What Separates Me and You

Josephine didn't know how she ended up in bed with a dizzy spell. Her eyelids grew heavier as she looked at the figure on top of her. This game wasn't fun at all.

Lewis was whispering to her, but she couldn't hear him clearly. He sounded distant and indistinct, like he was speaking to her from the heavens.

"Josie. Josie ..."

Josephine heard an ethereal voice. She struggled to keep her eyelids open as she looked toward the sound.

A woman dressed in white was standing amidst white mist, gently smiling as she stooped and spread her arms wide. She called softly, "Josie, come, quick. Come to mummy." Mommy ...

Josephine gazed at the woman's mellow smile and slowly went closer.

The woman seemed to bathe in holy light, and the brilliance around her was dazzling. Dressed in white, she looked like she would disappear with the light at any given moment. Josephine reached out to touch her hand.

"A girl's tears are as precious as pearls, so don't cry. You're such a good girl, Josie."

"Mommy..." Josephine extended her hands but couldn't grasp the woman. So near, yet unreachable, just like the other things in Josephine's dream that she could never hold tight.

A strong urge to cry overwhelmed Josephine, and tears streamed down her face. "Mommy."

Her faint voice reached Lewis' ears.

He tilted his head slightly, taking in her furrowed brows, moist eyelashes, and teardrops dripping from the corner of her eyes. He raised a hand and held her delicate face, wiping her tears with his finger. Josephine cuddled up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Hugging him tightly, she buried her face against his chest. He felt warm moisture on his skin, and it burned him. He heard her mumble in her dreams, "Mommy."

Josephine dreamed for what seemed like an eternity and didn't wake up until a baby's cry aroused her. Gradually, she opened her eyes and saw Baron crawling toward her. Josephine reached out and supported him to prevent him from tumbling off. Baron was crying as he crawled over her, looking for something he was hungry and instinctively looking for food. Although he was small, he knew exactly where he could find it.

Lewis entered to see Baron pulling Josephine's pajama collar with both hands. However, it wasn't exactly her pajamas he was pulling at, but rather Lewis' own shirt draped around her. The shirt drooped and exposed her dainty shoulders and collarbone.

Lewis' face darkened, and he strode toward them in several long strides. Grabbing Baron by the collar, he cast him aside. Baron burst into a volley of hysterical cries.

Josephine was momentarily stunned before she clambered up and glared at Lewis.

"It's time for breakfast. Let him be." Lewis fixed her shirt and buttoned it up.

However, Josephine picked up the baby and was unwilling to let go.

Lewis' face darkened further.

Ignoring him, Josephine went downstairs with Baron in her arms. Mrs. Larson handed her the milk she had prepared. Josephine put Baron into the stroller and fed him the milk while she sat on the sofa. Baron was probably very hungry. He tightly clutched the bottle and eagerly began nursing. His eyes darted around, observing his surroundings, yet his gaze remained fixed on Josephine. It was as if he was afraid she would disappear suddenly.

Lewis tugged Josephine several times, who stubbornly refused to have her breakfast at the dining table. Her attention was solely on Baron.

Eventually, Lewis could only bring the bowl to her. "Open up."

Josephine looked back at him and the bowl. Then, she opened her mouth and ate the cereal Lewis fed her.

In the end, Lewis had to feed Josephine her breakfast while Josephine fed Baron his milk.

After breakfast, Lewis wanted to take her to the office, but she insisted on bringing the baby. At that moment, Lewis realized he had made the wrong call. His plan to divert Josephine's attention was overly successful she stopped requesting to return to Quintin, but her focus was all on the child instead.

Lewis eventually allowed her to bring Baron with them. He called Seth to his office once he had arrived. Before Seth could speak, he heard a baby's babble and reflexively turned to look. Indeed, Josephine was playing with one in the sitting room. She bent over with her tongue sticking out as she made a funny face, eliciting a squeal of giggles from Baron.

Seth's eyelid twitched as he looked at Lewis. "Chairman Alvarez, what's the meaning of this?"

Lewis asked, "Aren't you going to take care of your son?"

Seth answered thoughtfully, "I'm busy. Even if I'm going to, I can't bring him to the office, can I?"

Lewis flipped through a document emotionlessly. "You can take him back with you."

Seth sighed and went to the sitting room. He stared at the baby in the stroller for several moments with a peculiar expression.

Josephine was alert. She glanced at him and pushed the stroller out as though he was snatching Baron away from her.

She went to the sofa outside and continued playing with Baron.

Seth subtly raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding something. Smiling, he approached Lewis and leaned forward with both hands on the table. "Chairman Alvarez, are you planning on adopting the child?"

Lewis paused and glanced at him. "I'll have one on my own."

"Oh? With Miss Woods?"

"Seth, I can find him a home if you don't want him anymore."

Seth chuckled. "Thanks in advance for your help, Chairman Alvarez."

"I really doubt that he's your biological son."

"Whose could he be if not mine? Yours?"

Lewis chuckled too. "Don't worry. The DNA test results are coming out soon. Then, we'll know whose son he is."

Seth's smile froze momentarily before returning to normal. "I don't understand why you're so determined to know whose son he is."

"Someone even forged an identity to lurk within the Alvarez family, so it's natural for me to wonder if he would lie about the baby." Sparks started to fly.

Seth stared at Lewis for a long time before slowly saying, "That someone might take something away with him if he resumed his original identity, such as his family. I believe you'd do that too if you were in his shoes, right?"

Lewis said, "Sure. But only if I'm capable of doing so."

Josephine heard them mumbling and looked at them, baffled. They both had weird smiles-insincere ones.

Just as the tension between them intensified, Lewis received Nancy's call. "Lewis, your dad seemed to be truly missing."

"Why would you say so?"

Nancy spoke urgently, "The police called and said your father didn't leave Elysium-he went missing here."

"Oh yeah? Are there any clues?"

"Temporarily, no. But we found the place Robert last appeared. Guess where?"

Lewis didn't answer, waiting for her answer.

Nancy said, "It's the mansion where he lived with his ex-wife before he divorced."