Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Juliet
“Which princess do you wanna be?” Standing in front of what looks to be a collection of dresses from every animated princess film in existence, Victoria tilts her head to the side. “Cinderella is my favorite, but you can be her today if you want.”
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a friend as sweet and giving as Victoria, and the guilt that’s been eating at me since yesterday afternoon claws at my stomach. “You can be Cinderella. Ummm. What’s this purple one?”
Victoria giggles, a high, pure sound that teases a laugh out of me as well. “That’s Rapunzel, silly. You look just like her with your hair!”
I doubt my hair is nearly long enough to contend with Rapunzel, but Victoria seems so excited about it I don’t have the heart to turn her down. Besides, I owe her big time for getting her in so much trouble yesterday.
Not that she or Uncle Max or my Daddy still seem upset. Quite the opposite. They’re all acting as if nothing happened at all. If anything, Uncle Max is acting even warmer toward me than he was before the playdate. When Daddy and I arrived this afternoon, Uncle Max greeted me with a giant hug, swinging me around in his arms before sending Victoria and I off to play.
The whole thing just feels off somehow. I’m used to my parents, and the way they would hold mistakes over my head for months, even years, depending on how badly I embarrassed them. So I can’t help but wonder when the other shoe is going to drop.
I try to ignore that niggling doubt as we change into our princess dresses and matching tiaras and jump feet first into a game Victoria has created for us. And for a few hours, I really feel like a little girl again, twirling in a pretty dress without a care in the world, spending time with my new best friend as we laugh and play until we both collapse onto the pretty pink beanbag chairs piled in the corner of her room.
“This is so much fun.” Victoria wiggles onto her side, grinning at me. “It’s nice to have a friend. Daddy and Caleb and everyone are great, but I like having a friend my own age. Or my own pretend age, I guess?”
“Do you ever get tired of pretending to be a baby?”
“Sometimes. Like yesterday when our Daddies caught us with the champagne, part of me was like ‘Oh my god we aren’t actually two! Let us have some freaking champagne!’ you know?”
“Exactly!” Flopping back on my soft chair, I stare up at the ceiling and sigh. “It’s fun for a little bit but I don’t know if I can live like this forever.”
“Are you really so sad here?”
“No. And that’s the crazy part. Like, as long as I’m playing or spending time with Jasper, I don’t mind it. But when I sit and think about it for too long I start to question my sanity. We can’t possibly be happy here, can we? Forever?”
There’s a long silence, and I start to worry I’ve offended her when she finally speaks up again. “I could. But like we said the other day, you’re not me. I really think you should talk to your Daddy about how you’re feeling, Juju.”
Maybe she’s right. But the idea of approaching Jasper feels far too big at the moment, so I push the idea aside and turn my head to grin at her. “Have I ever told you how much I hated the nickname Juju?”
“No!” Eyes wide with horror, Victoria slaps a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know! That’s what Uncle Jasper calls you, so I just assumed…”
“I know. It’s okay. He started calling me that when our parents got married, and once he figured out how much I hated it, he stuck with it. He has been the epitome of the annoying older brother for over a decade.”
“Must be weird to think of him as your Daddy now.”
“It was, at first. But… I dunno. It’s almost like this was the role he was always meant to play in my life. He still teases me a bit, but nothing like how it used to be.”
My own words echo in my mind. If Jasper has always been meant to play the role of my Daddy, does that mean I’ve always been destined to be his Little girl?
I’m still rolling the problem around in my head when the door to Victoria’s nursery swings open and our Daddies walk in.
“Looks like our Little ones have worn themselves out, Maxwell.”
“I’ll say,” Uncle Max says with a low rumble of laughter as he bends down to scoop Victoria up into his arms. “The rest of the family will be here soon, little thief. You should potty before we go down to dinner.”
“You too, Juju.”
I’m just now getting used to peeing in my diaper in front of Jasper. There’s no way I’ll survive the humiliation of wetting myself in front of someone else. “I don’t have to potty, Daddy.”
“Really?” Jasper raises a brow in disbelief. “You had a big lunch and a whole bottle of milk before we left for Uncle Max’s house. Are you sure you don’t need to pee?”
“Positive.”
“Me neither!” Victoria chimes in, shaking her head.
“Is that so, Victoria Rose?”
There’s a dangerous edge to Uncle Max’s voice, and I wince at the sound of it, silently cursing myself for not being able to just go along with what they’ve asked. The last thing I want is to get Victoria in trouble again.
Fuck.
Obviously Victoria is going to stand with me if I continue to defy them. Which means the only way to help my friend is to do the very last thing in the world I want to do.
“Um, actually, maybe I do have to potty,” I manage to say, my face flaming with embarrassment.
It’s almost worth it for the way Jasper smiles at me. “That’s my good girl. Do you need Daddy to help you?”
Another layer of humiliation, but I’m not sure I can force myself to wet my diaper if he doesn’t help me, so I nod. “Yes, please.”
Settling on the soft pile beside me, Jasper plucks me up and places me on his lap. Pushing my pretty purple dress up, he presses on my bladder, and I instinctively squeeze my thighs together against the urge to go.
“Relax for me, princess. Can you do that for Daddy? Just relax and let me help you, baby.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I lean back against him, forcing my muscles to relax bit by bit.
“There we go.” The pressure on my bladder increases. “Such a good little princess, you are. Just relax and let Daddy take care of everything, Juju.”
He continues praising me, telling me what a good girl I am, how happy it will make him if I use my diaper. And after several long minutes, my body finally gives in to his gentle prodding and I wet myself.
“That’s my good little baby. Daddy’s so proud of you, princess. Now we just need to get you all cleaned up. Maxwell, do you have a changing pad we could borrow? Ah, hell, and a diaper as well. I left Juliet’s bag downstairs.”
“Of course.”
I keep my eyes shut, but I can hear him moving around, then crossing the room. And when he stops beside the beanbag pile, he leans down to whisper in my ear. “Thank you, sweetheart. That was a very brave thing you did for my Victoria.”
I’m not sure exactly how he knows why I did what I did, but his words unravel some of the knots in my tummy and I pry my eyes open to peek up at him. “You’re welcome,” I whisper back, and he winks before turning away to make his way back to the changing table Victoria is currently strapped to.
Jasper makes quick work of laying the changing pad on the floor and shifting me from his lap to the pad so he can remove my diaper. The actual process of changing me doesn’t take very long at all, and soon I’m cuddled in Daddy’s lap again, clean and dry.
“You’ve been such a good girl today, princess. I’m so proud of you.”
Pleasure flutters in my stomach. “Really?”
Jasper laughs, that deep, throaty sound I love so much. “Would your Daddy ever lie to you? Come on, let’s go down and meet your Uncles and your Auntie Cat. They should be here soon.”
Hand in hand, we make our way downstairs, followed closely by Uncle Max and Victoria, the latter of whom doesn’t look any worse for wear after the diaper debacle.
Sure enough, Uncle Gideon is already waiting for us in the living room. He looks up from his phone, a smile stretching across his face when he spots us. “There’s my favorite nieces.”
Hoisting me up into a giant bear hug, he spins me around just like Uncle Max did early, surprising a giggle out of me. “Aren’t we your only nieces?”
“True, but that doesn’t stop you from being my favorites.” With me still wrapped around him, he leans over to press a kiss to Victoria’s cheek. “How’s my sweet little Tori?”
“Good.” Her smile turns impish. “Did you bring me a present?”
“Victoria Rose!” Uncle Max frowns at her. “Don’t be rude.”
“As it happens, I have something for both of my girls.” Setting me down, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out two small, carefully wrapped boxes. “Ask your Daddies before you open them.”
It’s a good thing he reminded me because I was ready to simply rip the wrapping off. “Can I, Daddy?”
“Go ahead, princess.”
Uncle Max gives Victoria the all-clear as well, and we both tear the wrapping off our gifts, tossing it carelessly on the floor. Underneath all that pretty paper is a simple black box and when I open it, I find the most beautiful locket I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a silver heart, with a beautiful J engraved on the front. And when I flip it over, my heart constricts in my chest at the message etched into the back.
Daddy’s Little Princess.
“Gideon, it’s beautiful.” Jasper’s voice is suspiciously thick, like he’s holding back tears. “What do you say, princess?”
“Thank you, Uncle Gideon,” I manage to whisper past the tightness in my own throat. It is a beautiful necklace, but it feels like more than that. It feels like a branding, somehow, and when Jasper lifts it from my hands to clasp it around my neck, it feels so much heavier than it actually is. Like the weight of all their expectations for me, hanging like a millstone around my neck.
The front door opens, and Uncle Evan’s voice rings out in the entryway, breaking the spell that’s been woven around me. But in the back of my mind is that little voice whispering that it’s all a lie. Reminding me that no amount of pretty things can make up for the life I left behind. The life I’m still determined to return to.
And that voice breaks my heart.