Please Me Daddy (Gracie) novel Chapter 170

Do you think I look too skinny?

Grace

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking away sleep. For a long moment, I just stared at the ceiling, my breathing slow and steady. Then I turned my head and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

9p.m.

I sighed and covered my face with one hand.

God. How stressful.

Two days had passed. Ever since the fever knocked me down, I’d barely been able to stand. The doctor had come two days ago, given me an injection and a pile of medication, and since then Eleanor, Wyatt, and the twins had practically taken shifts guarding me. They closed the restaurant. The twins skipped school. Eleanor barely slept. They fed me, wiped my sweat, sat beside me, talked to me even when I could barely respond, then I’d fall asleep again, over and over.

I was used to taking care of myself when I was sick, but this time the fever must’ve been brutal, because if they weren’t here, I didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened.

I pushed the blanket off and sat up slowly. My body ached everywhere, but I ignored it and let myself breathe for a few seconds before standing. I walked to the mirror, and the moment I saw my reflection, I grimaced. I looked skinnier. My face was still pale, and my hair was a complete bird’s nest.

As I adjusted my hair, my fingers brushed the necklace resting against my collarbone.

It was still there.

Apollo’s necklace. The one he’d put on me right before everything spiraled. I hadn’t taken it off since. Just seeing it made something in my chest warm.

I closed my eyes, shook my head, and slowly took it off. I placed it gently on the counter before removing my wrinkled dress and heading into the bathroom.

I filled the bathtub with warm water and added soap until the scent filled the room. When it was ready, I stepped in, sank down, and let out a soft moan of relief.

“Oh, that feels so good.”

I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had a proper bath. Scooping warm water into my hands, I poured it over my shoulders. Leaning back against the tub, I finally felt human again.

I tilted my head back against the bathtub and muttered under my breath, “I wonder how he’s doing…”

It had been two days since I last saw Apollo. Two long, strange days where every time I woke up, he was the first thought in my head. And when I slept, I dreamed about him.

It was becoming too much. I was starting to think I’d lost my mind. I didn’t know I had this many feelings for him.

I bit my lip, took a deep breath, and pushed my head under the water, trying to drown the thoughts away.

Was he even worried about me? Eleanor had called in sick for me at work, but was he even aware I was sick? And even if he did know, why would he be worried about something so small? It’s just a fever. He’s busy. He has a whole empire to run. Why would he care about a sick woman who can’t handle herself properly?

Still, part of me pouted at the idea of him not caring.

Just then, the door to my room opened.

1/3

I pushed myself up from the water, smoothing my wet halt back with one hand. “Eleanor? Is that you?”

No answer.

I didn’t think much of it. It had to be Eleanor. No one else would walk into my room, let alone my bathroom. The twins couldn’t reach the bathroom door handle, and Wyatt wouldn’t burst in on me. Eleanor was probably being dramatic again.

Without turning, I kept talking, dipping my fingers into the water. “Do you think I look too skinny?” I asked, touching my neck, feeling how sharp it was. “Hmm… I think I have to eat more, I can’t go to work like this. I’ll look like a ghost.”

I stared at my hands, pale from being sick. “I can’t have him seeing me like this.”

The words slipped out, and my face flushed immediately.

Normally, I didn’t think about things like this. I didn’t care much about my appearance, especially not when I was sick. But now, I was suddenly hyperaware of everything.

He did this to me.

Without even being here, he was in my head.

I shook my head, sinking deeper into the warm water until it rose over my shoulders. “Don’t laugh at me, Eleanor, I know I’m being weird.”

I could already imagine the face she’d make, the amusement she always wore whenever I spiraled into unnecessary thoughts.

“But seriously,” I continued, “can you even blame me? I mean, aside from the fact that I want to impress him, he’s strange, and unpredictable. Half the time he looks at me like I’m something delicate he’s afraid to break, and the other half like he wants to throw me out of a twenty–story window just because I breathed wrong.”

My lips twitched in amusement. “What if he takes one look at me and says, ‘Get out. You’re spoiling my eyesight with your ugly appearance.”

The laugh that slipped out was loud, echoing around the bathroom.

No, it didn’t sound like Apollo, but I wouldn’t put it completely past him to say something cruel with a calm face if he was in a bad mood. He could cut someone with words sharper than knives.

“I can already picture it, he’ll stare at me with those cold eyes of his, lift one brow like he’s judging all my life decisions, and then throw me out of the building without a second thought.

“Security, take her away,” I mimicked dramatically. But the moment the joke died on my tongue, a different image replaced it, one that made my stomach twist in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

“Or…” My voice softened without meaning to. I swallowed. Or he might not mind. Maybe he’ll look at me like I was the only thing in the room worth his attention. He might even tell me I look beautiful.”

My heart stuttered.

“And then he might have me on his desk in a minute.”

My entire face went up in flames.

God. What was wrong with me? Maybe the fever fried my brain. Maybe I lost the ability to control my imagination. Or maybe being away from him for two days did something to me, because every tiny thought was orbiting around him.

2/3

I lifted one leg slowly, water dripping down my skin, and traced my fingertips along the line of my thigh, trying to distract myself from the heat pooling embarrassingly low in my stomach. 1 swear, I won’t be able to walk the next day after he’s done with me.”

A quiet groan escaped me at the thought. “Ah, I shouldn’t be talking like this. I just got better.” 1 dropped my leg back into the water and frowned.

Something was off,

It was too quiet.

“Eleanor?” I called, glancing over my shoulder even though I couldn’t see much from the tub. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did something happen?” I shifted in the water, suddenly uneasy. “Eleanor? Are you okay? What happened-”

When I turned, the world stopped.

It wasn’t Eleanor.

It wasn’t Eleanor at all.

Standing there, leaning against the wall as if he’d been there the entire time, arms crossed with sleeves rolled up just enough to reveal strong forearms, hair slightly messy from running his hands through it, tie nowhere in sight was Apollo Reed was staring at me in the bathtub.

His hazel eyes were locked on mine.

My mouth fell open, but no sound came out.

My brain went blank.

Oh my fucking God.

I was dead. 1

Grace, you’re a goner.

Elija

Author

Lol, Gace never learns, she keeps making fun of her man.

D

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