Cosette wiped her tears with her arm before she gazed at the teenage boy lying on the hospital bed. There was no doubt this was Maxen. Although he had some weight — unlike the bewitching devil he was described in the novel — and the author's meaning of delinquent was being 'bullied,' her heart knew it was Maxen, the villain of the novel.
After she scared off those delinquents who beat Maxen up, she called the driver to pick her up, and they drove to the nearest hospital.
Three hours later, Maxen was still unconscious, and she was just sitting right next to his bed. While waiting for him to regain consciousness, Cosette couldn't help but shed tears. Even she was surprised at how real these tears felt to the touch.
'How can they do such a cruel thing to him?' she wondered, gazing at the poor Maxen. 'No wonder he became a villain.'
Reading Maxen's story was different from witnessing it with her own two eyes. It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart. She already pitied Maxen during the redemption arc, but now her heart was breaking for him.
His experience written with just a few sentences was not enough to give justice to Maxen's pain, suffering, and trauma. Actually, words weren't enough to give justice to everything this person went through.
Although Maxen did despicable deeds in the novel to the point, his death was justified, Cosette felt a tug in her heart.
'Maxen,' she called internally, staring at him with soft eyes. 'I'm sorry.'
Cosette didn't know why she had to apologize to him, but that was what she felt. All his life, the world just gave him nothing but hardships and endless struggle. Now, she had a better understanding of why Maxen grew obsessed with the female lead.
The female lead was a warm and lovely character. She was like the first morning of spring, melting the vestiges of winter. Although the start of the story between the female lead and Maxen started off rocky and super dark, the latter ended up falling in love with her.
Sadly, Maxen wasn't the male lead and what he did to the female lead at the start of the novel was unforgivable. He was despicable, to say the least, but he hadn't done that in the current timeline.
'I want to stay longer,' Cosette prayed sincerely, knowing she might be asking for too much. 'I want to change Maxen's fate. He… doesn't deserve this.'
For her, if Maxen had someone while growing up — just one person to guide him to the right path, he wouldn't do those despicable deeds in the novel. Maybe, she thought, if there was one good thing that happened to him, he wouldn't end up being the villain he was supposed to be.
"Ugh…"
Cosette perked up, planting her palm on his side as she watched him regain his consciousness whilst grunting. Maxen weakly opened his eyes, seeing a pair of puffy olive eyes hovering over him.
"Who…" he trailed off and winced at the striking pain in his head.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked worriedly, while she scanned him in panic. "Where? Where are you hurt?"
Confused at the unfamiliar concern he was receiving, Maxen blinked until his vision was clear. To his surprise, a young lady was staring down at him with eyes full of genuine concern. They were swollen, as if she had just stopped crying.
"Wait, wait…" came out a hoarse voice as propped his elbow to sit up. He winced at the pain in his rib, touching it on instinct.
"You shouldn't move just yet!" she bellowed, sitting on the edge of the bed with her eyes fixed on him. "You're still hurt, terribly!"
"Can you keep it down?" Annoyed, Maxen glared at her, whom he has never seen in his entire life. "You're so fucking loud you're making my head ring."
Cosette instantly zipped her mouth, puffing her cheek as she gazed at him in horror. Her obedience made him quirk a brow, but he said nothing as he looked around.
"Damn…" he cursed under his breath, flinging his legs carefully out of the bed to leave. However, Cosette grabbed his wrist, making him look back at her.
"What, where are you going?" she stammered while Maxen clicked his tongue in irritation. "Bathroom?"
"I don't have money to pay for the hospital bill."
"So what? Is that more important than your life?"
Maxen ground his teeth, pulling his wrist away from her grip, but Cosette held onto him as if he was her dear life.
"Let go," he cautioned coldly, but she was much more stubborn than what he originally thought.
"No!"
"I said, let… ack!" Before he could use more force to free his hand, Cosette poked the side of his abdomen. It was just a light press, but the pain was too much that Maxen hunched in, falling ever so slowly back on the bed.
Cosette jumped out of the bed and huffed, hands on her hips. "You're not leaving this place until you've recovered. Don't worry about the hospital bill. My family is rich! They can buy this entire hospital! So, just…. Just get better." Her expression crumpled but managed to sport a brave look.
Maxen furrowed his brows as he peeked at the stubborn young lady who was too persistent in making him stay. It was not like money was the only issue here. Aside from that, he didn't want to owe anyone. Who knew what she would ask in return after helping him?
"I know you're the type of person who hates being indebted to someone, but you don't have to worry about that. I promise you I don't have other motives, nor I will expect anything from you in return." Cosette let out a sigh as she suppressed the tears that were tempting to escape her eyes. "Just… get better. That's all I ask of you."
Maxen looked at her with hostility and after a minute of staring at her doe eyes, a deep sigh slipped past his lips. She wouldn't let him off, and he was sure of that. Arguing with her was pointless.
"Even if you ask for anything, I don't have the conscience or will I ever feel I will have to repay you for this," he grumbled, but to his surprise, Cosette's eyes brightened up as she leaped and bent over.
"Yes, don't worry! Just focus on getting better!" she grinned until her eyes were squinting and lips stretching from ear to ear.