All Chapters of Lawfully Wedded Nanny (BWWM): Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The schoolyard buzzed with its usual after-class chaos children spilling into the courtyard, laughter and shouts mingling with the bark of car horns from the line of waiting parents and nannies. Monet scanned the crowd, anxiety gnawing at her chest until she spotted Meredith first, emerging with her backpack slung low and Carter trailing behind. His checkered shirt was rumpled and untucked, his coat hanging off one shoulder as he clutched a crumpled worksheet in his small hands. Carter's pre-K teacher aide glanced over her conspicuously, but Monet ignored it; relief softened Monet’s shoulders. She hurried toward them, the ache of not seeing them off that morning easing at the sight of them. “Mommy Monet!” Carter’s face lit up, the nickname tumbling out in a rush. He barreled into her legs, wrapping his arms tight. Monet crouched, pulling him in. “Hey, sweetheart. Did you have a good day?” He nodded, curls bouncing, but his mouth twisted. “Daddy made us leave so fast this mornin

TWO DAYS LATER......The washer had just been filled with a load of laundry when the doorbell rang, echoing in the house's quiet.Monet froze in the hallway. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and the kids and Richard had been gone for hours.Her heart lurched in her chest as she walked towards the door, pulse hammering in her ears, for once angry that the door didn’t have a peephole. The security cameras were in the guardhouse and Richard’s office, and she had always taken comfort in knowing no one could slip through unnoticed. Still, she approached with dread gnawing at her ribs.The thought was confirmed when Juliet Pendleton stood on the other side of the open door with another woman.“Hello, Mrs Abbott.” Juliet greeted in a cheerful tone—betraying the cold, calculating look she wore.Monet swallowed once and then again, her palms growing sweaty with trepidation. She suddenly felt inadequate in her dirty black leggings and T-shirt, seeing as both women were decked out—Juliet in an emera

The front door swung open, letting in a gust of late winter afternoon air, the clatter of school shoes, and the shrill chatter of Carter before he even stepped inside.“Monet!” Meredith called, backpack slipping off one shoulder as she barreled into the house. Her hair was loose from its braid, her cheeks flushed pink from the walk. She didn’t notice Juliet at first—her eyes were locked on Monet, arms stretching for a hug as if the day had been unbearably long without her and she had a story to tell. Carter followed more quietly, hardly taking off his coat. He dropped his bag near the entryway, but his gaze flickered instantly toward Monet, a big grin on his lips. “You didn't bake ?” he asked, his tone accusing, but his small hand slid into hers without thought, the gesture instinctive.Monet bent down, her arms wrapping around both of them with trembling relief she tried to mask. The warmth of their embrace filled the hollowness Juliet’s words had left in her chest. She pressed her

The door shut behind Juliet with a finality that rattled the picture frames. Silence pressed into the living room, thick and unbearable. Meredith’s small sniffle cracked it, and the sound seemed to break something in Richard all over again.Monet sat stiffly on the couch, arms still wrapped around the children, her cheek pressed into Meredith’s hair as though sheer willpower could shield them from the venom Juliet left behind. Richard paced like a caged animal, his fists raw and trembling. Zoey scribbled silently, her pen the only sound besides the uneven breaths of a fractured family. “I'll have you arrested. Have your permit revoked, this wasn't court appointed and you invaded and helped to bully my children in their own home.” Zoey Michaels looked at him, completely unfazed, till a sad smile appeared on her lips. “I'm no match for Juliet Pendleton and I don't think you are as well.” Richard flexed his raw fist, his tie undone—his hair sexily rumpled from s

THE NEXT DAY......“Why are you all dressed up mommy Monet?” Carter asked. His hazel-green eyes squinted in suspicion.Monet looked at her brown silk skirt, cotton sleeveless vest and loafers and smiled softly.“How do I look?” She asked, straightening invisible creases from the skirt. “Do you like it?”Meredith gave her a thumbs up, then another—her mouth filled with cereal. Carter tapped his chin thoughtfully, his pout pink and stained with jam from his toast.Monet felt her heart go warm at the sight. The conversation between her and Meredith last night had been a bridge, something that needed to happen. They’d both been assured and now the tightness and strains of last night and the weeks seemed to have magically disappeared. For the first time in days, she could breathe in this house without her chest pulling tight.But the calm was fragile, a glass pane ready to shatter if Juliet Pendleton so much as breathed on it.Dee laughed from her spot by the stove, “Hold on, Mrs Abbott. T