Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 287 -

*Giovani*

The very second I saw Alessandro storming through the waiting room, I knew there was no chance he wasn't going to cause a scene. I'd have better chances of selling Hell itself as a water park resort than getting him to calm down now. I got to my feet with a heavy sigh, glancing at the various people who had now taken to staring at us like we were animals in a zoo.

Whoever the fuck allowed Alessandro in here was going to get their pay docked for the next five years.

Tallon jumped to his feet, jogging over to his brother as he met him halfway. He raised his hands in defense, a shaky smile on his face as he tried to diffuse the situation.

"Come on, Alex, don't-"

Tallon winced as Alessandro's fury-filled eyes landed on him for only half a second before he was pushing past him and standing right before me.

"Yup," Tallon sighed in defeat, following the path straight back to me and Olivia.

He glared at me with resentment, enraged beyond reason as he crossed his arms.

"Where the fuck is my sister, Giovani?" he snapped.

"This is a hospital, Alessandro," I said, annoyed. "You're causing a scene."

"I don't give a damn!" he shouted, clenching his fists tightly by his side. He looked about ready to start a fight right now, and I wouldn't put it past him.

If he threw the first punch, it'd be self-defense, wouldn't it?

I really didn't get along with Alessandro well.

"She's fine." Olivia stepped up beside me, her eyes switching between me and Alessandro with concern. She looked so cute, standing a foot below us as she bit her bottom lip nervously.

Alessandro swerved onto her and on instinct, I took a step in front of her. Going off on me was one thing, but the sweet girl next to me?

Hell no.

But I hadn't needed to. His eyes softened when he looked at Olivia, and he frowned as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Olivia blinked in surprise, as taken back as I was by his sudden change in demeanor.

"Um, yeah, I'm-I'm okay," she stammered out. "I wasn't with her. She, uh, slept over at Lorenzo's-"

That was the wrong thing to say.

"Who the fuck is Lorenzo?" Alessandro whirled on me, the intensity of his anger tripling.

I sighed. This was the same damn brat who used to follow me around and beg me to teach him to play guitar. Now, this was what he had become.

"A guy she met," I said, frustratedly. "I told her not to spend the night at the apartment, but she did anyway, and they got to her. We tracked them down, but the moment they realized they were trapped, they shot her. She just got out of surgery, but she's not awake yet."

"What the fuck?" Alessandro glared at me, a snarl on his lips as he stepped forward until we were chest to chest. "How could you let this happen? She was under your protection, you bastard!"

"Is this a bad time?" a serious voice asked from behind us.

I was relieved as Alessandro turned around. Gabriele stood there carrying a tray of coffee.

"Gabriele!" Alessandro grit his teeth. "Where were you during this whole mess? You're second in command, aren't you? How incompetent are you and your boss if this happened right under your noses?" Gabriele's expression morphed only slightly, but I could see how angry he was under the surface.

"That's not fair-" Tallon started, but Gabriele only grabbed his coffee order with one hand and shoved it into Tallon's chest.

He stepped forward, cool as a cucumber as he handed Olivia her very sweet-looking coffee and then handed me mine.

I grabbed the cup with a relieved sigh. I didn't know how much longer I could've lasted without some kind of caffeine, especially now that this troublemaker was here.

"Incompetent? If anything, he's a bit too competent," Gabriele said calmly in response. "Considering all the facts of this case, which at this moment you know nothing about, we got out of this relatively unscathed." "Unscathed?" Alessandro snarled. "Then why is my sister in the fucking hospital?"

"There are children present, Alessandro," Olivia scolded him with a frown. "Can't you be a little more understanding?"

He glanced at Olivia, softening for a moment before his anger returned in full force. "You and Giovani failed my parents and my sister. I will make sure you are both replaced!"

"Don't even pretend like you can do that, Alessandro." Gabriele, annoyed now, simply crossed his arms as he spat out, "Besides, who could do better than our current Don? You?" Gabriele scoffed, smirking as if he'd made a joke.

I shut my eyes tightly, exhaling through my nose at the clear taunt.

"You mother-fu-" Alessandro paused as he swallowed his words, glancing at Olivia and then finishing, "jerkwad."

Gabriele opened his mouth to retort, but I'd had enough of this. I held up my hand to stop him, and he fell silent.

"If you have something to say, then say it to me," I said firmly, taking a sip of my coffee. Alessandro rounded back on me, his attention directed at me now and no one else.

"This is your fucking fault-" Alessandra growled, beginning to rant like I knew he would.

I stood there patiently as Alessandro called me every name in the book, throwing accusations and threats straight to my face for a good five minutes.

The longer he went on, the more Olivia's face fell. Tallon and Gabriele took their seats, both of them waiting out the storm. It wasn't the first time any of us had been around Alessandro's temper, but this one was quite impressive. Once he fell silent, panting from his rant, I raised my eyebrow impassively.

"Are you done?" I asked. It was like talking to a child because that's what he was fucking acting like.

A spark ignited in Alessandro's eyes, and before he could open his mouth and call me a bastard for the tenth time, I cut him off quickly.

"I understand you are upset and worried for Dahlia. We all are, but this is a wildly inappropriate and unhealthy way to get your frustration out. Dahlia will make a full recovery, and I take full responsibility for not having protected her properly," I told him, straight-forward and to the point.

His jaw clenched at my every word, stubborn right to the end.

"That said," I began, my face darkening as I remembered Dahlia's cold body bleeding out on the floor. They'd left her there like she was garbage. I will never be able to forget that. "I have no intention of letting this go. I have plans to take full revenge." I kept my voice down since there were other people in the waiting room, though they seemed to be ignoring us. Maybe they didn't speak English.

A dark grin slipped across Alessandro's face, and his shoulders relaxed as he finally let go of his anger. "Now that's a plan I can get behind."

And just like that, the crisis was over-for now.

Someone cleared their throat, catching my attention. Behind Alessandro and Gabriele was a doctor in a white coat.

"Are you the family of Dahlia Valentino?" she asked with a polite smile.

"Yes," Tallon shot forward. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," the doctor said kindly. She smiled encouragingly at us. "And she just woke up. We're allowing visitors, but only two at a time. Who would like to visit her first?"

"I will!" Alessandro and Tallon both shouted out before anyone else could get their voice out.

I saw Olivia slightly slump in the corner of my eye. I grabbed her hand, squeezing softly.

She sent me a grateful look and pulled her hand away in a hurry as Alessandro turned to us with a frown.

"Unless you-" Alessandro started, but Olivia shook her head.

"No, you guys should go first. You're family, and I need to get my head together before I see her," Olivia smiled softly.

"If you're sure," Tallon hesitated, sending her an unsure glance.

"I am," she nodded.

"Okay then." Alessandro smiled, then turned to the doctor. "My brother and I will go first."

"Alright, follow me then." The doctor turned on her heel, waving for them to follow.

The two brothers walked away, and I sighed as they disappeared through the doors.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

I slumped into the chair, leaning back as I relaxed. Now that Dahlia was awake, and Alessandro was taken care of, things would go much smoother, hopefully. Olivia gently sat next to me, biting her bottom lip as she glanced at me.

"Um, about Alessandro..." she started, clasping her hands tightly in her lap.

I smiled at her. She really was too kind for her own good.

"Don't worry about him." I reached out to tuck her stray hair behind her ear, lingering at the touch of her skin on my fingers. "He always had a bad temper."

"I know." Olivia sighed. "But I've never seen him so angry before. He used to get in fights all the time when we were in school, but that was normally over petty things. But you're family. He shouldn't have treated you like that."

I pulled back at Gabriele's warning glance and sighed as I glanced at the doorway they had disappeared through.

"Honestly, I was expecting much worse," I admitted with a frown. "He's a good kid, but he had a really hard time when it comes to his family being protected, especially his little sister. Control issues, I suspect. He probably got it from James." Or maybe from his biological parents.

She giggled, and my heart soared in delight at the first smile I'd seen since we stepped into the hospital.

"That might be true," she said, looking much brighter. "I can understand him wanting Dahlia to be protected, but going off on you like that was uncalled for. You did everything you could."

She grasped my hand tightly in hers. The sheer honesty in her eyes as she gazed at me and the faith she showed me in those simple little words were enough to leave me speechless.

I swallowed heavily, glancing away before I'd end up kissing her right here in front of everyone. I clenched my fists against the chair, trying to keep my cool.

I hadn't realized how much blame I had placed on my shoulders until this moment, until she had released me of it and assured me that she didn't blame me one bit. She had the right to blame me.

I certainly did.

But Olivia was something else. Even after everything she had seen and heard, she still trusted me much more than I deserved.

I yearned to be worthy of it.

Before I could say something I couldn't take back, Alessandro walked through the doors and headed straight for us.

His eyes landed on our connected hands, and I saw his eyes darken-a familiar emotion in his eyes that had me clenching my jaw in response.

"You can go see her now, Livi," Alessandro said coolly. "She's asking for you."

"Really?" Olivia perked up, eyes shining with hope as she got to her feet. "What about you, though?"

The absence of her hand was jaring, and I nearly grabbed it back on impulse before I caught Alessandro's eyes staring intently on me.

"I need to talk to Giovani," he said in a low voice.

I'd spoken too soon.

Alessandro wasn't taken care of yet.