He stumbled backward and fell onto the cold pavent, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.
He stared up at her in disbelief. "What the hell did you just do?"
Olivia chuckled, flexing her fingers as if shaking off dust.
"Self-defense," she replied coolly.
"You grabbed first. I had to act. You can’t even press charges properly without embarrassing yourself."
Matteo pushed himself up slowly, his cheek already reddening.
He looked at her with a disappointed sigh.
At first, he had thought about helping her for the sake of their past. But after witnessing her attitude, a slow anger simred beneath his ribs.
The next second, pain exploded in his stomach.
Olivia’s knee drove into him before he could react.
Matteo nearly squealed, clutching his abdon as he doubled over.
"What was that for?" he gasped.
She chuckled again, colder this ti. "That was for slandering ."
With that, she turned to leave.
The night breeze lifted strands of her hair, brushing against her cheeks.
Matteo stared at her retreating back, confusion clouding his thoughts.
’Why is everything so different from what I saw?’ he thought bitterly.
Recently, he had begun dreaming strange dreams.
In them, Olivia and Eleanor fought desperately for his attention, their eyes filled with longing, their voices soft and pleading.
Yet in reality, both won were indifferent.
They did not care about his wealth, his looks, or his carefully crafted charm. They barely acknowledged him.
He inhaled deeply, the cold air stinging his lungs. ’No. She must be regretting it.’
Determined, he hurried after her.
Olivia sensed his footsteps and quickened her pace, but Matteo stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path.
She stopped abruptly, her fists clenching, ready to strike again.
"I just want to know why you’re here," Matteo said quickly, raising his hands slightly as if approaching a wild animal.
She rolled her eyes. "Work."
She tried to step around him, but he moved again.
"Is there no one accompanying you then?" he pressed.
Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but he continued, his voice growing sharper.
"If I am not wrong, then... you don’t have anyone beside you. Do you know why? Because you look down on everyone. You think you’re high and mighty. In reality, very few people would even consider being with you. Your attitude drives them away. You think no one is qualified to stand beside you. You’re destined to stay single because no man would choose soone like you."
The words hung in the air like smoke.
Olivia parted her lips to reply, anger burning at the edges of her vision, but suddenly a voice called out, "Olivia!"
Both she and Matteo turned.
Miller and Louis approached swiftly.
The mont they saw Matteo, their gazes hardened.
They positioned themselves naturally at Olivia’s side, an unspoken shield.
"We’re here because we reached an agreent," Miller said calmly.
Olivia blinked at them in confusion. "What agreent?"
"Starting Monday," Miller continued,
"Louis will accompany you on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I will be with you on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday."
Olivia frowned deeply.
"What the heck? I didn’t even agree to this! How can you both make such an agreent behind my back! And why are you acting as if I’m selecting concubines?"
Louis stepped forward with a serious expression.
"I am willing to let you marry him," he said solemnly. "As long as I hold the position of main husband."
Miller cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I am... also willing to beco a concubine," he added, then quickly corrected himself, "given the circumstances."
Matteo froze. His mind went blank. He could not believe what he was hearing.
He looked at Olivia, his voice strained. "What does this even an?"
Olivia raised a brow. "What do you think it ans?"
Matteo suddenly laughed, pointing at her.
"I understand now. You felt humiliated, so you staged this. You hired them to save face."
Olivia stared at him as though he had grown a second head.
"Are you auditioning for a brainless male lead in a short drama? Where is your logic? We just arrived. How could I possibly arrange two n at the speed of light?"
His expression faltered.
Louis rolled his eyes and pointed at Matteo dismissively.
"Even if we accept concubines, we have standards. He doesn’t et them."
Olivia almost burst out laughing. Louis truly knew how to twist a knife with elegance.
Matteo glared at Louis.
"You might be so kind of gigolo, but I am not. I am the heir of a very wealthy family."
After saying those words, he even puffed up his chest as if he was so kind of peacock begging for attention.
"Even if you want to date Olivia, it does not an everyone is lining up to feed her ego," Mateo continued lazily, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve.
"After all, aren’t you just eyeing Olivia’s money?"
His mocking didn’t even affect Louis.
He only chuckled and said in a calm voice,
"Even if that’s the case, it is proven that Olivia will hire for money; as for soone like you... she won’t look at you even if offered $100 million!"
Mateo’s ears rang as though soone had struck a bell beside his head. Heat rushed up his neck, his jaw tightening.
He stared at Louis with naked disgust. "Did I ask for your opinion? I don’t want to beco a gigolo like you!" he snapped.
Louis tilted his head slightly, amusent flickering across his face.
"Oh? So you don’t like Olivia?" he countered lightly.
Mateo subconsciously shook his head, the movent small but obvious.
Louis let out a low laugh, the sound smooth and infuriating.
"If you did not, then why are you interfering?"
His gaze shifted to Olivia, softening instantly. "It is ti to go. Let’s not waste any more ti here."
He extended his hand toward her, palm open, waiting.
For a brief second, Olivia hesitated.
’If I do not end this cleanly, he will keep following,’ she thought, irritation pulsing behind her temples.
So she placed her hand in Louis’s.
His fingers closed gently around hers, firm yet respectful.
The warmth of his touch contrasted sharply with Mateo’s earlier grip, which had felt possessive and unwelco.
Watching them, Mateo’s thoughts twisted.
’Strange,’ he mused bitterly. ’I thought no one could ever ta her temper. Yet in front of this man, her expression softened imdiately.’
His gaze darkened as he rembered sothing else.
’So she is this popular, huh? Miller and now this one?’
Before he could finish processing the thought, a sudden force slamd into his shoulder.
Miller had pushed him without hesitation.
Mateo lost his balance, the world tilting as he crashed onto the hard pavent once again.
The impact scraped his palm, a sharp sting flaring through his skin.
He looked up, fury blazing in his eyes.
"What was that for?" he barked.
Miller imdiately put on an exaggerated, overly dramatic expression, one hand covering his mouth in mock shock.
"Oh dear," he said in a syrupy tone. "I must have tripped. I truly did not notice you standing there."
The lie was so blatant it was almost insulting.
Without offering Mateo another glance, Miller adjusted his coat and turned to follow Olivia and Louis, his footsteps calm and unhurried.
Mateo remained on the ground for a mont longer.
He couldn’t believe the turn of events for a long ti.
Why... why does he feel that things weren’t supposed to go like this...?
Olivia should have begged for his attention. She should have fought and sched against Eleanor.
’And Eleanor... god knows where she is... why the heck has she blocked !’
In fact, nothing was going great with him.
The stocks that he had invested in and asked his father to invest in crashed pretty bad. Though his future self had assured him that it would soar, still... his heart was telling him that sothing ominous was going to happen.
What if his future self was lying to him and scamming him?
No... what if there was no future self and... he was getting scamd?
The more he thought, the more anxious he beca.
Because his family had invested half of their assets in the share market, their lifestyle had beco very tight.
They couldn’t afford any luxury. They couldn’t even eat lavishly!
’Is this my end... why didn’t I trust my future self... good... now I am paying for my sins! ’Mateo thought bitterly.
Just as he stood up with trembling legs, a cloaked figure approached him.
Mateo ignored him and was about to bypass him when he heard the figure say in a hoarse voice,
"Want to change your current situation?"
Mateo, already in a bad mood, shouted, "Fuck off."
"I can. I can make all your dreams co true and make sure that Olivia is at your disposal if you allow to." The cloaked figure continued in a gentle manner, his voice filled with endless patience.
Mateo froze hearing those words, his pupils widened, and he turned to look at the cloaked figure.
"Are you serious?"
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