Chapter 3: Saved by Mr. Suit

Annalyn’s Point of View

I couldn’t stop trembling. Even after the handsome tall man had taken my hand and pulled me out of that suffocating office, I was still shaking in my boots.

The air outside hit my lungs like ice. For a second, I felt like collapsing, but his grip on my hand was firm, grounding.

I cleared my throat as notice for him to let me go “Thank you… for stepping in. I didn’t know how to get away from him.”

He ignored me and didn’t say a word.

Not even a single damn word.

He just kept walking like I was a piece of baggage he’d retrieved.

I frowned.

Gratitude began to sour into unease.

“You saved me,” I tried again, stopping at the curb. “I mean it. Thank you. If you hadn’t walked in…”

He finally looked at me. Those dark brownish eyes of his was so unreadable, so cold that it swept over me like I was under inspection. “Do you live far from here?”

That caught me off guard. It wasn’t what I expected but.. “Um… not really. It’s a fifteen minutes walk from here.”

“Good. Lead the way.”

His friend, shot me a sheepish smile like he was trying to compensate for the frost radiating off Mr. Suit himself.

I decided to simply take them to my house, they had saved me probably a little thank you meal wouldn’t hurt.

Once we got to my apartment, I opened the door and gestured for them to come in. “You can sit… if you want. Can I get you something? Water?”

“Not necessary,” Mr Suit said sharply, stepping inside and surveying my space like a real estate agent debating a purchase.

His cold detachment clashed violently with the kindness he’d shown moments earlier. He’d pulled me out of a nightmare, so why did it feel like I’d just walked into another?

“I was lucky,” I said quietly, locking the door behind me. “Most people wouldn’t have stepped in. So again… thank you.”

“You already said that a million times over” he replied, still not facing me. “We didn’t come for pleasantries.”

Excuse me?

“I beg your pardon?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Now he turned, and the shift in his tone was jarring. “We’re here because of my son. Nolan? Two days ago, you caught his attention. He hasn’t been the same since. He refuses to eat. He had a breakdown at school and was hospitalized with a fever.”

My mouth fell open. “Wait.. what? Oh my God… is he okay?”

“He’s home now. But only because I made him a promise.”

There was a pause. his friend looked between us like he wanted to speak, but Mr Suit continued.

“I told him I’d bring you back.”

I blinked. “Back…? What do you mean ‘bring me back’?”

“To our home. Nolan thinks you’re his mother. He’s convinced of it.”

I backed up a step, heat rising in my chest. “That’s not my fault! He called me mommy out of nowhere, I figured if I played along he’d go home to his actual mummy! I didn’t mean to lead him on.”

“You did lead him on,” Mt Suit said coldly. “And now you need to fix it.”

Fix it?

“I don’t even know you!” I snapped. “I don’t owe you anything! And walking into my house to make demands like this? Do you even hear yourself?”

“I hear myself loud and clear” he said, taking another step toward me, voice low. “I’m simply offering you a job seeing that you might be unemployed as we speak”

My laughter was bitter. “Unemployed? I highly doubt that when management hears about what that pervert did they’d want to fire me”

“That’s if I go ahead with making my report to the management,” he threatened his face cold as ice “I could simply decide to look the other way and let them… fire you” he concluded

my jaw dropped, I couldn’t believe this was the man who had just saved me about an hour ago. I turned to his friend and he was lounging on my couch watching this unfold like it wasn’t his business

“What sort of a monster are you?” I asked as my heart broke helplessly

“One desperate to make his son happy,” he said. “The job I’m offering is way better than this crappy job you think you have, I want you to be Nolan’s nanny. Full time. Live-in. I’m willing to pay you five thousand a month, i can equally clear any outstanding debts you might have, seeing how misely you live it’s not uncommon for people like you to have piles of debts.”

I stood frozen.

Five thousand a month?

That was more than anything I could ever dream of… definitely more than I earned serving sundaes.

But… something about this all felt wrong. Too sudden. Too forced. Too cold.

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t just get up and leave. I barely know you. How am I sure this isn’t some scam.”

Mr Suit exhaled sharply, like I was a problem he had to fix. “Scam someone like you?” He scoffed “you wish, anyways I’m not leaving without you. Nolan expects you. I don’t plan on breaking my promises.”

“And I don’t live my life based on a stranger’s expectations, leave my house now,” I snapped.

“Alright, alright,” His friend finally stepped in, hands raised. “Everyone just… breathe, okay?”

He turned to me, his tone gentler. “What’s your name?”

“Annalyn” I responded calmly

“Okay, Annalyn, Nolan’s my godson. We are all worried about him, He collapsed at school. He’s stopped eating. Has kept asking for you. He’s hurting, and this isn’t just about what’s logical, it’s about what that kid needs right now.”

I swallowed hard, images of the sweet little boy flashing in my mind. His tiny fingers gripping my leg. His tear-filled eyes.

“You’re saying… if I go, it’ll help him?” I whispered.

My Suit’s voice softened for the first time. “Yes.”

My head spun. This couldn’t be my life right now.

“Fine,” I said slowly. “I’ll come. But I need to grab my things, and I should let my friend know..”

“There’s no time for all that, it’s getting late, get all you need, you can come see your friend some other time or you can call him or her,” he interrupted, all business again.

The nerve of this man.

Before I could throw another sarcastic reply, Damien offered me a lifeline.

“I think I have a better idea, Alex, go home and get Nolan ready. I’ll bring Annalyn.”

The man… Alex, gave me a long, unreadable look. Then, with a curt nod, he adjusted his suit sleeves and turned to the door.

“Nolan goes to bed at six. Don’t be late.”

And just like that, he was gone.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a slow breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding.

I turned to his friend. “How the hell am I going to survive living in the same house with that man?”

He chuckled. “One day at a time, Annalyn.”