Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 73: Keeping Secrets

Edrick

“Edrick…” My mother dropped her tone of voice and leaned closer to me. She took my hand in hers and gave me a serious, knowing look that only a mother could have. “Is she pregnant?”

I frowned, hiding the fact that my heart had just started beating rapidly. “What?” I said, shaking my head. “What makes you think that?”

My mother folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Edrick, I’m your mother. You can’t lie to me.” There was a long silence after she spoke, but her eyes never wavered from mine. Even in her old age, she was still just as astute and level-headed as ever. I had never been able to lie to my mother, and she knew that. Finally, I caved.

“Yes,” I replied quietly. “She is pregnant.”

“I knew it,” my mother said. I could tell that she was hiding a bit of a smirk at her miniature victory, but at the same time, she was dead serious. “Is it yours?”

I didn’t answer right away. I felt a lump rise in my throat after being put on the spot. Sure, I was planning on telling my mother eventually, but now? Like this? It felt so out of the blue, and I had no time at all to prepare an explanation.

“It’s not—”

her voice even more, “if you had another illegitimate child… It would only cause more problems for you, for the daughter you already

I lied, this time taking care to hide my lie even though it pained me to hide

visit to the hospital this morning,” she admitted. “You know, the couples that you let her ahead of are well known, after all, and they were very put out by the entire thing. But I digress, and it was well within your rights to do such a thing if you felt it necessary. If it wasn’t yours, though, why would you bother going to the doctor’s appointments with

the kindness of my heart and didn’t want her visiting some shoddy doctor who wouldn’t give her and the baby in her belly the best care possible? My mother would never believe

“Well then,” she said with a slight sigh, leaning back in her

kitchen with tea. She set the tray down, then began to pour a

but that won’t be necessary,” my mother said, standing. “I only wanted to pop

such a difficult conversation was over for now. At the same time, however, I couldn’t help but

…

wondering what to do. I would have to address this soon; eventually, my family would find out. I couldn’t hide it forever, and already I was on thin ice for blatantly lying to my mother’s face like that in a way that no son ever should. But what was I supposed to do? I was put on the spot, and I hadn’t prepared yet. While my mother was a perfectly reasonable and kind woman, I simply wasn’t

my father already… But no, I told myself; if he knew, he would have certainly been here by now, berating me for hours. That was what he had done with Ella, and she was a purebred

when I arrived. Moana was tucking a napkin into the front of Ella’s shirt while

got ahead of me this afternoon.” Of course, I wasn’t going to divulge to Moana that I’d actually spent the

suspicious. When I glanced up from my steak, I saw