40. A Tense Between Them

Today was Eston and Matteo's departure to Bolivia for work. Stellina had just come out of her room after getting ready to change her appearance. Since her room was located not far from the living room, Stellina's eyes were already greeted by the sight of three suitcases placed there. As she walked, Stellina wondered whose suitcases those were. However, it turned out that Matteo was sitting on the sofa playing with his cell phone. Stellina's steps suddenly stopped when she realized Matteo's existence. Stellina looked around for Eston, Diego, or Fabian. But none of them were here. While Stellina was looking the other way, Matteo's gaze shifted and found Stellina. Matteo, who had memorized Stellina's figure, smiled broadly. He turned off his cell phone before putting it in his pants pocket. "Vellina," Matteo called out suddenly. Stellina immediately gasped in surprise at Matteo's call. Her steps spontaneously retreated with a strange yet wary look. "You were already standing here." Matteo gave a smiling smile. After pausing in front of Stellina, Matteo said, "Why did you not call me? I will be away. We could have talked before now." Stellina had no immediate reaction. Because of Matteo's sudden arrival in front of her, Stellina became even more panicked. Her gaze circulated around to check Diego and Eston's whereabouts. She made sure they were not around because she did not want to arouse suspicion. "What are you doing?" asked Stellina, her voice almost a hiss of annoyance. In front of Stellina, Matteo grinned at her question. Matteo placed both hands on his chest and wore a scowl on his face. "Of course I want to talk to you-" "What I am asking is not why you are in this room, but why are you approaching me?" Stellina glanced down as if to signal that Matteo was too close to her. Matteo frowned, confused about what Stellina meant. But after Stellina took two steps back with a lazy glance, he understood. "Ah, you do not want me to approach you?" Matteo asked. "Just relax. You see there is no Diego and Eston here. They won't suspect anything." 'What a crazy person,' Stellina cursed Matteo. "Still, you shouldn't be in front of me!" she hissed with emphasis in her voice. "What if Diego suddenly shows up?" "I'm pretty sure they are busy in the other room. Besides, don't you miss me being away?" asked Matteo, who teased Stellina without hesitation. Compared to Stellina, Matteo did not seem to be worried if Diego or Eston suddenly appeared. Seeing Matteo who deliberately gave a seductive smile made Stellina hiss with annoyance. Stellina looked around again, then took one step closer to Matteo. Her index finger was pointed firmly as a warning sign. "Look, I don't care what you think," Stellina said. Her eyes showed no warmth at all. "This is not your territory. If you mess up, Diego won't just stand by and do nothing. Don't you understand?" Matteo saw Stellina's index finger in front of his face. The seductive grin that had been curved slowly faded. In just a split second, Matteo's face turned into annoyance. But his annoyance was not shown fully. Matteo casually removed Stellina's index finger carefully. After hissing in horror-which sounded deliberately contrived, Matteo immediately chuckled. "If you are aggressive like this, I feel even more attracted," Matteo said, not intimidated at all by Stellina's threat. Stellina was stunned with shock. Why did Matteo not give in at all, even after being threatened? "Fabian, wait. Is everything ready, huh?" Suddenly Eston's voice rang out from some distance away. Instantly Stellina's body jerked in surprise, spontaneously taking three steps away from Matteo. Meanwhile, Matteo was still relaxed and only moved his gaze towards the second floor-the source of Eston's voice. There, more and more Stellina and Matteo could see the appearance of Eston's figure. There was Fabian who helped carry the suitcase with Diego. Stellina occasionally made sure she and Matteo were not too close to arouse suspicion. Waiting for a few seconds, Eston came down with Fabian and Diego-who also helped carry a slightly larger suitcase. Seeing Eston coming down the stairs, Stellina approached him. Stellina deliberately did not want to get too close to Matteo. "Papa, have you prepared everything?" asked Stellina as she neared Eston. Putting his cell phone into his men's sling bag, Eston nodded. Eston looked up to see Stellina before letting out a sigh of relief. "I was worried that I'd left something behind, but I don't think so. Did you make sure, Fabian?" Eston turned his gaze to Fabian at the end of his question. The direction of Stellina's gaze shifted to Fabian, then looked at the two suitcases he was carrying. "Yes, Mr. Eston. All the necessary departure documents have been checked," Fabian replied while nodding obediently. Stellina then interrupted Eston's words, "Papa brought three suitcases this big?" Eston immediately nodded. "Yes, of course. You need to stock up on storage space. I'm afraid for not having enough in one suitcase." Hearing Eston's answer made Stellina grimace. She imagined how complicated it would be to carry three sizable suitcases. Even though Eston had bodyguards who would help him carry these suitcases, the man was still forgetful. "What if papa forgets your own things?" asked Stellina with a worried expression on her face. "I have an assistant," Eston replied. "Take it easy. You know papa is used to business trips like this." Stellina finally said nothing more and just nodded. If something happened about forgotten items, it was already Eston's business. Without Stellina realizing it, Matteo was already behind her. Stellina only realized when she saw Diego's sharp, cynical glance at something behind her. It was as if he saw something he did not like. Stellina spontaneously stepped aside to give herself some distance. "Mr. Eston, I am so glad you have finally finished getting ready," Matteo said with a smile. Stellina was puzzled as to why Matteo did not feel any embarrassment. Even in the presence of Diego and Eston, Matteo did not hesitate to stand a little closer to Stellina. Either intentionally or not. "Ah, Matteo, have you been waiting long?" Eston asked. "I needed to make sure there were no items left behind." "It's okay, sir. No problem at all," Matteo replied quickly. Matteo's reaction made Diego look away and hide a sardonic smile. How Matteo seemed to be acting in front of Eston, to Diego. "Can we leave now?" Matteo offered. "The car is waiting out front." Eston nodded. "All right, let's not delay any longer. Let's go to the airport now."