Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
Luckily, I already had excuses prepared.
“I keep a toolset in every bathroom cabinet,” I told him. “Check your own bathroom and verify if you don’t believe me.”
A shadow of doubt crossed his face, and I knew I had won this round. Victory sang in my blood, tasting especially good with how he had insulted Olivia and me tonight. I kept my eyes firmly on him, not looking away for even a second as he stared back at me.
I could see him wavering, rethinking things, but there was still skepticism in his eyes. He didn’t totally believe me, but I didn’t expect him to. I just had to put that seed of doubt there and luckily, I’d succeeded.
He clenched his jaw, finally stepping back. We stood on opposite ends of the hall, both of our backs to the walls as we silently challenged one another to back down.
This time, it was he who let it go.
“I apologize for jumping to conclusions,” Alessandro said through his clenched teeth, looking like it hurt to apologize. To him, it probably did.
I had no doubt his pride was full of thorns as they slid down his throat. Swallowing it was the best I was going to get tonight. I nodded, not even pretending to forgive him.
Not after what he had called Olivia.
I turned to head back to my room, but Alessandro wasn’t quite done with me yet. I stiffened and glanced back at him, grumbling to myself. I was too exhausted for this bullshit.
“But,” he said, a calculating look in his eyes, “you should know better than to enter a young girl’s room this late at night. If she needs help with her sink next time, you should wait until morning. Or tell her to call me.”
That old friend named Jealousy reared its head, and I clenched my hands tightly, only giving him a cool glance as I told him firmly, “You’re right. Men shouldn’t be entering her room so late at night. I’ll keep that in mind, but so should you.”
“It’s fine for old friends like us,” he said, tilting his head. The scheming in his face was making me nervous. He had the upper hand now. “But then again, I might not be able to if I have more responsibility in the family.”
And there it was.
The greed in his eyes was prominent, and no matter how much he liked Olivia, he was willing to set it aside for the chance to take any bit of control he could.
I set my jaw, fury in my chest as I realized what kind of person Alessandro was becoming. I wanted to beat the shit out of him and teach him not to play with others like they were pawns on a chessboard, but I had no right to talk.
I had done far worse things.
But Olivia–there was no reason for him to involve her in all of this. She was caught in a war that she didn’t even know was happening. It wasn’t fair, but for now, there was nothing else I could do.
“Of course.” I gave in despite my better judgment. I couldn’t let him spill what he had seen. I could try to fool him with flimsy excuses, but Tallon… or worse, if this got back to James, there was no way I could keep our relationship quiet then.
Goddammit.
All I could do was placate the boy in front of me.
He smirked in victory, raising his head as I turned my back on him and entered my room. The moment my door shut behind me, I began to tremble with sheer fury.
He was blackmailing me. The little shit was actually trying to blackmail me, and the worst part was, it was going to work.
“Shit,” I cursed, brushing my hair from my face as I headed straight for the liquor cabinet. I was going to drink myself to an early grave at this point, but I didn’t care at the moment. I needed something in my system to numb me so that I wouldn’t turn around and send Alessandro to the hospital Dahlia had just been released from. Olivia wouldn’t be happy with me, but maybe if she didn’t find out….
I shook my head of the thoughts, gritting my teeth as I swung back a glass of whiskey. The burn was refreshing and comforting, like returning to the embrace of an old friend. I poured myself a second glass, downing it one go before I made my way to the bed.
I was exhausted, and the stress built up. Every time one problem was solved, two more popped out. Crises were everywhere, and I was getting too old for this. I slammed head-first onto the bed, not even bothering to remove my shoes as I just stuffed my face into a pillow.
Not for the first time, I deeply regretted becoming Don. I regretted not having a normal life, one where Olivia and I could get married and live together without any of this secrecy, and where no shitty cousins were blackmailing me or Russians trying to ruin our lives.
But this was the hand that I was dealt.
And all I could do was play it.
*Olivia*
When morning came, and the sun rose to greet the new day, I was not willing to get out of bed. I stared anxiously at my phone, still nude under my covers as I tried my best not to freak out.
At first, I thought the voice I had heard last night when Giovani left was just a trick of my mind, but the moment I woke up with a text message on my phone, I knew it wasn’t.
‘Alessandro caught me leaving last night. I told him I was fixing the sink, but Hhe suspects the truth.’ That was all Giovani wrote to me, but it was more than enough to send panic bells ringing in my head.
He knew.
Fuck.
I groaned, throwing my hands over my face as I buried myself into the blankets. I didn’t want to get up today. I didn’t want to have to face Alessandro and try to pretend he didn’t know I was fucking his cousin.
If I could be anyone but me just for today, that would be great.
“Livi!” I heard the loud voice of Tallon from somewhere downstairs. “Breakfast is ready!”
I groaned but slipped out of my covers. I got dressed, not bothering to do much else as I pulled on my slippers and gathered the clothes I’d thrown on the floor last night, and put them into the laundry basket by the door.
I sighed to myself, not ready for this, but I plastered a smile on my face and left my room. I walked down to the kitchen like a man heading for the guillotine–as slowly as I could get away with it.
“Livi!” Dahlia screamed my name, and I winced at the sudden loudness. “Don’t make me come up there!”
Dammit. I knew she’d do it, too.
I hurried around the corner, appearing at the top of the stairs. Right at the foot was Dahlia, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor as she waited for me.
“Finally,” she scoffed. “It took you forever!”
“Sorry, Dolly,” I said quietly, heading down the stairs one at a time. I clearly wasn’t fast enough for Dahlia because, on the last few steps, she reached forward to grab my arm and practically pulled me down the stairs.
“Come on,” she whined as I tripped on my own feet.
I braced myself for the impact with the floor, but strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I only fell into a familiar embrace instead.
I rubbed my nose that collided with his pectoral muscle and I glanced up to see just who I’d expected. Giovani glared at Dahlia, who looked a bit ashamed as she stood to the side.
“Do you know how dangerous that could’ve been?” Giovani scolded her, releasing me from his arms.
“I know, that was dumb,” Dalia sighed. “Must be those drugs I’m on. I was just excited for her to see the breakfast I made for her.”
“You made me breakfast?”
The words popped out of my mouth at the same time that Giovani said, “You should be more careful.”
We both looked at one another, suppressing a smile.
