Page 97 of Matteo
“The question is whether you’re willing to start something in order to have her,” Pa cut in.
There was no hesitation. “Yes. It’s her or nobody.”
My parents mulled over my words while Uncle Massimo held my gaze. “Better be ready to go to war, then.”
Mom put her hands to her chest. “I really hope it doesn’t come to that. I’ll talk to Bianca, and your dad will talk to Nico. Arianna is still out, but she’ll be back. She’s a reasonable girl.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
NICO
Everything went to fucking shit today, and that was putting it mildly.
“I made a mistake,” Luciano gritted. It must have shaved off a few years of his life to say that. “It was Arianna all along.”
When my daughter abruptly took off, I hacked into her phone and then Matteo’s. For the first time in my life, I invaded my daughter’s privacy, betraying the trust of my longtime friend, Luciano, in the process.
As for that fucking Vitale boy… I wanted to strangle him, throw him into a ditch, then leave him there until both of my daughters had happily moved on.
Of course, I couldn’t say any of this because no one could learn I hacked into Arianna’s private messages. They’d all turn on me, no doubt.
How in the fuck did we get here?Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“What in the fucking hell happened back there?” Alessio questioned, probably one of the few guests who’d steered clear of the gossip.
Raphael shot him a look. “Where in the fuck were you?”
“Autumn had an urgent… matter to discuss.”
Translation: he was banging his wife. Good for him.
Raphael snickered. “Isn’t Nico usually discussing anurgentmatter with his wife?”
I glared at him. “I had to be present for my daughter’s engagement announcement.”
And the chaos that ensued.
“Shit, is this what I have to look forward to with my daughter?” Alessio muttered. “Maybe I should purchase a few more guns.”
“I own a whole artillery,” I grumbled. “It still didn’t help.”
“Maybe a remote island?” Cassio suggested. “It seems to work for Luca.”
Alessio scoffed. “His daughter is engaged to the eldest Marchetti boy, Enzo, so that didn’t really help him either.”
“Stop talking if you want to live,” Luca warned. The fact that his firstborn daughter was arranged to marry was still a sore subject for him.
Luciano scoffed. “These children will drive me bananas.”
“Why would Arianna punch Matteo if she wanted him?” Cassio questioned, putting a stop to the never-ending bickering. “The mistaken identity… fine, I kind of get it. We never saw signs of”—I glared at him and he cleared his throat—“affectionbetween the two. But then Arianna goes and punches him?”
“You really have to learn a thing or two about kids these days,” Luca remarked wryly. “But let me spell it out for you, and if that doesn’t help, I’ll draw you a fucking picture.” Luca cleared his throat, and I almost expected him to pull out a pair of glasses. “Matteo probably told Arianna she was his one and only…” Luciano and I both growled. “Cut to today, where tensions were high with both girls in close proximity. He and Arianna danced and probably whispered sweet nothings to each other, and then the announcement came… Tada, Matteo’s marrying her sister.”
For fuck’s sake.How do I fix this without breaking Hannah’s heart?And it fucking killed me that Arianna was out there with her heart breaking right now.
The door to the study swung open and Sasha Nikolaev strode in, leaving the door wide open behind him.
“You fuckers certainly know how to throw a party,” he drawled, taking a seat next to me.Fuck.“And I’m talking to you, Morrelli.”
