I've watched sunsets before, but sunset in Paris with Luna in my arms can't be compared to any of those. We're standing at the balcony of my hotel room, watching the entire city, the Eiffel Tower, and the sun setting in the background.

I wrap my arms around her waist from behind, kissing her hair as she sighs. The view before us is breathtaking, but to me, nothing is more beautiful than her.

Bliss and contentment fill my insides. I've never felt this whole, this complete.

"It's so beautiful," Luna says, placing her hands on my arms around her waist, resting her head against my chest comfortably. "Everything looks more beautiful now. I've never been this happy." She turns her head to look at me, her pretty smile spread on her face.

"You deserve it," I whisper.

She really deserves it. She's been through a lot, and remembering what those cunning people have done to her makes me want to break something.

Luna smiles at me while I'm still hugging her from behind. "Thank you for everything, Max."

When I see the unshed tears in her eyes, my breath catches in my throat. They are happy tears, I suppose.

"Thank you for being with me when I had the worst time of my life," she whispers.

No sound leaves my throat. I stare into her enchanting chocolate eyes, allowing myself to be hypnotized by them. Luna circles her arm around my neck, and her face draws closer to mine.

Her lips suddenly brush against mine, and my body freezes.

My heart bursts.

She kisses me. Luna kisses me.

Her kiss is so soft, and I can tell how inexperienced she is. Her lips move tentatively, slowly, like she's unsure whether she's doing the right thing or not.

I wonder if this is how it feels to be in heaven. She tastes divine. I kiss her back with all my heart, tightening my hold on her, and I can tell from the way her shoulders relax that she begins to calm down. She must have mustered all the courage in her to kiss me first.

While we're kissing, I can feel how hard my heart is pounding inside my ribcage. It's thumping wildly -- it's not even healthy.

Something is definitely wrong with it. Goddammit, something is wrong with my heart.

It can't contain all these feelings for her. It beats extremely fast that I feel like it can explode anytime.

After we land back in New York with the rest of our classmates, Max drives me home from the airport. It's already past midnight, almost reaching dawn. Still, it seems that Aiden is awake, because I've been texting him.

"Wait," I say as Max's car almost enters the gate of Dad's property.

Max stops the car and looks at me in confusion. He's supposed to drop me at the lobby of my house, so he must be wondering why I stop him here.

My cheeks heat up as I think about what I'm going to do. What happened between me and Max still seems surreal. It has only been a while ago that I thought I shouldn't have these feelings for him.

"Thanks for driving me home." I smile and give him a peck on the lips, surprising him.

Right. I wouldn't be able to do so with Dad and Aiden around, would I?

My heart is beating so fast, and I swallow as his face hardens.

Oh, no. Was I being too bold? Maybe I shouldn't have done that.

But we've kissed before, so there should be nothing wrong with a peck on the lips when we part.

"No." Max's voice is low, and his jaw is tight. His piercing eyes are back, a lot darker. They are filled with emotions I can't tell.

The air in my lungs feels like being sucked with a vacuum.

Did he hate it? Is he angry?

But then, without warning, Max pulls me to sit on his lap, making me yelp. He adjusts his seat so that he can lay back and place me on top of him.

His hands are all over me, roaming my back, my hips, and my shoulders. His fingers rake through my hair, and his lips crash into mine.

He kisses me fiercely, hungrily. He's not holding back anymore. Not at all. He bites my bottom lip, and when I gasp, he takes that chance to shove his tongue into my mouth, exploring, tasting me. Our tongues dance as I kiss him back.

Max ravishes my mouth, sucking, kissing me with all the desire he's been holding back for me, and now I can feel it. I can taste it. His need for me makes me burn under his fingertips. We're burning like a flame.

He wraps his arms around me like he never wants to let me go, kissing me like I'm the air he needs to breathe. And I hold him back just as tight, feeling my own desire for him build up.

Time flies, and we're already approaching the end of the week. When the last class of the day ends, Max walks to my desk, slinging his backpack across his shoulder.

"Another football practice today?" I raise my eyebrows, knowing that the football team is getting ready for the big football game on Friday.

"I'm doing my best to win tomorrow's game." Max smirks, his eyes showing determination. "You'll come to the game, right?"

"Of course, I will." I smile, ignoring how my heart somersaults every time I see his charming smile.

"Good," Max says. "You really should come and wait until it finishes, because there's something important I need to tell you after the game."

His sentence makes me stunned. Something important? What is he talking about? If it's that important, he can just tell me now, can't he?

Max notices how lost I look and chuckles. He then places a kiss on my cheek, making me startle.

"I'll call you later," is all he says as he walks off, leaving me sitting at my desk with a lot of questions lingering in my head.

While my mind is still occupied with Max's football game, I feel someone watching me. I look around, only to find that Rory is staring at me.

She's standing beside her desk, gripping the strap of her shoulder bag so tightly that I can see her knuckles turning white. Her lips form into a thin line, and there's nothing in her eyes but hatred. Her hatred toward me.

I know that she likes Max, and the sight she has just witnessed must have been unpleasant for her.

Chills run through my body, and goosebumps appear on my skin. I quickly tear my gaze away from her. Everything has been too good to be true that it feels like a dream, and I don't want to be reminded of the painful things, especially now that she's glaring at me like she wishes I could be gone.

I ignore Rory's intimidating stare, walk out of the classroom, and head to the lobby of the school. While I'm passing the lockers, my phone buzzes, and I take it out of my pocket.

There's one message from Rory.

I frown, and when I open it, my eyes widen in horror. I'm too shocked by what I just saw that I drop the phone, making it clatter on the ground of the corridor.

It can't be.

With a shaking hand, I grab my phone back from the ground, and when I look one more time at the thing Rory has sent me, the world around me seems to stop.

There, shown on my phone, are the pictures of me at the drug party in Paris. There's one picture of me with a glass pipe in my mouth, and there's another one of me resting my head on the shoulder of the guy beside me, who's injecting something into his arm.

There are more pictures of me lying on the couch, surrounded by people doing drugs, smoking them, snorting them.

The last picture makes my heart freeze. Max is in the frame, holding the glass pipe in my mouth -- it's when he was about to throw it away from me.

Darkness envelopes me, and before I can comprehend what's going to happen next, Rory's text pops up again.

Rory: Meet me at the back of the school.

My body moves automatically, rushing to where Rory wants me to be. I run as fast as my legs can bring me, like my whole life depends on her.

My breathing is short and fast. I can barely breathe.

When I step into the area at the back of the school building, Rory is already standing there, waiting for me.

There is nobody else but us, only some trees standing in the backyard witnessing everything. Most of the students have gone out or started their extracurricular activities.

"Rory," I stutter as tears begin to fill my eyes. Panic and anger engulf me. "What do you want from me?" I speak through gritted teeth, my fists shaking as I ball them on my sides.

I can't stand her anymore. I'm sick of her. Why can't she just leave me alone?

Rory stares at me coldly, crossing her arms on her chest. "You're too naive if you think that nobody would care that Luna Klein entered a drug party. Maybe all the druggies there wouldn't give a damn, but your existence there wasn't for nothing."

My lips tremble as I stare at her in disbelief. "It was you and Mikaela, wasn't it?" My voice is shaking as I confront her. "You know those girls. You made them lie to me. You all trapped me."

Rory scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. "Come on, Luna. Do you have any proofs for that?"

"How did you get the pictures?" I hiss, but Rory just laughs. She looks like she's enjoying this.

"That's not important," she says with a calm voice, so different from mine. "What's important is what's in it. Imagine if those pictures are leaked to the media. Imagine how it can taint your parents' reputation, how it can destroy your family. And how it can destroy Max's."

I freeze, feeling like everything is crumbling into pieces. A tear drops onto my cheek. My legs are shaking beneath me, and I sway, almost collapsing.

I grip my chest tightly due to the pain in my heart.

No. I can't imagine what I would do if Rory's words came true.

"The daughter of the famous billionaire and superstar, Lucas and Cassandra Klein, doing drugs. Luna Klein is a drug addict, ladies and gentlemen." A sly smile creeps on Rory's lips. "Are you that desperate, Luna? Are you that sad? Did your parents not teach you what is right and wrong?"

I shake my head in denial. "It's not true. Stop this nonsense, Rory," I cry.

"Same goes to Max." Rory's voice is as cold as ice, and my heart freezes as I hear those words. "Poor him. With how famous you are, his pictures would be exposed to the entire world too. I can't imagine how his family would feel."

My head is spinning as I unknowingly let more of my tears fall onto my cheeks. This can't be true. This is just a nightmare, isn't it?

Mom.

Dad.

Aiden.

Max.

All of them will suffer because of me.

My vision starts to become blurry with tears, but I can still see Rory's face. Her smile is gone, but her stare is so cold, piercing right through me.

"How could you?" I rasp. "How could you do this to me, Rory? What have I done to you? I sacrificed myself and my feelings for you." I'm surprised that I still can speak with the fear eating my insides. I'm scared, so very scared that I'll lose everything in a blink of an eye.

"I'll think about it, then," Rory hums. "Only if you do me a favor." Her voice is filled with determination, and my heart beats twice as I think about the possibility that there's still light at the end of the tunnel.

I hold my breath, and while I'm waiting for Rory to finish her sentence, a horrible feeling stirs inside me. The sound of my heart beating loudly echoes in my ears.

"I want you to break Max's heart."