Chapter 193

“And that’s how we ended up finding the key!” Dario told Christian. He had stopped by to inform him. about Franco’s plans to transfer the money, while Christian told him his plan to capture Berto.

Christian hadn’t changed his mind and was still determined to stop his uncle tomorrow. He believed it was not too late for him to change.

“You could’ve called me for this,” Christian spoke. “You must be tired. It was not necessary to come all the way here.”

“Oh, but I didn’t come here for you.” Dario laughed. He smiled at Siena, who was seated on Christian’s lap. and grabbed her hand. “I came to see the baby.”

“She’s cute, isn’t she?” Christian spoke proudly. She had been in his arms ever since they had returned, but Christian just couldn’t get enough of her and was not ready to let go of her just yet.

“She’s adorable.” Dario smiled. Dario grabbed the baby food from the table and stared at Christian with a questioning look. “Do you want me to feed her?”

“Sure, if you want to.”

Christian observed Siena, who didn’t mind being in Dario’s presence, and thought about Serena.

She was, the same. Christian got along well with his cousin, but for some reason, he just couldn’t shake off the bond between Dario and Serena.

“So I guess we should celebrate, don’t you think?” Dario smirked while Christian shook his head.

“That’s a good idea, but I don’t drink anymore.”

“You don’t drink?”

“No,” Christian spoke, embarrassed, but Dario didn’t mind. “Neither do 1.”

“Really?” Christian asked, surprised. Dario gave him a nod and focused his attention on Siena. “If you don’t mind me asking, why?” Dario asked Christian.

Christian didn’t want to get into it because he didn’t want to go back to the bad times, but he knew it was necessary to open up. He knew that it was necessary to tell his cousin everything he needed to know.

“I…tend to mess up whenever I drink.” Christian sighed. He had made way too many mistakes and did not want to repeat them. “I hurt my mom and my dad. I hurt Serena multiple times.”

Dario looked into Christian’s eyes and could see the sadness behind them. It made him even more curious about what really went down. Hurt Serena?

“Once I started, I just couldn’t stop, and it got out of control-but I can’t be that type of person anymore.” “What do you meant hurt Serena? Hurt as in-”

“No, never!” Christian clarified. “I would never ever lay my hands on her, ever.”

“Got it.” Dario chuckled, relieved. “Your point got through.”

“I just think there are other ways to handle my pain.” Christian ended. “What’s the deal with you?”

Christian was expecting a similar story, but Dario let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders. “I just don’t like alcohol. Dario laughed while Christian joined him. It was fascinating to him how the smallest things could make Dano laugh “You know, Christian.” Dario spoke. “I really enjoy spending time with you.”

“Are you confessing your love to me?”

Hearing those words only confused Christian even more. He felt the same way, and he truly enjoyed spending time with Dario. He still stood by his point and had plans to share the family business, but there was only one thing he could not understand.

“There’s nothing wrong with confessing your love to your cousin,” Dario told Christian.

“Then let me ask you something.” Christian asked. “Who do you like better, Serena or me?”

Dario nearly dropped Siena’s spoon and looked at Christian with wide eyes. He had not expected to receive that question and did not know how to answer. Christian knew Dario was not stupid and waited for a sincere answer.

“It has to be Serena,” Dario spoke after a long pause, and even though that’s the answer Christian wanted to hear, it was also a reason for him to continue his interrogation.

“Do you have feelings for her?”

“No, of course not, Dario spoke awkwardly. He was confused about how they had even gotten here and was desperately trying to end the conversation. “How could I? You’re my cousin.”

“Good.” Christian nodded. That was all he needed to hear. They were cousins.

“I just consider her to be a good friend,” Dario reassured him.

Christian was still suspicious but decided to let it go. He thought he could confront him face to face, but he couldn’t. Not after all Dario had already done for him. “Good, I think she could use more friends.”

Dario gave Siena another bite and pulled funny faces to make her laugh. “You’re eating like a big girl!” Dario praised her. “She loves food, doesn’t she?”

“Of course she does. She’s Serena’s daughter.” Christian laughed. The resemblance was strong, but Christian didn’t mind. He felt grateful enough that Siena had his eyes and he felt blessed to know that she would most likely turn out to be a beauty.

“You’re good with babies,” Christian commented. Christian noticed that Dario was different from Enzo and Beau. He was kind, less sarcastic, playful, but still serious. Christian had a feeling he was everything Serena would typically fall for.

“Do you really think I’m good with babies?”

“Yes, are you sure you don’t have any children?” Christian frowned. Perhaps that would be a way to make him forget about Serena.

“I don’t have any children, at least not that I know of.” Dario chuckled. “My uncle would kill me if he’d…” Dario took a deep breath and shook his head. “Never mind, forget about it.”

Christian was not in the mood to forget about it and sensed something was wrong. “What’s with the look on your face?”

“What look?” Dario asked with a forced smile on his face, but he wasn’t fooling Christian.

“That look.”

“Right, that look.” Dario huffed. “I’m just thinking about my uncle.”

“Dad has been very quiet, and we all know how he feels about that money.” He spoke. “My dad has a thing for hurting others, and I don’t want him to touch my uncle.”

Christian knew it was unfair because that was the exact reason why he had send Serena miles away, but the last thing he needed was for Dario to chicken out. “He’s protected, so don’t worry. It’ll all be fine.”

“You don’t know him.” Dario chuckled.

“Once he finds out Kenzo has played him, he will slaughter him and everyone involved.”

“Kenzo will be alright. He’ll be here with me tomorrow-remember?” Christian tried to convince himself, but he also knew that his uncle was not the one to play around with.

“I think you’re underestimating him.” Dario continued. “What if he does come after my uncle?”

“I told you, I won’t let anything happen to him!” Christian snapped. He had immediately calmed himself down after realizing Siena was still on his lap and apologized to Dario.

“It’s okay.” Dario smiled. “We’re all a bit nervous. It’s understandable.”

“Do you want more children?” Dario changed the subject. He had heard enough about his dad and didn’t want to think about him any longer, but what he didn’t know was that also this matter was a touchy subject to Christian.

“I do,” Christian answered. “I never wanted any children, but if they all turn out like Siena, I think I can raise like ten more.”

“And Seren-“

“No,” Christian spoke. He couldn’t take that question anymore, and he was sick of answering it.

“She went through a lot, and she seems unsure, so I think we should all just let it rest.”

“Have you spoken to her?” Dario asked. He got the message and could sense Christian was done with the baby talk.

Christian thought about the picture he had received. It was a picture of her in the bikini he had bought her. Christian didn’t compliment her because he didn’t felt the need to tell her through text and would rather gush over the phone.

“I did. I called her when she landed.” Christian responded. All Dario heard were several red flags.

“That was a few hours ago!” He told Christian.

“Yes?”

“You don’t know how to keep a woman, do you?” Dario shook his head. Christian was confused and did not know what the issue was.

“What?”

“You haven’t heard anything from her because she’s waiting to hear from you!” Dario spoke. It wasn’t unfamiliar to him because he had experienced it many times, but he understood that someone like Christian wasn’t used to chasing after women. He understood that it was usually the other way around and that Christian was clueless about Serena.

“So I should call her?” Christian asked, startled. Dario gave him a smack against his shoulder and was surprised by his stupid question. “Yes, of course, you should.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now.” Dario laughed. “You are something else.”

Christian grabbed his phone from the table and rolled his eyes. “Now that you mention it, she did say she wanted to hear Siena in the morning and the evening.”

“See!” Dario smiled proudly. Christian ignored him and shifted his attention to a bigger issue.

Serena did not answer the phone.

“She’s not picking up. Why isn’t she picking up?” He freaked out as several scenarios went through his mind. What if there was something wrong?

“How should I know?” Dario yawned. He knew what the issue was, but he wanted Christian to find out on his own. He knew the problem was Christian’s extremely dry behavior towards a woman who was missing her fiancé and daughter.

“It isn’t like she’s missing my calls because it is going through. She’s just not answering her phone and she’s doing it on purpose.” Christian spoke with an angry frown on his face.

“Is that so?” Dario smirked. “I wonder why.”

“Yes, me too,” Christian spoke, annoyed. “I didn’t send her away so she could go and play this childish game.”

Dario let out a chuckle and smiled from Siena to an annoyed Christian. “What family have I gotten myself into?”