Luca could feel dull pain spread from her waist to the rest of her body. She had injured herself.


    The pain caused tears to fall from the corner of her eyes.


    Suddenly, Luke felt a twinge of pity for her. “Can you stand up?” He asked.


    Luca nodded. “Yes.”


    Luke looked at the tree behind Luca. The vegetation was quite dense at this part of the mountain, and


    the trees were quite old with thick trunks. She had mmed into the tree in full force, and it must be


    very painful. If she were unfortunate, she might even suffer a hairline fracture.


    However, she was lucky to be stopped by the tree. Otherwise, who knew where she might end up?


    The forest was natural. Even though the owners of the area had taken every precaution to ensure the


    visitors’ safety, there was only so much they could do to alter the naturalndscape.


    If the tree had not broken Luca’s fall, she would have suffered a greater injury, or worse, rolled off a


    cliff.


    Seeing that Luca was struggling to get up, Luke reached out. “You need help.”


    Luca pressed her lips together and grabbed his hand. With the trekking pole in her other hand, she


    pushed herself into a sitting position, then spent the next half a minute trying to catch her breath.


    Luke did not rush her. He waited patiently for her to catch her breath. In the meantime, the sky became


    darker, and thunder could be heard in the distance.


    It was going to rain soon.


    Luca looked up at the sky, thinking they should not linger there.


    Not only would the path be slippery, but it would also be dangerous to be under a tree if the rain turned


    out to be a lightning storm…


    She gritted her teeth and tried to stand up, but the pain on her waist caused her to fall forward andnd


    on Luke’s chest.


    The familiar masculine scent, intensified by the sweat from the hike, assailed Luca’s nostrils. Luca


    could feel the warmth of Luke’s body on her cheek.


    They were so close together…


    Before Luca coulde to her senses, she felt someone hand her a trekking pole, which she


    instinctively grasped tightly.


    The next moment, Luke picked her up in a bridal carry.


    “Ah!” When Luca realized what was going on, her feet were off the ground. One of her arms


    instinctively went around the back of Luke’s neck, while her other hand held two trekking poles.


    Luke ignored her cries of surprise as he walked toward the stone path.


    Even though Luca did not weigh much and Luke had no trouble carrying her, Luca could to squirm


    away. “I can walk by myself, Mr. Crawford. This’ll be very tiring for you.”


    She wanted to keep some distance away from him, so she tried to straighten her back, even though it


    was tiring for her to do so.


    The pain on her waist tried to make her loosen her back muscles, but she could not loosen up no


    matter how hard she tried.


    Luca wondered if she had been cursed. She had met with an ident for two consecutive days, and


    Luke had carried her like that for both times.


    If she were not cursed, why would she suffer a leg cramp in the pool, and why would she roll down a


    mountain?


    “You’re hurt, and you won’t be able to walk fast. If we don’t reach the gazebo in time, we’ll be caught in


    the rain,” Luke exined while keeping his gaze on the path in front of him.


    Luca bit her lip, feeling that she had be his burden once more.


    She wanted to keep a distance from him so that she did not be a burden. She did not expect that


    she had not changed even after three years.


    She was a burden before, and she remained a burden…


    Luca curled up a little when she arrived at that thought. She felt horrible. Luke noticed her movements.


    When he lowered his head to look at her, he was surprised to see that her eyes were full of sorrow and


    grievances.


    They looked like Bianca’s eyes whenever she was sad…


    “Don’t move…” Luke was worried that she might distract him.


    “I’m not feeling veryfortable like this. Why don’t I ride piggyback?” Luca suggested, thinking that if


    she needed Luke to carry her, she would rather ride piggyback.


    She could not stand looking into Luke’s eyes.


    Those eyes did not have warm love like before. How she wished that she could tell him that she was


    Bianca!


    Luke looked around and noticed arge boulder nearby. He ced her on top of it, then turned around


    and crouched down.


    He was telling her to get on…


    Luca hesitated as she looked at him. A roar of thunder could be heard.


    If they lingered, they would soon be caught in the rain. She slumped onto Luke’s back.


    Feeling the weight behind him, Luke said, “Hold tight. I don’t want you to fall.”


    Luke felt uneasy. Either way, she could not avoid physical intimacy. “I’ll be careful.”


    She did not put her arms around him.


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    Luke did not force her. He stood up, and the inertia caused Luca to lean backward.


    Instinctively, she reached around Luke’s neck.


    Luke continued walking forward. Luca’s actions did not slow him down.


    Luca realized that her actions had brought the two of them physically closer. Blushing, she rested her


    body on his back and said nothing.


    They had to take a detour to go around the rocks. It started raining before they could reach the gazebo.


    It was a drizzle at first, but it soon became heavier.


    “The rain is too heavy, Mr. Crawford. Why don’t you put me down? I can walk,” Luca said while tightly


    hugging his neck. She hoped that she could make things easier for him.


    When the rain fell on the ground, it made the hard soil wet and slippery.


    Even though Luke was wearing hiking boots, the risk of falling was ever-present.


    “We’re almost there.” Luke pressed his lips together. He continued walking forward without putting her


    down, though he was walking at a much slower pace than before.


    Luca thought for a while and put one of her hands above him, hoping to block some of the raindrops


    that were sshing on his face.


    The rain became heavier and blurred her vision.


    Luca kept her hand up to block the rain for him. There was only so much she could block, but it at least


    kept his vision clear.


    Boom! Luca heard the sound of thunder. She lifted her head and saw lightning sh across the sky.


    The situation had be more dangerous. They could risk staying within the woods.


    Luke walked faster when he noticed that.


    Ten minutester, they were out of the woods. Luke followed the stone path and eventually reached the


    gazebo. There, he carefully put Luca down on the stone bench.


    After Luke’s hands were free, he sat on another stone bench.