Saving the Villain

"But then volume 2 took a drastic turn."

Her expression turned grim because, in volume two, new characters were introduced. Asher and Mia in volume two had already developed feelings for each other, but they hadn't confessed yet.

"In volume 2, Maxen appeared and Sister Cozie." A sigh slipped past her lips. The latter's appearance in the novel and her interest in the male lead would pale in comparison to Maxen's obsession.

"Maxen, the villain…" Cosette let out another deep sigh as she started writing down the crimes and the unforgivable sins he would do in the novel. "****, murder, illegal dealings, and his connections in the underground world."

She cringed as she recalled how Maxen became a terrifying monster in the novel. Maxen wasn't the type who would do love. He took pleasure in other people's agony, and he wouldn't even bat an eye if someone died right in front of him.

He was sick in the head, to say the least.

When Maxen met Mia, he didn't love her, nor did he like her. If anything, what caught his eyes was Mia's light. The female lead was a virtuous lady whose smile could capture anyone's heart. It would make one assume that Mia only led a good life.

And that was what annoyed Maxen. She looked like the type of person he loathed the most. Someone who seemed to have it all and could shine so brightly. He wanted to kill that light and take away that smile on her face.

Thus, as a psychopath and cold-blooded as he was, Maxen entrapped Mia in a party and ordered men to take advantage of her. Yes. Maxen was a despicable villain that one would hate from the get-go.

"Volume 2 revolved around Mia's struggle with Maxen and how her relationship with Asher ended. Maxen was a dangerous man who could stand on equal ground as Asher. So, she didn't tell him, and she was afraid that Asher would see the video of her being used by different men. She went through a very dark path in the first half of volume 2 before Maxen slowly softened up to her." Cosette nodded as the smart Mia didn't let Maxen kill her spirit.

Instead, Mia became the person Maxen wanted her to be. She pretended to like him and was obedient. She endured sleeping with the man she hated and smiled at him as if he didn't make her go through all those traumatic things. She did all that to protect the family who raised her in the countryside.

But Maxen knew all that.

He was aware that she was simply pretending. That no matter how much he would change for her, Mia's heart would never be his. And yet, he was already willing to believe this superficial and brittle yet beautiful relationship they had.

Maxen was already content with their relationship, despite knowing she hated him to the core. In the end, Asher didn't give up on her and secretly met Mia. The male lead secured her family to where Maxen wouldn't be able to find or reach them. And that's how Mia plotted her revenge and escape plan from Maxen's clutches.

To make the story short, Mia and Asher successfully brought down Maxen's company and revealed their organization. In the action-packed ending, Maxen finally met his end in a car accident while he was on the run.

"That's how the villain died and Asher still accepted Mia, even though she is already tainted." Cosette frowned, as the ending was satisfactory since Maxen deserved his ending if they only looked at his present deeds in the novel. However, there was a reason Maxen became a monster.

"Unlike Mia and Asher, Maxen never had anyone to save him. He didn't have salvation while growing up. Since birth, the world was just nothing but cruel to him," she added with the same dejected tone. "But Maxen… when he slowly warmed up to Mia, even though he knew their relationship wasn't real, he still showed his humane side of him. He still chose to trust her, even though he knew she would betray him."

For Cosette, if Asher lived the life Maxen led, he would also turn out to be a monster. Actually, not just her, but everyone who took their time in understanding the villain would understand him — not tolerate, but understand him.

"Because, in reality, everyone can become a monster just like him. In the same situation, even I can become a monster. Mia also discovered that she was capable of killing, considering everything that happened to her in the hands of the villain. She only didn't do so because Asher stopped her, but if he didn't, Maxen would have died in Mia's hands instead of in a car accident."

Cosette's frown remained as she recalled the story she was only reading, but now she was a part of it.

"Ten years," she whispered, mustering her courage as her eyes flickered in determination. "We're still ten years before the main story begins. I have plenty of time. In the novel, Maxen didn't have anything to do with any of the characters before he met the female lead ten years from now. So… even if I change his future, Asher and Mia will still meet and fall in love. I am just taking out the final boss. The story can end in the first volume."

With that thought in mind, Cosette's eyes burned with determination to change the fate of just one character. Little did she know, her action from this moment on wouldn't just change one person's life but a lot more than she initially planned.

And thus, the start of the mission to keep the ultimate boss of the story from walking down the same bloody path, just like in the novel.