Tyrant Daddy by Isabella Starling

Chapter 5

Willa

It's almost early morning by the time I get back home. Raphael paid for my Uber but I make the driver let me out a street away from home, already knowing I'll be in trouble if Dove and Nox realize I snuck out last night.

Life at home is idyllic for my adoptive parents and their biological children, but not for me. I frequently feel out of place, like I don't belong in their happy family. They've done nothing to make me feel that way and yet every time I see Dove and Nox with their children, it's like a knife straight to the heart. I can't help feeling not good enough when I'm around them. After all, I'm not their blood – I'm just some charity project they took in, and nothing ties me to them except Nox's guilty conscience for letting me down when I was a kid.

I crack the front door and peek inside the house. Everything's quiet and it seems everybody is asleep as I sneak inside and pause in front of the stairs to make sure nobody heard me. But then a light clicks on, and I instantly know I've been found out.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

I turn to face Nox who's standing in the front hall, glaring at me. "Nothing."

"What the fuck are you wearing? Where the hell were you, Willa?" he demands, but I don't answer, just stare back with a determined expression. He won't get the truth out of me, not because I want to make trouble, but because despite everything, I still don't want to hurt the man who took me off the streets and saved me. "You're lucky I'm the only one who realized you went missing in the middle of the night, kid. If Dove found out, there would be even worse consequences."

"Consequences?" My brows shoot up and I regard him with dissatisfaction. "There can't be consequences, Nox. I'm eighteen now, you can't control me any longer."

"That's what you think." His eyes narrow. "As long as you're living under my roof, you'll follow my rules."

I let out a forced laugh, "Great. Did you get that in a parenting book? Either way, it's not going to work on me. You and me both know you won't tell Dove because you don't want to worry her."

"You think I can't handle this myself?" he asks, his knuckles whitening as he clenches his hands into fists. "I'll punish you accordingly, Willa. You're grounded."

"You can't ground me," I hiss. "I'm too old for that shit, and I'm not going to listen to you anymore."

Something changes in his expression then, just as a light clicks on in the hallway above us and Dove calls out, "Nox, everything okay?"

"Yes, little bird," he replies stiffly, not mentioning me despite the intense staring contest we're currently having. I place my finger on my lips to tell him not to blow my cover. "Just getting a glass of water,” Nox yells up the stairs.

"Okay, come back to bed soon," Dove says, yawning before retreating to the master bedroom.

"Thanks for that," I tell Nox with a sly smile. "I'm going to bed."

"This isn't over," he tells me darkly. "And you're still fucking grounded, kid."

"We'll see about that," I mutter, taking the stairs two at a time and locking my bedroom door behind me once I'm safely inside.

With a heavy sigh, I check out my reflection in the mirror. I did my best to wipe the traces of Raphael's cum off me in the Uber, but there's still some visible on my face. I can only hope Nox didn't notice.

I remove my makeup and take off my skimpy outfit, changing into my Disney princess pajamas and climbing between the sheets of my bed. My mind circles back to Raphael.

I spent two long years fantasizing about the man who turned me down in front of that club. For years, I devised plans to break him, to take advantage and make him give me what I wanted. But now that it's happened, I don't feel the gust of elation I’d anticipated. Instead, I'm stuck wanting more and more from the man I shouldn't have. And I already know I'll be going back for another taste.

"Can you turn the music down?" Nox appears in the door frame, glaring at me. I can tell our argument from last night still isn't forgotten. "Hi, Mercy."

"Hello, Mr. Miller," my best friend grins. "Sorry about the music."

"That's alright," he drawls out. He always had a soft spot for my friend – apparently, Dove and Nox knew Mercy's grandfather, though they're not very open with the details of that relationship. "Willa. Music. Down. Now."

With a dramatic groan, I pick myself up from the bed and turn the music down by a single octave. I can tell it's going to piss Nox off more, but I don't care. The rebellious side of me wants him to reprimand me, but the broken pieces that make me who I am are just waiting for him to kick me out of here, tell me I never belonged in the first place.

"Dove and I are leaving now," Nox says. "Your brothers are already at their sleepover, so you have the house to yourself tonight. But I'm warning you now, Willa. I allowed Mercy to come over, but you're not to leave the house under any circumstances."

"Or else what?" I hiss back. "You can't stop me."

He smirks. "Actually, I can. We're locking the house from the outside with the alarm system."

"You can't do that," I protest. "What if it catches fire or something? You want me to burn alive?"

"Don't be dramatic." Nox rolls his eyes. "You can call us if you need us. Bye, girls."

"Bye, Mr. Miller," Mercy replies sweetly as Nox closes my bedroom door.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so nice to him?" I demand as soon as he's gone.

"I can't help it," Mercy blushes. "Plus, your dad's hot."

"He's not my dad," I mutter. "Not even close."

"God, you're such a downer today, Wills," Mercy mutters. "When is your identity crisis going to end?"

"Never." I stick my tongue out at her.

"So... have you been checking the app?" Mercy waggles her brows at me. "I bet you got more hits."

I furrow my brows and reluctantly glance at my phone. With Mercy's help, I signed up for a sugar baby app with the sole reason of getting under Raphael's skin. But ever since I signed up, I've been getting more and more messages, though I haven't checked them. I already got the man I wanted.

"I haven't," I finally reply, shrugging. "Not really interested."

"Yeah, yeah," Mercy rolls her eyes. "I know, you're obsessed with Mr. Daddy."

"Don't call him that," I reply, even though a smile is already tugging on the corners of my lips. "Only I'm allowed to call him that."

"Greedy," Mercy giggles.

"Pass the popcorn." She gives me a bowl of caramel corn and I dig in, narrowing my eyes at her. "Anyway, did you end up making an account on the sugar daddy website?"

"No," she admits sheepishly, making me groan.

"Please don't tell me this is about Scott again."

"I'm sorry," Mercy whines. "He's just so fucking hot..."

"Mercy, that boy is bad news, and you know it," I mutter. "You've been letting him use you since you were fourteen."

"I can't help it." Mercy flushes, grabbing a fistful of popcorn. "Anyway, you're not allowed to say anything. At least Scott is only a few years older unlike a certain someone..."

I toss an unpopped corn kernel at her. "Shh."

"What, it's not like anyone's here. So, dish." Mercy leans forward on her knees. "Did you finally do the deed? Pop the cherry? Stamp the V card? Break the –"

"God, Mercy," I half-groan, half-laugh. "Gross visual."

"And the answer is..."

"The answer is..." I take a deep breath. "We did."

She punches the air. "I knew it. How was it, Wills? You have to tell me everything."

"It was different than I thought." I bite my bottom lip, setting the popcorn bowl down. "You know, I only wanted to do this to get back at Raphael for turning me down..."

Mercy nods eagerly, digging in the bowl for more. "Keep going."

"But it was really good," I whisper. "Like, on a different level. I didn't expect that... connection. The spark, the passion. I want to see him again."

"Well, you should," Mercy winks. "You said you wanted to save money so we can move in the fall, right?"

"Yeah," I mutter guiltily.

"Have you told your parents about Parsons?"

I feel sick from the popcorn suddenly. I take a big gulp of seltzer water and shake my head no. My acceptance letter is still hidden under my mattress.

"Why are you so determined not to tell them?" Mercy asks for the thousandth time, making me roll my eyes.

"Not this again."

"Well, I still don't get it."

"I want to do something on my own, I don't want to take their money," I mutter. "They've done enough for me. And they'd be really hurt if they knew I wanted to get away from here. I could have found a school locally, but..."

"Hey, it's okay." Mercy lays her palm over mine gently and squeezes twice, getting a small smile out of me. Our secret handshake that we've had since we were kids is still going strong. "Tell me more, but only if it helps."

I nod, "It does. And I don't want Dove and Nox to feel guilty about me leaving. It's something I have to do for myself."

"You know I support you with everything," Mercy says slowly, and I nod with a grateful smile. She told me I was moving to NYC under one condition – if I let her come with me. She is determined to work in the city while I go to school, and I believe she can do it. "But I still don't understand. Why do you need to do this? Dove and Nox are so amazing."

We haven't talked about this before. I've been hesitant to say much since Mercy doesn't have a great home situation herself, and I don't want to be ungrateful.

"I know," I finally say. "But this isn't about them. It's about me and the fucked up place I come from. You know... my biological mom, dad. And that fucking bastard who Mom married."

"I know," Mercy whispers. I can tell she already feels bad for even bringing it up, so I give her our secret handshake again. "I just wish you didn't have to. I like it here. Scott is here, you know?"

I struggle with my reply. Fact of the matter is, leaving Mercy's shitty boyfriend behind will be one of the best things to happen if we do end up leaving LA. But ever since I met Raphael, that seems more and more unlikely.

Before I can respond, my phone buzzes with a reply. I reach for it, for a second hoping it's Raphael. When I see the notification, my eyes widen.

"Someone just sent me ten grand."

"What?" Mercy scoots over. "How?"

"On the sugar baby app," I click through to the app and point at the question mark next to the username youronlydaddy. "But he doesn't have a picture up, or any information."

"I bet it's Raphael," Mercy elbows me. "This is so freaking exciting!"

"He has a different username." I knit my brows together, trying to understand what the hell just happened. "I don't get this at all. Why would someone send me ten grand, no questions asked?"

"Maybe they're working up to messaging you and want to leave a good impression," Mercy teases.

"Maybe..." I shrug and pocket my phone with a big grin. "We need to celebrate. Pizza on me?"