Chapter 225

“So, how do I look?” Carmen showed off her dress. It was another boring day in the Alfonso household, with the only one keeping me company being my sister as Siena was asleep.

“Cute.” I touched the ends of her dress. “So what are you doing again?”

“I have a date with Kenzo?” Carmen smiled, proudly. “Christian’s cousin?”

“Ah, Christian’s cousin,” I repeated with a deep sigh. I bet my dad would be happy to hear that since he was so fond of Christian. Note the sarcasm.

“Carmen, he’s a nice kid—but I don’t think that’s very smart,” I told my sister, who shot me a glare.

“So what?” She spoke. “You’re the only one allowed to date a Lamberti?”

I shrugged off Carmen’s reaction as my mind went to Christian. Although we were doing great at the moment, being with him was anything but a fairytale that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. I couldn’t wait to tell him about the pregnancy, but instead, I felt forced to keep my mouth shut so that he could concentrate on his uncle.

“Hey!” Luke entered Carmen’s room. “What’s this thing I’m hearing about you going on a date?”

“She’s dating Christian’s cousin now.” I exposed Carmen, hoping he would speak some sense into her. “Is that true?” Luke looked at Carmen, demanding an answer.

Carmen pouted. “Not dating, we’re just talking!”

“Is there a difference?” I rolled my eyes. Luke folded his arms and released a deep sigh. “I’m not a fan of this idea.” He spoke, frustrated. “This situation is getting on my nerves.”

See, so I wasn’t crazy.

“Luke, don’t worry—he’s a great guy.” Carmen defended her date.

“I know. That’s why this situation is getting on my nerves.” Luke scoffed. “He deserves better than this ugly beast, isn’t that right—Serena?”

Stunned, I took in Luke’s offensive words while Carmen let out a squeal. “I’m going to kill you!” She exclaimed before chasing him out of the room. Although they were pretty violent, their relationship never failed to make me laugh.

I often thought about how things could’ve been if Beau and I had grown up together. Would we be just as close as we were now, or would we be frenemies like Luke and Carmen?

With a smile on my face, I looked down at my stomach. How about Siena and her sibling?

Would they be close?

“Serena!” My mom called out. “Christian’s here!”

Shocked, I almost jumped up from the bed and rushed from the stairs. Christian? Was something wrong?

I took a quick look in the mirror and fixed my hair. “Serena, come on—you want to hear this, trust me!” My mom yelled.

“Coming!” I made my way into the living room. My mom and Christian stood next to each other with big smiles on their faces while a thousand thoughts went through my head. What was happening?

Did Beau spoil the pregnancy?

“He’s awake,” Christian spoke.

He’s awake? Was this some kind of riddle?

“Vince?” Christian continued. “He’s awake.”

“V-Vince is awake?” I stuttered. Christian nodded before pulling me into his arms. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I was still processing the news. Vince was back, and that was all I ever wanted. If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up.

“You guys should go—he needs you. I’ll watch Siena!” My mom offered. It only took a second for Christian to grab my hand as he pulled me out of the house.

“Wait, I don’t have a jacket!” I spoke, startled. Christian took off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. “There you go, let’s go!”

For some reason, the drive to the hospital seemed never-ending. I couldn’t control myself as tears continued leaving my eyes. Even though I had always been hopeful, I could still not believe that this was real. Even though we hadn’t known each other for a long time, we had an immediate connection. Vince was one of the few people who I could rely on.

“Why are you crying?” Christian parked the car. I tried to end my tears by taking a deep breath, and wiped eyes, but they just wouldn’t stop.

“I’m sorry, I’m a mess.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Christian turned to look at me. He brought his finger to my eyes and wiped away my remaining tears. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes…I’m scared.” A peal of nervous laughter escaped from my lips. “I do want to visit him, but I’m scared.”

“It brings back a lot of memories, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…”

I thought I was over the Fabio situation, but thinking about Vince made me realize that all of this was real. The kidnapping, the torture, all of it.

“You don’t have anything to worry about…if anything, it should be me.” Christian mumbled. I wasn’t the only one who had been through a lot.

“Because you chose your brother’s life over his?”

I would never forget the look in Christian’s eyes as he told me he saved Enzo while Vince who was in need of desperate help, stuck out his hand. Christian lowered his head.

“Does he even want to see me?”

“Of course he will!” I encouraged him. “The two of you are like a team…you go together like Adam and Eve, Romeo and Juliet, or salt and pepper!”

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Christian laughed. “Like everything else you say, but I’m just going to pretend like I know what you’re talking about.”

I couldn’t do a lot, but at least I could cheer him up.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, and Vince will understand,” I spoke. “I understand.”

“I hope you’re right.” Christian gave me a doubtful look. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I know. I love you too,” I unbuckled my seatbelt in a hurry. “Come on—cheer up, we can do this!”

After a while, we ended up in the hallway, where Ramiro was already waiting for us. If anyone had been working extra hard, it was him.

“Christian, Serena—you are here!” He received us excitedly. “I called Vince’s brother. He was out of town with Luis—but they’re on their way back here!”

“That’s good.” Christian looked past Ramiro. “So, where is Vince? Can we see him?”

My heart nearly stopped as I noticed Ramiro’s change of expression. One of my biggest nightmares was Vince not returning to his old self.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Vince is doing great.” Ramiro spoke calmly. “He’s been through a lot. His body and brains aren’t functioning as they should—“

“So he will never be the same?” Christian wondered as I felt an uncomfortable lump in my throat.

Ramiro shook his head. “No, thank god—no!” He reassured us. “I’m just saying that he’s not fully recovered yet, so you should give him some time.”

“Good.” Christian sighed, relieved. Vince was going to be okay.

“Does he remember…what happened to him?” I carefully addressed the situation. “He does,”

Ramiro confirmed before stepping aside. “Let’s go in.”

Christian, who was close to backing out, stepped back, forcing me to grab his hand. “Stop being so overdramatic. You can do this.”

Ramiro opened the door, allowing us to enter, and for the first time in months, there was a clear movement in Vince’s body. He slowly turned his head to look at us with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Come on. You can step closer.” Ramiro guided us. Christian and I shot each other a look before following his instructions.

Vince observed us and followed every movement. The Vince I knew would’ve already been talking by now, but luckily Ramiro gave us a heads up. It would take some time.

“Vince?” I whispered, leaning forward. He blinked his eyes as he followed the direction of my finger in a complete daze.

Christian held his hand against Vince’s forehead. “Is he okay?” He asked. “Is this normal?”

Ramiro nodded. “He’s doing fine, and everything is working correctly. It’s a miracle, and we should be grateful—“

“But he can’t walk, can he?” I interrupted him, still in disbelief. Vince was someone who enjoyed breathing and walking. He loved everything which had to do with outside, so not being able to walk would be as good as being dead to him.

“Don’t say that. Vince will walk.” Christian pressed a kiss against his forehead. “He will be okay.”

“Of course he will.” I smiled at his unexpected positivity.

“There’s no reason for him not to walk, so don’t you worry about that,” Ramiro informed us.

Vince’s breathing got heavier by the second, making both Christian and I take a step back.

Frightened, I turned my head to look at Ramiro.

“It’s okay. He’s just a bit overwhelmed.” He explained.

“Is it because of me?” Christian asked, startled. It was no secret he blamed himself for Vince’s state while it could not have been prevented. “I guess he’s overwhelmed because he can’t talk to us,” I concluded. I could see it in his eyes.

Vince used all his strength to stick out his fingers and murmured as he reached for my hand. “Go.”

Christian pushed me.

I accepted Vince’s hand and felt relieved as a slight smile grew on his face. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Christian. I knew someone as kind-hearted as Vince wouldn’t blame Christian and wanted him to know that. That’s the kind of person he was.

“I think he wants you to come over,” I spoke, pulling Christian’s hand.

“He’s trying to say something, isn’t he?” I asked Ramiro, who was also trying to figure out Vince’s intentions. “I think he wants to know if the two of you are okay?”

“Yes, yes—we are!” I nodded at Vince. It wouldn’t surprise me if he heard all my rants about Christian—and most of them weren’t that good. “We’re doing fine, and Siena is waiting to meet her uncle!”

Vince sighed after hearing Siena’s name. He was so excited to meet her, and he missed all of it.

“How long will it take for him to start talking again?” I asked Ramiro.

“Not long, he’s in a state of shock—but he’s fine.”

“Do you hear that, Vince?” I gasped. “Vince, we’ve all been waiting for you.” I smiled. “You didn’t forget about me, right?”

Vince shook his head. “And you know who that is?” I looked at Christian. Vince nodded.

“L-Luis?” He spoke for the first time. The sound of his voice made me cover my mouth, as I tried to control myself. Crying in front of Vince wouldn’t do any good.

“Luis will be here soon, so will your brother—he came back, and he’s been taking really good care of you!” Christian told him.

“Beau?” Vince widened his eyes. Christian squeezed his hand. “He’ll be here soon. He’s on his way.” He spoke. “Yes, you almost killed him—but I think we can all move on from that.”

Unfortunately, Christian failed to read the embarrassed expression on Vince’s face. He tied my brother to a chair, tortured him—and all while waiting for his dad to finish him off, and now he was scared to face the consequences.

“He’s not angry with you, don’t worry.” I caressed his cheek. “He understands…we all understand why you did it.”

A smile appeared on Vince’s lip, followed by a deep breath. “And what about us?” I asked. “Are you happy to see us”

Vince nodded and moved his hand to Christian’s cheek. He gave him a slight pat and looked into his eyes. “Sorry.” He whispered before turning his head in my direction. With trembling lips, I made eye contact with Vince. I was ready to break down any second.

“Sorry.” His eyes filled with tears. This time I couldn’t hold it any longer and broke down crying.

“Please stop talking!” I sobbed, pulling him into a hug.

“And don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything!”

“Didn’t do anything, really?” Christian chuckled. “And you were calling me overdramatic.”