Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 319 -

*Olivia*

Dahlia and I had paused at the foot of the stairs, my hand on the banister, when we heard the loud slam of a door from upstairs. The shouting had been alarming enough, but the stomping of boots on the wooden floors was not helping. Alessandro appeared at the top of the stairs, pure fury in his eyes as he glanced at us. He came barrelling down the stairs, and I barely had time to pull Dahlia against the wall before he pushed past us quite harshly. His shoulder glanced off mine as he stormed past, and I winced, my back hitting the wall.

"Hey," Dahlia protested at the rough treatment, glaring at her older brother. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing," Alessandro snapped, not even bothering to look at us. He stormed to the front door, probably intending to leave. A smart decision, I thought, considering his foul mood.

But the front door opened in a hurry and slammed straight into Alessandro's face. He let out a string of curses that his mother would beat him for saying as he backed away, clutching at his nose. "Okay, Who's ready for a-" Tallon paused in his tracks, clearly surprised as he saw Alessandro hunched over and grunting in pain. He blinked in surprise before asking, "What's wrong with you?" "Me?" Alessandro growled, his voice awfully nasally as he pinched it closed. It looked awfully red and slightly crooked as he glared daggers at his brother. "What's wrong with you?"

"I was just calling Gabriele-" Tallon pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "And I came in and you were like this-"

"Cause you hit me with a fucking door!"

Tallon's mouth opened, realization dawning on him, and he gave his elder brother a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his hair.

"Sorry about that." He laughed. "I didn't even know you were there. You should probably wear a bell. We can get you one, like that raccoon we thought was a cat and gave it a collar with the little bell, remember that? Good-" "Shut up," Alessandro snapped, then he hissed in pain as he testingly poked the middle of his nose.

"What is going on with you?" Dahlia asked, crossing her arms as she stared at him down, "You're acting like a complete jerk to everyone! And don't think I haven't seen your stupid pissing contest with Gio. You need to get your-" "Fuck you!" Alessandro roared, turning on her with a deep fury.

I flinched away from him, flattening myself against the wall, but Dahlia didn't move an inch. She stared him down like she was looking at a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"Alex," Tallon called as he shut the front door and placed his hand on Alessandro's shoulder. "Not cool."

Alessandro heaved out a few breaths, shutting his eyes tightly as he reigned in his temper.

"I'm fucking tired of being treated like a child," he said lowly. "I'm every bit as capable as Giovani at running things. I deserve to be given a chance, don't I? I'm not any less than him."

His eyes flickered to me, a knowing look on his face, and I bit my lip, glancing at my feet. The guilt was overwhelming. Looking at it from his shoes, it seemed a bit unfair that Giovani had gotten what he had wanted. The position as Don.

And me.

But I couldn't stand by his side on this issue, not when he acted like a raging bull with no impulse control. It scared me to see him like this, honestly.

I wrapped my arms around my middle, keeping silent on this matter. It wasn't my responsibility to play mediator.

"Hold on a minute, Alex." Tallon stepped forward, attempting to placate him. "Nobody is comparing you to Giovani. I don't understand why you're so fixated on this. Do you really want to head the mafia? Mom and Dad got out for a reason-" "I don't care about Mom and Dad, or should I say, James and Becca," Alessandro snapped. "The position of Don was rightfully mine, and they threw it away, not me. I at least deserve the chance to prove I'm a better leader than he is!" Tallon deflated, disappointment in his eyes as he stared up at the big brother he had admired for so long.

"Alex," he said quietly.

"Too far," Dahlia snapped, stepping forward defensively. "If Mom or Dad heard you-" They had only been around a bit to check on Dahlia since she'd been injured. I'd hardly seen them at all. They preferred to stay at the hotel, away from the compound.

"What's it matter?" Alessandro threw his arms wide open like he was asking for lightning to strike him from above. "They're not my real parents anyway! We all know it."

The reminder was a stark one, the kind that morphed into a sword and hung over the throne of the next leader. Damocles would be proud of Alessandro's words, of the biting cold he'd lashed out with the two siblings he'd grown up with for his entire life.

On any other day, Dahlia and Tallon would reassure him, would hug him, and tell him that he was their brother and nothing could change that.

But he had crossed over one too many lines, and he'd bulldozed over the clearly defined borders of both Tallon and Dahlia. He'd hurt them both.

"They raised you," Dahlia said, her fists clenched at her side. She glared at him, her eyes shining under the lights, and my heart ached at the pure hurt on her face. "They did everything they could to protect you and make sure you had a good life, just like me and Tallon! And Dadis your grandfather. Do you really think this is how a leader acts, Alessandro? Look around you!"

He flinched, a hint of shame crossing his face as he glanced from Dahlia and me to Tallon. All of us had stepped away from him like he was a landmine about to explode.

"You are incredibly smart and talented," Dahlia bit out, stepping right into her brother's face. Despite her shorter height, she was every bit as intimidating as he was. "But your temper is completely out of control."

I found myself nodding without thinking about it, but no words would come out of my throat. I reached forward to grasp Dahlia's hand, giving her silent support though I knew it wasn't my place to step in right now.

This was a family issue, and no matter how close we were, I simply wasn't part of this.

Alessandro did not like that.

He rounded on me with a deep glare on his face, and I flinched despite myself.

"Why the fuck are you taking that old man's side?" Alessandro retorted irritatedly. "You've known me since we were kids, and you're just going to stand by him and not me? Just because you've got his co-"

I paled, already knowing how that sentence was going to end. My heart pounded in my ears as I stared at him in shock.

Luckily for me, Dahlia had had enough.

"Fuck off, Alessandro!" Dahlia pushed him away from me.

Alessandro stepped back clumsily, barely catching himself before he sprawled out on the floor. I swallowed heavily, glancing at the man like I didn't know him.

And maybe I didn't.

He wasn't the older brother who'd always been there for us, who'd made sure to include me and Dahlia in the other boy's games despite their protests... the one who cried at the pet commercials and thought cartoons were based on real life. This angry, bristling, resentful man in front of me was a stranger, one who only cared about himself, about what he could have, instead of appreciating what he already had.

I gazed at the floor, incredibly disappointed with him. I couldn't even look him in the eye right now.

"Shut up, Dahlia! You don't even know what you're talking about. She's-" Alessandro pointed his finger in my face, and to my surprise, Tallon was the one who snapped.

"Quit it!" Tallon shouted, his normal easy-going demeanor nowhere to be found. He breathed out heavily as silence reigned over us.

I had never heard Tallon scream like that before... never, especially toward his family.

"Just stop." Tallon glared at his brother. "Go outside and calm down before you say something else you'll regret."

It was good advice, a nice warning, but Alessandro was too far deep in his anger to listen to it.

"Regret?" He scoffed. "Why the fuck would I regret not being a coward like you-"

And the line was crossed.

I gasped as Tallon lashed out immediately. His fist landed straight in his older brother's face, and Alessandro grunted as he fell backward from the force. He reached out to grab the banister to regain his footing but just barely missed it.

He fell on his ass, cursing to himself as he covered his jaw with his hand.

I winced, clutching Dahlia's hand tightly. That had to hurt.

Tallon and Dahlia both stared icily down at him, not an inch of sympathy on their faces. But I was different. Despite all he had done and said, I still felt bad he'd gotten punched in the face, even if he had deserved it.

"You need to back off and check your attitude, brother," Dahlia sneered, cold as ice. "Just because you don't get what you want doesn't mean you take it out on us! Destroy every relationship in your fucking life for all I care, but don't bring us into this!"

Dahlia squeezed my hand tightly, and I could feel her trembling in anger, the fury and disappointment in her eyes saying more than enough. She looked like her mother now, more than I ever thought was possible.

"Come on, Olive," Dahlia muttered, shooting Alessandro a mean glance as she tugged me down the hall to her room.

I glanced at Alessandro over my shoulder. He was still sprawled out on the floor, his head hung down as he cupped his jaw. I didn't see the expression on his face, but after what had just happened, I was sure he wasn't going to take it lying down.

I hoped maybe he would wake up from this and realize what was truly important in his life, but I doubted it.

He had become obsessed with the position of Don, obsessed with ruining Giovani. The only person who could stop him was himself.

I doubted that would happen anytime soon.

Dahlia pulled me into her room, slamming the door behind us. She sighed before throwing herself onto the bed sideways.

"That fucking idiot," she murmured.

I nodded to myself.

She glanced at me as I took a seat on the edge of her bed, still guilty for what had happened.

"Don't worry about him, Olive," Dahlia said softly. "He'll get it through his head eventually. He's more hard-headed than Dad, but once he realizes how bad he fucked up, he'll wake up."

I nodded in response, but I knew deep down, she was wrong.

I did have something to worry about with him.

He was never going to stop.