Page 5 of Lesson on Depravity

I wouldn’t dare to step foot out of this layer of protection. No one has the guts to come near this house if they know what is good for them. I have heard the horror stories from people who work under Daddy; he doesn’t let anyone make a mistake and forget about it.

The door clicks open, and he steps through the entrance with bags full of stuff in there. I cock my head, confused as to why he needs black garbage bags and what is inside of them.

He lets go of the bags and enter the living room, but his attention is too focused on me to notice the breakfast I had made.

“What aren’t you eating?” he asks.

I shoot up from the chair and stumble up to him. His arm, littered with beautiful ink, curl around my shoulder as his hand settle on the nape of my neck. It’s a reserved token of dominance, and it’s a reminder of the control he has over me.

Everything—my body, heart, and soul—crave to please him.

“I want to eat with you,” I say with a smile.

He sighs, petting my hair affectionately and pressing his lips to mine. Alistair is too tall for me to not be on my toes to kiss him, but it’s a compromise I can work with if I can have his lips on me. The warmth through the kiss is strong, almost suffocating when he releases me.

“I have your stuff,” he mentions with a brief glance over his shoulder.

I swallow thickly. I had forgotten that I wanted to live by myself just a mere two weeks ago, and that had no gone to plan.

What I had originally thought was getting a place of my own after Daddy had so graciously accepted me and helped me on my feet, but I couldn’t always lean on him for help. I want to take care of myself, so it’s why I suggested the idea of being independent.

This neighborhood is ridden with crime and criminals. I have been homeless the moment my parents had just upped and left the house after it had been foreclosed by the bank, and after that, I had been homeless and wandering on the streets.

It was Alistair that had saved me from the life of filth and put me in a place where I will never go hungry again. I could have restful nights of sleep, a full tummy, and the strongest protection by the hands of Daddy.

His only request for his hard work is to be his princess. I don’t know why he wants me to be that or how he doesn’t see the days that I have been finding food from the garbage. It’s how I lived, and I’m ashamed of it myself.

He and I are on completely different levels and in different worlds. His has the most violence and deaths, while mine was a simple dream that shattered, leaving me a life of nothing but survival on the streets.

“Coco?” he calls, shaking me out of my thoughts.

Coco isn’t my name, but I accept everything he has given me. I have given up my real name in favor of this one because it’s a promise of a new beginning. I want to let go of everything in the past to be the best princess Daddy wants.

Thinking of my real name would only cause me pain. I never want to think of it again because it’s the name that my parents gave me when I was born, but they tossed away parental privilege so long ago that I never truly remembered a day where I had a decent meal.

“Daddy…” I pause, so many things running in my head that I want to ask him.

I know I’m being greedy and ungrateful for Daddy when he said that he doesn’t want me to work, but I want to make something of myself. I don’t want to just rely on him and be a burden to all the worrisome things that are already happening in his life.

“Why so shy suddenly, little Coco?” he teases, pinching my cheeks with his fingers.

I open my mouth, but then I close it. My throat is dry, and it’ll only end up scratchy if I force my voice out. Doubt swirls in my head, echoing negativities while laughing at my lamentable cowardice.

This is what people call to give an inch, and a mile will be taken.

I have never been greedy. Life on the unfortunate side had taught me to not take anything for granted because the next minute will be a twist beyond my control.

“Never mind, Daddy, it’s nothing.” I shake my head, plopping my forehead on his chest.

The steady thump of his heart calms the itching anxiety under my skin. I had always wanted a prince to come to sweep me off my feet as a flimsy fantasy I made up when I was younger. Instead, I received a monster with hands full of his victim’s blood and power reeking through the taut muscles on his massive body.

I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.

“What’s nothing?” he pressures with a clipped tone. His hand drags over my scalp, tugging on the brown strands and scowling with a tongue click.

I shrink into my shoulders. If I have nothing to say, then it’s better to not say anything at all, but my voice likes to get me in trouble. Daddy wouldn’t ever let my words go without getting to the bottom of the truth, whether it’s by physical action or glaring intimidation—neither of the options are good for my cowardly heart.

“Don’t lie to me,” he hisses, my skull burns at his rough tugging.