Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I laughed, handing a piece of candy to my son as he celebrated his hard-won victory much to Dahlia’s ire as he tackled her to the floor, repeating his baby cheers loud enough for everyone to hear.
That was how Gio walked in to find us. He glanced at Elio and Dahlia, raised an eyebrow, and then turned to me but I just shrugged in response, getting to my feet.
“Dada!” Elio cheered.
“He won,” I said with a laugh.
“Good job, bud.” He chuckled, looking more exhausted than before he’d met with Tallon. He turned to me with a serious look. “Can I steal you for a minute?”
I nodded, following him out into the hall, and he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
“How was everything?” I asked worriedly, touching the wrinkle between his eyebrows from the accumulated stress. He looked tired but he relaxed into my touch, sighing as he nuzzled his cheek into my hand.
“Elio and you were staying in tonight, right?” he asked vaguely, giving me a meaningful glance. I swallowed, understanding immediately, and nodded. He breathed a sigh of relief, pressing a kiss to my inner wrist as he continued, “I have a meeting to go to and I’ll be back late. Can you make sure Dahlia stays here with you? Just for tonight.”
“Of course. What’s wrong?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to know.
“The Russians are a problem again. I’m meeting with the team to see what our next moves are, but it’s better to assume that you, Elio, and Dahlia are only safe in large numbers. That means lockdown until we know what we’re dealing with,” Gio told me, a flash of guilt in his eyes. He knew how much I hated to be confined.
But for Elio’s safety, I could suck it up this time.
“Okay,” I said obediently. “That means no going to the city, right?”
“Yes. At least, not without a reason, and if you do need to, take extra guards as a precaution,” Gio told me. “Have you heard from Salvatore lately?”
I unconsciously touched the pocket where I kept my phone. I could feel its rough shape and feeling torn, I reluctantly nodded.
“He’s been calling,” I admitted. “But I haven’t answered. I didn’t think it was safe and I don’t… I don’t know how to act around him.”
Gio immediately sensed my sour mood, stepping forward to wrap his arms around me and pull me into a hug. “I know this is a lot to ask of you, and I would never do so if I thought there was another choice,” Gio started tensely. “But next time he calls, if you can answer and see what he knows, or if he starts acting weird or panicky, then it would be a great deal of help.”
“I–” I pushed back from him, shaking my head. “I don’t know, Gio. I’m not a good liar and he’s… experienced in working with liars, obviously.”
Even I could hear the bitterness in my voice and I sighed. “I don’t think I can fool him if I have to fake my emotions. I’m hurt, I’m angry, and I feel betrayed. How can I just act like everything with him is fine, that I don’t know he’s been using me to get to you? If I talk to him now, I’m afraid it’ll all bleed through.”
“The decision is up to you, carina.” He gently brushed his palm against my cheek, lifting my gaze to meet his. “I would never ask you to do this if I didn’t think you were capable of it, but if it’s too much, then we’ll figure out another way, okay?”
I swallowed, trusting the sincerity on his face, the loyalty in his words and actions. Instead of answering him, however, the lingering question burning between us blurted from my lips before I could stop it.
“Are you going to kill him?”
Gio remained unflinching like he had expected this question, and he probably had. It was a black fog over our heads, always out of sight since I’d found out the true motives of my father.
“I don’t know, carina,” Gio answered honestly, searching my eyes for something I didn’t know, “How could you feel if I had no other choice and that happened?”
“I….”
I trailed off, unsure of how to answer. How would I feel? Did I even know at this point?
I didn’t trust my father. He’d chosen his own road, throwing me away for the second time. I barely knew him, or at least, I barely knew the person he appeared to be. I had clung to the idea of him more than the actual person, and he had taken advantage of me.
Blood or not, I couldn’t love someone like that.
But that didn’t mean I wanted him to be hurt, or worse. He was still my father, after all.
“It would bother me,” I told him, unhappy with myself at the answer I knew to be true, “more than I want to admit.”
Gio nodded, giving me a soft smile. “I know. I’ll do everything I can to avoid that, Olivia. I promise you.”
“But,” I added on, giving him a knowing look.
He gave me a sad smile. “But you and Elio are my priority. If it’s between my family and him, I will always choose you and Elio. You are my world, carina, and I can’t put you in danger to save him.”
Though it hurt to hear, I knew he was right. I would never sacrifice him or Elio for my father if I was in the same position. I hoped it would never come to that, but I couldn’t ask Gio to save someone who wanted him dead, or our child.
“I understand,” I said quietly, stepping into his embrace and letting him hold me for a second. I clenched his suit, the fabric wrinkling in my fists but I knew he wouldn’t care. I just needed the security his arms brought me.
I could hear Elio giggling from the living room, completely unaware of what was about to happen, of the world he had been brought into.
“Everything will be okay, carina. I promise,” Gio mumbled into my hair, rubbing my back with one hand.
I shut my eyes tightly, wishing from the deepest pit of my heart that he would be right, that all of this would truly be over this time.
But I knew better than most that sometimes, people made promises they couldn’t keep.
*Olivia*
“Thank you, Maria,” I smiled at the kind Spanish woman as she set down another fruity cocktail in front of me. Beads of condensation spilled over the glass, a curly straw and half a lime hanging off the rim to finish off the presentation.
Dinner and drinks were just what me and Dahlia had needed to take our minds off everything. Dahlia hadn’t been happy when I told her we couldn’t leave the compound for the time being, but she understood better than I did, after all of the risks.
Her scar had faded, but it was a constant reminder of what she had gone through, of how she almost didn’t make it to be here today. I was sure that haunted her just as much as it did me.
But even though all the boys were gone, Maria was still here for us.
“De nada, Senora.” Maria waved off my thanks, only pausing to pinch Elio on his pink chubby cheeks, cooing in what I presumed was a Spanish version of baby talk before going on her way.
I laughed at Elio’s little pout, watching him rub his messy fingers against where she’d pinched him, smearing the pasta sauce all over his face. It seemed to be his favorite pastime to make a mess everywhere, but as long as he was having fun, I didn’t mind.
I took a sip of my drink, trying to relax despite the overwhelming feeling in the pit of my gut that something was going to go wrong. I couldn’t shake it, this dread that I was missing something, that something bad was going to happen and I was helpless to stop it.
But that was what anxiety did to a person, I supposed. Even just having a simple dinner could turn into a threat in the blink of an eye.
I sighed, leaning back in my seat as I picked at the pasta in front of me with a fork. It looked delicious, but I just had no appetite.
“So, this might be a bad time,” Dahlia started, glancing up at me from her plate of pasta loaded heavily with mozzarella, “but the school called me, asking for you.”
I stiffened, a sense of unease and guilt washing over me. I sighed, glancing over at Elio and smiling as he somehow got pieces of pasta stuck in his curls.
After all the threats and then Elio being born, I hadn’t had any time to really consider what I wanted to do about the university. Neither Dahlia nor I had been back since the last semester, and I didn’t know if either of us would return.
There were too many bad memories that lingered of that place, too many reminders and feelings I didn’t want to hold onto. I knew Gio would definitely support me going back, at least after all this mess was over.
But then what would I do about Elio? Would I hire a nanny and leave him all day? I didn’t know if my weak heart could survive that.
