back, and waited.
“Hand me your phone.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “My phone?”
“Quickly, Ashton. If you make me late for work, you will not like it.”
Without a word, I tugged my phone from beneath my pillow and handed it to him.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” he said. He switched off my phone and placed his own basic one in my hand. “You can use this one if you want to call Rue or get in touch with your mother. Otherwise, I’m taking away your social media privileges for three days. That means not using your laptop to connect on those sites too.”
“Three days?” I croaked, already feeling the loss. I checked my phone a million times a day. How would I keep up with what was going on if I didn’t have my phone?
“You argue, and it’ll be for an entire week,” he said. “I expect you to treat me with the same respect I give you. You will not raise your voice when addressing me. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
He nodded, the tension releasing from his shoulders. “Now come here and kiss Daddy before I go.”
I gazed longingly at my phone in his hand. There was no getting him to change his mind about my punishment. Since we’d openly talked about my drinking issue, it seemed that Callum was adamant at being strict.
He’d told me from the very first day we started dating that he had rules and expected me to abide by them. He hadn’t been hard on me about the rules, however, even though I’d broken a few.
With a sigh, I bridged the gap between us. When I was close enough, he placed a hand on my hip and pulled me into his body. When his lips came down on mine, I expected the kiss to be hard and demanding.
He was surprisingly gentle. It was almost as if he wasn’t even upset with me.
“I accept my punishment,” I said when the kiss ended. “I was out of line, but please consider taking me with you to the nursing home. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”
He brushed the back of his hand against my cheek. “I’ll think about it. Don’t sleep the morning away, and eat something healthy.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. He might’ve confiscated my phone in punishment, but he still cared enough to think about my terrible eating habits.
“Okay.”
“And, Ash, I require your honesty. That’s what we agreed on. If I can’t trust you with small things, I can’t trust you with the big ones.”
I understood only too well. We’d agreed on complete honesty going forward if I wanted to remain in a relationship with him. That meant no sneaking on to my computer to check my social media pages.
I walked him to the door where he kissed me again. When he was gone, I rested my head against the door.
Don’t fucking screw this up, Ashton.
I crawled back into bed and slept. The only thing Callum’s phone was good for was to set the alarm so I didn’t sleep the day away. I found it useless to go to classes, given my mother’s interference, and I was even thinking about starting over from scratch. Maybe with a different major, although I couldn’t figure out quite yet what I wanted to do with my life.
Whatever answer I arrived at, I doubted it had anything to do with running a company. I’d tried it my mother’s way, and now maybe it was time to do it my way. By finding out what I was good at and pursuing that field.
I was up at ten and made my way to the bathroom, my bladder at bursting point. I took care of my morning routine, then went to the kitchen to put together a healthy breakfast in case Callum asked me later what I ate for breakfast.
In the kitchen, I came to a halt. A small vase with fresh flowers stood on the table, with a makeshift card made out of blank paper propped up on it. My name was on the card in bright blue marker.
Taken aback, I carefully plucked the paper off the table and opened it. Callum must’ve checked up on me when I was sleeping.
1. You’re sweet and loving. I love that about you.
There was nothing else inside except for Callum’s signature. For a long time I just stared at the words until I’d figured out what Callum was doing. He was filling in those ten lines I couldn’t write about myself.
Chapter