Page 26 of Daddy King

The minister says something, but I tune him out, we have had practice before so I know what will come next. I time it when it stops, it’s a small distraction as Mina stares back at me with so much love that my heart flutters, so I resolve to soaking them into my body.

The minister stops, I take the silence as a cue to lift up the veil. Mina looks at me in confusion; this isn’t what we practiced, but I have changed my mind. Our vows are sacred, and it should be spoken for her ears only.

I drop the veil over her head, bathing in her beauty as blue eyes blink owlishly at me. My little girl is so pretty, too pretty for a brute like me with too much blood on my hands. I don’t deserve her angelic smiles for many reasons, most of them are moral objectives, but I do deserve her. I deserve her because she is my redemption to the darkened soul that I keep locked up; her love stops the thirst for blood and it lusts after her melodic laughter and my name on her lips.

“I make this solemn promise to you,” I whisper in her ear.

“To be the man you love, to be the warrior pledged to your heart, to be the husband of your equal. For as long as I live, you will be mine; I will not make you shed a tear, for there will only be happiness. I will protect you, for I am your shield. I love you—for the past, the present, and the future because you hold my heart in your little hands and love me for who I am.”

Glossy blue eyes curve in happiness, brightening as time goes by.

Mina is taken back by my vows, she forgets the vows she had prepared by the small bit of panic in her eyes. She recovers quickly with a breathy laugh, and she beams like a ball of sunshine.

She steps closer to me and whispers, “Perfection is a difficult thing to get, but I have you. I do believe in fate and destiny as it had led me to you, lead me to believe that a girl like me can be cherished by you. There are choices where I could have made, and things would have changed, but I will always choose you. The King, the tyrant, the gentleman, the defender— I choose all of them, for as I am in love withyou.”

Stepping back onto her heels, she smiles at me. The twinkle in her eyes sways any doubt that I had when she forgot her vows, my smart little girl spoke her mind rather than rely on the words she memorized.

The world only contains both of us as I almost lean down to kiss her full lips. One tradition for her would be great, she would remember our kiss with the vows ringing in her ears.

The minister says something, I ignore that too. Mina is too captivating with my undivided attention, she is absolutely gorgeous with those blue eyes and smiling lips.

Our vows pledge ourselves to each other, I will fulfill every promise I make to her.

“You may kiss the bride,” the minister said.

I swoop down, not wasting a second, and press our lips together. I taste her sweetness, gently kissing her without the fiery passion underneath this cool façade. The plushness is so soft, softer than the finest silk and sweeter than honey. I slant my mouth over hers, and Mina squeaks quietly and mumbles my name. Too low for the minister to hear over the music, but I heard it.

“Mine,” I growl back.

The service ends with the music turning up. Ennis’ King takes Mina’s hands to the first dance, twirling her around like the princess she is. The whiteness flowing around her dainty little feet, flaring in extravagance as the flowers and veil hang off the ceiling and walls to surround them in a world of their own.

She has a smile that I have never seen before; calm blue eyes glancing up at the older man with tenderness and a smile playing gently on her lips like a flower in the Spring. It’s a smile that sways me to love her more. Her smile to the man is pure happiness as she has accepted him as her only father, and he had accepted her to be his daughter, whether she has his blood or not.

I am glad for her, she has found someone who can fill in the empty father figure space within her heart. She craves to be acknowledged to be a daughter and that she is a good girl no matter what happens.

“I give my daughter to you, and she will be loved,” the King said, letting Mina’s hand fall into mine.

“She will.”

I grasp her small fingers and let the music sway our feet as I hold her waist, rubbing the dip of her hips to pull her closer. Mina looks up at me, love clearly taking over her blue eyes. My heart thumps loudly in my ears, a sense of tranquility wash over us as I notice the Ennis King and Queen dancing, and the heiress dancing with her fiancé.

“Daddy,” she whispers, giggling under her breath as she gropes my biceps.

I hum, waiting for her to continue through our dance.

“I love you,” Mina said, blushing furiously and blinking her lashes in bashfulness.

She murmurs, quick and adorable, just like my Mina. “I love you, I really do. Thank you for giving me this life, for giving me your love. I don’t deserve it, I haven't done anything for you to do all of this. This wealth, this status, this dream—”

I put a stop to her insecurities, “I love you.”

“You didn’t have to do anything to deserve this, Mina. You have changed me, love me even when you know what I can do. I’m a tyrant that nobody wants, a king despised by other nations, and I am a man you saved from loneliness with your glass heart.”

Blue eyes widened in curious wonder and shyness reddening on her cheeks.

“With these bloodied hands, I don’t deserve to hold your pure body, I don’t deserve your unconditioned love, and I do not deserveyou. However, I am a very possessive man. You are mine the moment I saw you, meant to be my wife and the mother of our children.”

She’s stuttering and blushing furiously, scrambling to find her thoughts as her face explodes in redness. Steam would have come out of her ears if it is possible, her brain is going haywire so she asks for the only thing her body knows how to calm down.

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