CHAPTER FOUR

"Unexpected Attachments"

ASHLEY

You ever feel like life's laughing behind your back?

Welcome back to hell.

I got to work early, real early. I'm determined to finish yesterday's work disaster before His Royal Coldness arrives and dumps another mountain of work on my desk like it’s a trash bin. Yesterday’s work was still fresh, and I was already halfway through cleaning up the remains. But today was weird. It’s been three hours, and the boss hadn’t shown up.

Vincenzo Sanchez, late?

I don't know much about him, but I know something is strange. I mean... it's been three hours now.

But all I had was silence. I'd rearranged the coffee station, synced the files, and finished reorganizing the office supply drawers.

That's when I heard it.

Ding.

Elevator doors skip open—and then he walked in.

The devil himself. Draped in a navy-blue suit so sleek it probably cost more than my entire annual salary, rent included. His steps were controlled, sharp. Jaw clenched like someone had personally insulted his ancestors. No greetings, no smiles—just that stone-carved expression he wore like a uniform.

But today… he wasn’t alone.

Trailing slightly behind him was a boy. Small. Five or six, maybe. Dressed in a custom-tailored mini blazer and patent leather loafers, with hair combed so neatly you’d think he walked out of a catalogue. And then there was his aura—freakishly similar to Vincenzo’s. Not the face, not the build—just the energy.

You know how some kids seem like they were born royalty? That was this one.

The office fell into silence as they passed. Two junior employees glanced over their laptops, exchanging quick whispers. One woman even gasped quietly. Whispers would start later. I’d heard vague rumors that Vincenzo had a kid. The rumors vanished almost as quickly as they popped up. No one had ever seen the supposed child.

But this little boy? He looked like he belonged here. Like he’d always belonged here.

“Good morning,” I said, my voice neutral but polite.

Vincenzo didn’t spare me a glance. His jaw was still set, like someone had thrown his coffee into traffic.

"Take care of the meeting with Felix," he said flatly and kept walking.

Seriously?

I blinked.

But it was the kid who lingered.

He stood there for a second, just… staring at me. Unblinking. Curious. Like he was trying to read me.

And it wasn’t creepy—it was familiar. The way he tilted his head... it reminded me of someone. I just didn’t know who.

And then—he smiled.

Not just any smile. A full-on, no-holds-barred, toothy smile. Sunshine. The type of smile that makes you forget everything for a moment.

“Hi,” he said brightly. “I’m Mateo.”

My heart hiccupped.

Mateo.

There was something about that name. Like it hit a memory I didn’t even know I had.

“I’m Ashley,” I said, crouching slightly to meet him at eye level. “Are you… with the Boss?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “He’s my boss too.”

Then he leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “But he doesn’t smile.”

I burst into laughter. Out loud. Like full-volume joy I hadn’t experienced in ages. Even Vincenzo turned slightly—maybe shocked I still had a functioning vocal cord that wasn’t used solely to say, “Yes, sir.”

I didn’t care.

Mateo had already melted my soul.

---

LATER THAT DAY...

Mateo wasn’t normal.

Not in a creepy way—more like… surreal. He was sweet, surprisingly intelligent, and emotionally in tune in a way that didn’t match his age. Within minutes, he had taken over the empty seat by my desk, swinging his tiny legs while doodling stick figures on the back of an old meeting agenda. He wore one of my handmade bracelets now, and my favorite pen was tucked behind his ear like it was his badge of office.

We talked about everything.

Cartoons. Pizza toppings. How Vincenzo never lets him drink soda. How his pasta last night “tasted like punishment.” How he was going to be “king of everything” when he grew up.

I was gone.

Absolutely smitten.

“Why doesn’t he smile?” Mateo asked, glancing toward Vincenzo’s glass office.

“I ask myself that every day,” I whispered, as dramatically as I could.

He laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. I had to catch him.

And Vincenzo?

He stood inside his office, watching us.

Not interrupting. Not joining. Just watching, like we were some strange foreign documentary he didn’t quite understand.

But what shook me wasn’t Vincenzo’s confusion. It was Mateo’s lack of fear. He wasn’t scared of him at all. In fact, he joked about him with the same ease kids talk about cartoon villains.

I stared at Mateo as he smiled up at me, resting his tiny chin on my desk like he belonged there.

“Can I ask you a question?” he said, suddenly softer.

“Of course,” I replied, gently ruffling his hair.

“Will you be my best friend?”

I blinked.

That’s it. Take my whole heart, kid.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Absolutely.”

He nodded solemnly, like he’d just made a life pact. Then he pointed to the bracelet on my wrist.

“I want that. It’s our friendship mark,” he said, eyes wide and hopeful.

I couldn’t even remember how I got that bracelet. Maybe I made it. Maybe it was a gift. It didn’t matter now.

I slipped it off and fastened it on his tiny wrist. “So you don’t forget me when you’re bored,” I smiled.

He beamed.

Then pointed at a pen on my desk. “Why do you have this?” he asked. “My mom had the same one before she left.”

Something in me paused. I had no idea where that pen came from. I thought it was just from a gift box. But now... I wasn’t so sure.

---

VINCENZO

This was… bizarre.

Mateo had never opened up like this before.

Not with me. Not with his tutors. Not with the guards. Not even with my godfather. He was always polite. Always distant. Always aware of his position.

Now, here he was—giggling, drawing stick figures, whispering secrets, laughing like he had no care in the world. Like he’d just been waiting for Ashley to appear.

I couldn’t stop watching them. Her wiping crumbs from his mouth. Him resting his head on her shoulder. The kind of bond people took months or years to build—somehow forming in just hours.

I didn’t know whether to be suspicious… or impressed.

And then—my phone rang.

Private line. Untraceable number.

I picked it up. “Yes?”

The voice that came through was ice-cold.

“I see the boy’s bonding with a total stranger.”

It was him. The godfather.

“Tell me, Vincenzo. Has Mateo ever connected with anyone like that before?”

I stayed silent. My throat tightened.

“You’re not capable of raising him,” he snapped. “You don’t even understand him. Maybe I made a mistake.”

Click.

That was it.

No room for rebuttal. No explanation. Just a flat-out judgment—and an unspoken warning.

But what bothered me more than the call… was that he was right.

And even more than that—

I hated how easily Ashley reached a part of Mateo I never could.

---

ASHLEY

I didn’t realize the day had flown by until it was already dusk. And somehow, Vincenzo hadn’t yelled at me once. Not one errand. Not one complaint. Mateo had taken over the whole day, and I hadn’t minded one bit.

It was peaceful. Too peaceful.

We walked toward the elevator together. Mateo handed me a folded paper—his little doodle masterpiece. A stick figure with wild hair labeled “Ashinee” and a tiny version of himself beside me wearing the bracelet.

I almost cried right there.

When we reached the black car waiting for him downstairs, I crouched to say goodbye. He looked like he didn’t want to leave.

“So you don’t forget me when you get bored,” I reminded him, tapping the bracelet on his wrist again.

He grinned and threw his arms around my neck.

“Thanks, Aunty. I’ll come back to you again. Promise you’ll be here?”

My heart dropped.

It wasn’t the word itself. It was the way he said it. So certain. So… safe.

Like I’d already become home to him.

Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. I couldn’t breathe. What the hell was wrong with me? He’s just a child. A sweet, perfect little stranger. But something about that moment cracked open parts of me I didn’t know still existed.

“I promise,” I whispered, brushing a tear away. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

He nodded, then waved enthusiastically. “Bye! See you any day again!”

---

VINCENZO

I stood beside the car, watching Ashley walk away slowly—her back straight, but her hands wiping at her eyes.

Mateo was still smiling in the backseat, the bracelet glinting like treasure on his wrist.

And I stood there, wondering—

What the hell happened between them in just a few hours?

And why did it feel like I’d already lost something I never even had?