208 Prologue IV -- end

"Then let him kill me!"

Asher's grip on Cosette's wrist tightened, unable to discern which was dominant in his heart. The pain? Or the anger? 

"I'm going to die anyway —"

"How!!" he raised his voice as his eyes flared. "How can you say that when there were people who wished to get your illness instead of you?!"

"I don't care!" Cosette also raised her voice, almost shouting her lungs out. She looked him straight in the eye, letting her tears stain her cheek freely. "Why should I care about others, Asher Quinn? No one was there for me when I needed someone the most. When I felt miserable I just want to die, or when I had to watch others carry my dad's coffin to burn his body — who was there for me? No one."