What Separates Me and You

Chapter 47 Bestowing Her a Final Parting Gift

Josephine helped Mrs. Jinkins load her belongings into the cab.

Mrs. Jinkins didn't possess many personal belongings, and Josephine had no intention of bringing the moldy mattress along.

However, Mrs. Jinkins was reluctant to part with her little shed. She was afraid that she might not even have a crumbly old shack to call home if she was fired from the Alvarez estate once more.

Josephine could sympathize with her feelings, so she packed up what little things Mrs. Jinkins owned and placed them in a store room in the Styx Mansion. Perhaps due to a sudden bout of her illness, Josephine's vision turned blurry, and she fainted after she placed Mrs. Jinkins' belongings in the store room.

Mrs. Jinkins had just emerged from the room after changing clothes when she saw Josephine passed out on the floor. She let go of her walking stick and rushed over while crying out, "Josie!" Mrs. Jinkins cradled Josephine in her arms gently. Josephine had hit her head when she fell, so a considerable amount of time had passed before she finally cracked open her eyes.

Mrs. Jinkins saw that she had woken up and asked, "What happened, Josie? You were fine just a minute ago, why did you faint?"

Josephine signed, "Maybe I was anemic."

It hadn't been long since Josephine's abortion, and she had also just fallen ill recently. It was normal for her to suffer from sudden bouts of anemia.

"Oh, dear. You poor thing, Josie. You should focus on resting now. I'll brew you at warm cup of chamomile tea, dear." Mrs. Jinkins helped her get up and they hobbled over to the sofa together. Josephine smiled as she looked at the elderly lady who fussed over her so tenderly.

Underneath all the grime that had caked up on Mrs. Jinkins's face was a wrinkled and kindly face. The mere sight of it managed to soothe Josephine and made her feel all warm and bubbly inside.

While Mrs. Jinkins busied herself in the kitchen with the tea, Josephine took out her phone to check her WhatsApp messages. Avery hadn't replied to her yet.

Josephine looked at the shopping bag next to the sofa. There was a new phone identical to hers in the bag. She took the new phone out of the bag and placed her

SIM card in it, then placed the old phone in the drawer of the coffee table.

When she opened the drawer, Josephine saw the divorce papers that laid in there. It was the same as ever. Josephine stared at the divorce papers silently before closing the drawer again. She sent Avery a text before giving her a call.

Avery had been drinking for the past few days, so she answered the phone in a drunken stupor. She wasn't really aware of who had called her. "What do you want? Why do you keep calling me?" Josephine was surprised by Avery's yells, but she couldn't say anything in reply.

Avery also thought it was weird that the caller wasn't speaking, so she opened her bleary eyes and squinted at the screen. Her expression softened when she saw who had called her.

"Oh, it's you, Josie. Sorry about that. I've just been receiving a bunch of spam calls for the past few days. There were some internet trolls who kept telling me to turn. myself in, and some who called to yell profanities at me, and some who called to laugh at me." Avery laughed bitterly as she spoke.

"It's just...well, you really get to see who your true friends are only when you're going through a tough period in life. Haha!" Josephine felt like a knife was being driven. through her heart when she heard what Avery had said, but she couldn't even offer her a few words of comfort.

Avery muttered, "I just can't believe them! They were so good at acting! I feel so disgusted just hearing them speak now. And honestly, I don't even want to say this, but I feel like even Lewis is a better person when compared to these scummy people! It's laughable, isn't it?"

In comparison with those two-faced, backstabbing people, Lewis was the sort to be blunt and say whatever was on his mind anyway. Having lived for so long, Avery thought she was decently good at reading people. She had never thought that she wouldn't be able to differentiate between a good and a bad person.

"Ugh, I get it now. There are good people in the world, and there are bad people. But there are also monsters out there, like wolves in sheep's clothing! Josie, did you know? I was walking on the streets a few nights ago, and a group of people suddenly swarmed me! They threw rocks at me and even took pictures of me! They put on such a noble guise of doing 'lawful' things, but they're just breaking the law by doing that to me! And, and-" Avery paused and then continued, "I just spoke to the person who calls herself my best friend."

Josephine listened patiently. After a while, Avery's voice had gone hoarse from

speaking. She had lost all of her rebellious and cheeky demeanor.

Now, all that was left of her were desolation and bitterness. Avery was upset for a couple of reasons. One, because she had caused the deaths of all those people, and two, because of the betrayal of those who she once considered her friends.

She was swallowed by guilt and sadness.

Avery smiled bitterly and said, "She actually betrayed me... Oh, Josie, why did things turn out this way?"

Josephine could hear Avery's voice cracking at the end. Tears welled up in

Josephine's eyes, and her throat rumbled as she tried to croak out a sound. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't even make a squeak.

After a while, Avery regained her composure. "I'm going to turn myself in, Josie. Do you want to come see me one last time? If you're coming, please tap the number pad once. If you're not, then you can just hang up."

Avery couldn't live with herself. She'd much rather turn herself in and spend the rest of her life behind bars than live in misery like this. That way, she wouldn't drag more people down with her. Josephine held her phone tightly. She didn't tap the number pad, but she didn't hang up either. Avery was also a victim in this situation. She shouldn't have to bear everything by herself!

People who were very kind and conscientious tended to be unable to forgive themselves if they made even a single mistake.

"H-Hey Josie. Are you really not going to say anything?" Avery asked bitterly.

Josephine raised her stiff fingers to the screen of her phone and tapped the button reluctantly. Avery finally burst into a hearty bout of laughter. For a moment, she sounded the same as she usually did. Josephine hung up the phone and got up before running out of the house.

When Mrs. Jinkins came back with the tea she had just brewed, Josephine was nowhere to be found.

Josephine quickly hailed a cab and headed to the police station. She feared that she might not be able to see Avery again if she arrived too late. She was just opposite the police station when she caught sight of Avery perched on her motorcycle, a cigarette in hand. She was dressed as she usually did.

Josephine quickly paid the taxi driver and ran over to Avery. She was gasping for air by the time she reached Avery's side. Avery merely smiled at her and snuffed out her cigarette. Avery certainly didn't look like she sounded on the phone. She was still as

bright and bubbly as ever.

"Look at you; did you purposefully dress up just to meet me?" Avery asked with a teasing smile.

Josephine looked down to see what she was wearing. A white sweater and a white pair of pants. Wasn't she usually dressed like this?

"I'm just kidding." Avery laughed as she pinched Josephine's cheeks before glancing down at her abdomen. She reached out to touch Josephine's belly and asked, "Is the baby good?"

Josephine could only stare at Avery blankly. Avery didn't blame her. She merely continued to talk to her as usual, chatting about trivial household matters. However, it only made Josephine feel more awful. Josephine could see the expectant twinkle in Avery's eyes, so she could only fake a smile and nod her head. He had certainly been a good child. He never cried or threw a tantrum as he was taken out of her belly. He never made a squeak.

Avery wiped away the tears forming in Josephine's eyes and asked, "Josie dear, why are you crying? You know that crying too much won't be good for the baby. I wonder if he'll be able to walk by the time I get released from jail?"

Josephine could only purse her lips tighter as hot streams of tears streaked down her face.

Her beloved had given her a final parting gift.

Her very own child.

Her very best friend.

They had all been stolen from her!