Stay away from Adrian.

Then he sent the message.

The chat instantly showed that the message had been read.

But after that, no reply came anymore.

Matteo tossed Adrian’s phone onto the nightstand before walking toward the floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading to the private balcony. He slid one open, the cool night air immediately drifting into the room.

Stepping outside, he pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it, taking two slow drags as the city lights stretched beneath him.

After a moment, he pulled out his phone to check a few business messages.

Just then, a new notification came in.

Matteo opened it and read the message.

_______

When you slept with mine, did I threaten you?

Honestly, I would’ve peacefully stayed away from Adrian... but finding out he’s your boyfriend and seeing how possessive you are over him only made me more interested.

The fact that someone like you can be this protective over one person means he’s your weakness.

And now? I want him even more.

I’ll sleep with him even if it costs me my life.

Part of it is revenge. But another part is because I genuinely like him.

— Kelly.

Matteo stared at the message for a few long seconds.

The expression on his face slowly turned colder.

Then finally...

He typed back one simple word.

Okay.

After sending it, he locked his phone and continued smoking like the message meant absolutely nothing to him.

On the other side, Kelly stared at the reply in disbelief.

The simple "Okay" irritated him far more than anger would have.

Almost immediately, another message came in.

I’m not scared of you.

Just the way you destroyed my relationship, I’ll destroy yours too.

Matteo glanced at the screen again before replying with the exact same cold response.

Okay.

Kelly’s frustration only grew worse after that.

Another message appeared instantly.

I’ll make Adrian realize you manipulated him into loving you.

I’ll make him mine instead.

And I’ll enjoy watching you break down because of him.

Matteo finally replied again.

You’re delusional.

I already warned you. Stay away from my boyfriend.

Kelly immediately replied back. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

You don’t tell me what to do.

Matteo read the message.

But this time, he didn’t reply anymore.

More messages continued coming in afterward one after another, but Matteo ignored every single one of them completely.

He simply continued smoking quietly beneath the night sky as if Kelly’s words meant absolutely nothing to him.

After smoking for a while, Matteo walked back inside the room.

He dropped his phone onto the nightstand before climbing back into bed beside Adrian, carefully avoiding pressure on his injured hand.

Then he gently pulled Adrian closer before pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.

"Goodnight, baby," he murmured quietly.

The next morning, when Adrian woke up, the space beside him was already empty. Matteo had gone downstairs early to handle some work matters.

Adrian slowly sat up on the bed and turned toward Matteo’s side, looking around the room.

"Matteo?" he called softly. "Babe?"

No answer came.

He reached toward the nightstand to grab his phone and call him, but before he could, the phone suddenly started ringing in his hand.

Still half asleep, Adrian looked at the screen and smiled when he saw Charles’s name appear, he answered the call immediately.

"Hello?" Adrian answered, his voice rough with sleep.

"Good morning," Charles replied.

Adrian was about to ask if Charles slept well, but Charles didn’t waste any time at all and immediately went straight to the reason he called.

"So?" he asked quickly. "Did you talk to Mark for me?"

"You seriously called me this early in the morning just to ask about Mark?" he teased. "Wow. Are you really that obsessed with him?"

"Adrian, be serious," Charles groaned. "Did you talk to him or not?"

Adrian stretched against the bed. "Matteo spoke to him, but I haven’t really asked what they talked about yet."

Charles sighed dramatically.

"Can you help me get closer to him somehow?" he said quickly. "Maybe invite me over to the house or something. I just want to spend time with him and talk properly."

Adrian shook his head while laughing softly.

"You really like him that much, huh?"

Charles didn’t even try to deny it.

"Yes, I do. So will you help me?" he replied shamelessly.

Adrian finally sighed in surrender.

"Fine. I’ll figure something out," he promised. "Maybe I’ll invite you and Frank over this weekend or something. I’ll talk to Matteo first and get back to you soon, so relax. Mark isn’t running anywhere."

Charles immediately replied, "Please make it quick. I seriously can’t wait anymore."

That only made Adrian laugh again.

"Relax," he assured him. "I’ll handle it."

Not long after, the call finally ended.

Just then, Matteo walked back inside the room.

The moment Adrian saw him, he immediately climbed out of bed and walked over to him before wrapping his arms around him.

"Good morning, baby," Adrian murmured.

Matteo kissed his forehead lightly.

"Good morning, Rian."

Matteo looked at him for a moment before asking, "You’re going to work today, right?"

Adrian nodded. "Yes. But I don’t think I’ll come back here tonight."

Matteo immediately frowned.

Adrian quickly continued before Matteo could misunderstand him.

"Charles and Frank said they wanted to come over to my place," he explained. "It’s been a while since we all spent time together there, so I thought they could spend the weekend with me. So... I probably won’t be coming here until next week."

Matteo’s expression changed immediately. "So you already made plans for them to spend the weekend at your place without informing me first?"

Adrian instantly apologized, "I’m sorry, baby."

Matteo stayed quiet for a second before speaking.

"I don’t want you staying away from here."

Adrian blinked before smiling. "Baby... my friends are used to hanging out at my place," he explained. "That’s how we normally spend time together."

Matteo thought about it quietly for a few seconds.

Then finally, he spoke again.

"What if they come here instead?"

Adrian immediately said. "Really?"

Matteo nodded once. "They can stay here if you want."

Adrian’s face instantly brightened.

"Then that’s perfect," he said happily. "I’ll tell Frank and Charles to come here instead. Since tomorrow is Friday, they can come spend the weekend with us... and I’ll still get to spend time with you too."

Then he paused briefly. "You don’t mind them staying here for the weekend, right?"

Matteo looked at him quietly before finally sighing in defeat. "If that’s what you want, then fine."

Adrian immediately smiled brightly afterward before hugging him again.

"That’s my baby."

Then he kissed him.

Adrian immediately walked back toward the bed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand before quickly sending Charles a message telling him that Matteo had agreed for them to spend the weekend there.

He also told Charles to find a way to invite Frank too and try talking some sense into him before putting the phone down again.

After that, Adrian walked back toward Matteo.

A few seconds later, his eyes drifted toward Matteo’s injured hand again.

"How’s your hand now?" he asked.

Matteo glanced down briefly.

"It’s getting better," he answered. "I told you already. It’s nothing for you to worry about."

Adrian still looked unconvinced, but he didn’t argue anymore.

Instead, Matteo changed the topic.

"Now that you’re awake, let’s go have breakfast."

Adrian immediately shook his head. "I don’t want to go downstairs this morning," he said. "Tell them to bring the food upstairs instead."

Matteo simply nodded.

"Alright."

Not long later, breakfast was brought upstairs for them.

The two of them ate together quietly while talking casually about different things.

At some point during breakfast, Matteo finally brought up Kelly.

"Last night, Kelly sent you a message," he murmured.

Adrian immediately looked at him.

Matteo continued eating while speaking casually. "I already replied to him and warned him to stop contacting you."

Adrian frowned slightly.

"But if he shows up around you again," Matteo added seriously, "you tell me immediately."

Adrian nodded. "Okay, baby."

After breakfast, the atmosphere between them slowly became softer again.

Eventually, one thing led to another, and the two of them disappeared back into the bedroom for a quick round of sex before finally showering and getting dressed for the day.

Not long later, the two of them headed downstairs together.

The car was already waiting for them outside while the driver respectfully opened the door for them.

As usual, Matteo dropped Adrian off at the studio first.

Before Adrian stepped out of the car, the two of them leaned closer and kissed one more time.

"Have a nice day," Adrian murmured.

Matteo smiled faintly. You too, sweetheart touching Adrian’s nose

Matteo smiled. "You too, sweetheart," he murmured while touching Adrian’s nose gently. Then he added, "I love you so much, Rian."

Adrian instantly replied. "I love you too, Matteo."

Matteo brushed his thumb lightly against Adrian’s cheek. "I love you more."

Adrian giggled before finally stepping out of the car.

He waved once before heading toward the studio entrance.

Then the car slowly pulled away, carrying Matteo toward his own workplace.

The moment Adrian stepped inside the studio...