Chapter 7: Incident

• “Miracle, this is Mateo’s favorite food. I’ll teach you how to make it later. For now, you and Mateo can eat.”
• Orina served ossobuco, a traditional Milanese dish, to Miracle and Mateo. She had taught Miracle how to make Mateo’s favorite food before. Yet Miracle’s expression looked hesitant—how could it not? She wasn’t good at cooking. All this time, she had never had the chance to learn.
• “Yes, Mom,” Miracle replied with a forced look. There was no way she could refuse her mother-in-law’s wishes.
• “If you’re weak at cooking, you shouldn’t have to do it,” Mateo snapped coldly without looking at Miracle.
• Miracle snorted in displeasure. “What do you know? You’ll see, I’ll improve my cooking later!” she replied.
• Mateo shrugged indifferently. He didn’t care what Miracle said. He chose to enjoy the ossobuco made by his mother. Meanwhile, Miracle continued to stare at Mateo in annoyance. Orina, who was in front of Mateo and Miracle, smiled.
• “Mateo, I think you don’t need to work tomorrow. How about riding with Miracle instead? You’ve always been riding alone. Surely, riding with your wife is better than riding alone,” Orina said with a smile.
• “I have a meeting tomorrow. Besides, I don’t want to hear a whining woman complaining about riding,” Mateo retorted, causing Miracle to glare at him.
• “Do you even know me? I’ve never whined in my life!” Miracle exclaimed with a sharpened gaze. Her hands were clenched tightly at Mateo’s insulting words. She didn’t even like to cry. She never whined if she couldn’t get something. How could that man make accusations without even knowing her?
• “Mateo, you can’t say that. Didn’t you see Miracle practicing shooting? She’s not a weak woman,” Orina told him.
• Mateo placed the knife and fork in his hands down. He then looked at his mother with a cold gaze. “Just practicing doesn’t mean you’re good at it. Everyone can practice. But it doesn’t mean they can apply it.”
• “Hey! Are you underestimating me? Do you think I’m going to lose to you?” Miracle exclaimed, her irritation growing.
• Without answering, Mateo got up from his seat. He was about to walk out of the dining room. However, his steps were halted when he heard Miracle’s voice calling his name quite loudly.
• “Mateo De Luca!”
• Mateo averted his eyes, staring at Miracle coldly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He remained silent and waited for her next words.
• “I know why you don’t want to ride with me. You’re scared, aren’t you? Considering you’ve never fought anyone.”
• “Scared?” Mateo smiled sarcastically. Then he moved closer to Miracle and tugged at her chin. “Are you saying I’m afraid of you?”
• “Yes! You are!” Miracle lifted her chin, daring the man before her. Her blue eyes locked with Mateo’s brown ones, and they glared at each other for a tense moment.
• “All right, I’m happy to accept. I hope you won’t cry when you lose to me,” Mateo said with a smirk.
• Miracle smiled sardonically. She brought her hand to Mateo’s jaw and whispered in his ear, “Let’s see, Mateo. You or I will cry.”
• “Well, you’re courageous. How about today? The daytime weather will be great for riding,” Mateo smiled triumphantly. Yes, of course, he knew women hated the sun. That’s why Mateo invited Miracle to ride in the afternoon like this.
• “Great! The sooner the better. I’ll have my assistant take my horse.”
• Without another word, Miracle picked up her cell phone from the table and immediately contacted her assistant to bring her horse within fifteen minutes.
• Orina had been sitting in front of the dining table. She kept looking at Mateo and Miracle. She was about to reprimand her son for continuing to be cold to Miracle. However, she decided against it because she saw that Miracle was able to keep up with Mateo.
• Miracle had already changed into her riding clothes. There was no way she was still wearing shorts and a tube top. Moreover, the scorching sun would surely burn her skin. D*mn, Mateo! She knew he had deliberately taken her riding this afternoon because it was so hot outside. However, Miracle had no other choice but to accept Mateo’s challenge. After changing her clothes, she walked out of the room to Mateo, who was waiting for her.
• “Are you ready?” he asked coldly.
• “As you can see,” she replied with an equally cold and flat look. “Is Jordan here yet?” she asked as she looked around, but she didn’t see her assistant.
• “I don’t think you need to ask. You saw yourself that your assistant wasn’t here,” he replied lazily.
• Miracle chuckled in annoyance. “How bothersome!”
• “Just shut up. You can use my horse,” Mateo retorted, who immediately walked away from her.
• She cursed inwardly and gave the annoying man an irritated look. This time, she had no other choice—she had to use Mateo’s horse. The distance between her mansion and Mateo’s was too far, and Jordan, her assistant, would need at least fifteen minutes to bring her horse. Of course, that was impossible. So now, Miracle walked behind Mateo.
• When Miracle arrived at the mansion’s backyard, she saw Orina sitting in a chair under a tree. Meanwhile, Mateo was with his two horses. Although upset, Miracle tried to remain calm. She caught up with Mateo.
• “Miracle, you’ll be riding Molly. She’s the horse I take good care of. Remember, you must never hit her. She’ll get angry if you do,” Mateo warned her.
• She snorted. “I’m not that bad! There’s no way I’d hit a horse!”
• “Can you ride by yourself, or do you need me to help you?” Mateo asked, looking at her. He thought she should be able to manage on her own—after all, Miracle was tall enough.
• “Don’t always underestimate me, Mateo De Luca.” she quickly climbed onto the horse, Molly. Meanwhile, Mateo wore only a sarcastic smile. He then climbed onto his own horse.
• “Are you ready?” he asked, giving Miracle a cold stare.
• “Sure,” she replied with confidence.
• Mateo smiled. On the count of three, they mounted their horses. Orina, who saw Mateo and Miracle riding at full speed, immediately took a video of her son and daughter-in-law. Of course, she would not waste the moment.
• “Well, it turns out you’re pretty good at riding.”
• Mateo grinned at the sight of Miracle leading in front of him. She showed no fear as she rode the horse at full speed. Not wanting to be outdone, Mateo increased his pace to catch up to her.
• “Mateo! Are you still underestimating me? You don’t know me very well!” Miracle exclaimed mockingly at him.
• “And you don’t know me very well too,” Mateo replied, picking up his pace. It worked—he was now ahead of Miracle. She did not remain silent; she increased her speed to catch up with Mateo.
• “D*mn that guy, he’s good!” Miracle grumbled, annoyed.
• “Yes!” she exclaimed triumphantly as she was able to match Mateo.
• Suddenly, as Miracle increased her speed, she felt the horse she was riding begin to run unpredictably. At times, she almost fell off as the horse continued to resist her control.
• “Mateo! What’s wrong with your horse?!” Miracle asked loudly, hoping he could hear her.
• Mateo’s brow furrowed when he heard Miracle’s voice. He looked carefully at what was wrong with the horse she was riding. Instantly, Mateo’s face turned tense as the horse continued to buck, making Miracle’s body almost bounce.
• “D*mn it! Miracle, hold on tight!” he immediately increased his horse’s speed. He caught up with Miracle, who had been yelling.
• “Akh—!” Miracle screamed even louder as she felt her body nearly thrown.
• Mateo’s face turned even more frantic. Without waiting, just as his horse neared hers, he jumped and lunged for her body as she fell. In the next second, Mateo and Miracle tumbled to the ground. Orina could be heard screaming as she watched their bodies roll.