What Separates Me and You

Chapter 218 A Trace of Joy

Phineas decided to plead with her regardless of her response.

“It pertains to your current situation. Could you please keep it a secret from Chairman Alvarez? If he

were to find out, I would be dead.” Phineas clasped his hands together in a

gesture of earnest request.

After speaking, he saw a perplexed look in Josephine’s eyes. She looked confused. Phineas was taken

aback and said, “Madam?”

Josephine pressed her lips together and gestured, “Do we know each other?”

Phineas was not fluent in sign language. He stared at Josephine’s fingers and testingly asked, ‘ Are

you saying that you don’t recognize me?”

”

Josephine gave it a thought. Although that was not what she said, the meaning was similar, so she

nodded at Phineas. Phineas became anxious and quickly explained, “I’m Phineas. We met before. How

could you forget me so quickly?”

They had met a few times. How was it possible that she had no recollection of him at all? Just as

Phineas was in confusion, Josephine looked at him again. However, she still could not remember him

and shook her head.

Phineas helplessly sighed. He simply thought Josephine was unwilling to forgive him and refused to

help him keep this a secret. His heart sank, feeling a sense of desolation. He abandoned his plea,

resigning himself to face whatever fate awaited him. He turned around, retrieved the breakfast tray, and

passed it to Josephine, “Have some breakfast.”

Josephine was slightly taken aback. She glanced at Phineas’ disappointed face and then shifted her

gaze to the breakfast in his hands. She silently took the tray from his hand and picked up the fork. But

she suddenly remembered something and looked at Phineas.

“What’s wrong, Madam? Is the food not to your liking?” Phineas asked.

Josephine shook her head as she put down the fork. She gestured, “What happened?”

Phineas did not understand what she was gesturing. He tried his best to recognize her sign language,

using whatever knowledge he had. He furrowed his brows and asked tentatively, ” Are you asking if I

have anything else to say?”

Josephine pressed her lips tightly together. After confirming that Phineas could not read sign language,

she stopped gesturing. She picked up the fork and started eating. Phineas carefully asked, “Madam, do

your legs hurt? Do you want me to bring you some painkillers?”

Josephine shook her head. The immense pain had subsided, and it only hurt a little now.

“Okay, that’s good.” Phineas felt relieved. It appeared that the doctor’s painkillers were effective.

Josephine was still eating when Phineas stood up and said, “Madam, I need to go retrieve something.”

Phineas ran out without waiting for Josephine to respond. Josephine frowned. She lowered her head to

look at her wrist and the injuries on her legs. She had forgotten what had happened again. She recalled

the dream she had last night and felt her heart tightened. Could it be that it was not a dream but a

reality?

She had food in her mouth but found it difficult to swallow them. The food felt more like sand.

Josephine struggled to get the food down her throat. Eventually, she placed the tray aside on the

cabinet, unable to continue eating.

After a while, Phineas entered the room with a cage. “Madam, look at this.”

Phineas did not dare to get too close. He was afraid that Josephine would be traumatized by

yesterday’s incident, so he stood at the door as he showed her the cage. Josephine turned and saw

two puppies confined within. They looked about two to three months old. The puppies were scurrying

around inside the cage, looking for an exit. Josephine’s eyes widened, and her mouth was slightly

parted as her eyes lit up with joy.

Phineas asked, “Do you like these two dogs?”

Josephine shifted her gaze from the puppies to look at Phineas. He seemed slightly anxious.

Josephine nodded heavily. Phineas let out a sigh of relief and brought the cage over. He placed it

under her bed and opened it. He carried one of the puppies out of the cage and passed it to Josephine.

Josephine was slightly perplexed. She carefully took the puppy from his hands and held it gently in her

arms. The puppy was restless. It sniffed around in her arms, wagging its tiny tail. It tried to climb up to

Josephine’s face and lick her. Her expression softened with tenderness as Josephine gazed at the

harmless and adorable puppy. She mustered the courage to stroke the puppy’s head.

The puppy eagerly continued to shower Josephine’s hand with affectionate licks, but as its tongue

made contact with her fingers, Josephine instinctively withdrew her hand. She couldn’t understand why

she would react that way. She simply thought it was probably something to do with the images from her

dream about dogs biting her.

“Madam, the puppies haven’t even grown their teeth yet. They won’t bite. Even if they do, it won’t hurt,”

Phineas reassured Josephine. Phineas placed his hand near the puppy’s mouth to demonstrate his

point. Sure enough, the puppy opened its mouth and nibbled on his finger with undeveloped teeth.

Phineas swiftly withdrew his hand and gently smacked the puppy on its head to discourage his

behavior.

“But, Madam, don’t do as I demonstrated. If they get used to it, they might also bite in the future.”

Josephine listened attentively and nodded to indicate that she understood.

Phineas added, “No matter when, if it looks like the puppy is going to bite you, it’s important to react

firmly. Give it a beating to discourage the behavior. With consistent correction, the puppy will learn that

biting is not acceptable.”

Josephine nodded heavily.

Phineas continued to share more tips and information about dog care with Josephine. As he handed

her the second puppy, he couldn’t help but notice the smile and joy on her face. He thought to himself,

“Madam seems happy. Maybe now she’s more inclined to help me keep this secret. It would be

beneficial if she could put in a good word for me as well.”

The puppies were full of energy and couldn’t resist the temptation to explore and play. They wriggled in

Josephine’s arms, wanting to be free to roam around the bed. Thankfully, Phineas had bathed them the

previous day. Josephine cuddled the fluffy dogs. Her heart softened as she smelled the milky scent on

them.

Phineas took the opportunity and said, “Madam, could you not tell Chairman Alvarez about what

happened to you? He might not let you take the puppies home if he discovered that you were bitten by

dogs.”

Josephine caught the crucial point in his words, but her calf muscles suddenly cramped, causing her to

grimace in pain.

“Madam… “1

Josephine placed the puppy down and searched for her phone. She found it in her pocket. She pulled it

out and typed, “What happened to me?”

Phineas saw the words, and his eyes widened. His face was filled with disbelief as he asked, Madam,

you don’t remember?”

Josephine nodded.

“How is this possible? Yesterday you …” Phineas paused halfway. He then asked, “Do you remember

how you came here?”

Josephine tilted her head and gave it a thought. She then shook her head and typed, “Where is this?”

Phineas’ jaw dropped, and he replied, “This is Chairman Alvarez’s private mansion. You’ve never been

here before, but Chairman Alverez brought you here yesterday.”

After listening to Phineas’ words, Josephine remained confused. Phineas noticed something was amiss

but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. However, Josephine forgetting yesterday’s ordeal was good

news to him.