LOGIN6Grace. Sophie threw up around midnight.I heard the whimpering first; a soft, pitiful sound through the baby monitor I still kept on my nightstand out of habit. Then the sharp rustle of sheets. A cough. And the quiet, unmistakable sound of liquid hitting fabric.I was on my feet before I could think.When I pushed her door open, the smell hit me instantly. Sophie was sitting upright in her bed, hair sticking to her damp cheeks, her pajama top stained, little face twisted in confusion and discomfort.“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I whispered, crouching beside her. “You’re okay, baby. I’ve got you.”She clung to me like I was the only thing solid in the world. I held her for a full minute before easing her toward the bathroom, stripping her down gently, and wiping her down with warm water and soft towels. Her skin was clammy, her eyes droopy. I kissed her forehead and frowned. She was burning up.I changed the sheets, started the laundry, brought her a new pair of pajamas, and tucked her int
5Grace. I started talking to Nate because I needed a distraction.He was cute and nice enough. Twenty-eight, with a crooked smile and easy conversation. We matched on an app I hadn’t opened in months, mostly out of curiosity. Maybe spite. Maybe boredom. Maybe because pretending I wasn’t unraveling inside Daniel’s house became too exhausting.Nate didn’t ask much. He flirted, complimented my freckles, and said things like you have the kind of smile that makes people lean in. I smiled politely at that. And when he invited me out for drinks, I said yes before I could change my mind.It felt good to be touched lightly. To have someone laugh at my jokes and not look at me like a ticking bomb. With Nate, there were no power plays, no silences so thick they made me feel like I was losing my grip. He leaned in to kiss me at the end of the night, and I let him.I didn’t tell Daniel I was going out. I didn’t owe him that.But when Nate dropped me off, headlights lit up the driveway, and Danie
4Grace. His side of the couch was cold when I woke up.I blinked into the soft gray of early morning, blanket half-slipped off my legs, shirt still somewhere on the floor. The house was quiet except for the faint hum of rain gutters and the occasional creak from the stairs. I sat up slowly, the memory of last night thick and hazy in my body; the kisses, his hands, the taste of him on my lips.But he was gone.Not just from the room. Gone gone. No coffee waiting. No soft footsteps. No Daniel.I pulled on my shirt and padded toward the kitchen, expecting to find him standing by the counter like usual, dark roast in hand, saying something dry and half-smiling. But the kitchen was empty, and only one mug was missing from the rack.Sophie was the first to speak that morning.“Why is Daddy being weird?” she asked, her fork dangling a piece of waffle as she blinked at me from across the table.I forced a laugh. “He’s probably just tired.”“He didn’t say good morning. He always says good mor
3Grace. It was raining. And it was not a gentle drizzle or a moody sprinkle, but stormy. Heavy drops slammed the windows like they were mad at the glass, thunder cracked open the sky in jagged bursts, and the house, big as it was, suddenly felt smaller.Sophie had gone to bed early. She’d curled into me during her bedtime story, the sound of the storm making her sleepy faster than usual. Daniel had checked in once to say goodnight, his voice low and rough at her door, before disappearing back downstairs with a bottle of wine and whatever was waiting for him on his laptop.I sat in the guest nook for a while pretending to read, but every flash of lightning lit the room just enough to keep me distracted. I gave up around ten, padded downstairs in fuzzy socks, and followed the smell of red wine and rain.He was in the living room, sprawled on the leather couch in a black t-shirt and sweats, the TV playing something muted. A single lamp glowed behind him, casting golden shadows on his f
2Grace.I woke to the sound of little feet pattering outside my door and the faint clang of something in the kitchen, probably a cereal bowl hitting the counter too hard. My body was still heavy with sleep, and there was a delicious soreness between my legs from last night’s... release. But reality settled in fast. I had a job now. A real one. With a child who relied on me. And a boss who I’d watched shower and then masturbated to, alone, under soft sheets in the dark.Great start.I pulled my hair into a bun, smoothed the wrinkles out of my T-shirt, and padded down to the kitchen. Sophie was already in her booster seat, swinging her legs back and forth as she crunched on dry cereal. Daniel was pouring coffee into a black mug, his back to me, sleeves pushed up, forearms taut as he moved. He didn’t turn right away, but I saw the shift in his posture when he sensed me behind him.“Morning,” I said, trying to sound casual, normal, non-horny.“Morning,” he replied, finally looking over h
Nanny x boss Grace. I didn’t know what to expect from a man who needed a live-in nanny but also lived in a house big enough to be mistaken for a boutique hotel.The place was modern, with gray stone exterior, sharp windows that gleamed, and intimidating as hell. I stood at the front door with my best “I’m totally qualified” smile, even though my stomach had flipped three times since I left the train station. I double-checked my blouse, tucked in my hair, and rang the doorbell before I could talk myself out of it.The door opened almost instantly.And there he was.Not the assistant I was expecting. Not a housekeeper or a tired grandma. Just… him. Daniel Carter. The man who’d emailed me last week with minimal details and maximum directness.He looked nothing like what I imagined a single dad would look like. He was taller, broader and more expensive-looking. Dark hair with that slightly grown-out look that said I don’t care in a way that screamed effort. White t-shirt, gray joggers a







