Chapter 99 - Daddy Dominant's Good Girl

**Ellis POV

Once Olivia was sound asleep, I left the bedroom and went to my office. Despite wanting to take my time to relax with her and sleep with her in my arms, I had business to take care of.

Just as I turned my computer on and sat down, there was a soft knock on my office door.

I looked up.

Nancy was standing in the doorway, a shy smile on her face.

“Hey, you,” she said, walking in with a subtle sway in her hips.

“Nancy, are you settling in?” I asked, nodding to a nearby chair and inviting her to sit.

She blushed as she sat down. It was that sweet adorableness that had once drawn me to her.

“It has been a long time since we’ve been able to sit and talk openly,” she remarked.

“When you’re up for it, I’d be curious to hear what happened to you and what you’ve been doing the past several years,” I admitted.

Nancy shrugged. “I know you’ve been missing me. I wish I could have called or contacted you somehow. I was recuperating. I’m sorry I couldn’t come back sooner, Ellis.” Her eyes widened, glossing over with tears.

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” I waved her concerns away. “I appreciate your sincerity now. A lot has happened in my life in your absence. However, you are welcome to stay here for the time being.”

“For the time being?” Nancy asked, her brow creasing.

“Your family is most anxious to see you again. Aren’t you anxious to see them?” I asked.

Nancy pursed her lips. “I am. I tried to look them up but I couldn’t find them. They all… disappeared.”

I shook my head. “After you were taken, I had them relocated for their own protection. I’ve already called Claire. She wants to come to see you.”

“I’d like to see her too,” Nancy said, her voice a little distant.

I rested my elbows on my desk and folded my fingers together. I looked over the horizon of my hands, studying Nancy.

She hadn’t changed much in the years that she had been gone. Though, when I looked at her now, I could see how different she and Olivia really were.

Fondly, my mind wandered back to the sleeping beauty in my bedroom and a smirk tugged at my lips.

“Ellis?” Nancy’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Hmm?” I asked.

“Thank you for protecting my family. I knew you would,” she said, smiling warmly.

“I wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. Although, I had to separate them, and move them to different cities, to help keep them safe. I think they will be happy to have you back so you can all be together again,” I explained with a nod.

“You’ve always taken care of everything for me. It is one of the things I admired about you the most,” she said.

“I’m pleased that you’re not disappointed with my efforts.”

“Will Claire come here to see me?” she asked, slowly licking her lips.

“She said she’d travel here to see you and to bring you home with her,” I explained. I picked up a pen and opened my email on my computer screen.

I started taking a few notes on a pad of paper as I went through my emails.

“Bring me home with her?” Nancy asked, her voice a sharp gasp.

I glanced up and arched an eyebrow. “Yes, I believe it would be best all around if you returned to your family.”

“Ellis… are you… no. I came back here for you, to be with you,” she said, shaking her head.

I pursed my lips and set my pen down. “You did?”

“Yes. I’m not going to turn my back on you now and leave you here alone,” she said, crossing her arms firmly.

I chuckled and picked my pen up. “I’ve got family here. I’m not alone.”

Nancy’s cheery smile faded and her arms relaxed into her lap. “What are you saying? Are you saying that you… that you don’t want to be with me?” Her voice was choked and she sniffled.

“As I told you before, I have a family here. Seven years is a long time and even though I missed you, I did not spend it waiting for you. I moved on,” I said.

Nancy’s jaw dropped. “So, you’re kicking me out? You’re sending me away like I never existed so that you can live happily ever after with your newer, younger version of me?”

She stood up and began pacing back and forth.

A frown tugged at my lips. I’d so rarely seen Nancy upset. She was always so soft and gentle. I couldn’t imagine what she’d been through or how it had changed her.

“You have no idea what I went through to get here!” She sighed and bowed her head.

I saw a glittering tear roll down her cheek.

“No, I don’t have any idea. I am sorry, Nancy. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. I’m not going to apologize for continuing on with my life,” I said firmly.

“Then, this is it. You’re really kicking me out?” she asked, glancing sideways at me.

“You are welcome to stay for as long as you need. Although, your family misses you and it would be better if you reacquainted yourself with them,” I reiterated.

“Ellis, I thought…I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted me,” Nancy gasped. She held her hands over her heart and sank back down into the chair. Tears brimmed her eyes.

Sighing, I stroked my chin. I needed to handle this situation delicately. I had no idea how emotionally fragile she was. I couldn’t give her any kind of false hope though, even if it meant causing her some emotional pain.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Nancy. I did care about you deeply, at one time. Things have changed. I have changed,” I said smoothly.

“How could you do this to me?” she asked in a small squeak. “I gave up everything… you can’t treat me like this.”

“I’m not treating you like anything… I protected your family and I hoped for your safe return. My life didn’t end when you disappeared… but you wanted it to, didn’t you?” I asked, giving her a scrutinizing look.

“I thought you loved me. I thought you’d never survive without me. Isn’t that what you told me over and over again just to get me to go on a date with you?” she asked, her tone hardening.

“At the time, that was how I felt. At the time, those words were true. I missed you dearly for a long time. But eventually, I gave my heart to someone else. Someone who was here,” I offered with a shrug.

“You didn’t find someone else! You picked someone who looks just like me, someone that you could pretend was me,” Nancy accused.

I shook my head. “Perhaps the resemblance is what initially drew me to Olivia, but she is not you. She is her own person and I love who she is.”

Nancy scoffed and tossed her head back. “You really think you love her? She’s nothing but my stand-in.”

“No!” I stood up, my voice louder than intended.

Nancy cowered.

Quickly, I composed myself to be less threatening.

“Olivia is not your stand-in. She isn’t anyone’s stand-in,” I insisted. “I love her for who she is. The more I get to know her, the less like you she is and the more I continue to love her.

Nancy burst into tears. She dropped her head into her hands. “You swore you’d love me forever.”

“I couldn’t love a ghost.”

Sighing, I grabbed a box of tissues and brought them to Nancy.

“I went to h*ll and back for you… I did everything for you… and now…” she sobbed into her hands. Her shoulders trembled.

If circumstances had been different, I might have wrapped an arm around her shoulder and comforted her. Even if it was meant to be a friendly gesture, Nancy admitted to still having feelings for me and wanting me to love her.

Olivia was already uncomfortable with my past with Nancy.

I didn’t want to do anything that could be misinterpreted by either of them.

“I am sorry,” I said again. I nudged her shoulder with the box of tissues.

Nancy looked up and glared at me. She pushed the box away and jumped to her feet.

“I don’t need your pity,” she whined. “I’ll be leaving with Claire as soon as she gets here.”

I nodded.

Nancy sniffed and turned from me, fleeing from the office and crying harder.

It bothered me that she was so upset. Not because I wanted to fix it or comfort her. I didn’t like to imagine what she’d gone through and I didn’t like to think that I was making it worse.

I wasn’t about to sacrifice my relationship with Olivia.

Flush.

The bathroom door for my office opened. It was a separate bathroom from the en-suite bathroom in my bedroom, but there was an adjoining door from my bedroom to my office bathroom.

I looked over my shoulder to see Olivia coming out. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were wet. I couldn’t tell if she was happy or upset.

“Olivia,” I whispered her name as she came over to me.

Her lips were a thin line and she stared right at me, not saying a single word.

There was no doubt in my mind that she heard my conversation with Nancy. As for her being relieved or upset, it could have gone either way.

“I heard what you said,” she muttered, her voice flat.

“About what?” I asked.

The corners of her mouth quirked up.

Olivia jumped at me and wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.

I brought my arms around her and sighed, rocking her back and forth as she clung to me.

“I wanted to believe you but there was a part of me that was still insecure,” she admitted.

“And now?” I asked.

“Now, I know you really do love me and that you’ve always meant every word you said. About me, about Nancy, all of it,” she said.

Something wet touched my shoulder and I realized she was crying.

I grabbed Olivia’s shoulders and pushed her back. She had little tear streaks on her face.

She was overcome with emotion and I wanted to make sure everything was alright.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she assured in a breathy voice. She hugged me again and pressed her lips to mine.

“Mmm,”

I kissed her back, putting my hands on her lovely hips and pulled her close.

I exhaled in relief as I realized that after all this time, I’d finally regained Olivia’s trust, completely.