CHOSEN. EVERY DAY

Chapter 10: The Secret In The Nursery

The hallway smelled like lemon polish and silence.

Elena stood outside the nursery door with a manila folder clutched to her chest like it could protect her heart. Five years. Five years since she had last stood in this hallway, barefoot, holding two crying babies at 3am while the whole mansion slept.

Her hand hovered over the brass knob. She could walk away. She should walk away. This was a mistake. Coming back to New York. Applying to be nanny for the Cole twins again. Seeing Damien.

But the twins inside needed her. And God help her, she needed them too.

She pushed the door open.

The smell hit her first. Baby powder and lavender. The same lavender soap Damien insisted on ordering from France. The same detergent Mrs Adebayo had always used.

Nothing had changed.

The two white cribs were still in the corner by the tall window. The curtains were still the pale blue ones she had picked out. On the wall, the mural she had painted during those sleepless nights was still there. A night sky full of gold stars and a big crescent moon. She could see the small smudge near the bottom left where she had accidentally gotten paint on her sleeve and tried to wipe it with her thumb.

Her throat closed.

She had been 22 years old when she painted that. A college sophomore desperate for tuition money who answered an ad for a live in nanny. She never thought she would fall in love with the man who signed her checks. She never thought she would fall in love with the two babies who called her Mama Elena.

A floorboard creaked behind her.

Elena spun around so fast the folder almost fell.

Damien Cole stood in the doorway.

He was bigger than she remembered. Taller. His black suit fit him like it was made for him because it probably was. No tie. Sleeves rolled to his elbows. The same sharp jawline. The same dark hair that always looked like he had run his hands through it after a long day.

But his eyes. His eyes were different.

Five years ago they used to look at her like she was the only light in a dark room. Now they were cold. Empty. Like she was a stranger.

What are you doing in here.

His voice was low. It was the voice he used in board meetings when he was about to fire someone.

Elena swallowed. The folder in her hands suddenly felt very important. The permission slips for the twins field trip. Mrs Adebayo had asked her to drop them off before the car came.

I am just dropping these off. Mrs Adebayo asked me to.

She held up the folder. Her hands were shaking.

Damien did not take it. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The click sounded louder than it should have.

I did not ask you to come in here.

The words were quiet but they cut.

Elena nodded. Right. Sorry. I will just leave them on the dresser.

She moved to put the folder down but her feet felt like they were made of cement. She could not stop looking at the room. At the rocking chairs. At the tiny pair of shoes still sitting by the door.

Damien walked past her. He did not look at her. He went straight to the crib on the left and stopped. He did not touch it. He just stared down into it like he could see something there that she could not.

They ask about you.

Elena froze mid step.

What.

The twins. Damien said without turning around. At night. Sometimes they wake up from bad dreams. And they ask if the lady who used to sing to them is coming back.

Elena gripped the edge of the dresser. The wood dug into her palms.

Do you know what I tell them.

She shook her head. She could not speak. If she opened her mouth she would cry and she had promised herself she would not cry in front of him.

I tell them no.

The word landed in the room like a stone.

Because people who leave do not get to come back and play nanny Elena. You do not get to walk back into their lives like nothing happened.

Elena closed her eyes. She had practiced this speech on the flight from Lagos. She was going to be professional. She was going to be distant. She was going to call him Mr Cole and nothing else.

It did not matter. The second she saw him all of that fell apart.

I did not leave because I wanted to.

Her voice came out as a whisper.

Damien finally turned to look at her. His jaw was tight.

Then why did you leave.

Elena opened her mouth and closed it. How could she explain it in one sentence. How could she explain fear and shame and a positive pregnancy test and a phone call from his lawyer all in one breath.

I was scared.

Scared of what.

Scared of you.

The air between them went still.

Damien took a step toward her. Then another. He stopped when he was only a foot away. Close enough that she could smell his cologne. The same one from five years ago. Cedar and something darker.

You were scared of me.

Yes.

Why.

Elena looked down at her shoes. They were simple black flats. Nothing fancy. She was not the girl in designer dresses anymore. She was a mother of two working two jobs.

Because the day after I found out I was pregnant your lawyer called me.

Damien frowned. What lawyer.

Mr Henderson. He said if I ever contacted you again you would sue me for breach of contract. He said you were engaged to Victoria Hale and that any scandal would ruin the merger. He said if I wanted money I could take a settlement and disappear.

Elena looked up. Tears were burning her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

So I took the settlement. And I disappeared.

Damien stared at her. For a second she thought he did not believe her. Then something in his face changed. It was small. Just a flicker. But she saw it.

You are lying.

I am not.

Prove it.

Elena reached into her bag with shaking hands. She pulled out her phone. She scrolled through her photos with her thumb. Her heart was beating so loud she was sure he could hear it.

She turned the phone to him.

On the screen were two children. A boy and a girl. About five years old. Both of them had the same stubborn chin that Damien had. The boy had his dark eyes. The girl had Elena s curly hair and her smile. They were standing in front of a small house in Lagos holding hands and grinning with missing front teeth.

Damien did not move.

That is.

My children. Elena finished for him. Daniel and Diana. They are five. Just like the twins.

Damien reached out. His hand hovered over the phone screen but he did not touch it. Like he was afraid if he did the picture would disappear.

You had my children.

Yes.

And you raised them alone.

Yes.

For five years.

Yes.

Damien turned away from her. He walked to the window and put both hands on the sill. His shoulders were rigid.

God Elena.

She did not answer. What was there to say.

Outside the sky was starting to turn pink. It would be sunset soon.

I am not here to ask you for money. Elena said quickly. I am not here to ask for your name or for anything. I just needed a job. And I thought maybe the twins would like to meet their brother and sister.

Damien did not turn around.

You should have told me.

I know.

You should have called me.

I know.

You left me.

Elena flinched. I know.

The silence stretched. It was heavy and old and full of things they did not know how to say.

Finally Damien turned around. His eyes were red but his face was blank. The CEO mask was back on.

You are not staying in the guest house.

Elena blinked. What.

The guest house is for staff. You are not staff. You are the mother of my children.

Elena shook her head. Damien I cannot. I do not want to cause problems. Victoria will.

Victoria and I are not together anymore.

The words hit Elena like cold water.

What.

We broke it off two years ago. She wanted a different life.

Damien walked toward her. He stopped close enough that she could see the faint lines around his eyes. Lines that were not there five years ago.

You will stay in the main house. In the room next to the nursery. The one you used to use.

Elena opened her mouth to argue. To say it was not appropriate. To say it would be too hard.

But then she heard it.

Footsteps. Small ones. Running down the hallway.

Daddy.

A little girl s voice. High and excited.

Is Auntie Elena back.

Elena s heart stopped.

Damien looked at her. For the first time in five years there was something other than anger in his eyes. It looked like hope. And fear.

Do not run. He said quietly.

Elena nodded. She could not run. Not anymore.

The door burst open.

Two small bodies barreled into the room.

The first was a girl. Curly hair tied into two puffs. Big brown eyes. Wearing a pink dress with stars on it.

The second was a boy. Same eyes. Same hair. Wearing jeans and a t shirt with a dinosaur on it.

They stopped when they saw Elena.

For a second no one moved.

Then the little girl tilted her head.

You look like the lady in Daddy s picture.

Elena dropped to her knees.

Hi. She whispered.

The boy stepped forward. He looked at her like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

Are you Mama Elena.

Elena s tears finally fell.

Yes baby. I am.

The girl did not hesitate. She ran forward and threw her arms around Elena s neck.

You came back.

The boy followed. He hugged her too but he was more careful. Like he was not sure he was allowed.

Elena held them both. She breathed in the smell of their hair. Shampoo and crayons and home.

I am so sorry I left. She whispered into their hair. I am so sorry.

It is okay. The girl said into her shoulder. Daddy said you had to go away for a little bit. But you are back now.

Elena looked up at Damien over their heads.

He was standing by the window. His hands were in his pockets. And he was watching them.

For the first time in five years he looked human.

We need to talk. He said quietly. About everything.

Elena nodded. She stood up slowly with the girl still holding her hand. The boy took her other hand.

Okay.

Good. Damien said. Because we have a lot of time to make up for.

He walked to the door and held it open.

Dinner is in an hour. Mrs Adebayo made jollof.

Elena almost laughed. Jollof. He remembered.

As they walked out of the nursery together, the twins between them, Elena felt something she had not felt in five years.

Hope.

It was fragile and new and terrifying. But it was there.

And this time she was not going to let it go.

Not without a fight.

chapter 10 End