What Separates Me and You



Lewis did not stop when he heard Sierra's words. He went up to her and crouched.

Panicked, she wanted to hide her face behind something. There was nothing on the floor to grab. She had no choice but to hide her face behind her arms.

When he touched her on the shoulder, she trembled. He wanted her to face him, but she shook her head and struggled against his grip. "Don't look at me. Get out! Please!"

"Sierra!" He raised his voice. She froze as she was momentarily taken aback. Then, she scrambled to lie on the floor.

A few moments later, she finally cried out hysterically. Resting her head on her arm, she cried her heart out. The sounds of her crying echoed in the

room.

He lowered his gaze at her. She was stained in blood. Her hair was easily shorter than his.

The burn scars were visible on the skin across her forehead, temples, jaw, and nape. The wounds had begun to scab but did not peel off yet. The scars sprawled over her exposed skin like dark creases. It was a nauseating sight, if not ugly.

After days of mentally prepping herself for the reveal, Sierra still broke down when she saw herself in the mirror. Her calmness in the doctor's eyes was, in fact, hopelessness.

She lost her will to live after taking a look at herself. She wanted nothing more than instant death to vanish from the world.

Disfiguration was a massive blow to a woman. Not only that, Sierra's case was severe. She was nothing like her previous self. Finally, her crying waned. He asked, "Do you regret your decision?"

She closed her eyes. She didn't answer the question. It would be a lie to say she didn't regret it. However, there was no point crying over spilled milk.

A moment later, she confessed to him between sobs, "Yeah. I regret it. I don't regret saving you from the fire. I regret that you did not feel sorry for me even when I sacrificed this much for you. Why did I risk my life? What was that for?"

Tears flowed down her cheeks and drenched her sleeves once again.

A long pause later, Lewis finally helped her up from the floor. She turned her face away awkwardly to avoid his gaze.

She heard him saying, "You are in for a disappointment if you do something in the hope of some form of return."

She was taken aback by the remark. He added, "Humans are greedy. You are always dissatisfied and going after something."

His voice was as calm as usual. It was almost chilling to hear him.

"So?"

"So, don't be dumb next time."

Sierra chortled between tears when she heard him. One couldn't tell if she was crying or laughing.

"Right. I'm just an idiot. The biggest idiot who's proud of myself, just because you once said you liked how clueless I was ... Hahaha ..." Sierra was close to insanity. Lewis' words almost made her give up on herself. She steeled herself and spun around to face his gaze. Just like that, she exposed her disfigured face in front of him.

Her face was scarier than expected. Brownish scars sprawled across her face. Her nose bridge had collapsed, making her nostrils flare upward. Lewis did not react much except for a gleam in his eyes.

"Would you still like me if I looked like this?" She stared at her. Her shamefulness and ugliness were on full display. To her surprise, she didn't see the expected reaction from him.

She wondered if he was mentally tough or simply did not care about her appearance.

"No," Lewis replied to her question truthfully. Sierra was at a loss for words for a while. Finally, she muttered, "I thought you said looks didn't matter to you."

"Right. But the two aren't related." He stopped Sierra from arguing further. She wondered if she should admire his honesty or feel sad about his heartlessness.

He suddenly stood up and lifted her from the floor. He placed her on the bed. With the gesture, he proved that he definitely did not care about appearance. He simply didn't have feelings for her, which was a separate matter altogether.

He did not treat her with disdain or disgust because of her looks. He was also caring enough to lift her in his arms. However, he crushed her by admitting he wouldn't like her after her disfiguration.

She had a love-hate relationship with a man like Lewis.

"Don't do dumb stuff again. If you care a lot about your looks, I'll get you the best plastic surgeon once you've recovered."

Sierra turned her face away. She still lacked the courage to expose her disfigured face in front of him for long. After all, she loved him so much that she had risked her life for him.noveldrama

"What's plastic surgery good for? I'll not look like my old self no matter what surgeries I get." She had calmed down. The thought of the long road ahead of her plunged her into despair once more.

Even if Lewis told her he loved her, she would not believe him. If even she couldn't stand looking at herself, she wouldn't expect anyone else to do so. Even if he knelt and proposed to her, she wouldn't have the confidence to say yes. She had no choice but to accept the fact that her life was ruined. What good was the title of Mrs. Alvarez? She would have nothing to show off. She'd be jeered at, mocked at, and looked down upon.

When she lost her looks, she suddenly did not have any desire for money, power, or glory. They meant nothing to her anymore.

He said, "That's not necessarily true."

Sierra didn't have the energy to speak. She sank into a long silence to gather herself. After the pause, she asked, "Can you promise me two things?"

"Go ahead."

"Help me find my biological parents."

He nodded. "Sure."

However, Sierra didn't do that just so she could reunite with them. She only wanted to take a look at her parents, who had abandoned her.

She needed to confront them about the reason they gave her up. Was she not as good as Sophia King?

"What else?" he asked.

She gave it some thought and added, "One more thing. Can you visit me daily?"

While she was speaking, she reflexively glanced at him. She belatedly realized that she had exposed her face again, but she was too tired to hide it. She went on, "I already ruined my face. Although I willingly saved your life, you can't deny that you are the reason I am disfigured. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

He openly stared at her and grunted, "Yeah, it's not too much to ask."

"So, promise me these two things. We will be even after this. You won't be indebted to me anymore. You don't have to feel guilty, although you probably never did." After speaking, she stared quietly at him. She waited for his answer.

She made a compromise. If she couldn't get him to love her, she would like to maximize his time with her.

What she needed the most was his company. It was the only reason she lived for.