[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

Chapter 252: Chapter 252: The Truth Behind Our Love

Adrian drew in a ragged breath, his chest rising and falling unevenly as he turned back to Maya.

"But do any of you know how far his obsession went? Do you know he followed me everywhere? Whenever it was time for me to visit you, Maya, it was always, ’Baby, don’t go. Baby, stay. Baby, let her come here instead. Baby, I want you closer. Baby, I want you by my side.’ Why?"

His voice broke.

"And I could never complain because everyone around me kept making me feel like he just loved me more than I loved him."

Adrian stepped into Matteo’s space, his tear-filled eyes blazing with anger.

"Before we separated... tell them." His voice shook. "Tell them how many times you woke me up in the middle of the night just to decide whether I was allowed to go to my own art studio."

He jabbed a finger toward Matteo’s chest.

"Go on... say it out loud. Tell them."

Matteo couldn’t speak. The full weight of Adrian’s unmasked pain left him completely paralyzed. His jaw trembled, and the only words he could force out were a broken,

"I’m sorry..."

"Sorry?!" Adrian laughed, the sound utterly devoid of joy. "You were suffocating me, and everyone called it love! Because you enjoyed controlling me, they expected me to enjoy it too!"

He took a shaky breath before continuing.

"Matteo told me I was only allowed to go to my studio twice a week. I told him, ’No, baby, sometimes I have a lot of work to do,’ and I literally had to beg him just to let me go three times a week!"

His voice cracked.

"I never complained. I never told a single person because I already knew what everyone would say."

He looked around the room, tears still falling.

"’Your boyfriend is rich. Why do you even need to work?’"

Adrian’s voice dropped into a low, piercing tone.

"But do any of you actually know why? Because I love my work. And Matteo hated it because he knew Elena was the reason I started doing it in the first place."

Maya gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"I never told anyone, not even my own sister, that everything my late wife loved was exactly what Matteo hated," Adrian whispered as tears streamed freely down his face. "At first, I made excuses for him. I told myself, ’He’s just jealous because he loves me so much.’ But then it kept getting worse."

He swallowed hard before continuing.

"The night before we separated, Matteo told me I wasn’t allowed to spend the night at Elena’s parents’ house for her memorial. I agreed because I was willing to do anything to keep him calm. The whole drive there, he kept saying, ’Baby, tomorrow when you go, don’t stay for more than an hour. After it’s over, I’ll come and pick you up.’"

Adrian’s voice cracked.

"I nodded and said, ’Alright, babe.’"

He suddenly stepped back toward Matteo, his voice breaking into a raw, desperate cry.

"You were suffocating me! At first, I didn’t want you to come with me because I knew you’d get angry. But I told my sister... I told Maya... and she said to let you come because I had nothing to hide."

He shook his head, tears spilling faster.

"So I asked you to come. I already knew it wouldn’t go the way you wanted because I knew there was a chance we’d run into Elena’s family."

His eyes locked onto Matteo’s.

"I wasn’t ashamed of you, Matteo! I wasn’t ashamed that I was in love with a man. I loved you... and I loved being with you."

His voice fell to a broken whisper.

"I just needed you to give me the time to come out to them on my own terms."

Adrian struck his own chest, his voice cracking violently.

"I knew that if I went back to the hotel that day before finishing what I had gone there to do, I would never get the chance to go back to Elena’s parents’ house again! Ask him!"

Adrian shouted, pointing at Matteo, whose head remained bowed as silent tears streamed down his face.

"Ask him if he would have let me go back! Never! He wouldn’t have! It would have been, ’Baby, stay. I need you.’ And he always knew exactly what to say to make me feel guilty, making it seem like I was choosing Elena over him!"

His voice broke again.

"You were angry because I let go of your hand at the entrance. I’m sorry I did... but I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting to see Nora. I knew there was a chance we might run into someone from her family, but I never thought it would actually happen."

He wiped at his face with trembling hands.

"I walked into the home of my late wife... someone I loved just as much as I loved you. Did you think I went there to smile or put on some kind of show? Did you expect me to walk in and say, ’Hi, everyone. I’m gay now. I found someone else, and I’ve moved on’."

He let out a broken laugh that held no amusement.

"No! I couldn’t do that! I respected her family far too much to be that insensitive. And when the time finally felt right, I did tell them. I expected them to react badly... but they accepted it. They were happy for me."

His tear-filled eyes locked onto Matteo once more.

"And then I walked out of that house... only to find the man I loved playing a sick, disgusting game in a hotel room."

A cold, bitter smile touched Adrian’s lips as he looked at Matteo.

"Oh... you think I actually believed you slept with that man? You think that’s why I left you? You think that’s why I ended our relationship?"

He stepped forward and shoved Matteo hard in the chest.

"No! I was exhausted by your obsession! I couldn’t live like that anymore! We had only been apart for two days, and you were already trying to hurt me back. Why?"

Matteo stumbled backward from the force of the shove. His chest heaved as the only words he could force out were,

"I’m sorry... I was wrong."

Adrian looked around at the stunned faces of his sister and friends, his voice breaking all over again.

"People move on from everything you did to me so easily. I had to force myself to move on too, because everyone was so afraid of you."

His gaze slowly returned to Matteo.

"I was even afraid to judge you. Because to everyone in this room, I’m just an ordinary nobody. When I’m the one who’s hurting, it doesn’t matter. But when you’re hurting... suddenly it’s everyone’s problem."

Adrian’s voice dropped to a final, devastating whisper.

"Matteo didn’t love me. He just wanted to control me."

With that, Adrian turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"I love you..." Matteo choked out, tears streaming down his face. "I just... I love you too much. I’m sorry. Baby, please forgive me," Matteo pleaded from behind him, his voice completely stripped of its usual strength.

Adrian spun around and strode back toward him like a storm, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Don’t you ever call me ’baby’ again!"

"What did I ever do wrong except love you?" Adrian screamed, the words ripping from the deepest part of his soul.

"What did I do to deserve everything you put me through? You wanted me to forget Elena so badly, but we built a life together! I can’t pretend she never once existed in my life!"

His chest rose and fell violently.

"I already loved you! I gave you everything! I surrendered myself completely to you! So what else did you want?"

His voice cracked again.

"You wanted me to erase her completely because you felt guilty! You convinced yourself that if I ever grieved her, I’d blame you for the accident."

The room fell deathly silent.

"But did I ever blame you?" Adrian shouted. "Have I spent these past months breaking down because of them? No! I learned how to live again with you because I loved you! But it was never enough for you."

His eyes burned into Matteo’s.

"You wanted me to erase them from my heart."

His voice dropped to a broken whisper.

"Why?"

Adrian turned to his sister one last time, the tears on his face drying into cold resolve.

"Matteo isn’t just possessive. He wants to control every part of my life. He’s hurting me... and I don’t want him anymore."

Then he looked back at Matteo, his voice settling into a quiet, heartbreaking finality.

"I’m sorry you fell in love with me. And I’m sorry I fell in love with you. Move on, Matteo. You deserve someone who isn’t me... someone who can give you everything you’ve always wanted. Because no matter how much I give you... It will never be enough."

Adrian’s voice cracked as tears streamed down his face.

"I don’t want you anymore. I’m letting you go... not because I’ve stopped loving you, but because I love you enough to want you to have the life you deserve. And I know... I can never be the person who gives you that."

Matteo stared at him, tears spilling freely down his face as he shook his head.

"If you really want me to have what I deserve..." his voice broke. "Then it’s you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Adrian. You’re all I’ll ever want. You’re everything I deserve, baby. I don’t want anyone else. I never will."

Adrian squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment before opening them again. His expression hardened.

"I don’t want you anymore," he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his own words. "I have nothing left to give you."

He took one final step back, his eyes locked on Matteo.

"What else do you want me to give you, Matteo? My life?"

Without waiting for an answer, Adrian turned and walked out into the quiet corridor, leaving behind a room swallowed by silence, where everyone was finally forced to confront the truth about the man they had all believed was perfectly happy.

"Adrian!"

Matteo rushed after him.

Before Adrian could get very far, Matteo caught up to him in the empty corridor. Without thinking, he wrapped both arms tightly around Adrian’s waist from behind, holding him as though letting go would mean losing him forever.

"Please..." Matteo’s voice broke against the back of Adrian’s shoulder. "Please, baby... I know I wronged you. I know I was wrong. I never blamed you... not once. Please... just give me one chance to make everything right. Please..."

Adrian’s body went rigid.

He immediately grabbed Matteo’s wrists, trying to pry them away before forcefully shoving him back.

"Let go of me!"

Matteo stumbled a step but refused to give up. He reached for Adrian again, instinctively catching his forearm as Adrian’s weakened body swayed from the sudden movement.

His grip steadied Adrian before he could lose his balance.

Adrian looked up, breathing hard, fury and heartbreak colliding in his tear-filled eyes.

Before he could utter another word, Matteo cupped his face with trembling hands and leaned down, capturing Adrian’s lips in a desperate kiss.

Tears slipped down Matteo’s cheeks, falling onto Adrian’s face as he kissed him with every ounce of love, regret, and desperation he had left.

Adrian struggled immediately, his fists striking weakly against Matteo’s chest as he tried to push him away.

"Matteo... stop..."

But the exhaustion that had been draining him all day quickly caught up with him. His strength faded with every passing second. The fight in his arms gradually weakened until his trembling hands no longer had the strength to keep pushing.

They came to rest against Matteo’s chest as his body...