Saving the Villain

The weekend rolled in in a blink of an eye and it was time for Cosette to visit their ancestral home where her grandparents were. The Blac's ancestral home was in another state, so Cosette and Conrad flew over Friday night to use the weekend with her grandparents to its maximum potential, but that wasn't the father and daughter's idea; it was the request of the grandparents.

One might think they were in it for a heartwarming family reunion, but the reality was far different from that.

Silence dawned in the dining hall with Cosette sitting next to Conrad, an old man on the head seat, and then an elderly woman on the left across Conrad's spot. The old man on the head seat was in a knitted sweater. His hair was already blanched but was neatly tucked behind. He had visible wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and near the corner of his lips, but his overall appearance could be concluded as strong. He seemed younger and healthier for his age.

Cosette pursed her lips and shifted her eyes at the elderly woman across from her father. Just like her grandfather, the woman's hair was arranged in an old-fashioned low bun with a gold-plated pin. The wrinkles on her small face were shallow, and Cosette could tell the woman aged elegantly. She had only a few pieces of jewelry on her, but she was certain each piece costs a fortune.

Cosette's eyes carefully veered to her father, who was sitting on her side. As usual, Conrad was eating silently, as if they weren't having a family reunion. The quietness wasn't even peaceful, it was only awkward as none of the three had said more than what was necessary since their arrival an hour ago.

"Cosette and I will leave Monday morning," was Conrad's icebreaker after the prolonged silence, raising his eyes at the elders. "I believe that is already being filial, considering Cosette will have school on Monday."

The old man snorted. "What is the rush, boy? I can send her straight to her school via a chopper. I assume her school will at least have enough space for a chopper to land."

"It doesn't."

"Then we can find another —"

"I don't think you understand." Conrad paused, arms propped against the edge of the table. "I am not asking for your permission, nor I am looking for a vehicle to send my daughter to school. What I am saying is informing you because I don't think we'll have time to when we leave."

SLAM!

Cosette flinched when her grandfather slammed his palm against the table. Her grandfather and her father stare at each other, and somehow she could see the invisible blue flames around Conrad and the bright red fire around her grandfather clashing in the middle.

"Marcel, Conrad, should you really argue the first time you see each other after a very long time?" Cosette's grandmother, Gretchen Blac, let out a long-suffering sigh. "This is our first family meal together after a long time. Please, you two. Behave yourselves."

Gretchen shifted her pair of gentle eyes at Cosette, offering her granddaughter an apologetic smile. Cosette smiled back meekly and then reached for Conrad's hand.

"Papa, please be kind to grandpa. This should be a happy occasion." Cosette watched Conrad look back at her and caught how the fire in his eyes diminished the second their eyes met. "Thank you."

"Hmph!" the grandfather, Marcel Blac, let out a loud huff, obviously displeased at his son. Conrad had always been like this: distant, apathetic, and too blunt for his own good. How could he talk about leaving when it hadn't been an hour since they sat down here?

"Grandpa, my dad is only concerned about my health since I'll be too exhausted on Monday." Cosette flashed the grumpy Marcel a sweet smile, attempting to dispense the tension in the air. "But we have the weekend for ourselves. I really want to spend this weekend with grandpa and grandma."

Marcel was still frowning as he arched a brow at Cosette. Staring at the sweet and bright smile plastered on her face, the gloom reigning over the dining hall slowly disappeared.

"Our sweet Cosette." Gretchen smiled subtly, reaching for Marcel's hand and tapping it. "Your baba and nana also want to spend time with our dearest princess. Right, Marcel?"

"Hmph!" Marcel looked away with a huff, but Gretchen simply chuckled.

"That means he is happy," she said to Cosette, retrieving her hand from her husband to signal Cosette to eat up. "Eat, my dear. Your nana prepared everything, knowing you'd come tonight."

"Yes, Nana." Cosette happily picked up the cutlery to resume eating.

As she ate, Cosette could not help but glance at her elders and her father from time to time. She couldn't take off the smile on her face because seeing them, having a meal with her, was something that didn't happen in the past.

Conrad's relationship with his parents wasn't mended in the past because he was in an accident in Sharie, which he, thankfully, avoided in this lifetime. She remembered her grandparents had contacted Conrad after the accident, but for some reason, that was just one time. Cosette assumed her father shunned them.

Her first official meeting with them was Conrad's funeral, but Cosette was already too numb to even bother at that time. So, she didn't have such a great relationship with those two, whom she had always believed had abandoned her father and her. Not to mention, they were the ones who made that deal with the Stone family and her engagement with Ezekiel Stone. Hence, she partly blamed them for her miserable life.

Cosette only realized her grandparents truly cared about her when they took care of her while she withered in the hospital. Now, in this lifetime, Cosette had thought about this family relationship more and figured there were surely certain things she didn't know that she didn't bother finding out before. It was not like she planned to dig into whatever truth lies behind the crease in Conrad's relationship with them. But…

"I'm really happy that Nana and Baba came to the country to spend time with me and Dad," she expressed out of nowhere, catching the three off guard. Cosette raised her head, lips stretching from ear to ear, chuckling seeing the slight surprise in their eyes.

"I'm looking forward to this weekend."

Conrad's stiff shoulders slightly relaxed as her bright smile warmed up his heart. Finally, a smile resurfaced on his face. Gretchen, on the other hand, smiled warmly, casting Marcel a look. The latter looked flustered, clearing his throat to keep his brave front, but the slight blush on his cheek was apparent.