“We’ll take a blanket, so whenever you are in the kennel, you can use it, but if you are with me and sitting on the ground or my lap, you won’t need it since you’ll feel my body heat and be okay.” He smiles down at me. “I know what you are trying to do. I was already going to give you a blanket for the kennel if I needed to leave the room.”
Let’s hope he will need to leave the office a lot, and I can cover myself with the blanket. I watch as Daddy grabs two bottles and places them in a bag before turning to me and picking me up.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks.
I shrug and lean my head against his chest. I seem to be getting more comfortable around him, and I don’t know how I feel about it. Daddy has told me several times that he will always be there for me and will never be rude or abandon me, but I can’t seem to trust that. I hesitate every single time about calling him Daddy.
The time is not right.
Maybe if I’m still here in a year or two, I can call him Daddy. That is when I know whether he is serious or not. Unless he is just waiting for me to call him that, and then he will let me go.
“What are you thinking about?” Daddy asks as he runs his free hand through my hair.
“Nothing,” I mumble.
He hums. “Lie, but I’m going to let it pass this time. We’re going to an unfamiliar place. I bet you are really worried. If it gets to be too much for you, I can take you back to the apartment and let you calm down. I will probably have to go back to the office, depending on when it is.”
Nodding, I close my eyes as he walks out of the apartment. If I keep my eyes shut the whole time until he gets into his office, I won’t have to see anyone or talk to them.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he whispers. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. Trust Daddy right now.”
That’s hard to do.
“Ronal! I wasn’t expecting you to be here so soon. I thought you were spending a week with your pet,” a deep voice says.
“Albel, something urgent has come up that I need to take care of,” Daddy replies. “Hopefully it won’t take long, but I got called in to take care of it.”
“Let me know if you need any help,” Albel responds. “Is this your Little Pet?”
“This is her. Nora, can you say hi?” Daddy asks.
I crack my eyes open to see someone who looks really similar to Daddy standing in front of us. A smile blossoms on his face, and he waves.
“Hello, Nora. I’m Albel. It’s nice to finally meet you. Your Daddy would not stop talking about you before he picked you up. He kept bragging that he finally got a pet and couldn’t wait to hold you in his arms to cherish.” Albel chuckles.
I open and close my mouth, not knowing what to say. I know Yamal said Daddy would never hurt me, but for some reason, it is hitting me differently that one of Daddy’s coworkers is talking about him wanting me.
“I’m glad he finally has you. Maybe now, he’ll work on his work-life balance more.” Albel looks at Daddy and gives him a pointed look. “Let’s hope he works on it. Because I know you don’t want to be home alone or be at the office not doing anything.”
He has that correct.
“I don’t want to leave my Little Pet once I get her. That’s why I’m doing the same as your Daddy. I’m trying to get a lot of work done before I go get her. Though she hasn’t arrived on Venkoria yet. Once she does, I will have a lot of work done. After a week of being with her constantly, my workload will still be low. I can go to work for a couple of hours and then spend the rest of the time with her,” he explains. “I can’t wait to meet my Little Ella.”
Ella? What does he mean he’s waiting for her? She was in the room with me.
I stare at him in disbelief. He really is already in love with the poor female who he has bought. Does she know what she is getting into? Is she going to be afraid like I am and try to leave? Will he be overbearing and try to do everything for her all in the beginning?
No. I can’t think about this. I need to think about myself. Everything is still very uncertain for me and the future. To know whether I can fully trust Daddy or if I still need to be cautious.
“Well, I’ll let you get to work so that you can go home sooner. If you need anything, Ronal, let me know,” Albel says and smiles down at me.
I lean my head on Daddy’s chest as he starts walking, closing my eyes so I don’t have to make any more conversation with anyone from Venkoria.
“Nora?” someone calls out.
My head whips to the right, and I see Leah.
“Leah!” I scream, but before she can run to me, a man picks her up and walks away. “Daddy, go follow her!”
