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Meanwhile...

Although Conrad told Maxen to return to his room, which was located on the opposite wing from Cosette\'s room, Maxen didn\'t go back to his room. Instead, after a lot of contemplation, he paced back and forth in the lobby before sneaking to the section of the mansion where she would take to go back to her room.

He might get in trouble, but he was worried. He wanted to talk to Cosette and apologize if she got scolded because he sold her — or rather, the two of them out. Maxen paced restlessly in the corridor, ruffling his hair in irritation from time to time, and spatting a few chosen cursed words under his breath.

\'I should\'ve let my guilt eat me!\' he scolded himself, planting his palms against the wall. His breathing had turned heavy from the tension filling his chest. He was aware Conrad would never raise his hand on his daughter. However, that was still not enough to stop him from worrying.

Maxen hung his head low, hands still spread on the furnished cream wall. His tousled hair dangled past his eyebrows, eyes brewing darkness as gloom emanated from his broad back.

"Shit..." he spat out another profanity and closed his eyes in distress. \'I should\'ve kept it to myself.\'

Maxen tried to keep what happened between them a secret he would take to his grave. But every passing day where he would see how exhausted Conan was, his guilt was devouring his soul bit by bit. Conrad was a great man worthy of Maxen\'s and the world\'s admiration. By keeping what he did to his daughter a secret, it felt like a bone that was stuck in his throat sink deeper into his chest.

​ But this shame didn\'t come from an \'impulsive\' decision to kiss Cosette. But this shame\'s source was that he didn\'t regret it, and he would have no problem doing it again if he had to make the same decision.

So, when he couldn\'t take it anymore, he asked Conrad a moment of his time to confess this \'sinful\' and \'shameless\' desire to her father. He had thought of many consequences. Even the worst possible of getting his life ruined crossed his head, but he still proceeded and confessed.

But Cosette just came.

Maxen let out another long-suffering sigh as he thought about what could\'ve been happening in Conrad\'s room. There were many methods to hurt Cosette, aside from physical violence. Maxen could tolerate any beating, but not Cosette. Be it emotional or physical, he didn\'t want to see her cry once again.

Yet, he already prepared himself to see her puffy eyes once she returned to her room. And that was because of him.

\'Shit, shit, shit!\' he cursed at himself in his head, balling his hands into a tight fist against the wall. If he didn\'t have the slightest self-control, he would\'ve punched the wall to see whether his knuckles break first or the wall.

\'I\'m going crazy... fu —\'

"Max?"

Maxen\'s back froze as soon as her voice rang from his side. His heart thudded as his breath hitched for a moment. Reluctance washed over him, afraid to turn his head and be welcomed with a pair of swollen eyes. He let out a deep exhale, mustering his courage to face what he dreaded.

He slowly pushed himself from the wall. He closed his eyes and drew another deep breath. When he reopened his eyes, Cosette was already standing at an arm\'s length from him. His gaze studied her face, seeing her blink almost innocently while looking back at him with pure curiosity in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, knowing this was the first time he came into this part of the mansion. They were just several steps from her room on the second floor. Maxen rarely go up to this floor since his room was on the first floor near the pool and garden. His room was close to all amenities in the residence, so there was no need for him to idle on the second floor unless there was an important reason.

"You\'re okay?" he blurted out, and his tone had this twinge of relief.

Hearing his question, the corner of her lips curled up playfully. So, he was here because he was worried about her?

"You sold me out." She pouted, punching his arm mildly, her knuckles barely brushing it. "How can you do that to me?"

"Cozie, I -- d"

"Pfft!" Cosette bit her lower lips to stop herself from giggling, observing the lines in between his forehead appear. "I\'m kidding, Max. I\'m not angry, nor did I get scolded for it."

His eyes examined her face to make sure there was not a trace of a white lie she could be hiding.

"I only explained to Papa what happened before we went to discuss my internship in the company," she continued, adding some details of her discussion with Conrad. "Well, not really an internship, but more like a tag along with him before the school year starts."

"Is that your punishment?" he blurted out, biting his tongue at the worry filling his tone.

"No." She smiled, eyes holding his gaze. "I just realized that I can\'t simply stay at home and wait for my dad to return home. It\'s my idea so I can spend more time with him. I\'m being proactive."

Maxen remained silent and even when he wanted to look away from her, he couldn\'t. There was a bit of sadness that pricked his heart like a needle with the thought of her tagging along with Conrad\'s endeavors. Her father was a busy man, and as such, she would also become busy.

"You can apply for some minor position in the company if you like." Her voice snapped him back to the current lapse. "I\'m sure Dad wouldn\'t mind since it\'s better for us to do something before the school year starts."

Her smile remained, trying to read his current train of thoughts through his clouded eyes, but unable to make up what exactly was going on in his head. But she didn\'t dwell on it as she tapped his shoulder slightly.

"I\'m going to rest for tonight because we will leave early tomorrow," she said, retrieving her hand to hold on to her back. "Good night, Max."

Cosette looked at his slightly gloomy face that could bring rainfall on a cloudless summer night. But Cosette ignored his gloominess and walked past him, holding her hands behind her, and skipped happily while humming a tune.

Maxen glanced back over his shoulder and set his eyes on her skipping figure. He heaved a sigh of relief but also felt this thorn stuck in his throat.

\'Well... why are you surprised?\' he asked himself. \'She\'s meant for big things like that and her intention is actually good.\'

Maxen combed his hair with his fingers, idling in that same spot as he peeled his eyes away from her.

\'I think getting time off from her is better since it\'ll be hard to control myself if she keeps teasing me.\' He thought of many reasons why letting her tag along with Conrad was perfect, and deluded himself that not seeing her for a while would benefit him.

However, he couldn\'t deny the slight nervousness that tagged along with the thought of \'Cosette\'s having no time\' for him. He was used to her presence and her nagging every single day, and the thought that would have to put on a sudden halt didn\'t sit well with him.

What could he do, though? He couldn\'t stop her despite the separation anxiety crawling under his skin.

Little did he know, while he stood idle in that same spot, Cosette was staring at his back while standing in front of her room. Her lips curled up mildly, which didn\'t reach her eyes.

\'I feel sad that I don\'t get to spend more time with him,\' she sighed inwardly. \'But it\'s better if we miss each other once in a while and I stop missing my dad.\' — because one particular realization that dawned on her during the trip was that Conrad was her only family. Or at least, Conrad was the only family she knew at this point.

She didn\'t want to regret not having enough time with her father. After all, once school started, she would be busy again and spend more time with Maxen. She would make up to him then.

"I\'ll miss him, though," she whispered, smacking her lips.

With that thought in mind, Cosette pushed the door open and stepped inside her room. At the same time, Maxen looked back one last time, only to see the door close silently.

"She\'s not going abroad..." he whispered with a deep sigh. "Why am I missing her already?"

Maxen shook his head sideways before he dragged his feet away to his room. Once he stepped inside his room, he looked around silently. The heaviness in his heart gained weight, and the silence was a little suffocating.

"I\'m really..." he muttered, trying to pierce the thick silence with his low voice. "... going crazy, am I?" — for wishing she would stay in here and just laze around like a sloth.

Because deep in Maxen\'s and Cosette\'s hearts, this decision of hers would surely give them enough time to barely see each other for the rest of the school break. That was for her to protect her heart from falling deeper and use that energy to spend more time with Conrad. And for him... to have to reevaluate his course of life.

But what they didn\'t realize was that the absence makes the heart grow fonder, and these brief months of staying from each other\'s way would only make them grow individually.