[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

She didn’t stop, her words tumbling out in a broken, desperate flood, begging for a redemption she felt she didn’t deserve.

For a long time, Matteo sat there, letting the tears fall silently down his face as the storm inside him slowly began to settle. He didn’t want to pick apart every wound or revisit every painful detail of the past. He knew that if he said too much, if he dug too deeply into everything he had endured, it would only awaken a fury and pain so deep that he might not be able to move past it. He wanted to heal, not reopen old scars.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Matteo finally pulled himself together and lifted his head to look directly at her.

"It’s fine, Mom," Matteo said, his voice raw and quiet, carrying the weight of a man choosing peace over bitterness.

His mother stopped crying for a fraction of a second, her breath catching as she looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Mom... I forgive you," Matteo said softly.

She stared at him, stunned, as if she couldn’t quite believe the words were real.

"Yes, Mom," Matteo continued, his gaze steady, though a deep melancholy lingered in his eyes. "I forgave you a long time ago. But I won’t sit here and pretend everything is wiped away overnight, because the pain is still real. You need to understand that I have forgiven you... but healing takes a very long time. Maybe one day, with time, I’ll forget the sting of it all. But right now? I forgive you, even if I haven’t forgotten what happened."

He wasn’t erasing the past, and he wasn’t pretending the agony never existed. The scars from everything he went through were still carved into his soul, but he was laying the heavy burden down for his own peace.

Hearing those words, knowing he had forgiven her, yet seeing the quiet, unhealed grief still written across his face, shattered whatever composure his mother had left. A fresh wave of heavy, uncontrollable sobs wracked her body.

Slowly, Matteo sat up straighter before rising to his feet.

As he stood, his mother rose as well, trembling so violently she could barely keep her footing. She looked up at him, a broken woman standing before the son she had abandoned to the dark.

Matteo stepped closer and reached out, gently taking her trembling hands in his. He squeezed them softly, his voice a gentle murmur. "It’s okay, Mom. It’s fine..."

That simple touch, so full of an unearned, heartbreaking grace, completely undid her.

With a choked, agonizing cry, she lurched forward, throwing her arms around his waist and pulling him into a desperate, crushing embrace. She buried her face into his chest, clutching at the back of his jacket as she cried uncontrollably, her whole body shaking with decades of accumulated sorrow, regret, and a mother’s fierce, aching love for the son she had missed so much.

"I know... I know it’s going to take time for your heart to truly mend," she sobbed into his chest, her voice muffled and broken. "I know, my son... I missed you so much. I missed watching you grow, I missed every single piece of your life. I’m so sorry... my baby, I’m so sorry..."

Standing there in the quiet room, holding the mother who had broken his world and now wept to put the pieces back together, Matteo closed his eyes. The remaining chill in his chest finally gave way, and as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close in return, the last of the ghosts finally let go.

"I’m sorry too, Mom," Matteo murmured, his voice thick with a newfound peace. "I’m sorry for every disappointment I might have caused you over the years. But I promise you... from now on, I will only do my best to be better. For myself, for Adrian, and for everyone who truly matters."

His mother pulled back slightly, her hands resting gently on his arms as she looked up at him with a soft, watery smile. "You don’t have to push yourself so hard, son. Just take your time."

She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, her expression shifting with sudden curiosity. "By the way... where is Adrian? Did he not come in with you?"

"He’s outside in the car," Matteo answered, a fond, gentle curve touching his lips. "I would have brought him inside with me, but he’s exhausted from the trip. But don’t worry—one of these days, we’ll both come back here together."

His mother’s eyes softened even more at the mention of Adrian.

Matteo took a slow, steadying breath, preparing himself to cross a bridge he had expected to be much harder. He looked straight into her eyes. "Mom... I’m going to marry him."

She blinked, slightly taken aback.

"I’m getting married to Adrian soon," Matteo continued, his voice firm and unwavering. "I heard from my brothers that you have reservations about two men being together, but I want you to understand something. The love I found with Adrian means everything to me. There is no woman in this world I could ever love the way I love him, or even look at the way I look at him. He is my life. I hope you can understand that."

His mother stared at him for a quiet moment, watching the fierce, protective devotion written all over his face. Then, a soft, understanding smile broke across her lips.

"You really love him that much, don’t you?" she asked gently.

Matteo nodded instantly, his expression softening into something entirely unguarded, looking for a fleeting second like a young boy laying his heart bare. "Yes, Mom. I love him so much that I can’t even express it in words."

To his surprise, his mother let out a soft, reassuring laugh and shook her head. "Oh, my son... you completely misunderstood what I said to your brothers. I never said men couldn’t love men or that you couldn’t be with a man. What I meant... what I was talking about with Mark and Maxwell... was entirely different."

Matteo frowned, looking at her in confusion.

"Come, sit down," she said, gesturing toward the sofa.

They walked over and sat down side by side. She folded her hands in her lap, her expression turning serious as she looked at him.

"Understand me first before you judge me, Matteo," she began softly. "Maxwell loves you and has always wanted to follow in your footsteps. "Mark is much the same. But when Mark brought Charles around back then, I did speak to him harshly, yes. But it was only when the two of us were alone."

She paused before continuing. "But it wasn’t because I was against two men loving each other, and it certainly wasn’t because I wanted to tear you and your twin apart. Back then... the truth is, what I noticed was that Mark hadn’t truly healed from his past. He was still carrying the pain of Stella’s betrayal. When he suddenly chose Charles, I didn’t believe he was genuinely in love yet. I thought he was simply rebounding, looking for comfort after having his heart broken."

Her voice softened. "I was worried that he was making a decision from pain instead of love."

She paused, letting out a soft sigh.

"What you felt when you met Adrian is entirely different from what Mark felt. When I questioned Mark, I saw that he wasn’t emotionally ready. I told him to slow down not because I forbid it, but because I saw that they were just blindly following your footsteps."

"They thought, ’If my brother can do it, I can do it too.’ Mark didn’t truly understand what it takes to commit to someone like Charles. I was afraid that after a few years, when the reality hit them, they wouldn’t be able to keep up and someone would get hurt. I wasn’t trying to send your twin away from you; I was only trying to make sure they knew what they were doing."

She looked directly at Matteo, making sure he understood.

"And as for Maxwell? I took him with me because your younger brother was simply being lazy. He didn’t want to work, he didn’t want to build anything of his own, he just wanted to coast on the fact that he has a wealthy family. He was drifting through life without any seriousness or direction. That is why I had to deal with him the way I did. It had nothing to do with prejudice."

She reached out, gently patting Matteo’s hand.

"So please, son, don’t ever think I wanted to forbid your happiness or drive your brothers away from you. I only wanted them to be sure, unlike you. You have always been fierce and utterly determined, when you go after something, you conquer it. They just needed to learn how to do the same."

"Moreover, I never truly sent Charles away when Mark brought him to me. I only pushed back because I wanted Mark to be certain about what he wanted. But coming back now and seeing how Charles and Mark are actually working through things and building a real relationship, I can see that they’re finding their footing."

She offered him a warm, motherly smile. "I just want all my boys to be happy. And looking at you now... I know you’ve already found your forever with Adrian."

Matteo sat back against the cushions, letting a long, heavy breath escape his lips as the last of his old resentment finally dissolved away.

"Okay, Mom," Matteo said. "Now I understand. I was just so angry back then because I thought you were trying to tear us apart for being with men."

"I’m sorry," she whispered.

Matteo offered a faint, understanding smile. "It’s okay, Mom. I have to go now... but I promise I’ll come around again."

Her face lit up with genuine hope. "Please do."

"I will," Matteo replied.

He turned to leave, but his mother hesitated for a moment before looking at him again. She slowly opened her arms. "Can I get a hug?" she asked softly.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Matteo stepped back into her embrace. His mother held him tightly for a long moment, burying her face against his shoulder as though trying to make up for all the years they had lost. Eventually, she pulled away with a soft, contented sigh.

She walked beside him to the front entrance and stood on the porch, watching and waving warmly as Matteo made his way down the pathway.

Maybe forgiveness... Matteo thought as he walked toward the waiting vehicle. Maybe that’s really all it takes.

When he reached the car, one of the bodyguards quickly opened the door for him. Matteo slid into the back seat beside Adrian.

Adrian immediately turned toward him, his eyes filled with eager curiosity. "How did it go?"