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When Maynard came into the dining private room, he brought Asher Quinn with him. Conrad didn\'t show any slight surprise, and neither did Cosette. They had already expected one of his sons — which was definitely Asher — would be with Maynard.

Meanwhile, Maxen was a bit surprised at first. However, he brought forth his nonchalant card. Now, around the round table, were Conrad and Maynard sitting beside each other. On Conrad\'s right was Cosette and then Maxen was sitting beside her. Across from Cosette was Asher.

After the staff served the food, there was nothing but silence in the room. Conrad, cold and aloof as ever, didn\'t even bat an eye at Maynard. But alas, Maynard was thick-skinned enough to act like he doesn\'t get Conrad\'s cold treatment. Well, Maynard was already used to it by now.

"What is this silence?" Maynard\'s jolly voice pierced the air after a minute of silence. "This should be a happy occasion!"

"It was supposed to be until minutes ago." Conrad picked up a glass of water while replying to Maynard without looking at him.

\'This is so awkward…\' Maxen let out a faint sigh, raising his eyes at Asher, only to see the latter looking at Cosette. When Maxen glanced at Cosette, he caught her darting her eyes between Maynard and Conrad.

\'He\'s really shameless,\' Maxen thought, peeling his eyes away from Cosette to Asher. When he did, he locked eyes with Asher as the latter glanced back at him. \'He knew his brother is already pursuing Cosette. Even though that guy had no chance, he was still far better than this one.\'

Asher arched a brow, noticing the sarcastic smirk that appeared and disappeared from Maxen\'s countenance. \'He\'s really shameless,\' he muttered inwardly. \'He already knows he shouldn\'t be sitting at the same table as us, and yet, he is acting all high and mighty.\'

Asher scoffed, peeling his eyes away from Maxen. His eyes instinctively landed on Cosette as she was just sitting across from him. He arched a brow, seeing that she was staring at him nonchalantly.

\'Is she angry because I looked at that guy?\' he wondered, noticing the displeasure undertone in her pair of nonchalant eyes. \'She\'s really a disappointment.\'

Asher looked away from her first, glancing at his father, who was always as loud as ever. Well, Maynard might be quite talkative, but his father was a good businessman and had a great eye for investing.

As Asher watched his father act all chummy with the distant Conrad, he couldn\'t help but recall his conversation with Maynard before joining the Blacs for lunch.

"Do you want to get married to the young miss of the Blac?" asked Maynard, marching inside, plopping his butt down on the chair across from Asher. "My friend Conrad, her daughter, and that young lad they took in are just right next to us. So keep your voice down."

"You shouldn\'t be saying that to me." Asher\'s voice was cold and distant, but the lines between his brows deepened. "And my answer to your question is a no, obviously. Our deal is that you won\'t force me to any silly arranged marriage if I do well."

"Come on, son." Maynard laughed, resting his arms against the table. "This isn\'t a silly arranged marriage. It\'s the Blac."

"Even so." Asher balled his hands under the table, eyes turning chilly. "Weren\'t you already pushing Luke to pursue the young miss of the Blac? Are you putting a wedge between us? Father, my relationship with my brother is already stained as it is. How can you stand watching our relationship fall apart? And do nothing about it?"

Maynard frowned. "I don\'t think my sons hate each other."

"I don\'t hate Luke, but he might end up hating me for real if this continues," Asher remarked coldly as if he wasn\'t talking to his father, but the carefree Maynard didn\'t mind his son\'s bluntness. "This is the only time he actually held onto an interest this long. Let\'s not ruin it."

"Man… you sound like your grandfather."

\'If you start acting like my father, I might sound like your son,\' was what Asher wanted to reply, but bit his tongue to stop himself from pressing Maynard\'s nerves.

Asher furrowed his brows when Maynard kept silent for over a minute, as if he was pondering about something. He knew his father too well, and he was so familiar with this sort of expression plastered across Maynard\'s face.

"That young fellow…" Maynard dawdled, knocking his knuckles against the surface of the table. His brows rose when Asher spoke.

"Don\'t target him," Asher stressed calmly. "He\'s with the Blacs. I don\'t think the chairman will sit idly if you take him with your games. Luke is also very fond of him."

"You make me sound like a villain."

"You are… when you want to play," Asher replied without batting an eye. "I don\'t like him, but it doesn\'t sit well with me when people get riled up because of someone like him. Please, don\'t give me a problem that involves him. I want nothing to do with him."

"But he might get my sweet Cosette\'s good graces and end up marrying him!"

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 A glint flickered across Asher\'s eyes. "Father, what are you interested in? Was it Cosette? Or the wealth and connections of the Blacs?"

"Both!"

"Then I will work even harder and take the company to greater heights. It\'s always been insulting when you rub in my face that your sons need an external force to make sure the company won\'t fall." Asher\'s expression turned stiff, looking back at Maynard with a poker face. "I hope you will drop this matter once I graduated."

The side of Maynard\'s lips stretched until his teeth were showing. "You make me proud, son, but don\'t blame me in the future." He snapped a finger, pointing it at Asher.

"Even if you begged me to marry my dearest Cosette, your kind father will not help you. The Stones and the Blacs had a tight-knit relationship, and from what I heard, the elders of the Blacs are returning to the country." Maynard\'s eyes squinted, enjoying the new level of coldness in Asher\'s eyes upon the mention of another family that had a long history with the Quinns. "I won\'t be surprised if the elders had arranged Cosette to a marriage. If the elders decided, even Conrad wouldn\'t have powers to stop it."

Maynard cupped his cheek. "I might help that young lad marry her, instead of watching how the Stone and Blac merge. That will be very painful to watch."

Asher snapped his eyes to the current lapse, averting his eyes from Maynard. He picked up the cutlery to start eating, casting Cosette a look.

\'The Stones…\' he thought, a glint flickering across his sharp eyes. \'I wonder if she would allow an arranged marriage.\'

When Cosette raised her eyes, Asher had already set his eyes on his plate. She chewed slowly, glancing at Maynard, who hadn\'t stopped talking even though Conrad would reply after five sentences. Mostly, Maynard would only get a reaction from her father if he mentioned something completely stupid.

At this point, Cosette was aware it was on purpose since Conrad had zero tolerance for stupidity. That explained why Conrad could barely tolerate Maynard. Maynard\'s entire existence was stupid… according to Conrad.

"Right!" Maynard clapped; he hadn\'t touched his food as he was busy talking. "The Stones had recently made noises, probably because they heard that the elders of the Blac are returning to the country!"

The second Maynard mentioned the Stones, he smirked, watching Conrad pause. Maynard might\'ve missed it, but Cosette also froze momentarily. Asher and Maxen noticed it, though.

\'What\'s with that reaction?\' Asher wondered with a furrowed brow. Maxen had the same question in his head.

Cosette\'s sudden pause and how her jaw tightened were strange in their eyes. But unlike Asher, whose thoughts stopped with that question, Maxen\'s thoughts went further.

\'Why does she look so bothered?\' Maxen questioned in his head, shifting his attention to Conrad. \'Who are these Stones? Another family like the Quinns?\'

\'The Stones…\' Cosette lowered her eyes. \'I almost forgot about them…\'

"One more word… regarding our own family issues, and you\'ll regret it." Conrad finally set his eyes back on Maynard. "Do not embarrass yourself in front of your son. Stop testing my patience, Maynard Quinn. The only reason I\'m sitting at the same table as you are because of Cosette. Don\'t force me."

Maynard frown and raised his hand, looking at Cosette for help. "So scary…"

Cosette smiled apologetically but didn\'t address it. "Uncle Maynard, I was actually very concerned about Luke," she said, changing the subject and delving into the main reason she insisted on spending their lunch with the Quinns.

Cosette had been waiting for an opportunity to raise her concerns, and now was the time. Or else, she didn\'t know what Conrad would do if she wouldn\'t get her deal done.

"Huh? What about Luke? Is he giving you a hard time?"

"Huh? No, of course not." Cosette shook her head in defense. "I was just worried because he hadn\'t been coming to school. I thought something happened. That\'s why he couldn\'t go to school."

Maynard and Asher furrowed their brows, while Conrad and Maxen glanced at her. Cosette was sporting the most innocent look ever as if she was shocked and only made a slip-up.

"Oh, no… did I say something wrong?" she gasped, covering her lips, darting her eyes between Maynard and Asher nervously. "Was Luke… skipping classes?"