Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 660 -

*Caterina*

I really had to hand it to Elio. When he committed to something, he really committed. It had only been a day since we decided to move in together, but the pure efficiency and confidence he had meant we were already moving in before I could even blink about it. The movers came in a single day, and Elio took the day off to help me and Mom unpack our stuff.

Elio already had mostly everything that we still wanted moved out of the old houses and taken to our penthouse or Mom's apartment below us. Mom and I decided to donate or throw away a lot of stuff we didn't need anymore. The movers were incredibly efficient too, unloading boxes and furniture from the trucks and carrying them to the penthouse no matter how heavy they seemed. The elevator helped a lot. Mom and I were the main unpackers and we went room by room, pulling out things and getting them settled in.

It was a bit weird having to separate Mom's things from mine, but it was a good change anyway. Going through all the old things she had saved was like a trip down memory lane.

And surprisingly, she had saved quite a lot, from my old baby clothes to all my old school photos and the arts and crafts projects I'd made for her. She'd even saved the shitty bowl I made in art class when I was in second grade. It didn't work at all as a bowl, seeing as the paint I used on it was toxic for consumption and there was a giant hole in the bottom... because apparently, I'd thought a bowl shaped like a donut was hilarious.

But she loved it all the same.

Elio's stuff was pretty basic, mostly going to the room he claimed as his office or into our bedroom. I spent quite a lot of time purchasing things online to add to our penthouse, all paid for by Elio, who had insisted.

I wasn't an interior decorator, but I liked to think it all looked pretty good, including the new bed Elio had purchased, a California King with beautiful bedding and pillows. The mattress was so goddamn soft, it felt like sleeping on a bed of clouds.

It was surprising, but thanks to the movers and everyone's help, we got the place set up in half a day. Lauren and Mom focused on Mom's place the next day as making sure she had room for her therapy and appointments was a must. But finally, everything was perfect, or so Mom informed me by text before I entered my final exam for the week.

I suppressed a yawn behind my hand, blinking my bleary eyes as the sound of scribbling pencils began to lull me to sleep. I shook myself awake, staring at the pages filled with questions, seemingly endless to my sleep-deprived brain. "Five minutes remaining!" the proctor called out, an eagle-eyed man with glasses who roamed around the room filled with fifty-plus students. It didn't matter that he was only one man and couldn't watch all of us at the same time. I glanced up at the cameras in all four corners of the room. We were being watched.

I gripped my number two pencil in my hand, flipping to the last page and doing some quick math as I finished up the last three questions. I answered two of them confidently, having remembered them from my study session last night, but the last one was tricky.

With a glance at the clock, I eventually shrugged and picked my best guess. I wasn't completely sure about it, but I wasn't going to torment myself for the next five minutes with a question that I didn't know the answer to. It was better to just make a guess and move on.

I flipped through the exam booklet once last time, checking my answers and fixing any spelling or grammar mistakes, and then nodded to myself, happy. I was the first to rise from my seat, gathering my exam and placing it on the proctor's desk.

He nodded at me, a pass to go, and I gathered my water bottle and pencil-all they had allowed us to bring in-and left the class. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I did.

Even if I had made a few guesses and didn't know a few questions, I still felt pretty good about the exam. I knew that most of the answers were right, which was more than I needed to pass with an A. Luckily, they graded by curve and not a regular rubric. Unless somebody got a perfect score, I would be passing at the top of the class.

I raised my arms above me, stretching my sore muscles. The hallways were quiet as only a few exams were being taken today. The week had been stressful with so many back-to-back tests, but luckily it was over, and I could now go home to my beautiful penthouse that I shared with the man I loved.

Mom even said she was baking me a cake to congratulate me my favorite of her recipes, a death-by-chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream and candied bacon. I made a reminder to myself to force Elio to try it.

I hummed a little to myself, heading out of the school with a skip in my step, thinking of everything I wanted to do to relax this weekend. Unfortunately, Anna had already finished her exams, so she wasn't there to walk me out, which felt a bit weird, but I shrugged it off.

I saw the car parked in the driveway, one of Elio's that he insisted I take when I told him I was just going to ride my bike. These days, I switched between biking and driving to school.

The guards were still on campus for me if I needed them, but they stayed away for the most part so things could feel semi-normal. I just had to speed-dial them if I needed to and they'd replace me and come running.

I popped the trunk with a button, heading around to get my backpack. I was so focused on getting home that I didn't realize someone had approached me. I shut the trunk and revealed a face standing right next to me.

I screamed, jumping away as my heart thudded rapidly in my chest and I gripped the keys between my fingers, intent on stabbing and getting into the car as fast as possible, or running if I needed to. I felt around for my phone, but I'd put it in my backpack without thinking.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" The guy raised his hands in defense, taking a few huge steps back. "I just wanted to talk to you, I swear!"

"Who the fuck are you?" I demanded, glaring at the man.

He looked close to my age with blue eyes, and he offered me a tense smile as I debated between hearing him out, stabbing him with the keys, or figuring out how to quickly get my phone out of my backpack.

"I go to school here. I've seen you around a couple of times-Cat or Caterina, right? That's what your friend calls you, right?" he asked hurriedly, looking warily at my defensive posture and then where I clutched the keys tightly in my hand. "Could you put down the keys, please? I'm not going to do anything but stand here, I swear."

I frowned, deciding ultimately that he wouldn't harm me as I shouldered my backpack and stared at him warily. I kept the keys wound in my fist just in case, but I tried to relax as much as I could.

He breathed a sigh of relief and then my eyes met his. There was a sharp feeling in my brain as I suddenly realized I recognized him.

"You!" I frowned "You're that guy who kept staring at me!"

"I'm not a stalker, I swear! Uh, Cat, can I call you Cat? Caterina-" he cried, flinching and stepping back even more when I turned my glare on him. He gave me a nervous smile. "You are Caterina, right?

With his hands out where I could see him and comfortably out of my personal space, I felt less threatened. I didn't acknowledge whether I was Caterina or not, simply crossed my arms and leveled a fierce glare at him. "What do you want?" Once the keys were put away, the guy relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief, and he sent me a polite grin. "I'm Alexi." He offered out his hand in greeting, shoulders slumped and body forced smaller than normal like he was trying to reassure me he wasn't a threat.

"And?" I raised an eyebrow at his hand, not taking it.

He awkwardly pulled it back, brushing a hand through his hair in a sigh. "Look, I know this is weird, but I just want to help, okay? So don't kill me before you hear me out. Look, I can't tell you how I'm involved, but I've got contacts and well, I know everything."

"Everything?" I frowned.

He grimaced, looking very much like he would rather be anywhere else. "About who you're dating, I mean, and what his family does or did, for a living. I mean I know about the Valentinos and especially, what happened to you and your mom."

My blood ran cold. I stared at him in sheer frozen panic, unable to move or say anything. I just stared in sheer horror as this random guy upended everything that I had tried so hard to keep secret from this part of my life.

"I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you... your mom got hurt and you got involved in something that well, wasn't your fault in the first place. It's not fair and you seem like a nice girl. You were always kind to your friends and even complete strangers. I feel bad that you got caught up in something like this, something you didn't even ask for. So, I want to help."

I broke free from the ice in my blood, taking in deep and ragged breaths as I clutched my hands tightly by my side.

"I don't care who the fuck you are or what you think you know. Get away from me," I snapped coldly. "I don't want your help, and I don't need it!" I stormed away, heading straight for the front seat.

"Wait a minute. You didn't hear me out!" he called out behind me, chasing after me.

But I didn't give a shit. I flung open the car door, threw my backpack onto the passenger seat, and got inside. Right as I pulled on the door to shut it, Alexi's hand snapped in between the door, holding it open with more strength than I had. "Wait"

"Leave me alone!" I shouted, trying to force the door shut. "Or I will call the police!"

"Fuck!" Alexi finally snapped, pinning me with a glare then shouted the only words that would've gotten me to pause.

"I know how to get to Antonio and his son!"

Everything froze and I stared wide-eyed at Alexi, the both of us in a standstill. He looked just as grim as I did, neither of us wanting to speak first but knowing someone had to.

Alexi broke first. He sighed, handing over a slip of paper. "Think it over. This is my number. Call me when you want to talk about it. I'll leave for today, okay? Just know... I want those bastards caught just as much as you do."

The sincerity in his eyes wasn't a lie and I reached out, taking the paper from his hand. He nodded in relief, finally stepping back and turning to walk away.

I swallowed uncomfortably, shutting the car door and locking it immediately.

I sat there, my hands on the wheels, the piece of paper clutched in my hand. I kept an eye on the rearview mirror until he disappeared, and then the panic started. I started the car in a hurry, fumbling with the keys, and pulled out of the parking lot. The congratulatory cake was the last thing on my mind now.