Saving the Villain

[ BLAC RESIDENCE ]

Maxen opened his eyes, only to meet Cosette\'s beautiful face. He glanced at the clock on the desk behind her, seeing it was just around four in the morning. It was early, so Maxen relaxed his body on her side.

\'I don\'t think I will ever get enough of this sight every time I wake up.\' Maxen brushed off a few strands of hair from her face carefully, smiling subtly.

Ever since Cosette started sneaking into his room, Maxen\'s morning had been great. Seeing her first thing he opened his eyes already set his mood to a positive one. Today was the same despite the incident last night.

\'It\'s a little too much, but I don\'t think he will stop unless she resorts to extreme ways.\' Maxen mentally nodded, thinking about how Cosette handled Ezekiel Stone.

Before coming into her room last night, Maxen overheard the angry elders of the Blac family and Conrad. As usual, Conrad only spoke his piece and then remained silent. Conrad didn\'t want anything to do with the Stone, and even if the elders of the two families reconciled, Conrad warned them to not drag Cosette and him into those events they kept organizing ever since they returned from abroad.

However, Marcel, instead of usually bantering with his son, already pledge that what happened was non-negotiable. Marcel could tolerate everything and might leave room for forgiveness because the Stone family was a close family friend. But not when his granddaughter\'s safety and peace were involved.

It was the same with Gretchen. She openly swore in her name that they\'d rather cut ties with the Stone family instead of secretly meeting with them. If the Stone Family offended these two, they would be fine and could forgive. But Cosette was the one who suffered.

Last night, the three finally agreed on something and they cut everything with the Stone Family.

Maxen wouldn\'t lie that this somehow surprised him. He heard the Stone and Blac family had a tight-knit relationship, especially the elders. And Maxen saw how close the two families were; they were like relatives in the way they acted.

Yet, Marcel and Gretchen easily decided without a second thought. Not that Maxen thought it was wrong nor was he put off about it. They were simply trying to protect their precious granddaughter. If anything, Maxen was glad that not just Conrad, but Cosette\'s grandparents were willing to go to such lengths to protect her.

\'So many people who love and protect you…\' A subtle smile appeared on his face. \'... I\'m really glad that you are loved, Cozie.\'

If this was before, Maxen\'s negative mindset would take this in a different way. He would surely compare his struggles and life to how opposite it was to her life. But now, all he could think was the reassurance that with or without him, there were people out there who would go beyond and above for her.

\'And you deserve it.\' Maxen moved closer until his forehead was touching hers. \'People like Ezekiel Stone won\'t be able to hurt you.\'

He closed his eyes, thinking of her reason for doing such measures. He was glad that Cosette didn\'t let Ezekiel have power over her. It surely took a lot of courage for her to do such a thing; she was even shaking when she opened that door.

\'I\'m sorry.\' Maxen carefully placed his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.

One way or another, Maxen was used by another to attack her. He promised Conrad to protect her, and that was why Maxen had been taking the security agency seriously.

\'Don\'t do this again next time for me.\' He opened his eyes slowly, lowering his head to kiss the top of her head. \'You\'ve done enough for me, and I don\'t want you going beyond and above. You might lose yourself, and I will not forgive myself if that ever happened.\'

Maxen was thankful to her, and words weren\'t enough for him to express that. Matter of fact, even actions to express how grateful he was to Cosette seemed to feel lacking. She had done a lot, and Maxen wanted her to would stop.

At least, he hoped she would stop going the extra mile just to protect him.

Maxen stayed with her on the bed for the next hour, hugging her and kissing her head. He couldn\'t fall back to sleep despite knowing it was still Sunday and he could sleep some more. He still has to leave her room before everyone wakes up, knowing he only snuck inside here. This was the only place Maxen was forbidden to cross and after a year, this was the only time he broke that rule.

Conrad would kill him if he found out Maxen snuck into her room.

When the clock hits exactly one hour, Maxen carefully slipped away from the bed. Fortunately, Cosette was deep asleep and didn\'t wake up. Hence, he tucked her in and made sure she wouldn\'t wake up cold. After making sure she was alright, he planted a kiss on her head and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Cosette might not hear it as she was asleep, but even when she was sleeping, he didn\'t hesitate to express his heart.

"I\'ll see you later." He smiled, caressing her forehead gently. He gazed at her for a minute before sauntering off to go back to his room.

His steps were careful and even when he closed the door, he did it in the most cautious way to not wake her up. Maxen looked around the floor, being cautious lest he bump into someone. Fortunately, he had lived here for a year now that he knew the servants mostly work on the first floor to not disturb the young miss.

Since her room was on the second floor, Maxen had to check downstairs if there was anyone. Fortunately, he saw no one. In a haste, Maxen hurriedly went down, but the moment he reached the first floor, he froze.

Maxen slowly turned his head. Coming from the direction of the dining was Conrad. The latter also froze, staring at Maxen before shifting his eyes to the stairs Maxen came from.

\'Shit…\' Maxen cursed internally, telling himself he should ask for permission next time! This was why he didn\'t want to break the rules in this house or, at least, ask Conrad\'s permission if he ever needed to. He didn\'t want to disappoint this man.

Maxen was dead for sure.