CHAPTER |11
1042 Words
Amarahh’s POV
I could not sit down.
Even when Marcus pointed at the empty chair near the waiting area, I stayed on my feet.
The hospital corridor felt too cold, too bright, too silent between moments of sudden movement. Every time a nurse passed, my chest tightened again.
I kept pacing three steps forward, three steps back. My hands would not stop shaking.
Marcus stood nearby, his usual calm still on his face, but even he looked tired. "Miss Amarahh, sit for a moment."
I shook my head immediately. "I can't."
"You need to breathe."
That almost made me laugh, but what came out instead was another broken breath.
"I almost killed her."
His expression changed. "You did not."
"I should have checked."
"The kitchen made a mistake."
"But I gave her the plate."
My voice broke again. I covered my mouth because the tears returned too quickly. "I gave it to her myself."
Marcus lowered his voice. "The doctors said she is stable."
"That does not remove what happened."
He looked toward Ava's ward before speaking again. "Children react fast. These things happen even in careful houses."
I looked at him. "Not when someone is responsible."
The guilt inside me refused comfort. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ava on the floor again. Her face read her hands at her throat, her eyes wide with fear.
That image would not leave.
Marcus tried again. "Mr. Aiden went in to see her. That means she is alright enough for him to stay there."
That did not help because I remembered the way Aiden had looked at me.
First relief, then coldness the moment he pulled away when my hand touched him.
I deserved that.
Maybe worse, I wiped my face with trembling fingers. "I should not have stayed in that kitchen."
Marcus said nothing this time. The silence between us lasted until my pacing started again. Minutes became slow then one hour then another.
The chef came once, apologized again, and sat far away looking ruined.
The kitchen assistant who had mixed the garnish cried quietly in one corner. Nobody knew what to say anymore then suddenly I heard hurried footsteps.
Fast.
Sharp against the hospital floor, everyone looked up.
A woman rushed down the corridor, breathless, hair partly loose, eyes already full of panic.
Vanessa.
I recognized her immediately from the day I thought she was Aiden's wife.
She wore no calm at all tonight, only fear.
"Where is she?" she demanded before fully reaching us.
Marcus answered quickly. "Ward six, ma'am. She is stable."
But Vanessa had already seen the door. She moved toward it, then stopped halfway when her eyes landed on me.
The look she gave me made my body go cold. It was not confusing. It was blame she walked toward me slowly now.
Very slowly.
I instinctively stepped back, and she stopped directly in front of me. "So you are the nanny."
I opened my mouth. "I am sorry."
The slap landed before I finished sharp enough to turn my face. The sound shocked even the corridor. For one second, everything stopped.
I tasted fear immediately. My cheek burned badly.
Marcus moved forward. "Ma'am—"
Vanessa raised a hand without looking at him. "No."
Her eyes stayed on me. "Do not speak for her."
I looked back at her, my face hot, tears returning instantly.
"I am sorry," I whispered.
The words felt too small and useless.
Vanessa's voice shook. "My niece almost died."
"I know."
"You know?"
She gave a short painful laugh. "You know?"
Her own eyes filled now. "You think sorry fixes what happened?"
I lowered my head. "No."
"Then what exactly are you standing here for?"
Marcus tried carefully again. "The kitchen."
"I said no one should speak for her." This time Marcus stayed silent.
Vanessa looked me over from head to toe. Cold controlled. "You will leave that house tonight."
I blinked and my breath caught. "Ma'am..."
"Pack your things and leave."
The words came without hesitation. "I do not want to see your face near my niece again."
My lips trembled. "I never meant."
"Leave."
That one word ended everything. No argument came to my mouth. Because what defense did I have? A child had nearly died while eating food I served.
Even if the mistake was not fully mine, guilt had already chosen me.
I bowed my head. "Yes, ma'am."
Vanessa turned away from me immediately and entered Ava's room. The door closed, and the corridor stayed quiet after that.
Marcus looked at me with something close to pity. "I will speak to sir."
I shook my head quickly. "No."
He frowned."But-”
"It is alright."
It was not alright, nothing about tonight was alright. Still, I could not stay there another second.
I wiped my face again. "I should go."
Marcus watched me carefully. "At least wait until morning."
"I cannot."
He did not stop me when I turned.
Maybe because he knew some kind of shame, he could not sit still under bright hospital lights. The drive back to the house felt empty even though the staff driver took me.
Nobody spoke, the gate opened slowly, the same house that had begun to feel less frightening now looked distant again.
I went straight upstairs to my small room. My hands shook while opening the cupboard. The little things I owned look smaller now than when I arrived.
Two dresses, one pair of slippers, a wrapped photograph of my mother. A small purse and the identity papers that were not fully mine.
I folded everything badly because tears kept falling. I could hear movement downstairs.
Voices were probably staff discussing what happened. Maybe Aiden had not returned yet, maybe he had.
I did not ask, I only packed faster.
At one point, I sat on the bed because breathing became difficult. I held my mother's photograph tightly..
"Forgive me," I whispered, though I did not even know if I spoke to her, to Ava, or to myself.
Then I stood again when I carried my small bag downstairs, Grace from the kitchen saw me first.
Her eyes widened. "You are leaving now?"
I nodded. She looked heartbroken. "But where will you go?"
"I don't know."
- Writer
