Holly was not in the mood to tear down Luke's facade.

She instead tried to push him away.

However, Luke clung to her even more tightly.

It was as if he was trying to prove his affection.

With one hand, Luke cradled the back of Holly's head, and he pressed his lips to hers with a boldness that left no room for argument.

His other hand started to move.

It snuck under the hem of Holly's clothes, starting to explore every piece of her.

With a familiarity that came with practice, he began to undo the clasps of Holly's undergarments.

A shadow of desire flickered in Luke's dark eyes, his throat involuntarily gulped.

He was oblivious to the resistance in Holly's eyes as he leaned in to whisper against her ear.

"Holly, I want you so bad."

A wave of nausea hit Holly.

She could not remember when she started to feel so repelled by Luke's advances.

She firmly stopped Luke's intrusive hand, took a deep breath, and fought back the impulse to slap him.

"Stop, it's not a good time. I'm dealing with... some girl stuff," she said.

At her words, Luke backed off as if he had been scalded.

He released her, and a brief look of relief crossed his face.

That look stung Holly, making her catch her breath with a twinge of pain.

At that moment, Holly realized the truth.

He did not want her.

He was just trying to keep her calm, to avoid angering her.

She stayed silent as Luke, filled with anxiety, was interrupted by his phone ringing. He stepped away to take the call and did not return.

With a blank face, Holly turned away and went back to her room to gather her belongings.

As Holly taped up the final cardboard box, Luke burst into her room without warning.

He grabbed her hand without a word and pulled her out the door. "You need to come with me," he said urgently.

He did not pause to notice the bareness of Holly's room, which was stripped of everything but the bed. Packed with boxes cluttering the floor.

However, Holly quickly realized what had sent Luke into such a panic.

The Hoffmans were livid. They had found an unopened pack of condoms in the study — a place where family honor was held in the highest regard.

Holly and Luke had been wild before, but would never dare be that reckless in the study.

Seeing what Melissa was holding, Holly felt a sudden stab of pain in her chest. Instinctively, her eyes went to Luke and Cecilia, whose beautiful eyes were brimming with tears.

Melissa, holding the incriminating evidence, spoke with icy disdain. "I get it, you're young and reckless, but you're crossing the line.

"I'm not going to come down hard on you, but you better be ready to face the consequences."

Her eyes were locked on Cecilia. She stood there with a sense of gracefulness, yet her face showed she felt deeply insulted.

"It's not mine. I would never," Cecilia declared, then turned to Luke. "And it's not Luke's. We've been together these past few days. He would never."

Her words might as well have been a neon sign pointing at Holly.

The servants had gathered, their eyes filled with a mix of scorn, contempt, and the thrill of gossip.

Their stares felt like a thousand needles jabbing at Holly all at once.

She felt a chill run through her, and as she met Melissa's searching gaze, she immediately wanted to deny it all.

Luke leaned in close, his voice a hushed plea in Holly's ear.

"Cover for Cecilia, will you? Please, Holly, I need your help just this once.

"If you won't, I'll tell everyone what happened when you turned eighteen."

Holly's whole body jolted, her eyes wide as she stared at Luke in disbelief.

A flicker of guilt passed over Luke's face, but he could not hold her gaze.

His lips were pressed together in a thin line, a sure sign he meant business.

Holly's heart throbbed with a mix of hurt and a bitter tightness. She fought back tears, her voice shaking as she whispered, "It… It was me."

Melissa let out a defeated sigh, her eyes clouding with disappointment.

"I'm going to let this go. Whatever your reason, never pull a stunt like that again."

However, Cecilia just laughed scornfully and reached out to link arms with Melissa. "Like I said, Luke's not the type to cause trouble.

"It's a good thing Holly's just a foster kid who was taken in. We'll make sure Luke keeps his distance from now on."

Her gaze on Holly was sharp, filled with challenge and scorn.

Holly bit back her tears, but as she turned away, they betrayed her.

Luke watched her go, his heart in turmoil.

He dashed after her, pulling her aside where no one could see.

"Holly," Luke's movement seemed urgent, tinged with a desperate kind of coaxing, "don't get mad, okay? I'm really sorry.

"Cecilia's got her pride. If word got out about this, it would crush her.

"And honestly, there's nothing going on between us. Cecilia's just... naive. She was curious, that's all. She didn't mean anything by it."

Holly jerked her hand away from Luke, tears streaming down her face. "So, Cecilia is the perfect one, huh? Proud, pure, and untouchable. I'm just the lowlife, am I the wild girl who deserves to be stepped on?"

Luke watched Holly's tears, it felt like his heart was shattering into pieces.

He longed to hold her and tell her he was wrong.

Right then, Cecilia's voice called out for him from behind, and he froze, his hand hanging in the air.

Holly wiped away her tears and gave Luke a small, brave smile.

"It's fine, I'm over it," she said.

With those words, she turned and walked away, thinking to herself, 'No point in getting angry over a lost love.'

Hiking day came. Luke and Cecilia's friends were all there, and Holly felt like the odd one out.

She had regretted coming the moment they started. Her stomach was in knots with cramps, and she was breaking out in a sweat. Her period had decided to show up.

However, backing out then would send the wrong message to everyone.

Nobody knew she and Luke had a thing.

To everyone else, Luke and Cecilia were the dream team, the golden couple.

Some even whispered that Holly was the only thing standing in their way. It was her stubborn refusal to leave Luke's side that stopped the golden couple.

However, Holly was not worried.

Her period cycles were like clockwork, and Luke always remembered. He would find her an excuse to leave soon enough.

However, when Cecilia complained of thirst mid-hike, Luke had everyone stop so he could fetch her favorite lemonade.

Cecilia pouted at him, "Did you forget? I don't like cold drinks."

"Don't let it go to waste though," she added, and Luke nodded.

Without a second glance, he shoved the cup into Holly's hands.

Holly gazed down at the frosty lemon juice that had suddenly been given to her. Her brain short-circuited for a second. She could not believe Luke had spaced on the fact that she was on her period and could not handle the tart, icy drink.

Laughter and jeers broke out around them.

"Luke, that's just low. You know Miss Antique can't stand Cecilia. Yet, you pass off her rejected drink to her? Miss Antique will be heartbroken… Again."

Holly was older than the rest of them.

The ones who sneered at her, they all made sure to say "Miss Antique" extra loud.

However, Holly was not ticked off about the title they used. It was Luke's attitude that really got under her skin.

Luke shot her an impatient frown, "It's just a drink. You like lemon juice too, don't you? I wasn't thinking anything of it. Let's not cause a scene with the crowd, alright?"

Holly's grip on the lemon juice tightened, the chill from the cup seeping through her fingers and straight to her heart.

She managed a feeble, "Luke, did you forget? I'm on my-"

"If Holly doesn't like it, then let's not push her," came a voice.

Cecilia rose to her feet. Her usual cool and aloof demeanor showed, but her eyes betrayed a hint of defiant tears.

She snatched the lemon juice from Holly's arms, ready to down it in one go.

Luke quickly moved, panic written all over him, "No, don't drink that. You can't drink cold drinks."

He turned back, shooting Holly a glare that could freeze fire.

It was the first time he had ever looked at her with such annoyance and revulsion.

Holly's composure nearly crumbled from the wrongful accusation.

She could not hold back the tears as she walked away from the mocking crowd.

She walked until they were all far behind her.

Holly could still hear their snide comments and mockery.

"As if she doesn't know her place. At twenty-eight, she's still trying to outshine Cecilia."

"Sure, she grew up with the Hoffmans, but look at her. She was groomed just to be some man's plaything. Why else would she be single at twenty-eight?"

"No respectable family would ever consider a woman like her into their family."

"I mean, she was already messing around at eighteen. I saw her running out of that room myself, hair all over the place, and clothes a mess."

While they spewed their venomous words, Luke was right there.

He heard every insult, but he did not say a word in her defense.

He was too busy trying to cheer up a sulking Cecilia.

Holly watched from a distance, her tears falling faster than she could wipe them away.

After what felt like an eternity, she managed to steady her emotions, but then footsteps approached from behind.

"Holly, you can't seriously think Luke has a duty to comfort you, right?"

Startled, Holly spun around to find Cecilia standing there, arms folded, a sneer plastered across her face.

Cecilia plopped down beside Holly, feigning a cozy camaraderie.

"You know, I kind of admire you. You've got nerve, hanging around Luke at your age, as if… Ha! As if he'd ever marry you."

The scorn in Cecilia's eyes felt like a physical pain in Holly's chest.

However, Holly was done biting her tongue. She narrowed her eyes, giving back as good as she got.

"Are you sure it's me who's hanging on to him?

"Hasn't he told you? He and I have been an item for ages."

"W-what?!" Cecilia's face turned red with rage.

Then, out of nowhere, Cecilia started to laugh. It was a weird, creepy laugh that sent shivers down Holly's spine.

"I know the truth. I've known it for ages."

Holly's eyebrows knitted together as she watched Cecilia's smile grow wider, filled with sinister intent that made her skin crawl. "What are you talking about?"

Cecilia's laugh was then full of contempt, and she did not bother to hide it.

"You can't seriously think that Luke was into you. That he got with you on your eighteenth birthday because he liked you. That's got to be a joke.

"He was intoxicated. I drugged him. He thought I was too young, too innocent to touch, so he turned to you instead.

"By the next day, he was already begging me to forgive him.

"Don't believe me? Watch this."

Cecilia whipped out her phone and showed Holly a video.

There was Luke, still with his boyish charm, looking lost.

His voice was broken, choked with tears. He desperately pleaded like a puppy that's about to be left behind.

"Cecilia, I've made myself clean, really clean. I'm not dirty.

"Don't look at me like that.

"Please."

He was hitting his own face, already swollen and red, but he did not react to the pain.

Then, Cecilia's voice cut through the video.

"If you've been with her, then you might as well stay with her, Luke. I can't stand men who don't take responsibility for what they've done."

Luke's eyes filled with hopelessness, and he numbly nodded in agreement.

"I'll do anything, just don't hate me."