Chapter 3

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 cigarette. One could tell that he appeared rather agitated.

Josephine sat quietly in her seat, waiting for him to finish smoking.

Once he was done, he turned to look at the woman.

She was wearing her usual obedient expression with a faint smile on her lips, looking like a servant waiting for her master’s orders.

Lewis felt even more stifled.

He couldn't explain why, as there seemed to be nothing different about her from before.

“What do you think about what Daphne said earlier?”

“About?” Josephine signed, asking.

Lewis gripped the steering wheel harder and glared straight into her eyes. “About having a baby.”

He noticed that the smile on her lips froze, and it took several attempts before she managed to regain her pleasant expression.

“Mother was right. We should stop trying to have a baby,” she gestured.

From a young age, Josephine understood that everything she hoped for would eventually shatter into pieces.

The more beautiful the fantasy, the more painful it would be when it was destroyed.

As a child, she had always wanted a birthday cake, so when Grandpa Alan bought her one, she was over the moon. But when she was ready to make a wish, Daphne smashed her head into the cake.

She lifted her disheveled head with cake all over her face and saw that the people around were laughing. They found it all very entertaining.

Josephine could only stick out her tongue secretly and lick the cake off the corner of her mouth. It didn’t taste as good as she had imagined.

They didn’t think the cake was for eating, just like how Lewis didn’t actually want to have children with her.

“Did we use protection last night?”

“I took medicine.”

Lewis watched as she gestured with her fingers. Perhaps it was due to the frequent movement of her fingers that made them look long and slender. When she signed, her fingers seemed to be dancing, which was especially beautiful to watch.

He stared at her for a while before looking away to start the car. “Well, good then.”

Josephine lowered her head. He was, again, testing her.

Like his mother, he was afraid of having a mute child that would taint his reputation.

She was glad that she had resisted the urge to profess her love publicly.

He did ask her not to fall in love with him. But what he didn’t know was that every time he reached out to help her, he planted a seed of love in her heart.

Sometimes, Josephine would think to herself that if he had bullied her like all those people, then her pain would only be physical and not emotional.

Lewis dropped her off at the cafe where she worked. As soon as the car stopped at the entrance, he noticed Sierra standing there.

She always had a way of finding him.

Sierra was breathtakingly beautiful. She was tall with long, voluminous curls falling down her back, attracting attention wherever she went.

Her anger instantly peaked as she watched Lewis and Josephine get out of the car, flames dancing in her eyes.

Outsiders would think that Josephine was his true partner.

“Why are you here?” Lewis showed no sign of surprise or guilt upon seeing her.

Obviously, this wasn’t the first time they had encountered such a situation.