Josephine Vance stared at the clock on the wall. By the time it struck 12, the food on the table had gone cold again.She took the dishes into the kitchen and reheated them once more.At 12.50 am, the doorknob turned, and she turned to see that Lewis Alvarez had returned.His face showed subtle signs of drunkenness as he walked toward her, his suit jacket slung on his arm. Josephine stood up and poured him a glass of water to help him sober up, but he knocked it over the minute she reached out. Then, he grabbed her chin and kissed her on the lips.The smell of alcohol mixed with the scent of a woman’s perfume hit her as he approached. She tried to push him away, but he ended up carrying her straight into the bedroom.The man carelessly threw her onto the bed and leaned over without saying a word.Josephine bit her lip and silently endured the act, turning her head to stare at the potted plant in the corner of the room. There was no emotion, only lust and take.The man grabbed her fac
Seeing that, Josephine trembled slightly. She thought he was mad, so she quickly signed, “You don’t like the porridge?”Lewis tugged at his collar, looking somewhat annoyed. “It’s not that. Finish up quickly.”If he wouldn’t eat, Josephine wouldn’t too. She stood up and started cleaning up the dishes.Lewis stared coldly at her, wordless.Once she was done, she went upstairs to get changed. Lewis was already waiting for her inside the car.As the car drove on the road, the scenery on both sides quickly receded. Josephine turned to watch the view passing by outside.Josephine first went to Alvarez Manor at a very young age. It was Alan Alvarez who had brought her there. Old Mr. Alvarez loved her very much and treated her like his own granddaughter.Before he passed away, he was always saying how he couldn’t let his Josie go.Three years ago, as Alan was approaching the end of his life, he urged Lewis to marry her so that he could finally rest in peace.He said that he would be worried i
Lewis stood up and said, “Daphne, I’ll put the gifts here. We’ll be off.”Daphne grew a little anxious and got on her feet as well. “Why are you in such a hurry? There are some people who haven’t arrived yet. You should at least eat before you go.”“It’s okay. I still have some work to do at the office.” The man took Josephine’s hand and left the manor without looking back.Daphne felt even more enraged. She couldn’t understand what Lewis meant by his actions. He was always protecting Josephine, even in the past.When he was forced to marry the mute girl, he already had a girlfriend. However, not only did he not bully Josephine, he even moved out for her.It couldn’t be said that he liked Josephine because he remained silent when the abortion happened and was always involved in casual relationships with other women.But it also couldn’t be said that he didn’t like Josephine because he was always protecting her and refused to divorce her.When Lewis returned to the car, he lit a cigaret
Sierra glanced at Josephine where she was standing to one side and saw the faint hickeys around her neck. She suppressed her anger and laughed. “Where else can I find you if not here?”“You can head inside to work first,” Lewis turned to Josephine and said.She nodded and walked past Sierra to enter the coffee shop.She worked here because she had been rejected from many jobs before. Only this place was willing to take her in.After Josephine left, Sierra walked up to Lewis and took his arm. “Are you still mad?” she said in a cutesy voice.“Let’s talk in the car.”Sierra clung to his arm affectionately, but he didn’t push her away.Before getting into the car, she took out a disinfectant spray from her bag and sprayed it several times on the passenger seat. She then looked up and smiled. “I just want to sanitize it.” Josephine was sitting there a while ago, and she found it dirty.Lewis fixed his eyes on the woman and didn’t say anything, silently approving of her behavior even though
A figure was leaning against the table, and a faint scent of perfume wafted over. Josephine looked up at the person speaking.It was Avery Green, the owner of the coffee shop.Avery was around 5’8” tall. She had short hair and was wearing a black T-shirt and sweatpants. A lot of people would mistake her for a man if she didn’t speak.Back when Josephine first came for the interview, she was so shocked when Avery pinched her cheek. She only realized that Avery was a woman after hearing her voice.Josephine put down the tablecloth and smiled while signing, “I’m already used to it.”Avery glanced at her fingers, then at her teary eyes. She frowned.Although Josephine gave a short and simple answer, Avery knew that it must be carrying so much pain and sorrow.She handed over the cup of drink in her grip and said, “Your favorite matcha latte. Take it. Everyone gets one.”Josephine thanked her and took a sip of the latte.Noticing that Josie had stained the corner of her mouth with white foa
Avery helped Josephine remove her helmet. Both of them were completely drenched, but the coffee in Josephine’s arms was intact.“Are these people crazy? Do they not even have a coffee machine in this big company?” Avery ranted as she took the coffee from her hands and smiled. “Hey, you can wait here. I’ll be right back.”Josephine nodded lightly and walked to the main entrance to wait.The rain grew heavier, and it seemed like winter was coming with the downpour.Josephine stared into the rain, her mind wandering. On the day Grandpa Alan brought her to Alvarez Manor, it had also been pouring heavily. The nine-year-old Lewis had scrutinized her and asked who she was. Grandpa Alan jokingly replied, "I found you a wife. Do you want her?" Lewis, who was so young at the time, sneered and said, "I don't want a monkey as my wife." He was right. She had been really skinny back then, and her hair was very dry. She might have looked worse than the monkeys in the zoo. But then he added, "If
In the lobby of the office building.“What happened?” Lewis sat down beside Sierra and held her leg to examine her swollen ankle.Sierra snorted in anger and turned her head away from him.At this moment, a security guard came over and handed something to Lewis, saying, "Mr. Alvarez, this is the surveillance footage." Lewis looked at the screen, and his expression immediately darkened. He had been to where Josephine worked before, so he naturally knew who Avery was as well.He threw the tablet onto the table and said to Sierra, "I'll take you to the hospital." Sierra felt even more enraged when he didn’t clarify his stance. "I'm not going! Let my leg be broken so I don't have to hear people call me a mistress every time I step out." Lewis furrowed his brows and said, "Don't make a fuss. Let's go to the hospital." "I'm not going!" Without even bothering to negotiate with Sierra, Lewis picked her up and carried her outside.…Josephine sat behind Avery as the heavy rain washed over
Josephine pursed her lips and stared at him for a while before seemingly making up her mind. She let go of his clothes and walked past him down the stairs, moving toward the sofa in the living room. She bent down, opened the drawer under the coffee table, and took out a divorce agreement that had been lying unnoticed inside.Lewis trailed behind and caught sight of the papers too.They had been there for a while now, but he never realized it. He had never even opened that drawer. Suddenly, he looked at Josephine, his eyes filled with bewilderment and confusion.She glanced back at him seriously, and everything she wanted to say was in her eyes—Let's get a divorce.All of a sudden, Lewis laughed in anger. "Are you throwing a tantrum?" he asked.Josephine waved her hand in denial and signed, "I'm not trying to make you angry. I've been meaning to give you this for a long time."She had wanted to give it to him a long time ago, but she was struggling to muster the courage to bring it up