The Devoted Gentleman (EDITING)

Chapter 27

Matteo just arrived back at his apartment after a long flight, his whole body was hurting from sitting too long in the plane and the car. He was exhausted. So much things had happened within the span of four days. He had no idea how he was supposed to return back to the life he used to know. It was nearly impossible for Matteo to return to his old self then when he had known the truth about his own identity.

The passing of his mother had left him with a huge question mark along with the answers he had been looking for his whole life, yet at the same time, he was left in a dilemma. Sometimes, he wondered if it was better for him to not know in the first place. Because if he did not know, he did not have to be curious, and if he was not curious, he could easily move on with his life without any trouble. Oh well, there was no point in dwelling over it. What had been learnt could not be unlearned.

Pulling the key out of his bag, he unlocked the door and walked into the dark living room of his apartment. His fingers explored the wall to find the light switch and turned on the lamp to reveal the sight of his messy apartment. Yes, he was in such a rush that morning when he first heard of the news he had forgotten to clean up beforehand. The dirty dish from that morning was still in his sink, creating a semi foul scent across the room. A bit of dust had also gathered around the furniture since he forgot to clean them before he left.

Dragging his fatigued body, he picked up a mop and a blue bottle of cleaning solution to clean up the mess since he knew he wasn't going to rest properly in a dirty environment. Thirty minutes later, he was done with the basics. It was not perfect, but at least he was feeling a bit more comfortable and the room did not smell as horrible as before.

Once he entered his room, he walked straight to the shower and cleansed himself. As water fell down to his hair, drenching his entire body, he placed his palm on the wall and drops of tears started to fall from his eyes, blending in with the water drops. He had restrained himself for so long, but it was too much for him to bear. A single letter managed to crash his entire world. He did not know what else was hidden by his mother before, but what she revealed to him was enough to shake him to the core.

The letter was shoved carefully in his bag, since he thought he might need to use it as a proof later on, the question was whether or not he would approach the man in the letter. The name still lingered in his head, he had only read it once, but that one time was enough for him to memorize the man's name.

"Your father is Gianluca Saverino" He recalled what was written

Gianluca Saverino... He had searched up the name on the internet and much to his surprise, it turned out he was one of Rome's most respected businessman who owned a fair share of asset and stocks throughout Europe. When he was browsing through the man's profile, he stumbled across a picture of him and his family, he had a beautiful wife by the name of Chiara Consiglio, and the two of them had two sons, the eldest from the couple was Alessio Saverino, who had taken over the family business when his father stepped back from the company, while the youngest, Valentino Saverino, used to work in Milan as a fashion designer, but recently had returned back to Rome when his brother got in an accident.

He recalled back what was written on the rest of the letter.

"I used to work for the Saverino when I was younger. When I first entered the manor, Gianluca was still engaged with his current wife, Chiara. She was a lovely woman and incredibly kind to me and the rest of the staff. While Gianluca was a handsome man who had just inherited his position in his family business. In my eyes, they seemed like the perfect couple. I had no intention of ruining their relationship, but somehow, Gianluca found me, he began to show interest in me and overtime, he had showered me with so much attention and love, he sent me gifts, increased my salary and spared time with me at night. What could a woman in my position do when a wealthy and powerful man like him wanted me? I also loved him. I allowed my love to cloud my judgement. For a moment, I forgot my own position. I let him do whatever he wanted with me without ever thinking of the consequences.

Soon after, I found out I was pregnant with you. I revealed this pregnancy to him, thinking he would respond positively, but instead, I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before, he was frightened. That was when I knew he had never wanted this pregnancy. In an attempt to maintain his engagement, he proposed me an offer, one that I could not refuse. He would give me a large amount of money both to abort you and to keep silent about our affair, then he fired me, telling me to return back to Sicily and never went back to Rome. I kept the later part of our deal due to my love and respect for him, however, I never did the abortion. You, my son, is a Saverino by birth. I could never return to Rome because I had no place in there, but you do.

Now, whatever you might do with this information is up to you. I just wanted to tell you the truth and express my deepest apologies to you for keeping everything a secret. I needed to do it to protect you. But now you are a grown man and an adult. You are old enough to make your own decisions and live on your own. Just know that I will always love you no matter what. And I am sorry I haven't told you this sooner. I just hope you can forgive me and live a better life that I could not.

Sincerely,

Your ill-fated mother"

When he first read the letter, it took him a while to comprehend what was going on. He had expected his reaction to be better, but no, he was utterly confused, like a lost child in a parade, only the parade was called life.

Gianluca Saverino...

If his father was Gianluca Saverino, that meant he was also Saverino and by birth, he was the eldest, which means those two men he saw on the internet were his younger half-brothers. Yes, he had never known them his whole life, but somehow the thought of having another family thrilled him.

He was never alone after all.

All those years his mother was suffering alone because she was too naïve and powerless to do anything. But Matteo was not his mother, he was his own person. Although he understood her reasoning for remaining silent and invisible, he was not going to follow her path. He wanted to meet his father. He wanted to listen to his explanation. Matteo had no intention to claim anything or ask for too much. Because he knew it would be difficult to integrate himself into the family. All he wanted was a conversation with the father he never knew existed until a few days ago and some fatherly affection.

He just wanted to be admitted. To have his existence known.

Matteo had had his whole life planned out from then on and he had no intention of straying further from his original plan, but he could not simply ignore the newfound truth he had just discovered. If he was indeed a Saverino, then he needed to know who they are.

As he was getting dressed, he threw himself in the bed and went to take out the letter from the bag, re read it as a reminder. Everything still felt like a dream. His life reminded him of a telenovela his mother used to watch at home at night when she was back from the market. It was full of drama and meaningless clichés, he used to hate those as a young boy because he found them unrealistic. Turned out his life was exactly like one of those telenovela.

It's crazy

Putting the letter back in his bag, he walked out to the kitchen and fetch himself

before taking out his laptop. He started browsing the famous Saverino manor, which is said to be one of the largest resident in Rome, and found it after a lengthy browse.

Taking a piece of paper and pen, he wrote down the address and folded it securely on his bedside. He was too tired to do anything that day, but in a few days, he was planning on giving them a visit.