Chapter 146: Chapter 146: How the Hell Did I End Up Here?

"Yes," Matteo replied, his dark eyes locking onto Adrian’s. "I want to go to my father’s place, and I want you to come with me. I need to go and see him."

Adrian hesitated, a sudden wave of nervousness hitting him. "Your father."

"Yes, my father," Matteo replied calmly.

Adrian let out a small breath, shaking his head. "Who just takes his boyfriend somewhere that important without even a proper heads-up? Babe, I’m not going. Maybe another time."

Matteo stepped closer. "You don’t need to prepare for anything. It’s just a visit... it won’t take long. Next time, you can get ready properly. Please come with me, cutie." He held Adrian’s gaze for a moment, pleading, before softening his tone. "Go shower... and come with me."

Realizing there was no point in arguing with him, Adrian gave a soft sigh. "All right."

He turned and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. When he was done, he stepped back into the bedroom and chose a neat outfit, dressing himself carefully.

Before they headed downstairs, Adrian picked up his phone and quickly sent Frank a message, letting him know he was leaving with Matteo but would be back soon.

"Downstairs, the car was already waiting for them. Matteo and Adrian got into the backseat, sinking into the leather cushions as the driver started the engine. The second car carrying bodyguards followed closely behind as they pulled out of the driveway."

As the vehicle moved smoothly down the road, Adrian leaned back, his mind racing. It would be the very first time he was meeting Matteo’s father. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of man he was, and why Matteo had insisted he come along.

Nervousness settled in his chest, but he tried his best not to show it.

With quiet anticipation in the air, they began their journey to Matteo’s father’s house.

The drive to Matteo’s father’s house didn’t take very long. When they arrived, the massive iron gates swung open smoothly, and the car glided down a long, sweeping driveway toward the parking area. The estate was breathtakingly large, with a vast compound surrounded by high walls, and heavily armed bodyguards were positioned everywhere from the gates onward.

When the car finally came to a halt right at the grand entrance of the mansion, Harry quickly stepped out of the front seat and opened the door for his boss. The moment Matteo stepped out onto the pavement, he reached back into the car, took Adrian’s hand firmly in his, and led him toward the house.

After stepping inside, they walked through a grand foyer and continued down a wide hallway. They took a few more steps before finally reaching the entrance of the main living room.

The scale of the house was overwhelming. In the center of the foyer stood a magnificent double staircase, its sweeping design rising dramatically from both sides before meeting at a grand balcony above.

Matteo led Adrian to one of the plush sofas and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Sit down, baby," he whispered.

As Adrian sat down, one of the house’s bodyguards immediately went upstairs to inform Matteo’s father of their arrival.

A few moments later, Matteo’s father, Luciano, appeared at the top of the double staircase, walking down alongside Maxwell. They were already in the middle of a tense conversation, their voices low, sharp, and clearly heated.

The moment they reached the bottom of the stairs, Matteo stood up to greet his father, and Adrian quickly followed suit, bowing his head respectfully. "Good day, sir," Adrian murmured.

Luciano’s sharp, calculating eyes locked straight onto Adrian. The moment their gazes met, Maxwell leaned in closer to his father’s ear, whispering something in a low, hushed tone.

"Didn’t I tell you?" Maxwell whispered, his eyes darting toward Adrian with a smug look. "Do you see what I’m saying now?"

Adrian couldn’t catch a single word of what they were muttering, and that only made his stomach tighten with anxiety. Matteo narrowed his eyes too, clearly irritated and just as curious about what his father and Maxwell were whispering about.

Wanting to cut through the secrecy, Matteo turned directly to his father, his voice carrying its usual commanding weight. "Father, why did you ask me to come here? And this is Adrian, my boyfriend."

Luciano didn’t answer immediately. He walked over and took a seat on the main sofa, while Maxwell sat down right beside him. Luciano then gestured toward the empty seats with a flick of his wrist, his tone formal. "Take a seat, Adrian."

Matteo and Adrian sat down together. Luciano began staring at Adrian. The stare was incredibly intense, heavy with a thick layer of unreadable tension that made Adrian feel uncomfortable.

What made the matter worse was that Maxwell kept leaning over, continuously whispering into their father’s ear, filling Luciano’s head with comments Adrian couldn’t hear.

Growing impatient with the heavy atmosphere, Matteo spoke up again. "Father, why exactly did you ask me to come here? I still have a lot of things to handle."

Luciano finally broke his silence, his deep voice filling the room with authority. "I have asked you to bring him to see me so many times, Matteo, but you kept making excuses. Yet Maxwell wouldn’t stop talking about him. Every time I see your brother, it’s always, ’Father, you have to see Matteo’s boyfriend. Father, you have to see how he behaves... he’s this, he’s that.’"

He leaned back slightly, eyes still locked on Adrian.

"I simply wanted to see what he looks like, because Maxwell wouldn’t shut up about him. When he brought it up again today, I decided it was time. That’s why I called you and made it sound urgent, so you would actually show up and finally bring him to see me."

Matteo frowned, looking thoroughly annoyed. "So just because Maxwell keeps talking, you call me out here? You don’t even care whether I have urgent work to do or not."

Luciano waved his hand dismissively. "What kind of work could possibly be more important than your own father wanting to see you?" he said coldly. "You promised me you would bring him, but you never did. We still have a lot to talk about, yet you keep avoiding it. Or do you think I will just let it slide?"

Luciano then paused, turning his gaze back to Adrian. He gestured to a nearby maid, instructing her to serve them drinks. A crystal glass was placed in front of Adrian, but his hands were trembling so much from the bizarre tension that he couldn’t even lift it. He sat there completely confused, unable to comprehend the real motive behind this sudden meeting.

Seeing the sheer panic and confusion written all over Adrian’s face, Maxwell suddenly chimed in from the sofa, his tone surprisingly soft as he tried to explain himself.

"Brother-in-law, you don’t have to worry," Maxwell said, looking at Adrian. "I see the look on your face and I know you’re confused. But the truth is, I wanted to show my father the kind of standard I want to bring home to him in the future. So... I brought you here so he could see that the person my brother found is genuinely cute, handsome, and respectable."

"I told Father about my choice," Maxwell continued, turning a thoroughly dramatic glance toward Luciano. "But he refused me, saying absolutely not. He claimed that no man can possess the kind of beauty standard a woman has. So I told him he was only saying that because he hadn’t met you yet."

Maxwell leaned forward, triumph gleaming in his eyes as he gestured wildly toward Adrian like a game show host revealing a grand prize. He turned a smug grin onto his father. "Well, Father? What do you have to say now? Look at the material!"

Before Luciano could even open his mouth to reply, Adrian sat there frozen, a slow, internal crisis unfolding behind his eyes.

Nobody in this family seems normal.

For so long, Adrian had heard people whisper in fear about how dangerous and ruthless this family was. People spoke about them like they were monsters.

But now, sitting there and watching Maxwell use him as proof in some ridiculous beauty standard argument, Adrian honestly couldn’t understand why everyone was so terrified of them.

They didn’t feel like the terrifying mafia family everyone talked about, even though they actually were one.

They felt more like a chaotic reality show with too much money and armed bodyguards everywhere.

Adrian rubbed his face slowly.

Maxwell, are you kidding me right now?

He was confidently telling his father about the kind of person he wanted to date in the future when he hadn’t even confessed to the actual person he liked yet.

This family is genuinely insane.

Adrian glanced at Matteo beside him, then at Luciano, then back at Maxwell.

How the hell did I end up here?