chapter twenty two

as lydia made the bed in the bedroom they shared, tatum finished making breakfast for the two. lydia absolutely hated messes and dirty spaces much like tatum did, but even more so. she often had lots of free time growing up which gave her time to constantly clean the space around her. she was never assigned chores or assignments as a kid, which she believed helped her become such a clean person. when someone asks you to do something it makes you want to do it less, so she was glad that cleaning was always an option for her and not a necessity.

after tatum was finished marking her and showing her who was in charge of her, he just stared at her. he lay on top of her just gazing down at her on the bed in front of him with a analytical expression on his face, matched up with a content smile. she didn't enjoy when he analyzed her, as it made her feel uncomfortable. not because he was looking at her lustfully, but because she was used to that from men. though she didn't understand that their gaze came with lust and need for her, she knew that they thought she was pretty. but she didn't enjoy his gaze because it felt threatening, in fact.

but in tatums mind, he was doing nothing but admiring her. from the first time he saw her and decided that she was his, he never expected to have her in his possession so quickly. it was almost as if it was meant to be them together constantly, and he refused to take the situation as coincidental. he knew that she was made for him and only him. and soon, she would know that too.

she looked absolutely beautiful to him as she laid staring up at him with her fearful expression. her tears had stained her cheeks a gorgeous pink color, and her watery eyes looked at him for direction. neither of them made a sound as they looked at each other, and tatum was okay with this. he absolutely loved looking into her eyes as it made him feel a tingling feeling in his stomach. though he never experienced love before, he knew that had to have been what it felt like.

dishing the pancakes he had made onto two plates in front of him, he smiled contently to himself. she was learning. she listened to him when he told her to stop crying, she listened to him when he called her his, and she listened to him as she waited for direction from him. he was happy that she was a quick learner, as that made it known to him that she would understand her newly found situation in no time.

he knew she didn't understand what he meant by this house being her new home, but he didn't know if she was ready to fully understand that yet either. she was already scared of him, and though he loved that more than anything, he also wanted her to trust him. he would never hurt her, well, emotionally. emotionally she was taken care of.

as he placed the two plates onto the dining room table, he noticed he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. peace. he was more than pleased to be making meals for two people now, he was more than pleased to have his little so close to him, and he was most pleased at the sounds of his little cleaning in the room over from him. after having possession of her for the short time he has, he knew he could never go back to the way things used to be when he was alone.

"little," he gently called out from the dining room. when he received no answer, he made his way to the bedroom.

slightly pushing the bedroom door to be more open, he paused. the sweet quiet sound of lydias humming could be heard from inside the room, and he smiled once again. her hums were beautiful and soft, and the sound did nothing less than put him at ease. he felt as though he could listen forever, and so he did. minutes went by of her quiet hums before he carefully approached her.

when he reached the small girl, he placed his large hands on both sides of her head, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. she jumped at the initial touch, but relaxed after he gave her a kiss.

"breakfast, my little lydia" he cooed into her ear.

she smiled, turning to face him.

"breakfast?" she questioned excitedly.

he gave her a nod of his head, pleased to see her happy over something so little. he came to notice that winning lydia over with small things rather than large got him further to her submission. he would give her anything, and that was what he did best.

the two ate breakfast together in a comfortable silence, glancing up at one another every so often. things have never gotten awkward between them during any encounters they had together, and of course, tatum took this as a sign that they were meant to be. but then again, tatum took everything as a sign for this.

lydia had finished eating her meal long before tatum had, but she stayed in her spot at the table as she waited for him to finish. tatum was absolutely over the moon about this, as it let him know that she respected him. she was doing just as she was supposed to, always depend on tatum. it made him feel prideful that his little was already waiting for his approval before doing anything.

"you may get up, baby." he warmly said carrying a soft expression in his face.

she silently nodded in response. this made lydia feel comfortable almost, causing her to relax. she carefully got up from her seat, keeping him in her peripheral vision as she did so. she was very scared of upsetting him, so she decided that she would do everything in her power to avoid just that. placing her dish in the sink, she began washing it by hand.

her mother had always taught her that dish washers were for the rich and lazy, even though they were well off as a family. lydia didn't like how judgmental her mother could be at times, so she always knew that she wouldn't teach her future children such dumb little sayings. (even though she listened to all of the ones raya had taught her).

when she had finished washing her plate, she turned to face the dining room table where tatum had sat. as she could've guessed, he was already looking at her as he always did. though when she glanced at him she had noticed that he had finished eating his breakfast and his empty plate sat infront of him. as she did at her own home when she finished eating first, she headed towards him to gather his dirty dishes and wash them.

lydias manners were always on the top tier, but surprisingly, she was not taught this by her mother. her father was actually the one that worked so hardly on her to get her manners to be amazing wherever she went, and she was very grateful for this. if she had to remember one thing her father had taught her, it would be her politeness. however, she wished that her farther would've taught her mother some common decency. she lacked it, and it always irritated and embarrassed lydia.

tatum watched in shock as she collected his dishes for him, where she began taking them to the sink to wash herself. he definitely didn't ask her to do this for him, but he had absolutely no complaints about it whatsoever. no one had ever taken care of him like his little, and it seemed that with every hour that went by there was something more that he found to love about her.

after lydia had finished washing the dishes in the sink, she turned around to put them back in the cabinets where she had assumed they belonged, but was met with tatum's large frame standing over her. she didn't gasp like previously, though. instead she heavily gulped, slowly rising her head up to be making eye contact with tatum. she was nervous, as she always was when he came around her. especially when he towered over her, as it made her realize how little of a chance she stood against him.

"my little lydia," he began, softly cupping her face with one of his hands.

"get ready, baby. we're going out"

i want to start a new book sooo baddd but i'm worried that i'll lose interest in updating this one if i do :/ idk i need advice pls someone give me some :,) anything helps