3 weeks later
I drive steadily down the road, occasionally checking if Aria is okay in the rear view mirror.
She seems to be content enough, focusing on the iPad I gave her as we head back home after quite the eventual day.
The day after I realised that it was my Aria that we rescued I had a DNA test done which confirmed what I already knew, she is one hundred percent mine.
For the past few weeks it's been nothing but endless doctors and psychiatrist appointments. I took Aria to a specialist not long after she arrived and they discovered multiple broken bones that never healed properly as well as signs of internal bleeding.
Not only that, they also discovered that she has severe anaemia due to the lack of nutrients and sunlight she was receiving, meaning her immune system is very weak and prone to contracting diseases much easier than the average person.
"You alright back there?" I ask, looking back at her. She nods, shooting me a thumbs up before returning her attention back to her movie.
Today I took her to her first psychiatrist appointment and it was difficult to say the least. She gets these awful panic attacks whenever we go into an area that has more than two people in it which is understandable considering she spent her entire life isolated in a cell.
When we got to the psychiatrists office there were three people in the waiting room even though I payed to book her out for the day. Trust me everyone in a five mile radius heard how loud I reprimanded her for such a mistake.
I managed to calm Aria down in the car and persuaded her to go back in. The psychiatrist ran numerous tests on her, eventually coming to the conclusion that Aria is extremely behind most people her age.
She has the mental capacity of someone much younger because she was never able to develop things such as social skills or learn about new things. However, the psychiatrist said with the right teaching and resources she can catch up eventually which is why I've hired the best tutor money can buy.
I've been advised to keep her away from populated areas for the time being due to her weak immune system. If she even catches the smallest of colds it could be fatal for her so I've had to keep her cooped up in the house which breaks my heart.
I want so badly to take her out so she can experience new things and do all the things she missed out on but I can't, I can only try and make her time within the house as enjoyable as possible.
I've been ignoring my responsibilities as leader to spend my time planning movie nights, setting up picnics in the gardens and preparing arts and crafts activities for her to do.
If you would of asked me three weeks ago if I'd be spending my days sitting on a picnic blanket, drinking lemonade and colouring with my daughter I would have laughed in your face but I can genuinely say that I've enjoyed every second with her.
"Come one baby girl we need to get you fed," I tell her, opening her car door and extending my hand. She takes it, skipping along next to me as we approach the large doorway.
Aria has been surprising trusting considering her past. When she first arrived she was terrified and skittish, never coming out of her room and only ever talking when spoken to. Thankfully after the first week she began warming up to me.
The fact that I have literally hundreds of pictures and videos of me and Raf spoiling and loving her as a baby has definitely helped the whole gaining trust process because she seems to be less scared around us compared to other people.
I've had to get rid of almost all my staff and the guards stationed indoors because even their presence made Aria frightened.
At first I just got rid of the guards, believing that she may just be scared of men but I had to get rid of the maids soon after because it turns out she's just afraid of people in general. The psychiatrist informed me that this is called Anthropophobia, the fear of people.
Ever since then I've gotten rid of all the staff and started doing something I haven't done in decades, cooking and cleaning for myself.
"Alright sweetheart what do you say, the counter or the table?" I ask her. I've been trying to have her make little decisions throughout the day so she feels in control. Her whole life she's been taught that she has to do as she told no matter what so when she got here she had never really made any decisions for herself.
I learnt that the hard way when I asked her what colour she wanted to paint her new room and she broke down crying because of how overwhelmed she was.
She thinks for a moment before pointing towards the kitchen counter. She sits down and spins on the stool as I pull out a children's book and place it in front of her before getting out some ingredients to make her dinner.
Yesterday we started the process of teaching her how to read, utilising books and flashcards until her tutor comes to help her on Monday.
It pains me knowing I should have been doing this with her years ago but it's better late than never.
"Carbonara or tomato source," I ask, while mixing the pasta over the stove. I've been making sure to cook food that is heavily calorie dense so we can steadily build up her weight. At first I wanted to make her eat several huge meals a day because seeing her so skinny and frail scares the shit out of me but her doctor said that it needs to be a slow process.
"Carbonara," She says quietly, avoiding eye contact with me. No matter how hard I try and convince her that asking for things and telling me what she wants is okay she doesn't believe me, still believing that it'll get her in trouble.
I smile, adding the carbonara source to the pasta while she continues looking at her book.
Suddenly the sound of the front door slamming open rattles through the hallway causing me to grip the gun in my waistband and position myself in front of Aria.
"What's happening?" Her wobbly voice asks, probably sensing my sudden change in demeanour. "I'm not sure but it'll be alright," I comfort her although I'm not sure that'll be true.
I know I'm skilled enough to take down any intruder but killing in front of Aria and traumatising her further is not on my list of things to do today.
My protective stance strengthens as the loud stomping increases and stops right out side the kitchen door. I curse under my breath and raise my gun, knowing that anyone that works for me would have made their presence known by now.
"Heyyy guys-" An obnoxious voice rings out as the door opens. Raf stands still, a shocked expression plastered on his face as the barrel of my gun is shoved into it.
"Fucking hell!" I yell, lowering my gun. "Do you ever fucking knock?" I scold. "Sorry I saw your car out front and knew you'd be in," He tries to defend himself.
"It doesn't fucking matter." I seethe. "You knock and wait for me to let you in," I remind him, the anger still boiling in me.
See, when I lived by myself I wouldn't have cared if an intruder broke in but now that I have Ari back home my paranoia has been at a all time high.
Raf completely ignores my angry ranting, turning his attention to the food as he often does. "Now what do we have here," He says, admiring the pasta. "It's for Ari so you'll have ask her is she wants to share," I say, moving out the way so he can talk to her.
"Aria?" He questions softly, a concerned look spreading across his face. I immediately turn around, being met with the sight of Aria looking completely out of it and clearly struggling to breathe.
Raf tries to get to her but I push him out the way, rushing to her side. "Aria, sweetheart can you hear me?" I ask, placing my hand on her shoulder. She immediately cowers away, her breathing becoming more laboured.
A wave of guilt washes over me as I realise that my yelling was probably the thing that sent her into this panic attack. "Come on breathe with me," I coax softly, placing her hand on my chest.
"Good girl," I praise when her breathing starts to even out. She seems to pull herself out of her clouded state and looks at Raf in surprise, just now noticing that he's here.
"I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to-" She rushes out frantically but I interrupt her, pulling her head into my chest and stroking her hair.
"Don't apologise, I'm the one that should be sorry for yelling," I say, letting out a sigh of relief that I managed to pull her out of the panic attack before she fainted like last time.
"Yeah I'm sorry for scaring you Ari," Raf apologies guiltily. She nods, seemingly accepting his apology but she still doesn't look completely okay.
"Come on let's watch another movie, I've been dying to show you this one," He gushes, trying to distract her from her thoughts.
He leads her to the huge corner sofa, plopping down on it before fiddling with the remote while I plate up the food and carry it over. "Alright so it's called Tangled and it is going to change your life," He smirks, opening Disney plus.
"Who's that?" She asks, tilting her head and pointing to the screen. "That's Flynn rider aka the finest man on earth," Raf swoons, causing Aria to slightly smile.
"Ahh does someone have a crush," He laughs. "You know my friend's brother is single and looks a lot like Flynn," He teases, nudging her with his elbow.
"No. Absolutely not." I say definitively, glaring at him while I lay their plates on their laps before sitting down next to Aria.
"But-" Raf tries to argue for Aria but I cut him off. "Nope she can think about dating on her fortieth birthday," I scowl, causing him to laugh.
"Dating?" Aria questions, completely clueless about what we're talking about. "Eat your food sweetheart," I tell her, changing the subject completely.
We eat the food and watch the movie, Aria watching it much more intently than the rest of us. We've finished our dinner, with Raf even having time to eat seconds and thirds by the time Aria even eats half of hers.
She takes her half eaten plate, mine and Raf's numerous ones and heads to the kitchen, her eyes glued to the tv the whole time.
"It's alright Ari we'll do them later," I tell her.
The second day after she arrived she asked me what she had to do which obviously confused me. I asked her what she meant and she replied 'don't I have to serve you?' which sent me down a spiral.
The thought of her having to 'serve' people and being treated like a slave makes me physically sick so I explained to her that from now on she'll never ever have to lift a finger.
However she hasn't excepted this, constantly insisting to help with housework and cleaning. "Yeah give them to me," Raf says, standing up. She obliges although she does looking guilty as she hands the pile of dishes to Raf who takes them to the kitchen.
I pat the seat next to me, indicating that I want her to sit back down. We watch the rest of Tangled which Aria absolutely loved.
I think she may relate to Rapunzel which is probably why Raf chose this movie. Rapunzel was locked away for the majority of her adolescence but she persisted and ultimately ended up living a good life once she was freed which seemed to fill Aria with a sense of hope.
"Okay now let's watch Moana," Raf says excitedly once the credits start to roll, causing me to shake my head. "No it's time for bed," I order, looking at Aria's tired face.
"Come on man it's only ten," Raf frowns. "You want to watch it don't you Ari?" Raf asks. She nervously nods, looking down at her hands.
I sigh, knowing there's no way I could ever say no to that face. "Fine," I mumble, leaning back on the sofa.
"Thank you," Aria squeals, displaying the first sign of genuine excitement I've ever seen from her which causes a smile to spread across my face.
As I predicted Aria fell asleep a quarter way through the movie despite how hard she tried to fight it.
I don't mind though, I just silently relish in the fact that my daughter is home and currently passed out leaning against my shoulder.