Page 33 of Plaything of His

“This is probably just as weird for you as it is for me.”

I say to her, noticing how quickly her cheeks become pink as she drops her eyes to the floor.

She shrugs as she takes in deep breaths. Together, we stand like that for a few seconds before she finally turns to look over at me.

“Can I ask you something?”

I nod.

She plays around with her fingers, looking at the ground before she finally finds the confidence to look back at me. And when she does–fuck, when she does–it’s like I’m looking at Lyra all over again.

If I’m counting the months right, then Delilah is only fifteen.

Three years younger than my pumpkin.

“Did you know about me? Like, at all?”

My lips pull up slightly atthatlike,but I shake my head.

“I had no idea you existed. If I hadn’t shown up today, I don’t think I would have ever found out about you.”

She folds her arms across her middle as her bottom lip wobbles. She blinks furiously and I know she’s trying to stop herself from crying, so with a gentle touch to her arm, I speak softly.

“I’ve missed out on your entire life, but now that I do know about you, we can spend some time getting to know each other. How does that sound, Delilah?”

She shrugs her shoulders as she runs the back of her hand across her eyes.

“I’d like that, please.”

I smile down at her–at my daughter–and curl my arm around her back before pulling her to my side.

“You won’t ever have to worry about any of the things Serena mentioned before. Here, you’ve got me, and I’ll give you and Benjamin the world.”

I gave Lyra everything I could have given her, it’s only fair I treat her sister the same way.

And Benjamin…my sweetness deserves it too.

“Earlier, when Mum said you’re the father to her daughters…”

Delilah trails off, and I already know what it is that she’s talking about. I clear my throat before I can reply.

“You have an older sister; Lyra. And as far as I know, so long as nobody else is going to be showing up on my doorstep claiming they’ve birthed my child, it’s only you two.”

That gets a small smile out of her.

Benjamin soon joins us and as his eyes dart between Delilah and myself, he goes to stand beside her. They share a few quiet words before he has his eyes locked with mine again. He lets a deep breath out and together, the three of us walk towards my home.

As soon as I’ve opened the door and we’ve all stepped inside, my eyes scan the floor before I let a small apology slip out from my lips for the mess they’re looking at.

“I don’t usually have any staff at home since my daughter’s moved out, but if you both want, I can arrange something. You won’t need to do much except clean your own bedrooms at the most until I’ve got things sorted.”

My home isn’t a dump, but it’s not as clean as it once was when I would have staff helping out. Since Lyra moved out to be with her husband next door, I didn’t see the point in keeping our staff. They had only been employed so that my daughter wouldn’t need to busy herself with the simple tasks of cooking and cleaning.

“Staff?”

Delilah squeaks out, and as I face her, I can’t help but laugh.

“Since I often worked long hours, I employed staff to help raise her and keep our home tidy. My daughter isspoilt, but she’s not a brat. Since it’s only me now, I’ve managed to keep things running.”

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