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In the upper echelon, sometimes, profit wasn\'t the most important thing but affiliation. The Quinns and the Blacs particularly held their affiliations with the highest importance, and deep in Cosette\'s heart, even though she disapproved of all these people\'s presence, her grandparents invited them all for her.

Since the elders of each family weren\'t getting older and the newer generation was already at the age of understanding what affiliation was, now was the time to let the younger ones continue these ties. Cosette already told herself she was still lucky, because her elders didn\'t immediately set her up in a marriage but instead introduced her to their guests and told her to get to know the young masters of the Quinn and the Stone family.

Cosette probably had to thank Conrad for that, knowing her father would\'ve guessed her grandparent\'s scheme.

After Cosette exhaustingly kept up with her facade and greeted the guests, humoring them and wittingly returning their praises, she was told to show the young master of the Stone and Quinn around the ancestral home. She couldn\'t outright refuse, so she agreed with a smile and toured Ezekiel and Asher around.

The ancestral home was vast, surrounded by greenery and a variety of flowers. She took the two to places she was certain the three of them wouldn\'t be so interested in, but still did for the heck of it.

"And that, my dearest friends, is the last stop." Cosette forced a smile, turning around to face the two young masters. As soon as she did, her face contorted as Asher was looking away and was obvious he simply followed and didn\'t pay attention. Meanwhile, the other one, Ezekiel, was staring back at her with a smile.

"The Blac Family\'s ancestral home is really huge," said Ezekiel politely.

Their last stop was the greenhouse, sheltering butterflies and expensive flowers that were worth a fortune. There was a set of tables and chairs around, a narrow pond for the fishes, and an ambiance far more relaxed than the large fish pond where the party was at.

"It looks just like our ancestral home," Asher murmured, casting Ezekiel a nonchalant look and then shifting his gaze to Cosette. "You should stop pretending to be nice. It\'s just the three of us now. Just tell the elders you showed us around diligently."

"I\'m not pretending to be nice, Young Master Quinn." Cosette flashed him a smile, stopping herself from punching him in the gut to shut him up. "Anyway, would you like to sit down and chat for a moment?"

"I would love to," Ezekiel said, and his smile grew even gentler.

pAn,Da-n0v e1,c "Then, shall we? I\'ll call for the maids to bring us snacks." Cosette kept her friendly smile, leading them to the intricate table and chairs. She widened her eyes at Asher as a warning because the latter was looking back at her with a judgemental look.

When the two were seated, Cosette flashed them a brighter smile.

"I\'ll be back," she said, excusing herself to call for servants to serve the three of them some snacks.

Having been left alone, Asher leaned back comfortably and glanced at Ezekiel Stone. The latter was sitting comfortably, looking around the greenhouse. Asher was heavily involved with the family business, and as such, he was also aware of the young masters and misses of each family that the Quinns were friends with.

Just like how Asher knew and heard about Cosette, he had also heard a few stories about this guy, Ezekiel Stone. The Stone Family was a clan that had produced successful politicians. Currently, this guy\'s father was a minister of defense and a strong candidate for the presidency in the next election. His other uncles were also scattered in every government department, making them a suitable type of people to build connections with for business people like the Quinns and the Blacs.

That was probably the reason the elders of the Blac\'s invited these people so Cosette would have a strong affiliation in the future. After all, this Ezekiel guy wasn\'t terrible himself. Academic-wise, he wasn\'t as remarkable as Asher\'s grades, but they were considered better than his peers.

Ezekiel had also gained a bit of popularity because of his involvement in charity work and had appeared in some interviews with his father.

\'I didn\'t want to think about this, but…\' Asher tapped his fingertips against the armrest lightly. \'Are the elders trying to pair the two of us with the young miss of the Blac? Whoever she ends up liking…\'

Asher\'s thought trailed off, narrowing his eyes incredulously. If his guess was correct, then that made more sense. Whoever Cosette ends up with between the two of them, it was a win-win. If the three of them ended up being friends, then that would be even better.

But being friends with the Stone was impossible because… Maynard disliked them. Actually, the entire Quinn family disliked the Stone family because of the long drama with their grandfathers. The reason they were here with them was that they couldn\'t ask the Blacs to choose between the two families nor they couldn\'t stand doing nothing while the Stone Family try to strengthen their friendship with the Blacs.

It was a complicated relationship that the elders wanted to break with these younger generations.

"This is my first time meeting the young miss of the Blac." Asher\'s thoughts stopped when Ezekiel\'s voice pierced the prolonged silence. "She\'s very beautiful, just as I heard."

"She\'ll appreciate it if you tell her that to her face."

"Do you know her?"

Asher didn\'t answer immediately, staring at the mister nice guy sitting on the right side of the round table.

"Not really. I just met her a few times." His voice was distant and cold.

"I see…" Asher quirked a brow when Ezekiel heaved a sigh of relief. "I thought I was late."

"Late…?"

"I like her," Ezekiel announced without a second hesitation. "I thought since you two seemed a little close, there\'s something going on between the two of you already. So, I\'m relieved to know it seemed I misunderstood something."