THE NANNY'S PROMISE

The Secret

Kaelen POV

I sit in my study long after the sun goes down. The room is dark except for the small lamp on my desk. The whiskey in my glass is almost gone. I have been staring at the same wall for an hour.

Naomi Abbot is pregnant.

The words roll around in my head like stones. She hid it. She lied about why she lost her other jobs. She came into my house, into my son's life, carrying another man's child.

Or maybe not another man's.

I think back to the night I stumbled into her room. The night I drank too much whiskey. The night I kissed her shoulder and watched her towel fall to the floor.

I was drunk. But I remember. I remember her skin. The way she whispered my name. The way she held me like I was not a monster.

That was six weeks ago.

If she is pregnant now...

I pour another glass. The whiskey burns my throat. I welcome the burn.

Henderson stands by the door. He has been waiting for me to speak.

"Did she say who the father is?" I ask.

"No, boss. The file only shows she was let go after informing her employers of the pregnancy. None of them wanted to keep a pregnant nanny."

Cowards. All of them.

"Anything else?"

Henderson looks at his phone. "She has two close friends. A woman named Mia and a woman named Tanya. They have known her since high school. No family. Mother died of cancer two years ago. Father passed when she was a teenager."

No family. No one to catch her when she falls.

I take a sip of whiskey. "And the one-night stand? The one she mentioned in her file?"

"Unknown. She did not name him. The police report from that time only says she was found alone in a motel room. No witnesses."

A motel room. Alone.

I set the glass down. My chest feels tight.

She was not just careless. She was hurt. Used. Left behind.

And now she is in my house, sleeping down the hall, carrying a secret she cannot tell.

"What do you want to do, boss?" Henderson asks.

I look at the window. The garden is dark. The bench where she sat with Alex is empty.

"I want to know the truth," I say. "I want to know whose child she carries. And if it is mine..."

I do not finish the sentence. I do not know how.

Henderson waits. When I do not speak, he nods and leaves.

I am alone with my thoughts.

---

The next morning, I find Naomi in the kitchen.

Mary is at the stove, humming. Amara is wiping the counter. Naomi sits at the table with a cup of tea. She looks up when I walk in. Her honey eyes widen. She starts to stand.

"Sit," I say.

She sits.

I pull out the chair across from her and sit down. Mary stops humming. Amara stops wiping. The room goes quiet.

Naomi looks at me like a deer watching a wolf.

"You have been here a week," I say.

"Yes, sir."

"Alex likes you."

A small smile. "I like him too."

"Mary says you are good in the kitchen. Amara says you are kind."

Naomi glances at the two women. They look away quickly.

"Thank you, sir."

I lean forward. My voice drops. "Then why did you lie to me?"

Her face goes pale. The tea cup rattles in her hand. "I don't—"

"Your file says you were fired for being too quiet. I had Henderson dig deeper. You were fired because you are pregnant."

The words hang in the air like smoke.

Naomi's mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. No sound comes out.

Mary and Amara have stopped pretending not to listen. They stare at Naomi with wide eyes.

"Is it true?" Mary asks softly.

Naomi nods. Her chin trembles. Tears fill her honey eyes. "I was going to tell you. I just... I needed this job. I needed a chance."

"A chance to what?" My voice is sharp. "To hide in my house while you grow another man's child?"

She flinches like I have slapped her. "It is not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

She looks down at her hands. Her voice is barely a whisper. "I do not know who the father is. It was one night. A mistake. I was drunk and alone and I made a bad choice. I have been paying for it ever since."

One night. A mistake. Drunk and alone.

The same words I would use to describe my night with her.

My chest tightens again.

"How far along are you?" I ask.

"Almost seven weeks."

Seven weeks.

The night we shared was six weeks ago.

My heart stops. Then it starts again, faster this time.

"Get out," I say.

Naomi looks up. Tears fall down her cheeks. "Please. Please do not fire me. Alex needs me. I need—"

"I said get out."

She stands. Her chair scrapes the floor. She walks to the door. Her shoulders shake. She does not look back.

Mary glares at me. "That was cruel."

"She lied."

"She is scared. There is a difference."

I stand and walk out of the kitchen. I do not look at Mary. I do not look at anyone.

I climb the stairs to my study. I close the door. I lean against it and close my eyes.

Seven weeks.

The timing fits. It fits too well.

If that child is mine...

I press my palms to my face. My hands are shaking.

I am Kaelen Aaron. I do not shake. I do not fear. I crush enemies and take what I want.

But this. A baby. A woman who looked at me like I was her last hope.

I do not know what to do.

I pick up my phone. I dial Henderson.

"Boss."

"I need a DNA test. Discreet. And I need it now."

"For the nanny?"

"For the baby."

Silence. Then: "Understood."

I hang up and stare at the ceiling.

If that child is mine, nothing will ever be the same.

And if it is not...

I do not know which scares me more.