Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 311 -

*Olivia*

The tears just kept coming as I thought about everything that was going to be taken away from me. Dahlia, Giovani, going to the university in Italy-I was going to lose all of it, and it was all my fault. I had told Gio that we needed to be a secret, but I hadn't worked nearly hard enough to hide what we were.

Why the fuck had we thought going on a date would be okay? I felt like such an idiot. My mom was going to be so disappointed in me. And worst of all, I was realizing that Gio was so much more than just a fun fling. I was in love with him. I wanted a future with him. This would all be so much easier if I could just end it, but I couldn't.

Finally, the sobs that had been shaking my entire body began to subside. I took a deep breath and wiped my face. I could feel that my eyes were swollen from the crying, but at least the tears weren't actively falling anymore. I decided that maybe a cup of tea would help calm me enough to fall asleep.

As I made my way toward the kitchen, I saw that the light was already on. I weighed my options, thinking maybe I should just go back to my room. It was most likely one of the housekeepers just tidying up for the night, and I decided that the warm cup of tea would be worth having to make small talk. I started to look forward to getting the chance to practice my Italian, when I turned the corner and realized that I had been very, very wrong.

Instead of one of the sweet house staff, I was met with the sight of a somewhat disheveled Alessandro sitting at the kitchen island. A half-drank cup of amber liquor was in his hand; it was obvious that this hadn't been his first glass as he went to set the glass down just a little too hard and a harsh clinking noise resounded through the room.

He was the absolute last person I wanted to see right now, not only because of what he had done, but also because I knew I still had red rings around my eyes from crying. He would clock them from a mile away and know that I knew what he had done.

I realized that I had paused in the doorway for just a moment too long when he raised an eyebrow at me. I decided to play it cool and hope that he was too drunk to notice that I had been crying. Maybe if I was quick enough, I could just get my tea and get back to my room before he even really registered that I was here.

"I'm glad she's back," he slurred.

Internally I sighed. It looked like I wasn't going to be able to make the quick getaway that I had been hoping for, and it sounded like he was the type of drunk where all he wanted to do was drag up bad memories.

"Me too," I responded quietly and walked over to the kettle, cursing under my breath to replace that it hadn't been filled with water. This little tea excursion was proving to be my worst decision of the entire evening.

"I'm going to fuck those Russians up. They'll know you don't ever touch MY family," he thumped his chest proudly, then stood up. "I protect my family!"

I backed away slightly, just enough to put some space between us but not enough that he would notice. I tried to discern exactly how drunk he was. If he was just past buzzed, I would need to stay and chat with him, but if he was damn near blackout drunk, I could slip away once my tea was done, and he wouldn't even remember that I had been here.

"I know. I'm angry too," I said placatingly.

It was obvious he just wanted to talk about Dahlia right now, and I could do that. I was just as upset and shocked as he was when she had been taken. When she was gone, it had been impossible to think about anything more than how to get her back safely.

Now that she was back, I knew exactly how he felt. It was a strange combination of relief and fury-relief that she was safe, but fury that they had hurt her. I knew everyone in the whole compound was thirsty for some kind of revenge. Dahlia was well-loved.

"She could have died, Olivia." His voice cracked on my name as the emotion overtook him.

He sat back down and took a long drink from his glass. I turned away from him to fill the kettle and plug it in, then waited for it to heat the water. I wasn't going to wait for it to get as hot as it should. I could deal with lukewarm tea if it meant I could get back to my room faster.

Still avoiding Alessandro's gaze, I wandered over to get my favorite tea cup from the shelf. I could feel him staring at me, but I did my best to ignore him. The less chance I gave him to get a good look at my face, the better.

"The important thing is that she's back now, Alessandro," I told him in as comforting a voice as I could muster. "She's back, and she won't ever be in danger again."

"You got that right," he said darkly.

I didn't think I wanted to know exactly what he meant. It hadn't been that long ago that I had no idea how Dahlia's family had made their money, and although I was comfortable with what Giovani did, I preferred to be left out of the more gruesome details.

Finally, the water was warmed past the point of room temperature. I poured it into my cup, then added one of my favorite teas to it. The aroma was calming, even with Alessandro's unsettling presence.

Although I wanted to just take my tea and run, I decided that I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. He was obviously pretending like he hadn't just threatened Giovani, so I would act like Giovani hadn't told me everything. It was an uncomfortable chess game that I felt like I was finally learning how to play. Holding my cup between my hands, I settled into the seat next to Alessandro. If he noticed the puffiness around my eyes, he didn't say anything. "I know you're doing a lot of work to get revenge," I said. "But let's just focus on the here and now. Dahlia's safe. She's back with us. And I'm doing my damndest to make sure that what those monsters did to her doesn't leave any permanent damage."

"I know, Olivia. I'm glad she has you here," he responded, finally sounding a bit more normal. "I know you being here is what's helped her the most."

It warmed my heart to hear him say that. We had our differences, but at least we could both agree that we loved Dahlia. At that moment, I almost thought about bringing up the blackmail to see if I could convince him to just delete the picture, but something inside me told me it wasn't the right time, not while he was drunk and still slightly volatile.

Instead, we continued to talk about Dahlia and how we were going to help ensure she had a great time over these next several months. Before I knew it, my tea was gone, and I could finally head back to my room. I found that our discussion had helped ease my heart more than the tea had.

"Alright, I've got to get to bed," I told him and got up to put my tea cup away. "It's been nice talking to you."

As I walked past, he grabbed my arm... not ungently, but still with some urgency. I froze, my heart speeding up. It suddenly occurred to me that it was very late at night, and everyone else was probably asleep. "Olivia, have you ever thought of me as more than just Dahlia's brother?" he asked quietly. There was something like hope shining in his drunken eyes.

"You know I haven't, Alessandro," I responded firmly, yanking my arm from his grasp. We'd been over this. Had he forgotten in his drunken stupor? I was relieved when he let me go and took a step backward to keep him from grabbing me again.

He grinned, but it wasn't a sweet grin. There was a mean glint to his smile that made my already thudding heart go even faster. He stood up, and I continued to back away. I desperately wished that Giovani would somehow appear around the corner.

"Aw, come on, baby. You aren't even a little bit curious about what I've got going on under here?" He tugged at the waistband of his pants, and my throat went dry.

I backed up further and felt the counter behind me digging into my back. What could he possibly want from me? Surely he wasn't going to force himself on me. That would be suicide. He had to know that if he ever did something like that, Giovani would hunt him down and kill him.

The thought of Gio caused something inside me to snap. The fear that had been gathering in my chest suddenly switched to anger. How fucking dare he try to come onto me after trying to destroy me and Giovani?!

"I've never been less curious about anything in my entire life," I told him, the rage in my chest making my voice cold and heartless.

"I just don't get why you'd want to be with a washed-up old man when you could get with me. He's a fucking skeleton, a pile of dust. And I'm gonna be the one that pushes his old ass out the door and takes over. Why wouldn't you want to be at my side when that happens?"

His ridiculous statements hit me exactly as hard as he meant them to, and I saw red. My fists involuntarily clenched at my sides as a burning fury ripped its way through my body. I wanted to pummel him, but I knew that wouldn't get me anywhere. Before I could think too much, I pushed past him and rushed back to my room, shoulder-checking him on the way.

When I was finally safe in my warm bed, I could think of nothing other than what I was going to do. Alessandro had created a disaster, and now I was going to have to figure out a way to mitigate the damage.

One thing I knew for sure. I would never be stupid enough to trust him again.