Vicious Love; Nathaniel's Captive

XII

P A S T  T I M E

"Dad, I'll be back soon!" Delilah uttered as she went downstairs with swift steps, holding the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"Of course, be back before six, okay?" said her father as he emerged from the kitchen, holding a water bottle that was opened. His hair was a mess on his head as he just woke up after working till dawn.

She stopped near the couch in their main hall, holding the headboard as she stared at her father in confusion. He never said anything like that.

"Any reason?" She asked, nearing her father who nodded his head as he too neared his daughter.

"We're having a guest tonight."

"I see. Formal?"

"Yes. My boss," he answered with a smile, patting her cheek lovingly.

She smiled back. "Okay, I'll be back before six then." She leaned in to kiss his cheek and made her way out.

Judas didn't mention much about his boss, knowing that his daughter never found interest in his business matters. She wouldn't even come out when he had meetings in his study room. She never tried to pry into his matters, believing her father in everything. She believed he was a good man.

Evening came and the landscape began getting showered under darkness. Delilah reached home before six as her father wanted her to.

They had servants in their house to handle matters regarding food and cleaning and they'd come only when Judas wanted them to because he never wanted to compromise his privacy.

They did all the stuff, making the house clean and presentable enough for the boss to impress him.

Judas wanted his daughter to meet his boss, being formal like always. The difference was, that his boss held authority and respect in his eyes to let him know about his family, too.

When she arrived home, she saw how the servants looked in a hurry to complete the work as soon as possible under the strict command of Judas.

She went ahead and saw her father in the kitchen. He was keeping an eye on the food which the cook was making.

"Dad!" She murmured in surprise, getting his attention as he tore his gaze off the frying pan in the cook's hand.

"Del, you're home! Welcome, my princess," he smiled instantly, feeling refreshed after seeing the face of his daughter. He left the cook and the man dressed in white uniform of his profession took a sigh of relief that finally he was no more under Judas' hawk-like gaze.

"Yup," she walked ahead to accept her father's loving embrace.

He kissed the crown of her head, listening to her say, "What do I see, Dad? You're being so strict. Why so?"

The chef stole a glance at Delilah, shaking his head at Judas' strict behavior for the night. Only if his lovely daughter knew why the man was being a Hitler over his servants.

"Because he's my boss, Del," he said, earning a blank look from his daughter as she pulled away her face and looked up at him. He laughed, pinching her nose as he added, "I can't take risks, you see? I need to make an impression and I want to see everything to be perfect here."

"Whoa," she pulled back from his embrace, "Your boss seems to be an epitome of perfection." She went to the fridge and opened it, taking out a water bottle.

Her mind told her about the man being older than her father but his desire to see everything perfect made her scrunch her face.

"Can't say that because nobody is perfect," her father shrugged, dragging out a chair for his daughter to sit on. "But yeah, he's a strict man. I'm just acting tonight. . ." at this, the chef scoffed, earning himself a growl from Judas and Delilah couldn't help but chuckle.