Page 35 of Maddox

She looked down at her sketch then reached out and crumpled it in her fist. “He took everything away from me. Who I am. What I love. My courage. My passion.” Her voice broke, and I reached for her, so damn relieved when she let me gather her into my arms without fear.

I held Clare close, feeling her tears dampen my shirt as she cried against my chest. Her revelation had hit me hard. Blakenyhad been targeting her for longer than we'd realized, grooming her carefully before making his move, and we needed to look into the charity. Find out who this woman was.

"He didn't take everything, princess," I whispered, stroking her hair gently. "You're still here. Still fighting. Still creating art that speaks to your soul, even when it hurts."

Clare's sobs gradually quieted, though she remained nestled against me. "Sometimes I feel like I'll never be whole again," she admitted, her voice barely audible.

"Healing isn't about going back to who you were before," I said softly. "It's about finding who you are now, after everything you've been through. And I think that person is pretty amazing."

She pulled back slightly, looking up at me with tear-stained cheeks. "You really believe that?"

"With all my heart," I assured her. "Every day you choose to keep going, to try new things, to trust even a little bit—that's showing incredible strength, Clare."

She clung to me, her body trembling. I held her, rocking her gently, letting her recover. This wasn't the day I'd planned for us, but maybe it was the day she needed—a chance to release some of the pain she'd been carrying.

When her tears finally subsided, I gently wiped her cheeks with my thumbs, then produced a tissue and held it to her nose. And, miracle of miracles, she just blew and let me take care of her. Instinctually. For the first time I felt a little hope. "How about we do something different?" I suggested softly. "Something just for fun."

Clare looked up at me, her eyes red-rimmed but curious. "Like what?"

I smiled. "How about we build a fort? We can use blankets and pillows, make it super cozy. Then we can watch a movie inside it, or read, or just talk."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "A fort?"

"The best fort ever," I promised. "What do you say, princess? Want to help Daddy build a fort?"

Her smile grew a little wider. "Yes...Daddy," she said softly, the word still new on her tongue but sounding so right.

Together, we gathered blankets, sheets, and pillows from around the house. I moved the coffee table and rearranged the furniture in the living room to create a frame for our fort, and as we built it, I could see Clare becoming more confident, almost as if she was finally allowing herself to have fun.

But that wasn’t all. Her Little finally started peeking out. Her voice rose a little. She started pulling at her hair as if it was in her way and while her long hair was so damn gorgeous, and even though I got hard just thinking about it spread all over my pillow, I could see it was annoying her.

"Would you like Daddy to put your hair up for you, princess?" I asked gently, noticing her frustration.

Clare looked up, surprise flickering across her face. "You know how to do that?"

I smiled. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Wait here."

I quickly retrieved a hairbrush and some hair ties from the bathroom. When I returned, I settled behind Clare on the floor.

"Let Daddy brush your hair first, okay?" I said softly, beginning to run the brush through her long locks.

Clare tensed for just a moment before relaxing into my touch. As I gently worked through the tangles, I could feel her melting against me, her shoulders dropping as tension left her body.

"That feels nice, Daddy," she murmured, her voice taking on that higher, softer quality that I was coming to recognize as her Little voice.

"I'm glad, princess," I replied, carefully gathering her hair into a high ponytail. "There we go. All done."

Clare reached up to touch her hair, a small smile playing on her lips. "Thank you, Daddy."

My heart swelled at hearing her call me that so naturally. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, shall we finish our fort?"

We completed our creation, a sprawling structure of blankets and pillows that took up most of the living room. I strung some fairy lights inside to create a magical atmosphere.

"What do you think?" I asked as we moved inside.

Clare looked around in awe and without even thinking she crawled into my lap. I was so shocked it took me a minute to unglue my arms to bring them gently around her middle. She was sitting on my dick which was semi-hard, but she didn’t even seem to notice.

“I think this is a fairy castle,” she said in awe. “And you’re the prince and you saved me from the wicked sorcerer who kidnaps all the princesses in the land to give them to the evil king.”

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