Chapter 416 Leaving Traces
Lewis' gaze fell on her misty eyes. His lips moved, but no sound came from it.
Sierra's tears fell uncontrollably. She struggled as she reached out to hold his hand. "Lewis, I don't care if it's a lie. I'm scared I can't hold out much longer. I feel so miserable, lying here always."
Lewis' brows knitted, and frustration edged in on his face. He abruptly stood. "Stop letting your mind run wild. Rest well. I'll visit you some other day."
Sierra's arm froze midair and slowly dropped.
She watched as Lewis left, and tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes.
When Lewis left the ward, the doctor stepped forward, saying, "Mr. Alvarez, Ms. Woods' condition isn't looking good."
"Why do you say so?"
The doctor sighed. "We called for resuscitation twice. She had extensive blood loss, pulmonary edema, and multiple fractures all over. She needs analgesic injections every day, and excessive drug use brings about side effects."
Lewis replied, "Give her the best medicine available and heal her."
"We'll try our best ..."
Lewis paused, but he eventually left and returned to Josephine's ward.
Josephine was asleep again.
He frowned and asked Mrs. Larson, "Didn't she sleep last night?"
"She did. Perhaps she's too bored and can only sleep."
Lewis approached her bed and placed his finger on her shoulder, gently stirring her awake. "Josephine."
He had to call out to her several times before Josephine slowly opened her eyes. When she saw it was him, she rubbed her eyes. "When can I go home?" Lewis froze. "Let's go out for a while."
Josephine was slightly reluctant to move about. She felt tired and wanted nothing else but to sleep.
However, she forced herself to get out of bed, get dressed, and follow Lewis out of the hospital.
It was freezing outside. Josephine shrank back though she was wearing a wool jacket. She shrank further when the wind blew.
Lewis noticed that and wrapped his coat around her, pulling her into an embrace as they headed for the parking lot. "It's not far. We'll be there soon." Josephine nodded and shrank between his arms, which shielded her from the wind.
Josephine was still sleepy when they were in the car. She leaned against the window, and her eyelids slowly drooped to a close as the car slowly moved.
Lewis kept glancing at the passenger seat as he drove. Josephine's fluffy collar hid the bottom half of her face as she slept peacefully. Lewis slowed down and stopped by the roadside, watching her with an everchanging expression.
His phone rang. Lewis withdrew his gaze and pulled out his phone. It was from Quintin. He answered it and heard Quintin's impatient voice. "Are you coming? I've been waiting for two hours. I'll leave if you're not coming."
"Wait there!"
Quintin was displeased to hear his commanding tone. He huffed, "Why should I do as you say? I'll give you another half an hour before I leave." With that, he grumpily hung up.
Lewis pocketed his phone and started the car again. He woke Josephine up when they reached the City Hall. Rubbing her eyes, Josephine looked around, disorientated. "Where are we?"
"Let's go out." Lewis dismissed her question and alighted from the car.
Josephine pursed her lips and followed suit.
Quintin saw that she was weary and looked at Lewis suspiciously. "What's wrong with her? Didn't she have enough sleep?"
Lewis shot him a glance. "What has that got to do with you? Get in there and get the divorce over with!"
Quintin scoffed, not wanting to argue. He and Josephine were getting divorced anyway. There was no reason for him to be concerned about Josephine.
Damian sent someone to watch over Quintin in case he broke his promise. Therefore, there were four of them when they came to the counter. The staff couldn't help stealing glimpses at them as though they had never seen such a merry crowd coming to get a divorce.
After approximately ten minutes, Quintin had two brand new divorce certificates in his possession. Quintin studied the certificates. It was almost similar to their marriage certificate; the only difference was the word "divorce." He couldn't help exclaiming how short his and Josephine's marriage lasted—it ended after merely two months.
However, nothing seemed different. He and Josephine had never lived together after their marriage. Their marriage was only for show, like two children playing house.
Josephine leaned into Lewis' embrace, looking befuddled. She had no inkling of what the certificates meant. Quintin was the only one feeling sorry about it.
A slender hand snatched Quintin's divorce certificate from him while he was still feeling melancholy. He was stunned. Then, he looked at Lewis and asked, "What was that about?" Lewis flipped the divorce certificate over and tore it in half. Subsequently, he threw it into the trash can. "You don't have to keep what doesn't belong to you."
Quintin was rendered speechless. Then, he retorted, "You're wrong. We may have divorced, and you may have torn the divorce certificate, but the system will always keep records of Josephine and my marriage. Everything that has existed will leave behind traces." Quintin looked at Lewis smugly. It was evidence that he and Josephine were once in a relationship, and Lewis couldn't do anything about it. Lewis stared at him for several seconds before leading Josephine away.
Quintin's eyes followed them until they were out of sight. His expression slowly disappeared, leaving in its place a look of forlorn. He went to the trash can and picked up the torn divorce certificate. He stared at it for a long while before pocketing it as he left the City Hall.
In actuality, Lewis' threats aside, he agreed to the divorce mainly for Josephine. She had forgotten everything. If he continued competing with Lewis over her, she would be the one hurting the most. The last time her memory regressed until the year when she was five was because she was staying with him. He dared not risk it anymore.
Lewis sent Josephine back to the hospital. She slept again on the way back. She had been sleeping most of the day away. Anyone could have realized something was off, hence James' forced appearance at the hospital.
James read through Josephine's report and stroked his mustache. "By the looks of things, her illness hasn't gone away. In fact, it's getting more severe."
Lewis frowned. "What does that mean?"
James explained, "I mean, her Alzheimer's disease persists despite her having recalled her memories from before she was five years old. The recovery of her memory is likely due to the disease triggering her body's subconscious defense mechanism, hence the outcome. Memory loss and the degeneration of memory are two different illnesses. Therefore, she might look normal now, but it's only temporary. It's also known as having flashbacks."
Lewis stared at the professor for a long while, deep in contemplation. Then, he asked, "Can it be cured?"