30. He's Come

Stellina really did not expect Matteo to come to her. Stellina's steps were in a hurry to get to her room. Her breathing was ragged as the panic continued to mount. She paid no attention to the servants who passed by, even reprimanding her. Stellina just wanted to get as far away as possible in order to avoid Matteo. She had only heard about Matteo from Diego's stories. She knew how bad of a person Matteo was until he became Diego's rival. But now Stellina was meeting Matteo face-to-face-and she had not prepared for this encounter at all. Feeling uneasy as she walked, Stellina bumped into the shoulder of one of the butlers. Stellina almost staggered backwards, instantly coming to her senses after having been almost lost in reverie. "Mistress Stellina," greeted the butler who was also surprised to be bumped by Stellina. In front of the butler, Stellina was stunned for a few moments. It took time for her to digest what had just happened. Her mind was still racing as Matteo caressed her thigh. It was ridiculous. Matteo's touch had made such an impression that Stellina could barely contain an amused shudder. But Stellina tried not to show it to the butler. "Is Mistress Stellina all right?" asked the butler in front of Stellina. She noticed that Stellina looked dazed. As if something bad had just happened. Despite still feeling awkward, Stellina was forced to give a reassuring smile. Stellina also pretended to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, quickly acted normally so that this butler would not suspect her, then cleared her throat. "It's alright. I'm sorry I bumped into you. Just now, I panicked because... that is, I met a cockroach. So I ran away," Stellina said, trying her best not to look nervous. Instantly the butler let out a sigh of relief after hearing Stellina's answer. The worry on his face suddenly disappeared in an instant. "Oh my, Mrs. Stellina. Did you get scared because you saw a cockroach?" the butler asked with a chuckle. Stellina was relieved to realize that the butler did not suspect anything. As a result, Stellina was forced to chuckle while rubbing the back of her neck briefly. "I am indeed a little afraid of cockroaches. Sorry, I have to go to my room. I need to rest," said Stellina. In the current situation, Stellina could not buy time and end up having to meet Matteo again. Moreover, Matteo might not have come home yet. If he was still wandering around the mansion, there was a possibility that the two of them would meet again. Stellina had to hurriedly leave to hide. "Very well, Mrs. Stellina." The butler bowed as a sign of respect at the end of his sentence. The butler immediately stepped away from Stellina's presence. Stellina felt a little relieved. At least there were no questions she would have to face. Without thinking, Stellina immediately resumed her delayed steps. Every now and then her head turned back to make sure Matteo was not there. Stellina was really worried that if she had to deal with Matteo, she would get tempted like a few moments ago. Arriving at her room, Stellina hurriedly locked the door. For a few moments she deliberately stood and leaned against the door to neutralize her worries. In that instant, Stellina's memory suddenly flashed back to Diego telling her to complain if any candidates came. Without delay, even though she knew Diego must be busy with his work, Stellina hurried to pick up the cell phone lying on the bed. Stellina searched for Diego's number with trembling hands. Over and over again, Stellina couldn't stop shuddering when she imagined her and Matteo's faces just an inch apart. "Hello, Diego," Stellina greeted after hearing the call connect. "Diego, I have something to tell you." "Actually, I'm busy with my work. Is it an urgent situation?" Diego asked from the other side of the phone. His tone was relaxed, but Stellina could tell Diego couldn't be bothered. "Just for a moment, please. It's about Matteo." It was only when Stellina mentioned Matteo's name that her ears suddenly heard the sound of something falling. She did not know what Diego had dropped. "Diego?" Stellina called softly. "Are you okay?" "Of course, I'm fine," Diego replied as the sound of objects being stacked sounded. "Tell me what you want to tell me." Stellina bit her lower lip, at a loss as to how to explain. There were now too many sentences in her head that she wanted to say to Diego. Everything was spinning to the point of dizziness for Stellina, including the image of Matteo grinning seductively at her. "Matteo..." Stellina's voice suddenly trembled. As the image of Matteo's obnoxious behavior replayed in her head, her breathing became irregular. "Matteo is coming to the mansion, Diego." On the other side of the phone, Diego was startled after hearing Stellina's words. But there was no reaction for a split second. Diego had not expected Matteo to come to the mansion unexpectedly without his knowledge. As far as he knew, he had nothing to do with Matteo. Instead of finding out the answer to his curiosity, Diego focused on Stellina's tone. Without being told, Diego was well aware that Stellina was shocked by her first encounter with Matteo. Diego sighed softly and cleared his throat. "Don't force yourself to talk. Calm yourself first, Stellina. Take a deep breath, exhale..." Diego tried to calm Stellina down. Hearing Diego's words, Stellina realized that his tone was rushed. Her panic was too great for her to organize her thoughts. So Stellina took a deep breath and exhaled. Diego gave her time to calm down. After Stellina had calmed down a bit, she said, "I'm calmer now." "Continue your explanation." Diego suppressed his words. Compared to Stellina, though surprised, he was more calm in his words. Not caring that Diego's emphasized voice gave off an intimidating aura, Stellina continued, "I did not expect Matteo to come. In the music room while I was playing the piano, he suddenly came to me and asked about the problem between him and Vellina...." "Problems between the two of them?" Diego asked quietly. "What is it? I don't know what's going on between them." "Unfortunately I don't know either. Matteo only mentioned 'it' to me," Stellina replied. She actually thought Diego already knew what the matter between Diego and Vellina was. "So, what else did he say to you?" Diego asked slowly. Stellina recalled what had happened earlier. One of Matteo's words stuck in her memory. "Matteo apologized for not being able to see me, as Vellina, because you were there," Stellina explained. "You mean, when you were pretending to be admitted?" Stellina murmured in agreement. "That's right, the first time my charade was prepared." Then Stellina paused to wonder about something. "Why should Matteo look guilty about that, Diego?" Diego didn't answer right away, which made Stellina couldn't help but wonder. There was an annoying gap in time for Stellina-she was genuinely curious about what had happened between them. "He should have come to your hospital room so I could meet him," Diego replied, arching a sardonic smile. Stellina was still silent. Diego leaned his back against the back of the chair behind the desk. At the same time, his heavy breathing could be heard. "Besides, didn't he tell you why he came to the mansion?" Before Stellina could answer, Diego quickly corrected her, "I mean how she suddenly appeared." Stellina still remembered Matteo's words about Eston. Slowly but surely, as she was able to think clearly, the memories of the incident in her brain began to organize. "Because Eston called Matteo, he said so," Stellina replied. "But he did not say why Eston called him." "Eston called Matteo for some business..." From the way Diego spoke, Stellina could tell there was an underlying irritation. Stellina bit her lower lip. As Diego thought and paused, he suddenly remembered Matteo stroking his thigh. Also when Matteo had brought their faces closer together and tried to kiss him. If Stellina had told him about Matteo's indecent behavior, Diego would have been furious. Stellina was afraid that Diego would mindlessly act in a way that would be detrimental to her theatrical plans. "Well, it's okay if you don't know. I'm just curious what he did with Eston," Diego replied after a long silence. Stellina snapped out of her reverie. "Do you have anything else to say?" Diego asked, adding to his previous words. In the end, Stellina's choice was not to tell about Matteo's indecent behavior. As much as possible the passionate feeling in her chest, which wanted Matteo's actions to be reported, Stellina held back. "No more, Diego. I just want to report it to you," Stellina said after a short period of thought. "Are you sure?" Diego asked once more. "Uh-hum." Stellina nodded even though Diego couldn't see the reaction. "There's nothing else. Do you think I have something to hide?" "That's not it. Well, now you try to ask if Matteo is home or not." "What for?" asked Stellina. "To make sure he is home. If he is, you can go to Eston's room to pretend to ask him what the need is for the two of them to meet." It made sense. A simple way to find out what was really going on between Eston and Matteo. "Yes, well, I will do that. You just wait to hear from me." Diego only murmured his agreement. Without saying anything more, the call was abruptly ended. Stellina had not yet had time to listen to the answer. After the call was turned off, Stellina looked at the phone screen with some annoyance. Stellina shook her head and let out a rough breath as she realized that Diego was very busy. True to Diego's word, Stellina moved straight to the intercom in her room. Through it, Stellina called one of the servants and asked a question. "Hello, is Matteo home?" "Mr. Matteo? Ah, he is home, Mrs. Stellina. His car just came out." Stellina breathed a sigh of relief as her whole body went limp. "Thank goodness. Thank you for the information, then." Not waiting long, Stellina immediately turned off the intercom call. Only then could Stellina breathe in oxygen as freely as possible. For some reason, after Matteo's departure, she did not feel as claustrophobic with worry as before. "Now my job is to ask Eston directly," Stellina muttered amidst her slight limp.