Chapter 156

Rafe immediately goes into Prince-mode, continuing to pat Gran on the back while looking up at Luca and quietly mouthing “who is this?”

Luca sighs and gestures towards her. “Rafe, this is my Gran,” he says. “She’s…a big fan.”

“Oh,” Rafe says, his eyebrows going up, because of course we’ve heard a lot about Luca’s Gran at the Academy. “Oh, with the cake!” he says, laughing a little. And then, I think to everyone’s shock, he puts his hands on Gran’s shoulders and presses her away just a tiny bit. Surprised, Gran opens her eyes and looks up into his face.

And then, in what sounds like perfect Itablio, Rafe says, “Grazie per la torta. Lo amaro.”

Gran gives a loud shout of joy and then starts to cry harder, pulling Rafe close again and tucking her face away against his stomach, crying hard into his shirt.

“Oh my god,” Linda says, hastily putting down the iced tea and reaching for her. “Mom, please –“

“No, it’s okay,” Rafe says, holding out a hand towards Linda and giving her his best Princely smile. His other hand softly strokes Gran’s back in a comforting way. “It’s fine. This…happens sometimes.”

And Linda laughs and rolls her eyes but gives a shrug, like he asked for it. Gran continues to cry softly, starting to pull herself together, as Luca looks awkwardly between all of us, and then over to his uncle.

“Rafe, Jesse,” he says with a sigh, holding a hand out towards his coach. “This is my uncle and my coach, Bruce Grant. Bruce, this is –“

But Bruce just waves a hand at him, clearly indicating that he knows who they are, and Luca hangs his head. He doesn’t look at me anymore even though I stare up into his face.

And it’s all the confirmation I need.

I slowly loosen my arms from around Luca’s waist and take a step away from him, staring at the guilt in the lines of his posture, the sorrow. And then I turn my eyes to Bruce.

“So,” I say, slowly, softly. “You did it.”

Bruce holds my gaze, his mouth a thin, determined line. “Yes, miss Ariel,” he says, crossing his arms as he leans back against a sideboard, at once casual and defensive. “Yes, I did it. I told the press about your relationship with my nephew. And I’d do it again.”

Rafe glares, hard, at Bruce Grant, but he continues to stroke Gran’s back, clearly unwilling to push her away when she’s still overwhelmed. But this just makes space for Jesse to shine.

“Are you kidding me?” Jesse growls, stepping forward loom over Bruce, who is an inch or two shorter than him. Bruce doesn’t flinch away, instead simply looking at Jesse with a steady frown. “You had absolutely no right to spread that information to the press. God damn it, you selfish asshole, did you sell it!?”

“Of course I sold it,” Bruce snaps back, glaring at Jesse, not backing down. “I sold it in Luca’s name – all the profits when to him.”

Rafe gasps, and so does Jesse, and I look up at Luca with sadness in my eyes. Because I’m starting to put it together now – that Bruce did this without Luca’s permission.

But still. Luca is the one reaping all the benefits, isn’t he?

How much did he sell it for? I whisper, directly into Luca’s mind.

Luca shifts his eyes to me, his face grim.

Tell me, I command.

Luca drops his eyes. There was a bidding war, he says, his voice echoing in my mind as Jesse and Bruce start to go at it, shouting at each other.

And? I ask, prodding him to continue.

And the final sum was…north of 1.5 million, Luca says, a sigh slipping through his lips.

My eyes flare wide because…because that is one hell of a sum. And while I very much want Luca to have it – especially considering that I have never once in my life wanted for money –

But…his uncle made that money selling a story about me, didn’t he? And now it’s all in Luca’s pocket.

God, this is complicated. More complicated than I ever thought it would be.

Honestly, I didn’t know that a story about who I’m mated to could be worth so much – but I should have had a say in it. That money – it could have gone to aid something, done something that Luca and I agreed on together.

But now it’s just…his. His uncle took that opportunity from us and seized it all for him.

And the realization that Luca pays his uncle’s salary does not pass me by either.

“You can expect a lawsuit from this,” Rafe says, drawing my attention back to the room as he speaks for the first time. Gran has loosened herself from his waist now and is wiping at her face, bustling around the room and straightening pillows before dashing back to the kitchen, probably getting more refreshments.

Passively, some part of me is very grateful that Gran speaks a different language from us – I want her to remember this as a nice day, not as the horrible afternoon it already is.

“You can bring along any lawsuit you want,” Bruce says, giving a casual shrug as he meets Rafe’s eye. “I didn’t do anything illegal. Can’t sue me for libel, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

“You sold a story that wasn’t yours,” Rafe points out, taking an aggressive step towards him.

“Luca’s story too, not just your girl’s, just because she’s high class –“

“Watch yourself,” Jesse snaps, stepping forward to glare at Bruce.

“All right,” Grant says, slowly raising his hands and silently admitting that he’s crossed a line. “You got me there, that was a step too far towards disrespect. But Luca passed me power of attorney for all decisions regarding his public image years ago,” he says, gesturing over at his nephew.

Luca’s face goes a bit pale as he realizes that this is true, his mouth falling open.

“And,” Grant says, “all I said was that Luca was mated to Princess Ariel. It was a story about him, about his life. I have every right to do that.”

Rafe takes a deep breath and I see the thoughts passing over his face. He frowns because he’s a bit out of his league here when it comes to these sorts of laws. “I’m not sure we’re too worried about the specifics,” Rafe says evenly, dismissing Bruce’s point. “What it comes down to, sir, is that you made an enemy of a very powerful man today, not to mention his entire family. I’m not sure you’ll find moving in this world very easy while Dominic Sinclair looks at you with disapproval.”

“Well,” Bruce says with a sigh, lifting his chin a bit while he meets Rafe’s gaze, clearly holding his stance. “I’ve operated long enough in this world without Dominic Sinclair looking my way at all. So, we’ll have to see how the future goes, whether or not the King approves of me.” Bruce shifts his eyes to Luca now, who is still looking at him, devastated. “I did what I did for my boy here. And if I go down having put a significant sum in his pocket, and setting him on the right path for his future?” He nods once, steady. “I’ll take it.”

My heart hurts now, as I finally figure it out, as I look between Bruce and Luca and remember everything Bruce said last night about Luca having a short career, and needing to make what money he can now before someone younger and stronger comes to replace him.

And even though I wouldn’t have done it myself…I get it.

Bruce Grant is a man who is fighting for his nephew, his family, to have everything in a new world in which their immigrant family has clearly struggled to build a life.

And even if I can dislike that I am the one at whose expense this was earned…I can’t hate Bruce for it. Because I would fight just as hard for my family in his position.

“Why did you do it?” The words fall from my mouth before I can even think about whether it’s wise for me to ask them.

Everyone in the room turns towards me, and everyone looks grim.

“I did it,” Grant says, holding my gaze, his voice gentler now, I think grateful to have the chance to spell out his reasonings. “Because image-wise, Luca needs a boost. The boxing he’s got – I’m not worried about that. But he’s built too much of his public image up around being a git and a playboy – party animal, womanizer, whatever you want to call it.”

Bruce waves a dismissive hand and Luca hangs his head. I have to work very hard not to move to my mate’s side right now, to comfort him when he hears the man he cares about so much say such nasty things about his image.

“So?” I ask, keeping my focus on him. “What does being mated to me have to do with that?”

“You, miss,” Bruce says, leaning forward and staring directly into my eyes. “Are like buttermilk. Sweet, clean, and pure. And when the world sees the way he looks at you? How dedicated he is, how in love?” he shakes his head. “One single move, and this boy’s image problems are fixed. You saved him.”