Chapter 3 "THE ACT ”

Luca's POV

My widened eyes turned towards Denise who remained calm. 

She slowly picked up the contract paper which Cassian had angrily tossed away, then she gestured towards the sofa. 

“Sign the contract and you can leave that to be our problem from now on.” 

Cassian's gaze remained steady. His breath coursed calmly as he turned towards me. 

He still remained standing like he was accessing the room, making sure he wasn't going to make a mistake he would regret. 

“Are you sure about this, Luca?” 

I nodded softly. “You just have to trust me.” 

“There's no need to trust anyone here, Cassian.” 

I gasped and turned towards Denise. “What—” 

“I duplicated the contract paper. You and Luca will sign on both and you will hold onto your own copy as assurance.” 

Denise's eyes were firm, and made sure she was very professional. 

Cassian finally sat down and glanced through the paper again, holding a pen in his hand. 

After reading and digesting the terms, he moves the pen across the white paper, endorsing his signature on the space provided. 

I did the same too, and just like that, we were bound by a contract to last for six months. 

“What next?” My inquisitive eyes averted towards Denise. 

She smiled. “You both will have to rehearse before we appear in public.” 

“When will that be?” Cassian asked. 

“Tomorrow.” 

My jaw dropped open. “We can't go out there immediately. We're not ready, Denise.” 

“Then you have one night to be.” 

“I thought we had seven days. Why do we have to be in a hurry?” 

“The team's family day public event is tomorrow. That will be the best time to get this done.” 

So we got to it. We rehearsed all through the night so that we wouldn't mess this opportunity up. 

We needed to make every contact so that it wouldn't feel forced. 

Subtle gestures were memorised so as not to feel ambiguous. 

I had only one shot…one shot at saving my career, and I wasn't going to ruin this opportunity. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Cassian exhaled heavily as he sat on the sofa, obviously exhausted from the rehearsals. 

“I've worked with Denise for a very long time, and I actually trust her more than anyone.” 

“I just hope I don't mess it up tomorrow.” 

“How's your mother?” 

A soft grin spread across his face. His eyes seemed to carry more light than it did yesterday. 

“She will be very happy when I give her the good news tomorrow.” 

A smile creeped onto my face. I was genuinely happy to see his spark on face again. 

“I would love to meet her tomorrow. Would that be possible?” 

“Of course, yeah.” 

---

The morning's sun brought news of a new dawn, rising from the east beautifully. 

I heard a soft knock on my door, forcing me out of my bed early. 

It was Denise. 

“I have made arrangements with the management. They've made reservations for your arrival.” 

My drowsy eyes stared at her cold gaze looking towards me. 

“Isn't it too early to start talking about this. I'm still in my night garments.” 

“You and Cassian should be ready before 9 am.” 

“What the— isn't that too early?” 

“Do you want to get yourself out of this mess or not?” 

I swallowed hard. “I'll tell Cassian.” 

“Better. Let's not mess this up today.” 

I prepared myself a warm bath and allowed my skin to get massaged in its warmth. 

Cassian also got dressed and ready to leave. 

As we drove in my SUV, I watched Cassian try so hard to keep his breath under control. 

His fingers kept shaking on his lap, and his forehead had sweat all over. 

I grabbed his hand gently and he instinctively turned his shaky gaze towards me. 

“You've got this,” I said. “There's no need to be scared.” 

He just nodded while his lips remained pressed together into a thin slit. 

We pulled up at the location, and we alighted from.the car together. 

Cameras kept flashing on us, and journalists pushed forward with their microphones, seeking an audience from me. 

“What do you have to say about the trending news about you, Luca?”

The questions kept raging towards me, but I didn't utter a word. 

I calmly placed my hand around Cassian's waist, carefully guiding him through the crowd with me. 

But my chest tightened. I felt a rush of impulse through my nerves as my skin brushed against his. 

Our eyes locked for a split second but we quickly looked away, keeping everything within the act. 

A feeling that I had always forced my mind to forget was being remembered by my body and there was no way to stop it. 

Denise pulled closer to me as we finally sat down. 

“Everything is going as planned. I need you both to keep the act going.” 

But this was way past an act for me. At least I was convincing myself that it was a pretence, but my body had more to say. 

I grabbed a bottle of water and passed it over to Cassian. 

Then I froze as our fingertips brushed against each other. 

Our eyes locked again, and he was the first to snap out, pulling the bottle water from my grip. 

What's happening to me? 

My cheeks reddened each time our eyes met. But luckily, the camera wasn't catching all of this moment. 

We gave the camera what we wanted. 

The camera lights kept flashing right at us, getting the angles we were freely giving. 

At least they weren't seeing the pretence behind our smiles. 

The forced body contacts and everything we had rehearsed just for today. 

I looked across the table, and Denise just gave a calm nod. 

That's all I wanted. An assurance that everything was finally going as planned. 

Denise turned her tablet towards me, allowing me to get a clear glimpse of what the Internet was now pushing. 

Everyone was now asking questions. 

What's going on between them? 

Are they really best friends? 

Are they in a relationship? 

Their attention was finally moved away from the previous trend, and this moment was now trending all over the Internet. 

I couldn't stop the grin that appeared on my face. 

Cassian noticed it and followed with a huge sigh of relief. 

“I'm very happy we didn't screw this up.” He whispered as he leaned closer to me. 

I wrapped my arm across his shoulder. “I have you to thank, man. You've really saved my career from crumbling.” 

#icehockeytyrantclosefriendvibe#

That was the new tag they now had online. 

“Why are they still calling you a tyrant?” Cassian chuckled. 

I smirked. “Perhaps that's the way they see me.” 

“You really need to make them change that.” 

I chuckled. “Let's just look away from that and focus on enjoying ourselves. Blend the vibe, man.” 

So everything went as planned, and we finally decided to leave. 

Right at the exit, we were met by a flock of journalists as well. 

Their cameras were rolling, their microphones were hot, and the questions kept coming at us. 

Denise didn't panic. She stepped forward, calm…relaxed shoulders and firm eyes. 

“Are you in support of the relationship between your client and his lover?” 

She smirked. “Did we mention that they were in a relationship?” 

The interviewer paused and the crowd settled into silence. 

“What bond do they hold, then?” 

“You'll get your answers on social media.” Denise turned her back towards the crowd and asked away. 

Just as we were about to get to where our car was parked, I felt Cassian's move over my shoulder.

Then his warm fingertips grazed the surface of my neck. 

Every part of my body suddenly went numb. 

My heartbeat sounded very audible at this point, and the tip of my ears burned red. 

The hairs on my skin stood erect, and goosebumps covered my entire body. 

A feeling that I had sealed away with discipline. A feeling that I had forced to die in my mind but failed to kill it in my body now haunted me. 

I found myself breathing slowly, and I froze right in the spot. 

Cassian's brows furrowed as he turned towards me. “Why did you stop?”

I didn't speak. I wanted to, but I couldn't. 

My entire nerves were trying to cope with the impulses surging through every part of my body. 

“Luca!” Cassian's voice snapped me back to consciousness. 

“What's going on with you?” 

I stiffened my jaw and walked past him. “Don't cross the line, Cassian.”

My words were sharp and direct, coursing cold from my lips like a frosty ice. 

I didn't stop to think of the outcome. I just spoke. 

He froze in his steps. 

Then I was forced to turn towards him. I fit Him shaking in his feet. 

The tense nerves which I had earlier helped him overcome were back. 

This time, I could see the dread in his eyes as he lowered his gaze. 

I guess I have finally messed everything up all by myself.