What Separates Me and You
Chapter 52

Chapter 52 Inexplicable Anxiety

Josephine pursed her lips before turning around to leave.

She arrived at the bathroom, where Seth happened to be washing his hands at the sink.

When the latter noticed her, he drew two pieces of tissue paper from the box and started wiping his hands. "Come on in. I'm done with my business.

Josephine squeezed out a small smile at him before nodding and entering the bathroom.

"The floor's a little slippery, so you should be care- Before Seth could finish his words, Josephine was already tilting dangerously backward.

Fright and panic were evident on her face as she fumbled around in an attempt to grab something. In a state of desperation, she clasped Seth's arm tightly.

Seth's quick instincts kicked in as he reached out to catch Josephine as well. He circled an arm. tightly around her waist, prompting her to collapse into his arms in an intimate and ambiguous

manner.

Josephine raised her head and looked into Seth's eyes, her arm still maintaining a vice-like grip

on him.

The latter was seemingly stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he could feel his arm, which was

wrapped around Josephine's waist, starting to burn.

Daphne was right-Josephine did have a pair of alluring eyes. Her clear and innocent eyes seemed

to be filled with endless affection.

Those eyes weren't seductive at all. On the contrary, gazing into those eyes made people develop an urge to destroy the innocence the owner of the eyes was blessed with.

It was the same urge that most people had whenever they saw adorable baby animals. They had the uncontrollable desire to squeeze and do whatever they pleased with those babies. In a way, seeing adorable lifeforms could invoke violent tendencies in someone.

It was then that a small sliver appeared on Seth's intricate mask of perfection.

At the same time, two housekeepers happened to walk past the bathroom. The sight of Josephine. and Seth trapped in such intimate positions made them gasp in shock.

When they regained their composure, the housekeepers quickly scurried away.

Seth released Josephine immediately, the slightest hint of awkwardness now present on his face.

"Are you alright?"

Josephine took a step backward as well in order to increase the distance between her and Seth.

Then, she shook her head in response. "No. Thank you."

Seth nodded slightly before turning on his heel and walking out of the bathroom. -

The moment he heard the door being closed behind him, he paused in his tracks and turned. around to look at the closed door.

At the same time, his smile gradually became fainter.

Chapter for spá, ale Anxiety

He never expected that Josephine wasn't scared of him anymore.

In a way, it was an interesting development.

Alvarez Manor might be a huge mansion, but word traveled fast, especially if it was gossip The scene where Seth and Josephine were embracing each other in the bathroom quickly spread among the family staff.

"I told you, didn't I? Master Seth tends to gaze at that mute differently! I knew they were secretly

hooking up!"

"You're right. He had never looked at Miss Daphne that way before. Goodness, you should've seen

how affectionate he looked."

"I know, right? Then again, Madam can't speak because of her disability. Even if she and Master Seth were secretly together, she wouldn't dare to bring it up in front of everyone."

"She's a pitiful woman. I did witness Master Lewis laying a hand on her last time."

The housekeepers gossiped among themselves without realizing Daphne's presence looming over

them from behind.

One of the observant housekeepers finally noticed Daphne, prompting her to stand up straight out

of fright. She stammered out, "M-miss Daphne!"

Daphne stared coldly at the housekeepers. "What are you all talking about?"

<"N-nothing!"

L

"Nothing? Go on. I'm not done listening to your conversation yet." Daphne's arms were folded in front of her chest while she leaned against the doorframe with a vague smile curving her lips. The poor housekeepers' faces were drained of all color. They swapped glances fearfully, but they didn't dare to speak up.

"W-we were just saying nonse-"

H

Before one of the housekeepers could finish talking, Daphne's expression crumbled into one of

rage. "Nonsense, you say? How dare you run your mouth when it comes to the Alvarez family! You

must be itching to quit your job here, yes?"

A cold smile was etched across her face as she scanned the housekeepers' frightened expressions. Suddenly, her voice boomed once again. "Now, speak. I want you to tell me everything you saw in full detail."

One of the housekeepers swallowed nervously before spilling the beans obediently.

Daphne's expression morphed into one of fury.

It wasn't as if she didn't trust Seth-they had been married for over two years, yet she had never seen through his character. There was always a smiling mask fixed on his face. He might seem close to her, but in reality, there was a huge rift keeping them apart.

That rift was invisible and untraceable, but it truly existed between Daphne and Seth. She could never get close to her husband, no matter what..

Every time Seth and Josephine were in the same room together, Daphne's senses would start

Chapter 5) inexplicable Anxiety

prickling right away, making her feel an inexplicable sense of panic and fear.

Daphne kept thinking that the emotions stemmed from the fact that Josephine had tricked Lewis once in the past by pretending to be pitiful. That was why she became a little paranoid when Josephine was involved.

However, now that the housekeepers noticed Seth and Josephine together, they were able to provide Daphne with substantial evidence. Hence, she was unable to come up with any reason to soothe the lingering anxiety.

Daphne quickly warned the housekeepers after that. "All of you must bring this secret to your graves! If I ever catch any of you talking about this matter in the future, don't blame me for what's going to happen next!"

After leaving that threat hanging in the air, she turned on her heel and left immediately.

Soon, Daphne returned to the living room, where Seth was conversing with others in a nonchalant manner. He didn't even stop to spare her a glance.

Daphne walked up to the man before taking a seat next to him. Just as she was about to say

something to him, Lewis could be seen entering the manor from the outside.

The moment he appeared, the atmosphere in the manor became slightly off. Everyone's

conversations gradually became hushed.

"You're back, Lewis. Come here," Nancy said enthusiastically. She tended to show genuine joy whenever she saw Lewis in person.

The latter hummed lightly as he scanned his surroundings. "Where's Josephine?"

Nancy's smile froze on her face. Lewis was her son, yet the first thing he did was ask about Josephine after stepping into the manor. She could feel flames of rage sprouting from within.

Seth answered, "I think she's busying herself in the kitchen at this time."

A cold smirk curled on Lewis' lips in response. "What, don't you have any housekeepers in this place?"

Nancy started to feel dissatisfied. She shot a warning look in Seth's direction while suspecting that he was there to stir up trouble.

"Lewis, Josephine's helping out in the kitchen, not getting enlisted in a war. Why are you so nervous when it comes to her? Those who don't know us well might think that we're bullying your

wife."

Lewis turned to look at Nancy before replying coolly, "There are so many people here, yet none of them went to help out in the kitchen. Are you saying that we won't be able to have dinner without Josephine's help?"

He was starting to sound demanding. What surprised Nancy the most was the fact that he decided to humiliate her just to defend Josephine in front of everyone.

"What are you talking about, Lewis? Are you saying that I'm making things difficult for her on purpose?"

"That's not what I said. I just feel that if you don't like sitting with her at the same table, you might as well not invite her here in the first place, seeing as it's just an unnecessary move on your

part."

"How dare you-"

Enraged, Nancy was about to retort when Robert's deep voice boomed across the living room. That's enough! I summoned all of you home for dinner, not for a fight! If that's what you want, get out of here and continue squabbling like children! Every time a reunion happens, there's always a fight breaking out! This is preposterous!"

The moment Robert took his stand, everyone quieted down. Nancy could only grit her teeth angrily while cursing her husband on the inside.

Just as Josephine walked out while balancing plates of dishes, she suddenly heard Lewis calling

out to her.

She paused in her tracks before turning to look at him. After placing the dishes on the dining table in the dining room, she finally approached him.

Lewis grabbed her hand while poring into her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me to come here with

you?"

Josephine responded by bowing her head and looking at her feet without giving him a proper

answer.

Whenever she needed him, he wasn't there for her. That was why she felt that it was useless to

seek him out nowadays.

"That's enough. Let's have dinner first," Robert announced.

Everyone else got up and headed toward the dining room. Before Josephine could take a couple of steps forward, Caleb suddenly rushed out of nowhere with a toy gun in his hands.

"Bang! I'm going to kill you, you stupid mute!"

The boy thought that he looked righteous at that time, but in reality, his expression was already contorted into one filled with malice. He pointed the gun at Josephine and pulled the trigger. As a result, a rubber bullet was shot out of the gun and ended up barreling accurately into the corner of

her eye.

A burst of pain abruptly flooded the affected spot. Josephine saw black as she covered her injured eye and slowly bent down.