What Separates Me and You
Chapter 454 And You Believe Him

Josephine bit her lips. Amid their confrontation, she stood up in a fit of pique. She unzipped her clothes and started changing in his presence. Lewis was shameless through it all and didn't even blink once. Eventually, his gaze was too much for Josephine, and she turned around as she put on her pajamas.

He hugged her just as she turned. In his deep voice, he said next to her ear, "Josie, be good when you're at home."

Josephine paused.

Lewis pecked her cheek and continued in a sappy tone, "Take your meals regularly."

Josephine's fingers curled as she watched the sunset through the window. Suddenly, she broke free from his arms. "I'm going to bed."

Lewis stared at her and was silent for several seconds. Then, he said, "Alright. Have some rest."

The bedroom door closed. Josephine looked back and saw he was gone.

Sitting on the bed, Josephine fiddled with her phone and realized her conversation history was still there. Reading through the texts brought her back in time.

Her face changed when she clicked into her photo gallery. She couldn't even bring herself to open the video she saw. She deleted it with her eyes shut.

Then, she thrust her phone aside and lay beneath the blanket. She wasn't feeling sleepy anymore.

Something flashed across her mind, and she picked up her phone again. She opened her Whatsapp and found her conversation with Seth. She paused before typing, "You there?"

There was no reply.

Josephine waited for another half an hour. Her eyelids started to droop. Although it wasn't entirely dark outside, she couldn't stay awake and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Lewis went out in the afternoon and had never returned since.

At night, Mrs. Larson came to wake Josephine up to have her dinner. She shouted Josephine's name, but Josephine didn't stir.

Mrs. Larson then phoned Dr. Halliday. She was worried because Josephine hadn't eaten anything the entire day and thought she ought to get Dr. Halliday to check on her.

Soon, Dr. Halliday arrived and skillfully set up the IV drip for Josephine.

When he left the room, Mrs. Larson pulled him closer and asked, "Is she alright?"

Dr. Halliday sighed. "How am I supposed to know? She has always been in this state, hasn't she?"

Mrs. Larson thought he had a point. "You know, the concoction you prescribed is too nasty. Madam can't even take a sip. She would vomit everything whenever we gave it to her, and it would go to waste. I'm worried she'll hurt her stomach instead."

Dr. Halliday replied, "I inherited that prescription from my grandfather. It's nasty, but it works wonders. Try talking to Mr. Alvarez. Get him to figure out a way. If Madam drinks it continuously for three months, I guarantee her condition will improve drastically, if not recover totally."

Mrs. Larson huffed, "That will only happen if it stays in her!"

She tried the concoction once, and the taste almost sent her eyes rolling back.

Their mutterings awakened Josephine.

She propped herself up in bed and glanced at her phone. It was 12:00 am. A notification from Whatsapp stared right back at her, and she snapped out of her drowsiness.

It was from Seth and contained only one word, "Yes."

Josephine immediately sent him a voice call request.

Several seconds later, the call went through, and Josephine anxiously called, "Alex."

The other end was silent momentarily before she heard Seth's voice, tinged with a smile. "Anything?"

"Have you been busy recently?" Josephine had wanted to ask him about taking her with him, but she decided not to involve Seth in her affairs after observing Lewis' attitude these days.

Seth said, "Not really. You'll still have to wait."

Upon hearing that, Josephine hurriedly explained, "That's not what I'm concerned about."

"Then what is it? You can't be calling me just to have a chit-chat."

Josephine fell silent. She also wanted to ask about her brothers.

"Why are you not speaking?"

Josephine finally couldn't hold back her questions. "Lewis told me two of my brothers survived. Do you know about this?"

Her thirst for an answer was too intense.

Seth chuckled. "And you believed him?"

"I"

"That's enough. Stop letting your thoughts run wild. I'll keep my promise. I won't forget Uncle Steward and will take you both with me."

His tone was as gentle as usual, but Josephine could sense a difference-the gentleness he now showed was genuine.

She was reassured after listening to his words. He was right. She shouldn't believe Lewis anymore. Even if her brothers were still alive, they would be mere bargaining chips he would use against her.

Besides, Lewis said he had clues. He hadn't actually found them. She could look into that after she left Lewis.

At that thought, Josephine cleared her mind and hung up. Then, she extracted the needle and got out of bed. She was starving as she didn't eat the entire day. However, anticipation filled her heart, and her mood lifted.

The only thing that mattered now was she shouldn't be Seth's burden when he finally came to get her. And she could only achieve that if she nursed her health well.

If she were still to gasp and pant every few steps, stepping out of this mansion would pose a problem, let alone fleeing Elysium.

Mrs. Larson saw her descending the stairs and immediately greeted her, "You're awake, madam."

Josephine nodded. "Don't call me 'madam.""

Mrs. Larson laughed dryly and changed the topic. "Are you hungry? I'll reheat your dinner if you are."

"Sure. Thank you."

A smile bloomed on Mrs. Larson's face when Josephine agreed to eat her dinner. She entered the kitchen and brought out the dishes. And, of course, the nasty herbal concoction.

Josephine had her dinner in the dining hall. Everything tasted like heaven when she was starving, even though the foul-smelling concoction stared at her as she ate.

Mrs. Larson stood by her side, watching her eat with a concerned look. She just so happened to see Lewis walking in when she looked up. She was about to greet him when he stopped her.

Mrs. Larson kept quiet and left the dining hall upon Lewis' signal. She took his coat and left them alone.

Lewis came to the dining hall and saw Josephine sitting with her back to him at the dining table. She was munching on a chicken drumstick.

She was in the pajama she wore in the morning. It was white with a hint of pink and had a furry hood at the back. The hood had a pair of floppy rabbit ears on it.

Josephine held the chicken drumstick with her bare hand and was savoring its taste. She didn't notice he was approaching her.

She bit off the last piece of flesh and put the bone on a plate. Then, she picked up the last drumstick.

Lewis leaned against the door and watched her eat in silence.

Josephine burped after finishing the last drumstick. She used the napkin to wipe her hands and shifted her gaze to the concoction beside her. After some hesitation, she reached out and picked up the bowl. She inhaled deeply twice before she had the courage to put it near her mouth. Holding her breath, she tilted the bowl and poured the liquid into her mouth.

She had only one last mouthful left when she tossed the bowl onto the table and covered her mouth with both hands. Clenching her jaws, she tried to stop herself from throwing up.

Nevertheless, her stomach churned. Swallowing regurgitated food was more insufferable than spitting it all out.

Some liquid seeped out from between her fingers and dripped on the floor. She shut her eyes tight as cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Without a word, she endured the agony.