Take Me Daddy: Unholy Devotion

My Daughter

Margaret's POV

I moved toward the veranda, pushing the door open, but the moment I stepped out, I froze. This wasn’t the place to speak to my daughter.

Not like this. I turned immediately and walked away, my grip tightening around my phone as I made my way out of the club entirely.

The moment I stepped outside, everything changed.

Silence.

Not complete silence, but enough to feel like a different world. The noise behind me faded into something distant. The cold night air hit my face, brushing against my skin, slipping through my hair and pushing it across my face.

I took a breath. Then another. Like I had just escaped something.

"Hey," I finally said, bringing the phone back to my ear.

"Are you at a party?" she asked immediately, her voice clear now, direct, almost too sharp.

For a moment, I said nothing.

The question sat there.

Heavy.

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked, my voice rising slightly before I could control it.

The defensiveness came too quickly. Even I could hear it.

"No… enjoy your day. I just called to say I'm back," she said.

Back.

The word hit me harder than it should have. And suddenly, it clicked. She had been away.

For two days. And I didn’t even remember.

The realization settled into my chest slowly, then all at once, like something collapsing inward.

What kind of mother forgets something like that? I closed my eyes briefly, pressing my lips together as a quiet shame crept in.

"Mind telling me about your whereabouts, young lady?" I asked, trying to regain some control in my voice, though it didn’t come from anger.

"Just went out to chill with some friends," she replied. I knew that tone. That wasn’t the full truth.

"Your friends and Alissa weren't among them?" I asked. There was a small pause on the other end.

"Mom, I'm tired of this interrogation. I just called to let you know I'm okay, that's all," she said.

I expected the line to go dead. But it didn’t.

She stayed. And that alone softened something in me.

"Okay… have you eaten?" I asked, my voice quieter now, softer, like I was holding onto something fragile.

"I'm not a baby anymore, Mom. I'm an adult!" she replied. A small smile formed on my lips despite everything.Of course she would say that.

"Okay, my love. Take good care of yourself, okay?" I said as I started walking toward the street, lifting my hand slightly to signal a taxi.

"Okay… where is Sebastian? I want to say hi."

I paused for a brief second. That question felt unexpected.

"I'm not with him here. Maybe I will call when we are together," I replied.

There was a small silence. Then she muttered something that sounded like disappointment before ending the call.

I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and stared at the screen for a moment longer than necessary. The night air felt colder now. Different.

"Melissa wants to talk with Sebastian? That's a little bit strange though," I muttered to myself, my brows pulling together slightly.

But even as I said it, something else lingered beneath that thought. Something quieter. Heavier.

I had been sitting in a room, watching something I shouldn’t have been watching, allowing myself to be pulled into something I knew could destroy what I had… and at the same time, my daughter was out there, living her own life, making her own choices, pulling away from me in ways I didn’t fully understand yet.

And I wasn’t even paying attention. I wasn’t even present. The realization sat heavy in my chest. Maybe too heavy.

A taxi slowed down in front of me, and I raised my hand fully this time, signaling it to stop. The driver pulled over, and I opened the door, sliding into the seat without hesitation.

As the car pulled away, I leaned back slightly, my eyes drifting to the window.

The city lights moved past me in a blur. But my mind wasn’t in the city. It wasn’t at the club. It wasn’t even on Julia. It was on my daughter.