Everything seemed calm—

Until Tony spoke.

"Oh, look who’s finally here," he said lazily. "The man whose father-in-law almost killed him yesterday."

Mark immediately looked up. "What are you talking about?"

Tony blinked dramatically. "Wait... your brother didn’t tell you? Adrian’s father almost killed him yesterday."

Matteo’s expression darkened instantly.

"Tony," he said warningly. "I’m here to eat. Don’t start."

Tony shrugged. "What? I’m not even talking to you. I’m talking to Mark."

Mark stood up immediately, his face pale with concern. He quickly moved toward Matteo, checking him over in panic, his hands moving across his body.

The moment he reached his arm, Matteo winced sharply.

Mark’s expression changed instantly. "What happened to your arm?" he asked.

"Matteo, "what happened?" he asked again, more seriously this time.

"There’s nothing to worry about, Mark," Matteo replied.

Mark looked at him. "How bad is it?"

Tony leaned back in his chair, as if enjoying a movie.

"You don’t have to stress yourself," he said. "I have the full story."

Matteo shot him a dangerous look.

But Tony ignored it completely.

"Your brother went to meet Adrian’s father yesterday, and the man pulled a gun on him. From what I heard, he fully intended to kill him, but somehow Matteo made it out alive." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The entire table went silent.

Tony pointed lazily toward Adrian.

"I told you already," he continued. "This teddy bear isn’t the right choice for your brother."

The moment those words left his mouth.

Matteo slammed his hand against the table.

The loud sound echoed through the dining room. "If you say one more word about him, Tony, I will make sure you never speak again," he threatened, his voice a low, lethal growl.

Tony raised both hands dramatically. "Alright. Relax."

Mark ignored Tony completely and looked back at Matteo.

"How bad is the injury?" he asked again.

"It’s nothing serious," Matteo replied. "Just a graze. I’m fine."

Mark slowly sat back down, though his expression remained tense.

Adrian wanted to snap back at Tony, but remembering Matteo’s warning to stay away from him, he forced himself to stay quiet instead.

Still, he stared at Tony for a long moment.

Tony noticed immediately and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don’t give me that look."

Adrian didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned to look at Matteo, the worry in his eyes returning the moment he remembered the injury.

His appetite disappeared instantly.

Slowly, he pushed his chair back.

"I’m not hungry anymore," he said softly.

Then he looked at Matteo. "If you’re done eating... come upstairs and meet me."

Without waiting for a response, Adrian turned and walked out of the dining room.

"Baby, wait," Matteo called after him.

Tony snorted lightly. "Who cares?"

Matteo immediately stood up and pointed at him.

"I’ll deal with you later."

Then he turned and followed Adrian upstairs.

Just as Matteo started following Adrian upstairs, Tony’s voice rang out behind them.

"You two will still end up separating anyway," he said mockingly. "Adrian is just another pretty little thing you got attached to. He stayed longer than the others, sure... but in the end, he’ll leave too."

Adrian stopped mid-step.

The words hit hard.

Slowly, he turned around.

Matteo immediately reached for him, sensing the anger rising inside him. "Baby—"

But Adrian shoved his hand away and stormed back toward the dining room.

Tony barely had time to react before Adrian was standing right in front of him, eyes locked on Tony.

"No," Adrian snapped. "Not only are we going to stay together, but I’m going to end up marrying him!" Adrian shouted, slamming his hands onto the table. "He will put a ring on my finger, and you will be forced to watch from the sidelines, single and bitter with no one to ever love you. You’ll end up dying alone because you’re a miserable, hateful man who doesn’t even know what love looks like!"

The room went silent.

"You’ll end up old, angry, and alone," Adrian continued harshly. "No one to love you. No one cares if you live or die. Because all you know how to do is destroy people."

Tony let out a cold laugh. "And what else can you offer him besides being a pretty boy? You’re soft, Adrian. You’re nothing but a useless, fragile piece of glass."

Without a second thought, Adrian grabbed the glass of water sitting directly in front of Tony and hurled the contents into his face.

Water dripped down Tony’s clothes and onto the table. "Yes, I’m soft? What are you going to do about it? Kill me? Try it... Try again... you bitter soul again!"

Tony shot to his feet.

The tension exploded instantly.

Matteo moved forward immediately, but stopped himself.

He wanted to step in, but he knew that if he stopped Adrian now, Adrian would feel like he was taking Tony’s side. Besides, he knew Tony wouldn’t dare lay a finger on Adrian while he was standing there.

So he stayed close, watching carefully.

Mark suddenly slammed his hand hard against the table.

"Enough!" he shouted.

The entire room froze.

"Both of you—stop!"

Adrian turned toward Mark, furious, his voice trembling with anger.

"You sat there while he kept running his mouth and didn’t say a single word! You never told him to stop! But now that I’m standing up for myself, suddenly you want to play peacemaker?"

He shook his head sharply.

"No way. Sit there and watch till the end."

Mark immediately leaned back into his seat and made a quick motion of zipping his lips shut.

Then Adrian turned back to Tony.

His chest rose and fell heavily as he stepped closer, pointing directly at him.

"Listen carefully, Tony," Adrian said coldly. "I don’t care who you are or what position you have in this family. The next time you see me, you’d better run, because I honestly don’t care what kind of idiot you think I am."

Tony opened his mouth again, but before Adrian could continue the fight, Matteo finally stepped in.

Matteo finally stepped forward, placing a hand on Adrian’s shoulder.

Adrian immediately turned toward him, still breathing hard, anger burning in his eyes.

"Don’t tell me to stop," he snapped. "You all heard him. I did nothing wrong to him. I’ve never done anything to him."

Matteo didn’t argue.

Instead, he gently held Adrian’s face in his hands.

Adrian calmed slightly, though his chest was still rising and falling heavily. He looked ready to snap again—

But Matteo suddenly pulled him into a deep kiss, cutting off the anger before another word could leave his mouth.

The words died instantly.

The room fell silent.

When Matteo finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against Adrian’s and spoke softly.

"Calm down, baby. Don’t let someone like him stress you out."

He brushed his thumb gently against Adrian’s cheek.

"He doesn’t deserve that kind of reaction from you, okay?"

Slowly, Adrian’s breathing began to steady.

Mark looked at the two of them quietly and finally understood something.

They really were meant for each other.

Meanwhile, Tony stood there watching them, his expression dark with irritation.

Adrian finally looked back at Matteo, though his face was still stubbornly hard.

Matteo smiled softly. "Smile for me, baby."

Adrian narrowed his eyes slightly. "If you want me to smile, then tell me how much you love me. Tell everyone here that you’re going to marry me and that you’re never leaving me."

A soft look crossed Matteo’s face instantly.

He moved closer, gently brushing Adrian’s hair back.

"Beautiful," he murmured softly. "I love you more than anything in this world."

His eyes stayed locked on Adrian’s.

"And yes, I’m going to marry you. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me forever."

Only then did Adrian finally smile.

"I love you so much," he whispered.

Matteo smiled back immediately. "I love you more, baby."

Mark looked away for a second, unable to stop himself from blushing.

"Seriously," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Two crazy people completely crazy in love."

Matteo chuckled softly before holding his hand out toward Adrian.

"Alright, babe. Let’s go upstairs."

Adrian immediately took his hand.

Together, they walked toward the stairs side by side—

While Tony silently watched them leave.

When they got upstairs...