Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Trespassers II
“Trespassers?!” Annalise hissed. “My daughter is engaged to you! I am your future mother-in-law―”

“Future,” Matteo pointed out. “Right now, you are no one to me. Even after the unfortunate day I marry your daughter, you have no right to have any input in my life.”

“Is this how you speak to your elders?” Annalise said, scoffing. “You were a good kid, Matteo. And now that you’ve grown, your wings have hardened, haven’t they? It must be that little bitch you’re keeping in your apartment that has been whispering things to you―”

“Whoever I keep in my apartment is none of your concern,” Matteo reiterated. “Do watch your words carefully, or there wouldn’t even be an engagement to speak of.”

“You would dare cancel the engagement?” Annalise hissed. “After you… you… violated my daughter like that?”

“Violated?”

The corners of Matteo’s lips tilted down ever the slightest. As much as he tried, he couldn’t fill the void of memories over what had transpired after Emmeline had drugged him. Instantly, he felt something crawl over his skin, causing him to suppress the shiver.

Just then, the main lobby of the apartment complex opened. The security team could no longer hold the crowd, and the wave of reporters had trickled in, tripping over one another as they pointed their cameras at Matteo and Annalise.

Seeing their arrival, Matteo slowly turned back to look at Annalise, his shoulders relaxing.

“Even if anything happened,” Matteo calmly said, making sure his voice was loud enough for the first wave of reporters to catch, “Emmeline was on top of me. Perhaps you should check with your daughter about what actually transpired. She seems to have been the one taking advantage of a drunk, exhausted man after he had one too many drinks.”

“Are you victim-shaming now?” Annalise squinted her eyes. “You think that my daughter would spread her own photos for the world to see?”

Annalise’s eyes were red with fury. She gritted her teeth, her jaw clenching tightly together as she pointed in the direction of the elevator.

“You are an engaged man,” Annalise said. “Yet, you keep another woman in your soon-to-be marital home, allowing her to warm your bed! Have you no shame?!”

“If you would like to think that way,” Matteo said. He then stepped forward, and in a softer voice which only he and Annalise could hear, he said, “But if you or your daughter think that this is a way to trap me in a marriage, you are sorely mistaken.”

Without a second look, Matteo straightened his jacket and walked straight out of the doors. The crowd of reporters surprisingly parted for him, but their camera flashes never ceased. A good portion of them rushed behind him, attempting to get a statement, while the other half stayed behind, capturing a perfect shot of Annalise’s twisted expression.

Not only was Matteo unapologetic about the entire situation, but she wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of the mistress he was hiding under Emmeline’s nose. Perhaps another day. If she couldn’t catch them in the apartment, then the next best location would be in their office.

Matteo, on the other hand, didn’t spare the reporters or Annalise any mind. Instead, he looked at his phone. Ronan had forwarded him an email, and this would require his immediate attention.

The lab’s test results have returned with utmost efficiency. Now, he just needed a way to pinpoint the drug’s origins.

***

“Dad!” Amelia exclaimed, her chest feeling a hundred tons lighter when Cherry helped Michael Kentwood into the backseat of Ronan’s car. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, my dear Millie,” Michael said, a kind smile on his face. He looked tired but in much better shape than before. He turned to Ronan, and a knowing glint jumped in his eyes. “And this is?”

“Ronan,” Ronan introduced, stretching past the car seat to shake hands with Michael. “Ronan Sullivan. I am Amelia’s colleague at work.”

“Just a colleague?” Michael asked, turning to his daughter. “You’ve never mentioned such a fine young man working with you.”

“I just started the job, Dad,” Amelia said, wrinkling her nose. “I guess you can consider Ronan a friend,” she stressed the final word.

She could sense the tone of her father’s words and she had to make it clear there was nothing happening. For her father to think there was something so quickly after her divorce was even absurd!

Ronan, on the other hand, chuckled before starting the car. They cruised down the streets and headed straight for his apartment.

“Matteo already handled all the paperwork,” Cherry said. “The bills are all paid for, along with the check-up sessions arranged in the coming months.”

She had boarded the car as well, given special instructions from Matteo to help out Amelia and Ronan. While she could not understand what on earth her cousin was thinking, she dutifully obeyed his instructions. He was the one paying her salary― who was she to say no?

“Matteo Montgomery,” Michael echoed, testing the name on his tongue. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Amelia. “Millie, be honest with me,” he said, glancing quickly at Cherry and Ronan, “how did you meet such a powerful man like that?”

“I didn’t do anything weird if that’s what you’re wondering,” Amelia said.

Michael’s expression did not lighten any bit.

Cherry sighed before she said, “We saw the news while waiting for the medication. They were reporting the leak of Emmeline Hawthorne’s photos.”

She then pursed her lips as she looked at Ronan, then at Amelia.

“There’s another thing we saw,” Cherry said. She then pulled out her phone, typing some words in before passing the device to Amelia.

The second Amelia’s eyes landed on the screen, she nearly dropped Cherry’s phone in shock. There she was with Ronan by her side, a kebab in each of their hands, and a matching bright smile on their faces.

It was an innocent photo, but with the headlines twisting the intentions of the shot with words that did not fit, Amelia felt her stomach churn. No wonder her father looked at her like that!

‘ALLEGED GOLD-DIGGING MISTRESS MOVES ON; WATCH OUT, SULLIVANS!’