LOGINI tried not to look too disappointed and just focused on buttering Nora’s pancakes.“Good morning,” Sophia chirped brightly, sliding into the seat beside me with a cup of coffee.“Morning,” I muttered.Kieran nodded at her but didn’t say anything. He took a sip of his coffee and flicked his newspape
Charlotte’s POVThe next morning, I felt marginally better about everything—or maybe it was just the way I woke to Nora jumping on the bed, making me smile, that made everything feel a little easier.“Mommy!” Nora landed on her knees, nearly slamming me in the head in the process. “You’re finally aw
“You’re sorry?” I repeated.There was a pause. He drew in a breath as if steeling himself before he muttered, “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. It’s just… I saw you in her dress and it made me snap.”I glanced at him sideways. He was staring at his glass again, a forlorn look on his face. I
Charlotte’s POVAfter a very long and very quiet dinner, the server came with the check. Kieran paid, and we all got up to leave.“I want to take Nora for ice cream,” Sophia announced, holding out her hand to Nora. “There’s a gelato place down by the boardwalk that’s supposed to be amazing.”Nora lo
Kieran frowned. “What do you mean?”“I gave her the dress,” Nora hiccuped. “I went into that closet you always say not to go into and I found it and I thought Mommy would look pretty in it. So I put it in her suitcase.”My heart stopped.No. No, she was lying. Nora was lying for me because she could
Charlotte’s POVI froze, looking down at the burgundy silk dress. “What’s wrong with it?” I asked.Kieran’s voice was low and dangerous. “Where did you get it?”“Sophia gave it to me. She said you bought it—”“I didn’t buy you anything.” His eyes were cold. “That dress belonged to my wife.”The word
Charlotte was different, though. Nora didn’t just love her as a nanny; she literally called her “Mommy”. She loved her like a mother, trusted her like one, and the thought of Charlotte leaving one day… It clearly broke her heart.But she had to understand; if not now, then when she was older. I had
Charlotte’s POV“You’re firing me?”Kieran stepped out of the way, gesturing to the house. “You heard me. Go. Now.”I didn’t move right away. I couldn’t believe that he was really doing this, obsessing over a mere assumption, and he wasn’t even listening to two people who were vehemently telling him
Charlotte’s POVKieran leaned over the front seat to confront me. Anger twisted his face and those snapping eyes glared at me under furrowed brows. For a second I thought he was going to reach for me and hurt me, and my heart raced at having nowhere to escape.“I-I…” I fumbled for words to explain t
Charlotte’s POV“You think you deserve better than what you’ve got?”The Head Slave left the doorway and stepped into the room further, intentionally butting into my personal space. Their teeth bared in a smile that was anything but friendly. I could see the hatred in their eyes clear as day.“I saw







