Saving the Villain

Days after Conrad\'s supposed plans to fly to the country of Sharie, a war between the government and the anti-government broke out. The people the BLK Corporation sent were caught in the crossfire, but fortunately, no one was gravely injured and returned to the country in one piece.

How that happened was because Cosette suggested raising the security of their people, to which Conrad agreed. Everyone was relieved Conrad didn\'t go himself because even though their people returned in one piece, the chaos was so bad they barely made it out. It was better if Conrad was safe since the company would move properly and the order would be kept efficient if he was safe than having him in the middle of the crossfire.

With that being said, Conrad and the BLK Corporation were still on a setback and he had been busy since.

Meanwhile, Cosette also returned to her normal life.

pAn,Da-n0v e1,c Ever since Maxen started living in their house, she had been at ease. However, that didn\'t mean her life had been more peaceful. In fact, it was the opposite.

When Luke came to know about this, he lost it. Literally. Cosette could still remember how he made a fuss for an entire week, staying over the Blac\'s residence an hour before midnight, and sticking his nose in Maxen\'s business.

In other words, he was keeping an eye on Maxen.

Conrad had been busy, but Luke felt more like a strict parent, keeping his eyes open just in case Maxen would do something \'silly\' to Cosette. Luke and Maxen\'s relationship had also improved... or just grew worse. But at least, aside from their constant banter and taunting, they hadn\'t chosen violence... yet.

That had been the story of her life. Cosette sandwiched with Luke\'s daily drama, her classmate enjoying — looking forward, even — how this Telenovela unfolds, and then watch Luke sniff around Maxen once they reached home. It had been that continuous cycle that she somehow got used to it until they all didn\'t realize it was already summer vacation.

"Nanny Lucia, is it just me? Or does time fly so fast?" Cosette turned her head to Lucia, who was entering her room early in the morning to bring her some water.

"Young Miss, time runs the same." Lucia chuckled as she placed the water on the bedside table, a routine both of them got used to. She then sat down on the edge of the bed while Cosette was still lazing around. "Maybe it feels fast because you just don\'t notice the time since you are enjoying it."

"Enjoying it...?" Cosette blinked and gazed at the ceiling, revisiting her days in school since today was the first day of their school vacation. She thought her days were just a repeat, but now that she thought about it, she sort of missed school. Why? Because at the end of the day, there was more in her days than Luke and Maxen\'s banter.

She hadn\'t noticed it, but she was hanging out more with the girls. She also made more friends, and everyone was growing close with Maxen. Although the latter was obviously unhappy with it. But Maxen never told them off.

Cosette grinned before she faced Lucia. "I guess you\'re right, Nana. I like school and I already missed my friends."

"I\'m sure they feel the same." Lucia smiled softly, glad to hear Cosette missing her friends. In the past, it didn\'t matter to Cosette if it was school days and vacations. The only difference was that Cosette had to adjust her schedule; she was just as equally busy as Conrad.

With that being said, Lucia left Cosette so she could laze around. The young miss had worked hard the past months, waking up early in the morning to make lunch boxes without a break. Therefore, she deserved to have a lazy day.

Lucia looked back inside when she was by the door and chuckled. Cosette was rolling around on the bed, enjoying her lazy day.

\'I\'m glad she seems fine doing nothing.\' Lucia shook her head mildly before closing the door carefully.

Meanwhile, Cosette enjoyed the softness of her blanket while rolling around her bed. When she got exhausted and found a snug position, she stopped and blinked.

"There\'s nothing better than doing nothing," she crooned with a relaxed smile, knowing she didn\'t have to do anything anymore. Cosette remained silent for a while, blinking until all she could hear was nothing but silence.

Her smile faded as her relaxed expression turned dead.

"I\'m bored… already," she confessed, rising from her position. "I don\'t know what to do, honestly."

A deep exhale slipped past her lips. Cosette got used to her daily routine that now it was vacation, she didn\'t know what to do. She glanced at the clock resting peacefully on the bedside table.

"It\'s too early to bother Maxen…" she whispered. Although Maxen was awake at this time, he was definitely not in the mood. "I don\'t know if his temper is getting worse because of Luke or his patience is getting longer."

Cosette shook her head and wondered what to do for today. This wasn\'t just a normal weekend where it would pass so easily. This was a vacation and she wouldn\'t see her friends for that long.

"That\'s sad…" she frowned, thinking about her classmates who became her friends as well. She would usually check on Sarah, and the latter would always tell her everything was fine. Well, Sarah would talk to her if she wasn\'t. Cosette was glad that Sarah was stronger than she appeared, so she wasn\'t deeply worried about her.

"It\'s too early for everyone. I bet they were still sleeping." Cosette flung her legs out of the bed and marched towards her desk. She opened one of the drawers and picked up her daily journal.

It was too early to be calling her friends on the first day of vacation. They were all probably enjoying the morning glory of the first day of their school break. So Cosette didn\'t want to bother them for now and sound annoying. Instead, she wanted to plan her schedule for the entire vacation.

Another deep sigh slipped past her lips. "I honestly don\'t have any plans," she mumbled, holding the pen and staring at the blank page of her notebook.

"In sister Cozie\'s memories, she would usually work in the company during summer vacation or attend seminars to add her skills." Cosette sighed for the umpteenth time. "I\'m already glad Max lives here. So, I\'m less worried nowadays."

In the past, Cosette was always restless the second she woke up, wondering about Maxen\'s well-being. But ever since Maxen lived in the Blac residence, Cosette was at peace. Although she would bother him from time to time, it wasn\'t to the extent she would harass him and not respect his alone time.

"Hmm… should I plan a vacation with Papa and Maxen? The three of us?" she wondered, tapping the end of the pen against her temple lightly. "Will that be fine with Papa? I mean, to Maxen as well?"

She pursed her lips, thinking Conrad had been busy since the problem in Sharie rose. Although things had settled down, her father was still as busy as ever. He would still take some time for dinner so he could share a meal with her, but she had noticed that Conrad had been staying late at night in his office.

"Who would have thought…?" she murmured as a subtle smile resurface on her face. "That I will last this long here?"

At first, Cosette believed this was all a dream — a long one. She didn\'t want to believe this was her world now because she might wake up one day. But the longer she stayed, she had slowly come to terms with this dilemma. It was not like she entirely believed this was her reality now, but she told herself to enjoy her time here for as long as she could.

In that case, even if she wakes up, she would have tons of memories to keep. Thinking like this helped her accept her circumstances and treasure all relationships she had.

Cosette chuckled as she reviewed her time here from the beginning. Every day was a blessing for her. She enjoyed every second in this world and deep in her heart, she wished to stay here forever.

DING!

She snapped her eyes as her thoughts were abruptly cut off when a notification sound came from her phone. Her eyes veered towards her phone on the desk, reaching for it to check who could be texting her early in the morning.

Cosette chuckled the second she saw Luke\'s message. It says;

[ Cozie… I\'m bored to death. ]

"Me too," she replied and sent it without a second hesitation. She could imagine Luke\'s dead expression just by reading his message. Knowing Luke, he was also the person who disliked doing nothing, but also, doesn\'t bother people aside from her.

"Right?!?! Back in the academy, I always wish for a vacation to come! But now, I\'m dead. Everyone is just busy as hell and I don\'t know what to do," was Luke\'s reply before he sent another message. "That\'s why I invited everyone on a trip. I\'ll be fetching you, but leave that **** behind."

Cosette raised her brows as she read his message. "A trip, huh?" she mumbled, before the corner of her lips curled up.

"Count me in. Maxen will come else, my dad won\'t allow me to come."

"Ughhh!!!!!!! That cunning fox! He surely found a powerful backer!" she giggled at Luke\'s reply.