Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Broken Trust, Unbroken Love

"Babe, please, listen to me," Matteo pleaded, his eyes fierce with the fear of losing him. "I swear to you, I truly didn’t know you from the night of the accident. That part is the absolute truth."

Adrian stared at him, his heart heavy as he demanded the truth. "Then since when exactly have you known me, Matteo?"

Matteo’s heartbeat started pounding faster than usual. "I can’t tell you... I can’t tell you exactly when, because it doesn’t matter anymore. Not when the truth remains that I set that first night up. I planned everything just to make it seem like I was helping you."

Matteo’s voice cracked as he looked at him. "I was stupid, Adrian. I was desperately finding any way possible to get close to you, because the moment I saw you, I saw you differently from anyone else. And somewhere along the way, those feelings became the most real thing I’ve ever felt. I really love you, baby."

"You love me?" Adrian asked, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

Matteo nodded frantically. "Yes, baby. I love you so much. Everything I did... every single thing... was only because I wanted you to myself. I was never trying to hurt you, I swear."

Matteo finally confessed everything to Adrian, his voice thick with genuine remorse as he admitted that he was the one who had secretly ordered the club’s lights to be shut off that night, intentionally creating the chaos just so he could swoop in, pretend to be his savior, and make Adrian feel indebted to him. He had manufactured a crisis just to play the hero.

"So from the very beginning, you set up a game... and I was the idiot playing right into your hands," Adrian murmured. "I actually believed you truly helped me that night. I thought it was fate. But I was wrong. His eyes burned with hurt as he looked at Matteo. "It was just one of your tricks."

"I’m sorry," Matteo murmured, his voice breaking as he begged, the fierce mafia boss entirely brought to his knees. "Please, Adrian. Please forgive me, and don’t leave me."

Adrian let out a breathless, hollow chuckle. "Leave you...?"

A faint, painful smile touched his lips, but his eyes were filled with unshed tears. "There’s no way I could ever do that... because you succeeded, Matteo. You won. I already love you so much. I love you, yes, I do..."

His voice cracked, each word carrying a deep, quiet ache that filled the room. He wasn’t speaking from the desire to walk away, but from the pain of realizing that everything they had built, the foundation of their love, had been built on a lie from the very beginning.

Matteo pulled him closer, apologizing, desperate for Adrian to understand that his intentions were never meant to be malicious. All he had ever wanted was Adrian, to care for him, to love him, to keep him, to make him his own.

Adrian looked at him but didn’t respond to the apology. He didn’t yell, and he didn’t reassure him either. Instead, he gently pulled free from Matteo’s grip and spoke in a quiet, emotionally exhausted voice.

"We should sleep. It’s already late, and I have a lot of work at the studio tomorrow morning."

Matteo reached out, trying to stop him, his lips parting to plead again, but Adrian walked right past him toward the wardrobe. He pulled out a comfortable set of clothes that Matteo could wear, walked back, and placed them neatly on the edge of the bed.

"Shower and change into this," Adrian said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I’m going to sleep now."

Matteo watched him. The words died in his throat; For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to say or how to fix the damage he had caused.

Adrian climbed onto the bed and turned his back toward Matteo, lying down in silence. The moment his face pressed into the pillow, a heavy wave of humiliation crashed over him. He felt utterly foolish.

As he lay there, his mind kept drifting back to the very first day he met Matteo, replaying every soft word, every protective gesture, every moment he once believed was fate. Now, those same memories twisted painfully in his chest, making him realize how perfectly Matteo had managed to fool him from day one.

Silently, his tears began to fall, soaking into the pillow as he cried without a sound, his body trembling with quiet heartbreak.

Matteo stood frozen in the center of the room for a long time, his gaze fixed on Adrian’s back. Finally, with a heavy heart, he turned toward the bathroom and walked inside.

Under the stream of hot water, Matteo couldn’t block out the crushing guilt. His mind ran in circles, thinking of every possible way he could make it up to Adrian, wondering how he could ever earn back that pure trust, and praying Adrian would find it in his heart to forgive him.

He knew he was wrong to manipulate Adrian, but the thought of losing Adrian was the only thing that truly terrified him.

After his shower, Matteo stepped out of the bathroom and quietly changed into the clothes Adrian had left for him. He walked to the bed and lifted the duvet slightly, only to realize that Adrian had placed a thick pillow barrier right down the middle of the mattress between them.

Adrian lay still on his side, his eyes tightly closed as he pretended to be asleep.

Slowly, Matteo climbed onto his side of the bed. He lay on his back, keeping his distance, and stared blankly up at the ceiling. The silence in the room felt heavier than ever, pressing down on him in a way he couldn’t escape.

He stayed awake like that for a long time. He tossed and turned, trying to find sleep, but his mind wouldn’t let him rest. When he finally drifted off, it was fitful and brief.

The next morning, Matteo was the first to wake. He sat up on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face as the exhaustion of a sleepless night settled into his bones.

Not long after, Adrian stirred and slowly blinked his eyes open. He turned toward Matteo’s side of the bed, acting as though nothing had happened at all. Looking at him, he greeted Matteo in a calm voice.

"Good morning, baby."

Matteo stared at him for a moment. He didn’t know how to respond to the sudden normalcy, searching Adrian’s face for any hidden anger.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. "Are you trying to ignore me, or what?"

"Good morning, babe," Matteo finally managed to reply.

Adrian sat up on the bed and stretched his arms slightly. "I have a few things I need to handle, so I’ll be heading downstairs after I freshen up. Once you’re done, you can join me."

Before Adrian could step away, Matteo caught his wrist, his eyes pleading. "Adrian, please... can we please talk about last night?"

Adrian stopped. He looked down at Matteo’s hand around his wrist before slowly lifting his eyes to meet his gaze. "You had so many chances, Matteo. So many chances to tell me the truth... but you didn’t. You kept it to yourself and let me hear it from Kelly before you finally decided to be honest with me."

Adrian gently pulled his wrist away from Matteo’s grip. "There’s nothing left to discuss about last night," he said quietly. "All I need you to understand is that you hurt me. From the moment I met you until now, you’ve given me so many reasons not to stay in this relationship. So many reasons to walk away. But I love you, Matteo. I love you so much, and that’s why I’m still here. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you easily for this."

"I’m so sorry," Matteo said quickly. "I wanted to tell you, Rian... I really did. But I was scared. I didn’t know how you would react."

"You still should’ve told me anyway," Adrian said. "No matter how difficult it would’ve been, I would’ve handled it better back then. Anything would’ve been better than hearing it from Kelly."

"I’m so sorry, baby..."

"There’s nothing left to apologize for," Adrian cut in. He took a breath, his expression hardening as he made his terms clear. "This should stay between us. I don’t want my friends to know the truth. I know your twin brother probably knew from the beginning, he always seems to know everything about you, and that’s fine, but don’t tell him I found out the truth about what you did that night. This stays strictly between the two of us."

Leaving Matteo with those words, Adrian turned and walked into the bathroom. He freshened up, changed into his clothes, and stepped out once he was done.

Matteo sat alone on the bed, unsure of what to do or how to fix anything. Deep down, he knew everything he had done was wrong. He had built their beginning on a lie, and now he had to face the consequences.

Eventually, he forced himself to move. He went to the bathroom, quickly freshened up, and changed back into the clothes.

When Matteo walked downstairs, he found Adrian sitting at the dining table. The second Adrian saw him, he smiled brightly, acting completely normal again. "What took you so long, baby? I’ve been waiting here for you."

Hearing Adrian call him "baby" and seeing him force a sweet, normal smile only made the knife twist deeper in Matteo’s chest. The normalcy felt forced and that alone was a punishment of its own, cutting him from the inside out.

Matteo swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to match his tone. "I was just freshening up and changing before coming down."

Adrian nodded, gesturing to the spread on the table. "All right, babe. Let’s have breakfast."

They ate in a tense, quiet atmosphere. Afterward, Matteo offered to drop Adrian off at the studio, but Adrian declined...