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
Coco started working on her sketch while Lucas observed her from time to time. Her expression was the same or even more focused than when she drew him in the bookstore. It was the first time that someone had told him that they wanted to draw him. He felt that he had been too impulsive every time he thought about asking her to pretend to be his girlfriend because they were strangers after all. Still, he didn’t regret it a bit. Compared to the other women who had ulterior motives, Coco was more straightforward. Lucas enjoyed spending time with her, and it was nice to make friends with Coco. He would tell Serenity that he had moved on from her when they met each other again to make her feel at ease. And for Coco, he would give her very good pay, enough for her to live a comfortable life after they ended their relationship. Coco didn’t know how long she had been drawing. She wanted to draw Lucas’s beautiful eyes that were filled with complex emotions in detail the longer she worked
“It’s lunchtime now, let’s eat first,” Lucas looked at the time and said.“It’s my treat today. You almost missed lunch because of me,” Coco said. “You’re paying today?” Lucas was surprised. “Yeah, but let’s choose a cheaper place,” Coco quickly added when she recalled their last meal together which cost a few thousand dollars. “Sure, I'm not a picky eater.” Coco breathed a sigh of relief and asked Lucas what he would like to eat. “I’m fine with anything,” Lucas said. Just then, he glanced toward a small restaurant not far away from Coco’s studio. It was quite near to the place where they met for the second time. “Do you often dine at that small restaurant?” Lucas asked her. “Mhm.” Coco nodded. “Shall we have lunch there?” “There?” Coco was taken aback because the food there was very cheap. “What’s wrong?” Lucas was surprised at her reaction. “Don’t you think that the place is too cheap for you?” She asked. “Nah, it’s fine. Didn’t we eat there last time?” Both of them then
Coco still felt happy because her work was going to be acted out in real life. “A company is optimistic about the film adaptation and has decided to invest more. It will most likely be aired on TV, and it seems that Rowan Palmer was in talks to play the male lead!” Minnie exclaimed.Coco was flabbergasted. Rowan was the trending celebrity now. His acting skills were good, and he was favored by all ages. All of the films that Rowan starred in had great ratings. It was possible for Coco’s comic adaptation to get good ratings if Rowan was the male lead. “Really?!” It took a while for Coco to react. “Do you think that I’m lying to you? The producer called me just now. If the adaptation is a hit, you’ll be famous soon!” Minnie was very happy for Coco. Her best friend’s work was definitely not inferior to other popular cartoonists, she only lacked a bit of luck.Coco had been drawing with all her heart for so many years. Even though she hadn't made much money from it, she persisted in
Coco thought that Lucas was just saying that to reassure her. “Fingers crossed. I hope that he can star in the adaptation, but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t. I’m happy that my work can be shown on TV and investors are interested in it.” Lucas’s eyes flickered slightly at her contentment. He wondered if she would turn into a greedy woman once she tasted success. He would cut ties with her if he found out that she wasn’t the woman she used to be. After they parted ways, Lucas called his secretary. “Get someone to contact Rowan and ask him to take the role in the adaptation of ‘I See You’.” The secretary was stunned at Lucas’s order. Lucas shouldn’t be involved in trivial matters like this. Still, he quickly agreed after Lucas confirmed it again. He wondered why Lucas was concerned about Rowan’s acting gigs; he was only an actor under the company's branch. Even though his popularity was rising nowadays, there wasn’t any reason for Lucas to pay attention to him. Meanwhile, Mason
Serenity was on a video call with Clara. She was concerned about Clara’s ankle. “My ankle is getting better these days,” Clara said. “What about your relationship with Wilson?” Serenity asked again.“It's the same as always. He still doesn't want to accept me. Maybe we’ll get a divorce eventually,” Clara mumbled.“Why don’t we do something to stop the hypnosis?” Serenity suggested, “Maybe we can find a more powerful hypnotist to reverse it. I've looked it up, and there have been successful cases.” Clara shook her head. “It’s fine. He knew the secret phrase and he could have stopped the hypnosis himself anytime he wanted. Wilson wasn’t willing to stop the hypnosis because he didn’t want to love me anymore. I don’t want to force him if that’s the case.” Serenity was worried. “But you—” “I’m actually prepared for this. I can only say that we loved each other at the wrong time. I'll sign the divorce papers if he really still doesn’t feel anything for me by the last day. I’m willing to