Chapter 15

I was speechless as I felt my heart break in my chest. I should've known better than to speak my mind like that. Logically I had known I was just working for him, but I thought that maybe our relationship had grown and that we were becoming equals working with the girls.

I was just a nanny to him. I was just an employee, nothing more. And I would never be anything more to him.

I couldn't begin to explain the intense sadness that washed over me. Between seeing Patti in so much distress, hearing Lionel's cruel words, even seeing Eileen yesterday probably contributed to the whirlwind of emotion within me.

Before I could stop it, I felt a hot tear sting the corner of my eyes and stream down my cheek. I sucked in a breath, willing it away. I was trying to calm myself down, but it just all felt like too much.

"Nan-" Lionel said, seemingly taken aback by my tears. Part of me was surprised by him using my first name, something he didn't do often. He furrowed his brow, concern in his eyes as he stepped forward, reaching out to me.

I shook my head quickly, pushing him aside. I was sure in most situations, I wouldn't have been able to move him, but in his surprise he just stepped to the side. In the meantime, I rushed forward, moving to Patti's side.

I pulled her into my lap, holding her tightly. I shushed her, humming softly as I ran my hands down her arms. As I touched Patti's bare arms, I felt something strange and almost magical.

It was like a gentle stream of power flowed from my body into Patti's. Like I was pulling energy from deep within me to send into her to help her.

As I continued to send my energy to Patti, I felt increasingly weaker than I had been moments before. I was tired.

But Patti fully relaxed into my arms, as if she was melting into it. She rested her head against my shoulder. I could feel her temperature dropping as I held her, the fever breaking almost as quickly as it started.

Patti's eyes fluttered open, she slid off of my lap to sit next to me instead. "Mommy." She called out hesitantly, her voice hoarse. She put her hand on my arm, a beautiful and gentle movement.

No matter what, she was my daughter. And I would protect her in any way that I could.

I smiled widely at her in relief, glad to know that Patti would be okay. That whatever Inferno wolf thing was passing. The relief gave way to exhaustion. E

The exhaustion started to overtake me and I felt myself fall backwards onto the ground as finally my eyes fell shut and the world went dark.

I was in a beautiful clearing in the middle of a forest, under a full moon. Dense trees surrounded me on every side, no light filtering through, save for the light in the clearing I was in.

I looked around confused, unable to remember how I got here and where I was. A wolf with silky silver fur entered the clearing in front of me, its paws leaving footprints in the grass in front of me.

It moved in a way that was elegant and comforting, rather than animalistic and threatening. It looked at me with dark, intelligent eyes. I was transfixed.

I looked up into the wolf's dark eyes. The logical part of my mind told me to run, but something else told me I was safe. It's mouth opened with a grin.

"We'll meet again someday, Nan. We'll meet again." The wolf said in a soft, reassuring voice. As it stepped towards me again, I woke up with a jolt.

Someone had moved me while I slept. I was back in my own room in the servant's quarters. And I was completely alone with my thoughts.

As I woke up and collected myself, all memories of the dream disappeared. The only thought I had were Lionel's cruel words ringing in my head.

You are just a nanny. You have absolutely no right to interfere and tell me how to treat my daughter.

I shook my head, trying to get the words unstuck from my mind. It didn't work. I knew I finally had to face reality.

I had some sort of feelings for Lionel, that much was obvious. I had feelings and I had expectations for him that were unfair to both of us. This... relationship or whatever it was, it was doomed from the start.

We were from two vastly different backgrounds. We had different expectations and experiences. We even had different ideas for how to treat and raise the girls.

At that moment, I knew that I had to stop whatever fantasy I had involving him. I needed to be ready to move on.

So I started to avoid Lionel. I did my job. I worked with the girls happily, but I would refuse to speak to Lionel unless I absolutely had to.

If I saw Lionel in the hall, I would turn around and go the other way till he was gone. When the girls went to say hi or spend time with him, I kept a safe distance. I just had to remind to myself that this was going to be for the best.

In my free time away from the girls, I started sending out resumes and applications to different jobs. I had to figure out how I was going to survive and live after the six months were up. I started hoping that maybe one day, when I was stronger and financially stable, I could find a way to see and spend time with Patti again.

I started trying to restart the life I had planned for before Patti came into my life. Before I took her in, I had been studying and trying to starting a career as a wedding planner.

It had been my dream as long as I could remember. Weddings were always so beautiful and magical. I loved setting everything up, planning parties and watching people have fun and be in love.

But the five year gap in my resume wasn't exactly enticing to potential employers. I sent out a lot of resumes, but I wasn't being called in for interviews. I resigned myself to having to widen my search to something other than my dream goal.

One afternoon, Lionel walked into the room as I was printing out resumes. He cleared his throat, making me jump. I glanced back at him, seeing him standing in the doorway of the office the staff were allowed to use with his arms over his chest.

I turned back to the printer, grabbing a copy of my resume. I stapled it together, trying to pretend that I hadn't seen Lionel.

"May I ask what you are doing, Ms Lupa?" He asked, tilting his head with a quirked brow.

"I am just preparing for my life after our contract is over." I responded coldly. "I will need a job to survive after all."

He nodded thoughtfully, pushing off the door frame and walking over to me. He looked over my shoulder at the resume in my hand. "I could arrange something for you, if you would like me to." He offered nonchalantly.

I scrunched up my nose. "No thank you." I responded.

I didn't want any help from him now. Time and time again, he hurt me every time I took his help. He took my daughter, he refused my knowledge of her and let her suffer.

Lionel stepped away from me. "Part of our contract was that I could set up any arrangement for you."

I froze, my mind trying to go back through everything in the contract. Admittedly, I was a bit distracted when I was signing it. I wondered if I misread something or if the wording was confusing.

"If you don't comply, you could face a hefty penalty." He said coldly. "Any arrangement." He emphasized.

I turned around to face him with a huff. "What? You can do whatever you want with me?" I demanded in frustration.

"Are you gonna say I have to sleep with you too?" I snapped at him.

Lionel's brows both raised in surprise. "Well, the contract didn't include that specifically, but if you insist..."