Chapter 24
Sienna
When I hear the elevator doors open, I wipe my hands off on a dishtowel and rush out of the kitchen.
“Hello,” Raya calls, then I hear her say, “Oh wow, that’s such a bad photo of me.”
She comes out of the hallway, and seeing me, a grin spreads over her face. “Hey, bestie.”
I give her a hug, saying, “Welcome to my new home.”
She glances around, then comments, “I love seeing your things all over the place. It gives it a lot more warmth.” She hooks her arm through mine as we walk to the kitchen. “Soooo, how does it feel being married to Christiano?”
“Surprisingly amazing.” I gesture for her to sit at the island, and ask, “What would you like to drink?”
“What are my choices?”
I open the fridge and take a look. “We have San Pellegrino. Blood orange, pomegranate and orange. There’s also lemonade and flavored water.”
“I’ll have the blood orange.”
I take out a can and pour it into a glass for her. Helping myself to a sparkling juice as well, I sit down on one of the stools. “I made sandwiches. Avocado, tomato, and cheese.” I gesture at the row of small triangles nearest to her. “But these have salami on for you.”
“You know me so well.” She picks up one and takes a bite. “Mmm, so good.” Giving me an expectant look, she says, “You’ve been so busy. Tell me everything. Start with what changed your mind about being with Christiano.”
I let out a chuckle, and pulling my phone closer, I unlock the screen and check the app showing me his vitals. The screen is green, and the color brings me a sense of peace. Rosie developed it so it will turn red if something happens to Christiano.
“He didn’t give me a choice,” I answer honestly. “Either I agreed to marry him, or he would’ve torn the families apart.”
Raya almost chokes and clears her throat while her eyes go wide as saucers. “Oh my God, Sienna! Do your dad and Augusto know?”
I shake my head. “You’re the only one who knows, and I trust you to keep it a secret.”
A worried frown forms on her forehead, and she reaches for my arm, giving it a squeeze. “But…he forced you. Jesus, Sienna. Are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
I give her a reassuring smile. “There’s much more to the story.”
“What else has he done?” she gasps.
I take a deep breath, then blurt it all out, “I have thanatophobia. It’s a phobia of death, but I don’t fear dying. It terrifies me thinking I can lose a loved one, but especially Christiano. The day of our engagement party, when he got shot, I thought he died, and it…it broke me.”
Raya’s expression turns sad, and she grips my hand tightly. “Oh, Sienna. I didn’t know.”
“Since then, I’ve been on medication to help manage my phobia, and I thought keeping my distance from Christiano would be the best thing for both of us. But, he wouldn’t give up, and the day after we got married, he found out about my phobia.”
“God,” she whispers. “What did he do?”
“He made so many changes to help me cope better.” My chin begins to quiver as I’m overcome with my love for him.
I unlock my phone again and show her the app.
“This way I can see he’s okay while he’s at work.
” I give Raya’s fingers a squeeze. “Even though I fought Christiano, he was right. Everything is a million times better now that we’re married and he knows about my phobia.
Honestly, he does more to alleviate my fears than the medication ever could. ”
Just like with Christiano, Raya gets up and gives me a hug. “Jesus, Sienna. I wish you’d told me sooner. I could’ve helped.”
“I was scared you’d all lose respect for me,” I admit. “I didn’t want people to look at me differently.”
She pulls back and scowls. “I’m your best friend and love you to the moon and back. I’d never treat you differently, no matter what.”
“I know, but I couldn’t help feeling that way. You’re all so strong, and then there’s me, who freezes in the face of danger and can’t handle the thought of losing a loved one. I felt weak.”
“You’re not weak, you just love and feel things more intensely. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
I hug her again and whisper, “Thanks for saying that.”
When we pull apart a few seconds later, she sits down again and wags her eyebrows at me. “Now tell me about married life. Are you in love? Does Christiano spoil you rotten?” She scrunches her nose, then whispers as if he’s near and she doesn’t want him to hear. “What’s it like living with him?”
Laughter bursts from me. “I’ve loved Christiano for close to a decade, Raya. I never stopped, and yes, I feel spoiled rotten. He’s so sweet and caring, and he makes me feel special.”
She lets out a snort. “Those are words I never thought I’d hear.”
“Oh, hush.”
“Less than a month ago, you were complaining about him, and now you’re sitting across from me, swooning,” she says with a teasing tone, but then her expression grows serious. “I’m really happy for you, my friend.”
“Thanks.” Just as I pick up a sandwich, my phone buzzes, and I quickly read the message.
Christiano: Love hearing you laugh, and those sandwiches look good. Eat.
“Oh my God,” I gasp. “I forgot about the cameras.”
“Cameras?”
I point to the one by the corner of the ceiling. “Christiano is watching.”
Raya’s eyes widen, then she shrieks, “No! This is our girl time. Go work or kill someone and give us privacy.”
My phone vibrates again.
Tell Raya I only take orders from you.
Chuckling, I show her the text, and she lets out a groan.
I smile sweetly at the camera. “Switch off the camera in the kitchen, please.”
Off. Enjoy your time with Raya. Love you, my queen.
I stare at the words with a stupidly in love smile on my face.
“What did he say?” Raya asks.
I show her the screen again. “He called me his queen.”
I never thought I’d be worthy of that title, but after the past two weeks of being married to Christiano, he’s shown me in so many ways that I’m the only one he wants, phobia and all.
Setting the device down, I pick up a sandwich, and as we eat, I ask, “How are things with you?”
“Same as always. Georgi’s going to Europe to meet with the leader of the Bulgarian mafia, so I’m working my ass off to get everything ready.”
My eyebrows lift. “You should date like crazy while he’s gone.”
Letting out a burst of laughter, she shakes her head. “I wish. I’m joining him on the trip.”
I let out a disgruntled breath. “That sucks. How long will you be away?”
“Two weeks. Maybe three.”
“There goes our lunch dates. When are you leaving?”
“On Monday.”
There’s a buzz from the intercom system, drawing my attention away from my friend. “Be right back.”
Walking to the panel that’s situated beside the elevator, I press the button. The concierge’s face appears. “Mrs. and Miss Vitale are here for you, Mrs. Falco. Should I–”
Bianca’s face pops into view, startling the crap out of poor Johnny when she shrieks, “I have good news!”
Chuckling, I say. “Thanks, Johnny. You can let them up.” I walk to the end of the hallway and call out, “My mom and Bianca are here.”
“The more the merrier.”
When the elevator doors open, Mom makes a beeline for me and hugs me for a few seconds.
We had our parents over for dinner last week, but Bianca hasn’t seen the penthouse, so I ask, “Want me to show you around, B?”
She shakes her head, then shoves her left hand under my nose. “I’m engaged!!!”
“Oh my God,” I shriek, grabbing her hand to get a better look at the diamond on her finger while she practically jumps up and down with excitement.
“I hear the word engaged,” Raya says as she joins us, then she spots the ring on my sister's finger and hurries closer. “Contrats, B! When’s the wedding?”
“Not until next year. Augusto won’t allow it to happen any sooner.”
“You make it sound like it’s ages away,” Mom says. “They’re having a spring wedding in March.”
Mom starts to look emotional, and I quickly wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Aww…your last baby is getting married.”
“Don’t remind me.” She sniffs. “Empty nest syndrome is going to suck.”
“We all live near you, and you can come over at any time.”
“Since you’ve moved out, I’ve hardly gotten to spend any time with you,” she complains.
Guilt creeps into my chest for trying to pull away from my parents.
“That’s going to change,” I promise. “We’ll go out for a spa day or lunch at least once a week.”
A wide smile spreads over Mom’s face. “I’d love that, sweetheart.”
Turning my attention back to Bianca, I let out a happy shriek again. “Show me your beautiful ring again.”
We all gather around my sister, bathing her with attention while she tells us how Lorenzo proposed.