Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Holding On While Falling Apart

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, stating he would go with his driver instead.

Not long after, Matteo left first, and Adrian followed soon after, heading to his studio.

Throughout the workday, Matteo kept texting him. Adrian replied to every message, except the ones where Matteo tried to apologize. As closing time approached, Matteo asked if he could come pick him up, but Adrian simply replied that his driver would bring him home.

Throughout the week, Adrian continued talking to Matteo but strictly refused to see him. By the weekend, Matteo called and begged him to come spend the weekend at his place.

Adrian agreed. However, during his stay, he completely avoided Matteo’s touch. He didn’t allow any intimacy; whenever Matteo reached for him, he would simply say he was too tired and needed to rest.

For the entire weekend, he didn’t let Matteo touch him at all. The second week followed in the same cold, distant manner.

In contrast, Mark and Charles’s relationship was going smoothly. Every time he spoke with his friends, Charles couldn’t stop gushing about how well Mark was treating him.

"Lucky you. I’m so happy for you, Charles," Adrian would say with a faint smile.

Frank would repeat the sentiment. "Charles, I’m really happy for you. You deserve it, man."

Meanwhile. After Mark had finally secured his revenge against Stella and brought closure to everything she had done, he completely shifted his attention to Charles. Even though Stella kept begging for another chance, Mark made it clear he was no longer interested, telling her he was in a new relationship and deeply in love with his partner. He blocked her everywhere and cut all contact without hesitation.

By the third week, the distance Adrian kept from Matteo began to take a toll. He could feel himself slowly losing the intense love he once had for him, which broke his heart. No matter how hard he tried to move past that night, he couldn’t forget the fact that Matteo had fooled him so effortlessly from the start.

That weekend, Charles, Frank, and Adrian went out for their usual meetup to spend some time together. Mark was the one who drove Charles and dropped him off at the venue, leaving Charles unable to stop talking about how amazing his man was and how he wished he had met him sooner.

Adrian looked at him, smiling softly. "Lucky you."

"Now you’re the one who can’t stop talking about your man," Frank teased Charles. "Back in the day, it was always Adrian."

He then shifted his gaze to Adrian, his expression turning curious. "Is everything okay between you and Matteo? You haven’t been talking about him lately."

Adrian kept his smile steady. "Frank, we aren’t a new couple anymore. Let the new couple enjoy the spotlight."

Charles frowned slightly, looking concerned. "Are you sure everything is fine? I’ve been wanting to ask, but I always get carried away."

"Everything is fine," Adrian reassured them.

They wanted to press further, but before they could, Adrian’s phone began to ring on the table. He glanced at the screen and saw Matteo’s name flashing.

He immediately gestured to it. "See? He’s the one calling."

Adrian picked up, keeping his voice perfectly normal. "Hi, babe." His friends couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but Matteo was calling to ask if he could pick Adrian up so they could spend the night together. Adrian politely declined, telling Matteo he would call him once he got home.

After the call ended, Frank eyed him suspiciously. "You always say ’I love you’ before hanging up, but you didn’t say it just now."

"Frank, we are good," Adrian insisted, brushing it off.

Finally, the conversation shifted back to Charles, who turned to Adrian and said, "By the way, will you also be coming with Matteo to visit his mother? She’s arriving next week."

Adrian blinked. "Oh, really?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Didn’t you know about it?" Charles asked.

"Yes, I do," Adrian lied quickly, realizing Charles and Frank had no idea about the strained relationship between Matteo and his mother because of Matteo’s past actions.

"Mark said I’ll be coming along with him to pick her up at the airport," Charles added happily.

"Wow, that’s great," Adrian nodded.

Frank smirked at Charles. "You sound like you’ve already talked to Mark’s mother."

"Of course I have, a few times," Charles said, blushing. "Whenever I’m with Mark and she calls, he tells her all about me. She said she can’t wait to meet me in person."

Adrian felt a pang in his chest but forced a warm expression. "Wow. Lucky you, Charles. I’m happy for you once again."

Charles laughed. "Adrian, stop teasing! It’s the same for you too."

Frank then turned back to Adrian. "Have you talked to Matteo’s mother before?"

Adrian froze for a split second, his heart dropping, but he quickly covered it. "You know I’m shy, and Matteo is always busy... so I haven’t really spoken to her."

"It’s okay then," Charles said brightly. "Since she’s coming next week, you can just go see her with Matteo."

Adrian nodded. "Sure, we will definitely go see her."

After that, they chatted about random things until it finally grew late. Mark arrived to pick up Charles and Frank, and Adrian headed home.

Once Adrian got home and lay down on his bed, the silence of his room allowed all his doubts to rise to the surface. He began questioning himself, wondering if he was making the right choice. Was keeping his distance truly the right thing to do, or should he simply try to forget that night and move on with Matteo?

He felt completely torn, unable to organize his thoughts. Despite everything, he still loved Matteo deeply. Even though that love had been wounded and shaken, it remained rooted in his heart, and the distance between them was hurting him just as much as it was hurting Matteo.

Finally, the week of Matteo’s mother’s arrival came.

That night, Matteo was alone after getting home from work. It was already late, but he couldn’t sleep. Mark had moved back to his own place ever since he started dating Charles, and he barely came to Matteo’s house.

So that night, Matteo felt lonely and called Adrian, his voice thick with exhaustion and longing. He begged to see him, noting that it had already been an entire month since Adrian had allowed him to touch him.

Adrian sighed, trying to distance himself again. "I’m busy, Matteo..."

"Please, Rian," Matteo pleaded softly, sounding completely defeated. "Even if we don’t have sex, just allow me to hold you to sleep. Just that. Lately, I’ve had a lot going on with me."

Adrian stared at the wall of his bedroom. "It’s already late. I want to sleep." He didn’t give Matteo a clear answer.

Matteo didn’t push further. Instead, he let out a soft sigh. "Alright, baby."

"Goodnight," Adrian said flatly.

"Goodnight, love. Sweet dreams," Matteo replied.

"Alright," Adrian muttered.

"I love you so much, okay?" Matteo added quietly.

Adrian said nothing, leaving a heavy silence hanging between them before the call finally ended.

The next day at the studio, Maxwell came around because of James. Before he left, Adrian called him into his office for a conversation, hoping to find out more about the family situation.

After they both settled down, Adrian asked, "What day is your mother arriving?"

"On Friday," Maxwell replied. "And we are throwing her a welcome party on Saturday. You should definitely come, Adrian. Everyone is going to be there—except Matteo."

Adrian forced a small smile. "How can I go to a family party if my boyfriend isn’t going?"

"It doesn’t matter," Maxwell said, waving a hand. "There will be a lot of people there anyway."

"It doesn’t matter how many people are there," Adrian countered softly. "If my boyfriend isn’t there, then there’s no reason for me to be there either."

Maxwell sighed. "I know, but Matteo and our mother are not on good terms right now."

"I see," Adrian said, his tone turning slightly defensive. "It seems like nobody in your house really likes Matteo. I know all of you prefer Mark over him."

Maxwell laughed, shaking his head. "Bro, they’re both twins, and honestly, I probably shouldn’t say this out loud, but I have to. And it’s not just because you’re sitting in front of me either, but if I were ever asked to choose between Matteo and Mark, I would choose Matteo."

Adrian blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"Leave that part alone," Maxwell said gently. "But why would you say nobody likes him?"

"Because ever since the issue between your mother and Matteo started, no one in the family has tried to settle it," Adrian pointed out.

"That’s not true," Maxwell explained. "Everyone has tried their absolute best, but Mother simply refuses. Even though she acts tough, she still loves Matteo. Every single time she calls any of us, she always asks about him and wants to know how he’s doing. She just refuses to talk to him directly."

Adrian looked at Maxwell and listened to him speak without interrupting.

"Seriously, Matteo is going to be so miserable this week," Maxwell continued, his voice lowering as he opened up more. "Knowing everyone is going to gather around her except him is going to completely break him. I think he needs you now more than ever at this moment."

Maxwell looked Adrian straight in the eyes before speaking again.

"If he doesn’t see anyone around him... he’s going to rely on drugs again, and that’s really bad for his health. I know something isn’t right between you and Matteo right now. I’ve tried to talk and ask him about it, but this time he wouldn’t say anything. I just hope you can forgive whatever is between you two. I saw him at his office yesterday; he looked so deeply sad, but he refused to talk to me."

"About our mother," Maxwell added, "Mark, Marissa, and I already talked about it. We are planning to speak to her again to consider seeing him this time around. I just hope she listens."

Adrian fell into a deep silence...