Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Clogged Confessions
“What did you and your father talk about?” Amelia asked when Matteo’s family finally left the office premises.

“Nothing you need to worry about. How was your lunch with Aiden?” Matteo asked, but Amelia knew he was trying to evade her question when he went back to his desk and shuffled a few papers. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms; since they were in Matteo’s office with Ronan, she wasn’t worried about their conversation leaking to outsiders.

“It went fine. Don’t change the subject,” Amelia said. “Is there going to be trouble in the future? Matteo, I would like to know before I get blindsided.”

Faced with Amelia’s determined expression, Matteo could only sigh and reluctantly tell her.

“My father just came to inform me about a family dinner happening two weeks from now. The both of us need to be in attendance, while my―” Here, Matteo’s lips pinched as though he had just sucked on a lemon, “―stepmother judges your worth as my wife. I have tried to refuse, but he is adamant that we have to show up.”

“How bad can it be?” Amelia wondered. “It’s just dinner. And I’ve already met your brother, so that’s one family member down. Now that I’m officially recognized as part of the Hawthorne family, I doubt she’ll make trouble for me in case it gets back to my grandfather.”

Matteo scowled. “Knowing her, she’ll make trouble for you anyway, because I chose you over Emmeline. For some reason, she was always so insistent on marrying Emmeline to me, and not to Aiden. I still have no idea why. If Emmeline was as great a daughter-in-law as she claimed, shouldn’t she be saving him for her own son?”

Ronan chimed in, “Maybe she wants Aiden to aim even higher. That woman wouldn’t be satisfied unless a literal princess marries her baby boy and gives him a country to run. Watch out for her, Amelia. She’s a real piece of work.”

Amelia pursed her lips as she contemplated Matteo and Ronan’s words. “Well, there’s no point in worrying about things now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, we still have the family dinner with the Hawthornes to get through first.”

Just the very thought made her heart sink. Her new grandfather also extended the invitation to her father, but her father had rejected it point-blank. He didn’t want anything to do with the Hawthornes, after how they indirectly caused the death of his beloved by not accepting her choices.

Amelia wanted nothing more than for her father to be there as a supportive presence, but she knew some things were simply not possible.

“I’ll take care of everything,” Matteo promised, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “All you have to do is show up and be your usual charming self.”

Amelia snorted. “I can be my usual self, or I can be charming. Matteo, I can’t do both.”

A rare grin crossed his face. “Be yourself, just like that. They’ll love you, just like―”

Amelia’s breath caught in her throat as she waited for Matteo to complete his sentence. Her heartbeat slowed, and it seemed like the very air in the office stood still, waiting for his declaration. All she could focus on were Matteo’s eyes, pupils shining like the ocean―

“Everyone does,” Matteo said, after a brief pause. He cleared his throat.

Amelia’s heart sank, disappointed in his words and in her own emotions. What was she even hoping for?

“Thanks, that means a lot,” Amelia said, trying to sound cheerful and optimistic. She tugged her hand away. “Well, I’ve got to go back to work now. See you later.”

She scurried back outside to work, mentally scolding herself for her own delusions. Why was she harboring high hopes? He wasn’t in love with her. Amelia knew that.

They were… friends. Allies. She was more his teammate in his scheme than his lover.

Meanwhile, unknown to her, Matteo was similarly anguished.

“Ronan, why did you not stop me? Why did I say that?” Matteo lamented into his hands. “What was I thinking?! Now she thinks―”

“How could I have stopped you? I thought you were going to confess!” Ronan exclaimed. “It was a perfect moment―”

“It was not a perfect moment!” Matteo rose up and paced agitatedly around his office, like an angry cat. “We are in the office. These are working hours. You are here―”

“Wow, you really know how to make a man feel loved and cherished―” Ronan grumbled.

“There is no music, no ambiance, no roses― nothing,” Matteo said, shaking his head. “Of course this isn’t the right time for it. Amelia deserves better than a haphazard confession of my feelings after lunch.”

Especially after she ate with his brother, out of all people.

“I’m telling you, you’re overthinking it. Does Amelia seem like the type of woman who would care about such frivolities? She was perfectly happy eating kebabs with me on a park bench,” Ronan pointed out.

Matteo’s face soured as he recalled how happy they looked in the leaked photos, a tendril of jealousy blooming in his gut, even though he knew there was completely nothing between them. He couldn’t deny Ronan and Amelia looked good together― if she had met Ronan before meeting Matteo or Caleb, she might have already gotten together with him.

“Amelia deserves better,” Matteo insisted. “After years of Caleb Walton treating her like a dirty little secret, she needs to know there is someone willing to move mountains on her behalf.”

“Start by moving that mouth of yours first,” Ronan retorted. “How will she know you are in love with her if you don’t say anything? Are you planning to confess your love during your wedding?”

Matteo’s eyes lit up. “That is a perfect idea.”

“No, I was joking―” Ronan despaired, but it was too late, for his best friend had immediately gone down the rabbit hole.

Poor Amelia, Ronan mused to himself. This woman was never going to realize Matteo was head over heels in love with her. At this rate, they might have children together and Amelia would still think Matteo was using her to avoid getting married to Emmeline!