Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 100: Two’s Company

Moana

With my face still burning from Kelly’s slap, I needed to get away from the banquet before anyone saw me and started gossiping even more. If anyone saw me crying, I knew that Kelly would be satisfied as well, and I didn’t want that.

As I gathered what little dignity I had left and started making my way through the gardens, the sound of the music and the partygoers talking and laughing slowly began to fade, replaced by the sound of the crickets chirping and the sound of the fountains. I eventually found a quiet garden not too far away with a fountain in the center and rows of peach trees circling the perimeter, their sweet fragrance filling the air.

I leaned against one of these trees and bowed my head, finally letting the tears flow now that I knew I was completely alone.

All my life, I only ever wanted to create a beautiful family of my own. After spending my childhood in an orphanage, I always wanted to bring a child into the world with two loving parents who would never leave. The thought of having a big, happy family always made me smile, but now it only made me cry more as I realized that even my own child might never have that now.

Even if Edrick did accept this child, he would never accept me and his family would never accept either of us. How could I bring a child into a mess like this? How could I bring a child into a world in which his or her own grandfather hated them with a burning passion?

As I thought about the possibility of packing up and leaving, even with Michael’s money, it made me sob even more. It wasn’t even just about Edrick or the baby, either; Ella had become almost like my own child in my eyes, and I couldn’t bear the thought of her confused, sad little face wondering why I was leaving. But no matter what, one way or another, someone would sow the seeds of hatred in her mind at some point. Whether it was disdain for the new baby, thinking that it would replace her, or whether it was disdain for me and ruining her family structure, I couldn’t imagine a scenario in which someone wouldn’t eventually give her the wrong ideas and create bitterness in her heart.

“Are you alright?”

I didn’t hear him coming as I cried. I jerked my head up and whirled around to see Edrick standing behind me with his hands in his pockets and a concerned look spread across his face.

“Um… Yes,” I said, straightening myself and wiping the tears from my eyes with my handkerchief. “Just hormones. I got a little overwhelmed with all of the noise and the people.”

moments; as he glanced over his shoulder at the mansion, the sounds of the party carrying over to us across the summer breeze, a

party,” I said, just wanting to

His voice faltered, and he swallowed hard. “Want

Walking would be

my purse in my hands while Edrick kept his own hands in his pockets, but there was no denying the closeness behind us as we walked. Neither of us spoke, but I enjoyed the silence.

for him — to have a child with a woman he only just met, and to have feelings for that woman when

of the fountain, and it called to me; after everything

I did, seeing how handsome he looked in the dim light with the breeze ruffling his hair. I

bench and he gestured for me to sit, but he continued to stand, thoughtfully inspecting the roses on one of the bushes. I watched in silence as he touched the petals with his fingers, as

been nice, growing up here with all of these gardens,” I said, looking around. “It’s so

one of the better parts of living here,” he said quietly. “Plenty of places to escape to when my father was in a mood. He rarely bothered coming out this far, so sometimes when his moods were especially sour, I would

at him, I saw that there was a bit of a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. He didn’t seem too

me earlier that

told me that you went to college

“Mhm.”

college like for you? What did

now over to the next rose bush. “Business. Nothing

exciting time — a time for exploring the things that make you happy and choosing a career path that brings you joy. Edrick, however, didn’t seem too fond of that time at all. “What else would you have studied?” I asked. “When you were little, I’m sure you didn’t say you

suppose not,” he said, his eyes lifting finally from the roses to look up