As he sat down behind his desk, curiosity slowly started bothering him.

So he immediately picked up his phone and texted Matteo.

Hey baby. How’s work going?

Matteo replied not long after.

Busy. What about you?

Adrian replied and let the conversation continue naturally for a little while before finally asking:

Did you send any packages to my studio?

A few seconds later, Matteo replied again.

No. I didn’t send anything.

Adrian blinked slightly at the response.

Then he quickly typed back:

Alright, baby. Just wanted to check on you.

After the conversation ended.

Adrian’s curiosity slowly got the better of him, so he reached for the package sitting on the desk and finally opened it.

Inside was a carefully packed meal alongside a small note.

Adrian picked up the note and read it quietly.

From your favorite admirer.

Underneath the message was only a single letter written neatly beneath it.

— K

Adrian stared at the note for a few seconds.

"K?" he murmured.

Then suddenly...

He remembered Kelly.

The moment the realization hit Adrian, he immediately dropped the note onto the desk as if it suddenly burned his fingers.

"Kelly?" he muttered in disbelief.

Instantly, he called Kate into his office and handed the food package to her.

"Share it with James and the others," he said quickly. "I don’t want it."

Kate looked confused but still nodded before carrying the food away.

The moment she left, Adrian leaned back against his chair with frustration.

Was Kelly seriously trying to get him into trouble?

The man had literally seen him with Matteo the night before. He knew very well Adrian was already in a relationship, yet he was still chasing after him anyway.

That alone already made Adrian uncomfortable.

Eventually, he picked up his phone and called Charles.

The moment the call connected, Adrian immediately explained everything about the delivery, the note, and the name signed with only "K."

Charles instantly understood who it was.

"You need to be careful," Charles said seriously after hearing everything. "A man who keeps chasing you even after knowing you already have a boyfriend is definitely dangerous."

Adrian stayed quiet while listening.

Charles continued. "That guy knows you’re Matteo’s boyfriend, yet he’s still coming after you openly. That already tells you he doesn’t care about boundaries."

Adrian sighed. "I know."

"And honestly," Charles added, "someone bold enough to chase after Matteo Marcone’s boyfriend is definitely not planning to back down easily."

Adrian rubbed his forehead tiredly.

Charles’ voice softened afterward. "It’s still good Matteo doesn’t know about this yet," he said. "Because I genuinely don’t think he’ll react calmly."

Adrian sighed. "I don’t want my boyfriend getting involved in violence again," he admitted. "I know if he finds out about this, it’ll definitely cause problems. And Kelly is a public figure too, which could create even more trouble."

He let out a frustrated breath. "But I seriously don’t understand why he keeps inviting danger for himself," Adrian muttered. "Why can’t he just leave me alone?"

Charles understood immediately.

"I get what you mean," he said. "And honestly, I like this version of Matteo too. I wouldn’t want people dragging him back to his old image again."

Then his tone became more serious.

"But still, if Kelly keeps pushing like this, you’ll eventually have no choice but to tell Matteo. Someone like Kelly could easily create problems before the truth even reaches Matteo first."

Adrian replied. "Alright, friend. Thank you so much."

After talking for a little longer, the call eventually ended.

Adrian pushed the frustration aside and forced himself to focus on work instead.

A few hours later, hunger finally started bothering him. So he left the studio and headed to a nearby restaurant to eat something properly.

The moment he arrived, Adrian placed his order first before pulling out his phone to text Matteo.

Have you eaten yet, baby?

A few seconds later, Matteo replied.

Not yet. I’m still busy. What about you?

Adrian smiled faintly at the message before replying again.

I came out to eat.

Matteo replied immediately.

Eat properly. I’ll check on you later once I’m done here.

Adrian smiled again before taking a quick selfie of himself sitting inside the restaurant and sending it to him.

A few seconds later, another message came in.

You look cute, baby. I love you so much.

Adrian couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face after reading it.

You’re making me smile like an idiot.🥹❤️ He replies.

Not long later, the waiter finally brought his food over.

Adrian had barely started eating when suddenly...

The chair across from him pulled back.

Someone sat down directly in front of him.

At the same time, the atmosphere inside the restaurant shifted strangely.

People started whispering.

Several phones were already quietly being raised again.

Adrian immediately sensed something was wrong.

Slowly, he lifted his head from the food.

And the moment he saw who was sitting across from him.

His expression instantly changed.

Kelly.

Adrian frowned immediately.

"What are you doing here?"

Kelly leaned comfortably against the chair, as if he belonged there.

"I sent you food," he said casually. "But instead of eating it, you came to eat in a place like this."

His eyes slowly moved around the restaurant.

"I thought your boyfriend was rich."

Adrian’s expression immediately hardened.

"That’s none of your business."

Kelly only smiled.

"If you were my boyfriend," he murmured, "I wouldn’t let you leave your studio just to eat outside. Your meals would already be waiting for you before you even got hungry."

Adrian looked completely unimpressed.

"Good thing I’m not your boyfriend."

Kelly chuckled quietly. "You will be soon."

Adrian immediately rolled his eyes. "In your dreams," he replied coldly. "You’re seriously delusional."

Kelly only smiled. "Matteo chased after you too before you finally gave in to him."

Adrian’s expression instantly hardened.

"He’s completely different from you."

Kelly leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"Yeah," he replied confidently. "Because I’m better than him."

From that moment on, Kelly kept making indirect bad comments against Matteo, but the more he talked, the colder Adrian became.

Adrian didn’t give Kelly any chance at all.

Instead, he defended Matteo every single time without hesitation.

"My boyfriend treats me perfectly fine," Adrian said. "And I love him very much, so stop trying to imply otherwise."

Kelly stayed quiet, watching him carefully.

Then Adrian looked directly at him.

"You seriously need to stop this," he said coldly. "I’m already in a relationship. A serious one. And... I’m not interested in having anything to do with you."

Around them, some fans were still secretly taking pictures because of Kelly’s presence in the restaurant.

That alone already irritated Adrian even more.

"I didn’t ask you to send food to my studio," he continued frustratedly. "And I don’t appreciate you showing up everywhere I go either."

Kelly looked like he wanted to say something else, but Adrian had already lost patience.

The waiter quickly arrived with the bill, but just as Adrian reached for it, Kelly calmly spoke.

"I’ll pay for it."

Adrian immediately looked at him. "I have my own money."

Without giving Kelly another chance to interfere, Adrian paid for the food himself before walking straight out of the restaurant.

But Kelly still followed behind him toward the parking lot.

"Wait," Kelly called after him. "Can we talk properly for a second?"

Adrian stopped walking and turned around sharply.

"I already told you to stop following me."

Kelly looked completely calm despite Adrian’s obvious frustration.

But Adrian was genuinely getting angry now.

"You’re trying to get me into trouble for no reason," he snapped. "I have a boyfriend. Stop chasing after me like this."

Kelly opened his mouth again, but Adrian didn’t even let him continue.

Without another word, Adrian immediately got into his car and slammed the door shut.

And just like that.

The car pulled away, leaving Kelly standing alone in the parking lot without getting the chance to say anything else.

After Adrian left the restaurant, he went straight back to the studio.

The moment he arrived, he texted Matteo to let him know he was back safely before continuing his work again.

Eventually, the day slowly passed until evening finally arrived.

Not long later, Matteo came to pick Adrian up from the studio like he always did.

The moment Adrian stepped inside the car, he immediately noticed the expression on Matteo’s face.

Calm.

Quiet.

But something about him felt slightly off.

Still, Adrian didn’t think too deeply about it.

Instead, he quickly leaned closer and hugged him naturally.

"Baby," he said softly, "how was your day? I missed you."

Matteo looked at him quietly before answering,

"I missed you too."

Then the two of them shared a brief kiss before the driver slowly started driving away from the studio.

For a few seconds, everything felt normal again.

Until suddenly...

Adrian’s phone started ringing.

At first, he ignored it.

But then he remembered it could be a client or someone from work, so he eventually reached for the phone.

"Hold on, baby," he said softly before answering the call.

"Hello?"

Then the voice on the other side spoke.

"Hello, this is your admirer... Kelly."

The moment Adrian heard the name. His entire expression changed instantly.

Without hesitation, he immediately hung up the call.

The reaction happened so fast that he looked startled afterward.

Slowly, he turned toward Matteo.

Only to realize Matteo was already looking directly at him.

"Who was that?" Matteo asked calmly.

Adrian forced himself to stay normal.

"Ah... just a client," he replied quickly. "I’ll talk to them later."

But before he could say anything else.

Matteo suddenly reached out and gently held Adrian’s face in his hand, forcing him to look at him properly.

Then he asked calmly: "Who is Kelly to you?"

The moment the question left Matteo’s mouth. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Adrian froze completely.

Shock instantly filled his face.