Page 25 of Liberating Lily

“Then how come you haven’t eaten it in a long time?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Mother said it was fattening and that I had to watch my weight so I didn’t end up . . .”

“End up what?” he asked.

Like Clem.

God, Mother really was a complete and utter bitch. There was nothing wrong with the way Clem looked. She was beautiful and fun and brave.

Lily wished she could be more like her.

But she’d let Mother do whatever she wanted.

“End up fat, I guess.”

“She wouldn’t let you eat pasta? Because she thought you would get fat?”

Lily shrugged, looking away. It sounded ridiculous when he said it. Why would she even let her mother dictate stuff like that?

Because it was easier? Because she didn’t have any fight left in her?

“That won’t be happening anymore,” he said to her. “From now on, you eat pasta whenever you want. And as much as you like.”

“Is that a command?” she asked, remembering what he’d said about commands earlier.

“It is.”

“You don’t think Mother should get to dictate what I eat, but you do?”

He stilled, standing there, holding two bowls of food. Her stomach decided that was the perfect time to growl. Urgh, her stomach never growled. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt hungry.

Right now, though, she felt ravenous.

That seemed to startle him out of his frozen state, and he set the bowl of food down in front of her.

“I get why you’d say that. But I am nothing like your mother. I want you to be healthy, and happy, and safe. It seems to me that all she wanted was for you to be her puppet. No matter what pain or stress it caused you. She didn’t seem to care about your welfare at all.”

That wasn’t true.

Wasn’t it?

When had her mother ever cared about her health, though? The only thing that concerned her was keeping up with appearances and making sure that she could live in the style to which she was accustomed.

All Lily had ever done was try to please her. Just to hear her mother tell her that she was proud. That she loved her.

God. Was she really that pathetic?

It seemed that she was.

“Lily?” he murmured. “What are you thinking?”

She shook her head. Even if she wanted to tell him, she couldn’t get the words out past the lump in her throat.

“I don’t want to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do. The only time I will do that is if it’s in your best interest. If you’re doing something that will harm you, I will make you stop. If you need something for your health or safety, I will make that happen.”

Lord. He really thought he got that power over her?

Well, maybe he had some power at the moment since he was holding her captive. But that didn’t mean she’d just roll over and give him whatever he wanted . . .