Chapter 67

Christian

“No, not at all.”

“In that case, I’ll follow your instructions and put myself up for advertisement, since you would’ve done the same.”

Those were the only words Christian heard over and over before he opened his eyes, with only one thought going through his mind. What did I do?

He reached for his phone on his nightstand and looked at the miss calls. Five from Serena, ten from Lucio—and a bunch more from everyone else.

When he read the time on his phone he was wide awake and jumped up.

1 PM

How could I even sleep in that late? He thought to himself and immediately made his way to the shower to wash off his sins.

He knew that his dad was going to serve him on a stick for missing the first important group meeting—and was pissed that Marc, who had put him in this mess in the first place was nowhere to be found.

With the only thing in mind, going to the Lamberti estate as soon as possible, Christian stormed downstairs—but stopped in his steps and hid around the corner when he saw a girl sitting at the dining table, and just like that—everything had returned to him.

“In that case, I’ll follow your instructions and put myself up for advertisement, since you would’ve done the same.”

He closed his eyes but opened them right away as all he could feel was guilt. How he betrayed Serena out of anger and jealousy, without giving her a chance to explain himself.

What is she still doing here? He thought as he looked at the brunette at the table, applying her lipstick as she held a small mirror in her other hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your head soon—let me just finish this and call an uber.” She smiled and pulled her clothes straight. “I used your bathroom and stuff if you don’t mind.”

Christian remained quiet for a second and was unsure whether to yell at her or not, but soon realized that his mistake was not her fault. “Ok.” He said and leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for her to finish up.

“You know what, I’ll take you home.” He offered, after realizing she would be staying here for a while. “Really? Thank you so much I would appreciate that!”

Christian heard a scoff behind him and turned around to look at Emmanuella who gave him an unimpressed eye-roll. He followed her to the hallway and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking. “Is Serena who has a baby on the way not enough for you?”

“Are you not ashamed of yourself?” She scolded him, but all Christian could do was release her hand as he took a step back.

He was trying to find the words to say, but he couldn’t and turned around as he stormed away and slammed the door behind him, before he leaned his head against the walk. “Are you okay?” The girl asked, making him stand straight. “Yes, let’s go.”

While the girl kept talking in his ear, all Christian could think about while driving was to get her home as soon as possible, as he did not want to hear another word or see her face ever again. “I assume your ex left with the baby.” She suddenly made up her own scenario.

Christian clenched his hands around the steering wheel and looked at her for a second. “I assume not.” She nervously spoke.

“I saw a baby room—I hope you don’t mind, I’m sorry—I’m a nosy person.” She awkwardly apologized.

“Don’t be.” Christian felt bad for her. He knew that it was not her fault, but he needed someone to blame. One glare was enough to shut her up for the entire ride and he wished he had done it way sooner.

“I couldn’t help but notice your family name—and I thought, ah Christian, I’ve heard of you before. You own a lot of buildings in the city, must be tiring.” She kept ranting, as all Christian could think of was her knowing who he was.

“If it helps to make you feel better, I have a boyfriend and I assume you have someone...and a child—so we’re in the same position.” She tried to shift the situation as the car stopped in front of a penthouse. Christian ignored her words and unlocked the door, so she could get out.

“Wait.” Christian spoke and locked the door again. “Tell me your name.”

“You don’t remember?” The girl asked with a smile on her face but quickly read the room. “Uh, it’s Gina.” She spoke in a hurry.

“Gina, how much will it take for you to keep your mouth shut about this, name a price.” He spoke with a serious look on his face, making Gina laugh out loud. “Have you seen where I live? I don’t need more money.” She pointed to the penthouse with a proud look on her face.

“So then I assume you’re just going to keep quiet about this?” He frowned his eyebrows as Gina nodded her head with a bright smile on her face, and unlocked the car door herself. “Lips sealed.” She whispered before closing the door.

After making sure she got inside safely, Christian drove off and immediately called Serena. “Are you okay?” He heard her voice and instantly smiled. “I’m fine.”

“Good, listen—the thing I said yesterday, you misunderstood. You’re mine and only mine and anyone who touches you will get executed.” She spoke. Christian knew that Serena had a good heart and that the last sentence was a joke, but that did not change anything. “So how’s the baby room going?”

“Good, great—perfect!” Christian tried to sound cheerful, but he knew he didn’t have the right to. He was going, to tell the truth regardless, but not over the phone.

“That’s nice. Did you see the sonogram?” He could her her smile through the phone. “No, I haven’t.”

“Oh..., it’s on your way right now! The baby is kicking a lot, and I think she looks like you—“ She kept ranting while everything went in through one ear and out through the other. He was not able to concentrate on her words, and wondered how he got himself into this position.

“You’re not listening, are you?” He heard Serena laugh, and felt even more guilt washing over him. “You must be tired from yesterday, so I’ll let you rest!”

“Thanks...I’ll visit you soon.” He told her and prepared himself to hang up the phone. “You should, I never got the time to thank you for bringing all of my friends here, and I know how private you are—so I really appreciate it.”

“Anyway—take your time and I love you!” His heart stopped for a second when he heard those words.

“I love you too.” He immediately said right after. He knew that he was not supposed to betray the person he claimed to love, but only that one mistake was needed for him to realize how much he loved her.

“Oh, we’re back at saying it again?” Serena chuckled. “Anyway, have a nice day!”

After the call, Christian made his way to the Lamberti estate and walked in while he noticed how all of the guards looked at him and whispered among themselves. Not in the mood to call them out, he ignored them and made his way to his dad’s office.

“Yes?” Lucio called out after he heard a knock on the door. With his head lowered, Christian walked in and did not dare to look into his father’s eyes.

“I’m not going to ask where you were, all you have to know is that Gio covered for you and fixed your shit...again,” Lucio spoke. Christian looked up with a guilty look on his face and saw Gio, Enzo, and Matteo stare at him.

“Thank you.” He told his brother and tried to wash away the jealous feeling. If there was any threat to his position it would’ve been Gio at the moment, but he had enough of family feuds and did not want to resent his brother. Not after they had finally started getting along. He knew that no matter the consequences, it was all his fault. “No problem, just tell us that you can’t make it the next time.”

“Lucio, don’t ’t be so hard on him, he’s doing such a good job in loving and protecting my daughter.” Matteo stood up and patted his back. “I’m leaving again.” He announced while Enzo walked behind him.

“I’ll walk you out.” He spoke, but Christian rolled his eyes, knowing this was all a way to avoid him. “Do you know I had to defend my decision to let you take over...again?” Lucio spoke and guided his hand to the chair.

“How are you feeling?” Christian asked his dad. “I feel like beating you up.” Lucio glared at him. Christian took a relieved breath at his dad still threatening to kill him every now and then. “Sit and I’ll keep you updated.”

“I cheated...on Serena.” Christian suddenly blurted out and looked from Lucio to Gio, expecting them to put him straight him—but both did not say a word.

“Let’s focus on important things.” Lucio cleared his throat and grabbed a paper sheet, while Christian grabbed it from his hands and threw it from the table. “Chris!” Gio called him out, but Lucio held up his hand to stop him from talking.

“This is important.” Christian looked him in his eyes. “I think she’s not the only one you’ve cheated on, there were a bunch of different women before that.” Gio chuckled.

“Back when I was younger and immature, this is different.”

“Christian, listen.” Lucio leaned over and grabbed his arm. “When you jump into a relationship too quick...stuff like this happens and you move on and learn from it, but now is not the time.”

“Serena is like a daughter to me. I’m disappointed, angry—I want to kill you right now for multiple things, but you have to keep your head in the game. Her life is in danger, I think that should be your priority.” He tried to get through to him, but Christian ignored every word.

“Do you think she’ll forgive me?” He wondered, but Lucio immediately shook his head. “She won’t because you aren’t going to tell her anything.”

“I’m not?” Christian asked. “You will...you will eventually own up to your mistakes, just how I raised you to be, but not now. Come on, think for once!” Lucio spoke in annoyance.

“See this is why I did not agree with this relationship. Do you see what’s happening to him? Since when did he become so...so...so air-headed and soft?” Gio let out his opinion. According to him, he had changed, and the younger brother even he had feared at one point, was slowly disappearing.

“Soft?” Christian repeated. For him, worrying about Serena and feeling guilty for cheating on her was not soft. It was human. “How about you and Dana?”

“I would never cheat on Dana, I love her with my heart!” Gio immediately defended his situation. As expected,Christian thought. Gio had always been loyal to Dana, and no one could even think about him hurting her. So why couldn’t he be like that?

“I love Serena, so I don’t think that’s the issue,” Christian spoke. Gio snickered and shook his head. “And yet you betrayed her.”

“Listen, Chris, I don’t want to argue with you, but you don’t actually love her—you love the idea of her, the idea of having someone who is carrying your baby, your world, inside of her.” Gio attempted to give his younger brother a life lesson. “Loving someone takes time.”

Loving someone takes time.

How much time did it take for Serena to love me? Christian wondered. While everything came so easy to her, he couldn’t help but feel pressured—but that did not mean he didn’t love her. Him not being able to think straight after betraying her was prove enough.

“Listen, right now you will not tell her a single word—from now on you will treat her with respect and you will deal with this issue after this shit is finished. Do I make myself clear?” Lucio raised his voice. He had shared the same opinion as Gio and noticed how the same Christian who had rarely made mistakes was beginning to change. He became unpredictable, reckless—and was not the son he had been preparing to take over.

“So you want me to lie to her again?”

“Christian use your brains for once. What do you think will happen when the Alfonzo’s find out you’ve cheated on her? Is that really what we should focus on right now?” Gio answered for Lucio.

“Ever since she came into your life, you have changed a lot.”

“Are we doing this again?” Christian sighed. Just when he thought the issue with Serena had vanished, it got brought up again.

“No, I don’t have an issue with Serena—but you have to focus,” Gio told him. After Christian brought her along to confront Enzo, he was impressed by her and knew that he had clearly misjudged her, but to him, that did not change the fact that Christian was slowly changing.

“I am focused.” Christian tried to convince himself. “No, you’re not.”

“You will forget any of this ever happened and erase everything that has happened yesterday. It’s the best for everyone involved.” Lucio ended the conversation. “And after all of this is over you will tell her the truth, and perhaps beg for her forgiveness.”

Christian looked into his dad’s eyes and saw how the conversation was tiring him. He felt guilty for letting his sick dad worry and decided to drop it for the family’s sake. “I understand.” He gulped.

Lucio took a deep breath and felt as if he had finally succeeded. “Great, now let’s start.”