Chapter 6
Avery was convinced she had mistaken the man's identity.
That night had been wild—from the bathroom to the bedroom, that male model had left her breathless countless times in his arms.
Yet rumors painted Matteo Ferrari as a man who avoided women's touch entirely. Some even whispered he was impotent.
Most importantly, there was no way a man like him would ever moonlight as a model.
The lighting had been too dim that night. The model must have just resembled Matteo eerily well.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ferrari. Thank you for stepping in," Avery said, taking a calculated step backward to meet his gaze directly.
"I apologize for disrupting your event."
She exhaled with relief.
She must have confused him with someone else.
But then Matteo's lips curved into a dangerous smile.
"Meeting for the first time?"
Avery's traitorous heart skipped at the sound of his laughter.
Then Matteo tilted her chin upward with one finger.
"Ms. Vaughn, perhaps you've forgotten our quite recent... acquaintance."
In that moment, Avery felt as if her blood had turned to ice in her veins.
There was no more denying it.
It was definitely him.
But how could it be?
Not long ago, they'd had sex.
She hadn't just mistaken Matteo for a model—she'd left him a tip before walking away.
What she'd dismissed as a simple hookup had now crashed back into her life.
And worse, Matteo's dark burgundy eyes were fixed on her with predatory intensity.
Avery tamped down the panic rising in her chest, forcing herself to maintain composure.
"Mr. Ferrari, you must be confusing me with someone else. I understand you've been in Italy until recently, while I've been in Atlanta for the past three years without leaving once."
"Is that so?"
Matteo released her chin with a scornful laugh.
"I guess I was mistaken."
He couldn't believe the audacity of this woman.
She'd not only slept with him and disappeared, but now she was pretending not to know him.
She'd even deliberately mentioned Italy, clearly betting he wouldn't expose what happened that night.
After all, everyone believed he had only returned to the country today.
"Mr. Ferrari, you're mistaken. She's my wife."
Owen had been about to lose his temper, but upon realizing who stood before him, he swallowed his words.
"And we weren't fighting just now. I was only trying to have a conversation with her."
His explanation came with unusual patience.
This was Matteo's territory, after all.
With a potential business partnership at stake, Owen knew to tread carefully.
But Avery had reached her limit.
"We're in the middle of a divorce, Owen. Just sign the papers, or I'll see you in court."
Her words visibly rattled Owen, his face darkening with embarrassment.
"How long are you going to keep up this act? There's a time and place for your drama!"
Matteo turned to the woman beside Owen, his interest piqued.
"This is the first I've heard of someone abandoning their wife to attend a gala with another woman."
The corner of his mouth curved into a wolfish smile.
"Owen, your obsession with Ms. Vaughn seems to be upsetting your date."
After he spoke, tears welled up in Chloe's eyes.
"That's not it at all. Owen and Avery are just having a spat. He had no choice—business protocol required him to bring a companion."
She then turned to Avery with a wounded expression.
"Avery, you're being truly awful. After you left yesterday, Owen drank himself sick with a terrible stomachache, while you got all dressed up to cause a scene."
The words had barely left her mouth when Avery slapped her across the face.
"Awful? You haven't seen awful yet."
Avery's eyes narrowed, her presence suddenly commanding the space.
"Avery, you hit me?" Chloe clutched her reddening cheek, playing the victim card perfectly.
But Avery couldn't care less about the watching crowd. She went for the jugular.
"What now? Going to call daddy for help like Thomas did earlier?"
"You—!" Chloe was so furious she nearly ground her teeth to dust.
Whether imagination or reality, Chloe couldn't shake the feeling that this Avery was a completely different woman from before.
Swallowing her rage, she adopted her most pitiful expression and turned to Matteo.
"Mr. Ferrari, Avery is causing a scene and assaulted me. What should we do about this?"
Matteo responded with a lazy smile.
"Obviously, we should escort the troublemakers out."
Chloe was about to smirk, anticipating Avery being thrown out like yesterday's trash.
But in the next breath, Matteo spoke with casual authority.
"Someone remove her and Owen from the premises."
Matteo's presence filled the room, making the air itself feel heavy.
"My establishment isn't open to fools."
Each word he spoke landed like a knife in Chloe's heart.
"If I recall correctly, you're nothing but an illegitimate daughter nobody acknowledges. Where did you find the audacity to show your face to me?"
Every syllable was calculated to humiliate her.
The color drained from Chloe's face.
But the man before her was Matteo Ferrari. No matter how furious she was, she didn't dare react.
Owen could only suppress his anger.
"Avery, I'll be waiting at home for an explanation."
He was about to say more, but security personnel had already surrounded them.
"Don't put your hands on us. We're leaving!"
Finally, Owen and Chloe had no choice but to slink away.
At Matteo's command, the other guests returned to the ballroom, leaving only him and Avery.
"Mr. Ferrari, thank you," Avery forced herself to say.
"But my friends are waiting. I should go."
She turned to leave.
But Matteo's towering figure blocked her path.
"Ms. Vaughn, you sleep with me and disappear, and now you pretend not to know me?"
Under his gaze, Avery felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Matteo was dangerous.
She continued her charade: "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."
In response, Matteo casually produced a necklace from his pocket.
"In that case, this necklace must not be yours either."
Avery's breath caught. The delicate chain—her mother's last gift—dangled from his fingers.
"Please return it to me."
But Matteo stepped onto the staircase. "Come upstairs. Perhaps I'll give you a chance."
He was clearly toying with her.
Avery hesitated for a few seconds before following him up.
When she reached his study, Matteo was already seated, legs crossed, fingers idly twirling her necklace.
Avery immediately spotted her personal files spread across his desk.
"You investigated me?"
"When someone sleeps with me and vanishes, I make it my business to find them."
Matteo made no attempt to hide his intentions.
He played with the necklace between his fingers.
"I'm curious how you ended up with someone like Owen."
"That's none of your business."
Avery didn't answer, instead meeting his gaze while restraining her emotions.
"What will it take for you to return my necklace?"
Matteo dangled the chain before her, deliberately unhurried.
"You can come get it yourself."
Avery's expression hardened.
Without hesitation, she lunged for the necklace.
But the moment her fingers closed around it, Matteo seized her wrist.
Thrown off balance, Avery tumbled directly into his lap.
"You did that on purpose!"
She struggled to right herself, but Matteo trapped her against his thighs.
Their bodies pressed together in an intimate position.
"You caught me," Matteo's deep voice whispered against her ear.
"Your movements were so decisive. Have you been playing a part all these years?"
His warm breath tickled her skin.
As their eyes met, Avery's pulse hammered against her throat.
The way Matteo looked at her sent a primal thrill through her body—a hunter who had finally cornered his prey.
"Everyone has secrets."
Avery dropped her facade, speaking with cool detachment.
"Mr. Ferrari, didn't you also spread false information, claiming you only returned to the country today?"
Her words carried both mockery and warning.
"So please let me go. I'll forget everything about that night too, as if nothing happened."
But instead of releasing her, Matteo tightened his grip on her waist.
"So you find it that easy to forget everything."
Matteo laughed coldly.
No one had ever dared to walk away from him.
His burgundy eyes harbored a storm.
Even if Avery wanted to forget, he had ways to make her remember.
"Of course I don't remember anything about that night."
Avery, unaware of his thoughts, tried to push him away.
They were too close.
Matteo's hand firmly controlled her waist.
Just like that night, she had nowhere to escape.
"You don't remember?"
Matteo repeated the words, seeming amused by her audacity.
"Should I help you remember?"
As their eyes locked, the sexual tension radiating from Matteo was palpable.
Avery's heart raced against her ribs.
Before she could react, Matteo grasped her chin.
He leaned forward and kissed her.
In that instant, Avery felt electricity coursing through her body, igniting a fire of desire that threatened to consume her whole.