27. Luc
27
LUC
D elphine erupted through the washroom door and straight into my chest. I wasn’t in the habit of hanging around outside women’s restrooms, but I’d seen her go in, and something in her forceful walk had my gut jumping.
Her face flushed red when she saw me. She pulled her brows tight and wore a worrying smirk on her lips. I narrowed my eyes, meeting her square on.
“Brother! I should have expected you’d be here waiting for your little friend.”
“My little friend ?” I dragged out the words, my voice as low and menacing as I could muster.
“Yes. The woman currently locked in the bathroom.”
I straightened up, looking at the ornate door she’d just appeared from.
“You locked her in the bathroom?”
Delphine scoffed and puffed out her chest. “She locked herself in. No doubt too scared to come out and answer questions. ”
My gut rolled slowly as her lips curved in the hallway’s low light. “What questions?”
She threw her hands up. “Oh, you know, the crucial details like who she is, what she wants, and most importantly, why you announced this engagement without introducing your intended bride to the family.”
A growl hit the back of my throat. “Last time I checked, I was a free man. Able to make my own decisions.” Who was I kidding? The last thing I ever felt was free.
“Yes, but you’re not exactly known for making the best decisions, Luc.”
I bristled, swallowing down a soccer ball sized lump in my throat. She’d been one of my fiercest critics over the years. Always ready to point out when I’d made an error of judgement or overstepped a line. But just like our father, her criticism had driven me to repeat my offences. “Don’t you want me to be happy?”
She pushed air out through her closed teeth. “Of course I want you to be happy, but who is Iris?”
At that moment, Iris pushed through the door, hesitating when she saw us. My heart swelled at the sight of her, but the line between her brows punched me straight in the chest. I reached out and took her hand.
“Does it matter who she is?”
Delphine ground out a bitter laugh. “Of course it matters. Think who we are, brother. What people expect of us. You may have lived in your own little bubble, but some of us have responsibilities. Pride.” My sister shook her head slowly. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. I have her name. I’ll find out who she is for myself.”
Iris’ hand tensed in mine, and she looked up at me with wide eyes.
“She’s hardly an international terrorist, Delphine. Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? ”
“Not at all. Your engagement to this woman will make us all ridiculous. I’ll ask you one more time. Who is she?”
When I didn’t reply, her eyes narrowed, finding Iris. A hint of a sneer touched her lips.
“And tell me, who is Stuart? Some lover you have tucked away?” Delphine brought her gaze back to me. “Do you have any idea how humiliating your association with this woman could be for our family?”
“Stuart? He’s my cat.” Iris’ voice was whisper-quiet.
“Your cat?”
Delphine’s sneer made my teeth grind.
“Yes. My ex Nathan has been looking after him for me, except it feels more like he’s kidnapped him, and I need to get him back, because…” Her words trailed off, and her brow furrowed again. Like she’d realised explaining anything to my sister was futile.
Delphine puffed out her chest. “That sounds just as ridiculous as the other stories I’ve heard about you. Tell me, Iris. What do you even do? Are you an actress?”
Emotions played over Iris’ face, as if she weighed up her answer, working out what would cause the least damage. After a long beat, though, her shoulders sunk, and she looked at her feet, un-threading her hand from mine.
“How much are you paying her, Luc?” My sister’s voice grated across my brain, like fingernails down a chalkboard. “I saw her texts. I know you’re giving her money.”
My chest burned, and I swallowed. “You read her private texts? Listen, what Iris and I do isn’t your concern.”
Delphine shrugged. “I can’t help it if she left her phone open on the side. And I disagree. This farce is my concern. If anyone found out you were paying what I suspect is a fortune hunter to marry you, we’d be a laughingstock. With the web of lies she’s spun, our reputation would plummet.”
“We’re not getting married.” Iris’ voice cut through the air like a sword, slicing my heart in two. She stood, shoulders stiffened, eyes flaring wide. “And yes, I’ve told lies. For that, I’m sorry.”
Silence hung in the air like the world had stopped spinning, but there was no way to jump off the ride.
“You’re not getting married?” My grandmother stepped forward, with Esmé close behind. Grand-Mère’s eyes were misty, her voice tight, and my heart lurched. Had she been here all along? Listening to our entire argument? “And there are no alpacas?” she whispered.
My sister smirked, and my blood boiled at the sight. “I doubt it very much. Tell me, Luc, if you’re not getting married, did you at least propose?”
I closed my eyes. It really didn’t matter now. “I didn’t. Iris and I aren’t engaged.”
The words felt wrong—so wrong—but my heart crumpled like used paper when my grandmother’s face fell.
Delphine smiled in triumph. “Then why go through this charade? Why put everyone through the ordeal?”
I shook my head, trying to organise the thoughts that clamoured in my head. “I needed some breathing room before the deadline in the codicil.” Bunching my hand into fists, I turned to my grandmother. “I needed time to find someone I could marry, not somebody you thought I should marry.”
My heart wrung in my chest as my grandmother wilted into a side chair, like someone had just emptied a tonne of bricks on her head.
A gentle sigh caught my attention, and I turned to see Iris. A single tear ran down her cheek. My chest pulsed at the sight, and I moved towards her.
She stepped back, her palms raised, as if she’d push me away. “No, Luc. Your sister is right. We’ve lied. No matter how good your intentions; how good our intentions are. We’ve misled your family.” Iris turned to my grandmother. “And I’ll forever be sorry for that.”
She turned to face my sister. “I may come across as a villain to you, but I promise, I’m far from it. There’s nothing wrong with not being rich. Privileged. Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean everybody else wants it.” Iris sighed, and her lips trembled, before she pulled her shoulders back, standing tall. “I care for your brother, more than he’ll ever know, but if you have an ounce of decency, you’d not worry about how his actions affect you. You’d help him find a way to lift that damn codicil so he can have his freedom.”
I swallowed, my heart in my mouth. I’d never seen Iris like this. Every day, her humour warmed my heart, but here she was, being fierce and magnificent. If I ever doubted I’d fallen in love with her, that confusion had now completely gone.
“Iris,” I whispered, stepping towards her, reaching for her hand.
“No. Please, Luc, I can’t stay. I don’t want to be around people who make me feel small. Like I’m not good enough.”
My breath thinned. She’d said the same thing about her ex down by the river. He’d made her feel the same way.
Despite her protest, I took her hand. How could I not? I had to make her stay. Talk to me. The thought of anything else was unbearable. And she’d said she cared. I needed to find out how much. “Please, stay.”
Iris shook her head and pulled free, picking up the edges of her skirt. “I have to go, and please, don’t follow me, Luc.”
Her eyes darted around the hallway before she found the passage that led to the central staircase, and with the tiniest glance at me, she took off towards the stairs, scattering opera-goers in her wake.
Within a heartbeat, I turned to follow her, chase her down, but Delphine grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “She said not to follow her. For once, I think she’s right. ”
I opened my mouth, tugging my arm out of her grip, about to tell her just what I thought of her suggestion, but before I could, Esmé was at my side, running a soothing hand over my shoulder.
“It’s okay. You stay. Talk to your family. I promise I’ll find her and bring her back."
Her steady brown eyes burned into mine, calming my heartbeat. I nodded, and she took off down the stairs after Iris.
Delphine turned circles in the hallway like a caged tiger, shaking her head. “I mean, am I the only one seeing this for what it is? That woman can deny it all she wants, but she’s after your money.”
I bristled, my jaw clamping tight. “ That woman , as you call her, has a name, and I can promise you, she’s not interested in my money. She’s the kindest, sweetest person I ever met, and you don’t deserve to have her join our family.”
My sister huffed a laugh. “That all sounds very touching, Luc, but I’d advise you not to chase after her. She can be as saintly as you like, but for all our sakes, have some dignity.”
I rounded on Delphine, a fierce burn threatening to erupt out of my chest. “I don’t want any of your dignity, your principles or your pride. This family has been bound up with those attitudes for far too long. You’re obsessed with what people think, with how people see us. I really don’t care anymore. I’ve finally found something, somebody who makes me feel normal and alive, and now you’ve chased her away.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “Think of your grandmother. Think of Marsan.”
I turned to Estelle. She looked so tiny in the gilt chair, like a little orange sparrow, and my heart twisted. I crouched down next to her, taking her hand. “Grand-Mère, I’m so sorry, but…”
“You love her?” Her eyes bored into my soul, and the air left my body. I was tired of denying the truth to myself.
I nodded. “I do. ”
“Please!” erupted Delphine behind us. “How long have you known each other? It can’t be more than a few weeks.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, my eyes still on my grandmother.
“Oh, I think it does. Someone has to look out for you.”
I sucked my lips and stood again, facing my sister. “No. You’re thinking of yourself. Iris and I don’t have to play by your rules.”
“You don’t even know what the rules are. You’ve always left things up to me. Spent your time away from us, doing what you like. What happened to my little brother? I hardly know you anymore.”
Her words hung like weights on my shoulders. “Then you won’t mind if I follow my own path. I’m sorry we’re not close. I hope it won’t always be this way.” Her eyes flared a little, but not with anger. I turned to Grand-Mère. She sat on the chair, running her fingertips over its velvet arms.
“I’m truly sorry for lying to you. Though I’m not proud of myself, I have to follow my heart.” I closed my eyes for a beat before finding hers again. “If that means losing Marsan, so be it. I only hope I won’t lose you, too.” I took her hands, running my fingers over the blue veins just under her skin. “Iris may not be who you would choose for me, but she’s who I choose. And I think we can make each other happy.”
Grand-Mère’s eyes raked over my face as if committing it to memory, and the corners of her mouth lifted just a little. “So, the alpacas were never real?”
I shook my head.
She let out a long breath. “Pity. I liked the idea.” She glanced up at my sister, then at me. “I’ll admit, Iris is a little odd, and she has terrible taste in shoes, but if you think you are truly in love with her, then get her back. And then perhaps we can return to normal.”
Delphine took a step forward. “Grand-Mère!”
The old woman shook her finger at my sister, her eyebrows dipping low. “Non. I want Luc to be happy. This is my final decision.”
An incredible ball of pressure filled my ribs like someone had a foot pump and was inflating my chest. I squeezed my grandmother’s hands, kissing her on the cheek. She gave me a small smile before nodding towards the stairs.
I didn’t need a second invitation. Without a backward glance at Delphine, I stood and took off through the hallway towards the staircase.
Tuts and gasps peppered my back as I ran. There was no sign of Iris or Esmé at the bottom, or in the foyer, but when I finally made it to the entrance, Esmé stood in the doorway at the top of the steps.
Her brow furrowed when she saw me. “I have no idea where she went. By the time I got here, she was gone.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Did the doormen or any of the security staff see her?”
She shook her head, glancing around at the thin line of photographers who still hung around, waiting for something photo-worthy.
I stepped into the Paris night, breathing deeply as I scanned the area. “Iris, where are you?” I muttered. Reaching into my pocket for my phone, I noticed something shiny on the steps.
I tightened my eyes and crouched down to pick it up, running my fingertips over its polished edges. It was the pin I gave Iris. The one that belonged to my mother. I knew she’d never drop it purposely. She must have lost it as she ran.
She’d left my mother’s pin behind, along with my heart, but I wouldn’t stop searching until I got her back.