Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: A Marriage with Secrets
The ride back home was silent. Amelia’s mind was whirling with thoughts, and Matteo…

Matteo seemed to be struck dumb, his mind a million miles away.

Amelia’s eyes darted over to her future husband. Initially, she wanted to question Matteo about the orphanage on her way home, but then she held her tongue.

If Matteo had kept it a secret from her, clearly it wasn’t something he was comfortable with sharing. They have shared the most intimate parts of themselves with each other, and their relationship has never been better.

Wouldn’t it be selfish for Amelia to stick her nose to where it didn’t belong? The old adage of letting sleeping dogs lie rang in her head.

But then again, Matteo was going to be her husband. After the clusterfuck that was her relationship with Caleb, she did not find herself enthusiastic about a second husband that was planning to keep secrets from her.

Yet, another part of her mind argued that Matteo wasn’t going to treat her like Caleb, and a marriage should be built on trust to begin with.

Which led her back to the point of Matteo’s lack of explanation. Was it because he didn’t trust her not to react positively to whatever news he was trying to keep secret? That thought hurt Amelia more than she wanted to admit.

“I want―”

“Your father―”

Both of them spoke at the same time, before falling silent. Amelia gave Matteo a wan smile. “You first.” Maybe he’ll bring this up himself.

Instead, Matteo said, “I know you must be very worried for your father. I’ll send you to visit him first thing tomorrow morning, and I’ll arrange a medical checkup for him too, just in case. Don’t worry about work. I can handle it.”

Amelia’s heart warmed at this concern. “Thank you, Matteo. I was just going to ask you that…”

She wasn’t, but she couldn’t deny that bringing her father to the hospital would allay her worries. Also, she would have the opportunity to question him about the orphanage.

“I’m still curious about who called Emmeline,” Amelia said instead. Before the news of her father’s injury, that was all that rattled in her mind. Since Matteo was now a captive audience, he had no choice but to listen to her multiple suspicions.

“Do you think my uncle could have gotten her contact information and tried to blackmail her, but he failed and so he took his frustration out on my father? Or maybe… maybe she was the one that put him up to it. Maybe she saw that I was ruining her efforts to sabotage me, and decided that getting back at my father was the best course of action.”

“Chances of that happening are very slim, but not zero,” Matteo said, his lips quirking into a brief smile― as though he was simply indulging her. Amelia tsked and crossed her arms irritably.

“I’m being serious right here. I know you said that such an attempt would be beneath her, but maybe she thinks striking at my father wouldn’t draw my grandfather’s ire.”

After all, there was no love lost between the two men. Throughout the entire wedding planning process, they had never even shared a single enclosed space with each other.

“Besides, this is Emmeline we are talking about,” Amelia continued. “Since when has she been the epitome of forward-thinking and cautious? Just remember the mess she made at the wedding boutique!”

Matteo sighed. “If you believe so, then so be it. I’m just saying that in all my years of knowing her, such behavior is very uncharacteristic of her personality.”

“Are you defending her?” Amelia asked sharply with narrowed eyes. The late hour, paired with her father’s accident, was making her crankier than usual.

That, and the reminder that Matteo had known Emmeline for a long time. That was the very reason why Emmeline was so persistent in making Matteo hers.

“Definitely not. Besides, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t untrue,” Matteo said hastily, sensing that he had misspoken but he wasn’t sure where he went wrong. He would have put up his hands in a conciliatory manner if not for the fact he had to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

Amelia still seemed pissed, so Matteo continued to clarify.

“I did know her for a long time, which is why I’m very certain that I don’t want to know her any longer,” he said firmly, glancing at Amelia from the corner of his eyes. There was a wry grin on his face.

“Are you jealous, my precious future wife?”

Amelia cleared her throat and settled back into the car seat, mollified by his words. Jealousy was most likely the reason for her crankiness.

“I guess I’m just upset that you have known her for longer than you’ve known me. We’ll have to be in our fifties before I can tie with her.”

Matteo looked like he wanted to say something. Amelia stared at him, wordlessly prompting him to speak. She was hopeful that he would take the chance to explain things. But in the end, he only let out a small sigh, and the ride fell back into silence.

***

In the next morning, Matteo sent Amelia over to her dad’s, just as he promised. Unfortunately, something cropped up in the office, so he had to leave before driving her father to the hospital. Amelia kissed him goodbye as he left with Ronan, and turned her worried eyes towards her father’s face.

Her father’s bruises looked worse in the daylight, the dark purple patch of skin simply hurt Amelia to look at. However, her father balked at the need to see a doctor.

“Millie, this is nothing a good night’s rest can’t cure!” Her father protested.

“I highly doubt you rested well with your face aching in pain,” she retorted. “And if you don’t want to go to the hospital, I’ll get Dimitri to send the doctor over. You know he would do it.”

Dimitri, who was nursing a fierce cup of dark coffee, nodded in agreement, his phone already in hand. “I have a friend who makes house calls.”

Her father grumbled, but since he refused to leave the house, Dimitri made the call. In the meantime, Amelia decided to grill her father.

“Dad, remember yesterday night you mentioned something about the orphanage? Can you tell me more about it?”