"What are you doing getting close to him?"

"What?"

Camellia raised an eyebrow, her expression clearly showing how surprised she was.

The man beside her looked away, his gesture weak. "Kyle is my best friend, my good friend. I don't want you getting close to him."

This time, Camellia stayed silent. Honestly, she hadn't known they were connected. But what kept her quiet was the fact that she had already come so far with Kyle.

"Camellia?"

The call snapped her out of her thoughts. "Yes?"

"You heard me, didn't you? Stay away from Kyle."

The girl with the dark sunglasses fastened her seatbelt, trying to distract Luke. "Everyone knows who Kyle Lincoln is. And when I get a chance to be near him, why should I back off?"

"He's my best friend."

For the first time, Camellia looked at Luke with defiance. "So what?"

Camellia intended to intimidate the man, but instead, she felt uneasy when Luke suddenly leaned his face close to hers. "I don't like it. You're mine, and I don't want what's mine to belong to anyone else."

Luke stared at every inch of Camellia's face from this close distance. When his gaze fell on her lips, his eyes darkened with desire.

He moved closer, closing his eyes as his body pressed against Camellia, who was now lying back in the car seat.

***

"Are you going to that disgusting place again?"

Camellia sighed deeply. "It's my workplace, Caleya, don’t talk like that."

The girl rolled her eyes and stood up, moving closer to her older sister. "Your workplace is CamBeauty, not that lousy bar."

"You know playing music is my hobby."

"You can play real music in a more respectable place. Why do you still hold on to that job?"

"Because that's where it all started. The job you look down on is the foundation of CamBeauty and our success. I can’t just let it go, Caleya."

Caleya stayed silent, folding her arms across her chest. Camellia took a deep breath before continuing. "Try to understand and see the positive side. Our education and living expenses have always come from this job, long before CamBeauty was established."

Still, Caleya said nothing, not even a response to her sister’s words.

"Why don’t you head to the office and oversee some things there? I’d be happy if you’d take part in running the company," Camellia suggested with a bright smile, trying to make her sister smile too.

But Caleya brushed off Camellia's hand from her shoulder. "No, I’m not interested."

After saying that, she walked away, leaving Camellia sighing deeply again.

She had lost count of how many times she had sighed tonight just to deal with Caleya.

***

Camellia wasn’t even wearing revealing clothes. She wore a skirt that ended above her knees, with stockings covering her legs completely, an oversized wool sweater, and her hair tied up high.

"Camellia, why are you here? I thought you’d never set foot here again. CamBeauty is doing great, right?" someone said as Camellia entered the bar area.

The girl in a crop top and jean shorts folded her arms and stared at Camellia arrogantly.

"I’m not giving up this job," Camellia replied.

"Fine, but I’m still the best, and everyone knows it."

Without saying another word, the girl left, leaving Camellia with clenched fists.

Meanwhile, a man in a formal suit had just arrived at this place for the first time in years.

He took off his sunglasses and called someone. "Where are you? I’m outside."

"Come in, why stand outside when it’s more fun in here? We should be enjoying ourselves, right?"

From the voice alone, Kyle Lincoln could tell his fiancée was drunk. She had either just finished drinking or was still drinking.

Kyle massaged his temples. "Where are you? I can’t find you without knowing where you are."

"I’m inside, on the dance floor."

Kyle’s eyes widened, and his heartbeat stopped for a moment. His tone turned serious. "I’m coming now."

He heard her say something, but he had already hung up.

Kyle quickly entered the bar. The loud music assaulted his ears, and his sharp eyes scanned every corner of the place, hoping to spot his fiancée.

He finally saw her on the dance floor, surrounded by several men. Without wasting any time, he hurried up to the dance floor and pulled her away.

"Let’s go home."

"Huh? No way. I want to dance here," her words slurred, typical of someone drunk. Then she started swaying her body.

Kyle looked away briefly before turning back to face Aluna. "You’re drunk. When you’re sober, you’ll regret coming to a place like this. We’re from a respectable family."

"What’s your problem? Why are you scolding me? I just want to have fun."

"Have fun somewhere else. This isn’t our place."

Aluna pouted and poked Kyle’s chest with her finger. "You’re a bad man."

Kyle slid his hands into his pockets, his gaze locking onto the DJ, whose face seemed familiar to him.

He smiled bitterly. Camellia deserved a better job than this. His eyes shifted back to Aluna, who was still under the influence of alcohol, and then he approached Camellia, who had just stepped down from her platform.

"So, you’re the one influencing Aluna to come here?"

Camellia was startled when someone spoke to her. She was even more surprised to find that it was Kyle Lincoln.

She looked at him, confused. "Who’s Aluna? And what did I influence?"

Kyle scoffed. "My fiancée never knew about places like this. After meeting you at that reunion, she dared to come here and act like a fool."

"Sorry, Mr. Kyle Lincoln, but it seems you don’t know that long before she met me, your girlfriend had been coming here often."

"You're a liar."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Why would I believe you?"

"You’ve accused me, Kyle. How could I not defend myself?"

"But this isn’t an accusation; it’s the truth."

Hearing that, Camellia gave a bitter smile. "What truth? You’ve never even tried to learn the whole story and instead judge me one-sidedly."

"Don’t ever bring up the past again, Camellia. It’s over."

"You started it, Kyle. You asked me not to bring up our past, but you don’t realize that your behavior now stems from that past. Why can’t you make peace with it and just accept it? Open your eyes and see the truth."

"The truth is clear. What more do I need to see? Do you know that the deeper someone delves, the more pain they’ll feel?"

Camellia’s eyes welled up. She had never been able to bear seeing the sadness on Kyle’s face. "But you don’t know, Kyle, half the truth can also hurt when you finally learn the whole of it."

Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "You're a skilled writer, no wonder you're good with words. But let me remind you—don’t try to get close to me or let anyone else know about our past. And one more thing, stay away from Luke, he already has a girlfriend."

Kyle walked away, leaving Camellia staring after him. "Kyle, if only you knew that Luke isn’t that good. He’s the one who forced me to be his mistress. I only want to protect my sister, that's all."