Bloody City: Temptations

Chapter Thirty Three

The day had come that Gabriella would meet Matteo as someone more then just my sister. Alessio and I had already left the villa by the time the first message from my sister pinged onto my phone screen.

Gabriella

Ari, what is Matteo like?
Received 8:09

He is your future Brother in Law, and you're engaged to his older brother
Received 8:10

Please...
Received 8:11

Matteo is a bit more casual then Alessio, but Matteo is still as dangerous, besides you spoke with him during Luca's wedding
Read 8:12

I know just, how will my life be, it's one thing to think he's good looking, then to be with him.
Received 8:13

Alessio doesn't support mistreatment of any woman, and Matteo looks at you, how you look at him, nothing will go wrong, even if mom and dad will forbid you from certain things.
Read 8:14

Forbid?
Received 8:15

You likely won't be living with Matteo like I do with Alessio, mostly due to the slight difference in ages and where we sit. But I can see you being in Genoa, where I couldn't tell you, but you'll be here with me, and I'm always just a phone call away
Read 8:16

I know, I'm trying to convince mom and dad to let me have a similar situation to what you and Alessio have.
Received 8:17

Talk to Alessio, mom and dad don't have power past the Apennines. I'll tell him to be nice
Read 8:18

Okay, I'll try when I see you
Received 8:19

"Tell me to be nice," Alessio muses glancing from my screen then back to the road.

"Yes, you come off very intimidating," I point out and he nods while tapping the steering wheel, before letting out a sigh and looking to me.

"As the future brother in law to Gabriella Valentino, I will do my best to be nice, but your mother bothers me. It's clear she uses you and your siblings as power chips and I won't stand for the fact you all get treated that way," Alessio says before pressing his lips together pursing them as his eyes narrowed for a half second and it caught my eye. He never held back information, stopping himself from being emotionally vulnerable was one thing, but this was him being secretive, and I didn't know what he was with holding though I knew he kept several things from me, and at some point I'd demand he tell me them.

"There's more to this meeting, you just talked about power chips, but you're the master of manipulation Alessio, you explained it to me once, how you used discord across Europe to fuel your rise because people feared you. So please tell me the truth, is this marriage to Gabriella and Matteo a false?" I ask staring at him with as limited of an emotional expression as I could.

"No, Matteo has been interested in Gabriella since he first set eyes on her. The man can't even do anything else. He tried once to see if his emotions were just a brief infatuation. The girl was kicked out of his room in under five minutes, Matteo isn't one for attachment like me, but he will do his best for your sister. Besides I'm sure Gabriella has expectations for how I am supposed to treat her older sister," Alessio says with a smirk that I couldn't tell if it was meant to distract me or not.