Page 23 of Daddy's Little Survivor

"What would you like to do today?" he asked.

She wanted to get out of here, but didn't think he would appreciate that answer. Everything in her was telling her to leave the house and never come back, but another part of her was telling her to stay and see what happened.

"I do want to let you know that since you have a concussion, you can't do a lot. We don't want to make the concussion worse or prolong it," he said. "We can make cookies, a cake, or any type of food you want."

Monroe started to feel overwhelmed with everything. "I want to leave," she whispered.

Michael let out a sigh. "I don't think it's a wise idea for you to leave right now. With your concussion, you shouldn't be focusing on anything too hard or you could make it worse. I wouldn't want you to start driving and have you pass out. You could hurt yourself, but you could also hurt other people. You also have a lot of bruises and cuts on your body, and I would hate for them to get infected."

She shook her head and got off the stool. Why was he so concerned with her health?

"You can either stay here or I can drop you off at the hospital or clinic, but I would really advise you not to leave on your own. I can't keep you here, but as a doctor, I'm worried that if you leave on your own, you could hurt yourself more and I don't want that to happen," he explained.

There he went again about her health. He couldn’t keep her here, had said so himself, but she didn't find herself walking out the door. Why couldn't she leave? Why was he so concerned about her health? Why did part of her want to stay?

He seemed in some ways different from Jared and it intrigued her. Some tiny part of her wanted to see if he was truly different or if it was just a show.

"Would you like to do anything?" he asked again. "Or would you like to be left by yourself for a little while?"

"Left alone," she whispered.

CHAPTER TWELVE

MONROE

“I'll be in my office which is just down the hall. If you need anything, you let me know." He got up from his chair and walked away.

Monroe moved to the couch and sat down, feeling confused. Thoughts were running through her mind, almost too fast for her to grab hold of.

She couldn’t figure out what his motive was. Was he trying to get her defenses down so when he called Jared, she wouldn't have a clue? Was he wanting to do the same thing Jared had done to her?

Or was he really just being nice and sweet to her? But that couldn’t be right.

She was on edge, unable to figure out his motives. Who would do things just to be nice? She had never met a person like that, and she didn't believe they were real. That meant Michael had an ulterior motive. That must be it. She had no other explanation.

There was also something different about him she couldn't quite place her finger on. With his niceness had also come some sternness, and she had seen it again when he told her she had to eat.

The way he had spoken to her almost reminded her of the Daddy Doms she’d read about. She couldn't forget that when she’d arrived here and choked on the water, he had called himself Daddy. He had done it twice and it had actually helped calm her down.

She’d never had a Daddy before, but the way he spoke just made her want to obey him. She didn't want to displease him at all and that worried her.

That's how she had been when she and Jared first started getting together. She hadn’t wanted to displease him at all and would do anything and everything to please him. Obviously, that hadn’t ended well, and what was to say this time wouldn’t end well, either? But what if it could end well but she didn’t give it a chance? What would she have lost?

Michael had made her think about things more than she ever had in her life. The way he acted and spoke to her was so foreign and different, she wondered if there were other people like him.

But her mind always went back to what it knew, and she knew all men were the same. That meant Michael had to have a motive behind being so nice to her and she was going to try and find out what it was. It was the only logical thing to do.

Well, she didn't really want to find out right now, because all she wanted to do was sleep. And the way he’d told her he didn't want her to drive by herself was kind of making her think about staying in the house until she was a bit better.

Monroe gasped and sat up straight. Was that his motive all along? Get her to feel better and calmer around him so she stayed until she fully recovered and then didn't want to leave?

Just as she was about to stand up, she heard footsteps. Did he know? Was he going to force her to stay here?

Chest tightening, she rubbed it to try and loosen the pain. She didn’t want to panic right now and let him know she knew. There had to be a way to get away without him knowing.

“I just wanted to check in. Do you need any water or milk?” Michael asked as he walked into the living room. “I also have a protein shake if you want it.”

She shook her head even though she was a little thirsty. Maybe once he was gone she could grab a drink of water, something she herself could see come out of the faucet and knew wasn’t laced with anything.

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