Epilogue
Tell me a secret
The sun streamed through the tall windows of Aldo’s mansion, casting golden light across the polished floors. Boxes were scattered throughout the grand foyer, some half-opened, others still taped shut. Matteo stood in the middle of the chaos, hands on his hips, surveying the mess with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Aldo leaned against the doorway, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched Matteo try to decide where to start.
“You know,” Matteo said, turning to Aldo with a raised eyebrow, “you could help instead of just standing there looking pretty.”
Aldo pushed off the doorframe, his smirk widening as he stepped closer. “I am helping. I’m supervising. Someone has to make sure you don’t break anything.”
Matteo rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress the grin tugging at his lips. “Supervising, huh? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Aldo closed the distance between them, his hands finding Matteo’s waist as he pulled him close. “You’re the one who insisted doing this alone instead of hiring someone. I’m just here to make sure you don’t turn my ancestral home into a disaster zone.”
Matteo laughed, the sound warm and bright, and Aldo felt something in his chest tighten at the sound. It was a sound he’d grown to love over the past year, one that had become as familiar as the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Matteo’s lips, lingering for a moment before pulling back.
“You’re insufferable,” Matteo muttered, though there was no bite in his words. His hands rested on Aldo’s chest, fingers idly tracing the lines of his collarbone.
“And yet, here you are,” Aldo replied, his voice low and teasing. “Moving in with me. What does that say about you?”
Matteo’s grin turned wicked. “That I have terrible taste in men.”
Aldo laughed, a deep, rich sound that made Matteo’s stomach flip. He kissed him again, this time with more heat, his hands sliding up Matteo’s back to pull him closer. Matteo melted into the kiss, his fingers tangling in Aldo’s hair as the world around them faded away.
???
Later, after the last box had been unpacked and the chaos had settled into something resembling order, they found themselves in bed, the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains. Matteo lay with his head on Aldo’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Aldo’s fingers traced lazy patterns on Matteo’s back, his touch warm and soothing.
For a while, they simply lay there, wrapped in each other’s presence, the silence between them comfortable and familiar. But then Matteo shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at Aldo. His expression was soft, but there was a glint of curiosity in his eyes.
“Tell me something,” Matteo said, his voice quiet but steady. “Something no one else in the world knows.”
Aldo’s hand stilled on Matteo’s back, and for a moment, he didn’t respond. His gaze flicked away, a shadow of something, nervousness, hesitation, crossing his face. Matteo noticed it immediately, his curiosity sharpening.
“Aldo?” he prompted, his voice gentle but insistent.
Aldo exhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling under Matteo’s hand. He looked back at Matteo, his dark eyes searching his face as if weighing something. Finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.
“It was me.”
Matteo frowned, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”
Aldo swallowed, his throat working as he gathered his thoughts. “The phone calls. The warnings. It was me. I’m the one who called you all those months ago. The one who warned you about the attack on Enzo. And then again when Julian was kidnapped by my father. It was me.”
Matteo froze, his mind racing as the words sank in. He stared at Aldo, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief. “You… what? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Aldo looked away again, his jaw tightening. “I didn’t want to influence you. I didn’t want you to feel like you owed me something, or like you had to… I don’t know. Feel a certain way about me because of it.”
Matteo’s chest tightened, a flood of emotions crashing over him. He thought back to those moments; the anonymous voice on the phone, the warnings that had saved lives, the way he’d wondered who it could have been. And all this time, it had been Aldo. The man who had once been his enemy, who had become so much more.
“Aldo,” Matteo said softly, his voice thick with emotion. He reached up, cupping Aldo’s face in his hand and turning him so their eyes met. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
Aldo’s expression softened, the tension in his shoulders easing as he looked at Matteo. “I just… I wanted you to choose me. For me. Not because of something I did.”
Matteo leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to Aldo’s lips. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against Aldo’s, his eyes closing for a moment as he let the weight of everything settle.
“I love you,” Matteo said, his voice steady and sure. “Not because of what you’ve done, but because of who you are. You’re… you’re everything, Aldo De Luca.”
Aldo’s breath hitched, his hands tightening on Matteo’s back as he pulled him closer. “I love you too,” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. “More than anything.”
They kissed again, slow and deep, the world outside fading away until there was only the two of them, wrapped in each other, in the love they had fought so hard to find. And as they lay there, tangled together in the quiet of the night, Matteo knew that no matter what the future held, they would face it together.