What Separates Me and You

Lewis' gaze slightly darkened, but his expression remained unchanged. He looked at the person in the mirror and asked, "Who is Alex?" Josephine struggled free from his embrace. She then turned to look at Lewis and replied, "Alex is Alex. Who else could it be?"

"What's his full name?"

"Don't you know?"

A faint smile played on his lips as he said, "No, tell me, please."

His smile carried a dangerous undertone, but unfortunately, Josephine didn't sense it.

She said, "You'll know when we get back."

Then, she continued admiring her reflection in the mirror and curiously observed herself repeatedly. She even forgot about using the bathroom.

Lewis looked at Josephine's joyful expression through the mirror, and his eyes grew colder.

After observing herself, Josephine down at her own hand and compared her height with Lewis'.

Why was she up only to his shoulder?

Josephine wasn't satisfied with her height.

Lewis grabbed her hands and stopped her from touching him all over. "Weren't you going to the bathroom?"

Only then did Josephine remember her original purpose. She exclaimed in surprise and quickly pushed Lewis out. "Get out! Hurry!"

Lewis walked out of the bathroom and glanced at the closed door. The smile on his lips instantly disappeared.

He retrieved his phone and called Conrad.

He instructed Conrad to investigate this Alex guy.

Conrad felt puzzled. He wondered who this Alex was and how he could find information about him.

Nevertheless, since Lewis had given the order, he had no choice but to comply.

After using the bathroom, Josephine washed her hands before stepping out to find Lewis still there.

Standing by the window, Lewis fixed his gaze on the outside world. The sky had turned dark, with only a few streetlights casting a dim, yellowish glow as it drizzled.

She trotted over to him and grabbed Lewis' arm.

"Since I'm all grown up now, Alex must have grown up too, right?"

Lewis' temple twitched at the mention of Alex.

He shifted his gaze and looked at Josephine. "Of course."

Josephine was curious about what Alex would look like now that he had grown up. Since she looked different, Alex must have looked different too. She wondered if she would still recognize him. Josephine got lost in her thoughts. She hadn't fully comprehended what growing up really meant.

To her, growing up simply meant becoming bigger and taller.

Josephine hugged his arm and said coquettishly, "When will you take me home? I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Why do you want to go home? To see Alex?"

Josephine flashed him a bright smile. Her sparkling eyes turned into little crescent moons. "How do you know that?"

Lewis removed her hand from his arm and lowered his gaze to meet her eyes. "Of course I do. I'm interested in meeting this Alex person you keep mentioning."

"But your body has yet to recover. I'll bring you home after you get discharged."

Josephine's face fell. She felt somewhat upset. "Fine."

Recalling how she was coughing up blood in the afternoon, she decided not to be stubborn anymore. Otherwise, her parents would be heartbroken.

Every time she fell ill, her mother would get worried and cry. Hence, she didn't want her mother to find out she was sick this time.

Lewis didn't stay with her for too long. He left the hospital after half an hour.

Josephine was all alone in the ward now.

Josephine asked Mrs. Larson for a mirror, but Mrs. Larson didn't have one. Hence, she headed out to buy one for her.

After Mrs. Larson left, Josephine picked up her phone again and used the screen to look at herself. As she observed herself, she gradually became familiar with her look. However, she still felt slightly awkward. Tilting her head, she looked left and right and made all sorts of expressions. It felt as if she had just acquired a new body. It was fascinating yet weird.

When Seth arrived, he saw Josephine making funny faces at herself.

Pausing, he remained silent for a moment before entering the room.

Josephine looked up and cast him a glance, then continued making faces. Suddenly thinking of something, she murmured, "Will Alex recognize me?" Seth's expression changed when he heard Josephine's words. "What did you say?"

"I'm talking about Alex. Don't you know him too?" Josephine looked at him strangely.

Seth stared straight at Josephine with his dark eyes. He didn't utter a single word.

Both of them stayed like that for a while. The room fell silent. Josephine didn't want to talk to him anymore. She lowered her head to focus on herself.

Seth took a seat beside Josephine, his eyes fixed on her with an inscrutable expression.

Moments later, Seth finally spoke, "You really want to see him?"

Josephine nodded. "Yes. I'm an adult now. I can marry him."

A silly smile appeared on Josephine's face as that thought crossed her mind.

"Do you know what it means to get married?"

Josephine put down her phone and pondered solemnly. Then, she said, "I know. It means becoming a family like Mom and Dad. It means staying together forever." Seth's gaze flickered, and he fell silent again.

Holding her face, Josephine smiled as she looked at Seth. "Do you think Alex will like how I look now?"

"I don't know. You can ask him yourself."

Josephine seemed somewhat upset. "But why didn't he visit me?"

"Mom and Dad didn't come either."

Josephine's questions were always unanswerable. Seth didn't know how to answer her, so he could only stay silent. However, his silence upset Josephine.

After a while, Mrs. Larson returned with a mirror. Josephine loved the mirror as she could see herself more clearly now.

Mrs. Larson reminded her that it was getting late and she should sleep, but Josephine hid under the covers and kept playing with the mirror.

Seth also left.

Josephine kept playing with the mirror until she got tired. Eventually, she fell asleep while hugging the mirror.

In the middle of the night, she began to cough again, waking herself up from her slumber.

Curling up into a ball, she held her stomach. Upon fully waking up, she covered her mouth with both hands.

Outside the blanket, Mrs. Larson patted her shoulder and asked, "Mrs. Alvarez, are you alright?"

Josephine was curled up under the blanket, and Mrs. Larson couldn't pull it off. She didn't know what was happening, but she could hear Josephine coughing incessantly. Josephine coughed for a full minute before she could finally catch her breath.

She opened her palm and saw the scattered spots of blood again.

Feeling frightened, she hid under the blanket and clenched her fist, trembling.

Seeing her condition, Mrs. Larson hurriedly went to call the doctor.

While Mrs. Larson was away, Josephine quickly used a tissue to wipe her hand clean and disposed of the tissue in the trash can. She wanted to cover up all the evidence.

She suddenly wondered if her parents didn't come to visit her because of this illness.

Why else wouldn't they come to see her or allow her to be discharged?

Lost in her thoughts, Josephine was interrupted as the doctor entered the room.

Standing aside, Mrs. Larson explained, "She suddenly coughed violently just now. Is there something wrong?"

The doctor examined Josephine and turned to Mrs. Larson. "It's a lung issue. She inhaled too much thick smoke before, leading to damage to her lung function and a minor infection. Her recovery will be a demanding process that requires patience and can't be rushed."

"Is the coughing normal then?"

"Coughing is a way for the body to eliminate toxins. Increased blood flow to the heart at night can easily trigger coughing."

Mrs. Larson heaved a sigh of relief and asked, "So it's normal, and we don't need to worry, right?"