Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 37

Montgomery Family Home I
“My fiancée is a little shy,” Matteo calmly said into the phone.

He cast a quick glance at Amelia, who had heard everything on blast. The car speakers were more than loud enough to relay the message, and Amelia wanted nothing more than to melt into the plush leather cushions and hide from the world.

She grabbed the seatbelt a little tighter, chewing on her bottom lip, not daring to even breathe just in case Matteo’s father could hear her.

His father spluttered at the other end, but Matteo was not willing to listen. He hung up the call without so much as a goodbye or a proper answer. It was only then did Amelia exhaled loudly.

Perhaps this was indeed a bad decision. It could help them win the battle for a short while, but it would only ignite a war. Amelia didn’t need to be from a wealthy family to know about the politics that thrived in those sorts of circles― her ex-husband, after all, was the biggest example.

Rich people always had a couple of screws loose, and Amelia would be willing to bet that one wrong step could mean certain doom. It was still early. They could still back out. But Amelia did feel a tinge of guilt for going back and forth with this rather than steel herself and staying put with her decision.

She looked at Matteo, and instantly, when their eyes met, Matteo turned his gaze back onto the road. It was as though her thoughts reverberated through the car louder than any honk could from the road.

“It will be fine,” Matteo reassuringly said. “You will not be following me back. Not yet, at least.”

“It’s inevitable,” Amelia quietly muttered under her breath as they turned into the familiar parking lot of Matteo’s home.

“Until then, you are safe here,” Matteo replied.

A message beeped from Matteo’s phone, and one quick look sent his face darkening into the color of coal.

‘You need to go back to the estate. Now. Call me.’

“Who is it?” Amelia couldn’t help her curiosity but ask.

“Ronan,” Matteo simply said. He turned to Amelia and continued, “Could you go up on your own? There’s something I need to take care of.”

Amelia’s mind flitted back to the call, and she nodded, pursing her lip. She might be worried about Matteo, but regardless, this wasn’t her battle to fight― not when she had no armor or weapons. Going in would be sending herself to the execution stage.

“Good girl,” Matteo said, and without saying anything else, he leaned over and opened the car door for her before unbuckling her seatbelt.

Their noses nearly brushed past one another due to the sudden close proximity, and Amelia stilled in her seat. She could feel her sweat pooling in her palms, and for a second, she remained where she was. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that she suddenly pulled out of her reverie, and she hurriedly stumbled out of the car seat as though she was escaping a burning room.

“Thank you,” she said, and when Matteo nodded, she closed the car door and watched as he drove off.

Even as his car disappeared from view, Amelia felt her heart beating wildly in her chest. She clutched her shirt tightly, clawing at the fabric as she tried to calm herself down.

This was bad. Even if she wasn’t by any means falling in love with Matteo Montgomery, this series of close interactions was starting to take a toll on her heart. It was difficult to maintain a calm heartbeat when there was such a handsome man doing such kind things for her.

Amelia had to slap a hand on her own cheek. She had to wake up. Matteo Montgomery was her boss. This relationship was contractual. She mustn’t make the same mistake again.

***

“Your father is threatening to release a separate official statement announcing your marriage to Emmeline Hawthorne instead,” Ronan said from the other end, and Matteo’s eyelids twitched in irritation.

“If that happens,” Ronan continued, “it will go against whatever you’ve released to the press. I doubt that will do any good to the stocks. What is he thinking?!”

“He doesn’t care for the stocks,” Matteo calmly said as he took a turn.

The car slowly made its way into the familiar roads of Everly Heights, an area where all the elite members of society stayed in Sol City.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Ronan muttered under his breath. “He has been funneling money into his own separate business for years. I don’t understand why you’re turning a blind eye to this.”

“Not turning a blind eye,” Matteo said. “I am collecting evidence.”

“So you’ve said for the last five months,” Ronan said. “How much evidence do you need to send his ass into jail?”

“Not enough,” Matteo said. The small stone pebbles crackled under the pressure of the car’s weight, and Matteo drove past the tall gates to the Montgomery Mansion. “He knows more about my mother than he is letting on.”

“Matteo…”

“I’m here. I’ll call you later.” Without waiting for Ronan to reply, Matteo ended the call.

He had barely even stepped out of the car when a small figure came hurtling into his embrace, a set of arms wrapped around his torso as Matteo stumbled back in shock. When he looked down and saw a head of blonde, Matteo had to do a second take. It was the very same shade as Amelia, who he had just ensured had gotten home safely.

However, as soon as the woman looked up, Matteo’s expression darkened again.

“Miss Hawthorne,” he greeted as he pried the woman’s arms off of him. “Please have some self-respect. I have a fiancée.”

“So it’s true, then?” Emmeline sobbed. “You’re really engaged to that gold-digger?”

“Gold-digger?” Matteo echoed in confusion. Did Emmeline mean Amelia? He had never heard such a crude word from her lips before― someone else must’ve fed that idea into Emmeline’s mind.

However, before he could properly get a reply out of Emmeline, a hand came soaring to his face, landing a harsh slap against his cheek.