Chapter 5
1296 Words
Melody's pov
The Next Day
The next morning, I woke up with a pit in my stomach. A week. Seven whole days of proving myself to Caden, wrangling his kids, and dodging whatever other chaos that house threw at me. As I got dressed, I steeled myself for the day ahead. You can handle this, Melody. You’ve handled worse.
When I arrived at the mansion, the same smug security guard greeted me with a slow, almost mocking smile. Clearly, he remembered my dramatic exit from yesterday.
"Morning," he drawled, opening the gate.
I ignored him, walking briskly past without a word. If I stopped to address his attitude now, I might never make it inside.
As I stepped into the house, the sound of giggles immediately put me on edge. The kids were already up and, from the sound of it, plotting something.
“Good luck,” Mia’s voice came from the kitchen, where she was nursing a cup of coffee. She looked far too amused for someone who wasn’t about to babysit the miniature tornadoes upstairs.
“I don’t need luck,” I shot back, determined to sound confident, even though I wasn’t.
“Oh, you will,” she replied with a wink before disappearing into another room.
I took a deep breath and climbed the stairs, bracing myself for the inevitable chaos.
When I reached the girls’ room, the door was slightly ajar. Peeking inside, I found Erica and Emily crouched on the floor, surrounded by what looked like...feathers?
“What are you two doing?” I asked, stepping into the room.
They froze, exchanging guilty looks before Erica quickly shoved something behind her back.
“Nothing,” Emily said sweetly, her wide eyes a little too innocent.
“Uh-huh,” I said, crossing my arms. “What’s behind your back, Erica?”
“Just...a project,” she said hesitantly, inching toward the bed.
Before I could stop her, she bolted, sprinting out of the room with Emily hot on her heels. Feathers scattered in their wake.
“Erica! Emily!” I shouted, running after them.
They led me on a wild chase through the house, dodging furniture and laughing like maniacs. By the time I cornered them in the living room, I was out of breath, and they looked way too pleased with themselves.
“What is going on here?” Caden’s deep voice cut through the room, freezing us all in place.
He stood in the doorway, looking as polished and intimidating as ever in a crisp suit. His piercing gaze shifted from me to the girls, then to the trail of feathers scattered across the house.
“Well?” he demanded.
Emily pointed at me. “She started it.”
My jaw dropped. “What? I—”
“They were the ones—” I tried to explain, but Caden held up a hand to silence me.
“Enough,” he said sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Girls, go to your room. Now.”
The twins scampered off, giggling under their breath.
I glared after them, then turned to Caden. “You seriously believe them over me?”
He raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “I didn’t say that. But you’re the adult here, aren’t you?”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault?” I shot back, hands on my hips.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have time for this. Just...keep them out of trouble.”
And with that, he turned and walked out, leaving me standing there fuming.
One week, I reminded myself. You just have to survive one week.
From upstairs, I heard a loud crash, followed by the unmistakable sound of the girls laughing.
I groaned. This is going to be the longest week of my life.
I stood in the living room, fuming, and trying to regain some semblance of calm. The audacity of those two! And Caden, acting like I was the one at fault for the chaos they were clearly stirring up.
I glanced toward the staircase, where the sounds of more mischief were brewing. Groaning inwardly, I made my way upstairs, ready to face whatever disaster the twins had in store this time.
Sure enough, when I reached their room, I found the door wide open again. This time, the girls were sitting on the floor, gleefully tossing handfuls of feathers into the air like it was some kind of snowstorm. The room was a mess. A total disaster.
“Erica. Emily. You’re really pushing it now,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
The girls paused, eyeing me with mischievous grins. Emily was the first to speak, in that overly sweet voice that made me feel like she was planning her next move behind that innocent look.
“Can’t we just finish our project?” she asked, fluttering her lashes exaggeratedly.
I crossed my arms, unconvinced. “What is this project?”
Before Erica could offer one of her evasive answers, I spotted the box in the corner. It was covered with what looked like half-broken eggshells. My heart sank.
“Are you trying to make a mess out of the entire house again?” I demanded, voice rising.
Erica’s grin widened. “Just a science experiment,” she said in a tone so calm it sent chills down my spine. “We’re studying... gravity.” She pulled a feather from the pile and let it drift to the ground, watching it float lazily. “See? It works.”
"Science experiment," I muttered, shaking my head. "You know what? Fine. We’ll finish your ‘experiment.’ But first, I’m cleaning this up."
“Aw, come on!” Erica protested. “It’s part of the fun!”
“No, it’s not,” I snapped, then caught myself. “I’ll help you clean it up. After that, no more feathers in the house. Deal?”
They exchanged a look, before Emily spoke up with her usual charm. “Deal, but only if we can make another experiment with water next time.”
“Water,” I repeated slowly. “No feathers, no water. We’ll stick to something normal.”
Their faces fell for a moment, then brightened again at the thought of causing a new kind of chaos. But for now, I had at least managed to take control of the situation... if only for a second.
Just as I started cleaning up the feathers, I heard Mia’s voice behind me.
“Well done,” she said with a smile. I couldn’t quite understand why she was smiling.
Erica and Emily, I’m leaving, she told the twins.
They both pouted, their lips forming perfect little frowns of sadness.
“Leaving?” I asked, looking up in surprise.
“Yes! I just came to visit them. I’m traveling back to New York now,” Mia explained, her tone light and breezy.
“Oh,” I said, nodding. My stomach twisted.
Mia crouched down to the twins, her voice turning sweet. “I will come back to visit you. Now, come and give Aunt Mia a hug.”
The girls immediately moved closer to her, wrapping their tiny arms around her.
“Be good girls, and don’t disturb your babysitter,” Mia said, her voice playful but with a touch of seriousness.
I stared at the scene in disbelief.
“Oh no! It can’t be true,” I muttered to myself under my breath. “How will I survive in this house with these kids?”
The twins giggled, totally oblivious to my internal meltdown. Mia shot me one last look, a mix of pity and amusement, before she headed out the door.
This week was about to get a lot more challenging.
- Writer
