Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 438 -

*Olivia*

My skin had turned a pale yellow under the old fluorescent lights above, casting a sinking shadow that was very unflattering to my appearance.

"Mrs. Valentino?" A nurse dressed in blue scrubs and a stethoscope hanging around her neck asked. There were cartoon stickers stuck to her ID badge, and she smiled kindly as she called my name. "That's me," I answered coolly, walking straight past the waiting room. I had only been waiting for about a minute before they'd called me back-a perk of being the wife of one of the hospital's biggest donors. Tallon had let that little tidbit slip one afternoon.

Stares followed me as the red cocktail dress I had been wearing fluttered around my thighs. I was clearly not dressed for a hospital visit, and everyone could tell.

"Here we are," the nurse said, smiling as she pointed to the room I had come here for. "She should be ready to be discharged soon."

"If you could bring me the paperwork, that would be great." I smiled at the nurse.

"Of course." She bowed her head, turning on her heel to walk away. By the exhaustion on her face, she had been here all day, and she was ready for her shift to end.

I sighed, taking a deep breath before I brushed past the white curtain and stepped into the room. Sitting on the bed and staring at the television as it played some random soap opera was Elena.

She looked no worse for wear even as she was lounging in a hospital gown. My eyes drifted to the bump protruding out of her belly; the safety of our baby was always my most important concern.

"Elena," I called out to her, and she flinched, dropping the patient controller in her hand as she sprung up from her lying position, eyes beaming with excitement. Her eyes fell upon me, scanning for only half a second before they eagerly turned behind me, searching for someone else.

I pressed my lips together thinly, trying to keep my calm as I saw Elena's excitement turn to confusion and then disappointment.

"Where's Giovani?" she asked glumly, not even bothering to hide her true feelings anymore.

I took a seat in the visitor's chair, taking my time as I set down my purse and crossed one leg over the other. I scanned Elena up and down, searching for any sign of why she was there, but I couldn't replace anything.

"You didn't say what was wrong on the phone," I told her calmly, ignoring her question. "What happened?"

"Oh." Her gaze drifted to her hands, and she gave me an embarrassed smile. "I fainted at work, and my coworkers panicked so they called the ambulance. I just have a little bump on the back of my head."

"You fainted?" I repeated, tilting my head curiously as I got to my feet. I stepped to her side, immediately rubbing my hand through her hair. She flinched, a nervous expression on her face, but finally, I did replace a small knot on the back of her head, hidden beneath her hair.

She was telling the truth... this time.

"Hmm, you seem to have these fainting spells a lot, Elena. Are you sure you shouldn't stay here until the baby is born?" I asked casually.

"No, no, I'm fine," she said, sending me a nervous look. "Sorry to have called you out here just for this. You look beautiful. Were you going somewhere?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "Gio and I were on a date, which I believe we told you about three times already."

"Oh." Her face fell, a sad look crossing her face. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. I completely forgot. The pregnancy has been messing with my memory a lot. I shouldn't have called you. I'm okay, really." "And the baby's okay?" I asked pointedly.

"Of course!" She laid a hand across her stomach, her face softening as she glanced down at her bump like any loving mother would... except that we both knew that wasn't her baby.

"Hmm." I nodded. "Well, since this keeps happening, I really think we should keep you here to look for underlying problems. Plus, they'll have the ability to catch you when you inevitably faint again."

"Oh, it's not a problem," she said hurriedly, clearly not liking that idea by the way she wrinkled her nose. "I can get by just fine. It might be easier if I had someone by my side like Giovani always is for you... but I can manage."

And there it was, the smile on her face as she stared me straight in the eyes. The little digging comments were phrased as subtle attempts to manipulate the situation in her favor. Maybe she didn't even know she was doing it.

But this would be the fourth time this week that Gio and I had rushed to the hospital for one of her fainting spells, and every time, she used the opportunity to plant the idea that she really wanted into our minds-she was desperately trying to get into our home, to come live with us. This was just another way she had found to do it.

I wasn't naive, not any longer. The endless trust and patience I had for her had worn out over the months, and I felt about ready to tear my hair out at this point. She just wouldn't give up trying to drive a rift between me and Gio, would she? And the worst part was that it was working.

"That's right." I said cooly, and she gazed up at me like she was completely innocent. "Gio is a wonderful man. He's warm and protective, kind and doting, and everything a woman could want. He loves deeply and fiercely, and there is nothing in the world that can rip him away from the woman he loves."

I could see right through her facade, could see that everything she had been doing was motivated by one single goal. From the dreamy glint in her eyes, the small smile on her lips as she nodded along like she knew first hand what I was saying was true. Those emotions were brimming over past the mask she had glued to her face.

She couldn't hide it anymore.

She was in love with my husband.

"But the woman he loves is me," I added. I had been afraid of making her upset while she carried my baby, but now, I couldn't control myself any longer.

She flinched, her little fantasy falling to pieces before my eyes, and she glanced up at me as I gave her a cold look.

She shrunk under my gaze, shame crossing her features. I was glad that she at least had a bit of a conscience left to know that what she was doing was wrong.

"I'm going to finish my date with my husband," I told her calmly. "I'll cover your bill and ask for your discharge papers, but next time you have a fainting spell, Gio will be busy. He agreed that I should be the only one to come see you whenever this happens since he's busy working, and my only concern right now is the baby."

I hadn't thought it possible, but she deflated even more, curling up on herself as she nodded silently, avoiding my pointed look.

"Good night then, Elena." I smiled, making my tone softer than before so as not to scare her. "I'll see you soon, hopefully. I'll let Gio know you're okay."

"Good night," she murmured back, and I left the room, sighing as my shoulders slumped. I hated feeling like such a bad person, but this was necessary.

I went to the desk to make sure her discharge papers were in order before leaving as quickly as I could so as not to have another confrontation with her. The ride home was silent as I warred with myself about whether I had done the right thing or not.

But ultimately, I was sure I had. I had promised not to let her interfere with my family, and I was going to stick to that. But as the car halted in front of the compound, I knew more problems were awaiting me.

I peeled off my heels as I entered my home, the silence deafening as I made my way to our suite, shutting our bedroom door behind me.

Gio was still up, sitting in bed and typing away on his laptop. He was on a call, I realized, with his phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low, a simple hum as he spoke quietly but surely. I dropped my heels into the corner, and he didn't even look at me.

I'd expected that.

I shed the beautiful dress Gio had bought me, my heart squeezing since I didn't even get to wear it properly to dinner. I pulled on one of Gio's shirts and a pair of shorts, lingering in the closet.

The air in the room was heavy, and I could tell there was a long conversation ahead of us, one that wouldn't be pleasant.

By the time I stepped back into the bedroom, Gio was off the phone, his laptop pushed away, and he stared at me as I put my dress in the hamper. I sighed at his heavy gaze, climbing into bed next to him. "She's okay," I said softly, "barely even a bump on the back of her head."

"That's good." he nodded.

The wedge between us was too heavy for me to push aside on my own, and unless we were working together to climb it, we would both be talking to the wall and not each other.

"I'm sorry about our date."

"Me too." His answer was curt and to the point-no emotions.

"Gio." I frowned, turning to him. "Please, don't do this. Don't ice me out."

He sighed, then stared at me. I hated seeing the hurt, the frustration in his eyes.

"You promised me you'd stop treating Elena like this," he said firmly, "that you'd trust me."

"I do trust you," I reached for his hand.

"It doesn't seem like it, Olivia." He pulled back, rolling to his feet. He crossed his arms, the anger crawling up his face, and I knew there was no one to get out of his one. "You canceled our date without any warning and stole my car and driver while I was in the bathroom. I had to replace out after the fact that Elena had called from the hospital."

"I know, I'm sorry," I slumped, "I should have told you, and I shouldn't have run off, but it's not because I don't trust you, Gio. I don't trust her. It has nothing to do with you!"

"The child has everything to do with me," he argued back. "I'm the father! I'm paying for the damn surrogate, and you had no right to stop me from going just because of your unfounded jealousy!"

"It's not unfounded!" I snapped, crossing my arms. "She's in love with you, Gio!"

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, but I wasn't about to let this one go.

"I saw it tonight! As soon as she saw it was just me, she was disappointed. The first words out of her mouth were 'Where's Giovani?""

He frowned, an odd look crossing his features. There was a hesitation in his eyes, like he knew that was weird, but his anger pushed it all away.

"So what?" he retorted. "None of that even matters. This isn't even about Elena. It's about you and how paranoid you are that she's out to steal me-and actually believing I would fall for such a thing-that you're willing to sabotage our relationship to make yourself feel better."

"Paranoid?" I repeated with wide eyes, the word having gutted me with how much venom had been placed there. "That's what you think? That I'm acting like some paranoid, jealous bitch?"

"I didn't say that," he snapped. "You did. Don't put words in my mouth."

"That's pretty much what you said!" I screamed, getting to my feet as the hurt turned into a blinding hot rage. "You said I'm paranoid, that I'm sabotaging our relationship! Why can't you ever take my side? Why do you have to defend her?" "Fuck, Olivia." He threw his hands in the air. "You're the most stubborn woman I've ever met. I am not interested in Elena. I'm interested in our child. Let it go!"

"Fine," I sneered, backing away from the bed. "I guess I'll take me and my paranoid ass to the guest room, and you can sleep here alone where I can't sabotage our relationship anymore!"

"Fine," he growled.

"Fine!"

I slammed the bedroom door closed behind me, hearing him scream out in frustration before it all went very quiet.

I bit my bottom lip until it hurt, but I couldn't force my feet to leave the suite. It felt like admitting defeat, like I was leaving, and I couldn't do that, not again. Gio meant too much to me, no matter how angry I was at him.

I sighed, holding my arms around my middle as I walked toward the guest room. Once inside, I climbed into bed, tucking the pillow under my head, spreading the blanket around my freezing toes, and shut my eyes. Then, I slowly fell into a light, dreamless sleep.