert's disappearance was connected to Lewis and if making a police report would bring him trouble. Lewis pretended he didn't read the true meaning behind her question. "What else can we do? He's been missing for so long. We'll only face criticism if we don't take any actions."