What Separates Me and You

Chapter 211

Chapter 211 Not Be a Burden

Quintin quickly turned his head and hastily wiped his tears away using his sleeve. He sniffled and forced a smile while saying, “Thank you, though. But this catastrophe happened because of me, so I won’t make excuses or shirk responsibility. It may be my father who did it, but it’s all on me. After all, he’s my father…”

His voice was tinged with a hint of irony as he said that. With that, he threw the lighter in his hand to the ground. Flames instantly appeared, spreading rapidly in all directions. In the next moment, the fire engulfed all the cages, turning the center of the shelter into a blazing

inferno.

The firelight illuminated their faces, and the flames consumed the iron cages, swaying gracefully in the wind. Thick smoke billowed into the sky as if carrying the souls of those poor animals that died an unjust death into heaven.

The smell of gasoline permeated the air, mixed with a strong scent of burnt meat. The intense heat made Josephine all hot and sweaty, and Quintin noticed. He took her hand and led her into the shelter. They went to the second floor and stood there, looking down. Josephine suddenly realized that the sun had come out at some point, shining directly on their faces.

She tilted her head upward slightly. The sun didn’t give off any warmth, but it was glaringly bright. As the flames crackled below, Quintin stared at it fixedly, his gaze as intense as the fire. raging below. The sunlight shone on his eyes, yet it seemed to be blocked from within. He stared at the blazing fire without saying a word, lost in his own thoughts.

While Josephine was staring into space absentmindedly, Quintin suddenly spoke up, “I’ve been raising them for so many years, yet my father never found out. How did he suddenly discover this?”

Josephine was stunned for a moment. Lewis’ face flashed in her mind the moment she heard. Quintin’s words. She was also reminded of the way he looked at her in the movie theater earlier. “Could this be related to him somehow?” she wondered.

At that thought, Josephine’s stomach dropped. She didn’t even dare to look at Quintin anymore. If it was really Lewis pulling the strings behind the scenes, then she was the one who had brought this upon Quintin. It was she who had caused these innocent animals to lose. their lives.

Josephine grew restless. She fidgeted with her sleeves, her eyes fixed on the raging fire below. Looking at the lifeless bodies, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that Lewis had something to do with their deaths. His cold and unfeeling face kept appearing in her mind’s eye.

She lowered her head and fell silent, unable to understand why Lewis wouldn’t let her go even when they were divorced. Had she really done something that warranted such treatment from him? However, the missing gaps in her memory prevented her from recalling anything, and that was the most tragic part of it all.

The fire burned for a long time. It lasted for two hours until the sky became completely bright. Sunlight streamed through the clouds, and the flames on the ground gradually died down. After the blaze, only a pile of ashes and charred cages remained. Quintin silently got down and opened the cages to clear out the remnants inside.

Josephine also grabbed a broom and went to help. They didn’t say a word as they quietly cleaned up. The burned ground was just like a scorched wasteland. No matter how much they swept, they couldn’t clean it up completely.

These were the last imprints left by those poor animals on this earth. Those were the only traces proving their existence and probably wouldn’t disappear for a very, very long time.

Quintin suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Josephine. “You have to go to work today, right?”

Josephine paused for a moment, pursing her lips. She wasn’t sure whether she should tell him that she’d forgotten where she worked. Quintin threw the things in his hand aside, held her hand, and led her toward the parking area.

“Don’t worry about cleaning up. I’ll drive you to work first. I can do the cleaning myself. I actually wanted to show you the puppies last night, but I didn’t expect this to happen. I’m sorry for taking up your whole night.”

Josephine shook her head, indicating that it was okay. She didn’t really feel sleepy even now. After witnessing something so tragic and feeling unwell at the same time, she couldn’t sleep at all. With that, Josephine got into the car, and Quintin drove her to her company. When they passed by a breakfast shop, he even got out of the car to buy her breakfast.

Very quickly, he returned to the car and handed her the food. “You probably didn’t have dinner last night. You’re running late now, so at least have this to eat. We’re almost reaching your company.”

Josephine lowered her head and looked at the breakfast in her hand. Quintin had bought her a

cup

of milk and a few buns. She wanted to say thank you, but Quintin had already started driving, so she gave up on that and started nibbling one of the buns.

While she was chewing, Josephine couldn’t help but glance at Quintin. His face didn’t reveal much emotion. He had a smile the whole time when they went to the movies last night. However, when morning came, that smile had vanished completely. Thinking of those innocent dogs and how devastated Lewis must be, the food in her mouth became tasteless andNôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

bland.

“We’re here,” Quintin said, “You should head to work. I’ll go back and clean up. If you need anything, just message me.”

Josephine looked at his sincere face, pursed her lips, and nodded. She held the unfinished breakfast in her hand, opened the car door, and got out.

When she entered the company, she looked at the lobby and felt a moment of confusion. Hastily, she rummaged through her bag, found her notebook, and flipped through it. Luckily, she’d written down the floor and office where she worked.

She then found her employee badge in her bag. Holding it in her hand, she headed for the elevator and went straight to the top floor.

“Josephine, what happened to you?” said Yelena, whom Josephine met yesterday. However, she couldn’t really recognize Yelena.

Seeing that Josephine was puzzled, Yelena pointed to her hair and chin. Then, she said. jokingly, “You’re all dirty and unkempt. Did you oversleep and forget to clean up?”

Josephine’s gaze flitted across her face several times, but she still couldn’t remember who this person was. Worse off, there was no record of her in the notebook.

But Yelena evidently knew her. Hence, Josephine surmised that she must have forgotten who she was. With a slight smile, Josephine raised her hand to gesture, “I forgot.”

Yelena stared at her movements and suddenly widened her eyes. “You … You can’t speak?”

She said that a bit too loudly out of surprise. There were already quite a few people on this floor at that time. Upon hearing Yelena’s words, they all turned their heads and directed their attention to

Josephine. As more and more people gawked at her, Josephine felt like she was an

animal in a zoo.

Yelena realized that she’d drawn unwanted attention. With an awkward smile, she apologized in a low voice, “I’m sorry. I was just really surprised. I didn’t mean to do that.”

Josephine lowered her head. Without giving Yelena any response, she headed straight to the

office.

Yelena quickly caught up and persistently apologized to her, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it.

Please forgive me.”

She noticed Josephine’s name on her employee badge and called out her name. “Josephine, we’re colleagues now. I may not understand sign language much, so if I make any mistakes or misunderstand you, please bear with me.”

Josephine turned on her computer, unable to register what Yelena had said to her at all. Her mind was in complete disarray. She thought she shouldn’t continue to work here with this pesky illness of hers. The right thing for her to do would be to resign and not trouble her fellow colleagues.

She thought she should just go somewhere remote and die off quietly so as not to become a burden to others.

As she was thinking this, Conrad happened to come in. Josephine stood up and grabbed Conrad’s arm, indicating that she had something to say to him. Conrad hesitated for a

moment and glanced at the other people in the office. Then, he nodded and followed Josephine out of the office.

“I want to resign.” Josephine showed him what she’d scribbled on a piece of paper.

Conrad had an apprehensive expression as he touched his nose and said, “If you want to resign, you’ll have to talk to Chairman Alvarez. Look, he has just arrived.”

As she said that, he pointed to somewhere behind her.