Chapter 65

“I really don’t want to go.” I pouted, refusing to let go of Christian. We were one month further—and just like promised, I would go to a safe house.

Christian had a guilty look on his face, and let go of me before he took a step back. “It’s just for a while, Serena.” Emilio jumped in.

“It looks like a shoebox, there’s not even a window,” I complained, making him laugh out loud as he leaned his head against my shoulder. “We’re definitely siblings!” He burst out laughing, but by the look on Christian’s face, I could tell that he did not appreciated my joke.

“You’re not alone, everyone is really nice—and someone will visit you every day.” Emilio turned his head to the door while I did the same. “They will be taking good care of you.” He spoke, looking at the people who politely held their hands in front of each other.

“I have to go now, will you take it from here?” He asked Christian who nodded his head and took another step back, so I could say goodbye to Emilio. He opened his arms and gave me a tight hug.

“The next time when you get back, everything will be back to normal again.” He grabbed both sides of my cheeks and pressed a kiss against my forehead. “My poor sister.” He sighed and brushed my hair to the side.

“Please keep your promise and come visit often, and please take care of Matteo and Lita.” I smiled at him. Saying goodbye to the Alfonzo’s was extremely emotional for all of us, and my parents could barely let go of me. I was not worried about my dad or my brothers, because I knew they would pull through, but I was nervous about Lita—because I knew of the state she was in before they had found me.

“Still refusing to call them mom and dad, try it?” He gave me a mischievous smile while I glared at him. “I mean sure, I will.” He recovered himself.

“If you behave, Christian and I have a present for you,” Emilio spoke as I rolled my eyes at him. “I know we missed a lot of years together, but I’m not a baby anymore.”

“Right? But someone told me you like to misbehave.” He chuckled, turning his head to Christian. “So please, for the love of God—don’t give my brother a hard time and work along.”

Having your brother and your partner being best friends and buddy-buddy had definitely come to my disadvantage, as the two were close and Christian informed not only him but the entire family about my daily life. It was quite a surprise that he had managed to keep his mouth shut about Beau.

“The last thing I want is to give anyone a hard time.” I sighed and pulled him into one final hug. “Give Milo a kiss and a hug for me—and tell him I love him.”

“I will.” Emilio smiled as he pulled away, and bent down to my stomach. “This is all your fault, little trouble maker—but you have to come out quick so uncle Emilio can spoil you.” He cooed as he rubbed my baby bump. He definitely had a way with words.

He turned his head towards Christian. “I believe you can take over from here. If she gives you a hard time, you’ll call me—and I’ll put her straight.”

“Hello? I am your sister!” I called out, but he ignored me. “Thanks.” Christian said with a sincerely grateful look on his face. Emilio gave me one final pat on my head before he turned around to leave.

Seeing the car drive off, made me feel alone and miserable. I had always been alone, but these past months I had became so used to the idea of people being around me.

“Come on, let’s go,” Christian told me and turned around, forcing me to follow him. I tried to keep up with his pace and locked my arms with his as I gave him a smile which he had not returned.

He stopped in front of a group of people and took his time to introduce me to everyone. “And this is Ramiro, the family doctor.” He introduced me to the last man. He seemed a bit old but gave me a warm smile as he shook my hand. “I will take good care of you and the baby.”

“You’ll go inside with me, right?” I asked Christian, but he took a deep breath and pulled me to the side again, so we could talk in private. “Serena, I have to go.”

“Now?” I crossed my arms. That was a very funny concept, dropping me off here with strangers and then leave like it’s nothing. “Your dad and I handpicked these people, you’re in good hands.” He spoke as if it was supposed to make things better. I already missed Emmanuella.

“Come on.” He guided me inside as my jaw nearly dropped. It did definitely not appeared to be how I described it. “Not really a shoebox after all?” Christian chuckled and grabbed my hand.

“I’ll never let you live in a shoebox, no matter the circumstances—you know that.” He smiled.

“Well, my old apartment was a shoebox—so it was just a joke!” I quickly reassured him. The last thing I wanted to do was to be ungrateful, not after we went through a month of not arguing.

“Come on,” Christian ignored my words and kept walking.

“There’s a lot of...security,” I whispered in his ears as I felt threatened by the dozen men spread in every corner. “Yes, the point is to keep you safe.”

After I had stretched out the tour as long as possible, because I didn’t want to say goodbye—we were back at the end. “I know what you’ve been doing.” Christian wrapped his arms around my waist. “And what is that?”

“Keeping me here, and I’m falling for it.” He sighed. “I told Beau to keep me updated, I promise you all of this will be over very soon.”

“Oh, so you’re also buddy-buddy with my other brother?” I teased him and playfully touched his shoulder. “He told me he’d kill me if I hurt you...you’ve only known each other for a while.” He chuckled.

“Your surprise should be here tomorrow.” He told me the exact same words as Emilio. What kind of surprise could one even get in a safe house?

My thoughts were interrupted by Christian’s lips as he pulled me into a deep kiss. “I will miss you...both of you.” He smiled down at my belly.

“I love you.” I blurted out for what would be the tenth time this month. I had always loved the shy smile he would get on his face afterward, but this time it was different.

“I love you too.” He said back, looking right at me. “H-huh?” I spoke confused as I had already prepared myself to not hear it back. He looked down at the ring around my finger and played with it. “When all of this is over, let’s get married.”

“Huh?” I repeated once again, making him chuckle. “I thought you didn’t want to get married right now?”

“I thought so too, but things have changed.” He sighed. My first thoughts went to Lucio and his health. “Your dad?”

Even after seeing him—after Christian had told me the news, he seemed extremely healthy and it was extremely hard to believe that he was on the verge of losing his life. It gave me hope that he would hold on for at least a few years longer, but I knew how fast things like these went.

“It’s both, I have no intention of letting you go so we might as well get married.” He spoke and kissed my forehead. “You’re scaring me,” I spoke with an awkward smile on my face and stepped back. “How come?”

“For starters, you haven’t called me ugly or stupid in a few weeks.” I suddenly recalled. This new version of Christian was both satisfying and confusing.

“Okay, so you don’t want to get married?” He spoke in his usual rude tone and rolled his eyes. Maybe I spoke too soon.

“No, I do!” I immediately defended myself. “You know I do, I just didn’t know you felt the same way.”

“Nothing is good enough for you. If I’m being nice it’s not good, if I’m being myself it’s not good.” He smiled, but his eyes told me he meant it and I felt bad. He was right, for some reason I was always the one doing the complaining.

He had probably heard it his entire life, how he should act like, what he should say, and here I was—doing the exact same. “I honestly don’t care, I still love you,” I told him and looked at him, expecting for him to say it back.

“Aren’t you going to say it back?” I pushed him. He sighed and bent down to move his hand to my stomach. “Daddy loves you, princess.” He spoke before he looked back up with a smirk on his face. “I also miss the old Christian, thanks for reminding me.” He spoke.

“Bye, Serena.”