جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 190

9Lena. I was barefoot in the kitchen, one of Michael’s shirts clinging to my still-damp skin, a coffee mug in hand while I watched him move around like we hadn’t just crossed the line we’d both been tiptoeing for weeks. He was making toast, talking about something he saw on the news, and I was trying not to let it show that my thighs were still sore from the way he’d held them last night and my chest still flushed every time I looked at him.Then the front door opened.I blinked. He stopped mid-sentence. And that’s when we heard the voice.“Oh my God, this house smells like lemon polish and old books.”I turned toward the living room just in time to see her.Tessa.Tessa, my old roommate, with her messy bun and pink-tinted sunglasses and loud presence that always arrived two seconds before she did.She walked in like she owned the place, laughing, a tote bag slung over one shoulder and iced coffee in her hand. I froze. Michael froze. And then she saw me.Saw me standing in the kitche

Nanny x boss Grace. I didn’t know what to expect from a man who needed a live-in nanny but also lived in a house big enough to be mistaken for a boutique hotel.The place was modern, with gray stone exterior, sharp windows that gleamed, and intimidating as hell. I stood at the front door with my best “I’m totally qualified” smile, even though my stomach had flipped three times since I left the train station. I double-checked my blouse, tucked in my hair, and rang the doorbell before I could talk myself out of it.The door opened almost instantly.And there he was.Not the assistant I was expecting. Not a housekeeper or a tired grandma. Just… him. Daniel Carter. The man who’d emailed me last week with minimal details and maximum directness.He looked nothing like what I imagined a single dad would look like. He was taller, broader and more expensive-looking. Dark hair with that slightly grown-out look that said I don’t care in a way that screamed effort. White t-shirt, gray joggers a

3Grace. It was raining. And it was not a gentle drizzle or a moody sprinkle, but stormy. Heavy drops slammed the windows like they were mad at the glass, thunder cracked open the sky in jagged bursts, and the house, big as it was, suddenly felt smaller.Sophie had gone to bed early. She’d curled into me during her bedtime story, the sound of the storm making her sleepy faster than usual. Daniel had checked in once to say goodnight, his voice low and rough at her door, before disappearing back downstairs with a bottle of wine and whatever was waiting for him on his laptop.I sat in the guest nook for a while pretending to read, but every flash of lightning lit the room just enough to keep me distracted. I gave up around ten, padded downstairs in fuzzy socks, and followed the smell of red wine and rain.He was in the living room, sprawled on the leather couch in a black t-shirt and sweats, the TV playing something muted. A single lamp glowed behind him, casting golden shadows on his f

5Grace. I started talking to Nate because I needed a distraction.He was cute and nice enough. Twenty-eight, with a crooked smile and easy conversation. We matched on an app I hadn’t opened in months, mostly out of curiosity. Maybe spite. Maybe boredom. Maybe because pretending I wasn’t unraveling inside Daniel’s house became too exhausting.Nate didn’t ask much. He flirted, complimented my freckles, and said things like you have the kind of smile that makes people lean in. I smiled politely at that. And when he invited me out for drinks, I said yes before I could change my mind.It felt good to be touched lightly. To have someone laugh at my jokes and not look at me like a ticking bomb. With Nate, there were no power plays, no silences so thick they made me feel like I was losing my grip. He leaned in to kiss me at the end of the night, and I let him.I didn’t tell Daniel I was going out. I didn’t owe him that.But when Nate dropped me off, headlights lit up the driveway, and Danie

7Grace. She wore red lipstick. The expensive kind.Her hair was smooth and glossy, her coat perfectly cinched at the waist, and her voice, God, her voice dripped with curated concern when she said, “Well, isn’t this domestic?”I was holding a laundry basket full of Sophie’s socks when I turned the corner and saw her in the foyer, one manicured hand rested on her hip, the other was casually holding sunglasses like we weren’t inside a house with zero sun.Nadia.Daniel’s ex.I didn’t need an introduction. I knew exactly who she was the second I saw the tension shoot down Daniel’s spine.Sophie ran to her, arms wide. “Mommy!”She crouched, hugged her tight. “There’s my baby,” she cooed, her voice soft and sugary, eyes flicking up over Sophie’s shoulder, right to me.“I didn’t know you were stopping by,” Daniel said stiffly.Nadia stood, straightening her coat like she owned the place. “I was in the neighborhood.”He didn’t reply. He shifted his weight like he wanted to punch a wall. I h