Mark leaned back against the sofa, still laughing in shock.
"Wow."
A few seconds later, Matteo’s call ca in.
Mark picked up imdiately.
"Did you see the file?" Matteo asked from the other side of the phone.
"Yeah, I got it," Mark said, a smirk playing on his lips. "And honestly? It’s exactly what she deserves for cheating on a guy like . The karma is poetic."
Matteo chuckled faintly. "That’s all the information I could gather about him for now," he said.
Mark shook his head slowly.
"I’m honestly relieved," Mark admitted. "Because I’m 100% sure Stella has no idea her ’soulmate’ has a wife and two kids waiting for him in another country. She thinks she’s found a prize, but she’s just being used."
"Alright," Matteo replied. "When I get back tonight, we’ll talk more about how you want to handle the fallout."
"Alright, Teo. Thank you for this," Mark said, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.
He hung up and looked at Tony, who was still chuckling softly.
For a brief mont, the tension from earlier faded, replaced by the cold satisfaction of seeing soone who betrayed him finally get what they deserved.
anwhile, as they got closer to Adrian’s studio, Matteo turned toward him inside the car.
"Stay at the studio until you’re done working," Matteo said calmly. "Once I finish what I need to do at the office, I’ll co back and pick you up. I won’t be staying there long anyway. I just need to sign a few docunts and make sure everything is running smoothly."
"Okay, baby," Adrian replied softly.
Matteo reached for his hand. "And even if I co back and you’re still working, don’t worry. I’ll sit in your office and wait until you’re done so we can go ho together."
Adrian smiled faintly. "Okay, baby."
Then Matteo added softly, "If you ever need anything in this world, even if it’s just my attention, I’ll be there in a heartbeat."
Adrian’s expression softened instantly.
"I trust you, baby," he murmured again.
Matteo narrowed his eyes playfully. "Or do you want to stay with you and skip work? Because I can do that too."
Adrian laughed softly and shook his head. "No, go to your office and do your work while I do mine. Like you said, co find when you’re done. I have so finished portraits that still need my signature and a few pieces that need to be prepared for delivery to clients."
Matteo nodded. "Alright, baby. I understand. Once I’m done, I’ll co straight to your studio."
Adrian nodded happily. "Okay, baby."
A few minutes later, the car finally pulled up in front of Adrian’s studio.
Before Adrian got out, he turned toward Matteo and kissed his cheek softly.
Matteo imdiately pointed at his lips.
Adrian smiled quietly before leaning in again and kissing him properly this ti.
The kiss lasted a few soft seconds before they finally pulled apart.
Then Adrian stepped out of the car.
Matteo lowered the window slightly and waved at him.
"Goodbye, baby. I love you."
Adrian smiled warmly at him and waved back.
"I love you too."
Matteo stayed there for a mont, watching Adrian walk safely inside the studio before the car finally pulled away and headed toward his office.
Adrian stepped into the elevator and headed up to the studio.
The mont the elevator doors opened, he walked through the familiar hallway toward the main workspace. Staff mbers greeted him warmly as he passed.
"Good morning, boss."
Adrian smiled lightly at them as he continued walking.
But the mont he stepped into the main studio, his footsteps suddenly slowed.
Then stopped completely.
Everyone inside was busy working, brushes moving, papers scattered across tables, quiet conversations filling the room.
But Adrian’s eyes landed on soone he absolutely wasn’t expecting to see there.
Maxwell.
Maxwell was standing inside the studio.
Adrian froze for a second in surprise.
At that sa mont, Maxwell turned around and spotted him standing near the entrance.
Kate and Jas imdiately noticed Adrian too.
"Boss, you’re finally here!" Jas called out playfully.
Maxwell’s face lit up instantly.
He rushed toward Adrian dramatically.
"Boss!" he exclaid. "You’re finally back after disappearing for how many days? Weeks?"
Adrian laughed softly despite his confusion.
"Maxwell?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"
Maxwell blinked at him innocently.
"What do you an what am I doing here? I work here now."
Adrian stared at him in confusion.
"You’ve been coming here?"
"Of course," Maxwell replied proudly. "I told you I wanted to learn professional drawing properly, rember? Since you weren’t around much lately, I started learning the basics with everyone here."
Adrian looked genuinely surprised.
Matteo hadn’t ntioned any of this to him.
"You’ve really been coming here the whole ti?" Adrian asked again. "How long was I gone for nobody to even tell ?"
Maxwell laughed. "Don’t look so shocked. You can ask everyone. I’ve been coming regularly."
Kate nodded imdiately from behind them. "He’s actually been helping out a lot."
Adrian shook his head slightly, still surprised.
"Alright then," he said finally. "I hope you’re enjoying it at least."
"I am," Maxwell answered quickly with a grin.
Adrian smiled faintly before finally heading toward his office to drop off his things.
Not long after, Kate followed him inside with several folders and docunts.
She imdiately began updating him on everything he had missed, the finished projects that needed his signature, the pieces that still required final corrections, the client deliveries waiting to be approved, and the works that needed his final inspection before shipnt.
Adrian nodded as he looked through the files.
"Alright. I’ll attend to them one after the other."
Kate gave a small nod. "Alright, boss."
Then she quietly excused herself and left Adrian’s office.
The rest of the day beca busy quickly.
Adrian moved from one task to another, checking artwork, signing completed portraits, reviewing corrections, and supervising the studio.
Throughout it all, Maxwell stayed around the workspace, learning and helping wherever he could.
Later in the day, Adrian finally ssaged Matteo.
Hey babe, how’s it going over there?
Matteo’s reply ca almost imdiately.
It’s going well. Just missing you. How about you?
Adrian smiled unconsciously at the ssage before replying with a few blushing emojis.
It’s going well too. I miss you.
Before Matteo could reply again, another ssage from Adrian appeared.
You never told Maxwell has been coming to the studio
Matteo replied.
I honestly didn’t know. It’s not like he stays with . He’s usually with Father. Maybe Father knows about it, but Maxwell never ntioned anything to .
Adrian smiled faintly and replied.
Alright, babe.
Another ssage from Matteo ca in seconds later.
If he’s not disturbing you, then let him be. But if he gives you stress, throw him out without even thinking twice.
Adrian couldn’t help smiling at that.
He’s cool. We’re good.
Matteo replied:
Okay, love. I’ll go back to work now.
Adrian’s fingers moved quickly across the screen.
Alright, baby.
Then he finally put his phone away and returned his attention to work.
As the hours passed, he slowly began noticing sothing strange.
Whenever Maxwell was around Kate, he beca unusually attentive, listening closely to everything she said.
The sa thing happened whenever he was near Jas.
He watched carefully. Maxwell paid attention to every little detail around them.
It made Adrian quietly wonder—
Was Maxwell really there just to learn art?
Or was there another reason he kept sticking so closely to Kate and Jas?
By evening, Adrian was finally seated inside his office, stretching slightly after hours of work.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Before Adrian could answer properly, Maxwell stepped inside.
The mont he entered, he looked straight at Adrian.
"Are you tired?" Maxwell asked imdiately. "Do you need anything? What do you want to order for you? Anything at all, just ntion it."
Adrian smiled faintly and shook his head.
"I’m fine."
Maxwell nodded dramatically. "Okay, if you say you’re fine, then that’s good. But I already ordered food for everyone working in the studio today."
Then he smirked slightly.
"And I made a special order for you because soone specifically requested it."
Adrian imdiately smiled, already knowing exactly who he ant. "Matteo?"
Maxwell grinned. "Obviously."
Adrian laughed softly. "Okay, fine."
Then, as the laughter faded, Adrian suddenly rembered sothing he had been noticing the entire day.
He looked toward Maxwell carefully.
"Co here for a second."
Maxwell blinked. "What?"
"Sit down," Adrian said. "I want to ask you sothing."
Maxwell shrugged casually before walking over and sitting in the chair across from Adrian’s desk.
The mont he settled down, Adrian leaned back slightly.
"I noticed sothing today."
Maxwell raised an eyebrow.
"The way you act around Jas... and Kate."
Maxwell blinked once.
Adrian narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You pay attention to both of them equally. So now I’m confused."
A slow smile appeared on Maxwell’s face.
"Confused about what exactly?"
Adrian pointed toward him imdiately.
"Don’t act innocent. I’m asking if you like Kate... or Jas."
Maxwell suddenly laughed.
"So that’s what this is about?"
"Yes," Adrian admitted imdiately. "I genuinely can’t tell which one you’re interested in."
Maxwell tilted his head slightly before asking calmly,
"Have you ever heard of a lavender marriage?"
Adrian frowned instantly.
"What does that have to do with this?"
Maxwell smirked slightly.
"You won’t understand unless you know it first."
Still confused, Adrian grabbed his phone and searched for the aning online.
As he read through the explanation, his eyes slowly widened.
Then he slowly looked back up at Maxwell.
"Wait..."
His expression turned into complete disbelief.
"Are you saying you like both Jas and Kate?"
Maxwell smiled shalessly.
"Exactly."
Adrian stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into shocked laughter.
"Wow," he muttered. "I thought Matteo was the craziest person in your family, but I think you might actually be worse."
Maxwell looked proud instead of offended.
"What can I say?" he replied casually. "I like them both."
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