Chapter 12 Liana
LIANA
Alessia hasn’t come into work all week. I texted her a few times, but her responses were short and very unlike her. It’s had my mind racing with what could be going on with her and Colton.
I’m working on a custom design for one of my clients, trying to push out the distracting thoughts when a knock sounds on my door. “Come in,” I call out.
“Hey, Liana,” Alessia says, shutting the door behind her.
“Alessia.” There’s a note of relief in my tone. I get up from my desk and walk over to give her a hug. “How are you? I’ve been worried.”
“I know, I’m so sorry.”
“Come, let’s sit over here,” I say, gesturing to the couch.
“I’m so sorry I’ve let my personal life affect so much. It was extremely unprofessional, and I promise I will not allow it to moving forward.”
I shake my head. “Alessia, you’re fine. It’s important to talk about these things, and you know I’m always someone who’s ready to listen.”
“Yes, but I should’ve said it was nothing. It opened up all this drama you didn’t need to be part of. I really appreciate you being there for me and trying to talk to my dad, but everything’s done now.”
I crinkle my brow. “What do you mean? Did he decide to finally back off Colton?”
Alessia gives me a tight smile. “Not quite,” she says, averting her gaze to the fidgeting fingers in her lap.
“I don’t understand. What happened?”
Bringing her gaze up to mine, she whispers, “It’s done … Colton and I are done.”
“Oh, Alessia,” I say, a tear finally shedding from her eye. I wrap my arms around her, bringing her in for a hug. “Tell me what happened.”
Wiping away the fallen tears, she says, “He changed his mind and said if I ended things with Colton, then he’d back off him. You’ve seen what my dad is capable of doing. He’ll own Colton for however long he wants. I can’t stand by and let my dad take his career—his livelihood—away from him.”
I haven’t told Alessia about Massimo pulling the strings. I don’t think her dad is innocent in any of this since this was his plan to begin with, but knowing Massimo is playing puppeteer all because of me in the background is killing me.
“So he changed his mind, just like that? But what about the money Colton’s dad owes him? I thought the whole point was to win bets?”
“He did, but I guess controlling who I see is more important to him. He said Colton can pay off his dad’s debt when he gets his signing bonus after the draft.”
“So he completely changed his mind, and then in the end got exactly what he wanted,” I mumble.
“Yeah, I know. It’s been a lot, and again, I’m so sorry. I wish I never brought it up. I should’ve just done this from the beginning, but I was being stubborn and selfishly hoping he’d change his mind or there was something someone could do to convince him otherwise.”
“You were not being selfish. You were looking for some help in a situation where everything was going against you.”
Alessia chuckles, but it’s not humorous. It’s a pitiful sound as if she’s laughing at herself. “Yeah, I probably should’ve taken that hint and ended things with Colton back then instead of getting you involved. I hope my dad wasn’t an ass toward you or anything.”
“Oh, it wasn’t your dad who was an ass,” I mutter.
Alessia’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. I promise, your dad wasn’t an issue for me.”
She gives me another tight smile and wipes away the stray tears that were too much for her to hold back.
“Well, it’s done and over with now. I appreciate you trying to look out for me.
Our friendship means a lot, Liana. I’ve always looked up to you, especially since you’ve done so well for yourself outside of our world.
It’s a life I was hoping I’d have too, but now …
I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t really matter.
” She brings her gaze back up to mine. “Just know I really appreciate you, Liana.”
Her words wrap around my heart, squeezing it uncontrollably. Alessia might be an adult, but all I see is a vulnerable girl being controlled by her father. It’s not fair. Having a life like this is not fair.
“I’ll always be here for you, and I know right now it might be hard to see, but everything will work out. I promise, Alessia.”
Marrying Massimo is the last thing I want to do, but when it comes down to it, this isn’t just Tomasso wanting to control his daughter. I’ve put myself in the middle of this, which is making everything ten times worse for her. If it weren’t for me, things wouldn’t have escalated the way they have.
I’ve gone back and forth on this numerous times, but I can’t stand by while knowing I can change everything for her. If Massimo is so desperate to have me, that means I can go into this on my terms, and that might be the only thing that will get me through this marriage with him.