Chapter 4: Knight in Shining Armour
From that day forward, the two girls endeavoured to pass each day without letting the weight of grief drag them down. When Leah had to return to the police academy dorms, Ryder and several other colleagues of her parents, took turns to keep Lyssandra company when they had the time, until she was finally discharged from the hospital.
Ryder took Lyssandra back to their family home and helped her unpack as she adjusted herself to the feeling of being in the house without them, like Leah had before.
It was their family home, but because Lyssandra was only nine, and Leah was a fifteen year old at boarding school, the two minors still needed a guardian.
It seemed that their parents had also been prepared for the possibility of leaving their girls behind, due to their job, and left a total of almost two million pounds to the both of them for school tuition and living fees.
Amongst that money, was the inheritance from both sides of their grandparents, who had also been part of the police when they were alive, bringing their total inheritance to almost five million in total.
Thanks to this, both Leah and Lyssandra would not have to worry about struggling to earn their living expenses, or college and university tuitions, and Leah was relieved that she did not have to drop out of the police academy because of lack of funds.
She was determined to become a police officer, to continue her parents work of supporting those in need and continue the family line of officers, as well as to earn more so that she could support Lyssandra when they were older.
This also, however, meant that there were all kinds of piranhas trying to target the vulnerable Lyssandra currently living alone in their family home, aiming to become the sisters' guardian to take the inheritance.
"I will trust your decision on who you want as our guardian," Leah had told Lyssandra before leaving for the academy. She felt as though she had no right to decide when it was Lyssandra that would be living with the guardian until Leah was of legal age to take care of her herself.
In the end, Lyssandra had asked Ryder to become their guardian, as the only adult they could trust, and he happily agreed. After all, he was single, with no family of his own, and he had thought of the two girls as his own daughters ever since they were born.
Still, he was a police officer, like Vincent and Lydia, meaning he was often out of the house for days following a case, leaving Lyssandra alone at home a lot. Just like how life was with her parents, only even lonelier.
When Lyssandra finally went back to school, everyone could tell that she was no longer the young and bubbly little girl she once was. Even before, she had been a little too mature for a nine year old, but now Lyssandra had completely lost her innocence.
She was developing habits usually only housewives and househusbands had, such as how to save money, housekeeping, and even becoming quite the talented little chef.
She no longer laughed as easily as before, when even the slightest silly face used to make her burst into giggles.
Now, Lyssandra was just determine to live and survive until her next birthday, taking every day step by step. The frugal child even told Ryder that she didn't want to touch her part of the inheritance unless it was for an emergency, instead declaring that she would earn scholarships to pay for her school tuitions.
"Lyssa, you don't have to go this far. Even without the inheritance, I can take care of you. That's what I'm here for as a guardian," Ryder frowned, worried that the little girl was taking on too much for no reason.
"You've already spent so much helping me to recover after the..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it. "This is me trying to pay back that debt."
Ryder shook his head and his hands rested on his narrow hips.
"Lyssa. You're still a child, you don't need to be thinking about things like paying back a debt, or saving every penny possible, or even getting scholarships, when we can afford it even without touching your savings." His exasperated tone made her flinch slightly.
This was just her way of guaranteeing her survival for the next year, after all. She didn't want to hurt Ryder after everything he had done to help her, even taking the two in and becoming their guardian despite the threats from distant family.
Ryder saw the conflict in Lyssandra's expression and sighed as he crouched down so that he was looking up at her.
"You're still young. I don't want you acting like an adult yet, because it makes my heart hurt knowing that I'm one of the reasons why you've had to grow up so quickly.
"That, and you make me feel so old when a young girl like you tells me that you want to pay back a debt. I'm only fourty-five! It's my responsibility as your guardian to care for you and I can't have you taking that away from me, little missy," he flashed a cheeky grin, swiping a finger under her chin as she took his words in.
"Then what should I do to live and survive until my next birthday?" She asked him. The hesitance and fear in her voice made his heart tremble as he looked at this beautiful little girl in front of him and pulled her into a hug.
"Live happily. You've got to live happily, Lyssa," he told her, stroking the short and choppy hair that was still growing out from when they had to cut it to operate.
Now it made her look like an adorable little boy, especially since Lyssandra usually dressed in very casual, gender neutral styles of clothes.
Lyssandra melted into his hug and buried her small head into his shoulder, nodding against his neck.
"Okay. Thank you, Ryder."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Both you and Leah are my responsibilities now. You're like my daughters, so let me spoil you once in a while. I'm sorry for leaving you alone so often."
Ryder really wanted to help this little girl live a happy life. He would never be able to replace Vincent and Lydia, but he didn't need to. He would be like the knight in shining armour, protecting the girls from all the dangers that way come their way.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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stone