What Separates Me and You

Chapter 257

Chapter 257 He Didn’t Know What to Do

Derek’s appearance caused the atmosphere in the meeting room to tense up again. Amelia stood up hastily and moved to tug at his sleeve. “How did you get here?”

Her son glared at her angrily. He snarled out, “Why are you meeting him?”

“I’m pleading for your sake! I can’t just sit around and watch you get thrown into jail, can I?”

Derek gritted out in response, “So what if I get imprisoned? I will never entrust the Moss. family into the hands of such a person! We’re going home right now!”

He grabbed Amelia’s wrist and tried to drag her out of the meeting room.

Fueled by anxiety, the older woman moved to grip Derek’s arm instead as she pleaded anxiously, “Derek, don’t be rash! Let’s sit down and talk this out, okay?”

The aforementioned man was so frustrated that he couldn’t help but chuckle dangerously. ” There’s nothing to talk about! At the end of the day, he just wants us to humiliate ourselves! Yes, I’ve lost the battle! I’m conceding my defeat! I’ll take jail time and even a death sentence! It’s just my life, after all; I’m more than willing to offer it! However, I will never ever entrust our company to the hands of this man! Mom, leave with me right now if you want only the best for me! From now on, never ever seek him out!”

Tears streamed down Amelia’s cheeks when she heard his son’s speech. She shook his hand away before delivering a heavy slap across his face.

The loud and crisp sound echoed throughout the meeting room. At that moment, everything

went silent.

Lewis was still sitting on the couch lazily. He continued watching the drama unfolding before his eyes instead of voicing out his opinion.

Amelia’s eyes had gone red by then. Disappointment, sorrow, and fury were written all over her aged face.

She snarled out each word clearly, “You’re a total jerk, Derek! Have you ever thought about me when you’re out here throwing your little tantrums? What about your father? What do you mean by ‘it’s just your life,’ huh? Are you saying that your life has nothing to do with us? Now that Caleb and Penny are already gone, are you planning on letting me and your father lose another son?”

Derek looked slightly dazed and surprised upon hearing his mother’s words. He cast a glance filled with mixed feelings in her direction, noting how her chest heaved up and down violently while her eyes turned red because of sorrow and fury.

“Fine. Since you’re unable to take this lying down, your father and I will sacrifice ourselves with you! Whoever wants Moss Corporation can go ahead and snatch it up!”

“Mom!”

Amelia shoved Derek away. “Don’t call me that! Since when do you care about me? All you care about is yourself! You never cared about what we think anyway! You want to play the hero while neglecting your parents! Derek, no one in this world concedes to defeat the way you do!”

The old woman ended up shrieking the last sentence while she sobbed.

Derek could only stand in the meeting room in a dumbfounded manner. He had no idea what to do.

What else could he do?

There were only two options for him. The first one was his parents, whereas the second one happened to be his mortal enemy.

His own mother was now forcing him to bow his head in front of his mortal enemy. What should he do?

He couldn’t just stand there and let his parents die with him, could he?

Derek closed his eyes weakly. Back when his wife and children died in the fire, he never shed a tear for them. However, tears started rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably as he faced his overbearing mother.

He turned his back on Lewis, not wanting the latter to witness his wretched visage.

Never did he think that he would end up losing pathetically, much less show his cowardice in front of Lewis.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door again.

Kiran walked into the meeting room with a document in hand. He then approached Lewis as though he didn’t notice the tense situation.

At the same time, he stated, “I was wondering why I couldn’t track you down, Chairman Alvarez. It turns out that you’re here. It looks like I’ve chosen the wrong time to show up.”

Lewis glanced at him as the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. “Did something urgent come up, President Kiran?”

Kiran explained, “Have you forgotten that we have a meeting today? Conrad said he couldn’t find you, so I decided to come here and check things out.”

After that, he added, “Everyone’s waiting for you right now.”

Kiran remained neutral the whole time. He also didn’t seem to realize that he had interrupted a brewing storm just by showing up. In fact, he looked professional the entire time. If Lewis didn’t leave the room, he wouldn’t move an inch as well.

Anyone with at least two brain cells could tell Kiran was just using the excuse of informing

Lewis about the meeting to stir up more trouble.

Even though Moss Corporation wasn’t as successful as Alvarez Corporation, it was still a listed company at the end of the day. If Lewis did end up gaining control over that company, he would definitely get a power boost. That meant he would gain the upper hand over Kiran during their long war.

Currently, Moss Corporation was the Alvarez siblings’ juicy prey in this everlasting game. It all depended on who could take over the company right now.

Lewis just smiled while snuffing out his cigarette. Then, he stood up and approached Kiran.

His slender hands shot up to tidy Kiran’s collar for him while effectively showing his care for the latter as his superior-slash-older brother. At the same time, he commented airily, “You are very dedicated to this company, President Kiran. Thank you for your hard work.”

“You’re being too courteous, Chairman Alvarez. This is my duty, after all.”

Lewis continued smiling without saying anything. He turned on his heel and walked out of the meeting room after releasing Kiran’s collar. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

Once he left, Kiran followed him out of the room as well. When he walked past Derek, he paused on his steps as he tilted his head to glance at the latter.

His serene gaze pierced through his glasses and found its mark on Derek.

The latter raised his head, thus making eye contact with Kiran. Even though none of them said

a word, they seemed to have exchanged plenty just by looking at each other.

Two seconds later, Kiran finally left the meeting room.

Derek’s hands, which hung by his sides, clenched into tight fists. Soon, his knuckles started crackling loudly from the sheer force.

Everyone was forcing him to make his move right now, including his own mother.

The only thing Derek was confident about was the fact that Moss Corporation was no longer a force to be reckoned with.

It was over for him.

The snowfall became heavier once again. Flecks of snow could be seen swirling and flying everywhere.

The place where Josephine was sitting already had tall mounds of snow gathered there. Quintin fetched an umbrella from his car to block the falling snow above her head. The snowflakes that landed on the umbrella soon melted into water and started sliding down from the top before falling off the edges.

Quintin wasn’t annoyed at all. He just accompanied Josephine quietly the whole time.

Having noticed that the person Josephine was waiting for never showed up even though the sky was gradually darkening, Quintin couldn’t help but ask while feeling his breath turning into white mist, “Josephine, is your friend even attending classes today?”

The young woman looked confused as well. She pursed her lips before raising her head to look. at Quintin, who stood next to her. Guilt started surging from her heart as she thought about how the man had spent the whole day with her on the sidewalk.

She signed back, “Maybe I got the date wrong. Perhaps he does not have classes today. I’m sorry.”

Quintin looked surprised, but he didn’t get mad at her. Instead, he smiled and replied, “It’s fine. I just feel that it’s pretty romantic out here, though it’s a little chilly today.”

Upon hearing Quintin’s words, a ghost of a smile appeared on Josephine’s lips. She got up to her feet before gesturing, “Thank you, but you should go home now.”

“What about you?”

Josephine’s eyes glinted. Where would she go?

She didn’t know the answer to that question.

She didn’t know where else she could go other than this place.

Josephine didn’t want to waste any of Quintin’s time, so she gestured again, “You don’t have to worry about me. Hurry up and go home now.”

Honestly speaking, Quintin didn’t really want to go home. He had never stepped into his own home ever since he got into a huge fight with Damian.

Now that he quit his job as well, he spent his days lazing about and doing nothing. Either he slept his day away or constantly visited the orphanage. Besides, he didn’t know where else he could go right now.

“Alright, then. I’ll give you this umbrella.” Quintin passed the umbrella to Josephine. “I’ll be leaving now. Just text me if anything happens.”

The woman nodded in response.

Quintin then turned around and got into his car. Soon, the car disappeared from Josephine’s line of sight.

She continued to gaze at the school gates while holding the umbrella over her head. Perhaps she wasn’t really waiting for a certain someone to walk through those gates.

Maybe she chose to stand on this very spot just so she could feel safe. It was as if he was still accompanying her.

As time ticked away while she remained standing in the same spot unmovingly, she gradually forgot the purpose of doing so.

Josephine looked at the gates that were shrouded in the darkness before tilting her head to gaze at the night sky above. Everything was starting to become unfamiliar to her. A gust of chilly wind blew across the street, sending flecks of snow flying erratically in the air from the ground.

The rustling sounds coming from the trees around her caused by the strong gust of wind made it sound as though there were countless phantoms surrounding her. Fear slowly filled those glassy eyes of hers.

Josephine threw away the umbrella before turning around to run toward a brighter spot.

She ran for her life under the snowy sky. Cold gusts of wind sliced past her skin like numerous blades. The white breath escaping her mouth mirrored the snowflakes falling from the sky.

The horizon extended right before her eyes infinitely. Josephine had already covered a huge distance just by running, yet she was unable to reach the end.

Suddenly, a car horn started blaring loudly right next to her. Josephine stopped in her tracks before turning to see a car speeding her way. The headlights were so bright that she couldn’t keep her eyes open at all.