Page 22 of Daddy King

She gasps, bewilderment shining brightly in her eyes as her mouth opens and shuts in stunned speechlessness.

“There is no conflict in the North.” I shoot down his lies, “And I will not allow you to take advantage of your daughter’s trusting nature.”

“King,” Conner respectfully says, still playing the fatherly figure. “I would never use my own flesh and blood for anything bad!”

“Do not insult my intelligence,” I hiss, bringing Mina closer to me as I lean forward. “I know for a fact that your country thrives from corruption, feeding off the poor and manipulating others for your own gains.”

“No, that’s not true. Don’t feed my daughter lies!” he yells loudly, alarming the guards in the surrounding area.

“Then do tell, how do ten commanders leading thousands of soldiers get to a state of begging for reinforcement.”

He falls silent in a heartbeat before adjusting his new tactic. The guards of this city are closing in on the commotion and they will force us to leave, which is why Conner has to get something out of this meeting.

If he can’t hurt me directly, then he will use Mina to inflict pain on me.

“Mina,” he said, voice cold and detached, “Why aren’t you helping your father?”

Her shoulders jump, torn between facing me and looking at her father. I loathe the control he has over her mind when she barely knows him, she subconsciously follows authoritative figures. Being the type of father she had always dreamed of meeting would fuck with her psyche, making her question whether or not she should listen to me or him.

“I-I don’t—”

Conner sneers, eyes squinting in dismay. “Of course you don’t. You useless girl, I should have expected this. You are the same as your worthless mother, always looking for someone to take care of her.”

“Keep your mouth shut,” I bark, warning the man in blue and white uniform.

He stands up, leaving the cooling tea at the table as the man beside him stumbles up with fearful eyes. I stand with Mina leaning on my side with her face buried in my chest, a small tremor wrecks her body as she shakily throws her arm around my back. Unsteady nails clawing at my shirt to tune out the vicious voice of her father, he’s a despicable man to me and Mina will come to term with that soon.

“I never wanted a child.”

Mina whimpers loudly, muffling her sob in my chest as the man and his subordinate walk out, the younger man had pity in his eyes.

I glare heatedly at the retreating backs of the two men, they never once look back at us as Mina cries brokenly. Tears don’t suit her, and her gut-wrenching sobs pierce my heart. I rather get a thousand daggers on me than have her shed a tear, it’s too painful for me to watch her little shoulders shake uncontrollably.

I snap my head to my guards, heavily armed and strong. So much stronger than those puny men who are more focused on ways to make more corruption than training. My men overpower them, tossing them in the ground with their cries of helplessness as my men put their knees on their spine.

One wrong move and they will snap them.

No one hurts my little girl.

Chapter Nine

Mina

Daddy lets me read on the bed, the sheets pool around me messily and it destroys the pristine and flawless bed after the servants had made them. Daddy had put me between his strong legs, reeled me back to his chest and I snuggle deeper into his warmth. The headboard behind us is a supportive form of an element that mingles with Daddy’s big body, a calm silence flows around us like soft waves.

It’s hard to forget the incident that happened not five hours ago, and I have cried for the first three. Daddy didn’t scold at me for showing weakness, he encouraged me to cry because that way, I can forget about that godawful man. Biologically, he is my father, but he’s just a stranger on everything else.

My dream of having a family was destroyed, the little girl fairy tale crumbled before my eyes and I can only blame myself for having hope during the meeting.

He played me, and I was the idiot that went along.

“Daddy?” I finger the pages of the new book, I can’t focus on the words.

He thumbs my outer thigh, “What?”

I purse my lips, “Nothing, I just want your attention.”

Daddy doesn’t say anything back, simply rubbing my thighs with his big hands. His display of strength makes my heart flutters when he picks me up, setting me down on the bed beside him and I question him with a cock of a head.

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