Saving the Villain

"Don't worry. I will keep this a secret."

Cosette's face and body stiffened, moving her dilated pupils to Ezekiel. The latter might appear friendly with that smile, but she understood what he meant by that.

"Are you… threatening me, Ezekiel Stone?" she asked without blinking, cocking her head to the side.

"What?" Ezekiel laughed, feigning innocence. "Why would I? I mean, how dare I threaten you inside your own home? I'm just concerned about Maxen since he seemed to be a nice guy, but you were playing with him."

"Hah…" Cosette let out a dry laugh, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm playing…"

"Ezekiel Stone, what do you think of me?" she inquired, leaning back, eyes full of curiosity.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said what I said. What do you think of me?"

Ezekiel arched a brow, assessing her distant expression. From the very first time he met Cosette, she always had this beautiful smile and friendly aura. Although she seemed mischievous at times, she was overall, a ball of sunshine. A perfect package: beautiful, smart, sweet, and rich.

But now, there was nothing but coldness in her eyes. Her expression was blank, and with that slightly arched brow, she looked like an entirely different person.

"Now?" he asked. "I don't know."

"You liked me," she answered the question for him. "You liked me the moment you saw me and thought you can get me by being friendly. But then, Asher was lingering around and you think he knew me better. You saw him as competition, am I correct?"

Ezekiel's lips opened and closed like a fish, but his words were stuck in his throat. Though the answer to that was, 'yes, that is correct.' He was attracted to her at first sight, and her bubbly personality made him want her.

Cosette was his type… or rather, this had been his preference.

Back then, the only time Ezekiel liked her was because she forced herself to take a submissive role. He liked her when she was a little weaker, when she was a bit fragile, and when she could smile on most of the smallest things.

But he didn't like the real her.

That real Cosette was just hibernating inside her, waiting for the right time to unleash it. She didn't want that Cosette to be honest. That older version of her rarely used her heart. Everything she did mostly comes from her head, and not from her heart.

That Cosette was unforgiving and vengeful. She didn't like her, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to let it out if needed.

"What a real shame, Young Master Stone." Her eyes sharpened, lifting her chin slightly. "I really wished you will stop whatever delusions you have if I kept Asher around. But it seemed that only fueled your young ego and took it as a competition."

The side of her lips curled up. "I can't believe you will be this stupid and threaten me without knowing me."

"What?" Ezekiel furrowed his brows, watching her rise to her seat. "Cosette, I —"

"I feel sorry for the entire Stone family. The only reason I didn't do anything despite not liking you is because of our family's long history." Cosette looked down at him coldly. "Did you think that secret you were gloating to keep is enough for me to do whatever you please?"

An abrupt and dry laugh escaped her mouth. "How childish, indeed. I feel bad for dealing with a child like you, but then again, Max is also a child right now and I'm already lusting over him."

The lines on Ezekiel's forehead deepened, rendered speechless by the words that were coming out of her mouth. Did she just say she was lusting over Maxen? Ezekiel was too mind-boggled that he didn't even dwell on the fact that she was calling him a child. Cosette was a year younger than him.

"Let me tell you something, Ezekiel Stone." The smile lines on her face faded as a thin layer of frost covered her eyes. "I will give you a reason to dislike me and grant you the honor of seeing what a Blac can actually do."

SLAP!

Ezekiel's eyes went wide when Cosette suddenly slapped herself. His heart and breathing stopped, holding her gaze as she didn't even react. The slap sounded loud, but Cosette kept her stony countenance.

When another slap landed on her cheek, Ezekiel sprung up to his seat, panicking. "Cozie, what are you —"

SLAP!

"Stop!" Without thinking twice, Ezekiel sprawled his arms to grab her wrist. His complexion was pale and his eyes shook in utter disbelief at the self-harm she was doing.

"What are you doing?" his voice thundered, gripping her wrist tightly. "Are you out of your mind?!"

Cosette didn't respond and only raised her other hand to keep harming herself. Seeing what she was planning to do, Ezekiel gripped her other wrist to stop her from harming herself.

"Cosette!" he shouted again, only to choke when the corner of her lips curled up.

"What, Ezekiel?" she asked, taking a step forward to reduce the distance between them. "Are you surprised by what I can do? Do you think I am crazy? Well, shock, horror! I am just good at pretending."

Ezekiel's eyes slowly dilated as fear crawled under his skin while staring at her straight in the eye. Her lips were curled up into a sinister smirk. The Cosette he knew was gone, replaced by a madwoman who would do anything to get what she wanted.

At this point, Ezekiel had a realization.

He just stepped on her trap that wasn't originally there, but now exists because he was being greedy. That was right. He did a wrong move, a wrong step, and now the devil was awake.

"Poor you." Cosette clicked her tongue continuously as her eyelids drooped until they were partially closed. "I didn't want to do this, but I need you to go. Be grateful I don't have a gun to silence you. After all, dead men tell no tale."