Chapter 221

“It’s almost ridiculous how you manage to take good pictures of yourself but bad pictures of your daughter,” Isobel commented. “It’s a bit selfish, don’t you think?”

We were in my room. During the past two days at my parents' house, she was nice enough to keep me company. Just like Christian, Beau was too busy, and Luis was at his older brother’s place. I, of course, preferred Christian’s company a bit more, but Isobel would do for now.

“I guess I’m sorry.” I shrugged. “We’ll get back to this subject in a few months.”

Isobel shook her head. “No, we won’t.” She smiled. “Because I’ll take better pictures of my babies.”

“Speaking of babies, you should lower your voice for once,” I complained. “Siena is sleeping, and trust me—we do not want to wake her up.”

“Anyway, you should send him this picture.” Isobel pointed out. “It’s the only decent one.”

If there was something that scared me, it was her straightforward personality. It was hard to imagine what kind of demons she would bring onto this planet, considering my brother also had a questionable personality. “Thank you.” I sighed. “I don’t care if he forgets about me, but he can’t forget about Siena.”

“He won’t. You know that.”

Did I? Being apart from him made me nervous. The only thing which would make me comfortable was a tracker in his phone. At least that way, I could find out whatever he was up to.

“So, how are things between the two of you?” Isobel asked.

“Good, perfect actually—and it scares me,” I spoke. “The last time things were this good, he cheated on me.”

“Yeah.” Isobel chuckled. “He won’t do it again.”

I shot her a sarcastic look. “I mean it. He won’t!” She defended him. Of course, I trusted Christian, but I wasn’t about to let him make a fool out of me for the second time.

“Things are different this time,” Isobel stated.

“How?”

“He knows that you’ll not let him walk over you, and he knows that you’ll do what’s best for Siena.”

I smiled at her answer. I didn’t want to be too controlling, but perhaps that was the best thing. One thing was sure. I was going to do what was best for Siena and was done giving second chances.

“How are things with Dario?

“Still awkward, but I don’t even care anymore.” I shrugged, trying to hide my sadness. “It doesn’t matter.”

Of course, it did. He was more than someone I used to work with. He was a good friend who used to have my back—and now I couldn’t have his. The sweet Dario, who I became friends with, had changed into a cold stone, and there was nothing I could do about it.

As crazy as it sounded, Christian’s confession about forcing him to take his distance from me made me feel a bit better. At least I knew I wasn’t the problem.

“Enough about me. How is my brother treating you?”

“Good.” Isobel nodded.

“How are you treating him?”

“Good, we haven’t argued in days.”

“That’s good!” I spoke, surprised, expecting to hear the worst. Isobel laughed. “What’s with the look on your face?”

“I just can’t believe the two of you are getting along,” I admitted. I had always been certain those two wouldn’t even reach the end of the pregnancy.

“Yes, we don’t have a choice,” Isobel shared. “I feel like he has changed a lot since the whole thing at the photoshoot went down…but I think everyone did.”

“True.”

The unfortunate event at the photoshoot brought both families closer. It was too bad someone had to die for us to realize how fast all of this could end.

“Speaking of changes, ditching my cousin and her nasty friends is the best decision you ever made!” Isobel spoke. “Well, except for Maddie, of course, because she’s your sister-in-law.”

“I forgot they existed.”

Isobel looked at me with big eyes. “Don’t you know what they’ve been saying about you?”

“I really don’t care—“

“They’re making up rumors about you and Dario.”

Of course, they were because at the end of the day—Serena was the talk of the town. Nothing new.

“I don’t care.” I shrugged, unbothered. “I know the truth, he knows the truth, and Christian knows the truth.”

Isobel smiled proudly and pulled me into a side hug. “You’ve changed a lot, but for the better.” She complimented me. “It’s unlike you to remain calm about something like this.”

“It feels good, though,” I spoke. “You should try it yourself sometime.”

Our conversation got interrupted by my mom, who knocked on the door. “Dinner’s ready!”

“Good, I’m starving, and so are my babies.” Isobel jumped up from the bed. I ignored her words and looked at Christian’s name, which had appeared on my phone screen. “You go ahead. Christian is calling me.”

Isobel, who didn’t let me finish my sentence, had already walked out the door. “Good luck!”

I grew a smile on my lips and picked up the phone, excited to hear Christian’s voice. “Hey.” I greeted him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, how are—“

“Is Siena okay?”

“Yes, how are—“

“What is she doing? Can I hear her voice?” Christian asked in a hurry. “She’s sleeping.”

“Sleeping? This early?” He worried. “What will you do if she won’t be able to sleep tonight?”

As expected, this was nothing more than Christian being Christian. He was always stressing himself out over stuff which wasn’t that big of a deal. “I’ll figure it out. I’m her mom!” I spoke sarcastically.

“I’m sorry.” Christian laughed. “I just want the two of you to get enough sleep. I know you’ll figure it out.”

“How are you?” I finally asked. “A lot better after hearing your voice,” Christian answered.

“And how are things going?”

It was silent for a second. “Everything will get back to normal before you know it,” Christian spoke. It wasn’t an answer to my question, which made me even more anxious.

“Sure, how long?”

“Like a week?” Christian suggested. I blinked, surprised as I took in his words. For some reason, I had expected it to be a bit longer. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Yes,” Christian confirmed. “I promised to take you home soon, and I meant it.” He said. “It'll all be over before you know it.”

I let out an excited squeal, making him laugh.

“I’m sorry, we just really miss you,” I told him.

“Serena, it’s been two days.”

“Yes, I know—and you haven’t visited.”

Christian sighed. “I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you and Siena.” He spoke. “We’re just so close, I’ve been so busy, and the last thing I need—“

“Is a distraction?” I finished his sentence. For some reason, it sounded much better coming from my mouth.

“You’re not a distraction. If anything, you and Siena are the only reason why I’m not falling apart.”Christian admitted. We had come a long way from him calling everything I did annoying.

“I really miss you.” I pouted. “What are you doing right now?”

“I have a meeting—“

“And I’m bothering you!” I spoke, startled. He was the one who had called me, but after all of my phone calls—it was actually not that surprising.

“No, I stepped out to hear your voice,” Christian reassured me. “What are you doing?”

He left his meeting to hear my voice.

“Isobel is just as lonely as I am, and she came to visit. We were just about to have dinner—“

“Then you should eat!” Christian interrupted me. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said it was an easy way to end this conversation.

“What?”

“I don’t want you to skip any meals. You should eat.” Christian spoke. “Don’t let me stop you from eating.”

The word ‘eat’ was enough to make my stomach growl. “Yes, I’m kind of hungry.” I realized. “Can I call you later, or will you be busy?”

Christian chuckled. “I’m never too busy for you. You know that.”

“Then why aren’t you visiting?” I blurted, regretting it afterward. Picking a fight with Christian should not be my priority at the moment and would only cause him more stress.

I had expected Christian to get irritated, but his laughter came as a surprise. “You got me there,”

Christian spoke. “Look, it’s time for me to go—but I love you.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down as I thought about the reason why he was doing all of this in the first place. I didn’t have the right to complain because he was doing all of this for Siena.

There was no other way. “I love you too!”

After the phone call, I made my way to the dining room. I smiled at the image of Carmen, Luke, Isobel, and my mom getting along. Ever since dad, Marcello, Emilio, and Beau had been occupied with work, it was just the four of us. Somehow my mom had learned to accept Isobel, which undeniably had to do with the babies and the fact that she couldn’t get rid of her. Not anymore.

“There you are!” My mom got up from her chair. I took in the sour smell of the food and covered my nose with my hand as I felt nauseous.

“What’s that smell?” I pulled a disgusted face and stepped back.

“Uh…my cooking?” My mom spoke, offended. I had always loved her cooking, but today was clearly not her day. “I made you your favorite…spaghetti.”

I nearly gagged and covered my mouth. “I like burgers, and get that thing away from me!”

“Excuse me!” My mom shouted. I held up my hand to stop her from talking and rushed to the trashcan. Not even a second later, I couldn’t hold it back any longer and threw up.

“Hey!” Luke complained. “Now it does smell in here—and it’s all because of you, Serena!”

He covered his plate while Carmen placed her hand on my mom’s shoulder. “Your food tastes good, mom. It tastes wonderful.”

Isobel nodded. “Carmen is right, and my babies like it too.”

My mom rushed over to my side and rubbed her hand over my back. “Then what’s the problem?”

She asked, worried.

“I don’t know, mom.”

That’s what I would like to know.

“Pregnancy hormones,” Carmen spoke with a full mouth. “Serena probably got knocked up again.”

I rolled my eyes at Carmen. “Really funny,” I spoke sarcastically.

“I’m good everyone, thanks for asking.”