Between Two Rourkes

Chapter 8

Lyra's POV

Silence took over the entire household like a bomb had just detonated.

"What?" Maelis said.

"What?" Cassian echoed.

My own voice was internal. What?

Luca's arm wound around my shoulder protectively.

"What? I'm not too young to settle down, am I? I'm twenty-three. A full-fledged man. Plus, I'm in my last year of college. So I mean..." He shrugged casually. "You've always been talking about how reckless I am, Maelis. How I'd never amount to anything responsible."

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Plus, my darling mother, rest her soul, never really thought I was going to be capable of settling down," Luca continued. "So given the fact that her anniversary is coming up soon, I would love to settle down this year. You know, to honor her memory."

Cassian uncrossed his arms. "Luca, you don't need to do this, it's stupid."

"Don't I?" Luca looked at him. "You seem surprised. I don't know why. I've already grown attached to Eleanor. I mean, yes I've only known her a few hours, but the kid is vibing with me, you know? She wasn't hiding under any table when I came down here earlier, she was drawn to me." The grin on his face was smug. And it hit a nerve with Cassian. "Plus, Lyra would make a pretty chill wife."

"So what's the shock?" Luca tilted his head. "Why are you so surprised that I'm capable of settling down?"

Cassian's jaw ticked. "This is ridiculous."

"What is ridiculous is you barging into her home and demanding custody of a child you didn't even know existed until twenty minutes ago," Luca shot back. "What is ridiculous is you thinking that you have any right to Lyra after you let her go."

"I didn't let her go, She left on her own accord."

"Because you gave her no reason to stay," Luca countered.

Maelis recovered first from the shock, faster than I had.

"This is absurd. You cannot possibly expect us to believe you are actually marrying her."

"Believe what you want." Luca's arm tightened around my shoulders. "The wedding is going to be in a few weeks. Small, intimate...close friends only."

He paused dramatically.

"And none of you are invited."

Cassian tilted his head down and laughed. He laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

"You are such a clown, Luca."

Luca just shrugged.

"I mean, I can be funny when I want to be."

"Because," Cassian said, still chuckling, "she doesn't even have a ring on her finger. What kind of c**k and bull story is this?"

Luca reached into his pocket in a heartbeat.

"Wait a second....."

He brought out a ring.

An emerald-crested gold ring.

"This bad boy belonged to my mother. And you..."He turned to me with a wolfish grin. I was still dazed, obviously. But I couldn't even push words out of my throat. Do I stop this? Do I say something? Do I stay silent?. "You give me the honour of placing it on your finger."

Heavens. What had I gotten myself into?

"Here you go." Luca lifted my hand gently, and before I could process what was happening, he slid the ring onto my finger.

It fit perfectly.

"There." He brought my palm up to his lips and kissed it lightly, his eyes never leaving Cassian's face. "A ring."

Cassian's laughter died immediately.

This was all mortifying for me. I wasn't even understanding how fast the events were occurring, it was like...being caught in a riptide, pulled under before I could even think to swim.

Luca held my hand.

"Why are we all so shocked?" he said, looking between Cassian and Maelis. "I'm of age. I'm ready to settle down. Plus, didn't you just hear yourselves? Eleanor needs a father figure in her life. A Rourke." He gestured to himself with his free hand. "I'm a Rourke. Plus, I'm a man. So the solution is standing right in front of you."

Cassian's expression darkened. Finally understanding where he was playing at.

"This is not a joke, Luca."

"I'm not joking." Luca's voice lost its playful edge. "You want Eleanor to have a Rourke for a father? Fine. She'll have one. Me. You want Lyra to have financial stability? She'll have it. Through me. You want to file for custody?" He tilted his head. "Good luck explaining to a judge why you are trying to tear a child away from a stable two-parent household.

Maelis merely crossed her arms and made a jab at Luca, her voice was dripping with disdain she didn't care to hide.

"You always seem to surprise us with your theatrics, Luca. Always playing the hero, always looking for the spotlight like a measly insecure lamb. But this? Using a child as a prop in whatever hate scheme you are trying to trifle with Cassian? That is low, even for you."

"Says the woman who showed up with a private investigator and custody threats. You know, you always were a hypocrite, Maelis. Always."

Something told me that there was way more history between them than I was witnessing at this moment.

Cassian turned from the door, he had his fingers still clenched, eyes on edge.

"I will not stand by and let this happen."

"You don't have a choice," Luca said firmly, squaring his shoulders. His arm was still protectively wrapped around me.

"Lyra is a being with control of her own autonomy. She is an adult and can marry whoever she wants to marry." He paused. "Plus, she divorced you, Cassian. She is not married to you anymore and is fully capable of remarrying. So you don't have a choice here because this doesn't involve you. She doesn't need your permission to get married."

Cassian's slate-blue eyes shifted to me.

"Lyra. Say something."

The words stuck in my throat.

The gears were turning in my head, spinning faster and faster as I pieced together what Luca was doing.

He was building a wall between Cassian and Eleanor.

A legal wall.

Because if I married Luca, he would become Eleanor's stepfather, her legal guardian. A stable two-parent household.

Cassian's custody claim would crumble before it even reached a courtroom.

It was brilliant.

It was also terrifying.

And I couldn't help but wonder.

What was he gaining from this? Because something told me that this wasn't a mere 'helping-hand.’