Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 54: Gala Day

Moana

On the morning of the gala, I woke up early with Ella to get ready for the day. She had an appointment with a stylist and hairdresser before the gala. Selina explained to me, after I questioned the reasoning behind this for such a little girl, that it was commonplace for these sorts of events. Even though Ella was not publicly known as Edrick’s daughter, everyone in attendance at the gala was aware of it, and it was important for public relations for Edrick’s daughter to look her best — even though she was only eight years old. It felt a little ridiculous to me for such a young girl to be subjected to hours of having her hair done and being fitted for a perfect dress, but I didn’t complain.

Once Ella was bathed, we walked out to the dining room for breakfast. Much to my surprise, Edrick was sitting there with his plate of food, a coffee, and a newspaper.

“Good morning, Daddy,” Ella said, walking up to him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Good morning, Princess,” he replied, not so much as looking in my general direction. “Are you excited to get your hair done?”

Ella sighed and sat down at the table. “No,” she grumbled as she began to pick at her eggs and sausage with her fork. “I hate getting my hair done.”

“It’ll be alright, Ella,” I chimed in as I sat down next to her and tucked a napkin into the front of her shirt to keep her from getting scrambled eggs on her clothes. “It’s no different from now you play with your dolls and do their hair.”

“Except I’m not a doll,” Ella said. “I’m a real girl.”

wanting to cheer her up, gently tickled her waist and made her giggle. “Well, you look like a doll!” I exclaimed. The air became filled with the sweet sound of the little girl’s laughter. I

was when the smell of the eggs and sausage hit me. I felt as though I was about to retch. I couldn’t keep a gag

Moana?” she asked. “Are

was still holding my hand over my mouth to steady myself as I breathed deeply through my nose — but

had poked her head out of the kitchen at Ella’s mention of vomit, suddenly saw what was happening and rushed over. She took my plate away. I heard some banging around

“Thank you,” I whispered.

relieved, but that feeling of tension only returned as I looked up again to see that Edrick was now staring daggers at me over his newspaper. Surely he noticed that something was awry, but before I could say anything, he finished his meal and quickly

on her face. She spoke with her mouth full, giving her the appearance of a funny little chipmunk with

lips, then pulled her plate closer to her and tapped the edge of it with my finger. “Eat your breakfast. The stylist will be here soon. Don’t you want to go on our walk before she gets

breakfast. I soon felt the positive effects of the black coffee and plain toast

from our walk, the stylist arrived soon afterwards. Once Ella was busy with the stylist, I headed to my room to get some rest before the gala. Not long after I laid down, however, I was startled by a knock on the door. Before I

over to me with something in one hand and a glass of water in the

other hand to reveal two large pills. “They’re

I popped them in my mouth and swallowed them. “Thank you,” I said. “And thank you for what you did at breakfast this

I watched as she walked over to the door, but just before she left, she hesitated