Word count: 2658

Adrian's POV

*
E-gist- The business mogul and one of the hottest bachelors in Italy, Stephano Alfonsi has recently been reported to have been dumped by the love of his life, Kara Wilson.

The last thing I wanted was what had literally happened. Yes, it didn't happen a few days ago or even up to a few hours ago, but it seemed Kara had recently decided to do something quite stupid. Because at the moment, he coverage of what I'd prayed would never happen was currently all over the news as Kara could be seen running out with a scary look on her face at an event.

The same event she'd gone for today.

I'd seen her beautiful red dress when she first wore it, but I hadn't fully checked her in it to fawn over it like we loved doing before going for an occasion and this was sure as hell not how I wanted to admire my best friend in the beautiful and terribly expensive Benjamin Coquito piece I'd anticipated seeing her in. Not with reporters reportedly clicking away as she ran down the stairs, gaining attention of several thirsty and reporters who immediately focused their attention on her.

"What the actual hell?" I whisper yelled in a daze, transfixed for the first time in a very long while. I wanted to do something, drop the remote or run in to pick some burritos to munch on but I found out I could only stare into space while blinking rapidly.

I bit the insides of my cheek and eyed my phone for several seconds, debating on whether calling her was a good idea or not. The same question kept ringing in my head. It was 'what the hell could've happened?'

Kara had been very happy this morning before we parted ways. And I knew my best friend for something, she never acted on impulse. And she loved to calculate things and weigh the pros and cons like miss perfect so what could've transpired between her and her boyfriend that prompted her to leave the event in such an alarming way and grab the attention of thirsty gossip stations?

Should I call her? Was she even in the right frame of mind at this moment? I got up and paced a few times, scrunching up my face in worry.

Then I was back on the same spot as before, with the remote in my hand. I clicked on several channels but two other channels we're showing the same thing.

So apparently, they put it out not so kindly that the cold and reserved Stephano Alfonsi had just been dumped by his girlfriend and he was now back in market as a single man once again.

Just then, the door slammed open and there she stood, with her teary but beautiful face, panic written all over it.

"What the hell?" I blurted dumbly.

"Adrian..." She burst into a set of fresh tears and ran in to hug me, flinging her arms around me while the door slammed shut behind her. I wound my arms around her shoulders and held her quite firmly, patting her back.

"I know you have your reasons for what happened and I'm going to hear them all tomorrow. But you're still my bitch so go take a good shower, change out of this formal dress and let's club." I murmured.

She wasn't angry, but she was upset. That made my frown deepen. There was just this nagging feeling in my head telling me that Kara had done something stupid and Stephano was not the one at fault.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my best friend to death. But I also couldn't deny the fact that I sometimes worried about her and their relationship because she was new to this. And she was a big over thinker. Jealousy and possessiveness aside, Stephano was one of the most reserved men I knew.

Kara frowned after pulling away. "I just had a fight with my boyfriend. I don't want to go to any stupid club." Her lips wobbled like that of a little girl and I found myself rolling my eyes.

"We're clubbing in our room. Good music, blasting noise, we can dance naked and we'll definitely be having some tequila, that's all we need. Now go!" I gently pushed her in the direction of our room.

She grudgingly left and went to take a shower. Either on instinct or because I was now used to it, I couldn't say exactly but I found myself picking my phone and going through my recently dialed contacts.

The recently dialed contact was the one and only man whose voice alone was enough to turn my heart into mush.

Just as my finger hovered over his contact, his call came in and my face spread into a shitting grin. I slid my thumb over my screen to pick his call quickly.

"Hey baby." I murmured softly.

"Adrian. How are you?" Diego asked with a croaky voice.

"I'm fine. Did you watch the news? Kara-"

"Yeah I'm doing so right now. Richard is right in our sitting room watching a game but I saw the video on Twitter and the whole scenario seems kinda ugly. It's trending and gaining lots of attention. What the hell happened? Is she okay?"

I registered the fact that he just said 'our sitting room' and tucked that useful piece of information somewhere at the back of my mind.

Then I heaved a sigh as I heard the shower get turned on. "She'll be fine. She just came in now and has gone to have a shower. I'll cheer her up and then when she's better tomorrow morning, we'll have a detailed talk and know what happened."

"Okay but make sure you don't do anything silly."

I pouted. "What do you mean? I don't usually-"

"Don't interfere in their matter Adriana, because they're grown adults and I know how you can be when it comes to Kara and Stephano. Promise me that you won't poke your nose into their affair."

A scowl appeared on my face. I'd initially wanted to do something like that, it was the truth. I was a number one fan of karano, Kara and Stephano's love ship and their ship had taken a horrible hit. It was only fair if I wanted to come to their rescue. But now he'd just put it out so plainly as if I was used to poknosing into other people's affairs.

"I don't usually pocknose into other-"

"I know, just promise me babe. Let them handle this and if we see that it's getting out of hand, then we can console both parties and see if they need our help."

"Fine."

"You still haven't promised me-"

"Ugh, you're so naggy. I promise I won't interfere."

"That's my girl. You guys stay in tonight, don't go anywhere and make sure Kara doesn't do anything you wouldn't do."

"We both know I would go to a high-end club and get wasted if I was her." I whisper yelled incredulously despite the situation of things.

"Bad influence." He spoke with mock disdain. "Then make sure she doesn't do anything I wouldn't do. Okay?"

"Hmm. Whatever." I grumbled. He laughed lightly then there was a few seconds of silence.

"Adriana?" He called softly.

"Yeah?" I whispered equally softly.

"I love you."

I blushed deeply, my eyes widening as if this was the first time he would make such a confession. My heart turned to mush, and I almost purred despite myself. "I love you too baby." I whined, feeling like a little girl that needed some attention.

"Good. Give Kara a good kiss on the cheek for me and make sure she's okay. Goodnight love."

"Goodnight." I replied bashfully and ended the call. I sat still for a moment and just stared at the TV, not actually watching to comprehend whatever was being shown. I looked down at my home screen, displaying a picture of me and Diego on a bike. We were both in black and I had a helmet on my head. I was in front and his arms were around my waist from behind me, with his head tilted to the side to give me a big peck on the cheek as he stared at me. We were both smiling like two lovestruck teenagers that it would give someone diabetes to watch us.

Heaving a deep sigh, I locked the door and went in to check on Kara and prepare for the night. It was time for me to be there for my best friend.

~

Diego's POV

*

I dropped my phone after ending the call with Adrian and huffed.

I just hoped Kara and Stephano were okay. No matter what happened, I wouldn't take sides just because Kara was my twin sister but I needed to at least check on Stephano.

We weren't best buddies and he was my boss at the company but he was still my twin sister's boyfriend and with the look of things, things had been pretty bad between them. The news headlines were getting worse by the minute.

I dialed Stephano's number. He picked after a few seconds.

"Stephano?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"Just got to the office. I'll head to Kara's place when I leave here."

"Are you okay?" I asked warily. There was no sign of anger in his tone. It was as if the issue at that event that was all over social media had never even happen.

"Don't walk on eggshells around me. Let's meet at 'Exclusive' in two hours. I should have left Kara's place by then."

"Okay." I ended the call and sighed. Guess I was going out tonight anyway.

When I got to 'Exclusive' an hour and fifty minutes later, Stephano was surprisingly already there.

There was a half full bottle of wine in front of him, a few bottles of strong alcoholic drinks and an empty glass.

"I got here early." I said and took a seat. We'd been here before. This room in the 'Exclusive' club was premium package and only ever used by Stephano.

"I did... earlier." Stephano stated in his deep, velvety voice. Ever since he got to know I was Kara's twin brother and that I was never going to steal her from him, he'd been less hostile towards me. Not like I cared much, since he had the right to think whatever he wanted.

"She broke up with me." He laughed. It was without mirth.

"Why? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"I did something to someone...he was interested in her. So she thinks that was why I did that to him. And she-" he picked the refilled glass and gulped the whole cup down in one go. "-she thinks we should be away from each other."

I eyed him. He was still as composed as ever, but his actions were a bit hurried. This breakup was getting to him, despite the calm aura and elegance he still adopted in every movement he made and every word he spoke.

"I don't know if you care about this but I'll still say it anyway. She could've made her own decisions if you didn't interfere whenever someone showed interest in her. So it was partly your fault that she freaked out and broke up with you out of the blue." I told him plainly.

Stephano chuckled. "Thanks man. That was what I needed to hear after my girlfriend broke up with me. I deserved it." He eyed me, going in for another swig.

"It's the truth." I told him grimly. "But she doesn't mean what she said and I assure you that she regrets her decision right now. She probably said it without thinking because she wanted to punish you or something."

I opened the bottle of Scotch and poured myself a cup, taking a sip.

"I feel so guilty for denying her the right to date all these years, it was cruel of me. I love her so much and want her to be with me alone. Selfish, I know but I can't bear to be with anyone apart from her. She's all I see, all I dream of. She's all I want to live with and fuck, I shouldn't have done what I did to Gonzalo. But I had to."

"What does he-"

"He's in the mafia."

My eyes widened. Mafia? The organized crime groups of the underworld?

"I made him get deported when he had to go overseas for some issues. Now he's at home but I can't tell Kara those because I don't want to scare her. I'll tell her later on when everything has died down, but not now."

"Kara shouldn't have found out about your involvement in the eviction then." I stated evilly, out of the blue. Of course she should have found out that Stephano did something to him because he was trying to protect her since they're not supposed to keep things from each other. Isn't that the point of dating? Being with your best friend whom you're very much in love with?

We stayed in a comfortable silence while I watched him take cup after cup, drinking his sadness away. This was new.

"You both should talk things out. I'll drop you home." I patted his shoulder and snatched the bottle of Scotch just as he was directing it to his mouth.

"I can find my way." We left the club and came out to the coolness of the night.

I ignored Stephano's grumbling about how he should've taken the bottle to keep him company tonight and watched him get into his car. After he assured me he could drive himself home, I watched him drive away till I could no longer see his car.

Since I left with Richard, I was back to an empty apartment. I crashed in bed, suddenly missing my baby girl. I turned on my phone to see she'd sent me a message.

Baby: ~ *Stephano came around.*

Diego: ~ *Where is he now?*

Baby: ~ *Gone. Kara feels like shit. They had a pretty intense convo and she's bawling her eyes out ATM.*

Diego:~ *Good. Maybe they need the space.*

Baby *What the hell? Kara is my best friend and your sister. Don't tell me you're gloating over her downfall?*

Diego:~ *No I'm not but I feel that with this argument, they will talk things out more next time instead of taking drastic actions and calling it quits. All they need is time off each other.*

Baby:~ *Kara won't cope.*

Diego:~ *She'll get used to it. I spoke with Stephano. He isn't too happy either.*

Baby :~* Wait, you spoke with Stephano? Where?*

Diego:~ *We met at 'Exclusive'.*

Baby:~ *But you told me not to do what you'd never do.*

Diego:~ *Relax babe, we only had guys time. Besides, Kara has had a bad night and she needs to sleep it off.*

Baby:~ *Your argument is pointless but I'll deal with you later. I need to be with Kara RN. Love you. Bye.

Diego:~ *Bye. :-*

I dumped my phone and went to dig the fridge in search of something to eat. Thank goodness Adrian had made me get groceries when I was busy procrastinating.

My phone had been ringing all day and like I'd been doing for the past few weeks, I ignored the call as my ringing tone blared to life and the name flashed before my screen.

I shook my head, wondering exactly what my dad wanted. Was he in need of someone to run his company or did he feel apologetic about what he did? He'd have known by now that I've found out the truth and had therefore been ignoring him. Just as I picked my phone to head into the room, my phone started ringing again and my eyes narrowed at the screen.

He just didn't know when to stop.