Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 910 : Lies

*Leo*

Meetings were the worst part of my day, I thought boredly as I sat at the round table for the shareholders of the real estate company. It was just a ploy, a way to keep our hands clean if anything went over but this company has become a massive headache in the past few months.

Even Elio had considered ditching it before he’d stepped down.

Now I’m even more convinced we should just blow it up ourselves. With explosives. And maybe fireworks?

Make it a nice date night with Bianca, smores over the ashes of the former company. Sounds nice to me. I smirked at my thoughts, barely paying attention as the stumbling intern presented his poorly designed PowerPoint, fumbling over his words every other sentence.

My eyes dulled as I propped my head up on my fist, barely able to keep them open as I listened to the meeting go on and on. I was just about ready to either keel over for a nap or get to my feet and start throwing staplers at people when I felt a buzzing in my hand.

I frowned, glancing discreetly below the table as I turned on my phone. At first, I hoped it was Bianca, sending me another text message. Maybe we could compare which is more boring. Her politics class or my real estate meeting.

But it wasn’t Bianca.

My smile dropped as I saw it was from Tian, one of Bianca’s bodyguards. They usually didn’t send me reports throughout the day, only if Bianca went anywhere or was around anyone suspicious. I didn’t stick them to her side to monitor her, just to make sure she stayed safe.

My gaze darkened as I read the text once and then again but it was the same thing over and over.

Bianca went to a women’s health clinic?

Why the fuck would she go there? She had a doctor who as far as I knew, she liked very much and wasn’t too far from the compound. Why drive an extra twenty minutes to a place with less care and more work attached to it? It didn’t make any sense.

Then another thought occurred to me.

Wasn’t she supposed to be in class? The realization was like ice melting down my back.

I slammed my hands against the meeting table, the chair screeching out behind me as I stood up. The room fell in complete silence, all of the shareholders staring at me nervously while the intern looked ready to pee his pants.

But all I could think about was Bianca. Who’d lied to me to go to a clinic for who knows what and didn’t tell anybody the details.

“Meeting is over!” I declared, glaring at each and every person before I stormed out of the office, clutching my phone tightly in my hand. I had to get to the bottom of this.

Worry and fear were the primary driving forces behind my speed as I hurried out of the building and to my car. The frustration of her hiding it was only secondary though I couldn’t say I wasn’t annoyed she had straight-up lied to me.

Though considering how many times I’d lied to her in the past, maybe this was karma. It’s hypocritical I know but I’d only ever lied to her to protect her. To keep her safe.

What am I supposed to do if something’s wrong and she won’t tell me about it? If she’s in danger or hurt, how am I supposed to protect her when she won’t talk to me?

If she had at least gone to her regular doctor, I knew them and they knew me. We’ve long since bought them out and they took care of all our guys so it would be easy to get her record if I needed to.

As soon as I was in the car and buckled, the engine blared to life. I threw my phone into the passenger seat as I sped off. I don’t even know the speed limit here as I race through the crowded and shitty LA traffic.

I try to keep calm and tell myself that I don’t know the whole story yet. She could be completely fine, not a hair harmed on her beautiful head but I just can’t convince myself of that.

The way she’s been acting recently, overly emotional, our fights, and her attempts to tell me something that she never finished. I always felt like she was holding something back. Could it be that she’s sick? That she’s dying?

I grip the steering wheel tightly, setting my jaw as I race home at speeds I know aren’t legal. I nearly overturn the car as I make almost a ninety-degree angle into the compound. Her car is missing from its spot and though part of me wants to rush out to find her right away, I knew it would be better to wait for her here.

I grab my phone and storm into the compound. Restless, unable to calm down, I pace the hallway anxiously, trying to figure out what to say, and how to go about this without starting another fight.

Mostly, I’m terrified that something has happened to her.

As I loudly paced the hallway, my stomach filled with knots from the anxiety, my whole body tensed as I finally heard the sound of a car in the driveway.

Okay, don’t freak out, talk calmly, I told myself over and over, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned against the wall and faced the door. At that moment, it opened up, revealing a tired and downtrodden Bianca as she slipped inside.

She stiffened, her gaze slowly drifting upwards to meet mine and I hoped in this tense moment of silence that she would say something, anything. I’d accept any kind of excuse if she would just talk to me but the guilt on her face had my heart tied up in knots.

Everything I’d been feeling since finding out she’d lied to me and gone behind my back cumulated in a torrential storm, my anger and frustration bleeding over my worry like markers through paper.

“You lied to me. Why?” The words bit out harsher than I meant but I couldn’t stop myself, trembling with everything I was feeling. It all burst out of me uncontrollably.

I thought we were better. I thought we were done with the secrets.

I guess I was wrong.

Bianca avoided my eyes, glancing at the wall as she quietly said, “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well, I’m worried!” I snapped, “I’m angry that you would lie to me but I’ve been worried sick about you from the moment I heard you lied to me.”

Bianca’s mouth twisted into a frown and she glanced back at me with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have people spying on me,” She argued back, frustrated, “You don’t even trust me to leave the house and you expect me to tell you everywhere I go! That’s not fair, Leo!”

I reeled back as she glared at me, her hands clenched at her sides. I knew the guards bothered her but not to this extent.

“It’s not about trust, it’s about keeping you safe,” I said back, trying to calm down but Bianca scoffed, crossing her arms.

“You know what? Just forget it!” She stormed past me, fully walking away as she stomped up the stairs to our bedroom.

I stared at her in disbelief. She purposefully lied to me and she dares to turn this around on me?

“Bianca!” I chased after her furiously, not wanting to let this go until I knew what she was hiding from me. But as I called her name, she didn’t stop or look back and I had just made it to her when she slipped into the bedroom and slammed the door in my face.

I heard the lock click into place as I tried the door handle. If I wasn’t already angry, I definitely would be now.

“What the fuck are you doing, Bianca?” I banged on the door, “This is my room too! Let me in!”

“No!” Her muffled voice came from the other side and I swear to God, I’d never known her to be this stubborn and childish as right now. What was going on with her?

I clenched my teeth together, knowing I couldn’t just leave it like this and before I could talk myself out of it, I headed to the next room and climbed out the window.

Even three stories off the ground couldn’t scare me as I shuffled my way over to the balcony of our room, dropping onto the solid ground easily. I stepped into the room, folding my arms over my chest as Bianca whirled around to face me with wide eyes.

She was halfway through dressing, her arms still stuck in her shirt and her bra peeking out underneath.

“I’m changing! Get out,” She hissed then frowned, glancing at the balcony. “How did you even–”

“I’m the leader of the Mafia, you think a door is going to stop me?” I said arrogantly, even though, yes a moment ago, a door did stop me in my tracks. “Plus, I’ve already seen everything so there’s no need to hide.”

“Leo!” Bianca turned red, scolding me.

She quickly folded her shirt back on, wrapping her arm around her waist and I could see through my anger for a moment, the vulnerable expression she had. I softened, stepping forward with my hand raised and she stepped back just as much, clearly drawing a line between us.

“Bianca, please,” I begged her, hurt she’d shut me out like this, “Just talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

She hesitated, her eyes wavering as she glanced at me but ultimately she stared down at the floor.

“It was just a checkup,” she mumbled the lie easily like she’d been preparing for it.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I said incredulously. “You’ve never even gone to this clinic before and even went out of your way to avoid your regular doctor! What the hell is going on, Bianca? Please, just–”

I moved forward to reach out to her, but I stopped as I saw tears run down her face, her whole body folding in on itself as she silently broke down into tears before me.

I swallowed, feeling uncomfortable and helpless. I dropped my hand to my side, finally giving up. I couldn’t cross this divide if Bianca didn’t want me to. And the longer I stayed here to interrogate her, the more upset she became.

So I stepped back.

“Sorry,” I said quietly, not looking at her expression even when I saw her raise her head. The taste of frustration and disappointment was bitter on my tongue as I stepped around Bianca. I unlocked the door, opening it up as I stepped out.

“Talk to me when you’re ready,” I said quietly then I shut the door behind me.

The silence that followed me was louder than anything I’d ever heard before but all I could do was grit my teeth and walk away.

Even if it felt like the woman I loved was slipping away from me.