Lucas knew Coco was barely managing the smile on her face.All Coco wanted was for the conversation to end. She wanted to get it over with, but he brought it up over and over again. It made her powerless.Coco wrinkled her nose, fighting the urge to cry."Sorry, I want to go wash my face," she told him sharply, hardly able to hold back her tears. With that, she hurriedly ran to the bathroom without waiting for him to say anything.Coco slammed the door shut, effectively separating them. Staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Coco asked herself the same question she had been asking since she came back. Unable to hold back any longer, tears ran down her cheek.What was wrong with her? She knew Lucas loved Serenity. She had known from the beginning! More tears dripped down her face. Why was she crying?! She was already prepared for a long battle, right?His silence felt like a crushing weight, and it almost made her give up immediately."Be strong, Coco.""You chose t
"No lies, Lucas." Coco put her finger against his lips."I don't want you to say something against your will because of guilt."Lucas stared at Coco's clear eyes. To his distress, she seemed to have read his mind. Coco sighed softly. "Many say it's not wrong to lie with good intentions, but not for me. I'd rather know the harsh reality.""To me, a beautiful lie is just temporary. It'll break someday. A perfect lie that can last forever doesn't exist at all."Her finger against his lips was burning hot, or so Lucas thought. "Promise me, Lucas. No matter what, don't lie to me, okay?" Coco said seriously, her expression intent."Never lie to me. The truth may be painful, but I would rather not live in a lie than not know it."Lucas met her gaze. He took her hand in his palm, gently pulling down her hand. "I promise I won't lie to you. No matter what."Coco chuckled at his reply. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in front of his chest."I'm not as fr
Coco had accompanied Lucas to parties before, but none were as grand as the Valor family's party. Back then, not many people knew about her relationship with Lucas. Many thought she was just his temporary companion.Things had changed, though. After Lucas' appearance on TV, many people knew they were dating.In the evening, Coco returned to the villa, but Lucas was still not home. While waiting, Coco went to the closet to see if she could pick any suitable dresses. Lucas had bought her some dresses, some of which she had never worn. Those dresses were not in her closet but in the other room.Coco entered the other room and opened the door to the walk-in closet. She saw a lot of gowns on display. They were in all sorts of colors except purple.Coco's eyes darkened. Purple? It was not just these dresses. Lucas had bought many clothes for her, but none were purple. She had never seen any garments in dark purple, light purple, or any other purple. None of it was purple.Coco remembere
Coco usually spent her time in these parts of the villa. Where else could she go?Panic burst through him. His heart was racing, and the fear was back in his face. It had been a long time since he had such a panic attack."Are you sure Coco hasn't left yet?" Lucas asked the maid."Yes. Ms. Souza never left. She didn't even come downstairs," the maid answered.Was Coco still upstairs? Lucas' expression became stern. He opened the door to each room, looking for her frantically. When he reached one of the rooms, he suddenly stopped, a hint of hesitation flashing on his face.Inside this room was…'No! She can't be in this room!' Feeling breathless, Lucas tried to calm himself, but panic shot through him even more. Lucas put his hand on the door handle, his hand trembling slightly. At last, he gathered his courage, turned the door handle, and opened the door.The woman he had been searching for came to his sight finally. His eyes narrowed, and he caught his breath. It was Coco!
"Purple, for me, used to be Serenity's color," Lucas explained."She saved me, and I promised I'd gift her a purple dress.""I lost touch with her after that. While searching for her, I bought a dress every year and kept it in this closet.""Over the years, maybe it did become some kind of obsession without me realizing it. After I found her, or should I say…. I stopped buying purple dresses after I realized she was truly in love with Jackson."Lucas had never told anyone about this before, but he told her, "Coco, I know better than anyone else. Serenity is just a guest in my life. These dresses, I'll have them discarded later.""But what are you going to do with them?" Coco asked. "You can't give them to Serenity, right? It'd be a shame to dispose of them to trash or put them in storage."Lucas did not answer. He honestly had no idea what to do with the dresses either. He simply wanted to keep the dresses out of her sight, fearing they would cause more misunderstanding."For
The staff put the dress closer to Coco, letting her see the dress in the mirror. "Ms. Souza, would you like to try it on?"Coco glanced at Lucas. "What about this? What do you think?""Beautiful," he said, but his expression was unreadable. Lucas always kept his expression schooled, unlike Coco, who often showed her thoughts in her expression. He could read her thoughts at a glance, but she could never read his. She would never be able to guess his mind unless he was willing to let her know.Coco got the staff to take the dress and accompany her into the dressing room to try it on.Coco had only worn a few purple dresses before. It was hard to color-coordinate purple dresses. Since her relationship with Lucas, the color purple seemed to have completely disappeared from her closet.Coco stared at her reflection for a moment, feeling dazed and confused. Did she really want to wear a purple dress to the party? Or was she just trying to prove something else? That Lucas was over Se
"I prefer this one in beige. I'm not trying to throw a tantrum. If I find something I like in purple, I'll go for that too," Coco explained."Lucas, I think it's not right to prove anything with a dress. The color isn't what I want. What matters is the way you feel about me, so…" Coco paused, gazing into his eyes."When you realize you're in love with me one day, please let me know, okay?"Lucas stared at her in a daze, realizing she was far more open and understanding than he had ever imagined."Yes! I promise you. When I fall in love with you, you'll be the first to know," he rasped."It's a pinky promise. Promise me you won't go back on your word," Coco said, stretching one hand out and holding up her pinkie."I won't, I promise." Lucas held out his hand and connected his little finger with hers. It was a promise he made to her. A promise he must fulfill. -The Valor family organized a grand party and invited many celebrities and big names from all walks of life.Coco got
"Caden isn't very talkative. He's such a quiet kid, so much so that Serenity became worried about autism. They got him checked, but the test came back okay," Lucas explained."I wonder what will happen if this continues. Caden's attachment to his sister may turn into love. If the little girl loves him back, then it's all good. Otherwise…" It would have been ominous to say it out loud, so Coco left her sentence unfinished. "They are still kids. Besides, do you think Jackson will let his son get hurt, especially if Caden really likes that girl?" Lucas said."But you can't control feelings. Even if you have power, it may not necessarily help. Feelings are unpredictable, after all," Coco sighed.Lucas pondered for a moment and agreed. "You're right. I made it seem too simple. Even if they fall in love, it won't happen until they grow up in ten years.""Right." Coco smiled. At this point in time, the two did not realize the connection between childhood sweetheart and first love. Coc