Adopted by the Billionaire✔️

[21]

Ellie's POV
I woke up and slid out of bed.
The floor felt cold on my feet. I went to the bathroom, did my business like Daddy taught me, then washed my hands. When I opened my door, I smelled food.
"Jenna!" I called.
She was sitting at the kitchen table with a book.
"Hey, Ellie!" she said, smiling. She put her book down. "You finally woke up."
I blinked at her.
"It's ten‑thirty," she said, pointing at the clock.
I slept that long?
Wow.
"That's late," I said. My tummy growled right after.
"I'll make you breakfast," Jenna said.
"I go see Shelly and Sam," I told her.
I skipped into the living room and waved at the turtles. "I'm back! Did you miss me?" I asked them. I sprinkled food into the tank and watched them move.
My tummy growled again. Louder.
I ran back to the kitchen and climbed into my booster seat.
"Is food ready?" I asked, trying to be patient.
"Just a minute," Jenna said.
Then I smelled it.
French toast.
My eyes got big.
Finally, she put a plate in front of me.
"Thank you!" I said, grabbing my fork.
"Ellie, you're such a young lady," Jenna said.
I tilted my head. "That's good?"
She nodded. "Very good."
I smiled and took a big bite.
"So," Jenna asked, "what do you want to do today?"
I thought really hard.
"Let's play hospital!" I said. "I'm the doctor!"
She laughed. "Okay, Doctor Ellie."
"Say ah!" I told her, pretending my fork was a tool.
After that, I changed my mind.
"Let's make brownies!"
We got all the stuff from the pantry. It took a long time. When I looked at the clock, it said eleven‑ten. Time is confusing.
"What's your full name?" Jenna asked while we mixed.
"Eliana," I said.
"That's a beautiful name," she said.
When the brownies were done, I climbed onto the couch and rolled around.
"When is Daddy coming back?" I asked.
"I don't know," Jenna said softly. "But soon, I hope."
I did somersaults. Then I went into Daddy's big office room. It was quiet and smelled like books.
"Ellie?" Jenna called.
"I'm just looking," I said.
Then I heard the front door.
I ran as fast as I could.
"Daddy!" I yelled.
He was taking off his jacket. He smiled and picked me up.
"Princess," he said.
"Me and Jenna made brownies!" I told him.
"Did you save me one?" he asked.
I nodded hard. "Yes!"
I told him everything—about the turtles, and Max and Ruby, and the brownies.
"I'm glad you had fun," he said.
Then he looked at Jenna.
"Baby girl," Daddy said, kissing my forehead, "I need to talk to Jenna about grown‑up things."
My face felt really hot.
Warm.
Happy.
He never kissed me like that before.
I went back to the living room and turned on Max and Ruby.
I felt safe.

revision: 3.10.26