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“What’s news?” Mama asked, her voice calm but probing, her sharp gaze cutting straight through me as she lounged on the plush couch. Her brow arched as she set her wine glass down on the mahogany side table. Her eyes glinted with curiosity, but there was an undercurrent of something sharper–concern, perhaps.
I hesitated to tell her, my fingers still hovering over my phone screen, where Matteo’s message taunted me with its teasing urgency. “Just some political scandal, I’m sure,” I replied, hoping to deflect her interest. “You know how
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The Second Chance AM Runaway End
Mama wasn’t buying it. Her gaze remained fixed on me, unrelenting. “Aletta, you’ve been acting strange since you arrived. And now you’re blushing like a schoolgirl caught sneaking out. What are you hiding?”
I forced a laugh, shaking my head. “Nothing, Mama. I just need to check the news.” My grip was tightening on the remote. Matteo’s voice still echoed in my mind from his call, taunting and swallowing my nerves. I flicked the
television on and navigated to the news channel.
The dramatic breaking news banner filled the screen. My heart raced as a reporter’s voice boomed, announcing.
“In an unexpected turn of events, a shocking video involving prominent families in Milan has surfaced,”
My stomach knotted as the footage played: Lorenzo and Stefania, tangled together in the bridal chamber–my bridal chamber. The one meant for me. The grainy video didn’t need to be high–definition to convey its message.
The betrayal was clear.
The reporter’s voice continued, “The footage was aired after the bride, Aletta Vitale, disappeared before her wedding with the prominent CEO of Corvino’s Drugs & Co., Lorenzo Corvino. Stefania Volante, the woman in the footage with Lorenzo Corvino, is half–sister of the runaway bride.”
Mama sat up straighter, her expression hardening as she stared at the screen. “Lorenzo and… Stefania,” she murmured, her voice dripping with disbelief. “Now, a footage of what they did. Their family names have finally been brought to their knees. And by your hand, I presume?”
I nodded, my jaw clenched tight. “That footage was taken by a surveillance camera I installed in the bridal
chamber. I placed it there to watch Lorenzo’s reaction with my interior design in the room but it served another
purpose.”
“Is it you
who uploaded it online?” Mama asked. “Is that the main reason why you seek my help?”
“I can say I was the one who asked Matteo to do that for me,” I admit. “I told him that this was the first thing to
be exposed. I called it an appetizer.” My voice wavered slightly, a mix of anger and satisfaction seeping through. “Seeing it now… it feels worse than I imagined
Mama’s lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing. “Humiliating,” she said, her tone sharp, “but also brilliant. This will tear them apart. Lorenzo, Stefania, the Corvinos and Volantes–none of them will recover easily
I looked away from the screen, unable to stomach another second of the footage, though it looped again like a cruel reminder. “They deserve it,” I said, my voice cold. “I wanted the world to see them for what they are. Hypocrites. Liars. Traitors.”
Mama’s hand rested on my shoulder, her grip steadying me. “And they will. But this is only the beginning, Aletta. You must keep your focus. They will hunt you down. You started a war.”
I nodded, biting my lip. Matteo’s precision in pulling this off hadn’t surprised me, but it unsettled me in ways 1 wasn’t ready to admit. “This is really the beginning. Mama. I have all the bombs to ruin them. As I said, that was just to make them experience humiliation”
Mama nodded. Full of support in her eyes for me. At least she was not like Papa who was so weak and controllable of Mikaela
My phone buzzed on the table, and I hesitated before picking it up seeing the name in the Caller ID.
“It’s the emperor…” Mama said, reading Matteo’s name. “Why not answer it?”
I sighed. “Matteo?” I uttered his name the moment I swiped my phone’s screen to answer. “I thought I already said that you-‘
“I miss your voice already.” His voice was calm, smooth. Too calm. He chuckled. “Watching the news, Damsel? Don’t forget who gave you the match to light the fire.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I am. You’ve made your point that I should trust you.”
“Good,” he said, and I could hear the faintest hint of amusement in his tone. “Consider it proof that I keep my promises. This is only the start.”
Mr finnare tightened and the nhan “And the rest of it?”
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The Second Chance for Murway Bride
promises. This is only the start.”
My fingers tightened around the phone. “And the rest of it?”
“When the time is right,” Matteo replied. “For now, let them squirm.”
I ended the call abruptly, setting the phone down harder than I intended. My thoughts spiraled.
Mama’s voice pulled me back. “So, you trust the mafia emperor to be your acquaintance, right? When will you tell him you know who he really is?”
I met Mama’s piercing gaze. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I trust his hatred for the Corvinos and Volantes. For now, that’s enough. And him being the emperor… Well, I don’t think I should tell him I knew that already. He has his reasons for hiding it. Let him be what he wanted to be.”
Mama expression softened, but only slightly. “I just don’t want you to get hurt Matteo Santoro can protect you if he is sincerely helping you for some uncanny reason. But if he’s only using you, just what Lorenzo and the Corvinos did to you, then… all I can say is guard your heart. If you survive Lorenzo, you might not be with Matteo. A man like him is a predator if he wants to.”
I forced a small smile, though unease prickled at my spine. “I can handle him, Mama.”
“I believe you,” Mama replied and left me in the living room.
I looked at my phone’s screen reading the incoming message from Matteo. I sighed. I said that I could handle him, but in my mind, I was starting to crumble. Matteo’s teasing way to remind me of my boldness with him that night made me feel bad why I let him see that intimate part of me. I feel bad but I admit… I feel excited too
As I made my way to my room, I couldn’t shake the weight of my mother’s expectations on the implications of Matteo’s role in helping me. Closing the door behind me, I sank onto the bed, staring at the phone in my hand.
Matteo’s name lingered on the screen, a silent reminder of the tangled web I was caught in
Another text arrived.
MATTEO You owe me a proper goodbye this time, Damsel. Don’t make me chase you,
I typed back before I could overthink it
ME: I don’t owe you anything.
MATTEO: Oh, you do and you will
I set the phone aside, my mind raced with questions and possibilities. Of course, Matteo Santoro wasn’t just a player in this game, he was the emperor. Whether I liked it or not, he will have me as long as he wants.
