The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife (Blair and Grayson) novel Chapter 302

Chapter 302

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Chapter 302

~MARCO~

“I cannot believe you posted such a ridiculous video,” my mother said, her voice already climbing. “Our entire family is embarrassed. Do you know how many calls your father and I have received since you put that online? How could you do this to us, Marco? Think about your grandfather. Your great-aunt. Everyone saw it. They are very disappointed in you.”

I kept my hands loose at my sides. “I don’t see the problem. She’s my wife. You kept giving Caterina my location. Someone took photos of the whole thing. I had to make it clear who I’m married to so the rumors and the lies would stop. I’m sorry, mother, but you brought this on yourself.”

“Marco.” The single word echoed around us. “Have you lost your mind? You have never spoken to me this way. Not once. And you are doing it for a Bellandi girl? What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing is wrong with me.” I kept my voice low despite how irritated I was. “Can we drop this? It’s been a long day.”

She stared at me, jaw set, eyes sharp. Then something else moved across her face, the same look she used when she decided a conversation was no longer going the way she wanted it to.

“Let me see her.”

I went still. “What?”

“Let me see your so-called wife.” She shifted the bag higher on her shoulder and took a half-step toward the house. “If she is important enough for you to put our name on the internet next to that family’s name, she can come outside and stand in front of me. I want to look at her. I want to talk to her. Right now.”

I did not move. Loretta had already dealt with Caterina, the articles, her brother, and the recording. I was not adding my mother to that list. Not today. Not while she was still tired from the rest of it.

“She’s sleeping. You can’t see her right now.”

My mother tried to step past me toward the front steps. I moved with her, blocking the path. She stopped short. Her eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m telling you she is not available.”

“Do not lie to me.” Her voice sharpened. “I saw her with you when I pulled in. She was standing right there by the car. She was not asleep five minutes ago. She is inside that

Chapter 302

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house, and you are standing out here like a guard. What exactly do you think you are Protecting her from?”

“She was tired,” I said. “The day was long. She went inside. I’m sure she is already asleep.”

The shock on my mother’s face made me hesitate for a second. She had never heard me refuse her like this. Not for Caterina. Not for anyone.

“What is going on with you?” She searched my face like she was looking for an explanation. “You have never acted this way. Not for anyone. Not even Caterina. You defended that girl once and you still listened when I told you she was a mistake. You never stood in front of your own home and refused to let me in. What did this one do to you?”

“She didn’t do anything.” I kept my tone even. “She is my wife. You are the one who keeps sending Caterina places she has no reason to be. The video was my way of making it known. That’s all.”

“Do you understand what your behavior is doing to this family?” Her voice rose again. You are humiliating us. You are standing here treating me like an intruder in your life because of a girl you married in secret. Let me speak to her. I have a right to see the woman my son claims is his wife.”

“You do not have that right today,” I said. “Not when you have spent the last few days feeding Caterina information and watching her circle my wife. Loretta is not coming out so you can interrogate her. She is not coming out so you can look her up and down and decide whether she is good enough for the family name. She is already my wife. That decision has been made.”

My mother’s mouth tightened. She took another step, angling as if she might still slip past me. I shifted again, wider this time, and she stopped.

The frustration flared hotter in her eyes.

“You are blocking me from your own house,” she said, the words clipped and furious. “ You are refusing to let me speak to the woman who is now supposedly part of this family. Do you hear how that sounds? It makes you seem weak. I did not raise a weak son.”

“I look like a man who will not let his mother ambush his wife after the day she has already had,” I answered. “If that makes me weak to you, then I am weak.”

“Do not twist my words.” She jabbed a finger toward the door behind me. “I am not ambushing anyone. I am your mother. I have every right to meet her properly, face to face, and I will not be ordered off my son’s property like a stranger. Open that door or step aside. I am not leaving until I have spoken to her.”

“Then you will be standing here a long time.” I

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Chapter 302

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did not raise my voice. “She is not coming out. You are not going in. If you want to be angry about the video, be angry. You are not walking into that house to question my wife.”

For a moment I thought she would push past me anyway Her body leaned forward. Her free hand lifted as if she might place it on my chest and shove. She didn’t. The hand dropped. She adjusted the strap of her bag again, the movement sharp, and stared at the door like she could see through it.

“This is not finished,” she said. The anger had not cooled; it had only gone quieter and more dangerous. “Your father will hear about this conversation. So will your grandfather. When they ask me why my son is suddenly willing to humiliate his family for a Bellandi, I will not lie for you. I will tell them exactly how you stood here and refused to let me meet her. I will tell them you chose that girl over every expectation we have ever had of you.”

“Then don’t lie,” I said. I stepped aside just enough to clear the path back to her car. Drive safely.”

She did not move toward the car. She stayed where she was, eyes fixed on me, frustration still radiating off her in waves.

“You think this is protection,” she said. “You think you are shielding her. What you are doing is proving that you have no control over this situation. A real wife would come out and face me. A real wife would not hide behind her husband while he lectures his own mother. If she cannot even stand in front of me for five minutes, how do you expect this family to accept her?”

“I do not need this family to accept her,” I answered. “I need her safe. Right now that means she stays inside and you leave.”

My mother’s laugh was short and bitter. “Safe. From me. Your own mother. Do you hear yourself?”

I held her stare and said nothing.

She studied me for another long second. Then her expression shifted again, the anger still there but edged now with something else.

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