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Before that, really. Ever since her mom’s diagnosis, she’d watched her father withdraw, become a shell of his former self. And she’d tried to bury the pain under shopping sprees and brunches with the girls. But it had always been there, growing heavier and heavier as she’d watched her father practically wither away before her very eyes.
There was relief in knowing she didn’t have to face any of that alone anymore. In knowing her Daddy would be there to help her, to guide her.
And yeah, to punish her when she was naughty.
“Ow! Daddy, that hurts!” The belt had caught the sensitive curve under her ass, jolting her out of her thoughts and into the present.
“Good. Maybe it will help you remember this lesson for a long time. Because from now on, refusing to talk to your Daddy will land you right back here and I do not want to repeat this lesson any time soon, little one.”
“You won’t, Daddy, I promise!”
“Two more, baby. Can you take two more for Daddy?”
Sniffling back tears, she nodded, her fingers digging into the soft cushion beneath her.
“That’s my girl. Now, what are you going to do the next time you’re worried or scared or upset?”
“T-talk to you, D-Daddy.”
“Good girl.” A soft whoosh met her ears a moment before the leather cracked across the most sensitive part of her ass again, making her cry out as her tears dripped onto the chair.
“No more secrets. No more hiding things from me. Agreed?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
One final time, the belt whipped across her bottom and she collapsed against the chair, her tears coming hot and fast. The last little bits of the burden she’d carried for so long dissolved as her Daddy lifted her from the chair, scooping her up into his arms.
“Which bedroom is yours, Lottie-bug?”
Unable to speak through her tears, she pointed to the bedroom on the left side of the hallway.
She was dimly aware of him shouldering open the door and carefully lowering her to the bed before joining her. And then she was wrapped around him, soaking his shirt with years of frustration and worry.
“Shhh, baby. Everything is alright. Daddy’s got you.”
All the things she’d kept to herself since her mother’s illness welled up inside her, but she was crying too hard to actually get the words out. Until, at long last, the tears slowly dried up, leaving her feeling lighter than she had in years.
“Thank you,” she said with a sigh, her eyes drifting closed as she snuggled closer to him.
“You’re welcome, little one. Do you want to talk about it? That seemed like a lot more than just tears from a spanking.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about you being able to read my mind,” she grumbled.
“Daddy superpowers.”
Braden’s teasing tone made her giggle and she forced her eyes open to look up into his. “I don’t even really know where to start. I… honestly, I don’t think I even knew how alone I felt until you told me I didn’t have to carry it all anymore. My dad, he hasn’t been okay in a long time, and I think I was so sure that if I could keep anybody from noticing he’d just get better.”
“You both went through something incredibly traumatic, little one. It makes sense you’d both be struggling. I’m sorry I didn’t step in sooner.”
“And done what? Forced him to go to therapy? Taken over our finances? There’s nothing you could have done, Braden.”
“I would have figured something out, if I’d been paying closer attention.”
While part of her had no doubt that he would have done exactly that, it also wasn’t his burden to bear. “I don’t blame you. Not even a little bit, I promise. If anything, I blame…” She trailed off, shame heating her cheeks. “Never mind. It’s nobody’s fault.”
Cupping her cheek in his hand, Braden brushed at a stray tear with the pad of his thumb. “It’s okay to say you blame him. Even if, to an extent, he couldn’t help how he handled your mother’s death, he still let you down. He was your father, and you should have been able to lean on him, and he wasn’t there for you. It’s okay to be angry about that. You can recognize his pain while honoring your own.”
“Doesn’t that make me a shitty person, being mad at him after everything he lost? Mom was the love of his life. Losing her just about destroyed him. It’s not fair to be mad at him for that.”
