After telling everyone about what he’d witnessed at the roadside stall the previous night, Luca Hale sat back and watched their reactions.

Mother Hale was the first to respond. She shook her head repeatedly, disbelief written all over her face.

"Oh my goodness. Such a pretty girl, and she’s doing things like that? That’s unbelievable."

Third Aunt Mae looked equally stunned.

She had never imagined that not only were Julie’s parents difficult people, but Julie herself was nothing like the innocent, well-behaved girl she appeared to be.

"Luca, I’m really sorry," Third Aunt said awkwardly. "I never expected Julie to be... to be that kind of person."

Her face flushed with embarrassment.

After all, she had been the one who introduced Julie in the first place.

"It’s alright, Third Aunt." Luca smiled reassuringly. "She’s just very good at pretending. Even her own parents don’t seem to know about all the mess she’s involved in."

"That’s true."

Third Aunt let out a sheepish laugh.

The topic quickly died there.

As lunch continued, nobody brought Julie up again. The mere thought of her family was enough to spoil everyone’s appetite.

A little later, Mother Hale placed a piece of chicken into Luca’s bowl.

"Oh, right. Don’t forget to pick up your sister tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay," Luca replied casually.

Trish Hale was currently a senior in high school and only a month away from her college entrance exams.

The school gave students just two days off each month, so tomorrow’s break would likely be her last chance to rest before the final sprint toward graduation.

That evening, around nine o’clock, Luca received a phone call.

The caller was Mason Reid, his closest friend from high school.

"Luca, did you see the message in the class group?"

Mason’s voice sounded rougher and more mature than Luca remembered.

"No, not yet. Let me check."

Luca opened the class group chat and immediately saw dozens of messages.

A class reunion was being organized.

"Are you going?" Luca asked.

Truthfully, he wasn’t particularly interested.

Back in high school, he’d gotten along reasonably well with most of his classmates, but Mason was the only one he considered a genuine friend.

If Mason wasn’t attending, Luca had little reason to go either.

"Let’s go together," Mason said.

"Sure. Let me know the details."

After hanging up, Luca turned off his phone and went to bed earlier than usual.

The following morning, he suddenly remembered something.

The gifts he’d bought for his family were still sitting in the trunk of his car.

While taking out the trash, he carried several bags upstairs.

Mother Hale looked up in confusion as he made trip after trip through the front door.

"Son, what are you moving?"

Luca grinned and placed a beautifully packaged gift box on the table.

"Cosmetics for you, Mom."

Then he added dramatically,

"I wish you eternal youth."

Mother Hale rolled her eyes.

"Your mother is already getting old. Why waste money on things like this?"

Even so, the smile on her face gave away how pleased she was.

Luca reached into another box and carefully took out a jade-green bracelet.

The bracelet shimmered softly under the light.

He gently slipped it onto his mother’s wrist.

Although Mother Hale knew little about jade, she could tell at a glance that it wasn’t cheap.

The cool stone rested comfortably against her skin.

"This must have cost quite a bit, right?" she asked softly.

Seeing how much she liked it made Luca happy.

"As long as you like it, that’s all that matters."

Since he clearly wasn’t planning to reveal the price, Mother Hale wisely stopped asking.

In reality, the bracelet had cost nearly fifty thousand dollars.

Fortunately, Luca wasn’t worried about money anymore.

Meanwhile, he carried another gift over to Old Hale.

Five bottles of premium brandy lined up neatly on the table.

"Dad, I bet you’ve never tried this before."

Old Hale’s eyes immediately lit up.

Wine was his greatest hobby.

"How much?" he asked eagerly, picking up a bottle.

"Not expensive. About five thousand."

The moment he heard the number, Old Hale’s hand visibly trembled.

He nearly dropped the bottle.

"Five thousand isn’t expensive?"

He shot Luca an annoyed look.

"Do you know Harold Bennet down the street? His daughter brought him two bottles worth two hundred dollars each last month."

Old Hale snorted.

"He spent an entire week showing them off."

Luca couldn’t help smiling.

He knew exactly who Harold Bennet was.

A decent man.

Just a little too fond of bragging.

Old Hale laughed happily.

"These bottles are so fancy. In a few days, I’ll bring one over and let Harold and the others have a taste."

Watching his father’s smug expression, Luca almost corrected him.

Almost.

The problem was that Old Hale had misunderstood.

Luca meant five thousand dollars per bottle.

Old Hale thought the five bottles together cost five thousand.

’Would he still be willing to share them if he knew the truth?’

Luca wisely kept that information to himself.

That afternoon, he drove to Ashford High School.

Not only was it Trish’s school, it was also his alma mater.

Classes hadn’t ended yet, but numerous vehicles were already parked outside the gates.

Parents had started arriving early. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The moment Luca’s black Mercedes-Benz G-Class rolled into view, it immediately attracted attention.

A G-Class wasn’t something people saw every day in a small city like Ashford.

Conversations began popping up among the waiting parents.

Luca ignored the curious looks and sat in the driver’s seat scrolling through videos on his phone.

Then his eyes landed on someone familiar.

A petite young woman stood not far away.

She wore a simple green dress that swayed gently in the afternoon breeze. Her short hair framed her delicate features perfectly.

Even after all these years, Luca had to admit she was stunning.

Her beauty wasn’t inferior to Naomi Monroe’s or Arabella Windsor’s.

The difference lay in her temperament.

Naomi was sweet and lively.

Arabella was elegant and distant.

This young woman was bright and refreshing, the type who naturally drew attention wherever she went.

Most importantly, Luca knew her.

Sophie Kennedy.

His former classmate.

The undisputed beauty of their graduating class.

Back then, if their school had held a campus beauty contest, Sophie would have won by a landslide.

Seeing her again after so many years stirred a faint sense of nostalgia in Luca’s heart.

After all, what teenage boy in their class hadn’t secretly admired Sophie Kennedy at some point?

Just as he was wondering how to greet her, Sophie spotted him first.

Her eyes brightened slightly.

Then she walked over with a smile.

"Luca Hale."

"Long time no see."