Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 439 -

*Olivia*

I was regretting my decision to sleep in the guest room. I tossed and turned all night, and by morning, my back was sore, and my whole body was left cramped from so much activity. I groaned, rubbing my neck as my muscles and tendons stretched uncomfortably.

I climbed out of the bed, groaning as I stretched my arms above my head. I was still utterly exhausted from the long night, and I felt even worse as the fight with Gio ran through my mind.

I didn't regret doing what I'd done at dinner, but I did regret walking out on Gio. I sighed, glancing out the window to get an idea of the time. It was sunny, and that was about all I could figure out without my phone.

I'd left it in the bedroom, and I hadn't charged it.

I padded across the carpeted floors, suppressing a yawn with the back of my hand as I gently opened the door. As soon as it cracked open, however, two voices caught my attention.

Despite speaking in low tones, I could hear them quite clearly. 'They must be in the sitting room,' I thought. I peered through the doorway, curious, and stiffened as I caught sight of my husband, standing in the midst of the room and looking just as exhausted as I felt.

He hadn't shaved yet, as evidenced by the five-o-clock shadow around his chin, and his hair was messy like he had kept running his hands through it. Even standing in a long gray T-shirt and sweatpants, he was still gorgeous.

My heart clenched as I spotted the dark circles from lack of sleep and the bloodshot hint in his eyes. He had probably gotten less sleep than I did, which was saying a lot.

"I don't have time for this," he sighed, shaking his head in annoyance at whoever was speaking to him. I shifted to peer at the stranger, and my whole body went stiff.

There was Elena, dressed in a tight black dress. She had a hand resting on her baby bump, but it did nothing to distract from the way the dress hugged her figure.

"I know you're busy, but if I could just have a moment-" Elena said softly, reaching out a delicate hand to his arm. He sent her an irritated look, stepping back in clear dismissal.

"No, Elena," he said firmly. "Olivia is missing, and I have to replace her. I don't know how you got in here, but you need to go home now."

"Please, it'll just be a minute," she pleaded with him with wide and innocent eyes.

It was hard to believe that those eyes masked a scheming woman who was chasing after another woman's husband.

Gio let out a heavy sigh, pushing his hair from his face as he stared at her with an impatient look. "Fine. What is it?"

She stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with hope. "I know Olivia stopped you from coming to see me yesterday. She's jealous, and I know it's making you uncomfortable just as much as it is me. But it doesn't have to be that way." He watched her with wary eyes, and I held my breath, staring in disbelief as she crept closer, a smile playing on her lips as she laid a hand straight onto his chest.

"I'm here for you and for the baby," she said, shamelessly, "even if Olivia isn't."

"Excuse me?"

I flinched, still standing behind the door, but Elena didn't seem to notice at all. Gio's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and he glared at her like she had suddenly morphed into one of Dmitri's men.

Elena only blushed, unaware of the danger as she pressed her body against his, cradling the baby bump in one hand. "We can be a family, Gio-you, me, and our baby. Because you know, I love you."

If my heart could break into two, I was sure it would feel just like this. The rapid beats in my ears were all I could hear as I stared at the two of them. Everything was slow around me like I was traveling through molasses, but there was a deep ache in my chest that I couldn't get rid of.

I clutched over my heart like I could somehow reach in and hold it together, but there wasn't any glue or duct tape that could fix a broken heart. Anger, sadness, and worry filled me up like an empty glass, shaken around like a cocktail made for disaster. I didn't know whether I wanted to jump out and scream at them until my voice was hoarse or fall to my knees and sob like the world was ending.

Maybe I should have done both, if I was being honest.

And to make matters worse, Elena jumped forward, leaning fully onto Gio as she grabbed a handful of his shirt and slammed her lips toward him.

I shut my eyes, unable to watch, but when all I heard was dead silence, a sense of masochism washed over me, and I turned back to the scene, forcing myself to see this once and for all, no matter how much it would shatter me. But contrary to what I had expected, Elena and Gio weren't locking lips in a devouring frenzy of passion. No, instead, there was a chill that brushed against my skin.

Gio's hand was pressed straight onto her mouth, keeping her from getting anywhere near his face as he glowered down at her.

"Gio?" she started, pulling back with wide eyes. "What...."

"I did not give you permission to call me that," he snapped.

She flinched from the venom in his voice.

"Only my family can call me that."

I held a hand over my mouth in silent awe, joy bursting forth from every crevice of my heart.

"But I thought...." Her eyes watered in downright astonishment. Dismay crept along her face as she took in the anger in his eyes.

"I don't know what you thought, but you have crossed a line, Miss Greco." Even I was stunned by the sheer ice in his voice. He took a few steps back, setting a clear boundary between them. "My love and care are reserved solely for the baby you are carrying for me and my wife. We set clear boundaries during the beginning of our arrangement, and you agreed to them. The only thing between us is a contract, Miss Greco. Now, please leave."

Despite the burning anger in his eyes, and the sheer coldness he had spat at her, Gio remained respectful and polite toward her. He had given her a way out, a way to correct her appalling behavior. But Elena didn't see the out he was giving her, only the devastation of the rejection.

Her face fell, the distress in her eyes overwhelming everything else, and an endless pool of tears poured down, dripping onto the floor below.

"I...I...." She backed away, her whole body trembling before finally, she spun on her heel and ran out of the room. The door hit the wall with a bang and soon enough, I heard the front door thrown open.

There were shouts in Italian from down the hall, and I swallowed uncomfortably. I still couldn't digest what had just happened, still couldn't process everything, but my mind settled on the one thing it could understand right now. I had been right.

I pushed open the door, stepping into the sitting room. Gio's eyes met mine, his whole body still tensed up for a fight.

"Olivia," he breathed, taking a step toward me.

"I was right...."

The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

That wasn't what I wanted to say, and regret filled me as soon as the words came out. But I couldn't catch them in mid-air and redo it. Gio's whole face dropped, and a sneer curled up on his lips. "Is that really all you're concerned about? Are you happy now, Olivia? You were right! I'm glad you enjoyed the show!" he snapped, turning on his heel and storming back to the bedroom.

"Gio, I didn't mean-" I chased after him, but he whirled on me with an angry, exhausted, and bitter look.

"Yes, you did," he spat out. "You meant exactly what you said. Do you want me to put up a banner... hire planes to spell it in the sky? You want an award, Olivia?"

"Don't talk to me like that," I bristled, hating the unhinged way he glared at me. "I warned you about this, but you only called me paranoid! The least you can do is admit that I was right about Elena! That's all I want, just a little validation that I wasn't as crazy as you thought." I stabbed my pointer finger into his chest. "Not as crazy as you made me out to be!"

"Well, congratulations, you got what you wanted. Good for you." He threw his hands in the air, turning his back on me as he stormed into the bedroom.

"Gio!" I yelled, frustration brewing. "Don't walk away from me! We have to talk-"

"What do you want from me, Olivia?" He whirled on me again, his anger dropping.

I could see the exhaustion and hurt flash across his face. "I'm sorry, okay?" he said. "I'm sorry that I didn't listen. You were right, and I was wrong. Is that what you want to hear?"

We stared at one another in the silent suite that had once been filled with so many happy memories.

Now, all I could feel was resentment.

"No," I murmured quietly, feeling like our words were filled with more barbs than understanding, more anger than compassion, and more hurt than love.

What had happened to us?

I deflated all at once, and I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat no matter how hard I tried. Shame, regret, guilt,and fear just lingered there.

I didn't want this. I just wanted to be in his arms again, to have everything okay and all of this to be over with and done.

But the flash of her lips whispering his nickname, confessing her love, and the words he'd spat at me in the heat of anger had buried themselves into the ground and sprouted into thorns. And with every issue that we managed to resolve, two more had popped up in their place.

I felt absolutely hopeless, the divide between us growing with every minute, and I didn't know how to fix it.

"What do you want, Olivia?" Gio said quietly, vulnerable as he gazed into my eyes.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I just want everything to be okay between us. But I don't know how to make that happen."

All of the festering tension had exploded around us like acid rain falling from the sky and burning into our skin. We would have scars soon if we didn't get to cover.

But, as I glanced at the hopeless, exhausted expression on my husband's face, one that mirrored my own, I realized that it might have been too late already. Maybe there wasn't a way to fix this.

I asked him a simple question, one I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer to. "Do you even still love me?"

I held my breath waiting for him to answer.