Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Isabella
Eager to welcome me? I’ve already met everyone, haven’t I? Even spent time with my new uncles and their Little ones. How much more “welcoming” could they possibly need to do?
But I don’t voice my questions as Daddy releases me from the doll stand and takes my hand. Because good little dolls don’t ask questions. They don’t even think questions.
It terrifies me that there’s something almost soothing about that. About being reduced to nothing more than a thing for Daddy’s pleasure. An object with no thoughts, no worries, no stress. Waiting for him to dress me, I’d been panicked at first when I realized I couldn’t move but once he told me what he expected of me, it had become horrifyingly easy to simply empty my mind and… be.
I may not be a principal ballerina, but I’m a damn good dancer. I have dreams, hopes, ambitions. Am I really throwing all that away for a life as someone’s china doll?
No. No, I’m not. I’m just going along until he trusts me enough to give me the space I need to escape. Just like I’ve planned from the beginning.
Which, for tonight, means smiling for my uncles and my Auntie Cat. Playing with my friends. Being the most charming Little girl anyone on this island has ever seen, so that they all believe I’ve fallen for Daddy’s bullshit, hook, line, and sinker.
With that in mind, I plaster what I hope passes for a warm smile on my face as we make our way downstairs. Voices and laughter greet us as we step onto the marble floor of the entryway, and Daddy heads toward the happy sounds, which turn out to be coming from a room I’ve never seen.
Uncle Max and Uncle Jasper sit side by side on a large, comfortable looking couch with Auntie Cat and a man I don’t recognize on a loveseat across from them, while Tori and Juju play at their feet. My friends are wearing dresses that seem more formal than their regular, everyday dresses, but still aren’t quite as… poofy as mine. Each wears a tiara, the jewels perfectly matching the colors in their dresses, and jealousy stabs at me.
If it’s my welcoming party, shouldn’t I get to be a princess, too?
Before I can question why I even care, everyone seems to sense our presence at the same time. Six heads whip up to look at us, and then the room fills with squeals of happiness as my friends jump up from the floor and race toward me.
“Oh my gosh, I love your dress!” Eyes wide with a sense of awe, Tori steps back, her hands pressed to her cheeks. “It’s so pretty, Izzy! Daddy, look how pretty Izzy’s dress is!”
“I see, little thief.” With a languid grace that makes him seem more lethal than the “Uncle Max” I’ve come to know, her Daddy rises from the couch and crosses the room to stand behind her. “Should we ask Solene if she can make one for you?”
“Can we? Please?”
“Anything you want, little one.” Uncle Max’s gaze rakes over me, approval shining in his eyes. “You look adorable, Isabella. Give us a twirl.”
Uncertain, I look up at Daddy, who smiles indulgently and nods his approval.
Twirling is something I take very seriously, so I step back away from the small crowd that is my supposed family and take my position. The stiff Mary Janes on my feet aren’t the best shoes for what I have in mind, but they’ll do. Taking my position, I breathe in deep before pushing off with one foot, bringing it up to my other thigh as I spin and spin in place.
For a few seconds, I’m no longer trapped on this island, under the care of a man who uses pleasure as punishment and subjects me to more humiliation than I’ve ever been forced to bear in my life. I am Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Odette. All of the roles I’ve dreamed of my entire life, but have never been granted. I am the star of my own show, and as I spin, the stress of my current predicament fades away.
When I land again, applause erupts around the room, and I curtsy for my audience, my cheeks blazing with happy embarrassment. It was over the top, my twirling, but I couldn’t resist the urge to indulge in one of my favorite things.
As my family fusses and congratulates me on my beautiful twirl, Daddy scoops me up, planting me on his hip as he whispers in my ear. “That was perfect, little one. Daddy is so proud of you.”
It shouldn’t give me butterflies, him telling me he’s proud of me. But my stomach explodes with them all the same. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“Daddy, Daddy!” Bouncing excitedly in place, Juju tugs at Uncle Jasper’s sleeve. “Give Izzy her present!”
Uncle Max frowns slightly, but Uncle Jasper just shakes his head and grins. “Such a demanding Little girl. Why don't you try asking nicely, princess?”
“Ugggh.” Groaning, Juju rolls her eyes dramatically enough for everyone in the room to see. “Will you please give Izzy her present before we all die of old age?”
“Excuse us a second.” With another shake of his head, Uncle Jasper scoops Juliet up and carries her over to the couch. I watch, equal parts horrified and fascinated as he strips her diaper from her and flips her over his lap all in one smooth, quick move.
“Daddy, no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
But Uncle Jasper doesn’t even acknowledge her pleas. He simply flips her skirt up and begins spanking her bare bottom, right in the middle of the room for everyone to see.
Over his lap, Juju kicks and struggles, her howls of pain filling the room as her bottom turns a darker and darker shade of pink.
“Do you need to borrow my hairbrush?” Auntie Cat calls over the cacophony, a grin stretched across her pretty face.
“My hand should do well enough for now.” Not even sounding out of breath, Uncle Jasper looks up and winks at all of us. “We’ll see how the evening progresses.”
After several more swats, Uncle Jasper lifts his Little girl up off his lap, cradling her in his arms as Juliet sobs her apologies into his shoulder. Somehow, the comfort he offers feels far too intimate for onlookers, so I turn my head away from the scene.
And get my first good glimpse of the man standing next to Auntie Cat.
Before I can catch myself, a gasp escapes my lips. Horrified by my own reaction, I slap a hand over my mouth to smother the sound.
But it’s too late. The man’s gaze is fixed on me, and his lips curve into a twisted smile as he taps the jagged scar that runs down one side of his face. “It’s all right, little one,” he says, his tone soothing despite the gravelly timbre of his voice. “I know I can seem scary at first, especially to Little girls.”
“That’s your Uncle Evan,” Daddy explains quietly. “I promise he isn’t as bad as he looks, though he won’t hesitate to spank your bottom if you need it, just like your other uncles and your Auntie Cat.”
The thought of being spanked by a man who looks like he sends people to “sleep with the fishes” on a regular basis freezes me with terror.
And when he reaches into his coat pocket, it’s all I can do to swallow the whimper of fear that rises up in my throat. What is he hiding in there? A weapon? Some kind of small torture device?
Neither, as it turns out. It’s a small black box, and when he lifts the lid, he reveals a stunning locket nestled inside. It’s a silver heart, with a beautiful, ornate “I” engraved on the front.
“Your Daddy bought this for you, but I wanted to make some… modifications before he gave it to you. Gideon, would you like to do the honors?”
“Thank you, Evander.”
From the corner of my eye, I can see them sharing a knowing look, but I’m too caught up in the extravagance of the gift to care. Daddy sets me on my feet and takes the necklace from Uncle Evan.
“Lift your hair for me, Isabella.”
Raising my curls off my neck, I wait, my heart pounding against my chest as he drapes the delicate chain around my neck and clasps it in place.
Uncle Evan kneels in front of me, his expression serious, and even though I know it’s the scar making him look so ferocious, I can’t help the spike of fear in my stomach as he stares at me. “Your Daddy will make sure you wear this necklace every day, little one. You must never take it off yourself. If you do, your Daddy and I will both give you the spanking of your life. Am I understood?”
I don’t understand, not really. What could be so important about a necklace that it would warrant such a response from both my Daddy and this fierce man in front of me if I removed it?
But I don’t want to argue and risk getting spanked anyway, so I nod. “Yes, Uncle Evan.”
He smiles again, making him look only slightly less terrifying. “Good girl. I know you won't disappoint us.”
While I have a healthy fear of the punishments my Daddy hands down, the word disappoint stabs at my chest in an unexpected way. And I realize, with no small amount of surprise, that I actually don’t want to disappoint them. Any of them. I want them to be proud of me, to smile at me, to tell me what a good girl I am.
Lifting the locket, I carefully place it in my palm and study it. Such a small thing, but the weight of it, of my family’s expectations, feels heavy around my neck.
“Oh! You got a necklace, too!” Another of Victoria’s happy squeals pierces the air as she rushes over to me, lifting her own locket from the front of her dress and distracting me from my own troubling thoughts. “Juju, look! We all match, now!”
Eyes rimmed with red, Juliet approaches us in a much more subdued manner than before and produces her own necklace. Each one has our first initial engraved on it in the exact same style. I wait, expecting that same pang of jealousy I felt earlier at the sight of their beautiful tiaras, but all I feel is a sense of belonging. Acceptance.
Family.
Before I can really study that feeling, Uncle Jasper kneels in front of me, a large white box in his hands. “Would you like your present from us now, little Izzy?”
Although nothing could possibly top the beautiful pendant hanging around my neck, I nod and reach for the box. And when I open it, all thoughts of jealousy flee from my mind at the sight of what’s nestled inside.
A tiara of my very own, the silver dotted with what appears to be actual emeralds.
“Oh. Oh, it’s beautiful,” I whisper, carefully lifting the crown from the box. “Daddy, isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
Taking the tiara from my hands, Daddy settles it on top of my head and smiles down at me. “No, my precious little doll. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, by far.”
And even though he’s a monster who kidnapped me from my bed and has forced me to endure terrible, terrible things at his hands, all it takes is one look at the pride shining in his eyes to know that he means it.
I am his beautiful little doll, and at least for tonight, I can let myself believe he might even love me.