THE BILLIONAIRE'S NANNY

THE BREAKFAST WAR

EPISODE 2: THE BREAKFAST WAR

7:00 AM.

My alarm didn’t wake me. Fear did.

"Make her eat by 9am or you’re fired."

Mr. Bello’s words were still ringing in my head.

Lily was already awake, sitting on my bed playing with her doll. "Mama, are we rich now?"

"Not yet baby," I whispered. "But we’re trying."

I washed my face and wore the only apron I brought. It had pizza stains on it.

The kitchen downstairs was huge. Bigger than my old apartment. Marble countertops. Fridge that looked like a spaceship. Everything was spotless. Too spotless. Like nobody ever cooked here.

Mrs. Hayes was already there. "Good morning. Mr. Bello said breakfast is on you today."

"Where’s Sofia?" I asked.

"Still in her room. She hasn’t come down in 3 days."

3 days. My stomach twisted.

I opened the fridge. Eggs. Milk. Bread. Fruit. Pancake mix.

Everything. Except the one thing I needed: a way to get a 4-year-old who hasn’t spoken in 6 months to eat.

At 7:30 AM, I heard footsteps.

Mr. Bello walked in. He looked worse than yesterday. Same suit from yesterday, tie loose, 5 o’clock shadow. He had two cups of coffee in his hands.

He set one down for me. Black. No sugar.

"You look nervous," he said.

"I am. If she doesn’t eat by 9, I’m fired, right?"

He nodded. Didn’t meet my eyes. "That was the deal."

"Then why are you giving me coffee?"

"Because you’ll need it." He leaned against the counter. "The last nanny tried pancakes. She threw them on the floor. The one before that tried cereal. She poured milk everywhere and cried for an hour."

"She cried?"

"She hasn’t cried out loud in months. But that day... she cried." He rubbed his face. "Look, just try. If it doesn’t work, it’s not your fault."

It was the first time he sounded human.

At 8:00 AM, Mrs. Hayes came in. "Sofia is awake."

My heart jumped. "Okay. What does she like?"

Mrs. Hayes and Mr. Bello looked at each other.

"She used to like," Mr. Bello said slowly, "strawberry pancakes. Her mom made them every Sunday. With smiley faces."

Used to. Past tense.

I nodded. "Pancakes it is."

I got to work. Mix. Batter. Strawberries. I even tried to make smiley faces like he said. They looked like sad faces instead.

At 8:30 AM, Mrs. Hayes brought Sofia down.

She was wearing the same pink pajamas. Hair still in messy braids. She walked in, looked at the table, and sat in her chair. Silent.

Lily waved from the corner where she was eating toast. "Hi Sofia! Mama made pancakes!"

Sofia didn’t look at her.

I put the plate in front of her. Three small pancakes. Two strawberries for eyes. One banana slice for a smile.

It looked pathetic.

"Hi Sofia," I said softly. "I made you pancakes. Like... smiley ones."

Nothing.

She stared at the plate. Then she pushed it. Off the table.

It crashed to the floor. Pancakes everywhere.

My heart sank.

Mr. Bello was standing in the doorway. He didn’t move. Didn’t yell. He just closed his eyes.

"That’s okay," I said quickly. "We can make more."

I started cleaning. My hands were shaking. 8:45 AM. 15 minutes left.

"Wait," I said. I stopped cleaning. I looked at Sofia.

She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at Lily.

Lily was eating her toast. Making faces. "Mmm this is so yummy! Mama is the best cook!"

I got an idea. A stupid idea.

I picked up another piece of toast. Made a big bite. "Mmm! Lily, you’re right! This toast is SO good!"

Lily caught on fast. "Yeah! The best toast in the whole world!"

We started making a big deal about toast. Exaggerated chewing. "Mmm!"

Sofia’s eyes flicked to us.

I cut a pancake. Took a bite. "Oh wow. This pancake is... it tastes like clouds!"

Lily giggled. "Clouds! Mama, can I have a cloud too?"

I gave her a piece. She ate it dramatically.

8:55 AM.

Sofia was still watching us.

I pushed the plate toward her again. Not directly. Just closer. "You don’t have to eat it. We’re just gonna keep eating all the clouds ourselves."

Another minute passed.

Then.

Her small hand reached out. She picked up one strawberry.

Put it in her mouth.

I froze. Didn’t breathe.

She chewed. Swallowed.

Then she picked up a piece of pancake.

Ate it.

My eyes started burning.

9:00 AM.

"She ate," Mr. Bello said from behind me. His voice was rough.

Sofia didn’t look at him. But she took another bite.

And another.

She ate half the pancake. And two strawberries.

I wanted to cry.

Mr. Bello walked out of the kitchen. I heard him on the phone a minute later in the hallway. "She ate. Yeah. Half a pancake."

He sounded relieved. Like someone had taken a weight off his chest.

---

After breakfast, I was cleaning when he came back in.

"You did it," he said.

"I got lucky."

"No. The other nannies yelled. Or bribed her. Or ignored her. You... played with her."

I shrugged. "Lily and I are good at making food look fun. When you have $43, you learn to make toast feel like a party."

He looked at me for a long time. "Thank you."

That was it. Two words. But they felt heavy.

"Sofia is in the playroom," he said. "If you want... you can take her outside today. To the garden. She used to like the swings."

"Okay."

---

The garden was beautiful. Flowers everywhere. A big swing set.

Sofia sat on the swing. Not swinging. Just sitting.

Lily got on the swing next to her and started pumping her legs. "Wheee! This is so high!"

I sat on the grass and started picking daisies. Making a chain.

After 10 minutes, I held it up. "Look Lily, a flower crown!"

I put it on Lily’s head. She squealed.

Then I made another one. Smaller.

I walked to Sofia and held it out. Didn’t say anything.

She looked at it. Then at me.

Slowly, she lifted her head.

I put the flower crown on her messy braids.

She didn’t smile. But she didn’t take it off either.

She reached down. Picked a daisy.

And handed it to me.

My breath caught. It was the first thing she’d done.

"Thank you," I whispered.

From the window upstairs, I saw Mr. Bello watching. His phone was in his hand. He wasn’t on a call.

He was just watching.

---

That night at dinner, Sofia ate again. More this time. Rice and chicken.

After, Mr. Bello found me in the kitchen.

"The doctor said she might start talking again. If she feels safe," he said. "Whatever you did today... keep doing it."

"What did I do?"

"You made her laugh. Or almost laugh. I saw it."

He paused. "Her name is Sofia. She used to talk nonstop. About dinosaurs and princesses and why the sky is blue."

He looked away. "I don’t know how to get her back."

"You will," I said before I could stop myself. "We will."

He looked surprised that I said "we".

"Goodnight, Amara."

"Goodnight, Mr. Bello."

As I walked upstairs, Lily tugged my hand. "Mama, Sofia smiled at me today. I think. Just a little."

I squeezed her hand.

Rule 1: Don’t get attached.

I was so screwed.

[END OF EPISODE 2]

What do you think made Sofia eat? The pancakes or playing with Lily? Comment! 👇

# Stary Writing Marathon #Contemporary #Billionaire #SingleMom #Nanny #Healing #Kids #FoundFamily