Page 27 of Daddy's Little Survivor

Monroe nodded her head but didn't offer the name. She didn't want him to know her stuffie's name. Not many people knew she had the stuffed bunny, not even Jared, and she didn't know how she would feel with him knowing.

He could take it away and she didn't like the thought of that. It had been her first stuffed bunny she got for herself. It was special because it got her through some pretty tough times.

“May I be excused?” she asked.

Deep down, she knew she probably didn't have to ask, but she didn't want to get on his wrong side. He had the house rigged so that an alarm went off when she opened the front door so she couldn't get out.

She didn't want him to turn into Jared and beat her.

“Yes,” he said and sighed.

Monroe was quick to push her chair out, get off it, and walk to the room he was letting her stay in.

She had almost let her guard down when he was asking questions and that was a mistake. She needed to be more mindful of the fact he could very easily be manipulative just like Jared was.

Sighing, Monroe lay down on the bed. She had honestly thought he was different with how he was treating her, but she should have known better. She kept reminding herself he had an ulterior motive and it finally showed.

He wanted to know about her background so he could return her to Jared. Michael probably wanted to know if she would mention Jared so he could confirm she was his girl. Well, not his girl anymore, but she didn’t think Jared would accept that.

She needed to get out of here, but she didn't know how. The alarm was set for the house which meant if she tried to get out, he would know.

She was going to come up with a plan to leave because she didn't want to be manipulated again.

“Monroe?” Michael’s voice came through the door.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MICHAEL

Michael stared at her retreating form as she walked to her room and groaned. He had messed up. Before he’d asked her if she had any siblings, instinct told him it would be a bad idea, but he’d ignored it. Idiot.

Family and the person she was running from were topics that were definitely not to be talked about until they got to know each other better. He should have known that, but he’d let his impatience override his common sense.

He had instantly regretted the question when he saw her completely shut down. Why couldn't he have waited until later to ask that question? He had seen the way she was looking at the food, a little excited look in her eyes, and he’d been glad. She needed to eat.

He was worried he may have to force her to eat.

And then the excitement in her eyes had disappeared when he asked that question. She’d taken a couple of bites but after that, she just pushed the food around. If only he hadn’t asked her about her family.

When was the last time she’d been excited about food? Maybe never. And he’d ruined it. That was all he could think about.

Michael wanted to go after her, hold her in his arms, and tell her everything was going to be okay. He wanted her to come back down and eat so her body was nourished.

Looking over at her plate, he saw all the uneaten food and her protein drink. Maybe if he brought it up to her, she would eat some more and drink the rest of her protein drink.

He had seen the way she seemed to enjoy the protein shake, especially after he’d given her the straw. He didn't think she saw him when he looked over at her as she took her first sip. He bet she had never had a protein shake before and maybe this was a good way to get the protein in her when she wasn't that hungry.

Michael normally didn't have protein drinks in his house because he liked to get his nourishment from actual food, but he had been a lot busier recently and it was a good supplement when he couldn't sit down and eat a full meal.

He was thankful now that he’d gone out and bought some.

He just wanted her to know that she would be safe as his Little girl. Michael sat up straighter at that thought. Make herhisLittle girl. He didn’t know for certain that shewasa Little. Yes, she gave off some indicators with her stuffed animal and the way she responded to him when he called himself Daddy, but he didn't know for sure and didn't want to make any assumptions.

Grabbing her plate and drink, he made his way toward her room. He didn't think she was going to answer, but that was okay.

“Monroe?” He called out her name when he got in front of her door.

No answer. To be expected since he had messed up and made her shut down.

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