44. Matteo
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
MATTEO
I t’d been a long day, and I knew it would be an even longer night.
Arianna’s statement that Brian started the fight combined with my father’s and Gabriel’s efforts had convinced the preppy college boy to drop all charges.
I was free to go.
Yet, the fury I felt at that prick who thought he could touch my woman still simmered under my skin. The way Ari looked in the bikini and fuck-me heels, laughing and smiling. At . Another . Man . Maybe I was sick, too possessive, but I didn’t want her smiling at anybody else. I wanted all her smiles, all her tears, and all her words to belong to me.
I wanted to jump on my bike, head to his shitty campus, and kill him, but if he miraculously disappeared, I’d be the first suspect.
“Thanks for handling this, Pa.”
“What the hell were you thinking?” I wasn’t, and that was the problem. When it came to Arianna, all my brain circuits seemed to fry. “I thought you were busy chasing leads.”
“I’m pretty good at multitasking,” I deadpanned. “I take after my parents, don’t I.” He narrowed his eyes on me.
“Yet you’re incapable of keeping away from this girl,” Pa stated as he drove down the dark backroads toward D’Arc. “Do you have a death wish?”
I shrugged. “No, but I made it clear to you and Morrelli that Arianna is mine and I refuse to follow through with this charade with Hannah. Fucking find her another husband.”
“Where was she during this so-called bridal shower?” he questioned.
I shot him a dry look. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Fishing out my phone, I started scrolling through unread messages. The only one I read was from Arianna.
We’re done. Please accept and respect my decision.
The fuck I would. We weren’t done and never would be.
Ever since the engagement disaster, the two of us had been stuck in a cycle of her giving me the cold shoulder while I stalked her from afar. Okay, maybe not afar, but definitely beyond her reach.
And all the while, I’d been devising a plan.
“You’re running from one sister and chasing after the other,” Pa muttered. “How in the fuck do you have time for your thesis?”
“I finished it already.”
“Then why are you still on campus?”
I scoffed. “I’ll give you one guess.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“I’m not leaving until she agrees to be my wife. You wouldn’t either if you were in my shoes.” I’d heard plenty of stories to know he wouldn’t. Pa relentlessly searched for Mom for three long years, refusing to let go of his obsession. “You never gave up searching for Mom while she was on the run. This is no different.”
He knew I was right, although I doubted he’d admit it.
“Some distance would do you some good, son.”
“Did that help when you and Mom were apart?” I retorted dryly.
“That was different,” Pa stated as I leaned my seat back and closed my eyes. “Her own uncle was after her. The same uncle who, if you must know, wanted to auction her off.”
My brow furrowed as I considered his words.
“Speaking of, there’s still buzz about the auctions,” I noted, opening my eyes to look at him. “Talks of Benito’s heir and some others joining forces to lead it.”
“So I heard.” His lips thinned. “I just find it hard to believe that Benito had another bastard hiding around somewhere and nobody knew until now.”
“It must be Marco’s heir,” I wondered aloud. “The man wasn’t a saint by any means.”
“Benito and Marco were both sick bastards, always obsessed with power.” Pa slammed the wheel with the palm of his hand. “If belles auctions are back, that puts Francesca and the Morrelli girls in danger.”
He had always been overprotective of Francesca, and so had I, but jumping into panic mode wouldn’t do us any good.
“They’re safe on campus.”
Pa nodded. “I’ll assign an additional bodyguard for Francesca. I’m guessing Morrelli will be putting extra layers of security on his girls too.”
Tense silence followed.
“Still at odds with Nico Morrelli?”
He shot me a dry look. “What do you think?”
“I’m sorry. If I could go back, I’d go to him and ask for Ari myself. Or better yet, ask her when the time was right.”
“I’m sure it’ll all get resolved. Emotions are just high right now, and he’s been extra protective of Arianna and Gianna ever since…” He shook his head, and I filled in the blanks. None of us would forget how close we came to losing the girls. “Hannah seems to land on her feet, but those two somehow always pay the price.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. Even when the twins conjured up their shenanigans, Hannah usually escaped unscathed.
I was so close to murdering Hannah that day. She’d been the one to insist on sneaking out the night Gianna was snatched, but it was Arianna who blamed herself. Arianna who went after Gianna and almost died in the process.
“Son, just push her out of your mind for a while and wait. Everything will work out.”
I threw back my head. “I don’t have it in me to wait.”
“Then what?” My father’s eyes, replicas of my own, slid to me. “Don’t even think of kidnapping her, Matteo.”
“I won’t.” Because I already decided.
“I hope you’re telling me the truth,” he muttered, shaking his head. A humorless smile painted his lips before he continued. “I’m going to give you the advice your nonno gave me. Treat her right and she’ll find her way back to you.”
I stared at him for a silent beat.
“I will. I hope she can forgive me for this screwup with the engagement and hurting Hannah’s feelings.” Pa raised his brow but remained silent. “Fuck, Pa. What if she doesn’t forgive me?”
“She will.”
“You seem awfully sure of it.” I pushed my hand through my hair when he turned in to campus. “Pull over by the planetarium.”
He did, but as I reached for the door handle, his voice stopped me.
“You know how I know she’ll forgive you?” I waited, turning to look at my father who, for the first time ever, looked uncomfortable. “Your mother would kill me if she knew what I’m about to tell you.”
“Now you’ve got my attention.”
“I fucked up majorly with your mom. Not once, but three times.”
“How so?”
“Well, first I kidnapped her and forced her to marry me.” The corner of my lips twitched. It seemed to be a running theme in our world. “And then I… I put a gun to her head. To make matters worse, I went after her again and dragged her back, making her an easy target for her uncle and Benito King.”
“Bullshit.”
The expression on my father’s face told me he wasn’t joking.
“Unfortunately, it’s the truth. After I played Russian roulette with her?—”
“What the fuck, Pa!”
“The chamber was empty, but that’s no excuse. Convinced she betrayed me by working with her uncle, I dropped her off at his doorstep. Your mom ran, not only from him, but also from me. That was the reason you were born in Italy. Why I wasn’t there for the first few years.” He grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me lightly. “I fucked up, but she forgave me. All I’m saying, Matteo, is give it time and don’t be impulsive. Arianna will forgive you.”
“I’m not marrying her sister.”
“I’ll talk to Nico again.” He patted my shoulder twice before releasing me. “You talk to Arianna and don’t give up until she finally sees that Hannah isn’t meant for you. Whatever you do, don’t repeat my mistakes.”
Too late, because my plan was already in motion.