Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 31

I Do
Matteo gritted his teeth. He would never consider Catherine Laine — the woman who seduced his father and took the place of his actual mother in the family — as his mother, yet he had to politely call her that or risk his father’s ire.

He still needed that bastard of a father for now, and it wouldn’t do well to offend him so early.

“My apologies, Mother,” Matteo said, nearly spitting out the last word. “Might I ask why you’re calling?”

“I’m concerned for you,” Catherine simpered, yet Matteo could detect the glee in her voice. “Pictures of you with that girl are floating all over the internet! Matteo, I know men have needs, but surely you could have chosen better than to sleep with your secretary?”

“Would you rather I sleep with the maids instead, like how my father did with you?” Matteo retorted, and he was rewarded with a muffled curse from the other end of the line. He would pay for that later, but cutting her down now gave him a brief moment of vindictive pleasure.

“Of course not, my darling son,” Catherine said, with more saccharine sweetness. “But you must admit this is a blight on your professional reputation. Not only are the shareholders blowing up our phones, the company is being dragged through the mud. And think about poor Emmeline! How could you jeopardize our relationship with the Hawthornes for some random girl?”

“I have it under control,” Matteo insisted, his eyebrow twitching with irritation. “The news will die down in a few days.”

He had no doubt that Catherine must have spread the news personally to the Hawthornes, in a bid to apologize for his misdeeds and make herself and her son look better in comparison.

Meanwhile, Amelia watched the minute change of expressions on Matteo’s face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that his ‘mother’ was giving him grief over the phone, most likely because of her. Guilt swam through her veins, and she stared down at her knees.

“You’re too optimistic about things,” Catherine scolded him, her words a mockery of a mother’s concern. “If you’re going to think like this, then don’t blame others for thinking Aiden is the better CEO for the company.”

“People can think all they like. Results speak for themselves,” Matteo replied evenly, touching on a sore point.

Aiden was a playboy who did not have the experience to lead a school choir, let alone a multinational company. If their father had not bailed him out of his messes, Aiden would have long been bankrupt, bringing the company along with him.

“Well I never,” Catherine let out a disdainful little sniff. “To think you would not listen to my concern… I guess you’ll only listen to your father. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of things to say about this.”

Matteo rolled his eyes. There it was. She was using his father to pressure him.

“If that’s all, I’m hanging up,” he said brusquely. “I have things to do.”

“Does the ‘thing’ in question refer to your secretary―”

Matteo hung up, his nostrils flaring in anger.

“I’m sorry,” Amelia said when the silence grew too much to bear. She clenched her fists. “This is my fault. I heard what your mother said. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Matteo’s gaze softened slightly as he looked at her. “This is nothing I cannot endure. You just need to worry about your father.”

“You should not have to endure this for my sake,” Amelia said quietly.

She thought of how Matteo tried so hard to keep her father alive, even willingly going on his knees to breathe air into his lungs. His warm hand in hers as he pulled her through the crowd. He had kept her safe while throwing himself to the wolves.

There was only one course of action she could take to repay him.

“Matteo, I’ll marry you.”

Matteo’s eyes widened. “Perhaps this isn’t the best time to discuss this.”

Amelia’s tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. “Are you regretting the offer?” she hesitantly asked.

“No,” Matteo said. He nodded in the direction of the room where Amelia’s father was before continuing, “It’s not right making a decision in haste.”

“This isn’t about my father,” Amelia said with a shake of her head.

Well, it was, but Matteo didn’t need to know that. Furthermore, she wasn’t sure if he thought she was merely accepting his offer because her father now needed the money for medical bills. She only agreed because she didn’t wish to owe him anything.

“We’re just getting engaged, right?” Amelia confirmed, tugging at the seams of her shirt. “There’s no harm in that. You will be able to clear your name and you won’t have to worry about things on your mother’s side.”

Matteo’s eyelids subtly twitched. “That woman is none of my concern,” he muttered under his breath, and Amelia’s eyes widened at his words. He turned his gaze to properly meet hers, and when their eyes met, his gaze softened. “You don’t need to worry about her.”

“But you do,” Amelia pointed out. “If you don’t mind, I can help you. I don’t know how yet, but whatever way I can, I will,” she fervently promised.

A small smile tilted Matteo’s lips up. Without warning, he placed a hand on the top of her head, the warmth of his palm seeping into her scalp as he rubbed back and forth. It wasn’t enough to mess up her hair, but it was enough for her heart to bloom with butterflies that she didn’t know were still alive in her chest after what Caleb had done.

Amelia blushed, her cheeks turning red hot by the simple action.

Matteo’s gaze, however, soon left hers to look at something behind her. They were in the middle of the hospital corridors, and while it was relatively silent lest for the few nurses who scurried back and forth, there were also a few prying eyes tucked behind the door a short distance away.

“Are you sure?” Matteo asked, his expression hardening as he watched those people whip out their phones and cameras to take quick shots of them.

“Yes,” Amelia said with a firm nod, completely oblivious to what was happening.

“Very well,” Matteo said.

He withdrew his hand, and before Amelia could even feel disappointed by the sudden departure of his warmth, his hand found hers, interlacing their fingers together.