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Chapter 141 A Balancing Act
Josephine looked up with tears in her eyes, Seth’s mocking laughter echoing in her ears.
“You can’t still be waiting for him to swoop in and rescue you, can you?”
She flinched.
Seth crouched in front of her, shattering her fantasies mercilessly. “Do you understand why things have
come to this point now?”
Josephine inhaled sharply, her eyes fixed on his face.
“Do you really not know? The last time you disappeared for three days…Do you think he didn’t
find you then?”
He leaned closer, his voice soft as he said, “No, he knew where you’d been all along. He just didn’t
choose to save you. He had been trying to set a trap for me.”
Seth continued, laughing and playing with her hair. “Oh, you poor, poor mute. He’s the one who caused
all this. You’re here now because of him.”
Tears fell from her cheeks like broken beads, trickling down her chin and dripping into her plate.
“Guess what he’s doing right now?”
He paused, seemingly deep in thought. “Maybe he’s busy preparing for the shareholders’ meeting in
two days. Maybe he’s scheming to eliminate his father from the game at long last. Or maybe, he’s busy
getting rid of his sister-as for you; you’ll probably have to wait a long, long time for your turn to come.”
Josephine held her plate in a death grip, her chest heaving.
“Provided, if he still wants to have anything to do with you, he has to go through me and deal. with
my terms. But of course, he knows, deep down, that he could never afford to give me what I want.”
“So,” Seth assumed an inferring air as he spoke, “he might as well ignore you altogether, and in doing
so, he is directly refusing the opportunity to negotiate with me.”
“But then,” he continued, “I suppose it’s understandable. What is the use of women in the face of profits
and income? He might like you, but he would never sacrifice everything he has now for you, would he?”
She knew she shouldn’t believe his words, yet, they still found a way into her subconscious regardless-
eating away at her. The pain was like millions of needles piercing her heart.
Josephine lowered her head and wolfed down her dinner. The food was bland, but she continued
shoveling them into her mouth.
Seth crouched beside her as she ate, watching her polish the plate clean.
Moments later, Josephine sniffled and placed her plate back onto the ground. She raised her head, and
her eyes were red as she looked at him.
The sky outside darkened. In the dimly lit room, Seth caressed her cheeks tenderly, wiping away the
residual tears at the corners of her eyes with a gentle hand.
Suddenly, Josephine remembered how Lewis used to do the same thing to her. She couldn’t help but
fall for him a bit more every time.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNow that she compared it with what Seth was doing to her, she realized how cheap and self- righteous
Lewis’ actions had been.
Men were creatures well-versed in camouflage. No matter how deeply they despised someone, they
could always still bring themselves to touch them with care and affection.
Lewis was one of those. Seth, too.
To them, they had nothing to lose. It was simply a matter of moving their fingers.
But when given a choice between reaping profits and everything else, the outcome of their decision
was the only accurate representation of their true colors.
A little while later, Seth stood up and ordered, “Clean this up.”
He walked out of the room without sparing her another glance, his food untouched on the table.
Josephine wiped her tears with her sleeve before standing up and clearing away the dishes dutifully.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, or more precisely, in Styx Mansion, Conrad stared at the
burning light in the study as he paced the length of the hallway. Eventually, he knocked on the door.
“Enter.” Lewis was reading a stack of documents as he spoke without lifting his head to acknowledge
his assistant.
Conrad swiftly entered the study. “President Alvarez, all the shareholders have been. contacted.
Everything should be in order.”
“Alright.”
Conrad opened his mouth, debating if he should speak more.
Lewis waited for him to speak before raising his head. “Is there anything else?”
“About Mrs. Alvarez-are you not going to continue looking for her anymore?”
Lewis’ movements stilled, and he fell silent.
After a long pause, he spoke again. “Have you found her yet?”
“No, I mean, should we increase our search efforts? If we continue searching like this with limited
information regarding her whereabouts, I’m afraid it would take more than months- years even to find
anything remotely useful.”
Lewis put down the document he had been reading earlier. He fixed his gaze on Conrad as he sat in
silence for a long time.
“You can leave now.”
“But, Seth-”
“Get out!” Lewis raised his voice, his eyes filled with coldness so terrifying that Conrad was immediately
frightened into silence.
He shut his mouth and retreated out of the room.
Those days, he thought he’d almost figured out why the president had been so calm throughout the
series of calamities that struck them. In a situation like this, he could accomplish nothing by losing his
head and succumbing to anxiety.
If he had devoted all of his energy to investigating Josephine’s whereabouts, he would have inevitably
delayed everything else he had going on on the side.
Moreover, what use would there be even if he’d found her?
Was he to trade shares for her safety under Seth’s threats?
Or was he to drive Seth up a wall until he was forced to kill Josephine and himself?
If things had reached that point, the president would get nothing by then no matter what he
did.
The more Conrad thought about it, the colder his heart turned and the more respect he felt for the
president. His ability to weigh the pros and cons of a situation with composure was truly
admirable.
Such a person was destined for great success and would never be held back by his emotions. and
personal relationships.
As for the key to making the best choices-it was nothing but a balancing act.
Night fell.
In the homestead, the temperature plunged more than a few degrees in response. Josephine was clad
in a dark men’s jacket made from wool. The jacket seemed to be Seth’s. It was incredibly long, and the
fabric was sweeping around her ankles.
A brazier was burning in the building beside where she was squatting while Seth sat on an armchair
nearby.
Her ankles were bound to chains again. Only, this time, it wasn’t rope that encircled her ankles but
metal chains anchored to the legs of the bed.
Its length was just enough for her to move around the building.
The building was very quiet. Apart from the crackling of flames within the brazier, the only sound that
could be discerned was that of Seth flipping through the pages of his book.
The warm orangish hue of the fire’s glow illuminated his face as he read, softening his already delicate
features.
Josephine’s legs were slightly numb after squatting on the ground for an extended period. Noiselessly,
she sat down and shifted into a kneeling position.
Seth glanced at her but said nothing
Josephine stared at the brazier, the reflection of the flames dancing in her eyes. Her long eyelashes
were lowered, hiding the emotions simmering in her eyes.
The way she squatted on the ground beneath his feet was reminiscent of a dog-a docile one
too
She let her mind wander when a hand landed on the crown of her head
The muscles in her neck tensed Josephine felt her entire body freeze, and she dared not move for fear
of what he was about to do to her.
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Seth stroked her hair as he read. She closed her eyes and let him touch her hair however he wanted.
How he petted her she almost felt like a dog personified.
And yet, she dared not move without his permission After all, if she ended up angering him, she would
not only have to endure the mental anguish he would undoubtedly inflict upon her but also physical
torment.
In this aspect, she could be considered an expert at this point.
Since she couldn’t escape from him anyway, why not make things easier for herself?
*Go add some more coal,” Seth demanded suddenly
Josep
sealed to her feet unmediately, dragging the chains on her feet to a wooden state filled with coal
Scooping a few pieces of coal with a shovel, she deposited them into the bstacles and gland at beth,
waiting his instractions
Seth gave her a look. Silae parsed her lips in response and squatted beneath him once again.
Eventually, exhausted from the squatting, she made a move to sit. Then, when she was tired of sitting,
she hefted herself into a squat again
The building had a stool and a bed, but Serth simply wouldn’t allow hit to sit on either
Josephine didn’t know how much time had passed before her eyelids drooped, her body falling forward
unintentionally, heading straight for the brazier
As the boiling heat scorched her face, she jerked awake, but it was too late.
Suddenly, she felt her neck tighten, her head suspended mid-air. Slowly, she turned her head to reveal
Seth pinching her collar.
He pulled her away from the brazier, and she felt her legs collapse beneath her. As she slumped onto
the ground, she stared at the brazier blankly, cold sweat dotting her forehead.
Seth chuckled. “My, my, look at you. You’ve got to have some guts to be falling asleep in your current
state.”
Josephine lowered her head and stared at her toes motionlessly.
He squatted by her side again and lifted her chin with two fingers. “My sweet Josephine, do you still
want to go back?”
Josephine stared at his smiling eyes, her lips tightly pinched. She wasn’t sure whether he was testing
her.
She remained silent.
“Do you?”
She shook her head immediately as soon as she detected the low currents of danger in his tone.
“Really?”
She nodded.
The smile in his eyes deepened. His fingers shifted downward suddenly. “Don’t lie. Good girls.
don’t lie.”
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