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"But I feel so miserable…"

Asher had thought about it over and over when he went to see Luke that day to ask his little brother to go home. Asher wasn't hopeful that Luke would return to them anytime soon. Luke just seemed satisfied and free, laughing candidly with Maxen and Cosette, as if that rundown apartment was not a problem itself.

Ironic, he thought, that regardless of how luxurious Asher's lifestyle, how excellent he was that everyone praised him to the point it was exhausting to hear their praises, and how bright his future was, Asher could laugh just like Cosette, Maxen, or Luke.

He was right.

Asher was just envious of their friendship because… he doesn't have a single friend. All the people around him were either business partners and affiliates, or just people who would never be his real friends.

This was also Cosette's guess, and the reason she accompanied him tonight. This guy was just a lonely young man, and he didn't have an outlet or a person he could confide in. No wonder he resorted to drinking to wash down whatever loneliness and unanswered questions he had in his head.

"I'm a hypocrite, am I?" Asher looked back at her and smiled subtly.

"Mhm." Cosette nodded, staying honest with him. "You're a hypocrite."

"I know," He chuckled, placing down the glass between them to refill it with wine. "Do you want another one? Can you hold your liquor well?"

"It's just wine." Cosette placed down the glass and watched him refill them. When he finished, he took her glass and offered it to her, which she accepted with a 'thanks."

"Enough with the depressing stuff." Asher smacked his lips. "We should talk about something else."

"Like?" she arched a brow, letting the wine glass hover in front of her lips.

"Like…" he pondered about it, swirling the glass in front of him. "... Ezekiel Stone. We both dislike him. Let's insult him."

Cosette burst out laughing, making Asher grin charmingly. The latter took a sip while Cosette took a while to recover. When she did, she also took a sip.

"Please, not him," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because he is not interesting enough!"

"Ahh…" Asher rocked his head. Cosette had a point, he thought. "Then, should we talk about the progress of the joint project of the Quinn and the Blac?"

"Can't you think of something else??" Cosette scrunched her nose up in dismay, only to realize Asher was good and very convincing whenever he talked about business. Other than that, Asher had no idea how to keep the conversation going. That was understandable, considering Asher's life centered on the Quinn Holdings.

"You're boring. No wonder you were single even after ten years," she mumbled, and fortunately, the wine dulled his senses as he asked, "what?" after missing her remarks.

"We can talk about anything else other than business and school." Cosette adjusted her position, facing him squarely. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"So…?" she raised her brows, waiting for him to start the conversation. Much to her dismay, Asher just looked at her, blinking cluelessly.

"So?" he cocked his head to the side.

Cosette let out a defeated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was useless to rely on this guy to strike a normal conversation. Asher might have seemed to carry the male lead ego — perfect at every angle and was a man worthy of the world's admiration — but he was hopeless right now.

'Well, even back then, he really talks less. And I used to talk a lot.' — although now that Cosette thought about it, she wondered how the hell did Asher last in humoring her in the past. Compared to his treatment of others, Asher's patience with the crazy and dauntless adult Cosette was impressively long.

"Let's start by asking questions," she proposed, throwing her unnecessary thoughts at the back of her head. "You ask me a question and I will answer it to the best of my abilities. And then, I will ask you a question. Good?"

"Okay."

"Then." Cosette cleared her throat, motioning his hands to him. "You go first."

Asher frowned and rubbed his chin, pondering about which question he should ask right now. There were too many, and he didn't know which one he should ask. Asher took quite a while to ask his first question, burning her rope of patience. Fortunately, Asher spoke before Cosette threw a huge fit.

"What did you like about him?" he asked, making her brows elevate. "That guy… Maxen. I'm sure you have a lot of admirers better than him, but why him?"

Cosette frowned. "Because why not?"

Her answer obviously didn't satisfy him as he stared at her, waiting for a better explanation. A deep exhale slipped from her lips, thinking of a better answer than her usual answer.

"I hate it when people ask others, 'why him? Why her?' because those two seemingly harmless questions just sound harsh for the other party," she explained, looking at the darkness ahead. Unlike him, Cosette was still sober slightly. The wine had a slow effect, and it hadn't fully kicked in.

"There weren't many factors why I liked Max. I don't know the reason, I just… I just like him," Cosette continued, thinking about Maxen and couldn't help but smile. Asher was observing her carefully, but she didn't mind and ignored him.

"It's strange when you like someone. It feels like you notice every little detail about them, their smallest gesture, and knew that you like certain things about them. But you can't really tell if that is the reason why you fell in love with them." She cast him a look, keeping her smile. "I know someone who told me those words in the past, but only now did I understand the depths of his words."

"Did that satisfy your curiosity?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Strange that I understand them, but not at the same time," he humored and motioned his hand to her. "You turn."

"Why don't you like Maxen?" she asked without a second hesitation, causing his brows to raise. "I'm curious since you clearly don't like him at first sight. And I got the idea from your question."

"Well…" Asher pressed his lips into a thin line, taking a sip leisurely. It's not like he was thinking of an answer; he already knew the answer from the very beginning. Asher looked up once again, letting out a shallow breath.

"You might think I'm strange, but when I first saw him, I felt… alarmed," he confessed, thinking of that time back in their vacation home when he first made eye contact with Maxen.

"Alarmed?"

"Mhm." He rocked his head, looking back at her with clear, droopy eyes. "I know this might sound strange, but when I first saw him, the first thought that came to my head was… he looked like someone who will take everything from me. And that… scares the hell out of me."