Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 137: Keeping Up Appearances

Moana

Edrick showed so much affection for me when he realized that I was freezing up in front of the paparazzi, and without a moment of hesitation, he shielded me from the cameras with his body to hide my vulnerability and ushered me inside. Once we were safely inside, he led me over to a table and left me there while he got me some water. Even though I was still stunned by all of the shouting and the flashing cameras, I couldn’t deny the fact that my heart felt full of love for the man who always cared so deeply about me.

While I waited for him, I began to calm down a bit and take in my surroundings. The inside of the building was a beautiful old concert hall with round tables scattered around, an art deco ceiling, and an ornate wooden stage at the front. There was a microphone and a stool sitting on the stage, and it made me realize that there must be a live show tonight. I hoped it was a comedian; I needed to laugh.

But as I sat, I still couldn’t help but notice that people were talking about me. I could hear their whispers and their snickers, and as I looked around, I realized that there were many sets of eyes on me, watching me like hawks circling their prey. It almost seemed as though they were suspicious of me, as if I would steal something or cause some trouble. All I could do was stare down at my lap and wait for Edrick to return.

As soon as he returned, he put his arm around me once again. The people whispering about me immediately stopped as soon as they saw him, which made me feel safe once more.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

about something, and the way that he held me tightly was almost territorial. Maybe he noticed that people were staring, too, and wanted to show them that he would be here to protect me

tried her best to give us a wide variety of foods to try, but we never had the money for food like this. As I glanced around at all of the other women who hardly even touched their meals, I felt culture shocked. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact

the only light in the room aside from the spotlight on the stage were the flickering candles at each table. Then, someone came

touching me at all times, I really did feel like a real couple on a night out. And at one point, I glanced over at him to see him laughing loudly at one of the comedian’s jokes. He was even more handsome when he was happy. I loved the way his eyes squeezed shut and the way that he tilted his head back when he laughed, and it made me smile even more. During those

came back on and people began to

event over already?”

while yet,” he replied, sounding a little disappointed. “Now we’ll have

that their smiles were fake and that they kept giving me side glances — especially the women. I felt instantly judged and out of place, and as the time went on, I felt more and more uncomfortable despite being right beside Edrick. However, I quickly learned to put on a fake smile like the rest of them, and tuned out all of the boring conversations and instead busied myself with looking at all of the beautiful artwork and reliefs carved into the walls and ceiling. Even if events like this would always contain a lot of boring chatter between businesspeople, I couldn’t help but think that I was at least lucky to enjoy so much beautiful and historic artwork. But I also noticed that many of the other wives seemed to be mingling together and talking, and

excused myself while Edrick was having a lengthy conversation with one of his business partners about market fluctuations or some other boring business topic, and made my way over to

a small hallway, which offered a bit of reprieve from the noise of the event. I let out a small sigh as I walked up to the door and put my hand

when I heard laughter and