Chapter 25 Matters of the Heart
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rossi entered the room and found Antonio standing silently by the window, his gaze fixed outside. Recognizing the weight of the moment, he refrained from speaking immediately. Antonio finally sighed heavily and leaned against the desk.
“What is it?” Antonio asked, his tone neutral.
“Miss Herina called my line earlier. She said she tried reaching you multiple times, but you didn’t answer,” Rossi reported.
“Herina? What did she want?” Antonio inquired, his curiosity piqued. Herina rarely bypassed him to call Rossi unless it was urgent.
“She wanted to discuss the last details regarding the models for the upcoming event. She mentioned needing your input before moving forward with the designs,”  Rossi explained.
“I see. Understood.”
Rossi hesitated momentarily, unsure if he should proceed with his next question. “May I ask something?”
“Go on,” Antonio prompted, taking a seat behind his desk.
“Do you still want me to continue searching for Vega?”
Antonio froze at the question, the silence stretching between them.
Do I still want to find her?
The answer wasn’t clear to him either. His feelings toward Vega had shifted from love to mere remnants of attachment. More often than not, his time with Rose made him forget Vega altogether.
“Sir?” Rossi’s voice brought him back to reality.
Antonio adjusted his expression, masking the turmoil within. His emotions were conflicted, caught between the past and the present.
“I’m not sure anymore,” Antonio finally admitted.
“Do you still love her?” Rossi pressed gently.
“No, I…” Antonio trailed off, unable to fully articulate his feelings.
“If it were me,” Rossi began, “I’d stop searching.”
Antonio’s gaze darkened slightly, and he stood, returning to the window. The weight of the decision pressed heavily on his shoulders.
Stop searching… Perhaps Rossi was right. There was no point in chasing a love that had been lost for years, especially when his heart now yearned for someone else.
“Have you ever been in love?” Antonio asked, his tone softer.
“No, sir,” Rossi replied plainly, his expression betraying no emotion.
“Really? I thought you’d understand love better than I do,” Antonio said with a small smile.
“I’ve only observed it in others, sir. I’ve never experienced it myself,” Rossi admitted. To him, love seemed like an illusion, something fleeting and unattainable.
“Do you plan on falling in love someday?”
“No, sir,” Rossi answered without hesitation, his tone resolute.
Antonio smirked but quickly sobered. “Continue looking into Vega. I want to know if she’s doing well, nothing more.”
“Understood.”
As Rossi turned to leave, he paused. “By the way, I ran into Miss Rose earlier. She asked what kind of person you are. I think you should answer that question yourself.”
Antonio nodded. “Thank you, Rossi. You can go rest now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once alone, Antonio lingered by the window, lost in thought. He didn’t move to seek out Rose immediately.
“Soon enough, you’ll know the real me,” he murmured to himself, a content smile spreading across his face before returning to his desk to work.
 
Dinner that evening was set in Antonio’s private wing of the mansion. The staff were taken aback—no woman had ever dined there with him before. This was unprecedented.
Antonio emerged from his room after speaking with Rossi and headed to the adjacent room to check on Rose. Peeking inside, he found it empty. Closing the door, he descended the stairs, scanning the space for her.
“Are those Rose’s bags?” he asked Martha, who was bustling nearby.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you seen her?”
“No, sir.”
Antonio nodded and began searching the mansion. It didn’t take long for him to remember the one place Rose frequented. Without delay, he headed in that direction.
 
The moon cast a silvery glow on Rose as she gazed at the sky, her expression serene but contemplative. Antonio stood silently, admiring her for a moment. She looked ethereally under the soft light, and for a fleeting second, he felt breathless.
He stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
“Ah!” Rose gasped in surprise.
“Did I scare you?”
“You always sneak up on me like that,” she said, her voice tinged with exasperation. “It startled me.”
“Tell me, what’s on your mind?” Antonio asked, his tone gentle but probing.
Rose avoided his gaze, her thoughts too tangled to put into words.
“Nothing,” she replied softly.
Antonio wasn’t convinced. He tilted her chin up, his eyes locking with hers. “You’re lying. Something is bothering you.”
“There’s nothing,” Rose insisted, stepping back slightly.
Antonio didn’t let up. “If it’s about me, you can tell me.”
“I’m not thinking about you!” she exclaimed, though her flushed cheeks betrayed her.
“Really?” Antonio teased. “I thought you might still be thinking about the kiss.”
Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red, and she glanced away.
“I wasn’t!” she protested, though the memory of his lips lingered vividly in her mind.
“Hmm, is that so?” Antonio chuckled softly, thoroughly enjoying her flustered state.
Rose glared at him, then turned to leave. Before she could take another step, Antonio caught her wrist.
“Are you embarrassed?” he asked, his voice low.
“No,” she lied, her tone unconvincing.
Antonio smirked, leaning in slightly. “I wonder… was I better than anyone else who’s kissed you?”
Rose’s eyes widened, her mind racing. How could he ask something like that?
Seeing her reaction, Antonio smiled. He didn’t need her to answer—he’d make sure he was the only one to kiss her from now on.
“Come on,” he said finally, his voice softening. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
Rose nodded, her heart still racing, as she followed him back inside.