But the case? It was buried. It was wiped away, suppressed, silenced, like it never even happened. That was my first real lesson in this world: if you have enough power, you can bury anything, even blood."
He paused, his eyes pained. "That was when my life got harder. I realized I had to toughen up, so I began building my own circle."
Matteo’s voice grew heavy, burdened by the ghosts of a childhood shaped by violence. "My father never told I was wrong. He never punished . He believed it wasn’t my fault, that they had it coming."
"And because he didn’t stop ... I only got worse."
"Mark cried for days when he found out what I’d done. He blad , and we fought bitterly. Back then, I thought he was ungrateful... like he couldn’t see I’d done it for him. It took a long ti to understand how deeply I’d hurt him."
"My mother blad my father for what I was becoming, for letting turn into sothing dark. But my father stood by . He said I did the right thing. My mother begged to stop... to let go of that part of myself. And I promised her I would."
His voice softened. "I really wanted to."
Matteo’s gaze drifted to the window, his expression hardening. "But then Marco started again. I didn’t want to fight him... but I reached my limit. I wanted him dead. I planned to poison his food. My mother found out, and it failed. But when Marco realized what I’d tried to do... he was terrified."
Matteo’s voice turned colder. "The bullying stopped that day."
"My mother was devastated. She cried, saying I had tried to kill my own blood. I tried to explain the years of tornt, but she told no reason in the world gave the right to think of murder."
"In the end, I was the reason they divorced. She believed my father had ruined my soul, and she couldn’t live with what I had beco. Even after the poisoning attempt, my father still didn’t bla . He blad Marco."
Matteo gripped Adrian’s hand tighter. "When my mother finally left for abroad, Mark, Marissa, and Maxwell chose to go with her. It was just Marco and in the house. I lived in constant fear of my own impulses, I had to stay away from him, because I knew that if I didn’t, I would eventually finish what I started."
Years later, after Mark finished university with Marissa, they decided to co back ho."
A brief pause. "My mother never forgave . From the day she left my father’s house, she never spoke to again. She wouldn’t take my calls, if she heard my voice, she would hang up imdiately. Even after Mark returned, nothing changed. If she called him and realized I was there, she would end the call the mont she heard ."
"It got worse when the news got to her that I was now known as the devil in the city... she blocked everywhere," Matteo said.
Adrian said nothing. He just looked at him, listening in silence, his eyes already red with unshed tears.
He looked at Adrian. "That’s why, when Mark was kidnapped, I nearly lost my mind. I knew that if anything happened to him, my mother would never forgive ... and I would lose the only piece of my past that still saw as human. Mark grew up instead of fighting . When I was wrong, he made see it gently. He never judged . He just stayed."
Matteo said. "So when he was taken... I was terrified. My desperation to save him led to that night, the night that cost your family everything. I want you to know, Adrian... that was the first ti I ever felt true regret. That mistake has haunted every single day since. I never thought fate would bring you to ."
"Adrian," Matteo called softly.
Adrian looked up, his eyes glassy, shimring with tears he could no longer hold back.
"I know the world calls a devil," Matteo said. "But there’s still a part of that hasn’t changed... a part that’s still human. I don’t hurt people unless they co for , unless they force my hand."
His voice lowered. "What happened that night... I’m sorry. Truly. I didn’t intend for it to happen that way."
"Please... from the bottom of your heart, find a way to truly forgive . Not because you love and feel like you have no choice... but because you want to. Please, baby... forgive ." Matteo moved closer, pulling him into a tight embrace.
Adrian couldn’t speak; his throat tightened as everything Matteo had said settled inside him.
Tears slipped down his face, not just from pain, but from the weight of understanding.
Because this wasn’t just Matteo’s past.
This was about his family too.
He had already said he forgave Matteo. But now, doubt crept in.
Did I really forgive him... or was I just letting it slide because I already love him?
He didn’t have an answer. So he stayed silent.
Matteo tightened his arms around him. "I wish I could apologize in a way that actually makes it right. I’m really sorry." He repeated it, his voice low and genuine.
Adrian sobbed against his shoulder, unable to find the words, and Matteo held him tighter.
"The reason I’m telling you all this..." Matteo said quietly, "is because it’s starting again. Marco has started again."
He paused, his voice heavy.
"And I don’t want to beco that person again. I don’t want to hurt anyone... but he keeps pushing ."
Adrian pulled back slowly, searching his face. "What really happened?"
Matteo ran a hand over his face, exhaling. "For years, I’ve stepped aside. I’ve let him take what he wants, just to keep the family from falling apart. I never cared about the family fortune. I was always ready to walk away if things got too much."
His voice hardened.
"But this project... this is mine."
He shook his head slightly. "I spent months recovering after I was shot, studying real estate, learning the legal side, building connections with my own money."
"And now he wants to take it from ."
Matteo looked up at Adrian, his eyes searching and genuinely conflicted. "I don’t want to fight him, Adrian. He’s my brother. If I fight him, it will destroy so much. But if I don’t, I lose everything I’ve worked for."
"I’m standing at a crossroads, and for the first ti, I don’t see a path that doesn’t end in ruin."
"If I tell my father, he’ll tell to fight for what’s mine, but I don’t want to. I just want him to leave alone. I already handed over the family business to him, why is he trying to destroy what I built on my own?"
"What am I supposed to do, Adrian? If I move against him now, I’ll be the villain, but what about what he’s doing to ?" Matteo’s frustration snapped, his fist slamming hard against the mattress.
Adrian reached out, his touch gentle. "Alright... calm down, baby. Just breathe. You haven’t eaten anything since we got back... I’m sure of it. How about I have the maid prepare sothing for you first?"
Matteo shook his head against the pillows. "I’m not hungry. I just want to hold you."
"Alright, baby," Adrian whispered. He leaned back against the headboard, pulling the covers over himself and gesturing for Matteo to co closer.
Matteo slid under the covers and rested against his chest. Adrian wrapped the blanket around them both, holding him close. As Matteo settled in, Adrian began to stroke his back, slow and soothing, his touch steady and calm.
"It’s okay," Adrian murmured, continuing to run his hand over Matteo’s shoulders. "You have now. You don’t have to carry this alone."
They lay in the quiet for a long mont, the tension slowly draining from Matteo’s fra under Adrian’s touch.
Then, Matteo’s voice broke the silence, sudden and unyielding.
"Move in with ."
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