Amber Stigmatized

by Viktor Redreich

  She grabbed her napkin and bent over. She saw that the chocolate had landed right on top of his shiny leather shoe.

  Before she could get down on her knees to do what he asked, Daddy grabbed her arm. “Lick it off.” He plucked the napkin from her fingers.

  Without missing a beat, she dropped to her knees in front of him, bent over, and licked the chocolate fudge from his shoe. She would do whatever he asked of her.

  Daddy grabbed her arm again and pulled her up to her feet. He held her to his body, surprising her, because she was certain she was about to be punished for dropping the sauce on him. He pressed his lips hard to hers and, right then, right in front everyone, he said, “Marry me.”

  Amber stared at him, not daring to believe what she’d heard. “Huh?”

  Gasps went through the room around them as others noticed what was going on.

  Daddy gazed back at Amber and brushed his lips over hers. “You heard me. Marry me. Be mine.”

  She cried out with joy and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. So this was why he had wanted her to be on her best behavior, so he could reward her with the best news ever. She couldn’t find the words to express her happiness, so she just kissed him over and over, and he kissed her back, showing everyone who watched that she was his forever.

  Chapter 22

  You're sick

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  The scream rocketed through Amber’s brain. Her eyes shot open and she sat up straight out of a dead sleep, heart pounding so hard in her chest she thought her ribs might break. She skimmed her hands over the warm bed beneath her, trying to figure out where she was.

  Daddy’s bed. His penthouse. It was a week after he asked her to marry him at the gala.

  More yelling reverberated through the house, both voices familiar. She heard Daddy, his deep and commanding tone that came from deep within his chest. The other voice was shrill, but with a rasp to it that made it seem as if might have a husky, sensual quality when the speaker wasn’t infuriated. She swore she knew that voice…

  The two voices yelling at each other blurred until she couldn’t pick them apart. She had no idea what could be going on.

  Worried now, Amber got out of bed and headed out into the hall. She stood at the top of the staircase and hugged her arms around herself. She felt very small and vulnerable, dressed only in pink girly pajamas. She knew it didn’t matter who was down there or for what reason they yelled. She wouldn’t be able to help Daddy.

  But if she didn’t…

  What kind of fiancé would I be if I didn’t go down there and support him?

  Amber squared her shoulders and pulled in a deep breath. She knew she would never be brave. She would never be the face of anything, never lead the way. But that was okay. That wasn’t her place in the world. She was only a little girl. However, she had a lot of love to give and right now, the man she loved was down there and would appreciate having her by his side as he handled whatever this dilemma was.

  She found her voice and called out, “What’s going on?” and descended the stairs.

  Both Daddy and the person he argued with turned to see her. And she saw them, and realized what the problem was.

  The person with the familiar voice, the person screaming at Daddy, was Amber’s mother. Her mother, who had dated Daddy and lived with him over a decade ago when Amber was only 8 years old.

  “Mom?” Amber said, uncertain. She crept closer to Daddy and he pulled her protectively to his side. “What are you doing here?”

  Her mother groaned and covered her face with her hands, seeming so distraught she was beyond words. However, she swiftly recovered from her speechlessness and jabbed her finger at Daddy. “I came as soon as I found out what was going on. I saw it on the news that this… this pervert was dating you! If you can call it dating!”

  Daddy spoke, his voice low and dark. “Your daughter is an adult. She can do as she pleases, and it pleases her to do me.”

  “You’re a pervert! A creep!” Amber’s mother shouted, her voice gaining that shrill edge again. “Dating a girl you knew as a child! That is not the sort of behavior I would have ever expected from a man like you, Kristoff. The man I thought you were, anyway.” She curled her lip.

  Daddy’s nostrils flared, his face turning red with anger. “Krystal, this doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “I’m not finished,” Amber’s mother snapped. “Maybe I can understand why men are attracted to younger women. I certainly used that to my own advantage in my own life. They’re innocent and naïve and will devote everything they have to the man who picks them. But why couldn’t you have picked a different girl? Why Amber, of all people? The poor child has her whole life ahead of her! You’re messing with her life, leading her astray.”

  “Krystal,” Daddy said. He glanced away from her, in the direction of his alcohol cabinet, incapable of keeping eye contact. Amber’s heart hurt for him, to see him feeling so guilty.

  A hot feeling formed in her chest, a fire that tinted her vision red. The two of them had already worked this problem out between themselves. Her mother didn’t need to come here and bring up again what had been buried.

  “Stop it,” Amber said.

  Her mother whirled to face her.

  Amber gulped, but kept her ground. She planted her hands on her hips and stood taller, looking her mother in the eye. “I mean it. Stop it, Mom. This is my life and this is how I want to live it.”

  Her mother gaped at her, clearly astonished. She quickly recovered and shook her head with vehemence. “You’re too young to know how you need to live your life. I’m here to take you home. We’re going to fix this. Fix you.”

  Amber had her turn to gape, unable to believe her ears. “Fix me? You think there’s something wrong with me because I want to live in a different way than you do?”

  “Of course not! There’s something wrong with this sicko who made you believe all of this is okay!” Her mother turned away from her, rounding on Daddy again. “You have no idea the psychological damage you’ve caused her.”

  Daddy’s mouth twisted into a firm, grim line. “Whatever else you think I’ve done, I won’t have you believe I’ve hurt Amber.”

  Amber nodded, hugging her arm tight around his waist. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, Mom.”

  “You’re brainwashed!” Her mother reached out, grabbed her by the wrist. “You’re coming home with me!”

  “No!” Amber cried. She knew what she had to do. She yanked away from her mother. “Leave me alone! Get out of here or I’ll call the police!”

  “Get out of here, Krystal,” Daddy said, voice low. “You don’t want to cause a scene over this.”

  Amber’s mother staggered back, one hand over her chest as if she was having a heart attack, the other waving around behind her. She grasped the doorknob, yanked the door open and spilled backwards into the hallway. “I’ll expose you for what you’re doing, Kristoff. Mark my words, this will come to an end one way or another.”

  “Get out,” Daddy repeated.

  Amber said, “Get out! Go away!”

  Her mother turned and was soon gone, disappearing into the elevator at the end of the hall.

  Daddy abruptly sagged, shoulders slackening. Amber grabbed him and cried out in alarm. “Daddy, are you okay?”

  He straightened and went to shut the door to the apartment, and locked both the regular lock and the deadbolt. He put his hand on the door and spoke, so softly Amber strained to make out what it was he said. “Amber, please know, I’ve only ever done what I thought was right. I have never wanted to take advantage of you. I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

  Her heart tore in half to hear him so sorrowful. She went to him and wriggled her way between his body and the door, looking up into his face. She took his face in her hands and held him. “Daddy,” she said, “you’ve never hurt me. I don’t have any psychological damage. You let me be who I want to be, who I need to be. I really am t
he happiest I have ever been, I swear.”

  He sighed so long and loud she feared he would deflate. “I hoped you’d say that.” He wrapped her up in his arms and held her tight, laying his head on top of hers. “I just wish it hadn’t come to this. Your mother and I were so happy in the past.”

  Amber cuddled up to him and pressed her head to his chest, searching for his heartbeat with her ear. She found it. She could almost have sworn the beating sounded like her name. “It’s not the past anymore. We can’t let that get between us, Daddy. I’m here and you’re here. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Amber.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips. He spoke still with his lips pressed to hers. “I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re always happy.”

  She smiled for him and kissed him again.

  It really hurt her that her mother didn’t approve of what was going on between her and Daddy. She wished things had gone differently. Maybe if she had told her mother about the relationship sooner and prevented her form finding out through the news…

  But it was like she’d told Daddy. They couldn’t dwell on the past. They couldn’t get caught up in what had been or what should have been. They had each other. They needed to move on.

  The pain wouldn’t go away anytime soon, but she knew she could handle it. She would handle it, for her Daddy.

  Chapter 23

  Stigmatized

  Two days after the fight with her mother, something strange began to happen. Amber made no mention of it to Daddy, not wanting to worry him over something that probably didn’t mean anything.

  A number kept calling her.

  The number was unknown to her. That in and of itself wasn’t worrying. She’d been getting spam calls ever since she got her first cell phone at the age of 13. Spammers and scammers were part of life. However, the unknown calls usually came once or twice before stopping, or they resurfaced every now and again when the scammers decided to give it another shot. Never had an unknown number called her like this, almost every hour or two hours, for the whole day.

  She had no idea how to handle it. So, she didn’t. She ignored it, cleared out the missed call notifications as soon as they popped up, and generally proceeded with life as though nothing was amiss. However, though she tried not to let the calls affect her, each one stressed her out even more. She got grumpy and earlier that morning at breakfast she’d even been bratty towards Daddy. Not fun-bratty, but really annoyed at him over something so small she couldn’t recall it afterwards. She fully expected to be punished for her behavior.

  Instead, he had hugged her and told her he loved her, and suggested she spend some time doing something relaxing to help with whatever was upsetting her.

  She loved him so much for understanding when she needed reassurance, versus when she needed him to reign in her naughty side.

  Taking his advice, she grabbed a coloring book and a pack of pencils and lay on her bed. She settled into the activity, filling in an ocean-themed page with bright colors, her stress melting away.

  Her phone lit up, vibrating, with that same mystery number on the screen.

  Amber shoved her pencil down hard on the paper, snapping off the lead. She threw the colored pencil on the floor, frustration rising all over again. She grabbed her phone and made to give it a similar treatment, to dash it against the ground and stop the ringing for good.

  Something stopped her.

  If she didn’t answer her phone, she’d never know what was going on or why.

  She nibbled her lip, then decided to throw caution to the wind and answered the call. “H-hello?”

  “Hello,” a man’s voice said. “Is this Amber?”

  She frowned. “Yes. Who is this?” She had her guard up. Scammers always knew the names of the people they were calling to make themselves seem more genuine.

  “My name is Travis Wallis. I’m a journalist. I’m calling because I wanted to interview you to get your side of the story.”

  “My side of the story?” she repeated, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, all the media coverage has come about as a result of what your mother has said. I expected you might appreciate the opportunity to offer a rebuttal.”

  Amber shook her head and then remembered the journalist couldn’t see her. “Mr. Travis, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Travis sighed. “You don’t have to pretend.”

  “I’m not pretending!” she insisted. “I really, really don’t know what you’re talking about and if you don’t explain to me right now, I’m hanging up. And then you’ll never get… whatever it is you’re after!”

  There was a pause on the other end, so long she wondered if it would ever end. When Travis spoke again, he sounded awed. “You really don’t know.”

  “I told you I don’t!”

  “Wow. I’m sorry, I’m just shocked. You must not watch the news.”

  “I don’t need to know about the news.”

  “O-kay.” The journalist cleared his throat. “Well. That means I’m going to be the bearer of bad news.”

  A lump formed in Amber’s throat. Somehow, she had known it. She shouldn’t have answered the call. But would it have been any better to not know anything?

  “Amber, your mother went to the press to tell us what’s going on between you and Kristoff. She has told us all about how you and her lived with him when you were only 8. And now you’re dating him, engaged to him if that information is correct.”

  Amber put her head in her hand and sighed. Leave it to her mother to go off and cause something like this.

  Travis continued, “Your relationship has been called incestuous and morally wrong. The coverage has been purely negative. That’s why I did some digging to get a hold of your number. I wanted to give you a chance to put everything to rights. Tell your side of the story.”

  Maybe I should get Daddy and tell him about this, Amber thought. He could handle it. He always knew what to do. She started to tell the polite journalist man of her plan and then stopped herself. The icky, judgmental people of the world would really read into her handing the phone over when she was being asked for her side. They’d think she was brainwashed. Well, she wasn’t. She had her own voice, and she was going to use it.

  “Okay,” she replied finally. “You can ask me some questions. But if I find out you lie about anything I tell you, you’ll be sorry.” She’d get Daddy to take him down.

  “Of that, I’m certain,” Travis replied, seeming unamused. “Okay. Some of my questions may seem basic or plain incorrect, but that’s just to get the details correct.”

  “I understand.” Amber paid very close attention. She needed to represent both herself and Daddy accurately. She wouldn’t get a second chance.

  “Great. So, first question. Can you confirm for me what is the nature of your relationship with Kristoff?”

  “Well, he asked me to marry him and I said yes. But even before that, he was my Daddy. He’s been my Daddy for a long time.”

  “You don’t mean he’s your father.”

  Amber held back her annoyance, sensing this was one of those questions the journalist had to ask for clarity’s sake. “No. We’re not biologically related, but he’s my Daddy.”

  “Can you clarify? Do you mean you see him as a step-dad? A father figure? He did date your mother and occupied that position in your life.”

  “Other than when he dated Mom, no. That’s not what he is to me. It was years and years ago that he was Mom’s boyfriend.”

  Travis paused and Amber heard papers being shifted on his end of the line. “So, it really would help matters if people understood the dynamic you two have. Is he your sugardaddy?”

  Travis’s voice lacked judgment, which was surprising and encouraging. Amber replied, “He supports me financially and buys me things. He bought me a hamster. But he’s not my sugardaddy. He’s Daddy.”

  “What’s the difference, Amber?”

  Finally, asking the righ
t questions. She jumped on the chance to explain properly. “A sugardaddy, a girl pays with sex. But a Daddy loves his little girl and spends money on her and takes care of her because he loves her and wants her to be happy. And I love him. I belong with him, to him. There’s no other way I’d rather live, and no other man I’d rather be with.”

  “Thank you for informing me. However, there is the matter where a room full of people witnessed you leaning down and licking his shoe… Was that real?”

  “Yes. I spilled sauce on it when we were having dessert. Daddy told me to clean it up, so I did.” She recalled how she had felt, kneeling on the ground, so completely his servant. Her kitty tingled, thinking about it.

  “That’s demeaning, isn’t it? Something a slave would be forced to do.”

  Amber shrugged. She again realized Travis couldn’t see her. “I’m shrugging right now,” she told him. “I don’t really think much of your question. I did it because I wanted to. I have a choice, and I chose to obey.”

  “What do you mean, obey?” Travis flipped papers furiously. He wrote down what they said, his pen scratching on paper. “Sounds like an unequal relationship. How can that be healthy?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. It is an unequal relationship. It naturally is. He’s Daddy and I’m his little girl.”

  “Does he call you that?”

  “He calls me lots of things.”

  “Oh-kay. But isn’t that a little creepy?”

  Amber frowned. “Why would it be creepy?”

  “Some people have said that they feel it’s creepy for Kristoff to be treating you the way he is. He’s infantizing you, treating you like a child.” Travis flipped more papers. Amber waited with growing impatience. “I have some key words here. People have said he treats you as though you’re ‘ditzy, mindless, and silly.’ They have also said it’s inappropriate that he treats you like a child. It has everyone wondering how he would act around an actual child.”

  Amber let out a disgusted sound, letting this journalist know exactly how she felt about the opinions of others. “First of all, I am silly. I am ditzy. I guess I might even be mindless. I like to be happy and appreciate the good parts of life. If that makes me mindless, then whatever. I’m not hurting anyone.”