Matteo

Matteo groaned as he stared at the test results in his hand.

"Fuck." he cussed in irritation.

"Indeed." said Jamison with a sigh. "It seems that neither of the three of you are a match."

"What are the fucking odds." Reggie muttered.

"Well what do we do now?" asked Vincent.

Matteo's grip on the sheet of paper tightened as he felt like all hope had just been slipping through his fingers. There could have been a high chance that at least one of the three of them would be a perfect match, but the odds were against them.

It was a smart idea so to say but there was nothing more they could do since the entire plan had backfired on them. The hope that he had in his heart for this to be a good outcome simply diminished the second the results came.

What do they do now? It seemed that nothing else could be done but he was not about to let go of this. Matteo had a goal and he made a promise, a promise he would never break until the day it is fulfilled.

"I have no idea." he said softly.

"What about Cordelia?" Vincent mentioned.

"Out of the fucking question." Matteo said.

"Yeah Cordelia! I bet she wouldn't mind if we told-"

"No." Matteo shut them up. "She will not be involved in this." he shook his head.

"Boss, please consider the chances of finding another-"

"No, Reggie." he said.

At the back of his mind, what they had suggested sounded like it could work. The more people they seek out the more they could get their possible answer. However, this was his little sister and not just anyone. This would be a huge step and a hard decision concerning someone of her age.

Cordelia would without a doubt help him but there were far too many risks that he was not willing to place on her. He would have been entirely different but not someone as young and dear to him as her.

"Who is Cordelia?" Jamison asked.

"Matteo's sister." Reggie answered.

He hummed. "Does she know about the situation?"

Matteo shook his head. "No."

He doesn't think he would ever explain to his sister about what was going on.

"I have to side with Reggie on this one." said Jamison.

Reggie smiled and pounded his chest while Matteo gave Jamison a hard look. Jamison gulped the second he received Matteo's harsh look and began to explain the reason behind what he said.

"Given the circumstance that none of you are a match, I believe we have to do whatever means necessary. This is an opportunity to get a positive result and we should not ignored it."

"I am not risking my sister's life."

"But you would risk Aurora's?" Jamison fired back.

Matteo stilled as his words echoed in his head. He clenched his hand into a fist as he took a minute to realize that what he had said was indeed right. If he was selfish to ignore that they could test his sister and she would be a good match, they could help Aurora.

There was just an overprotective side of him for his little sister that made him selfish.

Matteo fell silent, his eyes not meeting the ones of Jamison's.

"Speak to your sister."

"I can't put her life in danger if she is compatible."

"I understand but there is a high possibility that Aurora could be cured and your sister would be still in good shape. I have dealt with cases like this for years and there is always a higher percentage of both patients leaving unharmed."

Why was this so hard to take in?

"I know how you feel about Aurora so I trust you make the right decision." Jamison said after another doctor had asked for his assistance, then left the room.

How he feels about her? What the fuck does that mean? Did he mean that he cares for her?

"Let's go." he told his men and they left the hospital.

Matteo had yet to take a bite of his food ever since they had gotten it about five minutes ago. His mind was focused on how he had to most likely inform his sister on the news but that would mean asking Aurora's consent first.

That was something he didn't want to do. He did not want to let her know about what he was doing since she had asked him to let everything go. She was adamant that there was no help for her and nothing could be solved but he made a promise which he will keep.

He couldn't risk his sister going through surgery and for some reason the operation would fail. He would lose his sister but what caused an even bigger ache in his heart was the thought of losing Aurora. She fucking grew on him and now he doesn't know what is going on anymore ever since she entered his life.

"You okay, bossman?" Reggie asked.

He realized that he had been zoning out and snapped back into reality. "Yeah."

"You thinking about what the doctor said?" Vincent asked.

Matteo sighed as he started to dig into his food. "I'm scared of what might happen to Cordelia."

"We don't even know if she could be a possible donor. You should let her take the test first before deciding the next step."

"That would mean explaining the situation and I don't think Aurora would want Cordelia to know. It would worry her."

"Then make sure Cordelia doesn't let her know that she knows about it." Vincent replied.

"Amico, questa bistecca è buona." Reggie muttered beneath his breath. (Man this steak is good.)

"What if she isn't a match?"

Vincent shrugged. "Then we search the entire world for a fucking donor."

Matteo nodded, feeling himself zone out once again.

"Why are you helping her?" Vincent asked.

Matteo looked at him. "Excuse me?"

Vincent cut a piece of his steak and ate it. "Why are you going out of your way to help her?"

Matteo sighed, rubbing his temple with his index and middle finger. "I don't know, Vincent."

"I think I might know why."

Matteo looked at him with a questioning look on his face, awaiting what it is that he was about to tell him.

"Lei ti piace." (You like her.)

Reggie laughed beside Vincent. He nodded his head like a maniac as he poked Vincent's shoulder.

"Spot on, fratello." he chuckled.

He liked her?

Matteo started to think about the times that the two of them had spent together. The moments that they had shared was truly something that was out of a romance novel he would read. He could recall many moments they had and in the heat of it the sudden urge to always want to kiss her.

The date that they had been on was not even supposed to be a date, but that was what it had felt like. Those feeling buried deep within him was certainly not the same as what he feels for his family or his friends, but entirely different. It was on a different level of caring for someone and something deeper than that.

Feelings? Could he have developed those?

No.

He was not raised that way. He was not raised to even show care for a woman and yet he went against what his father had taught him. However, the time of his father arriving at his home and disrespecting Aurora in front of him made him ignore his teachings. He felt much better for going against his father and protecting her.

That was what he wanted. Matteo wants to protect her.

Does that mean that he likes her. Does a man like a woman when they feel the need to protect her, and care deeply for her?

"I do not." those were the words that came out of his mouth completely different to what he thought.

Those three words tasted sour on his tongue but he still chose to say it.

"There is no need to lie about it, capo. We all know that you have feelings for the girl."

"I don't." he continued to defy the truth.

"That's a shame." Vincent sighed. "The girl does like you very much."

Matteo choked on his drink. "Mi scusi?" (Excuse me?)

Reggie chuckled behind his hand and Matteo's focus was shifted to him. "You are a fool to not notice it, bossman."

Vincent nodded. "A blind man can see that the girl does like you."

Aurora likes him?

No that's bullshit. But why does he feel good knowing that she could quite possibly have some sort of interest in him?

"She does not." Matteo said.

"You both are ignorant to each other's feelings it's too funny to not laugh at."

"Stai zitto." Matteo glared at his two friends. (Shut up)

"When is the wedding?" Reggie joked and Vincent laughed along with him.

He sighed at how stupid and childish they were acting.

Speaking of Aurora as if she could sense that they spoke about her, he saw that she was calling him.

After Vincent has brought it to his attention that there might be feelings involved between the two of them, he felt different when he saw her name on the screen. He could smile which would show that there was some effect that she and only she had on him, and he would never admit it but he did indeed like that.

He answered the phone, getting ready to answer her and hear her sweet voice but instead he heard soft cries on the other end.

His body froze.

"M-matteo. Matteo h-help." she whispered, her cries filling his ears.

Heyyyy guys...

I am so sorry for disappearing on you all and taking so long for this new chapter. I hope you can forgive me :(