"Trespassers?!" Annalise hissed. "My daughter is engaged to you! I am your future mother-in-law―"
"Future," Matteo pointed out. "Right now, you are no one to . Even after the unfortunate day I marry your daughter, you have no right to have any input in my life."
"Is this how you speak to your elders?" Annalise said, scoffing. "You were a good kid, Matteo. And now that you’ve grown, your wings have hardened, haven’t they? It must be that little bitch you’re keeping in your apartnt that has been whispering things to you―"
"Whoever I keep in my apartnt is none of your concern," Matteo reiterated. "Do watch your words carefully, or there wouldn’t even be an engagent to speak of."
"You would dare cancel the engagent?" Annalise hissed. "After you... you... violated my daughter like that?"
"Violated?"
The corners of Matteo’s lips tilted down ever the slightest. As much as he tried, he couldn’t fill the void of mories over what had transpired after Emline had drugged him. Instantly, he felt sothing crawl over his skin, causing him to suppress the shiver.
Just then, the main lobby of the apartnt complex opened. The security team could no longer hold the crowd, and the wave of reporters had trickled in, tripping over one another as they pointed their caras at Matteo and Annalise.
Seeing their arrival, Matteo slowly turned back to look at Annalise, his shoulders relaxing.
"Even if anything happened," Matteo calmly said, making sure his voice was loud enough for the first wave of reporters to catch, "Emline was on top of . Perhaps you should check with your daughter about what actually transpired. She seems to have been the one taking advantage of a drunk, exhausted man after he had one too many drinks."
"Are you victim-shaming now?" Annalise squinted her eyes. "You think that my daughter would spread her own photos for the world to see?"
Annalise’s eyes were red with fury. She gritted her teeth, her jaw clenching tightly together as she pointed in the direction of the elevator.
"You are an engaged man," Annalise said. "Yet, you keep another woman in your soon-to-be marital ho, allowing her to warm your bed! Have you no sha?!"
"If you would like to think that way," Matteo said. He then stepped forward, and in a softer voice which only he and Annalise could hear, he said, "But if you or your daughter think that this is a way to trap in a marriage, you are sorely mistaken."
Without a second look, Matteo straightened his jacket and walked straight out of the doors. The crowd of reporters surprisingly parted for him, but their cara flashes never ceased. A good portion of them rushed behind him, attempting to get a statent, while the other half stayed behind, capturing a perfect shot of Annalise’s twisted expression.
Not only was Matteo unapologetic about the entire situation, but she wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of the mistress he was hiding under Emline’s nose. Perhaps another day. If she couldn’t catch them in the apartnt, then the next best location would be in their office.
Matteo, on the other hand, didn’t spare the reporters or Annalise any mind. Instead, he looked at his phone. Ronan had forwarded him an email, and this would require his imdiate attention.
The lab’s test results have returned with utmost efficiency. Now, he just needed a way to pinpoint the drug’s origins.
***
"Dad!" Alia exclaid, her chest feeling a hundred tons lighter when Cherry helped Michael Kentwood into the backseat of Ronan’s car. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, my dear Millie," Michael said, a kind smile on his face. He looked tired but in much better shape than before. He turned to Ronan, and a knowing glint jumped in his eyes. "And this is?"
"Ronan," Ronan introduced, stretching past the car seat to shake hands with Michael. "Ronan Sullivan. I am Alia’s colleague at work."
"Just a colleague?" Michael asked, turning to his daughter. "You’ve never ntioned such a fine young man working with you."
"I just started the job, Dad," Alia said, wrinkling her nose. "I guess you can consider Ronan a friend," she stressed the final word.
She could sense the tone of her father’s words and she had to make it clear there was nothing happening. For her father to think there was sothing so quickly after her divorce was even absurd!
Ronan, on the other hand, chuckled before starting the car. They cruised down the streets and headed straight for his apartnt.
"Matteo already handled all the paperwork," Cherry said. "The bills are all paid for, along with the check-up sessions arranged in the coming months."
She had boarded the car as well, given special instructions from Matteo to help out Alia and Ronan. While she could not understand what on earth her cousin was thinking, she dutifully obeyed his instructions. He was the one paying her salary― who was she to say no?
"Matteo Montgory," Michael echoed, testing the na on his tongue. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Alia. "Millie, be honest with ," he said, glancing quickly at Cherry and Ronan, "how did you et such a powerful man like that?"
"I didn’t do anything weird if that’s what you’re wondering," Alia said.
Michael’s expression did not lighten any bit.
Cherry sighed before she said, "We saw the news while waiting for the dication. They were reporting the leak of Emline Hawthorne’s photos."
She then pursed her lips as she looked at Ronan, then at Alia.
"There’s another thing we saw," Cherry said. She then pulled out her phone, typing so words in before passing the device to Alia.
The second Alia’s eyes landed on the screen, she nearly dropped Cherry’s phone in shock. There she was with Ronan by her side, a kebab in each of their hands, and a matching bright smile on their faces.
It was an innocent photo, but with the headlines twisting the intentions of the shot with words that did not fit, Alia felt her stomach churn. No wonder her father looked at her like that!
’ALLEGED GOLD-DIGGING MISTRESS MOVES ON; WATCH OUT, SULLIVANS!’
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