Chapter 31: I Do
Matteo gritted his teeth. He would never consider Catherine Laine — the woman who seduced his father and took the place of his actual mother in the family — as his mother, yet he had to politely call her that or risk his father’s ire.
He still needed that bastard of a father for now, and it wouldn’t do well to offend him so early.
"My apologies, Mother," Matteo said, nearly spitting out the last word. "Might I ask why you’re calling?"
"I’m concerned for you," Catherine simpered, yet Matteo could detect the glee in her voice. "Pictures of you with that girl are floating all over the internet! Matteo, I know men have needs, but surely you could have chosen better than to sleep with your secretary?"
"Would you rather I sleep with the maids instead, like how my father did with you?" Matteo retorted, and he was rewarded with a muffled curse from the other end of the line. He would pay for that later, but cutting her down now gave him a brief moment of vindictive pleasure.
"Of course not, my darling son," Catherine said, with more saccharine sweetness. "But you must admit this is a blight on your professional reputation. Not only are the shareholders blowing up our phones, the company is being dragged through the mud. And think about poor Emmeline! How could you jeopardize our relationship with the Hawthornes for some random girl?"
"I have it under control," Matteo insisted, his eyebrow twitching with irritation. "The news will die down in a few days."
He had no doubt that Catherine must have spread the news personally to the Hawthornes, in a bid to apologize for his misdeeds and make herself and her son look better in comparison.
Meanwhile, Amelia watched the minute change of expressions on Matteo’s face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that his ’mother’ was giving him grief over the phone, most likely because of her. Guilt swam through her veins, and she stared down at her knees.