(Aya’s POV)It was good that I came early because I had the time to meet the nannies and ask about their everyday scenarios. They all said the same thing; it was like hell and crazy, and they were right. I may not be Nanny McPhee, but I could offer them a truce, my chance of saving the sanity of their nannies, including mine.Recognizing Violet’s dislike of me and her strong influence on her siblings, I decided to begin with her. As expected, the girl ignored me, and she was indeed good at pretending she didn’t hear my voice or not seeing me follow her until I asked her what she wanted. If I could do it, she would help me with her siblings, and when I got her attention, I grabbed that opportunity to have a ceasefire this morning while I thought of what she wanted.Only I did not expect her answer.To be heard by their father and a time for them. Each of Red’s kids told me what they wanted, and I promised to talk to their father and hoped to have a response from him. It was going well
(Aya’s POV)“Don’t overstep the boundary, Aya. You’re hired to be my kids’ nanny, not their mother, so please, stop acting like you’re their mother.”Red’s words echoed to me as I walked the hallway where his five children were waiting for me. I only nodded, letting him know I understood and that I didn’t wish to be their mother, but I could not deny the emotions stirring inside. I breathed out. I had to stop myself from crying because I had no reason to whimper as if there was something special happening between us. “Well, how did it go?” Violet asked, her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed over her chest.“He said he’s going to cancel his appointment tonight, and he’ll talk to you later,” I muttered, thinking she would be happy, but Violet rolled her eyes and sneered.“It’s what he always tells Aunt Conchita,” she said with disappointment visible on her face and voice as she walked past me.Her younger siblings gaped at me, waiting for the answers to their requests. My lips curve
(Aya’s POV)“It’s not good to lie, Onyx,” I reminded him while in the waiting area.Sapphire fidgeted with her hands as she waited for her turn, not wanting her nanny to change her, and when Ellen attempted to brush her hair, she cried, not wanting anyone to touch her hair except me.“I only want Aya,” she murmured, standing beside me.“It’s okay,” I murmured and smiled at their nannies. “Just hand me those,” I pointed at the bag.It was the extra bag I prepared this morning and asked them to bring. When the other nanny handed it to me, I took clean clothes and wipes because their uniforms got dirty from playing in the playground while waiting. I seldom got the chance to pick Katie up from school, but this was the same scenario whenever I got late. I was glad I had this prepared because I didn’t want them to go home looking like this. “Aya, is it okay if we leave you with the kids for a while?” Ellen asked. “I suddenly had my monthly period, and I was hoping Nessa could get a sanitar
(Red’s POV)The online meeting with the board members took longer than I expected. When I checked the time, my computer screen said it was past four already. As if Cora knew what I was about to ask, she shook her head and smiled apologetically at me.“Would you like me to call the head of security?” she grabbed the handset with worry reflecting in her eyes, too, because my kids were supposed to be here at one.“You can go home, Cora,” I muttered, standing up, upset that Aya had not called again.Before my meeting, I asked Cora to check on the kids, but she told me they had not gone home. If they had waited for Green and Blue, had ice cream, and played in the park, they should have been here by two in the afternoon.I dashed out of the room, leaving Cora as she cleared up her things. My private office at home used to be a baby room, but after the incident, I turned it into my home-based office, renovating half of the area, setting it up with office furniture but maintaining the other h
(Red’s POV)“Did somebody die?” Liam asked as he walked into the dining room to join us for dinner.Ariana’s nostrils flared, and looked at me accusingly. “Nope, but someone fired the beautiful nanny supervisor.” She sighed as she watched him pull a chair and sit in his usual seat.“You fired Aya? Why? Where are the kids?” His forehead creased, glancing at the empty chairs.Ariana shook her head, giving him a signal that I didn’t want to talk about it. Liam shrugged and changed the topic, but this time his questions were mostly about the company my sister was managing. I ignored them, eating my steak in peace. When I was done, I rose to my seat and left them in the dining room to attend another online meeting. Although I told Aya I would talk to the kids, I still did not ask Cora to cancel it. It was a short meeting, and when I was done, I decided to check on my kids, fulfilling my promise of talking to them tonight.When I reached Violet’s room, her door was locked. It was still ea
(Red’s POV)“You should go and ask Aya yourself.”I told Ariana a firm no last night, but my sister said I would never know what happened today unless I asked her. I could not rely on my kids’ stories when Violet and Green didn’t like to talk to me, Blue was Switzerland, and the twins tended to make up stories. This morning, I had to see her, so here I was in the backseat of the car, unsure if she would talk to me today.“Dante,” I tapped my driver’s shoulder to stop the car when I saw Aya walking.It was only seven-thirty in the morning, but she was dressed like the one she had yesterday, only now she was wearing a pink t-shirt and faded denim pants. I wondered where she was going at this hour.My driver opened the window and smiled at Aya when he stopped. She bent and peeked inside the car.“Good morning, Aya,” greeted Dante.“Oh, hi, Dante! What are you -” When she saw me, she sneered and walked away. I had no choice but to get out of the car.“Aya!”She turned to me, looking unhap
(Red’s POV)This wasn’t the first time I went to my children’s school, but as I got busier at work, I hardly remembered the last time I walked this hallway. I tilted my head, wanting to hold Aya’s hands to stop her from fidgeting, but I hadn’t fully recovered yet from what had happened in the car.“What exactly happened yesterday?” I asked, remembering she wanted to talk to me about something, so maybe this was it.“When I arrived here yesterday, I saw Arnold push Onyx and Sapphire. The twins ran to me, and well…” she wrinkled her nose. “They called me their mommy. I guess he’s been bullying them for quite some time. Onyx pushed him, but hey! Dudley, I mean Arnold did not even budge an inch.” She looked at me. “You should have seen how big Arnold was compared to Onyx, but I did not tell him or bragged anyone here that I was your wife. Why would I do that?” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.“Let’s just have this settled so we can leave immediately,” I muttered and pressed my lips.She nod
(Red’s POV)“I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t mean to overstep again, but that was cool,” Aya shrugged her eyebrows before walking past me after we exited Mrs. Archer’s office.Mrs. Castelo left ahead of us, upset with how the meeting went. At first, she did not want to back down from what she had started, but after receiving a call from her husband, she didn’t seem to have a choice but to accept her defeat. Mike knew why I was in school today, but when I called and told him the situation, he promised he would handle the situation. I just had no idea how he did it, but it was not my concern now.I wanted to follow Aya immediately, but Cora’s message to read an urgent email made me stop walking, taking me a few seconds to read and reply to her. When I reached the parking lot, Dante was outside the car.“Where’s Aya?” I asked Dante and wondered why he had given me the car key.“She’s inside,” he answered. “Umm, Red, is it okay if I go to the restroom?”I nodded, pressing the remote key to unloc