De'Mario's POV:

The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. The weather isn't too hot outside, so Shawny and I decided to chill in the backyard by the garden. Maria is at Chris's house for the weekend and Shawny just found out she was two months pregnant. We lay in the grass while the sun shines on us. Shawny's smile is even brighter in the light. Her light brown eyes glistened in the sunlight like two marbles on display. Her caramel skin glowed as the sun bronzes it. She's wearing light jean high waist shorts with her pink, blue, green, and purple floral, ruffled crop top. That golden necklace I've gotten her years ago is still around her neck as it is every day of her life. Her natural manicured, crescent arch French tipped nails play in my dreads as she sits there in deep thought for a moment. The silver thong sandals she had on sit next to her feet as she lay her legs onto mine. The curls she put in her hair are beginning to fall as usual but I don't mind because she's still beautiful. I watch her adorable, juicy, pink, soft lips curl as she thinks and then pokes out as she chews the inside of her cheek. I wonder what she's thinking but those beautiful brown gems of eyes look up at me as she opened her mouth revealing her pearly whites before I could say a word.

Shawny: "I love you, Daddy." She blurted with a smile. She said it so passionately that it warmed my heart to hear those familiar words roll off her tongue.

Me: "I love you more, Babygirl." I replied, brushing my lips across her forehead and planting a kiss. She closed her eyes as my lips came in contact with her skin, causing her to blush and show off those ocean deep dimples of hers. I caressed her cheek with my thumb as we gazed in each other's eyes for a moment before she spoke again.

Shawny: "I can't wait until Maria gets married. She'll be a great wife." She smiled.

Me: "I can wait," I chuckled. "But she did learn from the greatest."

Shawny: "Life is short, she'll be dating before you know it." She giggled.

Me: "Nah, Hell Nah. She's eight right now and that's all that matters. When the time comes, ill deal with it."

Shawny: "You're going to say that until she's 18." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Don't be scaring her boyfriends away either."

Me: "She doesn't need a damn boyfriend, she needs to worry about school right now."

Shawny: "I didn't say she did, and Yes that's completely true but If she likes a boy and the boy likes her, I mean like legitimately like each other to the point that they can't even see it, let her live. That's an opportunity to experience and finding themselves. I'm not saying give her a condom and telling her to let him have his way but I'm just simply asking you to let her figure out things on her own. If you constantly holding her up so she won't fall, she'll never know how to walk or be too scared to without you holding her up. You know?"

Me: "Yeah, you right." I nodded. "I guess I am a little too strict on her but I'll only loosen up when she's old enough to make her own decisions, or she shows me that I have nothing to worry about."

Shawny: "You are her father, it's your choice but just keep that in mind because females tend to take things differently than guys. She can and might take it personally as she gets older and that would increase your chance of losing her or her starting to rebel because she feels trapped." She sighed and rubbed my chest.

Me: "Am I as bad a John was to you?" I asked and she looked down.

Shawny: "On some levels, Yes. But ultimately, no. He was my predator, you're Maria's protector. I was his property, She's your princess. There's a big difference. You both may have been "Stingy" If you will with what was yours and you wanted to keep it from anyone else interfering with but you both did it for different reasons, as you can see. But no matter what the reason is When I was younger and when Maria gets to a certain age, there's no way that we could see what your thinking at the time so we don't know the difference. So just like every teenage girl with overprotective parents, she begins to rebel and feel trapped under rules. That's when the confusion of being an adult or child comes into play. I didn't know whether I was the older sister or youngest at times. I didn't even know what movies I was allowed to watch anymore at 16. I would feel uncomfortable when people kissed. It got so bad that I would be scared to ask If I could go to a friends house, let alone the park." She explained.

Me: "Damn baby, he brainwashed you that bad." I asked and she nodded before tearing up.

Shawny: "When I was a kid, I wasn't even allowed to be called by my name. I didn't know why and I was treated like a princess but then again a slave at the same time. I thought I black those dark years of my childhood out but as I got older and seeing you get drunk... That man that I once feared was in your eyes and I started to have nightmares about it." She held back her tears and attempted to continue to speak but I embraced her, causing her to bury her face into my chest. I rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.

Me: "I'm sorry baby girl, I never meant to cause you pain." I started.

Shawny: "You didn't, you actually saved me. All your drinking does is reminds me of the past. Nothing is your fault. I'm not mad at you." She looked up at me. "My point is when I met you, I fell in love with you and now you're my husband and we are having a family soon. I didn't have a chance to rebel but I did feel trapped to the point that I ran away to start a new life. If you don't loosen up on Maria at the right time with the right person, She'll never be your little princess again and the man that she ends up falling in love with and possibly marrying will take your place as her father." She held my face in her hands. "You get what I'm saying, Daddy?" She smiled.

Me: "Yes, Babygirl. I get chu." I captured her bottom lip in-between mine and began kissing her. She's the reason I'm sane. I don't know what I'd do without her...

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Flashback needed?