“Well, let me know when you’re available,” Lucas said. Coco only snapped back to reality when her phone rang. “Coco! Was the man today the scammer we were talking about?” Minnie squealed. “I didn’t say that he was a scammer.” “Anyway, that’s the man!” “Yeah.” “Are you really going to date him? Do you know his name? Did you get to know more about him?” Although Lucas was good-looking, Minnie didn’t want Coco to take the risk. “We’re just faking our relationship. I think he needs me for something. He promised that he wouldn’t do anything to me, and he told me his general information today,” Coco said. “Do you really believe a man that you’d just met?” Minnie didn’t want her naive best friend to get hurt again. “Alright, alright. I’ll watch out. If he does something bad to me, I’ll immediately cut ties with him. By the way, how did your blind date go after I left?”“Nothing much. We went our separate ways after that. It’s such a small world to see Loke there. Uhh… Do you think th
Coco regretted not calling Loke out or recording their conversation and exposing them. They should be condemned by the public. At the time, Coco still foolishly thought that Loke should have a little feelings for her. She went to meet him in hopes that he wouldn’t hurt her. Alas, she underestimated the evil of human nature and became the laughingstock of the whole school.In the end, she had been deeply hurt by Loke. Over the years, time had healed her. “Don’t worry, Minnie. I’ve moved on from Loke. I’m disgusted by him.” Coco had felt extremely disgusted when Loke had grabbed her wrist today. “That’s good.” Minnie was relieved. When they ended the call, Coco scrolled through her contacts and saw Lucas’s name. She still couldn’t believe that she had gotten a new boyfriend so easily, but she was happy because he could be her inspiration for the new comic. -Coco texted Lucas her schedule for the week the next day. They went on their first date two days later. “Do we have to p
The bookstore only charged their customers 15 dollars per hour with a free flow of drinks. Coco came here often to read the newest comics. Even though she could read it online, she still liked the feeling of flipping through papers. Coco brought Lucas to an empty couch and said, “You can go over to the bookshelf to look for something you’d like to read. Would you like to drink anything? I’ll go get it for you.” “Water will be fine.” Coco got Lucas a glass of water and a glass of orange juice for herself. She realized that Lucas was already reading a comic when she returned. She was shocked that Lucas was reading her comic. She remembered that she had never told him that her pen name was Alice Souza. But, on second thought, since Lucas could find out her basic information, he would know that Alice was her pen name too. Coco felt a little embarrassed to see someone reading her comic in front of her. The male lead of this comic was a little domineering, and there were a few intima
Lucas seemed to notice something. “What? You don't like me reading the comics you draw?” “What I draw is mostly about romance, men shouldn’t be interested in it. You don't have to force yourself to read them,” Coco said. “I’m not forcing myself to do anything. I don’t mind watching or reading something romantic once in a while. I’m doing this to get to know you better too.” Lucas didn’t know that Coco was stopping him from reading the steamy scenes in the next few pages. She grabbed his hand directly when he tried to flip the page again. “Huh?” Lucas looked at her. “You really don’t want me to continue reading it?” Coco smiled awkwardly. “You’re getting to the steamy scenes.” “I don’t think that your comic would be published if it was that inappropriate.” “Uhh…” “You should know that I’m over eighteen, right? Still, I can stop reading it if you don’t want me to continue,” Lucas said. Coco let go of his hand after a pause. After all, she had started drawing comics because she
Coco sighed in relief at the last stroke. “Finally.” “Was it boring dating me?” Lucas asked.“What?” Coco was stunned at his question, and she hurriedly denied it. “No, I’m not drawing you because I was bored. The image of you reading the comic just now was lovely, and I couldn’t help but… draw you.” Her expression changed as she added, “By the way, do you mind it?” “It’s fine. I promised you that you could draw me in exchange for being my girlfriend,” Lucas said. Coco felt relieved when she heard that. After they left the bookstore, Lucas sent Coco home. “I’ll see you on the weekend,” Lucas said. “Can we have a date at my studio? My studio is empty on weekends, and I want you to be my model again.” Coco wanted to draw Lucas again, and it wasn’t enough for her today. “Alright. Do you need me to wear anything special?” “Oh no, feel free to wear whatever you want.” “Okay.” Lucas drove off after saying that. Someone grabbed Coco’s arm after she had taken a few steps, and she
Loke was stunned. “I know what I did was overboard, and I’ve been wanting to apologize to you all these years.” Coco smiled faintly and said, “Go ahead and apologize to me now.” Loke wasn’t used to Coco being so direct. He was at a loss. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to apologize to me? I’m right in front of you now.” Loke took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry.” “Okay. Can you let go of me now?” Coco said expressionlessly.“You forgive me?” A flash of joy appeared in Loke’s eyes. “It doesn’t mean that I’m forgiving you just because I acknowledge your apology. I’m not a saint, and I won’t forgive someone who has hurt me, especially a man who hurt me just to please another woman.” “Coco, I…” “Don’t call my name!” Coco added, “Loke, the past is just the past. I don’t hate you, but it doesn't mean I'll forgive you for the things you did to me. I just hope that we won’t see each other again from now on. Let’s just be strangers even if we do see each other.” “Strangers?” Loke la
Loke had treated Coco as nothing more than a tool because he didn’t have any feelings for her at all. He had been interested in another girl, and he had used Coco to fulfill the bet. However, he felt a subtle pang in his chest when he saw Coco being taunted and humiliated in public. Coco no longer smiled cheerfully. She even began to feel afraid of her surroundings. Loke knew that Coco was being bullied because of him, but he didn’t stand up for her at all. He traveled abroad as an exchange student to escape what he had done to her. But even when he was abroad, his mind kept replaying the scene of Coco being bullied by the crowd. He longed for her eventually without realizing it. He would wonder and worry about her. He hadn’t expected himself to get so attached to Coco. Coco would appear in his mind every time he was intimate with other women. “Loke, have you ever thought that maybe you had fallen in love with Coco without realizing it in the first place?” Mason Dunn, Loke’s be
Lucas went to Coco’s studio during the weekend. The studio was only about a hundred square feet, and the interior was cozy. There were posters on the wall, and from the style of drawing, it looked like Coco’s work. A lot of comics by Coco were on the bookshelves against the wall. They basically had short to average storylines. “You’ve been drawing comics since high school?” Lucas asked. That was what had been reported in Coco’s background information.“Not really. I started drawing when I was very young. It's just that I started submitting my work when I was a senior in high school. I hadn’t expected to start my career so successfully.” “Senior year is packed with homework and preparations for college entrance exams, right?” “Yeah. I tried to make time and draw as much as I could every day back then. Sometimes, I'd stay up until the wee hours of the morning, but the satisfaction of seeing your work published in a magazine is irreplaceable!” Coco said. “Don’t you think that your