Chapter 143 She’s Nothing To Him
Josephine’s gaze flickered as she turned to look at the door. The door was shut tight, with no sign of anyone coming in or leaving recently.
A look of bewilderment crossed her face. She wondered if she was still somehow in her dreams.
She even wondered if she had been hallucinating.
She stood up from the ground. After sitting on the cold, hard floor for too long, her legs were utterly numb. They buckled underneath her, and she fell back onto the couch immediately.
Josephine rubbed her calves. The tingling numbness in them was so unpleasant that she winced painfully.
Subsequently, as she moved the muscles in her cheek, the tightness on her face became more apparent. She was almost certain now that she hadn’t been dreaming or hallucinating.
Someone had indeed applied medication on her cheeks.
Could it be that there was someone else in here with her?
Before she could figure it out, the door was pushed open, and Seth walked into the room.
This time, he wore an off-white suit, which accentuated his tall and slender figure. His long, graceful legs were especially notable, almost on par with Lewis’ appearance.
Seth walked over to her side and looked down at her.
Josephine’s fingers tightened over the couch as she watched him anxiously.
After a while, he crouched beside her and unlocked the metal chains encircling her ankles.
“Go and cook.”
Josephine was stunned for a moment before slowly standing up, dragging her sore feet behind her as she walked outside.
The weather had cleared overnight, but the sky remained cloudy. Dark clouds loomed over the mountaintops, creating an ominous atmosphere, as though threatening to crash down and meld with the ground below, blurring the boundary between heaven and earth.
Josephine went to the kitchen to get a basket before picking vegetables from the backyard. As she was worried about it raining later, she gathered enough to last a whole day.
Then, with a large basket brimming with vegetables in her arms, she stumbled her way back to the main building. The soles of her shoes were caked with a thick layer of dirt. The ground was slick, so she ended up falling over a couple of times,
When she reached the side of the courtyard, she squatted down and scraped off the mud on her shoes with a branch.
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Seth stood by the door all this while, watching the figure squatting by the yard. The wool jacket she had on was overly long, with its trailing her sweeping along the ground as she
walked.
After cleaning the dirt off her shoes, Josephine took her basket of vegetables to the kitchen and started bustling around her usual meal preparation routine.
It included fetching water from the well, cleaning and cutting the vegetables, and heating the stove before cooking all the raw ingredients.
As she washed the vegetables, she saw Seth standing by the door from the corner of her His eyes had a distant look, as if he was anticipating the arrival of someone.
eye.
Noticing her gaze, Seth tilted his head in her direction. Immediately, Josephine withdrew her gaze and concentrated on washing the vegetables.
Afterward, she entered the kitchen.
She had just finished preparing their meal when she heard the sound of a car’s horn blaring from the outside. Her hands stilled, along with the motion of the pan she held.
Josephine hastily set down the plate she had been holding and hurried to the door. She clung to the door frame, discreetly peering outside.
As soon as she saw the black Maybach enter the courtyard, her grip tightened, and her breath stopped for a moment.
The car parked in the middle of the yard steadily. The door opened, and Lewis walked out of
the vehicle.
He was clad in a dark outfit-a stark contrast to the light suit Seth wore. The light and the dark resided on opposing sides, divided by the vast expanse of the courtyard, like two distinct. entities from separate universes.
“Where is she?” Lewis spoke first.
Seth looked at him, a smile on his face. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. I really thought you could hold your ground.”
Lewis ignored the nonsense he was spewing. Instead, his gaze swept over the homestead and focused on the kitchen, meeting Josephine’s eyes directly.
Josephine pursed her lips. He’d found her so easily, after all. Everything Seth had said was true.
Lewis had known where she was all along. He was just prioritizing his other affairs over her.
She supposed it was fitting. What was she to him anyway? She wasn’t worth him sacrificing everything for-not his profit gains, career, or even life.
Her face fell with her gaze, and she silently retreated behind the door.
Lewis started to walk in the direction of the kitchen. But before he could move, a hand shot out and obstructed his path.
He raised his head slightly and looked at Seth, who was blocking his way.
Seth started, “If you approach her like this, you would only scare her. Moreover, if you wanted to take her away, shouldn’t you at least ask for her opinion?”
Lewis’ indifferent gaze clouded with murderous intent. “Seth, while I still have the patience to deal with your nonsense, you better act wisely and get out of my way!”
Lewis’ words did not anger Seth. Instead, he smiled and had no intentions whatsoever of moving. “Oh, Lewis, you came here by yourself, and now you’re saying things like this. Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous?”
Lewis narrowed his eyes, a malicious smirk on his lips. “How about you make a guess why I have the guts to come here alone.”
Seth stared at him for a while, his gaze searching, but he soon gave up.
“It doesn’t matter.” He regained his smile. Angling his head toward the kitchen, he called out, “Josephine, come here.”
Upon hearing those words from his lips, an unnatural gleam rippled in Lewis’ eyes.
Immediately, he looked toward the kitchen, his gaze never shifting from the door.
A few seconds later, Josephine walked out of the main building slowly. She stood by the door with her head bowed.
Lewis’ reaction satisfied Seth. He continued, “Josephine, tell President Alvarez. Do you want to go back with him?”
Lewis stared at her, his gaze burning.
Josephine was silent for a long time.
“Josephine, come here to me at once!” Lewis raised his voice suddenly, a hint of threat in his
tone.
That startled her a little.
In truth, to her, it didn’t matter whether she was here with Seth or with Lewis. No matter whom she chose, the outcome would be the same.
Yet, contemplating how Lewis had never needed her and never would, and how she would forever remain the spare, the extra one who would never be selected…When she pondered how he would opt for anything or anyone but her, she sensed a surge of resistance coursing through her veins.
Without her, his life would be no different. He was only really there because his ego could
never allow another man to have one up on him.
Her memories replayed in her mind vividly, reminding her again and again that in his heart, she was nothing to him.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was unbelievably tense, as if there was invisible gunpowder suspended in the air. In front of her, both men awaited her choice.
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