Saving the Villain

"Let's date, Cosette Blac."

Cosette stared at Asher blankly before her head cocked to the side. For a moment, she questioned her ear for deceiving her, but because of the look in his eyes, there was no way she heard him incorrectly.

"Haha..." came out a chuckle, sprawling her hand over the chabudai, and touching his forehead. He frowned at her action, seeing that she wasn't taking him seriously when it took him a lifetime of arrogance to propose that idea.

"Stop it." He slapped her hand away mildly.

"Wow... there's a limit to how you tease me, Young Master Quinn."

"I'm not teasing you," he breathed out, impatience apparent in his tone. "I am serious, Cosette. Let's date."

This time, Cosette looked at him in dismay. Her eyes bobbed, examining him carefully. If this was before, she would slightly panic, but no. After two months of constant interaction with this guy, Cosette was aware this had nothing to do with feelings or whatnot.

Asher was an arrogant young master. Although he wasn't as high profile as his little brother, Asher was used to the world revolving around him. Hence, when things were something that was out of the pattern he was used to, he would tend to delve into it to fill his curiosity or just to feed his ego.

"Why?" she asked, leaning her arms against the table. "Why do you want to date me? Do you plan on marrying me?"

"Huh?"

"If you want to date me, then it is only normal for you to have plans to marry me so we can start family planning," she explained casually, trying her best to sound natural without laughing. "So, do you want to marry me? Will you give me your word?"

Asher's mouth opened slightly, only for him to shut them again. His eyes remained on her, and she seemed serious about these principles she had on dating! Marriage? Family planning? Wasn't she going too fast?

A shallow breath slipped past her lips while shaking her head. His lack of answer was enough for her to know the answer she was looking for. Although he was arrogant in his own cunning way, Asher was a man of his words. He was the person who would keep his word as much as he could, so a half-hearted promise was hard for him to speak without a second thought.

"What are you thinking about asking me on a date?" she broke the silence between them. "You know Luke is wooing me. Do you know what he will feel if he hears about this?"

"What about it?" he returned almost immediately and coldly.

"What do you mean 'what about it?'" she repeated with a frown. "This is why Luke is my friend and you're not — yet. I'm not saying you should act like a martyr, but to purposely use me for whatever means is an insult not just to me, but also to your brother who had been sincere with his feelings since day one."

Cosette pushed herself away from the table and straightened her back. "Young Master Quinn, you are better than this. I don't know what suddenly pushed you to propose such a ridiculous idea, but I'm disappointed. You might not care about what I feel or my opinion, but there are certain things you cannot force or get by force."

"Money can only give you that much, but honestly, the baseline money gives you isn't much." She tapped her chest with her index. "Money and mutual benefits aren't everything. They only work in some areas and are a big factor in business. But sometimes, even if you are lacking in those, you just need a heart and hope your sincerity will be appreciated."

Her lips curled up peacefully. "Don't do that again, okay?"

Asher stared at her kind smile in silence and his hand under the table balled into a tight fist before they loosened. Her words were akin to a riddle to him. However, even before he could speak another word, the door slid open. He didn't take his eyes off of her, even when she gazed in the door's direction, and smiled.

"Cozie, let's go," urged Conrad with his classic dull tone, to which she replied in a lively voice.

Just as Cosette was assisting herself up, she looked back in Asher's direction. Seeing that he was simply looking at her with a pair of unreadable eyes, she knocked on the table to take him out of his trance.

"See you around, Ash." She grinned and erected a finger. "Behave."

With that being said, Cosette rushed outside to follow her father. Meanwhile, Asher remained in the same spot for minutes. He didn't even budge when Maynard's assistant came to tell him they would leave.

"I'll stay here for a while and he can go first." Asher turned his head to the window's direction, while the other man bowed and left without a word of refute.

"Hah..." he breathed out, almost chuckling as he recalled what she told him. Although she didn't directly refuse him, she refused him. He wouldn't sugarcoat it and hold on to hope she was simply playing hard to get because she wasn't. Asher wouldn't delude himself.

How odd, he thought.

"You just need a heart?" he repeated, narrowing his eyes. "And hope my sincerity will be appreciated?"

What did that mean?

What if it wasn't appreciated?

Myriads of questions hovered over his head with that simple statement that was easy to understand, but at the same time, not. At least, it wasn't that easy for him. How could he? Since birth, everything he did was exceptional and was greatly appreciated.

But now that he thought about it, he realized everything he did in the past until now, he never asked for recognition or appreciation. Why would he? People would naturally give it to him to the point it was too much and annoying. So in his understanding, appreciation would naturally come if one put an effort into it — not hope.

"Did she call me..." the side of his lips curled up, recalling another thing before she left. "Ash? Hah... how sweet."

Although her words were akin to a hard riddle he wanted to crack, he hardly felt annoyance at her refusal. Perhaps it was because of the extreme beliefs she had about dating or because, deep in his heart, he hoped she wouldn't accept it that he didn't feel irritated.

"She's right, though." He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath to clear his head. "I shouldn't have even proposed such an idea without careful consideration."

When he reopened his eyes, a subtle smile appeared on his face. "This time... I truly owe her an apology — Luke, too."

If Cosette was a little heartless, Luke's and Asher's already strained relationship would only worsen. Asher couldn't believe himself, and now that he had a clearer mind, he was also disappointed at himself for not considering his little brother's feelings.

Although the very reason he thought of asking Cosette on a date was that everyone was just being too considerate to Luke, while he only thought of 'pressure' being the eldest. It was still wrong from every angle. The pressure on Asher twined with the recognition and appreciation was what he was born to carry. He shouldn't blame that on Luke.

When he reopened his eyes, he chuckled bitterly.

"He will really kill me this time," he mumbled, thinking about Luke's explosive temperament if Cosette agreed just to cause an accord between the two brothers. "How embarrassing."

*******

Meanwhile...

"Are you alright?" asked Conrad, watching Cosette snap out of her trance. "You had been silent. Everything good?"

Her lips curled up as she drew a deep breath. "Papa, what do you think of the Young Master Quinn?"

"Asher?" he repeated, and she nodded. Conrad pondered for a moment and answered truthfully. "He is capable and admirable at his young age. Anyone can see the Quinn Holdings' bright future if he leads it once he is old enough."

"Not that..." she crooned. "I mean as a person. What do you think about him?"

This time, it took Conrad a moment to think about his answer. "Arrogant."

"Why?" she asked out of plain curiosity, a bit surprised at his answer.

"Although his business insight is exceptional and everyone can see he will best his father, Asher is a person who never walked on a rocky road," Conrad explained. "I'm not saying everything came to him easily, nor I am saying he didn't work hard to build his reputation, but there were certain things he lacked."

"Such as?"

"Appreciation, understanding, and..." he looked at Cosette as he paused. "... experience."

"Oh..."

"No matter how perfect you are in running a company, if you lack an understanding that your people had their own lives to live and certain things will come that are beyond your control, you'll always meet a bottleneck," he added, casting her a knowing look, and smiled. Conrad sprawled his arm at her and patted her head gently.

"That is why I am proud of you. Running a company and making money is rather easy, compared to time and experience. Keep learning through experience, and I'm sure you will be just as great in the future."

Cosette blushed as she returned his gaze sheepishly, pleased to hear such praise from the man she admired the most in this world. Making him proud makes her happy.

"Why did you ask?" Conrad inquired as he withdrew his hand from Cosette.

"Well." She smacked her lips and pondered about her reply. "I'm just curious."

"I thought he upset you."

"Haha. No." She chuckled. "It's just... I can't help but wonder if he is happy."

His brows furrowed. "You are curious if he is sad?"

"No, happy. But well, that is not part of my internship, is it?" she grinned, an attempt to put this conversation to a halt even though she was the one who brought it up to him. "Even if I still want to be friends with him, I shouldn't stick my nose to places it isn't welcomed."

"The Quinns will welcome you with open arms, but yes, not them."

Cosette chuckled as she sensed dismay from Conrad once again. With that being said, the two continued to converse until their next destination. Their conversation grew more casual and natural, broaching anything they could from people to business affairs.

A habit they would find themselves in the next several days until Cosette would have to prepare before the start of the school year. If she was going to describe her summer, she would say it was a busy but memorable one.