What Separates Me and You
Chapter 322 She Didn't Look That Haggard

Josephine had no idea how big the island was. All she knew was that she had to run to the depths of the woods where all the lush greenery was.

It was supposedly noon time, yet the depths of the woods were extremely dark. The aftermath of the storm lingered, with water droplets incessantly dripping from the leaves of branches. The grass was quite damp as well, and more droplets were hanging from the grass blades. Even the ground had transformed into endless puddles of mud.

The young woman kept stumbling her way forward, resulting in her tripping over and falling a few times. Her bathrobe was completely stained by filthy mud at that point. Since she wasn't wearing shoes, her ankles were already sporting a few cuts, while her soles were injured from the sharp edges of stones littering the ground.

"Louie "

Josephine's feeble voice was racked with violent sobs. She wanted nothing more than to scream, but the moment her voice escaped from her throat, all she could hear was a whine which was as weak as a kitten's.

The poor woman fell a couple more times after that. Every time she did, she would climb back onto her feet, disregarding the pain flaring from various parts of her body. Then, she would wipe her tears away while continuing to travel into the depths.

In the end, Josephine had no idea where she was going.

She could only remain where she was while gazing at the tall trees surrounding her. The birds' chirps and the insects' buzzing in the woods were weaved into an invisible net filled with fear and anxiety, ensnaring her senses.

In the distance, Josephine saw a raised platform made of bluestone slabs, so she ran toward it quickly. The platform was the only thing that could offer her the slightest bit of protection in the woods.

Green vines coiled and meandered around the thick tree trunks, their growth appearing untamed and erratic, resulting in a chaotic intertwining of vegetation. Everywhere the young woman looked, all she felt was the primal fear lurking in the darkness.

Josephine curled into a little ball on the platform.

It seemed that she couldn't replace Lewis at all.

To make things worse, she got lost in the process as well.

Meanwhile, Lewis didn't replace Josephine on the yacht by the time he came back.

A deep frown graced his features as he burst into the cabin. It was vacant, as expected. The robe he had draped onto her earlier that day was ditched on the ground.

After the man got off the yacht, he headed in the direction of the woods briskly.

The sun was starting to set. Josephine could vaguely hear the roars from unknown beasts within the woods. A couple of vultures circled the skies above her head while the atmosphere was filled with the crows throaty caws and the sounds of a pair of wings flapping rapidly near rustling leaves. All of those sounds drifted into the poor woman's ears at the same time.

Josephine could only tighten the bathrobe around her body before covering her ears tightly. At the same time, she remained in the same position as a curled-up ball.

The brightness in the woods started dimming as time passed. Josephine could only watch as the outlines of the plants around her began to melt into the darkness.

A rustling sound came from the grass behind the young woman at that moment. It didn't sound like the sound made by the winds. Instead, it sounded like something was crawling through the grass.

Josephine turned around stiffly, vaguely spotting the grass blades starting to move on their own. It seemed that something was heading her way from below.

Weirdly enough, the grass blades were separated by an unknown entity.

Josephine tensed up immediately while watching the weird crack slithering her way.

One second.

Two seconds.

Ten seconds later, the young woman finally witnessed the entity burst forth from the grass.

Josephine's eyes widened immediately at the sight of the unwanted visitor. All color was drained from her complexion as her heart started racing in fear.

It was a snake that was as thick as her wrist. It raised its head in the darkness as though it was camouflaging as a standing branch.

In the midst of the gentle breeze that caressed the woods, both human and snake locked eyes. For a moment, Josephine was very sure that she could hear the snake's hisses.

She swallowed dryly before forcing herself to scramble up to her feet as quickly as she could and hop off the platform. Then, she bolted in a random direction.

The young woman was already lost, so she didn't know where she was heading or where to go.

Louder rustling noises could be heard erupting from behind Josephine. She had no idea if the snake was chasing her or if it was the wind teasing the grass blades.

Fear was the only emotion propelling her to keep bolting forward.

Thorny bushes were everywhere in the patch of the woods Josephine was in. Her unfortunate bathrobe had suffered relentless torment, torn and shredded by numerous thorns. Reduced to nothing more than tattered strips of rag, it hung loosely from her bare body, its former semblance of clothing irreparably destroyed.

It was then Josephine tripped over something and fell down once again.

Her palm landed on a pile of thorny vines, immediately causing a sharp pain to flood her nerves.

That fall was enough to drain her of her energy. The poor woman could only lie on the ground while sobbing quietly.

Suddenly, Josephine remembered that Lewis had decided to abandon her, so now she was left all alone in this world. Hence, she hung her head limply, no longer wishing to fight for her survival.

The young woman continued to lie on the ground. Occasionally, a few field mice would dart past her fingers. Even so, she lacked the resolve and energy to shoo them away.

"Josephine!"

As Lewis' voice faintly echoed through the woods, Josephine's eyes snapped open, and she instinctively raised her head, searching for the source of the sound. "Josephine, where are you?"

Her eyes started to regain their focus, albeit slowly.

Lewis' voice sounded slightly weak, but it was laced with a strong trace of worry.

Tears started rolling down Josephine's cheeks at that moment. She quickly clambered up to her feet and started running in the voice's direction.

Meanwhile, Lewis traveled along the edge of the woods as he shouted Josephine's name over and over again. The woods were shrouded in darkness by now; there was no other way for the man to look for his missing partner other than relying on his voice.

Josephine was a fast runner, so she was able to cover a lot of distance between herself and the voice.

However, Lewis suddenly changed his trajectory to a different direction, resulting in his voice drifting away from her current coordinates.

Panic gripped her heart immediately upon realizing what happened. Josephine quickly swiped at her eyes to get rid of her tears before gritting her teeth and increasing her running speed. She needed to get to Lewis no matter what.

Thankfully, Lewis wasn't walking quickly at that time. Soon, Josephine was able to catch up to him. She opened her mouth anxiously, wanting to call out to him. However, the more anxious she became, the harder it was for her to make even a sound.

"Louie "

Her voice was so soft that a gust of wind could easily drown her out.

However, the young woman could see the figure in front of her by then. She took a deep breath and summoned all of her strength to dash toward him.

Lewis sensed someone approaching him rapidly, causing him to stop in his tracks.

Immediately after that, he whipped around with his arm raised and held the person behind him by the neck before slamming them onto the ground.

"Oof!"

The fall was heavier than usual. Poor Josephine was extremely dizzy and disoriented the moment she made contact with the ground. A loud ringing took over her head for a split second, and the pain was so intense that she almost passed out on the spot.

When Lewis heard the groan of pain coming from the ground, he quickly released his hold on Josephine's neck before dropping to a crouch immediately.

It was too dark for him to look at her properly.

Hence, the man pulled out a lighter and clicked it once to summon a small, flickering flame. Fortunately, it was enough to cast a warm glow on the young woman's haggard-looking face. Well, she didn't look that haggard.

Her hair was all messed up, and her face was very filthy. The dirty bathrobe slid down her shoulders, revealing her thin frame and delicate collarbone. At the same time, Lewis could spot her cleavage as well as a hint of her womanly assets. The thin rope around the young woman's waist could barely keep the bathrobe intact. Right now, Josephine looked like she was parading around in her birthday suit, even while wearing the tattered bathrobe.

Lewis, who looked furious at first, could feel his fury slowly melting away and being replaced by another expression when he noticed Josephine's condition.

The latter had to spend a few minutes recovering from the pain while lying on the ground. Finally, she opened her eyes slowly to gaze at the face of the man she missed with all her heart.

He looked much more dignified compared to her wretched form. Lewis was wearing his black trench coat, which was completely buttoned up. Even though his hair was slightly tousled, the stray locks didn't do anything to affect his stoic and intimidating appearance.

Josephine outright ignored Lewis' expression as she scrambled up to her feet and pounced on him right away, her arms already snaking around his waist in a familiar fashion.

Only then did she start breaking down into violent sobs.

The man paused for a moment before reaching out to pat her back. "Everything's alright now."

Josephine's shoulders continued to shake violently. Warm tears soon wetted the front of Lewis' trench coat.

"You shouldn't run away on your own next time."

The young woman nodded obediently before tightening the hug.

Now that they were trapped in such an unfamiliar and horrifying environment, Lewis was the only one she could rely on. In fact, Josephine relied on him even more in this situation, both emotionally and physically.

Without him, she wouldn't have known where to go.

Ten minutes later, Josephine was finally done crying. She tilted her face upward to gaze at him in an aggrieved manner. "Where did you go?" she gestured.

Lewis raised a hand to brush the hair away from the young woman's face. "I was looking for a water source. I didn't tell you where I was going because you were sleeping very soundly." Josephine just pouted in response. "I thought you didn't want me anymore."