Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 669 -

*Elio*

"You found Junior?"

Indignation reflected in the eyes of the woman I loved as she faced me with blazing wrath, her hand clenched around my tie hard enough that her skin had turned white. My back ached from being hunched over to be on her level, but I didn't dare to move, simply gulped down any excuses that had been building on my tongue.

I knew like a sailor in the eye of a storm that it was already too late. I didn't know how she had found out, but she knew I had lied to her. Again.

A sense of guilt and shame washed over me as she waited patiently for my answer, a hot-tempered flame ready to consume me the moment I opened my mouth. There was no getting out of this, no sweet-talking or convincing her that I had noble intentions.

I knew that lying to her would have repercussions. We'd been through this before, and maybe I really was insane to keep doing something over and over and expecting a different outcome. I couldn't keep lying and expecting her to forgive me again and again.

She was a caring person, but not to that extent.

And it was through the sheer fear that crawled up my throat at the thought of her walking away from me, at her being done and never having her in my arms again, that words immediately burst out of my throat.

"I'm sorry. I fucked up." I confessed, staring into her unforgiving eyes and hoping she would give me one last chance to make things right. "Yes, we found Junior, and I shouldn't have lied to you. I should have told you sooner."

I had made the wrong decision by not telling her, and I knew that now.

Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed as she gazed into my eyes searchingly. I didn't know what she found, but she removed her grip from my tie, and I inhaled deeply, not having realized how much pressure it had been putting on my throat until now. I rubbed my neck, the sore skin being a little tense as Cat took a few steps back, crossing her arms unhappily.

She didn't have the same look of fury on her face, but she didn't look like she was in a forgiving mood either. She stared at me for half a moment, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't know what she was thinking.

I nervously shifted on my feet, feeling like I was a kid being scolded again.

"You let me sit in on an interrogation," Cat started, her voice sharp as a knife, "but you don't tell me that you have a lead on one of the two men I want to see pay for their crimes, that I was even getting involved in all of this for? Really, Elio?" "I know, but " I sighed, lamenting my past self for being so stupid. I should've just come clean before this point. "But I-"

"But what?" she demanded.

"I didn't want to get your hopes up," I admitted softly. "We've only spotted him a few times, and we're still far from getting close enough to get him. We have to go slowly because if he makes us, he'll only disappear again. It's been so slow- going that I don't know when we're going to have results, if we even get them."

"So what?" she snapped. "I deserve to know the truth. You said you respected me, that you were going to tell me the truth, and then you go behind my back again and lie to my face, again. This time, you can't even blame it on Antonio because he's not here... or are you lying about that too?"

"Of course not," I said quickly, running a hand through my hair in stress as I took in her pissed-off eyes. "I messed up. I know. You deserved to know the truth, and I should've told you earlier. But I wanted to protect you-"

She fully scoffed, rolling her eyes as she shifted weight to her other leg, giving me no other chance to drop in as she snapped, "I don't want to hear that again. You broke your promise to me, Elio. You swore you wouldn't do this again and you did. How can I trust you if you keep lying to me and treating me like I need to be put in a bubble?"

"I don't think that," I protested.

But I could see her lack of disbelief in her eyes as she turned away from me. She was at least calming down, not so eager to punch me in the face, so I stepped forward, gently sneaking my arms around her waist as I pulled her into me.

She was reluctant but didn't fight me as I held her close, breathing in her scent as I buried my face onto her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Cat. I fucked up, but I'm really trying here," I confessed softly. "It's just so hard to fight my instincts to keep you safe and happy. I want to keep you away from all of this, but I want you by my side at the same time. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. You can see that, right?"

"Of course, I can." She sighed, finally crossing her arms as she bumped her forehead into mine. Our eyes connected and though I could see she was still unhappy, the anger was dispersing, only showing how much she cared and how hurt she was by this.

Slowly her arms gently wrapped around my chest, fisting my shirt and wrinkling my jacket, but I didn't care as I kissed her on the nose, smiling sadly as she forgave me like she always had. I hated myself for taking advantage of her kindness, her ability to forgive my mistakes again and again.

"You have to tell me the truth," she said pleadingly, a serious look in her eyes as she stared at me. "We have to be together on this because I'm not going to keep doing this. You have to trust that I can keep myself safe, that I won't fall apart, or... I can't be with someone who constantly lies to me, Elio."

There was a very real threat in her words that hung in the air between us, an honest and sincere one and I knew she wasn't kidding. This was the last chance she was giving me, the last time she would forgive my lies.

I swallowed, nodding softly as I shut my eyes tightly, not even wanting to imagine my life without her, a world where she wasn't by my side any longer or worse, on the arm of some other man.

"I promise," I whispered, each word like a vow burnt itself into my soul, "I will keep you involved as much as I can, and I won't lie to you ever again."

I would do anything to keep her with me. I loved her too much to let her go.

Hesitance crossed her face, as if she was debating whether I was being truthful or not, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest as I waited to see if she would walk away from me or stay. Finally, she sighed, acceptance in her eyes as she buried her face into my chest.

I clenched my fists, pulling her into my arms with more force than I meant to, but she didn't complain, simply let me cling to her as I got my emotions back in order.

It took a few minutes before my heart settled in place and I was reassured enough to let her go. Once I did, she gave me that sweet smile I loved so much, and I felt a breath of relief escape my lips.

Then came the next burning question I had.

"Did you take your exams? How did you do?" I asked, wanting to change the subject, but not wanting to be obvious as to what I was going to ask next.

"Good." She smiled confidently. "I knew pretty much all of it, so I should get above a 90 or at least above 80, I think."

"That's amazing." I kissed her, arms around her waist as I lifted her slightly and twirled us around.

She beamed, giggling as I gently set her down on the floor. I slowly edged into the burning question in my mind.

"So," I asked, pretending to be nonchalant, "how'd you go from your exam to replaceing out about Junior? Did somebody tell you something?"

My voice didn't sound as blase as I wanted, and she gave me a bland look like I was the most obvious thing in the world to her. I could've been more subtle, sure, but this was important.

I winced a bit, wondering if I was losing my charms in front of her, but she pursed her lips into a grim line.

Her eyes flickered to the lower left, a sense of anxiousness washing over her as her fingers clenched around my suit.

"It was... Alexi, actually," she said slowly.

I should've fucking known. I clenched my jaw, trying not to show how pissed I was as Cat bit her bottom lip, looking worriedly at my expression, searching for any hints of anger. "What else did he say?" I prompted her, making my voice sound softer so I didn't scare her with my irritation.

"He approached me when I was getting into my car and told me. He said things were more... complicated than he thought. Something about loose strings and that he knew you'd already found Junior." She told me with a frown. "I got the feeling that he knew I didn't know, somehow. But that's impossible, right?"

Fucking bastard.

"It should be," I told her honestly, brushing my hand across her cheek. "But these guys are slippery. Did he say anything else, anything about Junior or Antonio?"

"No." She shook her head, hesitating over something and then taking a deep breath as she looked me in the eyes. "He was incredibly insistent that I trust him, though. He kept asking if I did and when I said I didn't... he said I would. Do you think... is he following me?"

"No.' I shook my head. "If he was following you, we would've known by now. He only approached you at the school because it's a public place and he knew you would show up for your finals. But to be safe, you should probably take a guard or two next time, just in case."

She sighed, pouting a bit at the thought but didn't fight it, just nodding softly as she huffed me. We stayed like that for a few minutes before I heard my phone begin to ring. I fished it out of my pocket, answering swiftly. "Clients are coming out," Leo informed me, then hung up.

"You've got to go?" Cat asked as I shoved my phone back into my pocket.

I nodded reluctantly and she released me, leaning up to kiss me once, just a peck before she stepped back with a smile.

"I'll see you at home then."

She took off, her long hair swaying behind her. I watched her go until I saw her car pull out and take off. Leo came out moments later, the two clients right behind him with big smiles on their faces.

I put on the politest smile I had as they chatted about the space they wanted.

“Well, it seems you're happy with the quality of our development." I chuckled. "If you invest with us, I think you'll replace that your own development will be the same. So how about we finalize that paperwork then? Leo and I can have that ready for you back at the office."

The clients agreed eagerly, and we each went to our own cars. As soon as they were out of sight, my smile dropped, and I climbed into the driver's seat as Leo got in on the other side.

"What's the problem?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow at the dark look on my face.

I stared at the mirror, my eyes full of malice.

"I think Alexi could be a problem."