Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 280 -

*Giovani*

There was awkwardness in the air as Olivia stared up at me with those wide, innocent eyes. It was clear to me that she had no clue what I was talking about.

I could feel Tallon and Gabriele's eyes on me, wondering what I was going to say, but no matter how much I tried, the words wouldn't fall from my lips.

It was like there was a hard ball of lead stuck in my throat, cutting off my airway, and all I could do was try to swallow it down pathetically.

I had a choice to make right here.

I could keep silent and not tell her that everything she had thought was true was actually not-that her mother had been hired by the former head of an Italian mafia family, and she had grown up with their kids like siblings.

I could tell her she was living inside of the mafia's compound and that everyone around her had known before she did that Dahlia had been kidnapped because of a grudge from long before she was born, and that Olivia was now in that same danger without her ever knowing it.

I could tell her and risk the chance that she might accept it, risk that she would still gaze at me with those sweet and caring eyes, that she would still want to be with me in whatever kind of relationship we were in. Either way, I had no idea how she was going to react, but I had to do something right now. I had to make a choice. I just didn't know what the right one was.

I sat down in the seat next to her, grasping her hands in mine as I very seriously gazed at her, hoping no one else in the room could read my emotion as anything other than concern for my missing cousin's best friend. She frowned, clearly uneasy, and I wanted to wipe away what was making her so anxious because she should always be happy and safe and loved.

"Giovani?" she questioned, her pouty lips drawn into a deep frown.

It was incredible to me that she hadn't figured it out yet, that she had gone her entire life without knowing even a hint of James's former lifestyle that he'd brought Becca into. She had been here for weeks and still hadn't caught on to the fact that I ran an Italian mafia family.

But her mother had to have known. At the very least, she had to have signed a non-disclosure agreement the minute she signed a working contract. But her mother had gone this long without saying anything for a reason. Who was I to break the bubble, to thrust her into a world she wasn't prepared for?

Still, though, a piece of me wanted her to know, wanted to blurt out the secret right here and now. Under her honest eyes, it was impossible for me to lie right now.

She trusted me and for some reason I couldn't explain, I felt like she was trustworthy as well, that she would keep this secret.

So I glanced up at her determinedly and made up my mind. I was standing on the edge of a cliff and I took a leap of faith.

"This place is guarded twenty-four-seven. There are hundreds of people living here; servants are just a small fraction. Surely, you've noticed the insane security, the way all of the guards carry guns on them? This isn't just a mansion. It's a compound," I started out slowly.

She frowned, her eyes flickering to the right as she thought about it.

"I mean, yeah," she said, a bit confused, "but James and Becca's house is like that too-the security I mean. It's always really thorough."

No wonder she wasn't getting any of this. She probably thought all rich people had James and Becca's standards.

Tallon shook his head, "Just spell it out man, or she'll never get it."

I shot him a glare, and he only smirked back. Cheeky teenager.

"Our compound is so heavily secured because we are always concerned about kidnapping and assassinations. That's why I tried to put guards on Dahlia, but she kept refusing them and trying to lose them," I explained softly.

"I get that you guys are rich and all, but the people who took Dahlia didn't do it for money, did they?" she asked, and I could see as some of the pieces began to click in place for her. "If they had, they would've sent a ransom or something." "That's right." I nodded. "Dahlia wasn't taken for money. She was kidnapped due to another family wanting revenge against us. It was something that started long ago, before she was born, but due to her being related to us, she was involved." She crossed her arms, shaking her head firmly. "Like a former business partner of her dad or something? But how could any respectable man hire men to kidnap an eighteen-year-old girl?" "They wouldn't," I said, a helpless smile on my lips.

She nodded as if agreeing with me, and I decided to take a more direct approach.

"Who, besides the military, has a compound where they keep guards and soldiers, Olivia?" I asked, firmly. "Who has the power to keep a kidnapping out of the press without the government?" She pondered, a thoughtful and distant look to her as she stared at her hands like she was remembering and thinking at the same time. Finally, a small smile burst onto her lips. "I don't know, the mafia or something?" She laughed, like the very thought was ridiculous.

I squeezed her hand tightly. Just the word out of her lips sounded wrong, like something dirty and horrible, not something someone like her should be talking about.

When she realized that nobody else was laughing, all three of us just staring firmly at her, Olivia's laugh died away. She looked over my shoulder at Tallon and then Gabriele. Finally, she looked at me with wide eyes, the realization dawning on her. There was a question on her face, a silent request to tell the truth and that what she was thinking was correct. Silently, I nodded in confirmation.

Her mouth fell open in shock, eyes widening into saucers as she gazed at me blankly. I just held her hand worriedly and silently, wondering how she would take this.

What if I'd made the wrong decision? What if she wanted nothing to do with me now?

Her mother was already asking her to head back to the states. What if she decided this was too much and took the first plane home? Could I let her go?

The thought of her leaving had the possessive part of me screaming in defiance, demanding that I keep her close and by my side. I'd never felt anything like this with any other woman, only her.

She was everything I wanted, but if she decided to leave me right now, could I recover from that? Could I just smile and let her get on that fucking plane, never to see her again?

I swallowed uncomfortably, realizing a part of me had been putting this off, scared she might run, terrified she might never want to see me again after this. But ultimately, it'd had to be done. This was my life.

I was the Don of the Valentino family, the mafia in Italy. I had accepted that position from James and all the responsibility it came with.

I glanced behind me at Tallon and then Gabriele, both of whom looked just as tense as me. I could see the calculating look in Gabriele's eyes, already crunching the numbers to see if she'd run or call the police.

Tallon, on the other hand, was just waiting, a nervous look under that casual bravado of his. He was only seventeen, after all. He was still just a kid, and Olivia was like a sister to him.

If she refused to accept this, she wouldn't just be rejecting me, but also Tallon and Dahlia and everyone she had come to love as well.

It was a lot of burden to put on her shoulders.

But that didn't matter right now.

If she couldn't accept our way of life, what we did and why, then it was better for her to leave now, before she fell any deeper into this pit... before she got any more involved, and before I fell for her any more than I already had. Baffled, Olivia finally squeezed my hand back, and I looked up at her as her shock faded away. A calmness fell over her as she nodded to herself multiple times before opening her mouth.

I prepared myself for what might come out of it, but neither of us were expecting the tiny wheeze of a gasp that fell out.

"Oh," she said, so soft and casual like this was the natural response to being told she was living inside of a mafia compound.

But then her eyes met mine, and there was no sign of disgust or fear like I had thought. Instead, they were kind and bright, like she always was.

"That actually explains a lot," she told me, lowly.

"Livi?" Tallon stepped forward hesitantly. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded and then smiled. "I mean, it's a lot to take in at once, but somehow it makes sense. I mean, I always knew things were a bit off... but the mafia... I never guessed, not even once."

"To be fair," Gabriele said with a shrug, "not many normal people would. Fictional stories of the mafia have gotten people desensitized to it all. Just because someone wears black and hates sunlight, you wouldn't expect them to be Dracula, would you?"

"Right." Olivia nodded, her whole body relaxed and open as she faced Gabriele with a smile. "I mean, loads of people in the States have guns. I just assumed you guys liked them or were just real big on security."

"Yeah, well...." Tallon rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, that's partly my dad's fault. There was a huge break-in at his house before we were born, so he's a real stickler for the tight security nowadays."

"Makes sense," Olivia said. "So does James run the American mafia or does he run the one here and one over there?"

I smirked. "James is retired, Olivia."

She glanced at me with wide eyes. "You can do that?"

I laughed, my whole body relaxing as I realized she was truly okay with this.

"The head is called the Don, and James isn't the Don of the Valentinos anymore," Gabriele explained. "We're just the head of our own sect and have nothing to do with the Americans. James just likes the States. Her grew up there, only visiting Italy a bit when he was younger and then moving here around the time that Dahlia was born."

"Plus, Mom's from the States, so she prefers it there," Tallon added in with a cheeky grin. "Dahlia thinks she likes it better here, but she just likes to be different."

"Dahlia," Olivia murmured. She suddenly stiffened and her eyes flickered to me with a slight panic. "You said they kidnapped Dahlia for revenge, right?" "Yeah."

"Then are they planning to kill her?" Olivia asked, terrified.