Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 192 -

James.

As ecstatic as I was regarding the court's decision, I knew the many problems I dealt with on the regular wouldn't be silenced. My focus shifted from the Cartwright situation, even if they threatened to the end, to the one with my uncle and damned cousin.

Ronaldo was a snake.

I really wanted to leave this mafia business behind, especially after it took my daughter from me. My heart once again clenched as I thought about that, my eyes closed as I let out a soft sigh. She hadn't deserved that, and the world had lost a wonderful person during that shootout.

The grief would never leave, and things like what happened in court would constantly remind me of it. Though, actual activity within the damn situations like Ronaldo and the former Don would be somewhat more of a pressing matter. Why had he made me the Don?

I didn't want it. I just wanted to live a normal life, at this point. Yet here I was, dealing with Ronaldo's tantrum. His attempt to pin his father's murder on me wouldn't work. I had to make sure of that.

The next morning, following my celebration with Becca, I found myself pacing in the bathroom. I'd taken a shower already, so I couldn't use that to distract myself right now. Rather, I let out a sigh and clenched my fist, hoping there'd be viable updates.

Before I called, however, I wanted to visit the kids again. I could hear movement in the nursery. The children were waking up, and my heart fluttered at the idea that I could see them again. I entered the room, fixing my eyes on Alessandro. He made little grabby motions toward me, causing me to smile.

"Hello, son," I said softly, loving how easily that word flowed off of my tongue. The child giggled as I swept him into my arms, poking his nose gently and leaning down to kiss him on the forehead.

He squealed and squirmed in my arms, saying, "Dada! Dada!" I nodded, encouraging him and giving him a huge smile. A chuckle emitted from my lips as I sighed. After changing his diaper, I sat on the ground, grabbing a small toy car and rolling it around in front of him.

Alessandro continuously tried to snatch it up, but I was too quick. I laughed right along with the boy's giggles, then proceeded to tickle him. Alessandro howled with laughter then, trying to squirm away from me and screech. This, naturally, woke up Dahlia, who let out a squeak and stared me down through the bars of her crib. She gave a wave at me, and I waved back while playing with Alessandro. Soon, the boy was occupied with his own toys, allowing me to spend time with my daughter.

I walked over, gently removing her from her crib and holding her up into the air, wearing a widening smile. She let out keeling giggles, just like her now-brother. This family was growing rich with emotion and happiness, and we'd all grown together.

After her diaper was changed, I played with Dhalia, which meant placing her onto an interactive blanket as I watched her and moved some toys every so often. My thoughts shifted to other things, inevitably. I wanted this to distract me entirely, but that was made very difficult.

My thoughts kept turning to the situation with Ronaldo, and I scowled. This mafia business was horribly impacting my life, at this point, and I suspected it would come up with me being pushed to move to Italy again. It was where I wanted to be, though, not here. Nowhere else.

Why?

It was my home, and it felt right. Besides, the threat from the Cartwrights wasn't lost on me. Where else would we go? It was best to get as far away from here as possible. They were unhinged, they were rich, and I knew more than most what that could lead to.

I sighed, refocusing on my daughter and pinching her cheek lightly. She let out several keeling giggles as I played with her, grabbing my finger every so often and shaking it. Alessandro eventually wandered over and joined in on the fun. The three of us together, playing, as a family, was amazing. I smiled, closing my eyes for a moment and letting everything relax. All of this, just for a moment in time. Eventually, I opened my eyes as the smell of something cooking in the oven hit my nose.

Bacon. Becca was cooking breakfast. I gave my daughter a kiss on the forehead and returned her to the crib, planning to let Layla know she should come in. Then, I let Alessandro play around some more, leaving him alone as the nursery was childproofed. I was sure Layla would be in there to play with them soon.

After stopping by Layla's room, I entered the kitchen, giving Becca a bright smile, who returned my expression. This was surreal. We were going to go back to the flow of things, without the stress of the damn trail, as we had won. We could be a family again, finally. "That smells delicious, Becca," I said, licking my lips. She chuckled, also setting some pans on the stovetop for omelets and tossing in some eggs, chopped tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and spices. That would be a wonderful addition to the bacon.

"Thank you, James," she said, her voice relaxed. She must have been even more relieved than I was. I knew she'd end up with Alessandro in the end, as the court was very clearly leaning that way. That much was obvious, given them letting her keep the boy while they made their decision.

As I ate dinner, the situation with those tapes plagued my mind. I winced, and eventually, Becca took notice of my attitude. "What's wrong?" she asked softly, turning to sit down and eat her own plate. She'd take a few bites and talk with me before seeing the kids.

"Everything that's happened is just weighing on me, love," I replied. Not really a lie, but not the whole truth, either. Becca may have taken notice of the hesitant tone I had, because she narrowed her eyes. Thankfully, she didn't press. "You know you can talk to me, right? As you said. We'll get through it, and things will work out. If there's something on your mind still up in the air, anyway. What was said at the trial is still probably bothering you, isn't it," she said. "Yes," I said honestly. The loss of Tally still shredded at my heart, and now, my thoughts were turning to her. I closed my eyes. "She should be here for her son. Instead, she was used as leverage to almost give the boy a terrible life." "That didn't happen," Becca said quickly. She reached over, putting her hand on mine, which helped me relax somewhat. "Alessandro is safe, you're here, and it's not something to worry about. She's probably smiling, wherever she is, knowing her son is safe as she had wished."

"True," I muttered, scolding myself and trying not to dwell too much on my grief. We needed to move forward, after all, and Becca was right. Our children were safe. I took a bite of my food, the warm juices wonderfully savoring against my tongue.

Becca and I continued chatting for a few minutes more before she left to go get the kids. A family meal that was well-earned, and a delicious one, too, was what graced our table. I felt my heart sing at this situation. All of us here, together, a family.

I couldn't help that smile on my lips, which quickly faded as I came upon my decision. Later, I would call for updates on those tapes. I could purge that anxiety from my mind once and for all, and could focus on our family.

When breakfast was over, I dismissed myself to my office, taking a seat in the chair, and letting out a sigh. I removed my phone from my pocket and stared at it for a while. All of my problems could be solved with one call, or an explosion of new ones could come up.

I unlocked my phone and began dialing, unable to delay any longer. The phone rang for a good ten seconds before someone answered. "Hello?" Tony asked on the other line. I steeled my resolve, hoping that dilemma would be behind me

soon.

"It's James. Are there any updates on the tapes, and what could be going on with Ronaldo?" I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. There was silence on the other end, along with the shuffling of papers. "Well?" "Yes. There's been an update. Something finally in your favor," Tony said, which caused me to let out a sigh of relief. I waited for him to continue, leaning back in my chair and partially closing my eyes. Could I finally be free of this? "Finally indeed," I said after a pause. If my family could move on and live comfortably in Italy, I would be grateful. I knew Tony'd come through, eventually. All good things came to those who waited.

"Here's the situation. It took a lot of figuring out, but the tape showed Ronaldo going into the restaurant. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? 'Cept when he came out of said restaurant, he left with a gun in his hand," Tony said, the tone of his voice dripping with excitement.

"This is wonderful news," I said, realizing Ronaldo was caught red-handed. There was no way he could run from evidence like that. The case was far from clean-cut, but I finally had a major leg up. I sighed in relief, letting some of the tension in my shoulders relax.

"Yep. Don't you worry, your lawyers are hard at work getting the suspicions and charges dropped against you. This crime ain't yours, and now it's obvious. Ronaldo is toast," Tony said, causing me to chuckle.

"Thank you. As usual, I owe you, Tony."

"You do. For now, don't worry about it. You have enough on your plate. See you soon, then, James? You are coming back to Italy, right?" he asked.

"Yes. That's the plan," I said, really hoping it indeed was the plan. I told myself, over and over, Becca would be on board with this. New York was temporary. We'd be able to prosper in Italy now that the Ronaldo situation was resolved. I bid Tony farewell and entered the living room, where Becc was watching a True Crime show. She lowered the volume and smiled at me, raising a brow. "How did your phone call go?" she asked, not knowing the nature of it quite yet.

"It went very well," I said, giving a bright smile. "The Ronaldo issue is situated. He will be behind bars for killing his father even though he tried to pin the blame on me. Finally, we have a chance for a much brighter life there, love." Becca frowned somewhat, giving a slow nod. My smile melted into a frown of my own as I tried to figure out what was wrong. What she said next painted that picture perfectly.

"Situated or not, I don't want to go back to Italy, James," she said in a low, careful tone.