26. Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
MARGERY
M argery gasped and quickly let go of Ethan. All she wanted was to be cuddled and held right now, but she needed to remember who he was.
Ethan was her stalker, had killed for her, and was so much darker than when they were young.
“Come here, Little one.” He held his arms wide open.
Margery stayed where she was, though. Should she be doing this? Should she be having these feelings? It was overwhelming, and Margery didn’t know what to do anymore. She was having trouble, and there was no one to talk to.
Even if she could talk to Adalisa, she really couldn’t about this. Adalisa didn’t believe that she was being stalked by Ethan. How would she have spoken to her about all of her mixed-up feelings?
There was no good way. Maybe she could have put it into a book situation, but then Adalisa would have asked what book it was called. At that point, Margery would have had no clue and had to come clean, or make up a title, pray it worked, and never bring it up again.
“Little one. Now.”
She stepped forward but was still struggling. She wanted a sign to tell her if it was okay or not. A huge, visible sign.
“Margery, I’m not going to bite. Come here so I can hug you.”
She took a deep breath in and moved her feet. One hug wouldn’t hurt, right? It wasn’t like she was going to get many more after this.
Daddy, she meant Ethan, wrapped his arms around her and held her. He was sitting on the bed, his legs spread wide, so she was standing in between them. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he gently ran one of his hands up and down her back.
This was what she was afraid of. The feeling of being wanted and loved. It made it harder to deny him.
How was she going to make a decision now? Margery didn’t know if he was aware of what he was doing. But if he did, he was playing dirty.
“Such a good girl. You did an amazing job taking your punishment like a good girl.”
And his words. His words were also going to be the death of her. So smooth and caring. Oh, he knew what he was doing, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
“All is forgiven now,” he cooed.
Margery breathed a sigh of relief. She had heard of bad Doms holding grudges, and she never wanted that. She loved reading about kind and compassionate Daddies. Understanding when they needed to be .
Having Ethan tell her always forgiven was like a weight lifted from her chest. Words she didn’t know she needed to hear until he said them.
“You will always be forgiven after a punishment. I’m never going to hold it over you. You did your time, and now all is forgotten.”
Tears filled her eyes as he spoke. He knew what to say at the right time.
“You’re good,” he whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”
But everything wasn’t going to be okay. She was still struggling with everything. Her emotions and what she should be doing or thinking.
How did people make decisions like this? It was so hard trying to figure out whether she was doing the right thing or not. What if she decided to leave and it was a big mistake? But what if she decided to stay, and it was even worse?
Margery didn’t know, and it was stressing her out. She didn’t like making decisions. That was what was so appealing when she first found out about Daddy Doms. A lot of them took the choice from the Littles when they didn’t want them anymore. That’s what she wanted.
But right now, he couldn’t make that decision. This was one she needed to make, and she was dreading it.
“I know right now is tough for you and I didn’t want you to be alone. So, I brought you Jonesy.”
She pulled back and looked at him with hope. She had completely forgotten about Jonesy, her stuffie. How could she have done that? She was a bad mom.
“He’s right here.” Ethan pulled him from behind his body.
Gasping, she brought her hands forward, ready to grab him but stopped herself. She didn’t know if it was okay to take him or not. Was he going to hold Jonesy hostage until she agreed with something? Did he have an ulterior motive?
“You can take him,” he gently said.
She gave him a skeptical look, not fully believing him. Was he telling the truth? She didn’t want to go for Jonesy, only for him to take her stuffed zebra away.
“You’re okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. Everything is going to be all right. You can take him.”
“I can’t believe you remembered his name,” she whispered as she carefully took him.
Immediately, she put Jonesy up to her face and started to rub him against her. She didn’t realize how much she had missed Jonesy.
“Of course I remember his name. You loved him so much, and you still do. I can’t believe you still have him.”
She gave Ethan a small smile. “He was the last thing I had from you.”
“You didn’t get the house?”
Margery looked at him in confusion. What house?
“I see. I’ll have to talk to somebody about that.”
“What do you mean? What house?”
“Before I died, I bought a house and put it in your name. It was in my will. My attorney should have contacted you about it.”
“Nobody ever did.”
Not that she really needed it. Working helped her continue to live after he died. It forced her to get out of the house and interact with people. She didn’t have any other choice as she had to pay rent.
“Well, I know what I’m going to do in a couple of minutes.”
“What’s that?” Margery looked concerned.
“Take care of the person who didn’t give you what you were owed. It’s unacceptable. I should have kept a better eye on you. but it was hectic at that time. I’m sorry that I couldn’t have made it easier on you.”
And for some reason, that brought her back to reality. They were talking about his death. Margery took a step back, not believing that she had fallen into a trance around him. Yes, she had thought about him being a bad person, but it hadn’t really sunk in.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just… I need to think. I can’t think around you.”
Margery was being honest, although she wasn’t telling the whole truth. Ethan probably knew, but she wasn’t ready to verbalize it yet.
“I’m going to quickly get you something to eat, and then I’m going to have to leave for a bit.”
Margery bit her lip to hold in a whine. She didn’t want to be left alone in this room again, and there was no chance he wouldn’t let her leave without him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. I just need to take care of something after I feed you.”
“I can feed myself. I’m not a little kid. ”
“But you’re Daddy’s Little girl. Daddy likes to feed his Little girl.”
She looked away and clenched her jaw. So many times, she had fantasized about a Daddy feeding her. To feel the love of being taken care of. Now, it was in front of her, and she didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll be right back.”
Daddy got up from the bed and walked out of the room. Margery immediately sat on the bed and looked at Jonesy.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
Go with your gut, Jonesy replied.
“My gut is going in different directions. I want to say yes, but he’s killed people, he’s stalked me, he faked his own death, he is a bad guy.”
Jonesy stayed quiet this time. Of course, when she needed him the most, he didn’t reply.
“I still love him, but he’s so different. But him being a bad person doesn’t turn me off. If anything, it turns me on even more,” Margery confessed.
And now she was just rambling. Should she be saying this out loud? What if Daddy came back and found her talking to herself?
“Jonesy, I got to stop calling him Daddy in my head. What if I decide to leave? It’s going to make it so much harder to leave if I do,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”
“What is going to make it so much harder to leave?”
Margery screamed and jumped into the air. She looked over at Daddy standing at the door, holding a plate. How long had he been standing there?
“Nofing,” she quickly said.
“I don’t think it was nothing. Can you tell me?”
She shook her head. She wasn’t ready to tell him. What if he got mad and tied her to the bed? Or even worse, what if he put her in a dungeon-type room and chained her to the wall?
She gasped. “Do you have a dungeon you put people in? Chain them to the wall or from the ceiling?”
“Wow, Little one. Where did that come from?” Daddy looked stunned.
How was she going to explain where her mind went? If she did, she was going to have to tell him why she was thinking of leaving. How was that going to end?
“Little one, where did that come from?” Daddy repeated.
She opened and closed her mouth several times. How was she going to explain it?
“Ummm, my imagination?” She was so unsure about her answer. But she wasn’t fully lying. Her imagination did run a little wild there, and she had gone down a dark rabbit hole.
“Little one.”
“I was worried you would throw me in one of the dungeon rooms and chain me to the wall. Or from the ceiling! My shoulders can’t take that. They’ll be torn from my body in the first five seconds!” Margery was becoming hysterical. Just thinking about her arms being ripped from her body made them ache.
“Wow. Calm down. No one is putting you in a dungeon and hanging you from the ceiling.”
Her eyes went wide. “You do have a dungeon! Oh no! I’m going to end up there! My arms are going to be detached from my body!”
Tears had pooled in her eyes. That was not how she wanted to die.
Before she knew it, Daddy’s hands were cupping her face. “Little one. Deep breath in. Such a good girl. No one is going to be hanging you from the ceiling. And anyway, it would take more than five seconds for them to detach from your body. It takes hours of pain and help from other people. But with no help, it could take days and maybe even weeks. Depends on the person and how much fight they have in them.”
Her mouth hung open.
“If they have weak rotator cuffs, it could take less time. If they are malnourished and everything just deteriorates, it’ll probably take even less time. But if they are muscular and have taken good care of their body, it will take a long time. If you help them out by beating on their arms and ribs, then it’ll be quicker. Break a couple of bones, and they’ll probably pass out for a lot of it.”
Margery was going to be sick. He was calmly talking about it like it didn’t bother him one bit.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You’re okay. I’ll protect you from anyone who wants to do that,” Daddy told her calmly.
She was still stuck on the fact that he said it so casually, like he had done and witnessed it before. Was he immune to it? Did he just not care anymore? Or had he done it so much that he it was normal for him?
It was probably like killing Max. Didn’t think twice about it. How many people had he killed in his life? When was the first time? When was the last?
There were so many questions piling up in her head as he gave her bits and pieces of his life. So many things had changed since his death. She figured they would have, but she didn’t think he would go all dark on her. Not that she had to say, but it was a shock.
But at the same time, it also made him a little bit hotter. To know he would do anything and could do anything for her.
“Ha-have—” She stopped herself. What was she thinking? How stupid could she be?
She should not be asking that . She didn’t need to know the answer. It was probably information he wasn’t going to give out freely.
“What’s your question?” Daddy asked.
“Never mind.” Margery didn’t know whether she wanted to know the answer or not. Part of her was curious, but the other part was horrified.
“Have I ever done it before?”
She stared at him, blinking several times. It was like he could read her mind. Was he was just repeating her question? Was he going to answer? It was his job, it seemed, so why would he tell her things like that?
“I have done it before to several people. Some I have helped, and others I have let hang for weeks, letting it slowly tear from the muscles and bones.”
How was she supposed to respond to that? He said it so calmly, like he did it every day. Did he do it every day? This time, she wasn’t going to even attempt to ask. She didn’t want to know the answer.
“I’ve shocked you. How about we move on? Daddy shouldn’t have told you that. I’m sorry.”
“Why did you tell me?” Margery wondered.
“Because you deserve to know. I’m not a good man, but I will treat you right. You know that. But I will keep some things from you. What I just told you didn’t give away anything. A lot of people know that information.”
She felt like when he said a lot of people it was those in his circle. People who killed on a regular basis. Margery figured that the average person didn’t know. Why would they?
“But don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you anything else. I don’t want to taint you.”
How was she supposed to respond to that? If she thought that was bad, he could probably tell her worse. “Thanks?”
“Just don’t tell anyone what I told you.”
Her eyes went wide. “Will they kill me?”
“No one is going to kill you or torture you. Get that into your head. I promise you nothing like that will happen.”
How could he say that? There was no doubt he had enemies. How could he promise to keep her safe when he didn’t know?
“Let’s get away from this subject. Just know, I am always going to keep you safe.”
She nodded and sat on the bed. How was she going to survive this?