265 Trust the love

No?

It took a few seconds before Luke’s answer really sank in and then he stood up quickly. He really didn’t want to look at Luke, but his eyes went there anyway and silently they observed each other. Luke was clearly outraged and Reid didn’t understand why. Apparently he had done something wrong, while he was convinced he had been doing the right thing. All those social rules and regulations confused him and confusion always irritated him.

Then, without a word, Reid turned and made his way to the bridal couple, forced himself to smile and congratulated them.

The pain in Reid’s eyes had paralyzed Luke and for some reason he wasn’t able to stop Reid from leaving. He watched how his lover managed to act by social standards, congratulating Holden and Molly, but the way Reid smiled was telling. His blue eyes looked shocked and sad.

It took a while before Luke could connect the dots. Reid hadn’t been kidding. His proposal had been very real and Luke had rejected him! He almost moaned out loud. This could not be happening. In horror he saw Reid look at the ring on his finger and his heart stopped when the long fingers started turning the ring around. Was he taking off his ring? Luke wanted to scream, but he just couldn’t move. His brain refused to function. All he could do was watch Reid and that meant he noticed every moment of this horrendous situation. How Reid – completely ignoring Luke – responded to something Katie said and then followed her and Simon to the door.

Luke almost jumped when he felt a hand on his back.

“Luciano, are you okay?”

In a daze Luke stared at Damian.

“No. No, I’m not.”

“Let’s sit down for a moment…”

Luke felt how he was led back to the chair and on automatic pilot he sank into one of them.

“What happened?”

It took a few seconds before Luke could answer.

“Reid proposed.”

“He did what?”

Luke hadn’t even noticed the presence of his mother and this time the moan came out of his mouth. He didn’t need her drama.

“He proposed,” Damian repeated on a calm and firm tone and his underlying message was clear. ‘Stay calm.’

“That’s unexpected,” he said to Luke, softly tapping his back. “But that’s a good thing, right?”

Luke’s eyes filled with tears and pure panic.

“I said no.”

It took Damian a lot of effort not to shout out ‘You did what?’ and after a deep breath, he sounded still calm.

“Why would you do that?”

“We all know how he feels about weddings and marriage. I thought he was joking and making fun of me. I felt ridiculed.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t?” Lily sounded cautious, but she had to ask. She had warmed up to Reid considerably, but her son was still her major priority. And Reid did have a strange sense of humor.

“He looked at me and his eyes…there was so much pain in them…” Luke felt like crying, thinking about it. “He wasn’t joking. And now he’s…”

“He left for the ballroom, for the reception. I overheard him talking to Katie.”

It was a small relief.

“You guys need to talk,” Damian continued. “So you go and find him.”

“And tell him what?”

“The truth,” Damian smiled.

“That I thought he was deliberately hurting my feelings with a fake proposal?” Luke shook his head. How could he really think that? How could he have said no? To Reid!  

“Yes. It’s really not that strange, Luke. As you said, we all know how he feels about marriage. Nobody would have expected this total turnaround. You need to explain that to him.”

Luke watched his father. His confident attitude calmed Luke down a little.

“You think?”

“I know,” Damian gave him a reassuring smile. “He loves you and sure, he’s probably hurt and confused, right now, but he still loves you. He’s also very smart, so if you remind him of his own aversion of everything remotely related to a wedding, he’ll understand that you just couldn’t believe it was real.”

Luke nodded. That made sense. He needed to talk to Reid. When he wanted to stand up, he noticed the glance his mother gave him and he sat down again.

“Are you okay?”

Lily smiled, caressing his hand for a moment.

“Don’t worry about me, sweetie. It was weird to watch Holden marry another woman…” she quickly looked at Damian and then turned to Luke again, “so I’m a little emotional and hearing that Reid proposed… it’s a bit much to digest.”

“I know,” Luke managed a grin, “and then some.”

“Any idea what happened? What changed his mind?”

“I guess he liked this wedding…” Luke shrugged. “I really don’t know. I’m still in shock. He was always very adamant about it. I don’t want him to efface himself, just to please me. That doesn’t feel right.”

“That doesn’t sound like Reid,” Lily murmured and Luke frowned.

“You clearly don’t know him, mother. He comprised a lot. When Zoë came into our lives, Reid was very reluctant at first. But he listened to my arguments and warmed up to the idea. The same thing with Gaia. He really didn’t want a dog in the house, but she’s with us anyway. Hell, he was very reluctant to let me come close, knowing I was able to hurt him very much…but he did anyway. And I don’t want him to sacrifice his own beliefs just to give me what I want.”

“Isn’t that what love is all about?” Lily wondered out loud and Luke’s frown deepened.

“Not my version of love. If one of the partners has to sacrifice his own truth, the relationship is destructive, not constructive.”

“It’s a delicate balance,” Damian smiled.

“It is. And it feels like I’m the one getting my way, while Reid is doing all the compromising.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not that black and white,” Lily said.

“Well, to me it is. And I’m not gonna make him go through a wedding, just because I told him my heart was still longing for that whole package.”

He stood up again and quickly kissed Damian and Lily on the cheek.

“Thanks for your talk and support. I need to talk to Reid.”

“You do that,” Damian gave him the thumbs up, “and don’t stop talking until he really understands. I have faith in your love.”

It made Luke smile. ‘Trust the love.’ Yes. He needed to trust the love.