Page 62 of Taking Adalisa

My eyes go wide as I stare at him. I just let him feed me. How did he get the spoon? I don’t remember handing it over to him. I thought he would have his own spoon, but I am mistaken.

“Ah, no thinking too much,” Matthias reminds me. “Yes, I am feeding you, and you like it. You can keep a better eye on the food. I won’t let go of the container or the spoon. I want you to just focus on eating and relaxing.”

I open and close my mouth, trying to come up with something to say to him to get my spoon back. Maybe I can just get another one.

“Don’t even think about it. I did not give you permission to get up.” Matthias raises an eyebrow at me. “Do not think about getting up. I am taking care of you, and you are going to let me take care of you. Understand?”

My shoulders sag, and I nod. “Yes,” I mumble.

“Yes, Daddy.”

I shake my head and look away. I know I’m taking my eyes off the food, but I can’t call him Daddy out loud. That is going to cross a line I am not ready to cross yet, which he knows.

“Soon,” Matthias says. “Now, open your mouth again so you can take another bite.”

We go at this for a while, him feeding me and then taking a bite, and I find myself relaxing even more into my chair with each bite. What is wrong with me? I should call this a win, but I can’t help but stare at Matthias and wonder.

“I can see your brain working again, and I want you to stop.” Matthias feeds me the last bite. “I don’t want you to think about anything at all. Focus on me.”

I glare at him. “My focus is not always going to be on you.”

“Well, it should be,” he replies. “Your attention and thoughts should always be on me. That is what I want, and I think I’m pretty close to achieving it.”

If only he knew I constantly think about him. He is somehow always on my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. “Come on.” Matthias holds his hand out, leaving my container on the counter. “We’re going to leave the dish for the maid to clean up.”

“No.” I look at him like he is crazy.

“Yes, we are. I’m surprised she let us take it out of the fridge. She has been working for Ethan for years and has a certain way of how she likes the fridge and kitchen. She normally doesn’t allow any of us to touch anything in here. Trust me, if she was here, she would give the same speech,” Matthias explains.

He holds his hand out, and I take it, looking back at the container that was once filled with food I had made. I really did it. I really ate that food without knowing it was safe.

Am I at a turning point in my life?

“We’re going to bed. I have a couple of things I need to get done tomorrow, and then we are going grocery shopping and cooking,” Matthias informs me.

“Will the maid be okay with me being in the kitchen cooking?” My eyebrows furrow as I look at him.

“I will be speaking with her tomorrow about that. She will understand.” Matthias sits on the bed.

I look around briefly. Everything in here is black or gray. It’s very clean and minimalist.

“This is my room when I am here. As you can tell, I don’t stay here often. If you need anything, I want you to tell me and we can get it while we are out or I can have someone get it for us.” Matthias pulls me between his legs.

I try to take a step back, but his arms keep me in place. We lock eyes, and he looks at me like he is seeing me for the first time.

“You are so precious to me,” he whispers. “Too precious that sometimes I don’t think I deserve you, but I’m never letting you go.”

I thought he sounded really sweet until he said he was never letting me go. And just like that, he has popped the bubble around me and made me realize that I am here against my will.

“Come on, let's get to bed.” He kisses my lips quickly.

CHAPTER 24

ADALISA

Ilook right and left, making sure the hallway is clear before I take a step out of the room. Earlier today, I ran into the maid, Nala, and scared myself. I immediately ran, and she yelled to say who she was, but I didn’t stop. I was just orienting myself with the house when I ran into her. Ever since then, I’ve been in the room Matthias and I slept in last night.

“It’s okay,” I whisper to myself. “No one is going to pop out this time.”

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