Page 97 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love

But the really horrible thing happened when she was seventeen.Hallie had been really angry at her dad for taking Terry’s side over hers in one of many fights between the sisters, and she went for a drive, stopping by a small town.

She went into a drug store and stole a lipstick and some makeup out of sheer anger and boredom.

She had been spotted by the store’s security guard and taken to the manager’s office to wait for the authorities.The police officer called to the scene happened to be Rob Hernandez.He was just a fresh graduate then, extremely young and naïve-looking.

Hallie would never forget the moment when his eyes landed on her and how shocked and disappointed he looked.It was as if his face suddenly aged, turning to a bitter expression.He asked the other officer with him to wait in the car while he dealt with this matter.

It was strange to see Rob in the sterile, boring environment of the store’s management office.

Hallie suddenly burst into tears and told him how mad she felt about her family, how alone she felt all the time.

Rob was not harsh with her at all.He just seemed sad.

“I’m sorry that you’re feeling this way,” he said, “I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but please don’t do this again.”

Hallie nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

When she looked up through hazy eyes, he was gone.

She actually never broke the law again, too embarrassed by the incident.She didn’t even drink alcohol again until she was 21.

Still, it could never erase what had happened, and Rob was the only one who knew she wasn’t the good girl everyone believed her to be.So far, he had always kept her secret.

Chapter 52: An Apparition

Hallie felt a shiverpass through her body as she recalled the time she had been caught shoplifting.She tried to think that she had become a better person since then.But had she been just pretending to be good, she wondered.

“Now you’re going to bring up the stealing incident?”she said with a sigh.

“I never want to bring that up,” Rob said, holding up a hand defensively.“I know you’re not the same person anymore.You’ve grown and matured.”

At this moment, Luke strolled into the café.Sometimes they crossed paths here, though it was obvious he hadn’t been intentionally looking for her.A surprised expression came over his face when he saw her sitting there.

Hallie was surprised too: Luke was wearing one of his blindingly white shirts, which was stained with what looked like the contents of an entire cup of coffee.Some of the liquid had even discolored the front and side of his trousers.

He didn’t seem too disturbed by this, maintaining his cheerful appearance, though he did frown a little when he saw Rob make a dissatisfied grimace.