[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Love Was Never Meant to Suffocate

Mark looked directly at Matteo.

"’Elena taught the three of us how to cook back then. She was our closest friend.’"

Mark looked directly into Matteo’s eyes, refusing to let him look away.

"Even now, whenever Charles talks about her, I can still see the lingering sadness in his eyes. Not because Elena was his wife, but because she was a deeply loved friend who was taken far too soon.

"Teo... if Charles still carries that pain as a friend, what do you think it’s like for Adrian?

"He’s trying so hard to be strong for you. He’s trying to move forward with you. But that doesn’t mean he can simply forget the people he lost."

Matteo’s hands clenched into the fabric of his trousers, his breath hitching slightly.

"But while you were trying so hard to take Elena’s place, you were acting out of desperation," Mark continued. "You wanted Adrian to forget about her so badly... that all you could think about was making him focus entirely on you.

"But tell me something, Teo... did you ever once ask Adrian what kind of person Elena really was? Did you ever ask him about the life they shared? About the kind of woman she was? About why losing her broke him so completely?

"Not because you wanted to become her...

"But because you wanted to understand the woman he lost.

"To understand how long it would truly take him to recover from a tragedy like that."

"No. You didn’t. You never tried to understand his past. You only wanted him to leave it behind."

Mark stood up, pacing a few steps before turning back to his twin.

"You asked me to be honest, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Look, I’ve never lost a spouse or a child. I don’t pretend to know what it feels like to lose the people you love most in this world. But I know enough to know that it’s a kind of pain that takes a lifetime to heal. For some people, it never heals at all; they just learn how to keep living around the space. It hasn’t been easy for Adrian."

Mark stepped closer, his voice dropping to a harsh, demanding whisper.

"Yet, the absolute second you were left alone, the moment your deepest fears flared up because you didn’t see him for two days, you threw away everything you’ve ever built with him. You immediately convinced yourself that Elena had taken your place in his heart again."

"Teo... you are literally competing with the dead."

Matteo’s head snapped down, his shoulders trembling as Mark’s final words hammered into his chest.

"The moment Adrian went to that memorial service, your pride couldn’t take it," Mark said, gesturing toward the door. "You felt like you were losing to a dead woman. So what did you do? You staged that twisted, disgusting scene in the hotel room, didn’t you? You brought another man into your room just to hurt him. Just to make him feel the same abandonment you felt when he let go of your hand outside that restaurant."

"I know!" Matteo suddenly shouted, his voice breaking as he buried his face in his hands.

"I know I was wrong!

"I know I went too far!

"I know!"

His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths as tears spilled freely down his face.

"But why..." he choked out. "Why was breaking up with me the first thing he thought of?"

His voice cracked completely.

"Why didn’t he give me the chance to explain?

"Why did he just... give up on us?"

Mark let out a long, weary sigh.

"I didn’t want to believe Harry when he told me what happened," he admitted quietly. "Even after I warned you to stop bringing third parties into your relationship just to hurt Adrian, you still went ahead and did it."

He shook his head in disbelief.

"You know what Kevin did to Adrian. You know how much it broke him. So why would you do something that reminded him of that same pain?"

Mark’s voice tightened.

"Why, Teo?"

"You can’t bear the thought of losing him...

"But you could bear the thought of hurting him?"

Matteo lowered his head, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I know..." he said brokenly. "I know I went too far. I accept that."

He dragged a trembling hand over his face.

"But I couldn’t think of anything else.

"I just... wanted him to make me important too.

"I was lonely for those two days, Mark.

"I just wanted him close to me."

Mark closed his eyes for a brief moment before letting out a weary sigh.

"So you chose to hurt him," he said quietly.

"You thought breaking his spirit would make him stay. You thought if you hurt him enough, he’d become more submissive... more afraid of losing you."

He slowly shook his head.

"But you forgot who Adrian is."

"He’s stubborn... and he’s sensitive."

"When you play dangerous games with someone who’s already emotionally fragile, they don’t break the way you expect them to."

"They shatter."

"And then they run."

Mark looked his brother straight in the eye.

"You wanted Adrian to fear your anger, Teo."

"Instead... you made him stop feeling safe with you."

A heavy silence settled over the room before Mark spoke again.

"Right now, the two of you are becoming toxic for each other."

"You’re trying to love him through control."

"And he’s responding to emotional pain by running away."

"If you truly want a future with Adrian, you have to stop treating your relationship like something you have to win."

"Love isn’t a turf war, Teo."

"It’s the one place where both people should feel safe."

Mark walked over and rested a heavy, comforting hand on Matteo’s tense shoulder.

"Look... I don’t even know what else to say," he sighed, his voice softening as he gave his brother’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I’m not saying you’re entirely at fault, and I’m not blaming Adrian either. The truth is... You were both hurting.

"You don’t even know what those two days were like for him. While you were sitting there feeling lonely, he could have been just as miserable.

"You were both in pain."

"You just chose different ways to deal with it."

"And unfortunately... both of you handled it in the worst possible way."

Matteo slowly turned his head, looking up at Mark with dark, bloodshot eyes stripped of their usual terrifying authority.

"He already broke up with me, Mark..." he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of the realization. "He’s never coming back to me.

"I...

"I might never see him again."

"It’s okay, Teo. Just breathe," Mark murmured.

Unable to carry the crushing weight of his despair any longer, Matteo shifted in his chair. He turned fully toward his twin, wrapping his broad arms tightly around Mark’s waist. He buried his face against his brother’s side, clinging to him like a lifeline.

"I love him," Matteo choked out, the confession tearing from his throat as tears flooded his eyes all over again. "Everything I did... I only wanted to keep him. I wanted him all to myself.

"I’m losing my mind, Mark... I know I am.

"I’m desperate.

"I’m possessive.

"I’m obsessed.

"Call it whatever you want... I just want him back. I’ll make things right this time. I swear it. I’ll never, ever hurt him again."

He tightened his grip on Mark’s shirt, his large frame shaking with heavy, desperate sobs.

"Please, Mark... help me.

"I can’t lose him.

"I love him too much."

Mark didn’t pull away. He stood there, gently rubbing Matteo’s back and resting a comforting hand on his shoulder, grounding him through the storm of emotions.

"You’re going to be okay, Teo," Mark said softly. "But you have to learn how to control this intensity. Right now, it’s hurting both of you.

"You’re making it hard for Adrian to breathe...

"And you’re destroying yourself in the process."

Matteo looked up, his face slick with tears. "Will he ever come back to me?"

Mark looked down at his twin, his expression filled with sympathy, but he refused to give him false hope.

"I honestly don’t know, bro," he admitted quietly. "All we can do is hope that he does."

He continued gently rubbing Matteo’s back before letting out a quiet sigh. "It’s okay, Teo. But listen to me... You can’t let any of your men see you like this. You have to be strong, you have a reputation to protect."

"I don’t care," Matteo groaned, burying his face back against his brother’s side. "I’m human too. I have my own weaknesses. My entire world is falling apart right now... I just need to cry."

Mark’s chest tightened with a twin’s shared ache.

"Alright. Just cry," he said softly. "I’ll be right here. I’ll carry this pain with you.

"We’re one, Teo.

"I understand you better than anyone."

Matteo held on to Mark, letting the agonizing tears flow freely. For several long minutes, he did nothing but cry, his broad frame trembling with every broken sob.

Gradually, the sobs began to subside.

The storm of emotions gave way to desperate thoughts, his mind searching frantically for a way to bring Adrian back.

Then, something suddenly clicked.

Matteo pulled back slightly, his tear-filled eyes narrowing.

"Maya..." he muttered.

His expression hardened.

"Maya knows where Adrian is."

He looked up at Mark with sudden conviction.

"She’s hiding him...

"She just won’t tell me."

Mark let out a dry, knowing chuckle and slowly shook his head.

"It’s not just Maya," he said. "Think about Adrian’s inner circle... Charles and Frank. They probably know exactly where he’s staying right now.

"But those creatures are fiercely loyal.

"They won’t say a single word.

"Teo, even if you put a gun to their heads, they still wouldn’t tell you where Adrian is.

"They’d rather die protecting their friend than betray his trust.

"And Maya is no different.

"The bond those four share...

"You can’t break it with threats.

"You can’t break it with power.

"And you certainly can’t break it with fear."

Matteo’s bottom lip trembled again, a miserable pout forming on his face.

"But I want my baby back."

Mark looked at his brother’s utterly pitiful...