Chapter 75: Are You Jealous, Rian?
Charles couldn’t hold back a laugh as they walked out. "That’s childish," he said.
Frank shrugged with a grin. "Yeah... but it’s satisfying."
They both laughed as they watched Matteo carry his true prize out into the afternoon sun.
Matteo carried Adrian to the car, opened the back door, and settled him carefully onto the seat, leaving the door open with both his legs still outside.
Matteo remained where he was, standing outside as he leaned in to check his ankle.
But the moment he reached for him, Adrian’s expression changed, his softness gone, replaced by sudden defiance.
Adrian shoved Matteo backward, his face flushed with a mixture of pain and hot, irrational anger. "Cheater! You’re such a bad, pathetic cheater!"
Matteo blinked, genuinely bewildered as he pulled back. "What are you talking about? Rian, stay still. I need to check your ankle."
"Don’t touch me!" Adrian snapped, his eyes blazing. "You’re not even attractive, you’re nothing but a cheap, lying cheater!"
Matteo’s brow furrowed, his confusion turning into a defensive edge. "Cheat? Where, exactly, do you think I cheated? I haven’t been with anyone since—"
"I’m not going to the hospital with you!" Adrian cut him off, his chest heaving. "Call my friends! Tell Charles and Frank to come and get me. I’m not going anywhere with you!"
"Don’t be this stubborn," Matteo growled, his patience wearing thin despite his concern. "I’m trying to make sure your ankle isn’t broken. This isn’t about me, it’s about your health."
"Don’t touch me!" Adrian repeated, pulling his leg away.
Matteo straightened, crossing his arms. "Fine. If you want to be reckless, that’s on you. But don’t accuse me of something you have no proof of."
Adrian let out a bitter, incredulous laugh. "Proof? You haven’t given me a single moment of peace since you replaced me! You keep showing up everywhere I go, with them, right in front of my friends. It hasn’t even been a month, and you’re already parading other guys around as if they belong to you!"
"You think I don’t have a job? That all I do is follow you around?" Matteo shot back.
"Yes!" Adrian snapped. "You don’t even need to be here! You have a gym at home, so why bring your rude new boyfriend to the same place I go? It’s annoying!"
Matteo stared at him, the realization slowly settling in. Then a faint, incredulous smile touched his lips.
"Is that what this is?" he said quietly. "You think he, the guy at the gym, is my boyfriend?"
"I don’t care who he is!" Adrian shouted, his voice cracking. "I’m just saying you’re ugly! And you’re cheap! And you’re a cheater!"
Matteo leaned in, his voice low and teasing. "Are you jealous, Rian?"
Adrian recoiled as if burned, his face heating up until his ears turned red. "Jealous? Who is jealous? I’m just stating facts! You’re ugly and you’re a cheater!"
Matteo let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle. "So, you allowed someone ’that ugly’ to sleep with you?"
"I never realized you were this ugly until now," Adrian shot back.
"Since you’re not jealous," Matteo said quietly, his voice steady, "let me check your leg. Stay still."
Matteo leaned forward, his warm hands gently cradling Adrian’s injured ankle. The touch was so careful, so familiar, that Adrian’s resistance began to fade.
His voice softened, barely above a whisper. "Do you really... sleep with him? Is he your boyfriend?"
Matteo didn’t look up, his thumbs tracing the swollen skin of Adrian’s ankle. "Why? Are you jealous, or do you want—"
"Yes," Adrian interrupted, his voice cracking before Matteo could finish. "I’m jealous of him."
Matteo finally looked up, his eyes searching Adrian’s face. "Why?"
Adrian looked down at his own hands, his fingers twisting in his lap. "Because he gets to have you all night... and you wouldn’t even sleep with me."
"So you really think I slept with him?"
"Yes," Adrian said, "It hasn’t even been a month, and you’re already with someone else."
Matteo looked at him. "Are you jealous because I’m with someone else, or because I actually moved on, just like you told me to?"
Adrian looked at him, his chest tightening painfully. "Both."
He suddenly pushed Matteo’s hands away and tried to stand, ignoring the sharp pain in his ankle. "I’m leaving. I’ll take care of it when I get home."
"What is wrong with you?" Matteo stood up, his frustration mounting. "Let me take care of you!"
"You can’t even deny it," Adrian hissed, his eyes stinging. "You can’t deny that you slept with him."
"Adrian, let me take you to the hospital!"
Adrian’s patience snapped. Matteo’s silence felt like all the answer he needed.
He looked past him and saw his friends approaching. At the same moment, the young man from the gym stepped out of the building.
Without a word, Matteo turned his back on Adrian.
The young man slid into Matteo’s car, into the very seat Adrian had occupied moments before, and Matteo followed.
The car pulled away, leaving Adrian standing there alone in silence.
The sight nearly broke him, but he forced out a strained "Goodbye" to Charles and Frank before getting into his car.
Adrian’s car pulled away almost immediately, leaving Charles and Frank standing there alone.
"Does this mean Matteo is serious about him?" Frank asked, watching the car disappear down the road.
Charles sighed, looking exhausted. "I don’t know, Frank. I’m as confused as you are."
When Adrian got home, he called for his personal doctor to tend to his ankle. By the time the doctor left, it was already late evening.
Adrian sat in the living room, a drink in his hand, when a knock sounded at the door.
"Get the door," Adrian told the maid.
She nodded and went to open it.
Standing outside was a young man.
"I’m here to see Mr. Grayson," he said politely.
The maid returned and informed Adrian.
Curious, he wondered who it could be, then told her to let the visitor in.
A moment later, a young man stepped into the living room, pulling a small suitcase behind him. His gaze moved around the space, wide-eyed with quiet admiration.
When the young man stepped inside, Adrian froze.
Adrian sat up, his brow furrowing in confusion. It was the same young man from the gym.
"Why are you here?" he demanded, his eyes flicking toward the door as if expecting Matteo to walk in. But no one followed. The room stayed empty, just the stranger, standing there alone.
"I asked you, why are you here?"
The young man turned, offering a bright, genuine smile. "Brother-in-law, you really have a nice place!"
Adrian stiffened. "Brother... what?"
"Oh... I’m really sorry about earlier," the young man said quickly. "If my brother had told me who you were, I wouldn’t have acted like that."
Adrian frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I said I’m sorry about what happened at the gym, brother-in-law," the boy continued, lowering his head apologetically. "That’s why my brother sent me here."
Adrian’s confusion deepened.
"I’m here to take care of you," he added. "As your personal nurse, until your ankle is completely healed."
Adrian frowned, still confused. "What? I don’t understand."
"I guess it’s time I properly introduce myself," the young man said. He straightened and offered his hand. "My name is Maxwell Marcone. I’m the youngest son in the Marcone family, the last born male. And Matteo Marcone... he’s my older brother."
Adrian blinked, completely thrown off. "What?"
Maxwell took a quick step forward, panic flashing across his face. "Please don’t send me away," he said hurriedly. "My brother told me I have to stay and take care of you. If you reject me... he’ll punish me. I’ll have nowhere to go. Please, brother-in-law... don’t chase me out."
Adrian leaned back against the sofa, letting out a short, disbelieving laugh. "So this is the truth..." he muttered, shaking his head as the laughter slipped out of him.
Maxwell frowned slightly. "It’s not funny, brother-in-law. Please... just accept me. Don’t reject me. My brother will really punish me."
Maxwell added softly, "I’m really sorry about earlier... please, will you let me stay?"
Adrian looked at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
"I’m sorry," he said finally. "I can’t."