Page 37 of Daddy's Rule

"He had this stupid idea that if I asked you to write the testimonial before I told you how I felt, it would force you to confront the feelings you’re so used to hiding from."

Her eyes lit up with hope. "That's not… entirely stupid. But I’d already made those realizations."

"I see that."

She searched my face, and before I could find the words I wanted to say, she shook her head. "I'll be okay, Bas. I'm leaving for a while, but I'll be back eventually, I promise."

She attempted to reach around me, presumably to start the elevator, but I blocked the buttons with my body.

"You weren't wrong, Nyla, and you're not going anywhere."

She wiped her face with the back of her hand and made a snorting, sobbing noise that was adorable and unladylike. "I beg your pardon?"

"I should have told you before. I should have been telling you this whole time, but I was afraid to scare you off, I think. But I have feelings for you, Nyla. I always have. Not just feelings. I'm in love with you. I always have been. And what we had these past two weeks, it was perfect. I'm happier than I've ever been. That's exactly what I want with you forever."

"It is?" Her eyes widened in surprise and her lips parted in a soft gasp. "Like… all of it? The Daddy thing, the rules, the punishments, all of it?"

"All of it. But just one rule."

"One rule?" Her face clouded with confusion and I put my hand in my pocket, pulling out the ring as I dropped to one knee in front of her and took her hand in mine.

"One rule," I repeated, sliding the two carat princess-cut diamond solitaire set in white gold onto her finger. "Daddy's rule."

"What's that?"

"Be mine… forever. Say yes."

"That's the rule?" she laughed. "Bas… we can't… there can't be just one rule!"

"I know." I grinned. "But it's the most important one. Be mine. Say yes. Make me your Daddy forever."

"God." Her voice broke on a sob as she beamed down at me. "Yes! Yes, Daddy, yes! Now get up here and kiss me!"

Epilogue

Nyla

"Hey girl! It's about time we finally get to celebrate you two getting engaged!" Jasmine greeted me with a tight hug.

When she pulled back, I grinned. I was on cloud nine with my friends all gathered at the club—which we’d closed for a private party—to celebrate our engagement, and I was so happy to see Jasmine there. I knew she’d been having a tough time lately. "I know, right? Three months is a long time to wait for an engagement party, but it didn't feel right to celebrate before the divorce was final."

"I'm honestly shocked you got it done so quickly. I figured Jake would fight you every step of the way."

"He would have, I'm sure, but thanks to Archer, we had an air-tight prenup. Plus, I gave him the apartment and everything in it and let him keep all his cars and extravagant purchases, not to mention the cash he cleaned out of our bank account." I shrugged. "There's more where that came from. For me at least. Jake doesn't even make enough to afford the upkeep on all that stuff, as he will soon find out."

Jasmine sighed. "It must be nice to be able to just walk away from years of investments like that. But hey, ya know, we can't all be lottery winners."

I managed to bite back a scowl, but I was scowling on the inside. I hated when Jasmine made passive-aggressive comments like that, and it was happening more and more often lately. It wasn't like I'd done anything wrong by buying a lottery ticket each week with my friends, and I certainly didn't laze around all day eating bon-bons and living off our winnings. We’d made smart investments and continued to work our asses off daily, yet Jasmine's snide remarks made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Like I didn't deserve all that I had. Fuming, I opened my mouth to say something, but I was too late. Bas was already interjecting, and he had his Daddy face on.

"Hey, Jasmine," he said, speaking sternly, "that's not fair. Nyla doesn't deserve that from you and I know you value her friendship too much to continue hurting her with those rude comments, but that's what will happen if you keep making them."

Jasmine’s eyes shuttered with anger, and I had to look down at the floor- anywhere but at her. I was glad Bas had said something, but I also really wished he hadn't. I hated confrontation and I really just wanted today to be a happy, positive, drama-free experience. I wanted to focus on celebrating our engagement and upcoming wedding.

My whole body tensed as I stared down at Jasmine's scuffed high heels. I waited for her to turn and stomp away, maybe even leaving the party, but she stayed put. I heard her sigh deeply.

"I know. You're right. I'm sorry. Things have just been really tough lately, but it’s not Nyla's fault and I shouldn't take it out on her just because I'm jealous. I know her life isn't perfect either, and she works really hard for what she has. "

My head jerked up at Jasmine's admission and I smiled at her, relieved. "Thanks for saying that, Jas. I'm really sorry things have been hard lately. I hope they get better soon."

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