FOUR

~CLAIR~

I open the door and walk into the living room with two large shopping bags in my hands. I see Martha coming to help me but I shake my head. "I got it, thanks", I tell her and she offers me a smile.

"If it was Alexia, she would make me carry all the bags", Martha says lowly and I chuckle. "I'm going to drop these but I'm coming down to prepare dinner", I tell her.

"No my dear, you're attending a gala with Teo", she says and I frown. Sam was actually right. Martha follows me to my room and I drop my bags on the bed.

"What kind of gala?", I ask her. "I think it's a gala to formally introduce you to his business partners", she says and I stiffen. "As his wife", I say and she nods. I think the fact that the color drained off my face made me look disoriented in front of her.

"Even though he appears to hate you, he still cares about you. Teo is not a brutal man", she says and I wanted nothing more than to laugh. "He's an asshole", I say. "That I cannot argue", she says and we laugh a little.

"He does not give a little shit about me Martha, you don't need to cover for him", I tell her. She shakes her head, white strands falling from her hair. "You don't understand child", she says.

"He may not love you as his wife but he cares for you", she says. "I do not see any care at all, no offence", I say. "Both of you are stubborn, I like it though. When you left crying yesterday night, he became worried when you didn't come home. He told Alexia to leave while he called one of his men to trace you and keep an eye on you. He told Alexia not to push you that far again", she says.

"May I ask why you are telling me this?", I ask her politely. "You see dear, I see Matteo as my own son. When my husband died, Matteo's parents offered me a job as a nanny to take care of little Teo. He was just two years old and I was forty five. So I've literally seen him grow up", she says with a proud smile.

"What I'm trying to say is this, in the Rossi family, they value respect, dignity, humility and honesty. Matteo and his father hate when people lie to them and they hate lying too", she says and I raise a brow.

"With what I've seen, I would rather choose you over Alexia", she says with her Italian accent being thicker. I chuckle and she grins. "I'm actually serious my dear", she tells me.

"What time is the gala?", I ask her. "It starts by seven but Teo said he'll be here by seven thirty", she says and I nod. I check the time on my phone, five forty.

"Let's get started", she claps her hand and I giggle.

An hour passed and now, Martha was now curling my hair. "I love how soft your hair feels", she says. I smile at her compliment. "Do all Italians have brown hair? Because you have brown hair so as Matteo and Alexia except hers is lighter", I ask her.

She chuckles and drops the curling iron. "Most of us Italians have brown or black hair. Matteo's hair is black, like his mother's, while his father's is brown. Ninety six percent of us have black or brown while the four percent have blonde but it's rare", she explains and I find myself smiling.

Italy sounds like a cool place to be. I heard that they make one of the best pizzas in the world. "Is it true the pizza there is one of the best?", I blurt out unexpectedly.

She laughs and nods, "It is correct". Grinning, I stand up and zip began to wear the purple gown Sam got for me. Bless her soul. I wiggled my hip so as to get the dress to fit and not tear it.

When I got the dress on, she helped me to zip up. "You look like a princess my dear", she says and I blush. "Thank you", I say and turn to the mirror. The dress hugged my curves and showed how small my waist was.

I thank Aiden for the exercises which resulted in me not having pot belly but a flat tummy. The V neckline stopped in between my chest showing little cleavage. My hair would cover my bare back.

Adding a little makeup, I was ready. "Go show them who's queen", she says and I smile.

֍

~3RD PERSON~

Matteo started at the woman in front of him. The way she looked was different from yesterday. She looked independent and confident and he felt guilty for yesterday.

Clair walked towards him gently as she held her clutch in her hand. She didn't know what to say that would ease the tension between them so she kept quiet.

Matteo swallowed hard and opened the door for her into the limo. He followed her and they were seated. The driver then started the limo and they drove to their destination.

When they reached their destination, Clair's mouth went dry as all the color drained from her face. She didn't like social events at all. When she was younger, she would locker herself up in her room and wait for her family to leave for the event before she came out.

Nobody really knew that the Matthews had a little daughter until her older brother practically dragged her along. Her father had to hold her close because she was scared of the crowd.

Matteo noticed her state and he did the only thing he could do. He raised his hand and placed it on her hand. It was small and it fit perfectly in her hand. Wait what!???

Shocked by the tingles and heat that spread through her hand, Clair's head snapped to him and a blush crept her neck.

He gave her a gentle squeeze and opened the door. He stepped out and helped her out of the car. He waved the driver who nodded and went to park along with other cars.

Taking deep breaths, Clair followed him fully aware that their hands were still together. Strangely, it gave her some comfort and confidence.

They walked through the doors and Clair's breath hitched at how big and radiant the hall was. There were tables, chairs, buffets and many more. So many people were dressed elegantly and it showed off their wealth.

Suddenly, Clair felt small and insecure. A gentle squeeze on her hand made her heart do a back flip as Matteo gently pulled her along. "The one and only great Matteo Rossi", they snap their heads to see an aged man with strands of gray hair mixed with black. He was elegantly dressed in a black tuxedo.

"It's nice to see you again Kendal", Matteo says with a smile. "Same here old friend", Kendal says with a small laugh. His eyes fall on Clair and he smiled wildly.

"This must be your beautiful other half", he says and Matteo nods with a smile and that surprised Clair.

"I'm Kendal McClure, CEO of Green springs Cooperation LTD", he offers his hand. Clair took it with a smile on her face. "I'm Clair, it's nice to meet you", she says with a smile on her face.

"It's wonderful to see Teo has a woman to put him in his place", Ken says with a grin and she giggled softly. If he was sure, this was the first time Matteo had heard her giggle.

"Well Ken, you better attend to your wife before you tell mine embarrassing things", he says with a hint of smile in his voice. "We'll see later friend", Ken gives him a short hug and walks away to a petite blonde woman.

"Teo!", Matteo turned around to see his best friend coming towards him. "Hey man", he says and they pull each other in a bro hug.

"Is this the pretty lady?", his best friend says and Matteo rolls his eyes. "Hi, I'm Clair. It's nice to meet you", Clair innocently stretches her hand out for a shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, the name's Luca Romano", he takes her hand kisses it. Her shocked expression made him chuckle.

"This bozo known as your husband is my best friend", Luca says pulling away from her. Heat filled her cheeks at the word husband.

"Okay then manichino (dummy), can you shut the fuck up?", Matteo asks him in a serious tone. Luca rolls his eyes and looks at her. "I hope you have a way of dealing with him", he says and Clair smiled.

If only he knew.

An hour passed and Clair had been introduced all the people in the hall. Matteo was having a conversation with some men so she sat at their designated seats.

"Are you okay?", she raises her head to see Luca. "I'm good", she says and he frowns. She hated to admit it but Luca was cute when he frowned. His blackish brown hair looked a little messy like he ran his hand through his hair a couple of times.

He had the kind of playful behavior that could easily make people like him. From what she has seen, he's charismatic.

"I know what's going on between you two", he says and she frowns. "Huh?", she asks. "I could feel the tension between you two when you were close. Even though your hands were together, your hearts were separated", he says and I sigh.

"That's what an arranged marriage does to you", I say and he chuckles. "That I cannot argue but I can help you", he says and I raise a brow. "How?", I asks.

"In case you don't know, Teo cares for you", he says and she scoffs. "Yeah right", she says. "Oh believe me fiorella (flower). I still don't understand why he's still keeping Alexia", he says.

"Because he loves her", she says hating to admit the kind of jealousy she feels. Luca's laughter made her frown. Why was he laughing?

Luca knew that whatever was going on between Matteo and Alexia was a lie but they were too blind to see that. "Oh please, it's just a sexual attraction", he says with disgust clear in his voice. "Not many people like her I see", Clair says. "Of course we don't like her, she's a whore. She's not even loyal to Teo she cheats on him over and over again. I've tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen", he says.

Clair dropped her hand on her laps and sighed. "He's a stubborn man", she says and Luca chuckles. "You bet he is", he says.

"I wonder why he hates me so much", I find myself saying that. He offers me a sad smile. "He's been through a lot. He doesn't let people into his life anyhow, he's a difficult man. Even the almighty Alexia whatever she's called can't even break through his walls", he says.

"But he is always giving me death glares", Clair complains with a pout. Luca chuckles and taps her nose making her giggle.

Unknown to them, Matteo was looking at them. He was already done with his conversation with his co-workers. His brain almost went haywire when Clair pouted. The way her pink lips moved made his body ignite with fire.

He walks over to them but stayed at her back. He gave Luca the eyes and he nodded it response.

"So Clair, what do you do for a living?", Luca asks her. She ran a hand through her long brown hair. "I'm a doctor. I work in Peter's Private Hospital", Clair answer with a wide grin.

Matteo could see how much Clair loved her job. "Which patients do you specialize in treating?", Luca asks. "Everybody, but I mostly treat the children", she answers. "Why?", Luca asks. "Well, children have tender hearts. They dwell longer on first impression. There are some children who are afraid of everybody thy come across. Like this little girl I'm presently treating", Clair says.

"She stutters but something happened that she was rushed to the hospital with a swollen neck. She refused to eat or drink anything for days. I was called to the matter and my heart broke when I saw how she looked", Clair says with a little frown.

"Was she that bad?", Luca asks. "She was awful, she was so skinny and lifeless looking and her mother was crying. I felt the pain because if I was a mother, I wouldn't want my child suffering like that. I became her personal doctor monitoring everything she does, I made friends with her and now we're more than best friends. She's healthier and better now", she finishes with a smile.

Matteo didn't even though if he couldn't be more proud of her. Honestly, hearing how she was so determined on that girl's recovery made him know that she would be a good mother.

Matteo takes a sit beside her and Clair's heart almost jumped out of her chest because of his appearance. This made him smirk. "Hey bro", Luca says and Matteo winks at her.

Her heart fluttered and her face reddened.

Soon, everybody got seated and started eating. Then a chair scraped the floor and Kendal stood up.

"I appreciate you all for coming here this evening. I hosted this gala because my old friend here, Matteo Rossi found his other half", Kendal says and the whole hall erupted in applause. This shook Clair to the core.

"She's a beautiful one too both in and out", Kendal added and they all hummed in agreement. Clair's face was red that she could be mistaken for a tomato wearing a brown wig.

"Thank you all, we really appreciate it", Matteo's thick and hot Italian voice says cool. "You're welcome", they say. "Clair, I mean Mrs. Rossi? I hope he's treating you well?", a woman asks. She should be around the age of fifty or more but she had an intimidating expression but it was also oddly soft.

Clair smiled sweetly and looked at Matteo who already prepared for her to say the worst. "Of course he is", I say softly and that shocked Matteo.

"How was your honeymoon?", another woman ask. Matteo was sure that everything will soon go downhill. But Clair had something else in mind.

"Actually after the wedding, we were tired so we just took a week to rest. I knew how important Matteo's company was to him so I said he could resume", she answers smoothly.

Henry pointed his glass of wine at Matteo who was still in a confused state. "You better keep her. I will personally castrate you if anything happens to her", he says and Matteo nods giving him a smile.

Clair giggled and that made his senses black out. Maybe she's not as bad as he thought. But he was still confused or was it shock?

After all he put her through in the last week, she still covered for him.

After about an hour later, the party ended. People were saying their goodbyes and wishing them well.

Matteo was escorting a couple out of the hall when his eyes landed on Clair. She looked tired and stressed. "Goodnight, safe journey", he waves them and walks over to where his wife was standing.

She lazily looked at her glass of wine as she swirled around. Her feet were killing her. "Are you ready to go?", she raised her head to see Matteo. "Aren't you having a conversation with your friends?", she asks tiredly.

He almost smiled at how she wanted him to finish his business first. "I'm done, let's go home?", it was more than a question that a statement. She nods and drops the cup on the table. "Okay", she says and follows him out of the hall.

The night was cold and it made Clair shiver a little. "Are you cold?", he asks her. Clair didn't know if it was her sleepiness or that he was being nice.

She shakes her head, "I'm okay". He nods and helps her into the car. Luckily, the limo was warm.

When they got home, Matteo broke out of his stream of thoughts when he heard soft snores. He turned his head to see Clair resting her head on the door asleep. He hated to admit it but she looked so cute and innocent.

"Clair?", he calls out but she groans softly. He chuckles and decided what to do. He wrapped an arm around her waist and another under her knees.

To his surprise, he stepped out of the limo with ease. Does this woman have bones?

"Thanks Alfred", he tells the driver and he nods. Matteo gently carries her through the door into the living room. He immediately sees Martha who was busy dusting the living room. She raises her head and sees him.

"Welcome back", she says with a smile. He mirrors her smile and her eyes dropped on the woman in his arms. "I'll prepare her bed", she says. He nods and watched as the woman climbed up the stairs.

He looked at the woman in his arms. She began to turn and alarms went off in his head. Then she buried her face in his chest and it made his heart jump.

Wait what?

His heart had never jumped for anyone, even Alexia.

He shakes his head and walked up the stairs in the direction of her room. He walked in and took in the features of her room. It looked comfy and welcoming. This woman is really something else.

He gently laid her on the bed. "I'll be going now", Martha whispers and he nods. "Help her with the heels", she says and walks out of the room.

Matteo raised her legs and stared at her feet. Is he going crazy? Her feet were small and cute and her toe nails were long and perfectly manicured.

He unbuckled her heels and dropped them on the floor. As his fingers brushed her feet, she moaned softly and that shook him.

It took everything in him not to drag her and rip off her clothes. He stood up and spotted a necklace on her neck. She won't be comfortable sleeping with that. He unhooked the necklace and dropped it on the nightstand.

He was about to leave when her hand gripped his. "Don't go", she mumbled. He was already tired and he needed to sleep. He had work the next morning.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly. They both were really tired. "Please", she mumbled as her eyes battled to stay open.

He finally gave in and removed his suit and tie. When he got into the bed, she turned to him and began to unbutton his shirt.

He was about to say something when she stopped."So you can sleep comfortably, take off your shirt", she said. He didn't debate and removed his shirt. It was dark but he could see her trying to stay awake.

"You need to sleep", he tells her tiredly. Then he felt wet lips on his cheeks. "Thank you", was all she said before she fell asleep. It was like the lights in his brain were switched off.

He shook his head and allowed sleep to overcome him.