Chapter 106
Chapter 106
Chapter 106 Worse Than Before
Josephine hesitated for a moment before she raised her hands and signed, “I won’t go and see Mrs. Jinkins anymore, so please don’t hurt her.”
Lewis pursed his thin lips. His eyes were blazing, but he didn’t say anything.
“She’s already quite old, and her days are numbered. She’s quite pitiful, so please have sympathy for her on the basis that she had taken care of me,” she continued.
She was uncertain whether he had seen what she had signed, as his gaze was fixed firmly on her eyes and not her hands. It left her feeling completely helpless, unable to communicate her thoughts to him or engage with him if he didn’t direct his attention to her hands. When he was in a good mood, he would patiently observe her signing, but he wouldn’t even glance in her direction if he wasn’t. He had the power to refuse interaction with her at any given moment. Despite signing more words, he continued to maintain his focus on her face. Her heart sank, and she eventually lowered her hands, abandoning any further attempts to sign.
“Do you know why I don’t want you to have any contact with those people?” Lewis suddenly. said.
Josephine raised a brow and looked questioningly at him. She was on the brink of insanity from wanting to know. She wanted to know why she had no freedom or basic human rights. She waited for his answer, but he raised a slender finger and lightly traced it down her cheek, saying, “But I hope you never do.”
Something flashed across her eyes, and she felt a sense of déjà vu as Seth had also said
something similar. “You wouldn’t be asking such a question if you had your memory,” he had said, “and you wouldn’t be looking at me this way either.”
The context was different, but the impression was the same, which made her head buzz. What in the world had she forgotten? She racked her brain, but she couldn’t come up with anything. They were speaking to her in riddles and forcing her to recall while also keeping her from interacting with outsiders. She felt as though she was being pulled in opposite directions by two different forces, which were going to tear her in half. In despair and helpless, she could only silently bear with it and watch herself be torn into pieces.
The blanket slid off Lewis when he abruptly sat up, showing off his perfect physique. Criss- crossed red marks contrasted starkly against his chest and back. Her nails weren’t long, but the scratch marks were still shocking, and it was conceivable considering how passionate he had been last night. She felt as though she couldn’t move her body from her hands.
He got out of bed and got dressed neatly. She watched as he transformed from a passionate man to the widely-respected President Alvarez. Taking his watch from the headboard, het turned to her and said, “You don’t have to go to work today, just stay home and rest well. Don’t leave the house. Also, I hope I won’t have to deal with Quintin now that Avery is out of the picture.”
He then picked up his jacket and left without a second glance after he gave her a warning.
Josephine lay blankly on the bed and watched his retreating figure until the bedroom door close and blocked her view. She slowly retracted her gaze and looked down at her arms, which weren’t in a good state, as they were covered in bruises. She could also feel a dull ache in her lower abdomen. She hadn’t fully recovered yet from last night due to the lack of oxygen. She also didn’t know how much more of his abuse she could withstand, but it didn’t matter anymore. After all, pets only lived for a brief 10 to 20 years.
The doctor would be coming over today to do a checkup on her, but that was later in the afternoon. She slept all day and only woke up in the late afternoon when she heard someone ring the doorbell. Dragging her weary body out of bed, she answered the door.
The doctor flashed her a professional smile as he stood at the door with his briefcase. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Alvarez. How have you been feeling the last two days?”
She frowned as she had no way of answering his question. The doctor wasn’t expecting a response from her either and was merely asking out of courtesy. He entered, and Josphine showed her his arms after sitting on the couch.
The smile slowly disappeared from the doctor’s face when he saw the state of her arms and looked at her with concern. “Why…does it look as though you are worse off than before?”
Pursing her lips, she merely stared at him and didn’t move.
The doctor looked at her with worry as he gave her advice. “You should try to be happier, Madam, and…avoid strenuous activities as your body is still recovering.”
He was using “strenuous activities” as a euphemism for something else, but Josephine knew what he meant. Her ears turned red as she slowly retracted her arms.
“My mentor is a renowned naturopathic doctor and has close relations with the Alvarez family. I’m also the disciple that he is most proud of, so you can trust what I say. I won’t deceive you.”
“I know, thank you.” She typed it out on her phone.
The doctor exhaled in relief. “Alright. How about I prescribe some homeopathic medicine for you?”
“No need.” She shook her head. Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
Feeling a little awkward as he didn’t know what else to converse about, he thought to himself that he had to find the time to speak to President Alvarez. Each time he witnessed her defeated expression, it would gnaw at his conscience, making it unbearable for him.
At a café.
Daphne was looking at the two men across from her. One of them was Lewis, and the other was a lean, middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was calculating something on his phone
as he reviewed the documents she had brought. She looked anxiously at Lewis, who seemed completely absorbed in his phone as though nothing else was around him.
“I’m done going over the documents, Ms. Alvarez, and everything is in order. As for the financial statements you sent me, I’ll get someone to look them over before giving you a valuation of your shares.”
“How long will it take?”
“Earliest would be two to three days.”
Daphne hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then, based on your estimation, how much are my shares worth?”
“This…Based on my estimation, only ten billion,” the man replied after pondering for a
moment.
Her expression changed immediately, and she looked angry. “Are you kidding me? These are Alvarez Corp shares, and you’re telling me they’re only worth ten billion?”
The man held his hands in front of him and gestured for her to calm down. “These are indeed Alvarez Corp shares, and they are of value, but there is no demand for them. For example, even if I wanted to buy them from you, I’d have to find a few others to do so as right now, how many companies out there can fork out ten billion in cash? If you don’t believe me Ms. Alvarez, why don’t you ask around
yourself? While there may be many interested parties, finding those with the means to make such a transaction is rare. On top of that, there are various follow-up issues that need to be addressed, further complicating the matter.”
Daphne’s mouth was agape, and she was speechless. She wasn’t knowledgeable about such things, so she didn’t fully understand the man’s explanation. Moreover, Lewis had introduced him, so she had no reason not to believe him.
“Is it really only ten billion?”
The man pondered again before saying, “I can add another 20 billion at most, but this is the highest I can go. Even if you don’t trust me, Ms. Alvarez, I’m sure you can trust President Alvarez? If you were to find someone else and they offered you a higher price, would you agree to it?”