Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
We decided to go to Saffy’s because it was within walking distance, and it felt good to get out of the house, strolling down the streets of the commercial district. The warm air felt good on my skin, and it was nice to see Mom so enthusiastic.
The restaurant was pretty busy, but we had a reservation, so we got in early and chatted about school as we ordered drinks. We both ordered a few cocktails before dinner since we had walked, but I made sure not to drink too much just in case.
I told her all about what Anna was doing. “Ever since her boyfriend came back, they’re practically joined at the hip.”
Mom laughed. “Well, that’s normal for your age when you have someone close. Speaking of that, how had it been, living with Elio?”
“It’s like heaven, Mom.”
She seemed to understand with just that short answer, and the conversation moved to which classes I was going to attend when the semester started.
It felt a bit weird to talk about something so normal after everything that had been going on, but I was happy to put everything else out of my mind for a moment. Plus, if I wanted a life that I created for myself and not what I gained by relying on Elio or my mom all the time, then I needed to go back to school.
Learning about the world and finding out what I could do to make it a better place was crucial to becoming independent. And that was the kind of person I wanted to be. Mom gave me some advice, and we just chatted about random things until the food came.
We shared a platter of Saffy’s wood-fired shawarma, lamb, beef, and chicken with some vegan options too. I was in love with it.
I got the banana cake for dessert, and Mom wanted the pecan apple crisp. She did end up stealing a few bites of my cake anyway, but I didn’t mind at all. By the time dinner was over, it was already dark out and I supported Mom, who had a healthy red glow to her cheeks as we walked back to the apartment.
She leaned on my shoulder, beaming brightly as it seemed that with every step, the four cocktails she’d had came back to bite her. The doorman was kind enough to help me and Mom get into the elevator, and we stopped on her floor.
Lauren wasn’t there tonight, so I helped Mom get into her pajamas and sent her to bed. As she snored face-first into the pillows, I covered her up with the blankets and made sure to put some Advil and a glass of water on her bedside table before heading to my own apartment.
I rubbed my sore arms, sighing to myself as I stepped inside the darkened house. Elio wasn’t to be found, probably in the bedroom or on the balcony. I poured myself a glass of water, sipping it slowly as I came down from the alcohol.
I had just set my phone on the counter, leaning over to take off my heels, when I heard it ring out loudly in the quiet penthouse. I frowned, glancing at the caller ID.
My heart leaped to my throat.
It was a number I knew well.
Junior’s.
*Caterina*
My mind went absolutely blank as if I had never had a thought race across my mind ever in my life. I couldn’t think of anything, just simple, mind-numbing panic. My heart raced like a jackhammer in my chest, pounding with the force of a stampede.
Three flashes went by before my senses finally came back to me and I looked around me for something in a panic, anything to help… and one thought crashed upon my numb brain.
“Elio!” I screamed as loud as I could, sure that even in this well-insulated penthouse that the neighbors, including my mother downstairs, had heard me.
I heard a loud thump from the other room, and curses in a familiar voice that reassured me I wasn’t alone. I answered the call, my entire body trembling as I put it on the speaker right as Elio came stumbling into the room with a wide-eyed look.
Fight or flight had him in its grasp, and he looked ready to kill as his wild eyes searched the room and glanced over at me for any kind of threat. I put my finger over my lips in a hurry, trying to tell him to be quiet.
He luckily got the hint, eyes landing on the phone like it was some kind of monster he needed to execute to protect me.
“You know,” the familiar voice, lazy and nonchalant, said, “it’s only polite to say hello when you answer the phone. How rude of you, Kitty-Cat.”
I stiffened, and my whole body tensed up. I was afraid I was going to choke on my words, but I managed to get out a quiet, “Sorry to disappoint you,” before falling silent once more.
“Oh, don’t worry. You have, Sweetheart. You have disappointed me greatly.”
There was a snarl in his voice, bitter and angry still. But like the con artist that he was, it changed to a relaxed tone in the next heartbeat, hiding his true face behind his words.
“But that’s all in the past,” he said. “Now you have a chance to make up for all the terrible things you’ve done to me. All you have to do is one little thing, Cat. Tell me where my father is.”
The sheer audacity he had to gaslight me right on the phone, to pretend to be a victim when he was nothing more than a monster who’d taken advantage of me, abused me, and tried to kill me and my family… it knocked me right out of my panic.
I grit my teeth and I could see Elio’s hands clenching, just as angry as I was.
“I don’t owe you a damn thing. You shot my mother,” I snapped fiercely.
“It never would’ve happened if you had just obeyed me like a good little girl!” he screamed, then said calmly after a heartbeat, “It was regrettable truly, but it had to be done. Now, it was smart of you to use my father to get to me, but the game ends now. Where is he, Cat? My patience won’t last forever, so if you don’t want another accident to happen, tell me what I want to know.”
I smirked, calming down as I glanced at Elio’s expression. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated, and I could hear the cracking in Junior’s voice—he was desperate. We had the upper hand here and we all knew it.
I took a deep breath, pushing away my emotions as I calmed down.
“Threats won’t work on me anymore, Junior.” I emphasized his name, forgoing the alias he had used with me.
I wasn’t going to buy into his lies any longer. He had no control over me anymore. I was a different person than when I was when I was with him.
That seemed like a million years ago.
There was a beat of silence and I glanced at Elio, both of us waiting for his next move. I half-expected him to hang up or explode in anger but when he spoke next, none of that happened.
“If you want to make an exchange, name the terms.”
His rough voice was strained, anger underlining his tone, but he was still calm, with no sign of the fury or explosion I expected. In a way, he sounded almost… defeated.
I grinned in victory and Elio smirked, crossing his arms. But then came the next part. I wasn’t the greatest liar, but there was also no way to make an exchange with a dead person. Junior seemed to have no idea that his father was dead.
I put the call on mute for a moment, biting my bottom lip as I debated with myself.
“Do I tell him the truth or lie?” I asked Elio.
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to do. This is your battle right now. I trust your judgment.”
It warmed my heart to hear those words and I beamed, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek as thanks. I took a deep breath, deciding my next move as I took the call off hold. There was an unsettling silence on the other side, and I was surprised he had waited so patiently instead of cursing me out.
But finally, I made my decision.
“Unfortunately, Junior, there isn’t going to be an exchange,” I said rather coldly.
“What the fuck do you mean—”
“Did you know your father killed mine over a decade ago?” I asked detachedly, staring at the wall with blank eyes.
The memory of that day came back like a vivid hallucination. I remember staring out the window, waiting for my father to come back as I finished up my homework.
His car had driven up, and I was so excited I bounced out of my seat, running down the driveway to meet him. My feet had been bare, the asphalt burning, but I didn’t care.
But instead of my father, it was a stranger I hadn’t met before. At the time I didn’t know, but it was Tallon who had come to visit us.