Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Matteo’s Jealousy in the Open
Unable to watch any longer, Adrian stood up abruptly.
"Where are you going?" Charles asked.
He didn’t answer.
Instead of heading for their table, he pushed through the crowd toward the main bar, the one out in the open, where everyone could see.
He took a seat at the counter, fully exposed under the low lights, and signaled the bartender.
"The strongest thing you have."
He needed sothing to drown the sudden, hollow ache in his chest.
As Adrian waited, staring straight ahead at the rows of amber bottles, his focus fixed on the glass in front of him.
Across the club, in the VIP section, one of the Marcone bodyguards had already spotted him.
The man moved quickly, stepping toward the booth where Matteo sat. Another guard shifted aside, allowing him through.
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.
"Boss... Adrian is here."
Matteo’s expression didn’t change.
"Where?"
The guard nodded toward the bar. "Far end."
Matteo followed his line of sight.
And there he was.
Matteo’s laughter died instantly. He shifted his gaze, his eyes narrowing as they found Adrian.
Adrian sat at the bar with his back to the center of the club. He didn’t look around. He didn’t look back.
His attention stayed on his drink, as nothing else existed.
Suddenly, a striking woman dressed to turn heads approached Adrian. She leaned lightly against the bar, a confident, knowing smile on her lips. "You look too handso to be drinking alone," she said. "Mind if I join you?"
Adrian didn’t react at first. Normally, he would have said no.
But this ti, he only gave a small, tired nod.
"Fine... sure."
From where his friends were sitting, Frank leaned closer to Charles. "What ga is your friend playing?"
Charles chuckled. "If it were your man sitting with soone else, would you just sit there and do nothing?"
Frank glanced at him.
Charles t his look and smirked. "Let’s just watch him."
At Matteo’s section, his jaw tightened, the tension visible.
"What’s wrong?" Mark asked.
Matteo leaned closer, his voice low. "Adrian is right there... at the back bar."
He nodded in his direction.
Mark followed his brother’s gaze, a mischievous glint entering his eyes. "Wow... who is that beautiful creature sitting next to him? My God, Adrian has an incredible eye. They look very... compatible."
Matteo turned to his twin, looking like he wanted to throttle him. "Mark, not now."
Mark raised a brow, unfazed. "What? I’m just looking at two beautiful people sitting side by side."
Matteo’s voice dropped, tight with warning. "Can you just stop? This isn’t the ti."
"Oh, look!" Mark continued, leaning forward to get a better view. "It looks like they’re already trading numbers. Wow, they’re linking up so quickly. It’s like they were made for each other."
Matteo said nothing.
But his jaw tightened, his grip around the glass hardening as the jealousy burned quietly beneath the surface.
On Adrian’s side, the lady beside him smiled. "I ca with my friends. I don’t usually co out much."
Adrian gave a small nod. "Sa."
She gestured lightly toward the crowd. "They’re over there."
Adrian followed her hand. It happened to be in the sa direction as Matteo’s side. Even with his poor vision, he tried to focus, as if he could make out where her friends were.
And then—
His eyes landed on Matteo.
For a second, everything stilled.
Then Adrian looked away, like it ant nothing.
The lady kept talking, asking if he had co alone. Adrian turned slightly, as if trying to follow her gesture again.
In that split second—
His eyes locked with Matteo’s.
Instead of looking away or acting caught, Adrian leaned closer to the woman. He moved with slow, deliberate ease, murmuring sothing into her ear that made her flush and smile.
"Wow," Mark said, barely holding back a laugh. "Eventually, we’re going to be planning a wedding at this rate."
That was the breaking point.
Matteo stood so abruptly that he nearly knocked over his drink. Without a word, he moved down from the raised VIP section, his bodyguards closing in behind him as he pushed through the crowded dance floor.
Adrian saw him coming.
He didn’t move.
As Matteo approached, like a storm closing in, Adrian leaned even closer to the woman and murmured, "You really are beautiful."
Matteo reached the bar, his presence heavy, cutting through the space between them.
"Adrian."
Adrian didn’t even blink.
He kept talking, letting out a soft laugh at sothing she said, acting as if Matteo wasn’t even there.
"Adrian," Matteo repeated, his voice tight with suppressed rage.
Still nothing.
Adrian reached for his drink, his attention fixed on the woman beside him.
The woman, however, recognized who was standing over them.
Her expression shifted instantly, color draining from her face as she started to slide out of her seat, clearly shaken.
"You don’t have to be scared," Adrian said smoothly, finally acknowledging the tension but not the man causing it. "The person standing here... his existence ans nothing to ."
Matteo’s eyes flashed with sothing dangerous. He turned to the woman, his voice cutting sharply through the music.
"Leave. Now."
She didn’t hesitate.
She slipped away quickly, disappearing into the crowd.
From across the room, Charles leaned slightly toward Frank, both of them watching closely.
"Well," Charles murmured, a faint smirk on his lips, "the real show starts now."
Matteo’s hand ca down, gripping Adrian’s arm firmly, ready to pull him away. "If you drag
out of here like you usually do, Matteo," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, quiet level that cut through the club’s roar, "I swear it will be the end of us. Completely."
He stepped closer, unflinching. "They are all scared of you," Adrian said, gesturing vaguely to the trembling stranger and the silent onlookers, "but I do not care who you are. Your na doesn’t intimidate ."
With a sudden, sharp movent, Adrian shoved his palm against Matteo’s chest, pushing the mob boss back a step. It was a move that would have cost anyone else their life, but Matteo stood there, stunned by the sheer audacity of the man in front of him.
Watching from the safety of the VIP sections, Mark and Tony leaned against the railing. Mark took a slow sip of his drink, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched his brother get shoved in public.
"It’s like your boss just found his boss," Mark murmured to Tony, his eyes dancing with amusent. "Or should I say, your friend finally t his match."
Tony didn’t respond...
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