The Blue Coat

Lucas was completely shocked by her sudden appearance. Why the hell was she there?

She was wearing a short skirt with a cream colored top which accentuated her youthful look. Her eyes were bright and cheerful while her smooth legs were exposed because of the skirt…

Lucas ignored her and took off the coat. Lillian simply blinked at him, smiling widely but he brushed past her and put the coat back on the rack. But she followed him and picked out a navy blue coat.

"This!" she said. "This will look good on you. Very classy."

But the man was ignoring her as if she was invisible. Lillian was taken aback by his attitude.

"Tch!" she slightly scowled. "I was just trying to help…"

She gave him a quizzical glance before shrugging. When she saw the man grab the pleb coat, she assumed that he had not seen the writing on the back. But seeing how rude he was, she decided not to bother helping him anymore.

Should have let him buy the pleb one, she thought warily.

She glanced at him again and had to admit to herself that he was quite good looking. Even the woman at the counter was ogling at him in a dreamy way. The man was either ignoring her as well or not aware of her gaze. But after his cold behavior, Lillian felt that he was quite arrogant and snobbish. No matter how good looking someone was, once a person acts haughty with her, she immediately turns away.

Lucas averted his eyes from her but the cold feeling in his heart was deepening. His hands were shaking in fear, a feeling which had been alien to him for years. It was as if he had been transported back in time when he was sixteen and living under constant fear of death.

He did not expect to run into her again. The night at the club was a mistake; he should have never gone close to her.

Lillian, on the other hand, was humming to herself as she checked herself in the mirror. The skirt and top were perfectly fitting. I think I'll wear this for dad's birthday celebrations tonight, she decided.

From the corner of his eye, Lucas saw that she was smiling to herself. Just like the night at the club, she was once again living in the moment. His fingers were clenched into fists, his mind fighting the images which were flashing in his head.

The blood...the gunshot...everything swirled in front of him. The events which took place twelve years ago had destroyed every bit of peace he knew, draining out all his emotions. He did not want to delve deep into them but Lillian's presence was bringing back the demons he had been trying to fend off. The more he saw her, the more he was troubled.

A sly voice echoed in his ears, tormenting him for the millionth time.

"She will torture you forever…" the low, cruel voice whispered in his memory. "Remember my words well, Lucas Hao. You can't escape her…"

Lillian was oblivious to everything else. She decided to buy the clothes and went back into the changing room while Lucas stood there, unsure of what to do. His eyes went back to the coat Lillian had chosen for him.

When she came out, Lillian headed for the counter.

"I'll take these," she said. The saleswoman obliged and packed the clothes for her.

"Have a good day, ma'am," the saleswoman said with a smile but Lillian frowned.

"You didn't take any money," Lillian pointed out.

"Oh, I thought you knew that your boyfriend just paid for the clothes!" the saleswoman informed her.

"Boyfriend?" Lillian echoed. "What boyfriend?"

"That man who was with you earlier paid for your clothes," the saleswoman revealed. "He told us to charge his card for your things as well."

"Huh?" Lillian was now confused and shocked. Why did that man pay for her things?

She immediately dashed out of the shop to look for the man but he was gone. Hannah had just caught up with her from behind.

"Lillian, what's wrong?" she asked. "You look troubled."

"It's nothing…" Lillian trailed off. Was this the man's way to apologize for his behavior?

"A simple apology would have worked," she muttered.

"What was that?" Hannah frowned but Lillial shook her head.

"Let's leave," she said. "I have to pick up the cake."

She pulled Hannah away. Several questions popped up in her head as she tried to make sense of the strange situations from the past two days. First, a stranger in the club gave her a portrait of herself. And now another stranger bought her clothes. Why was she suddenly running into men like these?

Weird, she thought.

….

Thomas and the other men were quite nervous. Their boss had emerged from the shop wearing a blue coat but for some reason, Lucas only looked angrier. Lucas' eyes had darkened in intense anger and even though he was quiet, the conflicting emotions in his heart were oozing out of him, generating a sinister aura around him. Thomas did not dare to ask him anything but Lucas was lost in his own thoughts anyway.

They were on the private elevator, heading for the top floor.

"Er...sir?" Thomas began. "I got some information from one of our informers."

Lucas slightly turned his head, not paying much attention to Thomas.

"It seems that one of our men has been illegally giving out loans to other people," Thomas told him. "We've issued strict warnings to our gangs not to act as lenders to civilians but some of the men are disobeying us. What should we do?"

"Lock them up," Lucas said offhandedly. "And keep them imprisoned until I deal with them."

Thomas nodded and texted his men to obey Lucas' orders. As per his information, one of the loan sharks was going to create some havoc that night so they would have to keep an eye on him.

Lucas, on the other hand, did not care much. He was still wondering why he was running into that woman again and again.

"How unfortunate," he said in a soft tone.

Yes. Their meetings were unfortunate and would probably bring upon their doom one day. But the question was, which one of them was doomed?