Saving the Villain

"If you hate me so much, stop clinging to me." Maxen narrowed his eyes and tapped Cosette\'s arms, signaling her to let him go.

Cosette grinned and wrapped her leg around his leg. "I hate you so much and I know the feeling is mutual. Therefore, sticking around is better. I won\'t give you your happy ending."

Maxen chuckled before he mustered his energy, flipping their position until he was hovering over her. He gazed down at her, bending over, brushing the apex of his nose against her. But before he could claim her lips for the next round of passion, Cosette spoke.

"What do you think will happen if we met earlier?" Maxen knitted his brows as he drew his head back slightly at her question. "You… think I can\'t be with you because apparently, you\'re one of the police\'s top criminals that should be locked in prison. But what if we met earlier?"

"Hah…" a chuckle slipped past his lips, grinning from ear to ear. "Not just earlier, but maybe ten years from now. Maybe you can change things, but I doubt I\'d even meet you. Our lives are like heaven and hell, and if not for the fact I had the money to burn in that club where we met, I doubt we\'d even meet in this lifetime."

"But what if?" Cosette pushed his chest away to stop him from kissing her.

"What do you mean, what if?"

"What if by some dumb luck or the sort we met ten years prior to this day before you became Maxen Devilsin? What do you think will happen?" she clarified, making him tilt his head to the side.

This was probably the first time Cosette pressed on a subject. Hence, he remained silent and thought about it. In the end, Maxen shrugged.

"I don\'t know, Cosette Blac." He leaned down, looking her straight in the eye. "But what I do know is that if I met you ten years ago, I\'ll… probably do the right thing."

She chuckled. "How are you sure you will?"

"I just know." He chuckled briefly. "I have a feeling you could\'ve changed my heart if you met me that early."

Cosette pressed her lips and smiled, thinking otherwise. In her head, it was Maxen who would change her life, not the other way around. After all, the only time she felt genuinely happy was when he came into her life. Assuming he was already in her life ten years ago… it sounded fun.

She couldn\'t help but think if they met earlier… would they still end up miserable as they were now? Borrowing just a couple of hours to be happy? And knowing how fleeting those hours were, but they got to live with it? Not to mention, no matter how sincere the budding feeling in their hearts was, they had to accept they would never be together.

At least, not like those couples, she would usually watch from a distance. How nice, she thought, if she and Maxen were also like that. It would be very nice if they could also go out like other couples, hold hands, and go to places without the fear that someone had him in a scope.

"That\'s enough chitchat. Shall we have fun now?" his voice snapped her back to the current lapse, making her smile, before sealing her lips with a kiss.

\'Just one more time,\' she whispered in her head. \'Just one more time…\'

Cosette closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of his body and indulging in the taste of his mouth. His kisses were soft and gentle, but at the same time, they were painful. Not literally, but her heart was in pain each time her heartbeat for a happy reason, which was him.

However, she ignored the pain. Just like what she kept chanting in her head, Cosette allowed herself to get lost in his pleasure, love, and desire, eventually finding beauty in this unspeakable pain that had been killing her since this morning.

As usual, after Maxen and Cosette finished their second round, they rested and talked. It was like a routine, but there weren\'t any deep talks anymore. Just the casual talk. And then, they went on to another round when they rested well, repeating the cycle until they couldn\'t do it anymore and eventually fell asleep.

However, Cosette simply had her eyes closed. When she felt his breaths grow heavy, she slowly opened her eyes. She was using his arm as her pillow, with his other arm wrapped around her waist securely.

Cosette looked at his sleeping face in silence. This time, however, she didn\'t find the need to conceal the sadness and helplessness in her eyes. She carefully raised her hand and caressed his leaned cheek, biting her quivering lips while holding her breath.

\'What should I do, Max?\' she asked inwardly, her eyes seeking help. \'Why didn\'t you live your life correctly? Now… you just worry me.\'

The corner of her eyes grew red and watery, but for the obvious reason, she didn\'t shed a tear. No matter how much she simply wanted to cry and scream, she couldn\'t. She wasn\'t used to that… and that was killing her.

"What should I do now?" she whispered, hoping he would wake up right now, and answer her lest he was simply pretending. However, she knew Maxen, and even though he would sleep with his one eye open, he would only wake up when danger entered his vicinity.

Maybe Cosette was asking these questions with impossible answers right now because she knew he wouldn\'t wake up. After all, it wasn\'t like he could do anything about it. She couldn\'t fix this problem even with all the money she got; so how could she ask him for help? It would only devastate him.

\'Maxen Devilsin…\' she called in her mind, smiling subtly. \'I am dying, Max. But that doesn\'t scare me. What scares me is that I might forget you.\'

Cosette smiled bitterly, recalling her time in the hospital this morning, and receiving the news about her several health issues which include cancer, a tumor in the brain, and… dementia.