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Daddy rubs my back. “Little Pet, no lying.”

“I’m not.” My voice goes higher.

“We won’t be able to help unless you tell us the truth. Do you think you can do that?” Yamal asks. “We want to help you get better.”

I bite my bottom lip and shake my head against his chest. I don’t want to expose how weak I am and give Daddy a way to get rid of me.

Daddy pulls me away, but I keep my grip on his shirt, not ready to let him go yet. He cups my face, gently moving his thumb across my cheek to calm me down.

“You’re okay,” he whispers. “Daddy isn’t going to be mad at you when you tell the truth. But we need to know so we can figure out how to help you and make it all better. Can you do that?”

I screw my eyes shut, not wanting to do either one.

“Come on, Little Pet. Daddy isn’t going to be mad at you, but I need you to tell us the truth so we can help you and this doesn’t happen again,” Daddy explains. “Do you know how worried I was when I walked in with you holding your neck and your face all red? And then when I held you in my arms, trying to get you to breathe, and you ended up passing out. Daddy was so worried, and I don’t want it to happen again.”

I blink and look at him, Daddy giving me an encouraging smile.

“You’re okay and safe,” he whispers.

“I don’t want you to leave me!” I yell.

SEVEN

Daddy blinks several times and cocks his head to the side. “Can you repeat what you just said?”

Oh no. I shouldn’t have said that. Now he wants me to repeat it so he can get rid of me. Hand me back to that awful guard so he can do whatever he wants with me. I’ll end up dying.

“No, we aren’t going to do that. You’re going to feel my heart beating and match me. Take a deep breath in. Hold it. And now slowly let it out. Good girl. You’re doing so good. Daddy wants you to breathe like that while you say what you said again,” he gently tells me.

I lock eyes with him, and he gives me an encouraging nod.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” I mumble.

“Daddy is never going to leave you,” he promises. “Why do you think that?”

I shrug.

“Nope. We aren’t doing that, either. It’s important to talk about it and figure out how we can help you. I don’t want you to worry about a thing, and the only way to do that is if we talk about this and figure out ways to help you cope,” he explains.

“And what’s causing your trigger?” Yamal pipes in.

“Now, why do you think that I’m going to leave you?” Daddy asks.

“Because I’m too much work? Because every single time you leave the room, so much anxiety rolls through me, and I’m worried you’re never going to return. I don’t want to be out of your arms. I want you to always hold me and be close to me, so I know that you aren’t going to leave,” I explain all in one breath. “I don’t want you to go away from me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive without you right next to me.”

Daddy hums and runs his hand through my hair. “Thank you so much for explaining to me and Yamal. I’m so proud of you for doing something that was hard for you.”

Warmth spreads across my body at his words, and the tension leaves my muscles.

“First, I want you to know that I’m never going to leave you. I may have to go to a different room to grab something, but I’m always going to come back for you. You’re mine, and I’m yours, which means we’re going to spend the rest of our very long lives together,” Daddy says.

“I don’t know whether I can deal with you going out of the room without me,” I mumble. “You may tell me that you’re coming back, but my body doesn’t recognize that. It goes to the worst possible scen⁠—”

“Scenario, and before you know it, you’re passing out because you can’t breathe,” Yamal finishes, and I nod.

“What can we do, Yamal?” Daddy asks.

“I want you to keep her close to you at all times. I know you might need to do things that require you to put her in the kennel. When you do that, you need to stay within eyesight of her. I want you also to give her a suppository that will help with the anxiety every time she feels it coming on,” Yamal rattles on. “You’re going to need to be honest with your Daddy whenever you feel the anxiety so he can give you medicine. I also don’t want you to lie to get the medicine, either. We don’t want to rely on these but find a natural way that can help you.”