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"Cozie, did you ever run a background check on me?"

Cosette knitted her brows, turning her attention to her left where Maxen was sitting on the bus on their way home. She blinked twice, processing that sudden random question.

"No." She shook her head. Maxen stared into her eyes, searching for any traces of a lie, but found none.

"That\'s odd," he muttered.

"What\'s odd?"

"Weren\'t you a top student in your previous school?" Maxen arched a brow. "If you\'re an overachiever, why did you fall into our class?"

Cosette held her breath under his gaze, secretly clenching her teeth. She did her best to keep her expression in check so he wouldn\'t notice the horror she felt at his inquiry. How would she explain that she knew he just didn\'t do well in school after reading it in the novel?

"Er… well." She cleared her throat, letting the gears of her head turn to make up the most believable lie. "What\'s the fun of being a top student? I tried to rebel, you see. I transferred school not because I have a problem with my previous one, but because I miss you."

"What?"

"What?"

"You missed me?"

Cosette blinked and her pupils dilated in horror, realizing what she had just unconsciously said.

"I — I mean because I have a problem. A personal one, right? You heard what I was back then." She laughed awkwardly, mentally questioning herself why in the world would she say that? It was more believable if she blurted out because she was a hardcore fan, but miss him? Had she lost her mind?

"Right…" Maxen bit his tongue, stopping himself from pointing out what was odd. \'That\'s strange.\'

In Maxen\'s eyes, he knew whenever Cosette was lying or simply holding back information. But this conversation came out strange for him. He knew she wasn\'t lying when she said she didn\'t run a background check on him, and she was also saying the truth at that slip up \'I miss you.\'

It didn\'t make sense to him, but his heart was hundred percent certain Cosette was telling the truth. However, that last explanation, Maxen knew, was definitely a lie. Or rather, it was simply part of the truth.

"Hehe. Why did you ask?" Cosette returned, trying to act as natural as possible.

"Just because." He shrugged, tossing the strangeness he felt. "I was curious, that\'s all."

Maxen then leaned back, looking up at the people standing on the aisle of the bus that was near the front part. As silence fell on their shoulder, he kept telling himself to let it go. Yet, his lips parted, and voiced out his thoughts.

"Don\'t lie to me, Cozie," he said, making her turn her head to him. "If you don\'t want to answer, just say you won\'t answer, or once you feel like you can. Just don\'t lie."

"I\'m not lying," she argued and bit her tongue when his eyes fell on her. Cosette pursed her lips, nodding in understanding. "I\'m sorry."

"You don\'t have to." Maxen kept his eyes on her and smiled. "It\'s not like we\'re not allowed to have secrets."

Cosette bit her lip and smiled, only to narrow her eyes as she repeated what his last remarks. His brows rose, seeing that she was sizing him up all of a sudden.

"What?" he asked after several seconds of silence.

"It\'s not like we\'re prohibited from having secrets," she repeated suspiciously. "Max, what sort of secret are you keeping from me?"

This time, Maxen froze, holding his breath. He looked away, avoiding her inquisitive gaze. Just like how Maxen knew her, it was the same with Cosette. She knew him more than anyone how the gears in his head turn.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Cosette clicked her tongue continuously, and when Maxen couldn\'t take it anymore, he let out a deep exhale. But just when his lips parted, she spoke before him.

"It\'s fine. You don\'t have to tell me. I don\'t want to force you." Cosette let out a sigh, not having the heart to be a hypocrite. Between Maxen and Cosette, she held more secrets from him. She could be honest on almost everything to him, except one: she wasn\'t the real Cosette.

She glanced at him once more and smiled. "Just promised me you will tell me this secret when you\'re ready."

"Will you also make that promise?" he returned. "Will you also promise to tell me when you\'re ready?"

Cosette pursed her lips and nodded. She then raised her pinky, causing his brows to raise.

"Promise me that you won\'t make fun of me when I do, then I will probably tell you a lot of silly things." She giggled, wiggling her pinky at him.

A shallow breath slipped past Maxen\'s lips, nodding in understanding. He didn\'t care if someone was looking, raising his pinky and wrapping it around hers.

"I will never." He fluttered his eyelashes ever so slowly.

"Then it\'s a promise." Her lips stretched from ear to ear, and her bright smile transferred to him, sending all these bubbling feelings crawling in his heart.

"A promise then."

With that being settled, Maxen and Cosette continued to talk just about anything. As usual, Cosette carried the conversation, but he was more active than before. They returned home with a light heart, meeting Conrad at the gates of the mansion, and hitched a ride with him.

As usual, Cosette shared her first day at school and both Conrad and Maxen listened. For the two of them, she was just like a burst of sunshine who could make any bad day good.

"By the way, Cozie," Conrad spoke just as Maxen left the car, and was Cosette\'s turn to exit the car. She looked back at her father, tilting her head while waiting for him to continue whatever he was about to say.

"Mom and Dad called this morning and they said they will return from abroad," he broke the news to her, watching her reaction, but nothing. Cosette\'s eyes were just blank as if she didn\'t hear him properly.

"Grandma and Grandpa?" she repeated, and Conrad nodded. "Oh… is that so?"

Conrad remained silent at her short response, which he had expected.

Conrad didn\'t press on the matter and simply informed Cosette her grandparents were simply fixing some papers before flying back to the country. Since then, Cosette had been oddly silent. She tried not to look affected, but Maxen and Conrad would notice the slightest change in her tone and the look in her eyes. But despite that, they chose to pretend they didn\'t notice to avoid making her feel uncomfortable during dinner.

After the dinner, Cosette excused herself politely and went straight to her room. Once she finished showering and threw her body on her soft bed, she couldn\'t help but think about the real Cosette\'s parents.

"In the novel… now that I think about it, there were too few details about the villainess," she mumbled while staring at the ceiling. "There\'s no proper ending about her, and the only back story we got was her breakup engagement with her first love."

Cosette pursed her lips, thinking about the real Cosette\'s grandparents. For some reason, this gave her this mixed emotion. After all, Cosette was raised by her loving grandparents and even worked hard to provide for her expensive medical needs.

Being stuck in this novel world, gaining friends, a father, and a love interest were all a blessing she was thankful for. But grandparents? Cosette didn\'t know what to feel.

"I really miss them," she mumbled, thinking about her real grandparents. Her eyes heat up with the thought of them. "I don\'t want to replace them."

Cosette rolled to her side and hugged a pillow. She buried the lower part of her face into it, eyes flickering with bitterness. How would she act in front of them? Not that she hated the real Cosette\'s grandparents, but because she didn\'t want to fool the elders and herself.

"Maybe I should just…" the bitterness in her eyes grew distinct. "... move on?"

She had been in this world of a novel for months — almost a year now. Hence, Cosette had to adjust just like what she had always done. She shut her eyes and shook her head mildly.

"I shouldn\'t worry about that for now," she told herself, more like encouraging herself. "It\'s not like they will arrive here tomorrow. Papa said they will still fix some papers before flying back in here. I have time."

Cosette kept encouraging herself while keeping her eyes shut until she had fallen into a deep slumber. Silence reigned in her room, allowing the tick of the clock to resonate across the four corners of the room.

As the night fell deeper with Conrad having a drink in his study while Maxen tossing and catching a ball while lying on the bed, Cosette was pulled into another long dream of the real Cosette. This time, however, it would instill dread in Cosette\'s heart.