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The Blac residence was a huge property with complete amenities seen in luxury establishments. When Cosette went to make some snacks, refusing everyone\'s helping hand, Maxen dragged his feet towards the theater room to set up nothing. The servants cleaned every corner and room of the mansion. Therefore, he just had to sit down leisurely and overthink Cosette\'s \'dangerous\' hobby.

Even when she arrived and they both chose a horror film, his concern for her continuously increased.

Maxen was just sitting at arm\'s length in the middle of the long couch. His eyes were fixed on the enormous television, bearing an utterly solemn countenance. His mind, however, was drifting about something else.

\'Why is she so into those kinds of stories?\' he asked himself for the umpteenth time, remembering how she was giggling and squealing earlier. \'Does she need therapy for this too?\'

A deep exhale escaped his nostrils, massaging his brows. Little did he know, Cosette had noticed how distracted he was. Initially, she thought the reason Maxen wore that straight face despite the jump scare was that it didn\'t terrify him. But the more she observed him through the corner of her eyes, she was convinced that wasn\'t the case.

"Everything good?" she asked, watching him arch a brow and cast her a look. The second their eyes locked with each other, she couldn\'t help but gulp down the popcorn she was chewing. Perhaps because they didn\'t see each other that much in the past two months that she wasn\'t used to how defined his facial features were now. Especially that sharp jaw.

"I guess..." he answered under his breath, failing to notice the attentiveness in her eyes.

"You guess?" Despite the distraction, Cosette managed to stay on the subject. "Where is that uncertainty coming from?"

Cosette blinked twice before her brows knitted. Maxen didn\'t answer immediately and just stared at her in silence, making her slightly self-conscious.

"What, Max?" she asked one more time. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my face?"

"Uh... nothing." He shook his head, snapping his eyes. "Forget it."

She frowned, stretching her legs until her feet were over his lap. "Unfortunately, that only increased my interest."

"It\'s nothing, really."

"It\'s something," she argued, raising both her brows. "Come on, Max. Tell me."

"We\'re watching a movie."

"I can re-watch it again in my free time." She shrugged. "I can\'t return the time that had already gone by. I\'d rather spend it listening to you than watch."

Cosette\'s expression bore innocence, not trying to sound romantic, but still tugged his heartstrings. Maxen let out a shallow breath, cursing himself for letting her notice. What was he supposed to tell her now? That he saw what she was reading, and he had been concerned since? Not that he considered she would be upset and misunderstand that he was invading her privacy, but... she might feel embarrassed.

"Don\'t you ever lie to me," she warned when his lips parted, narrowing her eyes as if reading what he was planning. "Just tell me it\'s something you can\'t share with me, then I will stop pressing about it. Just don\'t lie to me. I sort of hate being kept in the dark for some reason."

Maxen studied her countenance for a moment and sighed. "Fine." He then picked up her phone from the back pockets of his jeans, tossing it to her side.

Her brows furrowed upon recognizing the phone case, raising her eyes full of genuine wonder back at him. Even before he could start his explanation, she held her breath as her heart thudded.

"I didn\'t mean to peek, but before coming in here, I noticed it in the lobby. Knowing you will turn the house upside down while looking for it, I picked it up to give it to you. But I accidentally tapped the back arrow button, and..." Maxen\'s face heat up, a little embarrassed as if he caught her showering. He cleared his throat, trying to muster his courage to continue.

"But, uh... I saw the cover of the novel you were reading." He lowered his eyes, recalling the horror when he saw the cover that appeared as if it had something to do with BDSM.

\'I knew it.\' Horror dominated her face at the thought, eyes blank but still on Maxen. \'Is he scared of me now?\'

Not that Cosette was embarrassed about reading boy\'s love. Actually, she loved them and was a proud fan of the genre. Especially the smut was mostly better than straight romance. The only reason she was horrified was that Maxen... was often overwhelmed with the idea and might think of her as strange.

"Max..." she called awkwardly, thinking of how to salvage this situation.

"Don\'t get me wrong. I mean, I\'m not against men being with men, but I don\'t want them displaying their affection right in front of my face," he explained his side of the story just to make her less uncomfortable. "But I\'ve never seen a girl like that type of story in her free time."

"But you never knew a lot of ladies, Max," she blurted out, causing pin-drop silence in the room. "I mean, you don\'t even bother with other people, so of course, you don\'t know. But that doesn\'t mean this is abnormal!"

"Huh?"

"Our classmates like this type of story!" she exclaimed, using what she previously blurted out accidentally to her advantage. "That\'s why they sometimes ship you and Luke, remember? Also, some of them actually think you look great with Ash."

"What?" Maxen scrunched his nose up in dismay, unable to comprehend how the hell was he being tied with those Quinn brothers?! Also, did she just call Asher, Ash?

Unaware of his muddled thoughts, Cosette pressed her lips into a thin line. "I mean, it\'s just them..."

"Are you close with Luke\'s brother now?" he asked, ignoring their initial subject, as this one was way more important. "I heard from Sir Conrad that you had a current joint project with the Quinn Holdings. So, I sort of knew you had met him a few times. Was he your friend now, too?"

"What..." Cosette knitted her brows, taking her time from this sudden transition in their discussion. \'Why do I feel like a wife getting caught red-handed by my husband?\'

She studied Maxen\'s expression and tilted her head to the side. He didn\'t seem angry or aggressive. If anything, all she saw in his eyes was plain curiosity. How upsetting.

"It\'s not like we\'ve grown close or something like that, but since we\'re both involved in the project, it\'s better to maintain a friendly and professional relationship with the Quinns," she explained, choosing her wording carefully because of lingering nervousness she didn\'t know where it was coming from.

"Ahh..."

"Why?" she asked this time, weighing if she should continue this discussion or just move on. In the end, Cosette was a bit upset he didn\'t have any strong reaction to her \'ambiguous\' relationship with Asher, so she chose to continue.

"Why do you want to know about my relationship with Asher?" she asked.

"Well, curious."

"I see..." she rocked her head, biting her inner lip. Just then, a memory crossed her head, making her raise a brow slightly. "He actually wants me to date him."

Cosette studied Maxen, anticipating any reaction from him but to no avail. Maxen simply froze, but not enough for her to notice. But he managed to keep his composure, only to let out an indifferent, "oh?"

\'Oh?\' she frowned slightly. \'What did I expect?\'

"I refused him, though." She shrugged, huffing faintly to release the slight frustration at his lack of reaction. "But he told me he will try..."

"Do you like him?" he asked without beating around the bush.

"Well, he isn\'t that bad, in my opinion. He is handsome, smart, decisive, and a complete package," Cosette simply stated the obvious, although she didn\'t have the slightest desire to date the male lead of this story. "He might be a little arrogant, but he\'s still young and he will eventually — Max, you\'ll break my ankle if you hold it that tight."

Maxen released her ankle immediately when she pointed out how his grip was tightening. "Uh, sorry. Was trying to massage it."

"Oh..." she nodded in understanding and then continued. "Should I date him? What do you think?"

"Why are you asking me?" he returned almost sarcastically. "Will you not date him if I said no?"

"Will you say no?"

Maxen narrowed his eyes to hide the dangerous glint that flickered across them. "Don\'t date him."

"Why?" she cocked her head. "Jealous?"

"What if I am?"

This time, Cosette took a moment to answer. She studied him for a second before placing the bowl of popcorn on the table in front of them. She then dragged her rear closer to him without moving her feet from his lap.

"You\'re really jealous?" she asked with anticipation when she was a few closer to him. Her lips stretched from side to side, wanting to see him up close to see the truth even if he lie on the skin of his teeth.

Maxen fluttered his eyelashes ever so tenderly, realizing she used Asher as bait to get a reaction from him. But he didn\'t feel manipulated since he barely showed emotion as if he had seen it coming.

"Yes," he replied under his breath, raising a hand to play with the tip of her hair. "If you date him, I\'ll date someone else… maybe, fuck her too, while I\'m at it."