"What is it?" Arthur asked as he sat down for an important video conference.
Looking at Arthur's incredibly handsome face, Lola's eyes were not hiding infatuation. After a moment's hesitation, she asked him,
"Arthur... What kind of relationship is this?"
"Friend," Arthur replied without hesitation, and the warmth in Lola's eyes faded.
"Just... friend?"
"Of course, we've always been friends, haven't we?" Arthur's tone seemed distant.
"But haven't you been very close to me lately? I thought... you were willing to accept me..." it seemed a little humble for a woman to say such things, but Lola could no longer care so much.
"Is it?" Arthur said lightly, with his eyes still looking ahead, not looking at Lola.
Lola grew impatient. She took Arthur's arm and expressed her feelings,
"Arthur, my vacation is almost over. Just say it, and I'll quit my job at FBI and stay in the country with you."
"Work is important. You'd better go back as soon as possible." Arthur finally turned his head, but there was no look in his eyes that Lola was expecting.
"Arthur, what do you mean by that?" said Lola, coming to her senses and seeing the coldness in Arthur's eyes,
"Have you been getting close to me lately, just for show?"
"Yes," Arthur said, almost at the end of Lola's words.
Lola's mind suddenly went blank. Her hand that was holding Arthur's hand also slowed down.
"I was just trying to distract Spencer so that he would think I was in a new relationship and wouldn't use Lucia to provoke me again." Arthur didn't wait for Lola to ask, but he made his intentions clear. Lola's eyes widened in an instant. Although she suspected that Arthur was trying to use her, she didn't expect him to not even try to hide it.
"Why..." Lola was silent for a long time before she said so.
"I've been to lowa, and I've seen the man who donated Teddy's bone marrow. Guess what he told me?" Arthur asked, staring at Lola.
Lola faltered, and immediately realized that Arthur knew he was being deceived.
"Arthur, I'm not..."
"You're not what?" Arthur asked in a low voice, with a chuckle, before Lola could explain further,
"The FBI's personal psychologist has dealt with countless criminals before. Even the most cunning suspects can be observed and accurately judged. Would you misjudge an ordinary person like that?" Lola could no longer defend herself. She lowered her eyes and tried to rationalise her selfishness,
"I lied to you. I knew the man was lying when I met him. But, Arthur, what if I told you the truth? Lucia chose Spencer. It's a fact. She's even pregnant with his child now. I just want to make it easier for you to give up."
"I never wanted to give up..." Arthur chuckled again, telling Lola something she didn't understand,
"I have an instinctive attachment to Lucia. She is my first and only woman. She is gentle, kind, and strong. She has all the qualities that men like. My feelings are crazy, but they are also rational. No matter how you look at it, she is the most perfect woman in my heart. No one can replace her."
It was only when Lucia was mentioned that Arthur's eyes had a unique expression, which Lola was most unwilling to accept!
"But it's true that she betrayed you!" Lola warned Arthur angrily.
"So what?" Arthur said with a smile.
Lola could not understand, and said angrily, "Even if she was with another man, with a new family, you still love her?!"
"Of course," Arthur replied justifiably, sighing at the resentment in Lola's eyes,
"Well, shouldn't you know better?"
His words were straight through Lola's heart.
Yeah, even though Arthur didn't look at her and didn't love her, her eyes were always on him?
This was love...
For a moment, Lola could no longer say a word.
Seeing the worry on Lola's face, Arthur relented and said,
"I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression. At first, I was really angry that you hid it from me, but then I thought about it. People are selfish. You just want to fight for it." "Too bad I couldn't get it," Lola whispered with a wry laugh.
"I'm sorry," Arthur said.
After a moment of silence, Lola looked up. She couldn't get over it, but she knew what Arthur was thinking.
"I see, Arthur. I hope you don't blame me."
"Of course, we're friends, aren't we?" Arthur smiled gently.
Lola gasped. As expected, she still loved him, but from now on, she tried to forget him.
The day after the conversation, Lola left Athegate without a word. In a fit of pique, she lost out on her feelings. She texted Arthur to tell him she was leaving.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
"Take care," said Arthur, who quickly replied with a short message.
On the plane, Lola looked at the words for a long time. Under a vast sky, for a moment, she kind of let go.
Back at work, thinking of what to do for Arthur, Lola contacted her colleagues and pulled out a lot of information she needed to make up for.
When Lola left, Juliana was the most relieved, but after learning that Arthur had rejected her outright, she felt sorry for her and couldn't ask for anything more.
Lola wasn't the only one who felt hurt.
Spencer and Lucia's engagement was widely reported in the country, and because it was witnessed by Esmae, some international media picked up on the news. The news didn't spread as fast as it did in the country, but, the news that Esmae presided over Spencer and Lucia's engagement ceremony had reached USA..
Jacob found out about the news by accident.
Jacob's life in USA had been extremely difficult because of Spencer's subterfuge. He lived in a crowded neighborhood. There were often violent people rioting in the streets. What was more, he was underappreciated by Spencer, so he was very depressed.
One day, he walked past the newsstand after work and bought a magazine to read at home, as he always did. The magazine was chosen at random, but it covered Spencer and Lucia's ceremony.