Chapter 162

Christian I’m besties with your grandpa.

Christian read Serena’s message and opened the picture attached to it. It was a picture of Franco, Serena, and Siena.

‘Less pictures, more information!’ Christian send back.

gone. He “How did you do that.” Christian chuckled to himself as he thought about how far she must’ve felt guilty for using the bet to keep Serena in control, but he knew how she could get it and didn’t want her to do things independently.

After hearing about his uncle and how much he despised the family, Christian regretted his words about wanting her to be more involved. Berto was dangerous and he feared his uncle, but he did not want Serena to be alone and if that was necessary to keep her by his side, so be it.

“I feel like a human again.” Gina smiled as she walked out of the bathroom. Christian put away his phone and immediately got up to face her.

“How are you feeling? Are you still in pain?” He asked, worried. He couldn’t live with the idea of him being responsible for her suffering. All he could think about whenever he looked at her was Serena.

Berto made it clear that his issue was not with Serena, but it did not make anything better. Christian was still afraid of his uncle and didn’t know what else he had planned.

Christian was worried after learning Berto Lamberti was the mastermind behind the Orlando’s and used his own sons as his puppets. What bothered him, even more was his uncle’s determination to find out more information about the warehouse.

He went as far as hurting Gina and Enzo because they could not give him the answers he wanted, but the two agreed on one thing, and that was that Berto Lamberti was not a man to play around with. Enzo even called him more ruthless than Fabio Garcia.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Gina smiled. “I’ll be back home by tomorrow and-”

“No.” Christian chuckled. “I know you don’t want to face Serena, but you’re not going back like that-

calm down.”

“I’m fine!” Gina lied again, but Christian knew better. Just the fact that she trembled whenever she heard Berto’s name was enough to keep her here. According to Christian, she was still terrified and was not ready to be alone.

“Christian, I can’t stay here,” Gina spoke as she lowered her head. “I’m grateful for your help, but please think about Serena. Do you really think this is fair towards her?”

It was the same thoughts Christian had, but he came to a decision, and that decision was to help Gina. It was not only his decision, but it was also what his dad would’ve told him to do. “You’re still hurt. You’re not going anywhere.” Christian stated.

“And I still have a lot of questions for you.”

you don’t want to see Serena, fine. I’ll make sure to prevent that from happening, but don’t go-not in this state and not when I need you!”

Carmen suddenly barged through the door and leaned against the frame while she glared at Gina and Christian. “What is this?” She snarled.

Christian was afraid that she might’ve misunderstood his words and reached out to grab her hand, but Carmen pulled away and pushed him aside. “What is she even doing here?” She spoke, disgusted.

Gina fumbled with her hands and took several steps hack as she felt threatened by Carmen’s presence. “I’ve been quiet for way too long, but what are the home wrecker and your disowned brother doing here, why are their nurses in the house and why are they both full of bruises?”

“Carmen, listen.” Christian smiled and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You should see this as, let’s say…a special mission?” He spoke and followed Carmen’s eyes which were still glaring at Gina. “You can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

“Not your dad, not your brothers-”

“Are you cheating on my sister again?” Carmen asked, worried. Christian felt embarrassed by the question and looked from Gina to Carmen. “No, of course not.” He whispered and slammed his arm around her shoulder to pull her away. “Don’t be silly, Serena knows they’re here.”

Only now had it crossed his mind that it would’ve been wise to let someone guard the doors. He knew Carmen was no different from Serena and would want to get to the bottom of this, especially after seeing Gina.

“How about you join me today, and I’ll tell you everything?” Christian suggested as he pushed her out the door. Carmen took one last look at Gina until the door closed and nodded her head at Christian. “Okay.”

“I’ll go put on something decent and then we can go.” Carmen smiled. “Serena left with Siena, so I don’t have anything to do anyway.”

”

A few minutes after, Christian waited in the car with Beau, who for once disagreed with his decision.

“I don’t know whether I want to punch you for the bet you made with Serena or for bringing my little sister along.” He complained. “You know Matteo will kill both of us if anything happens to them.”

“Stop overreacting.” Christian sighed. “She saw me with Gina, and she must’ve misunderstood the situation. This is the only way to make sure she keeps her mouth shut-”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have been with Gina.” Beau carefully addressed the situation. Although he understood Christian’s feelings, also he had not been happy with the way he had been treating her.

“I know she’s hurt, but if you care about my sister even one bit-you’ll take your distance!”

“Beau…” Christian spoke, shocked. “Of course I care about your sister, but I promised my dad to take care of Gina, and 1 failed him-‘

“Yes, you’ve lost it,” Beau concluded. “But don’t worry, I looked into counselors for you and Serena, and she has a point. This situation will only turn out worse, but you’re too blind to see it.”

“Beau, stop!” Christian raised his voice. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re working-so you’re not here for Serena at the moment, but you’re here for me.”

“I’m giving you advice as your friend!” Beau spoke. “I agree, your uncle is dangerous-perhaps even crazier than Fabio, and I understand that you don’t want Serena to walk off and do stuff on her own and that you don’t want to lose her, but she’s getting too involved.”

“You know Serena will win that bet. She doesn’t know how to lose.” Beau scoffed.

“I warned you for this, but you wouldn’t listen. I told you things were good the way they were, but you just had to let her have her way.” Beau scolded him. “Tell me, in all honesty, do you even know what you’re doing?”

That was something Christian hadn’t even figured out yet. Berto refused to show himself, and Christian felt lost. He didn’t know what to do next and was just hoping for the best. Dario being willing to open his mouth was his last option.

It was something he felt like he had to do himself. Serena didn’t owe Dario an apology on his behalf.

Christian wanted to do that himself. Christian knew Dario risked his life to save his brother and by doing so, abandoned the only family he had left. The only person Dario had was his uncle.

“Yes, I’m a big mess and I don’t know what I’m doing.” Christian admitted his wrongdoings. “I do know one thing, and that’s that I need to get Dario on my side. He probably knows what his dad is planning.” “I agree.” Beau shrugged. “I also know Serena will win the bet, but that’s what I want.”

Christian con “What?” Beau asked, confused. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I’m going to do what l’intended do.” Christian decided. “I want her to stand beside me, It’s the best way to keep her safe and I need her my side. I can do a lot with her advice.”

“Then why won’t you take her advice and stay away from Gina?” Beau frowned. “I agree!” A voice from the back suddenly spoke. Beau and Christian flinched as they looked back at the same time to look at Carmen.

“You guys are like two big babies.” Carmen laughed as she put on her seatbelt. “Carmen, for how long have you been there?” Beau asked, annoyed. “You can’t just eavesdrop-

“It’s okay.” Christian sighed. “I was about to tell her everything anyway, it’s good for her to know in case something happens, and Carmen is a big girl. She can handle herself, right?”

Carmen blushed and covered her cheeks with her hands. “Yes, Christian’s right.”

“This is ridiculous.” Beau rolled his eyes. “And you need to stop listening to every little thing he says. You don’t have to do everything he tells you because you have a crush on him-”

“I don’t have a crush on him!” Carmen defended herself while Christian wondered what he into.

got himself “I don’t, I promise!” Carmen shrugged him off. “Christian, we can keep her here. God knows what she’ll do to Dario.” Beau spoke.

“So we’re going to Dario?” Carmen wondered. “If you told me before, I would’ve paid a bit more attention to my make-up.”

“That’s it. I had enough!” Beau called out while Christian drove off. “Let’s throw her out while we still can!”

“No, Christian-let’s throw out my brother!” Carmen commented while Christian tried to close off the sound of endless complaints. Seeing Beau going back and forth with Carmen reminded him of his own sisters, who used to give him a hard time.

It also made him think about the future as he wondered if Siena would be just as naive as Carmen and have a crush on every person who would cross her path.

“Enough about you Beau, we need to address the real issue at hand, which is Christian!” Carmen stopped her brother and focused her attention on Christian. “Are you and Serena in a polyamorous relationship?”

“A what?” Christian called out while Beau struggled to hold back his laughter. “It looks like that, doesn’t it?” Beau agreed.

“Yes!” Carmen nodded. “You hang out with Gina, and Serena is supposedly okay with it, she hangs out with Dario, who is obviously into her, and you’re cool with it-”

“I’m not “cool” with it.” Christian sighed. Regardless of everything, he still had the same opinion and was not the biggest fan of Serena hanging out around Dario. “So wait,” Carmen huffed. “That’s really funny.”

“What is?” Christian wondered. “That you can do whatever you want and expect Serena to be okay with it, while you were alone in a room with Gina-”

“It wasn’t like that,” Christian spoke while listening to Carmen’s endless rants. Christian made eye contact with Beau, who leaned back and shrugged his shoulders. “She’s not wrong.”

“And crush or not.” Carmen ended her rant. “I want you to know that if you ever hurt Serena again, Beau and I will become best friends and beat you up together.”

“What she said.” Beau chuckled. “But it’s a bit different this time, Carmen.” He decided to give Christian a hand.

He told Carmen everything she needed to know, while she needed a lot of time to process everything. Also, Beau knew that lying to Carmen after she had accused Christian of cheating on Serena would not do. any good and knew they needed a way for Carmen to keep her mouth shut.

“So you and Dario are related? And your uncle is still alive?” Carmen repeated for the tenth time.

“He kidnapped Gina and your brother, and you all saved him?” She sighed. “Your cousin betrayed you, and now you’re going to Dario who is hiding out in a motel until his dad cools down, because you don’t want to have him against you?”

“See, so you do have brains,” Beau praised her. “You just don’t know how to use them.”

Christian stopped in front of the motel and felt guilty for the state Dario had to live in. It was all because he decided to save Enzo and Gina.

“Yes, I have brains.” Carmen furrowed. “And I also know that your uncle isn’t going to sit there and watch how you destroy his plans. He will be coming back for Luca.”

“Do you really think so?” Christian asked. He felt like an idiot for listening to a sixteen-year-old, but her words made sense. “Yes, I understand he probably wants to kill Dario at the moment-but it’s still his son. If you steal Dario away from him, he will take away something from you, that’s simple.”

Carmen shrugged.

“Dario was his eyes and ears, and you plan on taking him away from him. Luca is unavailable-so who does he have left?” Carmen concluded. “Can you think of any other uncles or aunts who would be willing to betray Lucio?”

“No,” Christian spoke. “Not one, they hate each other, but everyone stands behind my grandpa and dad.” Christian took in Carmen’s words and quickly realized that his uncle was indeed alone. Dario was the face of the Orlando’s, meaning everyone followed his orders. Berto Lamberti was as much as a shadow without his sons.

“See.” Carmen spoke. “Unless you want your uncle to show himself-you should not ask Dario to distance himself from his dad, and yout should give Luca back while you’re at it.”

“That’s it.” Christian suddenly realized, while Beau and Carmen leaned forward to wait for Christian’s explanation.

“I’m going to force my uncle to show myself.”