Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 825 : How to Fix This

*Cat*

It took a long time to soothe Emilia back to sleep after she’d been awoken by Elio’s shouting. I was still crying when I heard Elio climbing up the stairs, swaying a little and probably drunk. He bypassed the nursery and I didn’t even have the strength to look at him before I heard the door to his office slam shut.

I’d only said he’d have to sleep there out of anger. I hadn’t really meant it but... Elio had.

The fight played back in my mind, the screams and shouting between us still ringing in my ears as I tried to soothe Emilia as much as I could.

“How could you even suggest that? I’ve worked my ass off to get us where we are now and you want me to leave? What the hell, Cat?”

“We have to think about Emilia now, Elio! She’s been in danger since before she was even born, and it’s only been one monster after another coming after us. We can’t keep her locked up for her whole life!”

“Oh, so you think I can’t protect my own daughter, is that it?”

I’d tried to explain as best as I could, but Elio was too angry to hear me. And once he started screaming in my face, my own temper naturally flared to meet his. I’d walked away after Emilia started shrieking from upstairs, simply unconsolable by the time I reached her.

Her little face was covered in tears still, damp and red as she’d cried until she couldn’t breathe and was choking on her own sobs. No amount of soothing had helped. I inhaled deeply, wanting to cry myself but knowing I wouldn’t be able to leave Emilia tonight.

I wished I had never said anything, that I’d kept my huge mouth shut just like I vowed to do. But Olivia’s words had gotten to me, that the doubts would never go away and just keep building until I exploded.

She was right, but I didn’t blame her. This was bound to have come out eventually.

It would be in my mind every time I looked at Emilia, her innocent smile and curious eyes as she explored the world around her, growing so fast every day. It seemed like I could blink and she would already be running as fast as her little legs could take her, far away from where we could protect her.

The panic I felt as I imagined her being taken away, unable to do anything as they stole my precious baby right in front of my eyes, was suffocating. I brushed a hand over my neck, feeling the imaginary chain tightening, even though I knew there was nothing there.

If anything ever happened to Emilia, I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive. She was my everything, and nothing was more important than her safety. And the only way to ensure that was by leaving the mafia life.

But I knew Elio wasn’t going to want to stop. He would never leave. He was good at what he did, I could admit that, but he wasn’t the only one who was good at it. Someone else could take over. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have options. He could be good at anything he set his mind to.

I wanted to say that I was in the right, that I was thinking of Emilia and he wasn’t, but I knew how hard he’d worked to keep me and Emilia safe, the long exhausting hours he’d put in and the stubborn fire in his heart that kept him fighting the world on our behalf if he needed to.

I loved Elio and I wanted him to be happy, but I also wanted all of us to be safe.

There was no right answer here.

I gently lifted up Emilia, cradling her as I moved us both to the couch I’d placed in here for long nights like these. I hadn’t had to use it in months, but I couldn’t make myself go back to our bedroom, not when it was empty like that.

So I curled up on the couch, making sure Emilia was perfectly cradled safely so she couldn’t roll onto the floor. I closed my eyes, hoping to get at least a little bit of sleep tonight.

By the time morning came, I’d managed barely an hour of sleep before Emilia sleepily started to wake, the events of last night completely forgotten in her mind.

But not mine.

She rubbed her probably dry face and I reluctantly rose, wincing from how stiff my limbs were. I was out of it, completely mindless as I went through the motions of getting Emilia ready.

I made sure to wash up her face, removing the dry tear tracks still on her. She was grumpy this morning, not wanting to cooperate. But I wasn’t in the mood to fight it, so I decided to put her in her favorite pajamas.

We were only going to stay in and rest today, so it didn’t really matter. I splashed some water on my own face, calling that done before I stepped out of the nursery. I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday, but I didn’t really care as I glanced down the hall at the still-shut door of Elio’s office.

My heart ached at the sight, wondering if he’d gotten any sleep either, but Emilia whined in my arms, bringing me back to the task at hand. Emilia was hungry.

“Okay, baby.” My voice was hoarse and scratchy from yelling and then crying all night. I felt drained and out of it as I took the steps one by one, feeling like I was a slug moving through molasses.

For a brief moment, I wondered if perhaps I was even awake or if this all had been some twisted fucked up nightmare. But that thought dissipated as soon as I turned into the kitchen.

Elio leaned against the counter, a fresh cup of coffee in his hand and fully dressed in a nice suit, his hair slicked back and looking no worse for wear.

Meanwhile, I stood across from him, looking like a mess. My hair was unbrushed, still in the same clothes from last night, and my face no doubt splotchey from not having removed my makeup. I could even feel my eyes swollen from how much I’d cried but here Elio was, looking absolutely normal like nothing had happened.

He gave me a blank look as I stood there in shock, my mouth hanging open like a fish, and I wanted to say something–anything.

But his eyes passed by me like I wasn’t even there, landing on Emilia before a smile crept up his lips.

I hated how gutted I felt by that single move.

He put down his cup of coffee, smiling at our daughter, and approached to grab her from me. He barely even touched me, perfectly avoiding my skin as he held our baby girl in one arm. She cooed, bringing her chubby hands over his shaved jaw and I watched them, feeling like a ghost as he laughed at her antics.

“Elio–” I tried to step forward but he turned his back on me. I flinched, clasping my hands over my heart as it ached at his silence.

So this is what it felt like, I thought numbly.

Elio placed Emilia in her high chair, his movements smooth and purposeful as he readied Emilia’s bottle, giving her a side of fruit as he stood behind her, brushing her hair and putting them in two pigtails now. Her hair was getting thicker and longer now.

I stood there, lost and unsure of what to do.

Breakfast was already done and smelled delicious, though the cook was nowhere to be seen, so he must have asked her to step out. Elio put two plates on the table, one very obviously for himself and the other across from him.

“Is this... for me?” I asked quietly, wincing at how loud my voice sounded.

Elio nodded, not even glancing up at me as I slipped into the chair, picking at the food with my fork before I took a bite.

It was good, I thought, trying not to fall apart over scrambled eggs. We ate in silence and as delicious as the food was, I could barely manage a few bites, not hungry in the slightest.

Elio finished up, gathering his plate, and he took one look at my own barely touched one and sighed before grabbing it as well.

“Wait–” I panicked, grabbing his wrist, and this time he looked at me. “I’ll eat it later.”

Elio gazed at me, a cold tense silence between us. I felt my eyes watering, wishing that everything could go back to normal, that Elio wasn’t avoiding me or treating me like I was just a stranger.

As exhausted tears spilled over my cheeks and his image blurred in front of me, I heard him sigh as he took the seat next to me, gently wrapping his arm around me as I cried on his shoulder.

“I’m not ready to talk yet, Cat,” he said quietly. “But I still love you, both of you.”

But I couldn’t feel reassured by his words, not as he slid away from me, kissing my cheek and wrapping up my breakfast before happily cuddling Emilia. All too soon he was out the door, without a single glance back at me. I felt like absolute shit.

What was I supposed to do?

I felt like I’d broken us, and though I knew I probably just needed to sleep or eat, my emotions had taken over as I grabbed my phone and dialed the only number I thought might be able to give me some solid advice, even if her advice had gotten me into this mess in the first place.

“Cat, honey, what’s the matter?” Olivia’s worried voice sounded through the phone.

I broke down into tears, spilling everything about our fight how distant he was this morning, and how I felt like everything was crumbling down around me.

“Everything will be okay, Cat. I promise you. Elio will calm down and you two can make a decision together,” Olivia said reassuringly, but It wasn’t helping my erratic mind.

“Okay,” I just kept saying until she finally let me go and I hung up.

Why couldn’t I have just kept my stupid mouth shut? Why did I have to go and open Pandora’s box when this was supposed to be a happy time for us both? We were about to get married.

And now I wasn’t sure if he would still go through with it. I hated fighting with Elio, and I’d never seen him so angry at me before.

I stared miserably at the kitchen table, wrapping my arms around myself.

I didn’t know how I could even begin to fix this.