The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0316

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.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

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.