Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Look, Cat. I just wanted to start this by saying that I’m—”
I instantly held my hand up and stopped him from speaking any further. I didn’t want an apology. If this was his idea of fixing the problem, by apologizing and brushing over it completely, then I was not interested in speaking to him.
“It’s my turn to talk,” I said.
Much to my surprise, Elio remained silent. I was almost half certain that he was going to at least try to gain some control back and explain his actions from earlier. Yet, he didn’t. He simply nodded his head and gave me the floor to speak.
I took in a deep breath and steadied my breathing.
“You, of all people, know that I’ve gone my entire life believing a lie,” I started. “And when the unfortunate time came when I found out the truth about it all, I knew right in that moment that I never wanted to live in the dark again.”
All those months back when I first overheard the truth about my dad and what type of business he was really involved in, I was devastated, to say the least. I felt like my head was on the verge of splitting into two from all the excuses both he and my mother had been trying to feed me to keep me grounded.
I was so upset. And for a good while, I didn’t want to believe in any of it. But the past could only stay buried for so long.
Finding out that someone who once worked under Elio’s father was the one responsible for my dad’s death was shocking enough. But to hear that the man was still walking around, free as a bird, was the piece of news that truly threw me over the edge.
I’d never thought in a thousand years that I’d be getting involved in such a dangerous business, only to find out that I’d been knowingly involved since I moved away for school. Thanks to Junior and his fucked up mind games, I’d been just another game piece in Antonio’s plan to hurt Elio’s family.
“I feel like all anyone has ever done was purposely keep things from me. You claim again and again that it’s for my own protection, but I don’t see it as protection, Elio.”
I watched his brows pull together in conflict. I could imagine the several dozens of responses that wanted to pass through his lips as a means of defending himself.
I gently shook my head. “This isn’t going to be another argument,” I told him. “I can’t handle any more pain and aggravation. And ever since you decided to leave me here, that’s all my mind has been able to process and deal with.”
His gorgeous eyes poured into me as though they were desperate to tell me something. Yet, Elio kept his mouth shut, not daring to interrupt my flow.
“You know how I feel when you purposely keep things from me. I hate it. Of all the worst feelings I’ve experienced in these past few months, this has to be one of the top-ranking ones. And just when I think we’ve come to some kind of understanding, it’s like I’m brought all the way back to the beginning.”
I took in another deep breath.
I hadn’t anticipated feeling so heavy when I started to talk about all of this. Thinking about my father, as well as the last few months, made me feel like my lungs were filling with lead. At least I didn’t feel any tears in my eyes. Although, I wasn’t so sure if I was going to make it through this next part so easily.
“I know you think that you’re protecting me by keeping me at a distance with these things, but the thing is, I don’t want you to just protect me.” I felt my cheeks begin to blush under his firm gaze. “I want to be there when things happen, when bits of news come in. I want to be there with you to face these issues too. We’re supposed to face this nightmare together. I’m okay with you wanting to protect me, Elio, just as long as you’re willing to let me be there to protect you as well.”
Did Elio need protecting? Probably not in the physical sense as much as in the mental sense. If there was one thing that I’d learned fairly quickly about this kind of business, it was that it took a real toll on one’s mental health.
Back when my mother was still in the hospital, no matter how hard I tried, my mind always drifted back toward that horrible night with Alessandro facing off against Antonio and Junior. I’d lost count of the hours of sleep I lost and the number of nightmares that terrorized my nights.
This sort of life was not easily adaptable, and I worried for Elio’s peace of mind probably just as much as he worried about my safety.
Elio’s features softened in a gradual wave of gracious understanding.
The water in the bath had gone noticeably cold a few minutes ago. Without another word, I pulled the plug in the drain and slowly stood up to get out. Elio moved quickly to his feet and offered me his arm to hold onto.
I reached for a towel and patted myself dry before wrapping it around my body. I made my way over to the counter and picked up some moisturizer.
Elio spoke low in his throat. “I understand,” he said as he came to stand beside me. “I know you hate secrets and being kept in the dark about things. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect about it, but I’ll try. Going forward, I will try to keep you in the loop of what’s going on.”
I braced myself on the counter in front of me and turned to glance at him.
“Okay,” I murmured quietly. “That’s enough then.”
The awful weight that hung over me for hours suddenly seemed like it was slowly lifting off. It may not have been the most promising answer, but I could tell that it was an honest one.
“Then maybe you can start now,” I told him. “What happened today?”
Elio scratched the back of his neck and tilted his head.
“Recently, our team managed to get a hold of a guy that works under Antonio,” he explained. “We’ve been questioning him for a while, barely getting much out of him about where his boss and bastard son ran off to.”
My breath hitched inside my chest while I nodded my head.
“Well, today, I got a call from Leo, who informed me that our one and only lead managed to escape the warehouse we had him in. But we were able to track him down, and they have him in a more secure location this time.”
“Have you gotten any real info out of him yet?” I asked with a hint of trepidation.
“Not yet. But I’ve got this feeling that he’ll talk soon enough.” Elio slid a strong arm around my waist and pulled me back into his chest. “We’ll do whatever it takes to find Antonio and Junior.”
I let myself lean back into him and embraced the wonderful, much-needed feeling of his warmth and security.
“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” I hummed.
Elio smiled and bent down to press a kiss to my head. The corners of my mouth started to slowly curve upward, and an old giddy feeling of excitement fluttered in my stomach.
“What?” he chuckled.
My smile deepened. “We need to tell our families that we’re moving in together now.”
*Elio*
‘Well, at least I was able to overcome one problem,’ I thought tiredly to myself.
I hated fighting with Caterina. I knew, deep down, that her heart was always in the right place, even when the two of us would fall into an argument. She hated secrets, and being kept in the dark on matters that would ultimately affect her… and rightfully so.
I knew for a fact that a part of her would still never truly forgive me for lying about her father and my family’s past. It had been months since Cat found out the truth, months since she became entrusted in the mess that was my family business.
That awful night between Alessandro and Antonio was still burning in the back of my mind. I was well aware of the nightmares that Cat suffered from as a result. All that time she spent in the hospital looking after her mom never failed to remind me how close we came to losing everything that night. Had Matilde died from that gunshot, I knew that Cat would have never recovered from the loss.
Thankfully, this dark scenario never came to fruition and her mom was on the slow, but steady, road to recovery. Having Matilde back at the house and finally out of the hospital brightened Cat’s mood tremendously.
But the guilt that pooled in my stomach drove me to work even harder to find Antonio and Junior.
I was hell-bent on taking them both down, even if it meant scouring every corner of the earth to find them. They were going to pay for what they did.
Because of this mind-numbing guilt that was eating away at me, I fell back into the habit of wanting to keep Cat at a distance from the ugly business. I couldn’t risk her safety, not again. I knew there was only so much I could control in life, but when it came to her, I was willing to push the boundaries of possibility.
Yet, I should have known that my feeble attempts at keeping her at s distance were bound to burn me in the end. Cat’s eyes were filled with fiery disdain when I insisted on taking her home after I got the call from Leo.
Her telling me not to bother coming home had felt like an equal slap in the face. She didn’t want to see me. I’d angered her, hurt her, to the point of her pushing me away. But the problem had to be dealt with. And it was.
In the end, I was glad to have come back to find Cat willing to talk. Granted, she did most of the talking, but it was an enlightening conversation, nonetheless. I was glad to know that the day finally came to an end on a high note.
I told her that I would try to keep her in the loop about what was going on. Even though the thought of dragging her into danger left me feeling sick and irritated, I wasn’t going to run the risk of hurting her again.