THE NANNY'S PROMISE

The kitchen

Naomi POV

The kitchen is warm.

After the cold hallways and the marble floors, this room feels like a different world. Pots hang from hooks. The smell of bread fills the air. Mary moves around the stove like she has lived here forever.

I sit at the long wooden table with a plate of eggs and toast. Across from me sits a girl I have not met before. She is young. Maybe nineteen. Her name is Amara.

She has brown curls that fall past her shoulders. Skin like milk. Lips like pink roses. She is beautiful in a way that makes me want to stare.

But her eyes are sad.

"Amara lost her father last month," Mary says, placing a cup of tea in front of the girl. "Cancer."

My chest tightens. "I am so sorry," I say. "I lost my mother to cancer two years ago."

Amara looks up. Her eyes are wet. "It hurts every day."

"I know," I say. "But it gets softer. Not easier. Just softer."

She nods. She reaches across the table and touches my hand. Just for a second. Then she pulls away.

Mary shakes her head and points a wooden spoon at me. "Finish your eggs, child. You are too thin."

I look down at my plate. I have been pushing the eggs around, not eating. I take a big bite.

"That is better," Mary says.

Amara smiles. It is small. But real.

"Where is everyone else?" I ask.

"Manuel is at the gate," Mary says. "Old man. Sweet as honey. He has been here twenty years. Flynn is the new driver. Young. Charming. The last driver ran off with someone's wife."

I raise an eyebrow. "Whose wife?"

Mary's lips press together. "Mr. Aaron's."

The room goes quiet.

The last driver fell in love with Elara. They ran away together. They left Alex behind.

No wonder Kaelen trusts no one.

I finish my eggs. Amara stands and carries her plate to the sink. I watch her walk. She moves like water. Graceful. Quiet.

"You are very beautiful," I say. "Have you ever thought about modeling?"

She blushes. "Me? No. I am just a maid."

"You could be more."

Mary snorts. "She is honest and kind. That is rare. Do not waste it."

I laugh. Amara giggles. For a moment, the kitchen feels safe.

Then I hear footsteps.

Heavy. Slow. Deliberate.

The warmth drains from the room.

Kaelen walks down the stairs. He moves like a king. His suit is black. His face is stone. He does not look at me. He does not look at anyone.

Amara lowers her head. She follows him to the dining room with her eyes on the floor.

"Bring me my tray, Amara," he orders.

"Yes, sir." Her voice is barely a whisper.

She takes the silver tray from Mary. Her hands shake. She carries it to him.

I stand at the kitchen doorway, watching. He does not thank her. He does not look at her. He just lifts his coffee cup and drinks.

Then his gray eyes find me.

"Miss Abbot."

My face grows hot. "Yes, sir?"

"I believe you were leaving."

He is dismissing me. Like a servant. Like nothing.

"Yes, sir. Excuse me."

I turn and walk away. My cheeks burn. My hands shake.

This man really hates me.

---

I climb the stairs to the nursery. The door is open. Alex is awake, sitting up in his bed, holding his wolf.

"Naomi," he says. His voice is small.

I sit on the edge of his bed. "Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?"

He nods. Then he reaches out and touches my hand. His fingers are tiny. Warm.

"Don't go," he whispers.

My heart cracks. "I am not going anywhere," I say. "I promise."

He smiles. Small. Shy. Real.

I pull him into my lap and hold him. He leans his head against my chest. His breathing slows.

"Naomi?"

"Yes?"

"Do you like my papa?"

The question catches me off guard. I do not know how to answer.

"Your papa is... complicated," I say.

Alex looks up at me with his gray eyes. "Mama said he is too angry. She said she could not stay."

My throat tightens. "Your mama made a choice. That does not mean she did not love you."

"Then why did she leave me?"

Tears sting my eyes. I hold him tighter. "I do not know, sweet boy. But I am here. And I am not leaving."

He nods. He closes his eyes.

I rock him back and forth. I hum a song Mama used to sing to me.

Through the window, I see the garden. Green grass. Blue sky. A world that feels far away from this cold house.

I think about Kaelen's gray eyes. His flat voice. The way he looks at me like I am nothing.

But his son is not nothing. His son is everything.

And I made a promise.

I hear footsteps in the hallway. Heavy. Slow.

The door creaks open.

Kaelen stands there. His gray eyes lock on mine.

"The car is waiting," he says. "You have an appointment."

My blood runs cold. "What appointment?"

He does not answer. He just turns and walks away.

Alex looks up at me. "Where are you going?"

I do not know.

But the look in Kaelen's eyes said everything.

He knows.