complete Breaking the Girl: A Novel

[chansu ragedashi]

6 hours ago, bbykimmy said:

Not quiiiiite the same thing, Drax was oblivious, whereas I'm aware that I'm vain and a little ashamed of it because it's not a virtuous trait.

You're not vain, but it reminded me of Drax's quote in the way it was worded.

6 hours ago, bbykimmy said:

And the sloth ones are my favorite wintertime PJs, in the summer my favorite are my shark PJs with sharp, fierce teeth.  Raaar.

Ive seen those before, if i wasnt already out of space for awesome PJs i might have gotten those or Toothless, I still might get Toothless if I see them online again somewhere.

[bbykimmy]

Chapter Sixteen

I had imagined many different scenarios regarding how I would bring Dani to my apartment... but this was not even close to any of them.  I felt off-guard, off-center.  I had been waiting for this moment, but it was so far from what I had imagined.  I was supposed to bring her in after a long, romantic dinner and make love to her.  To show her a tender side of me, to coax out that vulnerable part of her.  To get her to admit that she enjoyed being cared for.  To hold her and caress her and reassure her that what I wanted from her more than anything else was her trust and her vulnerability.  To show her the joys of gentle domination.

Now she was standing here in my living room, and I had no plan, no play, and she was bothered by Jess.

"Sorry, she's excitable," I explained.  "She's a really sweet person though."

"It's no big deal," Dani smiled reassuringly, dropping her laptop bag just inside the door as I closed it.  "They seem like nice people."

"Seth is the best," I agreed.  "We've been friends for quite a few years now.  I value him.  Come on, I'll show you to the spare bedroom.  I've cleaned it up a bit - I use it for work sometimes, but I've emptied it out for you."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Dani apologized, sounding pained.  "I didn't mean to inconvenience you."

"It's not a big deal, I swear."  I led her back to the guest room, hoping that we hadn't missed anything odd, a pacifier on the floor or something.  The bed didn't look exactly normal - the headboard and footboard had been lowered to half-height, the back crib railing was all the way up, but the front railing was folded beneath the bed and beneath the skirt, invisible.  It just looked like a slightly odd daybed.  "This is it, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need.  I'm really sorry about the fire.  Hopefully renter's insurance will have you back on your feet in no time."

"Yeah," Dani sighed, setting her backpack down just inside the door.  "I started the claim, but they've got quite a few from that building.  I hope they can process them quickly."  She looked to be on the verge of tears.

I simply opened my arms and welcomed her into a hug.  She stepped into my embrace and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, breathing in her peach scent.  It took a good twenty seconds before she relaxed in my arms, and her body began shaking with sobs.  I made soft, soothing noises as I held her, just listening to her cry.  My heart broke for her, this kind, gentle girl who didn't deserve this pain.

"All my stuff is gone, Vanessa.  All I have is the clothes I'm wearing and my computer.  I don't know what I'm going to do.  Everything's falling apart... Jenni isn't talking to me right now and yesterday Julian and I got in a fight," she said after her sobs began to subside.  Her face was buried in my shoulder, my hand stroking her hair softly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently, guiding us over to the bed and sitting with her on the mattress.  I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my lap, to hold her tight.  The calculating part of me noted how vulnerable she was right now, how easy it would be to cut her off from the people who hurt her and guide her to the life I wanted for her... but that wouldn't be healthy for Dani in the long run.  It was hard to weigh that against my own desires.

"I guess I do," she laughed a halting laugh as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  "I hadn't even planned on saying anything... you give really good hugs."  I gave her a comforting smile and waited.  Dani lowered her eyes and folded her hands in her lap, obviously struggling with where to begin.  "I don't want to burden you."  She said dejectedly.

"Your pain is not a burden to me," I promised her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.  "I am offering to listen.  You don't have to tell me about it, but if you want to, I'm here."

"I got really mad at his best friend at dinner the other night," she began, a deep, shuddering sigh exiting her lips.  "I said something about his silly tie - it had tabasco sauce bottles on it - and he made fun of my purse.  I told him that it wasn't okay to mock that, that I really like my purse and he just... he kept piling it on.  Why is it so wrong for me to like a stuffed animal purse?  Do you know how many different people have hassled me about Forrest?  At work, on dates... ugh!  Why should I have to conform to what they want?"  She was almost shouting by the end, I simply leaned over and kissed her on the temple.

"You shouldn't," I said softly.

"Julian didn't defend me.  When we got back to his place after dinner, he told me... " she choked up.  I gave her space to breathe, just holding her with one arm.  I wanted so badly to hug her, to grab her phone and dial Julian and bawl him out.  "He told me I was being immature over the whole thing.  He said I was acting like a child, that it was just a stupid purse, that Andrew didn't mean anything by it.  I tried to get Jenni to see my side of it later, but she agreed with him!  She said I should just throw my purse away and get a 'real' one!"  She broke down again, burying her face. "Maybe they're right, maybe I'm being stupid."

"Hey," I squeezed her, reaching behind us with my free arm and picking up the plush squirrel that I had almost sat on.  "I don't agree.  In fact, I got you this."  I held the toy out to her, a great big grey squirrel with a soft, bushy tail.  It didn't matter that I had probably had it for years, as far as she knew, I bought it yesterday.  "I figured Forrest needed a squirrel friend, even though he already has you for a bestie."

"Oh my... " she breathed, taking the squirrel toy in her arms and holding it tight.  "Oh Vanessa, thank you."  She sniffled and the tears began anew.  "This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time.  But I can't... I have to stop doing this to myself.  I'm an adult, it's time I grew up."  She sniffled.  "Jenni and Julian are right and I know it."  Tears streamed down her face as she told the lie, it hurt me so much to watch her do it to herself.

"So what if you like stuffed animals?  So what if you have a cute purse?  Why is that such a bad thing?" I voiced her own thoughts back to her.  She needed to hear that I was on her side.  "You're not hurting anyone."

"Aren't I though?" she sighed.  "It makes it hard to take me seriously.  Maybe it's been hurting my career advancement all along?  I mean, I've followed Jenni's advice and updated my wardrobe... " she trailed off as her face fell.  "Which I don't have any more.  Crap, what am I going to do for clothes?"

"We're going to go shopping," I smiled a smile that said 'Everything is going to be fine' and squeezed her again.  "Your renter's insurance should cut you a check to cover the damages, including replacing your clothing."

"But what am I going to do in the meantime?  I got the claim started, but what about right now?  I still have to go to work tomorrow."  She frowned down at her outfit.  "And I don't get paid for another week.. I don't have the cash to buy new clothes right now!"

"I'll buy you some clothes tonight," I stroked her arm and pulled her head gently back to my shoulder.

"I can't let you do that," she protested.  "You're already doing so much for me!"

"Tomorrow is my last day with A-Tech," I assured her. "They're cutting me a check for the second half of the contract, so don't worry about that.  We can spend a little bit to buy you a few outfits.  Are you sure you don't want to call in sick tomorrow?  I think 'my house burned down' qualifies as a legitimate reason to take some time off."

"I can't," she groaned.  "My project deadline is next week and if I miss any time and we miss that deadline... well, I'll be looking for an apartment and a job."

"Well let's go buy you some clothes then.  And don't worry about looking for another place right away.  I've always thought it was kind of dumb that I had a two bedroom, but I've always liked the space and I'll be honest... I think it's going to be nice sharing it with you.  I mean," I pitched my voice in a gently teasing way, "voice comms are great and all, but now when I need my healer you'll be in the same room."

"You're right," she laughed.  "We won't even need headsets!  Thanks, Vanessa.  Thanks for everything.  I just... I didn't think I could face Julian and ask for his help right now... I think things are going to be okay between us, but moving in with a boyfriend after dating them for only a couple of weeks smacks of desperation, right?"  She laughed nervously and I hid the hurt that I felt from that comment.  She really didn't think of me as a romantic contender at the moment, and I wasn't sure how to correct that.. "Moving in with the girl you dated three times is much more secure, I guess.  Thanks for being your amazing self, Vanessa.  You.. "

"You don't have to say anything," I took advantage of her pause, trying to give her an out.  She was overwrought and overwhelmed - if she were my Little, she'd be going down for a nap.

"I want to," she said confidently.  "I don't deserve you.  We went on three dates and I ditched you, but you've been my friend this whole time.  You haven't pushed, you haven't prodded.  You haven't asked me anything about Julian... all you've done is be my friend and I don't... I don't deserve your friendship."

"Shh," I couldn't resist it any longer, I did pull her into my lap as I scooted back on the bed, turning her body so her face was buried in my shoulder.  "It's okay.  You do deserve my friendship, you deserve that and so much more.  You're a beautiful, kind person.  You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to express your happiness in a way that makes you feel good without anyone's opinions bringing you down.  You are a wonderful woman, Dani - and I'm deeply glad I've gotten to know you."

She cried in my arms for a while, wracking sobs as the pain and fear of the past few days overwhelmed her.  I held her while she cried, stroking her hair and rocking her gently.  My poor princess.  My sweet girl, so hurt that she lost her things, so hurt that her boyfriend had been mean to her.  She was a fragile flower and I wanted nothing more than to protect her.

Eventually, her tears slowed... and she drifted off to sleep.  I laid her down on the bed, wishing with everything I had that I could raise the bars on the crib, that I could keep her safe and sound.  I slipped the stuffed squirrel into her arms and tucked a pillow beneath her head before I walked out of the room to make her something to eat... she had likely just come from work and hadn't eaten anything.

I stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching her slumber.  This was so close to what I wanted, so close to perfect... and I had more hope in that moment than I had in weeks.

[YourFNF]

1 hour ago, bbykimmy said:

Chapter Sixteen.

Interesting Vanessa seems to be exhibiting genuine concern for another person and she seems to legitimately like Seth. I'm wondering if the earlier behavior that seemed sociopathic was actually a learned defensive strategy.

[Guilend]

So good, i almost cried.

[Wannatripbaby]

1 hour ago, YourFNF said:

Interesting Vanessa seems to be exhibiting genuine concern for another person and she seems to legitimately like Seth. I'm wondering if the earlier behavior that seemed sociopathic was actually a learned defensive strategy.

I personally believe that sociopathy, as well as other mental/personality traits, exist as ratios rather than fixed absolutes. And that these traits can fluctuate to a certain degree. Vanessa may have a high sociopathy rating, but certain things can cause that to shift back towards empathy.

At least that's my uneducated theory on human behavior.

[bbykimmy]

38 minutes ago, Aries said:

So good, i almost cried.

Glad you're enjoying it

5 minutes ago, Wannatripbaby said:

I personally believe that sociopathy, as well as other mental/personality traits, exist as ratios rather than fixed absolutes. And that these traits can fluctuate to a certain degree. Vanessa may have a high sociopathy rating, but certain things can cause that to shift back towards empathy.

At least that's my uneducated theory on human behavior.

Sociopathy tends to be indicated by a lack of empathy.  A sociopath manipulates others because they see other people as lesser.  Vanessa appears to have empathy at times but not at others.  She was exceptionally cold with Kailee and Aubrey, but can be quite warm with Jess... but many people who have difficulty processing empathy and reading the emotional signals of others can learn how to fake it

[HyperShark]

Great chapter Kimmy! Personally, this was the one I have enjoyed the most out of all of them. Looking forward to seeing how things progress from here now that we have reached a stage that Dani and Venessa are more together.

[bbykimmy]

9 minutes ago, HyperShark said:

Great chapter Kimmy! Personally, this was the one I have enjoyed the most out of all of them. Looking forward to seeing how things progress from here now that we have reached a stage that Dani and Venessa are more together.

Chapter 7's tantrum is still my fav

[RambleLamb]

This gave me feels and I demand recompense in the form of more of your wonderful story!

No silly guesses or craziness this time, just appreciation for all your talents and a wish for nothing bad to happen to any of these people.

[the diaper mike]

Oh my God an amazing twist and great emotion I love it continued Kimmy

[bbykimmy]

4 hours ago, RambleLamb said:

This gave me feels and I demand recompense in the form of more of your wonderful story!

No silly guesses or craziness this time, just appreciation for all your talents and a wish for nothing bad to happen to any of these people.

You haven't read any of my stories then, have you?   

Let's see, my favorite characters are Opal and Wendy...

4 hours ago, the diaper mike said:

Oh my God an amazing twist and great emotion I love it continued Kimmy

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!  I finished writing chapter 23 last night, so the story is still going!

[garyg]

Hopefully, Dani will be reminded before clothes shopping that though suppressing her true self may make her business life more successful, it will not bring her happiness. Also, I assume a crib has a plastic cover that Dani is bound to notice

 

[Baby Billy]

Nice chapter Kimmy, and the stuffie was prefect. Just if I had a crib set up I would have a plastic mattress on it for sure, babies leak sometime.  

[bbykimmy]

1 hour ago, garyg said:

Hopefully, Dani will be reminded before clothes shopping that though suppressing her true self may make her business life more successful, it will not bring her happiness. Also, I assume a crib has a plastic cover that Dani is bound to notice

A healthy adult balances kink and mature life - I wouldn't wear Little clothes to work (although I have worn padding under my adult clothes to work).

And Dani isn't necessarily suppressing her true self... it is yet undiscovered

1 hour ago, Baby Billy said:

Nice chapter Kimmy, and the stuffie was prefect. Just if I had a crib set up I would have a plastic mattress on it for sure, babies leak sometime.  

Fun fact:  squirrels are my favorite animal.  I'm especially partial to the British Red squirrel and the Japanese squirrel (omg those eyes).

Did you know that you can get a Southern Flying Squirrel as a pet in Texas?  And that they imprint?  You carry the babies in a pouch until they're ready and they bond with you and love you forever.

...I like squirrels.

[Wannatripbaby]

7 minutes ago, bbykimmy said:

Did you know that you can get a Southern Flying Squirrel as a pet in Texas?  And that they imprint?  You carry the babies in a pouch until they're ready and they bond with you and love you forever.

...I like squirrels.

I did not know that. Now I want a pouch-squirrel. 

[Kio Rampas]

On 7/9/2018 at 3:24 PM, YourFNF said:

Interesting Vanessa seems to be exhibiting genuine concern for another person and she seems to legitimately like Seth. I'm wondering if the earlier behavior that seemed sociopathic was actually a learned defensive strategy.

I can easily see being into ABDL encouraging people towards being very careful in their relationships. Vanessa has to balance a professional life and a personal life and has more reason than most to need to maintain that separation and privacy. From there it's not hard to rationalize doing a bit of research, and progress quickly into stalkery behaviour to make sure that the object of your affections won't end up being the kind of person who might turn around and blow her professional veneer.

 

It's still an invasion of privacy, but what seems to make the difference between calculating behaviour and full-blown predatory behaviour is how we see that she doesn't take advantage of Dani when she's at her most vulnerable. She knows she could, and she's deliberately not. A bit of a moral grey zone, though.

[bbykimmy]

Chapter Seventeen

I let Dani sleep for around twenty minutes before I woke her - we still needed to go to the store and buy her a few outfits and some toiletries.  She likely wasn't thinking about the fact that she didn't even have a toothbrush.

"Dani," I said softly, shaking her shoulder.  "Come on, you can't sleep too long.  We've got to go to the store yet."

"What?" she mumbled blearily as she sat up, clutching the squirrel to her.

"You fell asleep," I explained.  "You were exhausted.  Come on, I made you a sandwich."

She blushed, setting the stuffed toy down on the bed before following me to the kitchen.  I had a sandwich cut into triangles waiting for her, with a glass of milk and a small pile of potato chips.

"Did you.. you made me peanut butter and jelly?" she laughed, sitting down at the table.  "Jeez, I really must seem like a kid to you, huh?"

"Not at all," I sat down across from her, staring into her green eyes - the puffiness in her face had gone down with her sleep, but she was blushing, embarrassed.  "It's one of my favorite comfort foods," I told the half-truth.  It was one of my favorite comfort foods... to feed to distraught Littles.  I hadn't met a Little yet who didn't like peanut butter.  "I just thought you might like it, too.  If you don't, I'll make you something else and I'll eat it?"

"No, it's... it's actually one of my favorites too, thanks."  

Of course it is, I thought to myself, you're a Little and you don't even know it.

"So," I smiled over my own cup of tea while she crunched on chips, "is Target okay?  We'll get you some clothes and then come back here for some gaming and decompression?"

"Yeah," she agreed, but a sour look crossed her face.  "I need to call Julian at some point though.  Ugh, that's not going to be a fun conversation.  I mean, I have to tell him my place burned down, but I kinda have to explain why I'm not staying with him in the meantime... "

"Just say you're with a friend who lives closer to your job - I am closer, right - and you'll be apartment hunting soon.  Better to be closer - you can deal with the emotional underpinnings later."  She looked unconvinced.  "I'm not saying that you should lie to him, but if you're not ready to confront those feelings then you need to give yourself the space and the freedom not to just yet.  It's okay."

"You're right," she sighed.  "I'm just kind of bad at hiding things - I wear my heart on my sleeve."

"And I like that about you - but your feelings belong to you and if you're not ready to talk about something, you shouldn't have to.  If he presses it, just tell him you're not ready to talk about it but that you will as soon as you are."

"You're really smart," Dani smiled at me, placing a hand gently on mine.

"Understanding people and feelings is part of my job," I shrugged, patting her hand gently.  "Think nothing of it.  I do have a question though."  This question would answer a lot, actually - how deeply ingrained was her Little self?  Was it close to the surface or was it repressed?  She had good reasons to repress it, a lot of societal pressure - but I was hoping that wasn't true.  She looked at me intently, waiting for a shoe to drop.  "What are you going to name your new squirrel friend?"

"What?" she burst out laughing - it made me wonder what she thought I was going to ask.  "I don't... " she blushed, preparing to tell me a fib.  She had named it already.  Her Little self was very close to the surface - it was the only thing that made sense.

"It's okay," I reassured her.  "You don't have to tell me, even if you did.  I was just curious... I was hoping you liked the squirrel."

"I do," she smiled sheepishly.  "They really are my favorite.  And... " she paused, looking down.  "I named him Nutsy."

My heart melted - that was the first name I had guessed for her purse.  A smile of genuine warmth spread across my lips as my princess stuffed too big of a bite into her mouth and washed it down with milk.

*   *   *

Our shopping trip began quite well.  She found several outfits that would qualify as both "mature" and "business casual" - which for women was generally very formal.  She stressed over the price tags, but I assured her it was nothing.  I wasn't rich by any means - living in Cupertino was obscenely expensive, my two bedroom was four thousand a month and that was just rent.  Thankfully, the jobs I worked paid me well - the benefit of doing someone else's dirty work - and I had relatively few other expenses.  I had a nice nest egg that would last me a long time if I had trouble finding another job, but there was currently no worry there.  Lots of companies were experiencing the growing pains that A-Tech had been.  I was glad that job was over, however.  I had recently bought an 18,000 piece puzzle depicting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and I was itching to start on it.  After weeks of dealing with crying employees and blackmail, I was ready to lose myself to the purely cerebral activity of a puzzle.

Once we had a week's worth of clothing, Dani announced that she was ready to go.

Instead, I led her to the personal care section, and picked out a pink princess toothbrush for her.  I was pushing my luck here, she might take offense...

"Are you kidding?" she eyed it incredulously, though her posture didn't match her voice.  She was pretending, putting up a front.  She couldn't let me know that she wanted it, that's what all of the damage her friends and family had inflicted upon her was whispering in her ear.

"I thought you might like it," I shrugged, not pushing.  "We can get you something boring if you want, but I thought you would like something cuter."

"You... you're not making fun of me?" she asked softly, looking down.

"Of course not," I pulled her into a hug again, I could feel her breathing was ragged in her chest already.  "I will never make fun of you, especially not for liking cute things.  I love that you enjoy cute things, I find it absolutely endearing.  But if you're embarrassed, if you don't want the toothbrush, we'll buy you a different one."  I paused for a moment, letting my words sink in.  "But you do need a toothbrush."

She laughed and nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes.  I fished a tissue out of my purse and offered it to her.

"Thanks," she whispered, holding back tears.

"Princess toothbrush?" I prodded gently.

"Yes please," she whispered, nodding and blushing.  "I... I actually really like princesses.  Is that stupid?"

"Of course it's not stupid, Dani," I squeezed her before grabbing the pink princess toothbrush and dropping it into the cart.  I wanted to talk more about it, but I didn't want to make her cry in the middle of a department store.  We bought her a new phone charger and a hairbrush as well - both pink - and were soon on our way.

"I don't deserve you," she whispered as we checked out - but I pretended not to hear.

Once we were settled back in the car, our purchases in the trunk, I began the drive home... but I couldn't help myself.  I needed her to understand.

"Dani," I began, turning the music down as we drove down Stevens Creek back toward the apartment.  "I want you to know that you never have to be embarrassed about your likes or dislikes with me.  I'm not going to judge you.  I love that you like cute things - squirrels and princesses - and I'm going to support you no matter what.  I care about you deeply and I want you to be happy, and to me that means that you should have the freedom to express yourself however you want.  As long as you're not hurting anyone, whatever makes you happy is okay by me."

"You really don't think it's dumb?" she asked softly, her voice trembling.  "An adult - I'm almost 30, Vanessa - liking stupid kid stuff?  Jenni says- "

"Jenni's wrong," I cut her off, "And the Jenni you told me about from college doesn't sound like the Jenni you're telling me about now.  The woman who accepted you when you came out as bisexual?  The woman who held you when you cried at movies with love stories?  The good friend who accepted you no matter what, no matter who you were dating?  The Jenni you talked to a few nights ago, the Jenni who told you to throw away something that brings you joy - she's not the same person you went to school with and I think a part of you knows that."

Damn.  I went too hard.  She broke down again, sobbing and I wished more than anything that I had bought her a new stuffed friend at the store.  I vowed right then that every visit to the store would include a trip to the toy aisle to get her some stuffed thing or another.  We were never going to be in this situation again, where she needed comfort and I couldn't give it.

"You're right," she sobbed.  "She hasn't been the same for years now and it just hurts so much to admit it.  She was such a sweet person!  How did she turn into this bitter woman?  She's... " she hesitated, almost stopping herself.  I placed a gentle hand on her thigh and nodded.  "She never has anything nice to say, she judges everyone and everything.  She's racist now, Vanessa - our group of friends in college was every color of the rainbow, but now she has this... contempt for people who don't look like her.  I... I really miss my friend."

"It's okay to miss your friend, it's okay to mourn her loss even if she's still around.  People change," I sighed sadly, I had a cousin who had done the same thing to me.  When I ran away to California, suddenly she had lots to tell me about how Jesus didn't want me to be gay.  It hurt and it had taken me a long time to let her go... I still ached, still mourned the loss of someone who had been so close to me.  "People change, and it's not always for the better."

"Yeah," she sniffled.  "I'm just not ready to say goodbye to her yet, y'know?"

"You do what makes you happy, Dani.  I'll support you no matter what.  It's okay to mourn what was - but you shouldn't let other peoples' opinions rob you of harmless happiness.  I want you to be happy, and if that means brushing with a princess toothbrush and hugging a stuffed squirrel, then I'm all for it."

"How are you so smart, Vanessa?" As we stopped at the light, I looked over and wiped a tear from her face.  Her eyes were shining as she looked at me and I could only smile softly at this precious, vulnerable person who looked at me so openly.

"Because I've been hurt," I answered softly.  "I've been hurt many times in my life, and so I grew.  There is no growth without pain, Dani.  Comfort leads to contempt."

[ELLIE52]

I've enjoyed the last few chapters.  Dani definitely has Little in her.  But my question, how will she differ from falling so easy to it from Kailee which proved no challenge to Vanessa or was that the problem with Kailee?

[RambleLamb]

Question! Is Jenni gonna be a thing? I don't like the sound of her and would like to know how much I need to prepare myself.

Tempered with all of the sweetness of Dani and Vanessa MAYBE it'll be okay.

Super good job!

[Guilend]

I love it and I can't wait for more.

 

[thedman]

Man this just gets better and better. I love it

[Baby Billy]

That was a nice sweet chapter, I see her trying to get the little side out of Dani 

[bbykimmy]

2 hours ago, ELLIE52 said:

I've enjoyed the last few chapters.  Dani definitely has Little in her.  But my question, how will she differ from falling so easy to it from Kailee which proved no challenge to Vanessa or was that the problem with Kailee?

That is a good question!  Vanessa seems satisfied so far, but maybe this is exactly how it began with Kailee...

1 hour ago, RambleLamb said:

Question! Is Jenni gonna be a thing? I don't like the sound of her and would like to know how much I need to prepare myself.

Tempered with all of the sweetness of Dani and Vanessa MAYBE it'll be okay.

Super good job!

I won't say

You're too clever, if I give clues, you'll guess what's going to happen!

1 hour ago, Aries said:

I love it and I can't wait for more.

You'll get more tomorrow!  <3

1 hour ago, thedman said:

Man this just gets better and better. I love it

Thanks dman - we're definitely ramping up, I feel.

18 minutes ago, Baby Billy said:

That was a nice sweet chapter, I see her trying to get the little side out of Dani 

That's exactly what's she's trying

The question is, will she succeed?  Will it drive Dani away?  She's still dating Julian, what's up with that?  Does she have hope?

[Guilend]

4 minutes ago, bbykimmy said:

Does she have hope?

There is no hope, none what so ever, not a drop to be found in the whole universe.

[Bonsai]

Now the moral red line for Vanessa seems clearer: she’s convinced to understand others better than they understand themselves and so feels it’s right to intrude their privacy and manipulate them as long as she sees in it a possible benefit for both parties. Maybe the fact that such ability to understand was paid through painful experiences makes her believe that  interfering in other’s freedom is preferrable  than to let them go through sorrowful experiences. It’s interesting that she does this to those she’s attracted to and not those she judges negatively.