Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 18

| casually said, “No biggie, if Hogan is cool with tossing in another five hundred thousand, make sure even his precious girl is well taken care of,”

What was more solid than cold, hard cash, right?

| was about to hang up when, lo and behold, | spotted Hogan and Cecilia not too far away. Talk about freaky timing.

Cecilia blinked those big beautiful eyes of hers and said in a tone of surprise, “Xaviera, you live here too?”

Hogan and Cecilia were just a stone’s throw away.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

| wasn’t sure if they caught any of my chat with Wallis,

Awkwardness washed over me, tinged with a hint of guilt.

| was worried Hogan might read my mind.

After all, no investor likes someone eyeballing their wallet all day, every day.

played it cool and said, “Been living here for a few months now.”

“Me too,” Cecilia’s voice rose and fell dramatically. “But I've barely seen you around.”

“My schedule’s all over the place.”

Us coders were a different breed — burning the midnight oil was business as usual, and my sleep was all messed up. Sometimes | was nocturnal, so running into someone was pure serendipity.

Kinda like today.

The three of us ended up sharing an elevator ride.

The only thing separating Cecilia and me were the ninth and tenth floors.

When | pressed my floor button, Cecilia’s face froze for a sec.

| thought, if | hadn’t moved in before her, she’d probably tag me as some sort of schemer. Blame Hogan for not thinking things through.

| did give him a heads-up.

Cecilia’s gaze was darting all over me, finally landing on my hand.

“Wow, Xaviera, a new Davidliu design?” Cecilia eyed me enviously, “It’s not even out at home yet, how’d you snag it?” She was referring to the handbag Darren had given me.

11:39

When | got it, all | thought was it felt nice, had no clue about this Davidliu hype.

But judging by Cecilia's look, it must be a big deal.

| told her straight, “A friend gave it to me.”

Cecilia blinked and teased. “Your friend sure went all out. That bag’s a limited edition, only a hundred in the world — a real collector's piece.”

Now | was the one lost for words.

I had no idea it was some exclusive limited edition.

Hogan’s scoff came at just the wrong moment.

| heard him ask Cecilia, “It’s just a bag, you like it?”

“No, it’s not that,” Cecilia dialed back the envy, “I just think Xaviera has good taste.” The elevator door opened, | nodded slightly and walked out without a word.

In the back, | vaguely heard Hogan say, “Your understanding of taste isn’t that great.” He was spot on.

Not only was | clueless about bags, but my taste in men was even worse.

Speaking of bags, | took a peek at the logo and looked up the price online.

Ignorance is bliss, they say well, | was shocked.

For a niche brand with such a straightforward design, the price tag was in the five digits. Suddenly, carrying it on the subway felt like a sacrilege.

he website | built for Darren, even with a price tag on it, wouldn’t even come close to this. The

| felt kind of bad about it.

| dug up Darren’s contact, racked my brain, but couldn’t come up with the right words. Just as | was about to put my phone away, a friend request caught my eye.

My heart skipped a beat.

It was a picture of a sunset glow.

Along time ago, taken by Hogan at N University’s artificial lake.

That day marked 1,460 days of my crush on him. We sat on the grass outside the crowd, the sunlight was just right, a gentle breeze in the air. He was engrossed in his book, | was engrossed in him, until the sun set, and we maintained that not-too— close—not-too-far distance.

Feeling a bit down, | started packing up. My hand accidentally brushed against his knuckles, | was about to pull away, but he took my hand in his.

11:39 Chapter 18 It was the first time Hogan held my hand on his own. Right before the afterglow faded, he snapped that picture.

Two years had passed, and | never thought this deleted avatar would reappear in my friend requests.