The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Lucas did not want to press the matter further. Instead, he shifted his attention to the scratch marks on Melody's arm. "What happened to your arm?"

"It's just a little scratch," Melody replied. Her mood had been all over the place, so she did not notice that she was hurt. It was only until Lucas grabbed her that she felt the pain.

She had scratched Wendy's face during their altercation, and Wendy had not held back either, leaving deep marks on Melody's arm.

Lucas frowned. "An accidental scratch wouldn't look like this. Tell me what really happened."

Melody sighed and proceeded to recount the events of the day to Lucas. "It was Wendy, my half-sister. She's been smearing my reputation and messing up my interviews. She even attacked me! I couldn't just take it anymore, so I fought back..."

Lucas looked at her with a mix of emotions. 'Just what kind of upbringing did she have? What has she been through?' he pondered silently.

"Why didn't you tell your family that you're my wife now? If you did, they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you," said Lucas.

Melody fell into a contemplative silence. The power of the Rivera name could indeed act as a shield against the Sanders, but it also meant inviting a different kind of trouble.

for their unscrupulous tactics. Should they learn about her ties to the Riveras, they might try to exploit it to climb the social ladder

she did not want to burden the Riveras with

guarantee that they won't come after me again. I'm afraid they'll come knocking for more favors if they find

head and spread her hands. "Besides, I'm only your wife for a year. After that, I'll be nobody again. What's

quite clear-headed now. At a critical moment,

can actually smile! Well, he looks

before realizing it was not ideal to stare

to the Riveras... I'm

pensively. "If something like this happens again, you can just be upfront about our

net for anyone, as having the Riveras' support meant there was nothing to fear anymore. However, Melody glanced at him and remained silent. She had no intention of relying on the Riveras as a shield. The immunity they offered had an

for an independent life in the future, so she needed to

knew Sherman was the