Chapter 11: The Right ChoiceArthur’s P.O.VHayley, elated to hear that Kathleen was finally accepting to watch over her, ran crashing into her arms with watery eyes, surprising all of us.Kathleen hugged her back just as passionately, rubbing her hair and kissing her forehead.I watched expressionless, wondering why my daughter was suddenly so attached to Kathleen, despite her dislike for people in general. This had to be something more than being saved…right?I was glad to know that she was getting a babysitter that cared about her. However…as to how good of a caretaker she would turn out to be? That was still under debate."Thank you so much," Hayley said now, looking up at the woman with her big blue eyes. "I promise to be a good girl." She added, crossing her heart. "When would you come? Will you live with us or would you come in the morning and leave in the evening?" She was super eager to find out, and was getting ready to ask many more questions."I'll come soon, I'll need to

Chapter 13: The ReasoningKathleen’s P.O.VI arrived at the Dalton Mansion earlier than I needed to, feeling relieved that I wasn’t late on my first day. Striding in through the iron gates, I was thrilled to take in the beauty all around me. I had come up here to make deliveries a couple times in the last two years, but I hadn't been allowed to go inside. There had always been guards at the door who would accept the order from me.But for the first time, today, I took a good look at the house, taking in its serenity and beauty.The mansion stood tall and proud, its stone walls gleaming in the sunlight. The grounds were immaculately kept, with perfectly trimmed hedges and flower beds which were empty in the winter. It was obvious that Arthur took special care in seeing that everything glistened to perfection. A large fountain stood at the center of the lawn, its clear water sparkling in the sun.Finally, I stepped inside the large front door made completely out of wood and it felt like

Chapter 15: Return of an Old FriendArthur’s P.O.VA few moments after Hayley had dragged Kathleen away from the living room, apparently to show her all the ‘cool’ toys she owned, I followed silently behind them and found my daughter talking animatedly to Kathleen, who seemed to be just an avid listener to her little charge as she gave her a house tour.Once I was reassured that the two of them were settled in and doing alright, I set out for my car, picking up the keys in my hand on the way to the door, hoping that whatever urgency had occurred, would be dealt with within a span of a couple hours so that I can return home in time to have lunch with Hayley."Sir! Do you have somewhere you need to be?" My driver asked, racing towards me with eagerness."Yes, hold on." I said, turning to look at Gerald who had followed behind me silently like a shadow. "Keep an eye on Kathleen and Hayley. I don't want to take any chances. Even though she has proven herself to be trustworthy, I still wan

Chapter 17: Chef KokoKathleen’s P.O.V Hayley and I were done touring the magnificent structure that her father had built, and I was still standing at the end of the hallway, gazing at the many rooms I just walked out of. The Dalton Mansion was worth every hype it got, it was every inch as beautiful as people said it was, even though I highly doubted any of them actually got to see the inside like I just had the opportunity to. "Uhm," Hayley muttered in a soft tone, which I hadn't really noticed at first, but then I saw her looking up at me with large eyes and instantly knew that she wanted my attention. "Yes, Hayley. What's the matter?" I asked, wondering how long I had kept her waiting like this. I felt instant regret at not paying better attention to her needs. “Do you want something?” I had no idea what she wanted or needed me to do. Till

Chapter 19: Attachment Kathleen’s P.O.V I was surprised by the sudden outburst that came as a response to my question, particularly because I meant no harm. An eerie silence descended in the room as we stated at each other, neither one of us spoke as I bowed my head, wondering what it was that I did so wrong that he chose to snap at me like that.  He didn't seem remorseful, although judging from his gestures; I could see that he might feel bad for snapping at me. "I..." I swallowed my pride and decided to do the right thing for Hayley. If it wasn’t for his little girl, then I would’ve quit and left already, but if I did leave, Hayley would be upset and I realized that I didn’t want to see her sad. "I'm sorry for overstepping my boundaries."  I didn't want to lose the job that promised to pay off