and then left the room. Romero and Alex were standing just outside my door,
waiting for me.
“Merry Christmas,” I said to them as they escorted me down the hall. They just
gave me a curt nod. I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t you guys have family to be with?” I
asked them as we descended the stairs.
“No, ma’am,” Romero replied, and that was the end of the conversation because
Darren appeared around the corner.
Darren took my hand and led me into the great room, but I couldn’t help but
linger on the thought that the guards and probably many of the people Darren
employed didn’t likely get any time off from their duties, even for the holidays. But
Clive and Owen weren’t here, so maybe there was a rotation? I wondered if Darren
would disclose.
He kept a good grip on my hand as we walked through the room and rounded the
couch to sit down. That was when I noticed all the presents under the tree, wrapped
by what looked like absolute professionals. They had hand-tied bows and ribbons,
perfectly proportioned wrappings, all done in beautiful colors of red, green, gold,
silver, and blue. Some boxes were bigger than others were, some rectangular, some
square. I blanched when I realized they were likely all for me and looked up at
Darren’s smirking face for confirmation.
“That cannot all be for me,” I said, as I plopped down on the couch.
“Oh, yes,” he confirmed. “I finally get to spoil you.”
You could spoil me with freedom…
“Spoil me? Are you serious?”
“Absolutely,” he said as he bent down to lift a present from under the tree. He
sat down on the floor next to the tree, his arm casually draped over his raised knee,
and handed me the gift. Begrudgingly, I took the present and placed it in my lap,
pursing my lips as I hesitated to open it. This just felt … off.
“What’s wrong now?” Darren asked, his eyes dark as he watched me.
Fuck, I did not want to get into a fight now.
“It’s nothing,” I said, making sure I made eye contact with him. I tried to give a
small smile to assure nothing was wrong, but I knew he wouldn’t buy it.
“Jaden,” he warned. That was my cue to give him the answer he wanted.
I sniffled, looking down at the small square present in my hands. “I just didn’t
expect all this. I’m not sure how I feel about it.” More gifts from him I didn’t want
to accept.
If there was one thing I could feel, it was anger steaming from Darren’s body.
After a few moments, he released a heavy breath and relaxed against the end of the
couch.
“I actually went to a lot of trouble for all this. To try to make you happy. The
least you could do is let me enjoy it just a little while I watch you open your
Christmas presents.”
Classic guilt trip.
I sighed, knowing I sounded like an ungrateful bitch, but I should have been
sharing this special morning with Jason, with my actual family. Darren wouldn’t
understand that; instead, he’d just punish me for it.
Biting my lip, I tossed my grief out the window and tentatively began to tear
away at the wrapping paper surrounding the box. I couldn’t have missed the smile
on Darren’s face if I tried. He absentmindedly took the paper from me and
crumpled it into a tiny ball and placed it in a trash bag nearby. The name Rolex
appeared on the small square box in my hands, and my breath hitched when I
opened it to find a sterling silver watch with a hot pink sparkly face. I almost
laughed.
“You know; I’m beginning to think you’re the one with the unhealthy obsession
with pink,” I said, a smartass smile on my face.
“What? I like you in pink,” he dejected.
“Why? Because it’s considered girly?”
“Yeah, so? It looks nice.”
“Women are not defined by a single color, you know,” I said as I set the box
down on the coffee table in front of me.
“Yeah, yeah, stop arguing,” he said as he reached over and handed me another
gift.
I spent the next hour opening presents from him. He’d gotten me lots of
jewelry, even though I probably wouldn’t wear any of it unless requested. I didn’t
even know where I would wear half the shit he got me. He’d gotten me clothes I
could take back to the estate—some new dresses, some fancy, some casual—but
the best part were the little black, pink, and white spandex shorts for my workouts.
Finally, something useful. I fucking hated those stupid-ass skorts. He also got me a
new
