Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Trespassers I
Amelia’s eyes slowly grew in horror as she scrolled down the article while sitting on the living room couch. There were some rather obscene photos of Emmeline crouched over Matteo, her clothes lying scattered on the floor and nearly out of the frame, while she was in nothing but her underwear.

Their postures were oddly intimate, and there was more than one photo of the scene, offering a rather vivid image of what could’ve happened in the bedroom the night before.

“I― But… How could they say that the images are from me?!” Amelia asked, flabbergasted.

At the kitchen counter, Matteo calmly poured himself a mug of coffee. He brought the piping-hot liquid to his lips, allowing the caffeine to scald him awake. God knew how he was fuming on the inside, but he had to maintain a cooler front.

“She was probably the one who took those pictures,” Ronan said.

He had rushed over first thing in the morning when he saw the articles while getting ready for work. Needless to say, all three of them wouldn’t be showing up at the office today. It was best for Amelia to work from home for now.

“But why would she leak her own nudes?” Amelia questioned, shaking her head. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“To trap me in a marriage,” Matteo said through gritted teeth. He all but slammed the mug down, the clattering sound ringing so loudly that Amelia was worried the mug had shattered.

“Oh yeah,” Ronan said, nodding. “If you didn’t marry her after this, your reputation would nosedive even further than the Waltons and their friends.”

He then stiffened, suddenly remembering who he had just named.

“Sorry, Amelia.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to tiptoe about Caleb around me,” she said.

Nevertheless, Ronan offered Amelia a sheepish smile before continuing, “Emmeline probably thought that you wouldn’t risk your reputation like that. It’s not uncommon to have loveless marriages in our circle. A business advantage would always be better than personal interests.”

“She has a lot of guts for that,” Matteo muttered under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair, combing the messy strands backward before sighing. “Ronan, you will need to move Amelia out as soon as possible. Emmeline knows where I live, and I have no doubt that this place will be crawling with the paparazzi if it isn’t already. They cannot see her here.”

Just then, Ronan’s phone let out a short beep. At first, he paid it no mind, casually looking through the contents without much care, but when he noted the full message, his eyes went wide and he sat up straighter.

“The lab results are back,” Ronan said breathily, his thumb scrolling through the long report, scanning its contents.

“What is it?” Matteo asked, immediately walking over.

However, they were offered even a moment of peace. The security system of Matteo’s home buzzed before Matteo could have a look at the report, and Annalise Hawthorne’s face appeared on the small screen near his front door.

“Matteo Montgomery!” She screamed at the camera, glaring hard while the security team tried to urge her away. “Come out here this instance! And bring that little slut with you!”

“Great,” Ronan muttered under his breath. “The mother-in-law.”

“Leave,” Matteo ordered Ronan. “Now.” He picked up the jacket strewn over the backrest of the couch before slipping it on. “Go by the garage.”

“Yeah yeah, I know,” Ronan said, waving off.

He reached down and picked up the small duffel bag of essentials that Amelia had packed. She hadn’t brought a lot of things over, but they were certainly one too many to bring to Ronan’s house all at one go.

“Thank goodness I had the foresight to drive today,” he deadpanned.

Matteo glared at him, unimpressed, but took the elevator down first to greet the unexpected guest. Meanwhile, Amelia and Ronan waited for Matteo to distract Annalise down at the security office before sneaking into Ronan’s car.

All the while, Amelia fidgeted in her seat even when Ronan’s car had safely driven out of the apartment complex. His tinted windows had blocked the view of who was inside the car, and with the number of high-profile residents staying there, the reporters were well-cordoned off.

Amelia didn’t have to face any of them directly right now, but she could see at least twenty of them lingering around the gates, their cameras in hand as they stretched their necks, trying to get an eye on Matteo.

“It will be fine, Amelia,” Ronan comforted. “Matteo can handle this. He knows how to work PR better than a lot of us.”

“Will it be enough?” Amelia murmured under her breath, her eyes glued on the rearview mirror as the car drove away.

“We can only hope,” Ronan said, sighing. “Cherry is already picking your father up from the hospital. We will meet them at the hospital car park before heading to my place.”

“Won’t your family…”

“I live away from them,” Ronan clarified. “My brother stays over sometimes, but he’s usually not home because of how busy the company is. You can have his room. I’ll have a word with him.”

***

“Ma’am, I’m sorry but you can’t―”

“Where is that skank?!” Annalise all but screamed in Matteo’s face when he arrived at the main lobby.

The security staff was frowning, worry lines appearing across his forehead as he tried to calm Annalise down.

“Ma’am―”

“Were you on duty last night?” Matteo asked the security officer, completely ignoring Annalise.

“Matteo Montgomery, I am talking to you!”

“No, Sir,” the young man replied. “It was Joe. He was on night duty, came in ’round late noon.”

“Let him know that he needn’t come to work starting tonight,” Matteo coldly said. “I’ve already spoken to your management about this. He should be receiving the official termination notice soon, if not already.”

“Ever the tyrant aren’t you,” Annalise said with a scoff.

Matteo coldly turned on his heels, finally sparing Annalise a frosty look. With their height difference, he was quite literally looking down on her even with her towering heels. Annalise stepped back shakily in fright.

What was this oppressive aura she was feeling?

“The security team let in your daughter, who could’ve been a stranger in disguise, into my penthouse without prior consent,” Matteo coldly said. “You and your daughter seem to be experts in being trespassers.”