What Separates Me and You

Chapter 141 A Balancing Act

Josephine looked up with tears in her eyes, Seth’s mocking laughter echoing in her ears.

“You can’t still be waiting for him to swoop in and rescue you, can you?”

She flinched.

Seth crouched in front of her, shattering her fantasies mercilessly. “Do you understand why things have come to this point now?”

Josephine inhaled sharply, her eyes fixed on his face.

“Do you really not know? The last time you disappeared for three days…Do you think he didn’t

find you then?”

He leaned closer, his voice soft as he said, “No, he knew where you’d been all along. He just didn’t choose to save you. He had been trying to set a trap for me.”

Seth continued, laughing and playing with her hair. “Oh, you poor, poor mute. He’s the one who caused all this. You’re here now because of him.”

Tears fell from her cheeks like broken beads, trickling down her chin and dripping into her plate.

“Guess what he’s doing right now?”

He paused, seemingly deep in thought. “Maybe he’s busy preparing for the shareholders’ meeting in two days. Maybe he’s scheming to eliminate his father from the game at long last. Or maybe, he’s busy getting rid of his sister-as for you; you’ll probably have to wait a long, long time for your turn to come.”

Josephine held her plate in a death grip, her chest heaving.

“Provided, if he still wants to have anything to do with you, he has to go through me and deal. with

my terms. But of course, he knows, deep down, that he could never afford to give me what I want.”

“So,” Seth assumed an inferring air as he spoke, “he might as well ignore you altogether, and in doing so, he is directly refusing the opportunity to negotiate with me.”

“But then,” he continued, “I suppose it’s understandable. What is the use of women in the face of profits and income? He might like you, but he would never sacrifice everything he has now for you, would he?”

She knew she shouldn’t believe his words, yet, they still found a way into her subconscious regardless-eating away at her. The pain was like millions of needles piercing her heart.

Josephine lowered her head and wolfed down her dinner. The food was bland, but she continued shoveling them into her mouth.

Seth crouched beside her as she ate, watching her polish the plate clean.

Moments later, Josephine sniffled and placed her plate back onto the ground. She raised her head, and her eyes were red as she looked at him.

The sky outside darkened. In the dimly lit room, Seth caressed her cheeks tenderly, wiping away the residual tears at the corners of her eyes with a gentle hand.

Suddenly, Josephine remembered how Lewis used to do the same thing to her. She couldn’t help but fall for him a bit more every time.

Now that she compared it with what Seth was doing to her, she realized how cheap and self- righteous Lewis’ actions had been.

how deeply they despised someone, they could always still bring themselves to touch them with care and

was one of

It was

a choice between reaping profits and everything else, the outcome of their decision was the only accurate representation of their true

little while later, Seth stood up and ordered, “Clean this up.”

room without sparing her another glance,

tears with her sleeve before standing up and clearing

at the burning light

was reading a stack of documents as he spoke without

entered the study. “President Alvarez, all the shareholders

“Alright.”

his mouth, debating if he should speak

for him to speak before raising his head.

to continue

stilled, and he fell

again. “Have you

we continue searching like this with limited information regarding

fixed his gaze on

can leave now.”

“But, Seth-”

coldness so terrifying that Conrad was immediately

shut his mouth and retreated out of the

he’d almost figured out why the president had been so calm throughout the series of calamities that struck them. In a situation like this, he could accomplish nothing by losing his head

whereabouts, he would have inevitably delayed everything else he

be even if he’d

he to trade shares for her safety under Seth’s

wall until he was forced to kill Josephine and

point, the president would get nothing by then

did.

respect he felt for the president. His ability to weigh

admirable.

success and would never be

the key to making the best choices-it was nothing but a balancing act.

Night fell.

a dark men’s jacket made from wool. The jacket

in the building beside where she

that encircled her ankles but metal chains anchored to the legs

was just enough for her to move around

from the crackling of flames within the brazier, the only sound that could be

hue of the fire’s glow illuminated his face as

numb after squatting on the ground for an extended period. Noiselessly, she

glanced at her but said nothing

in her eyes. Her long

ground beneath his feet was reminiscent of a