Chapter 38

▫️Christian’s POV...

I stepped out of the shower, ran a towel over my hair, and grabbed a shirt. My head was pounding, but I didn’t have time to think about that. I needed to fix things with Stella. This awkward tension couldn’t go on. Or I'll be fucked.

When I reached her door, I knocked twice. She opened it, wearing some random outfit—not my shirt. Babe that shirt looked much better. But did my ass have the audacity to say this, YES! But when she'll be my girlfriend.

“I wanna talk,” I said, standing firm.

“No thanks,” she snapped and started shutting the door in my face.

Oh, hell no. I pushed it open, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the hallway.

“Two minutes,” she hissed, shaking my hand off. “That’s all you get.”

Two minutes. Fine. Either I fix this now or screw everything up forever. No pressure.

“Alright,” I started, taking a deep breath. “Let me tell you what actually happened.”

Her eyes narrowed. “This better be good.”

“Yesterday, you got drunk at the party,” I explained. “Like really drunk. You created a scene, so I brought you home.”

She crossed her arms, glaring. “And?”

“And,” I continued, “I… I confessed my feelings to you.”

She blinked. “You what?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice dropping. “I told you I liked you. A lot. And then we kissed. You kissed me back too.”

Her eyes widened. “Liar!”

I held up my hands. “I swear, it happened. You even changed into my shirt yourself and then we—uh—slept. Like, literally slept. I didn’t do anything, I promise. But then this morning, you forgot everything.”

She was quiet for a moment, staring at me. “So you’re telling me I got drunk, kissed you, confessed, and then conveniently forgot?”

“Yes!” I said, desperate for her to believe me.

She opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “I told you I only like you. Nobody else. Not Rebecca, not anyone. Just you.”

Her lips twitched like she was trying not to smile. “And what did I say?”

I grinned. “You said you liked me too.”

Am I blushing because she is.

Her cheeks turned pink. Before she could say anything else, I decided to go for it. Screw waiting. Wholesome moment incoming.

I pulled her close by the waist and kissed her. For a second, everything felt perfect—until—

“WHAT THE FUCK, BRO?!”

I yanked back, my head whipping to the side. Nick stood there, his jaw on the floor.

Behind him, Liam was covering his eyes dramatically. “Hey! Both of you! Get a damn room!”

Stella squeaked, spun around, and bolted into her room. I ran a hand through my hair, glaring at Nick and Liam.

“Are you kidding me?!” I snapped. “You couldn’t just quietly walk away?”

Nick smirked. “What do you think this is, a movie? I was in shock!”

“Yeah,” Liam added. “You’ve been whining about drowning in stress. Didn’t realize it was love. You’re such an idiot.”

I rolled my eyes. “Misunderstanding, okay? But it’s fixed now, so can you both shut up?”

Nick patted my shoulder with a shit-eating grin. “Congrats on the confession. Here.”

He pulled a condom out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“What the—Nick!” I shoved it back at him. “Are you insane? She’ll kill me first, then you.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, shrugging. “I’ll keep it for my single ass.”

I flipped him off and headed back to Stella’s room grinning like a fool. Mafia in love. She was on the balcony, staring out at the view. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

She stiffened but then relaxed when she realized it was me.

“Sorry about what happened out there,” I murmured.

She turned to me with a small smile. “It’s okay. So… boyfriend and girlfriend now? For real?”

“Don’t start,” I warned.

She raised an eyebrow. “What?!”

I sighed. “You don’t remember, but yesterday you said you liked me. And did some other things. Innocent girl, my ass.” I explained her horny action briefly.

She slapped my arm, her cheeks red. “Liar! I’d never—”

“But you did.”

“Whatever,” she grumbled. “You’re mine now.”

I grinned, pulling her into a hug. Maybe this could actually work.

--- later---

When we walked to breakfast, her hand in mine, she looked nervous. I got it—this was all sudden. Hell, it felt unreal to me too. The person you used to irritate whole day, is in love with you.

At the table, Nick was already waiting with Liam.

“Need anything, sister-in-law?” Nick teased, grinning at Stella.She flushed bright red, shaking her head.

“Cut it out,” I warned, glaring at him.

After breakfast, Liam brought out dessert—a tray of ice cream.

“Start your relationship with something sweet,” he said with a smirk. “Brother. Sister-in-law.”

Stella groaned, hiding her face in her hands. I wanted to punch both of them.

Just as we were finishing dessert, MJ called, and of course, Ava was with him.

“Finally!” MJ’s voice came through loud and clear. “Took you both long enough to figure it out. So, how’s the new lovebirds doing?”

"Lovey dovey."

“Try not to kill each other before the honeymoon.” MJ smirked.

“Real funny,” I deadpanned.

Ava added, “And Stella, good luck. You’re gonna need it with this idiot.”

Stella laughed nervously. “Thanks, I guess?”

I smiled and cut the call. They all are teasing Stella.

I took her to the room and asked “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice soft. “its just… unreal.”

“Welcome to my world,” I joked, and she smiled faintly.

The moment felt perfect—until my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen and groaned.

“Work?” Stella guessed.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “It’s a shit storm over there. I don’t want to go, but I have to.”

Her expression fell a little. “Oh…”

I leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She gave me a small smile, and I stood up, stretching. Nick and Liam had already left earlier, and now it was my turn to deal with the mess.

---

As I walked out the door, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

“Fuck work. Fuck everything. Can't anyone let me be with my sweetheart. For Chris's sake I got a girlfriend few hours ago.”

But right now, there was no choice. A problem had been brewing for weeks, and if I didn’t handle it, things could go south fast.

Still, all I could think about as I headed out was the way she smiled at me when I called her my sunshine. Maybe work was hell, but at least I had something good to come back to now. Something worth fighting for.