By then, Carl had already stopped eating while his expression slowly darkened by each second as his hand was clenched under the table. He had obviously heard everything the guy had said from the other end.
He slowly breathed in and breathed out, trying to control his anger while watching as the girl clicked her tongue after she had happily hung up the call.
Clara dropped her phone on the table with a huge smile then glanced at the guy who had stopped eating with his head down and she continued eating her food nonchalantly after sighing contentedly.
'Hehehe.' She couldn't believe the money is all going to be hers. She thought happily, totally oblivious to the dark aura around her.
A few seconds later, she slowly looked up after hearing him call out her name.
"Clara..." Carl repeated softly and sighed inside, watching the girl's expectant gaze. "You know, It is not a good notion to be relying on friends... Accepting so many favors makes you indebted all the time," he explained patiently with a soft smile.
"Huh?" Clara frowned slightly and slowly dropped her spoon. The guy is actually right, she nodded thoughtfully. however__ "John was the one that offered to help," she muttered innocently and looked down then continued eating her food.
'Clara!?' Carl groaned inside and sighed then tried again."You're really great at drawing the comics... however, you just need a little bit of coaching."
"Yeah, you're right... But I don't have the time to enroll in a coaching class," Clara replied with a shrug then drank the remaining water in the glass. It was not like she won't have time, but she doesn't want to spend money on an online class.
"Clara, how about this, I'll teach you everything you need to know, in some areas you're not so good at, and how to properly draw the comics." Carl watched her expectantly.
"Oh." Clara frowned and dropped down the water glass. It is a very great offer, as she had noticed that he is a professional in that aspect after seeing the comics he had drawn yesterday. "But isn't that like relying on you too?"
Carl chuckled and slowly nodded. "I'm your suitor, remember? You can rely on me all you want," he muttered with a soft smile then looked down and continued eating the remaining food on his plate.
'Oh my God.' Clara felt her breath hitched and she bit her lips after hearing his words. Now, the awkward atmosphere had returned.
She also looked down and quickly finished her food, then stood up and picked both plates as he was also done with his food then she rushed in the kitchen's direction.
'Hehe.' Carl chuckled while watching as she disappeared into the kitchen.
His attention slowly turned to the table then his expression instantly darkened and he extended his hand toward the phone then picked it up.
Tapping into her call logs, he dialed the number at the top which was instantly picked up from the other end. Then he muttered a few words and hung up the call after a few seconds before deleting the contact.
** Few Minutes later **
Clara slowly walked out of the kitchen and her gaze landed on the guy who had already connected the drawing tablet to her computer and patiently sitting on the couch with the pen in his hand.
She heaved a deep breath while her gaze was fixed on his face then he suddenly glanced up and she quickly looked away.
"Come." Carl chuckled and gestured her to walk forward, then patted the space beside him on the couch with a small smile.
Clara smiled back awkwardly and slowly walked forward then sat down beside him while his mesmerizing scent which she is still trying to figure out where she had smelt it before, engulfed her.
She sneaked a peek at his side profile then slowly turned her attention to the screen as he started explaining to her.
Several minutes later, Carl glanced down at her with a small smile. Just as he expected, she just needs a little bit of guidance and will instantly grab everything. 'Hehe.'
'Huh.' Clara gasped softly and stared at the guy with wide eyes as he had suddenly pecked her on the left cheek. She placed a palm on that cheek while her heart thumped rapidly then watched as he extended the pen toward her.
Carl chuckled at her dumbfounded expression then stood up after some seconds and grabbed his suit jacket.
He bid her good night while the girl nodded absentmindedly, then turned around and left the apartment with the small smile still on his face.
Clara stared in the direction of the door in a daze, with her palm still on her left cheek. She broke out of her trance after a while and rapidly shook her head with one hand splayed on her thumping heart.
Laughing softly, she turned her attention back to the screen and started drawing with a sigh.
"You'd better come back soon and ask me whatever it is," she muttered with a giggle, referring to the guy in her dreams.
********
__ Three Days Later __
The atmosphere was calm as the morning breeze accompanied by the mesmerizing scents of flowers wafted around the confused girl.
After thanking the delivery guy with a soft smile, Clara glanced sideways at the twins who were playing not far away with the other kids then waved to them with a wide smile and walked back to her apartment with the huge bouquet of red roses in her hands.
She giggled softly after sighing inside, as her soft gaze lingered on the flowers.
"Big brother, you know what?" She started, still staring down at the flowers. "I'll try and forget him... Because you're actually considerate."
She beamed with another giggle, then walked toward the storeroom and retrieved a flower vase.
After carefully putting the huge bouquet inside, she carried it to the living room and dropped it beside the window.
Walking toward the couch, she sat down beside her laptop and brought out her phone which had suddenly started ringing.