The moment Camille Laurent let go of his hand, Lucas understood what was happening.
In truth, it was normal.
You couldn't expect a woman who had chased someone for nearly ten years to give up everything just because of a few words from a stranger, or a good impression lasting a day or two.
That wasn't realistic.
Unless she was already broken—unless she was only playing along.
Lucas spoke calmly."What's wrong?"
Camille remained silent.
She knew it herself. Her attitude toward Adrien Lefèvre, and toward Lucas, had been changing drastically.
It was just that—
For some reason, the instant she saw Adrien, her heart still ached.
Camille stood where she was and asked in a low voice,"Lucas… do you think a man can really stay indifferent to a woman's pursuit? Or even feel disgusted by it?"
People said men understood men best.Did Lucas understand Adrien?
Lucas habitually took a cigarette from his pocket.
It was a real habit of his. Whenever he ran into a problem like this, his hand moved on its own.
He lit the cigarette, exhaled slowly, and said lightly,"It depends on the person. If a man truly has no feelings for a woman, he'll only reject her more thoroughly."
"How many times have you confessed? That routine's been played out a long time ago."
Lucas had once seen something like that.
Back in college, there had been a guy chasing the campus beauty—decent-looking, but stubborn to the point of absurdity.
He confessed every day.
Even after a hundred confessions, the girl still ignored him.
In the end—
The man became a regular in the city's red-light district.
Hearing this, Camille was lost in thought.
Was that it?
Then what were his feelings for her?
Was it also the kind of intense dislike?
As if seeing through her thoughts, Lucas encouraged her, "Don't overthink it. If you really want to know the answer, go confess again, or ask him face-to-face to see what you mean to him."
Lucas wasn't foolish enough to badmouth Adrien Lefèvre in front of Camille.
Smearing Adrien in front of Camille would only backfire. Adrien was the type who looked gentle on the surface but was sharp underneath. After being pursued for so many years, he wasn't clueless.
More importantly, Lucas knew—
given the current situation, his 'good big brother' Adrien was surely here for Claire Dubois.
Waiting for him to get shot down by Claire and then run into Camille...
His mood would be predictably terrible.
So Lucas wasn't worried at all that Adrien would say he liked her.
Hearing his encouragement, Camille was stunned.
Should she try?
She hesitated.
In truth, she already had the answer in her heart, but she didn't dare face that stark reality.
Because she had really persisted for too long.
Seeing the hesitation on her face, Lucas said, "You calm down here alone. I'll step out first; I have some things to attend to."
With that, he walked towards the direction of the underground garage.
Regardless of what Camille thought.
After standing there thinking for a long time, the expressions on Camille's face shifted.
Finally, she gritted her teeth. "Lucas is right. It might be better to ask clearly in person!"
Even if it meant giving up for good, she should let go with clarity.
Dressed in a black dress, Camille went downstairs and waited quietly beside the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
She didn't know how many minutes passed.
Adrien Lefèvre came out of the building, a bouquet of flowers in hand, his face somewhat dejected, angry, and confused.
After exiting, Adrien saw Camille standing to the side, and his face instantly darkened.
Without a word, he walked straight towards a trash bin.
After discarding the flowers, just as Adrien was about to return to his car and leave, Camille beside him called out.
"Adrien, wait a moment."
Camille took two steps forward, looking at the man she had always liked with complex emotions in her eyes.
"I want to take two minutes of your time to ask one question. Just one."
Hearing this, Adrien glanced impatiently at his wristwatch. "Whatever it is, say it quickly."
He didn't want to hear Camille's nonsense.
It was always confessions, nothing but confessions.
Besides, you were just holding hands with Lucas. Did you think I was blind and didn't see?
Camille took a deep breath and said gravely, "I want to ask you something. Over all these years, what has your impression of me been? What place do I hold in your heart?"
This was a question she had always wanted answered.
She thought about it constantly.
But Adrien never gave a straight answer.
Hearing Camille's question, Adrien was taken aback for a moment, then snorted coldly. "Camille, I'll tell you right now."
"You hold no place in my heart!"
"My impression of you is terrible. Absolutely terrible. And I despise your pretentious, overly affectionate confessions in front of me. Do you understand?"
"Your behavior disgusts me."
He was in a foul mood, having just been rebuffed by Claire Dubois.
His temper was flaring.
And just then, Camille delivered herself to his doorstep.
The progress of his pursuit was exactly as Lucas had predicted—the kind with absolutely no chance of success.
Boom!
Hearing these words, Camille felt as if struck by lightning. Her whole being was stunned.
Disgusted?
Pretentious affection?
My confessions... in your eyes, were they just pretentious affection?
Am I a clown?
Looking at her stunned expression, for some reason, he felt a twinge of heartache. But Adrien still waved his hand impatiently. "Since you got the answer you wanted, I'm leaving."
With that, he got into the car.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom started up slowly.
Long after he had driven away, Camille finally snapped back to reality.
She laughed bitterly. "I knew the answer long ago. Why did I have to humiliate myself by asking?"
"But... it really hurts."
She couldn't understand how she could be so utterly worthless in his eyes.
Was she really that terrible?
Thinking this, Camille's eyes grew moist, tears threatening to fall.
Then, she recalled the words Lucas had said to her before.
"Why won't you listen to me?"
"Miss Camille, you're not pretty at all when you cry."
"Promise me you won't cry anymore in the future, okay?"
That warm smile grew clearer and clearer in her mind.
Camille forced back her tears and murmured, "Okay, I won't cry. I won't cry ever again."
"I'll take care of you from now on!"
"Lucas, don't be his lackey anymore."
"I'll be responsible for earning money and supporting you. Don't have anything to do with him ever again."
She muttered to herself, and this thought grew stronger and stronger.
Achoo!
At that moment, a certain handsome guy who was driving wiped his nose.
"Who's thinking about taking care of me?"