Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 354 -

*Olivia*

Autumn had crept upon us without warning. The temperature had dropped by a good ten degrees in the last week, a chill permeating the air that hadn't been there before.

The green of the leaves began to fade away to dull yellows and oranges, the seasons changing the city as much as the trees. The people of Florence had begun setting up the beginnings of a festival in the town square, much of it closed off as they built stalls and decorated everything from the monuments to the street lights.

Through it all, the sun continued to shine and the sky was as blue as ever.

The garden in the compound was no different. Many of the flowers that had bloomed over the summer had begun to wilt, their petals laying upon the paths as I made my way through the area.

I tightened my hold on my sweater as I kept it wrapped firmly around me, holding off the sudden burst of wind that carried the chill with it. There was a gazebo in the middle of the garden, and with the pool closed at the end of summer, I finally had a reason to visit it.

Rose bushes lined the gazebo-it was the heart of the garden, paths extending in every direction from it. Vines crept along its wooden pillars, and under the canopy was a rustic handmade swing. Sitting upon it, cozied up among the cushions and blanket, was just who I had been looking for.

Dahlia had her nose in a book, a rare sight these days, but she had become a lot more studious since school had started. Despite her party-girl mentality, she had always been a great student. Her mom had raised both of us that way.

It was a bitter cold under the shade of the canopy, and I much preferred the sun on my skin, warming me up, but I sat down on the swing right next to Dahlia's feet. It shifted back and forth under my added weight, but I kept control of it with my foot planted on the ground.

I sighed, glad to have a little company when I felt so confused right now.

I heard the snap of Dahlia's book, her eyes immediately landing on me as she set it aside and reached for my hand. She dove under my sweater and grabbed my hand, pulling it out into the open as she squeezed it gently, giving me the support I needed.

"You okay?" she asked softly, despite already knowing the answer.

I laughed a little bitterly at the thought as I shook my head at the very idea. Was I okay?

No, I wasn't.

"Yes," I said anyway. I slumped as I bit my bottom lip, unable to tell her the truth. My sweater fell down my shoulders, exposing them to the autumn chill.

"I'll pretend like you didn't just lie to me." Dahlia raised an eyebrow, but she let go of my head, pulling back to cross her arms as she stared at me. She just waited, knowing I would eventually crack and spill everything to her.

I smiled softly at how well she knew me, because she was right. It took a few moments, and Dahlia waited patiently as I got my thoughts together before I looked at her with sad eyes, my brave face slipping away like the mask it was. "How do you do this, Dolly?" I asked. "How do you live like this your entire life?"

Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "Like what? You mean being rich?"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing at her lame attempt to bring some levity to the situation. I knew she was trying, but it wasn't helping, not now.

"Look, Olive," Dahlia sighed. "I know things are pretty crazy right now, and we've both been through some shit since we got here, but it's not usually this insane. Growing up, I learned to deal with this as just a part of life. I always thought it was normal."

"Normal?" I stared at her incredulously. "None of this is normal-kidnapping, death threats, bodyguards in case someone decides to kill you?"

"I know, I know." Dahlia frowned, grabbing my hand to settle me down. "I know now this isn't how most, well, almost every other family in the world works. Alessandro, Tallon, and I, we grew up in this, Olive. None of us knew this wasn't normal until we started going to school and learning what other families were like outside of all this. It wasn't odd to us because we had no other reference."

I could understand that to some extent. I didn't have any memories of my father, and for the longest time, I had never questioned why my mom was raising me alone, or why Dahlia had a dad and I didn't.

It wasn't until kids at school started making fun of me for it that I realized it wasn't normal.

But still, not having a dad and dealing with kidnapping and hostage threats your entire life were two very different things.

"How can you just accept all of this? Like it means nothing?" I asked, a little bitter as I glanced at the spot where she had just gotten her stitches out. Even hidden under clothes, she would always have that scar. She was marked now by an event that had been traumatizing. A lesser soul would've been terrified to even speak to another person for fear of another kidnapping. I was still terrified.

I wasn't brave like Dahlia. I wasn't collected like Alessandro. If I was placed under that pressure, my life threatened by murderous Russian assholes with no idea I would ever see my loved ones again, I was sure to break. I never would be whole again.

"Ah-ah," Dahlia said firmly, snapping her fingers in front of my face to bring me back to reality.

I snapped to attention, the fear in my stomach retreating to hide once more.

Dahlia frowned at whatever look must've been on my face before she sighed and faced me in that bullheaded way she did.

"How do I deal with all of this?" Dahlia repeated, a bluntly honest look in her eyes. "Honestly, I don't."

I blinked in surprise.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I learned to ignore all of this, Olive," Dahlia said straightforwardly. "I pushed it away and kept it in the back of my mind until I was forced to face it. Situations like this weren't common, and for the most part, we all lived a pretty easy life." "Easy?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"Yes," Dahlia said while nodding, "easy. We dealt with occasional death threats, we had to have bodyguards, and occasional friends or family would just go missing, and we'd never heard from them again. But overall, we never had to worry about food or shelter. We got everything we needed or wanted, and we had two parents who loved us. It may seem weird to you, Olive, but I wouldn't change my family for the world."

There was a hard look to her, a determined one that screamed that she would fight anyone who said the opposite.

"There were more than just a few people we met that had to struggle in life for even the most basic of things," Dahlia said softly. "A lot of my dad's or Gio's men were kids taken off the streets, people with nowhere else to go. You can ask any of them. Even Gio didn't have it nearly as well as we did. As much as the bullshit we had to put up with, all of it was worth it. We were privileged, Olive. And I remind myself of that every time something like this happens."

I was left speechless once more as I realized just how strong and compassionate my best friend was. She could be spoiled or demanding at times, even a bit selfish, but Dahlia was strength incarnate. She loved fiercely, and nothing in this world could stop her.

"That said," Dahlia started again, a hesitant look coming across her face, "I have to admit that being related to them is a lot different than dating the head of the family. There's a lot more danger involved in that." Danger.

The note was just the beginning of the danger I was in. I couldn't even remember the face of the man who had tried to kill me and Dahlia. He was nothing but a blur in my memory but what had stuck was the fear.

Doubts had grown with every incident, the fear spreading like an infection inside of me. The note had only dug out the fears I thought I had put to rest. But they crawled themselves up from where I had tried to bury them and they came back with friends.

"Are you sure you can commit to this, Olive?" Dahlia asked.

It felt like a blow to my heart. My breath shook at the thought, and heat welled up in my eyes as I shook my head.

I was falling apart at the seams, and every time I was reminded how strong the people around me were, I had to face my own cowardice.

I felt like a turtle hiding in its shell anytime the lightning crackled above. Despite knowing that I had lived a different life than Dahlia or Giovani, I couldn't help but compare myself to them. They didn't flinch away or dissolve into tears with every single problem that popped up.

They weren't strangled by the panic until the oxygen itself turned toxic. I admired Dahlia. I loved Giovani.

I strived to be just as brave as they were. But a square couldn't fit in a hole made for a triangle. All I could be was me.

And maybe he... just wasn't enough.

"I don't know," I said, my voice watery as I struggled to hold back my tears. "I love him. I want to be here with him. I want to go to school with you and have a life here, but I'm terrified, Dolly, all the time. I don't know how to get past this." "Olive...." Dahlia said sadly.

I stared at my palms, open to the sky, and I was startled with droplets of water began to fall upon them. My whole body was shaking with suppressed sobs as I saw Dahlia nodding out of the corner of her eye.

"Come here," she whispered, shifting over in the swing to wrap her arms around me and pull me close. She laid her chin on top of my head as I sobbed into her hug, feeling like a little girl again.

But once my tears had dried and my sobs had fallen silent, Dahlia murmured over my head something that only she could say.

"Wanna get drunk?"

I laughed despite myself, and I heard her giggling as she pulled back. She used the end of her sleeve to wipe the tears off my face, smiling at me in a way only she did.

"Okay," I agreed easily, my heart feeling full and ten pounds lighter than it had when I'd walked in.

There was a reason Dahlia was my best friend.

I didn't know what was going to happen in the future, or if I might have another breakdown, but as long as Dahlia was there for me.

For now, that was enough.