I wrap my arms around him and gasp through the sobs. When I struggle to regain control over my chaotic emotions and broken mind, Christiano continues to alternate between holding me tight for a few seconds and easing his grip. He repeats the process for as long as it takes for the intense feelings to subside inside me.
Once I’m finally able to stop crying, I steal another minute because I don’t want to see the questions on my parents' faces.
Dad’s definitely going to second-guess everything now.
“How did you know to do that?” Mom asks, sounding utterly stunned.
“I figured it out while we were dating,” Christiano replies. “I think the alternating pressures give Sienna something else to focus on while grounding her.”
I pull away from Christiano, and when I see my parents are actually okay, and I didn’t ruin it all by losing my mind for a second there, a relieved smile curves my lips.
“What’s going on?” Bianca suddenly asks from the doorway.
“Sienna and Christiano are getting married,” Mom shrieks, and a second later, I’m yanked into a tight hug.
“Oh my God!” my sister gasps. “I knew it was only a matter of time.”
For a minute or so, there’s a lot of shrieking and hugging and looking at my ring, and just as it all starts to become overwhelming again, Christiano takes hold of me and tucks me against his side.
“I’ll arrange a dinner where we can all celebrate and talk about the wedding,” he says. “But we have to go now. We still have to stop at my parents' place to tell them the news.”
“Tell your mom I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” Mom says.
“I will.”
We say goodbye, and as I leave the house with Christiano, I begin to feel nervous again because telling his parents is a whole different story.
I broke things off with their son once before, and I’m not so sure they’re going to be happy about the news.
Chapter 16
Christiano
As soon as we’re back in the SUV and Nico drives away from the Vitales’ mansion, I smile at Sienna. “You did well, princess.”
“Yeah?”
Noticing she’s still nervous, I say, “You can relax. The hard part is done and over with.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” she mumbles, her eyes trained on the view outside the window.
“My father already knows we’re getting married,” I inform her.
Sienna’s head snaps to me, and her lips part with a gasp. “Oh, did he call you earlier?”
“No. Augusto returned my call, and I told him we’re getting married.” I lift my hand and brush my thumb over the swell of her cheek. “My father’s known for months that I intended to force you if you didn’t change your mind and give your consent.”
A stunned expression tightens her beautiful features. “And he was okay with it?”
“Of course. He understands that I can’t survive without you.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “You’ve survived just fine the past seven years.”
I tilt my head. “Do you really believe that?”
Her eyes dart between mine as all the heartbreak she’s caused us tenses the air.
“I’m sorry, Christiano,” she whispers, surprising me once again.
