His Nanny, His Unplanned Love

Chapter 7

POV: Tristan

Later that night, the house was finally quiet.

Everyone had gone to bed.

I stood by the door of Sophie's room for a moment, watching Sophie sleep. Her small body was curled under the blanket, her tiny fingers wrapped around the edge of her pillow like she was holding on to something even in her dreams.

Or someone.

My jaw tightened at the thought.

“Goodnight, Sophie,” I said softly.

She didn’t stir. She was already far gone in sleep.

I stayed a few more seconds longer than I should have, then turned and walked out, gently closing the door behind me.

The hallway lights were dim, casting long shadows on the clean marble floors. The entire mansion felt still, like it was holding its breath.

I let out a breath slowly and made my way to my office.

The moment I walked inside, the familiar scent of leather and wood filled my nostrils.

My office has always been my escape. A place where things made sense. Where numbers, contracts, and decisions were clear and controlled.

Unlike today.

I walked over to my desk and dropped into my chair, reaching for the stack of files waiting for me. There were contracts to sign, deals to approve, reports to review.

These were all work I usually handled without a second thought.

But tonight…

I picked up a file, opened it, and just stared at the words.

Then closed it again.

My mind wasn’t here.

It was somewhere else entirely.

Back in that school.

Back in Mrs. Kate's office.

Back to her.

Naomi.

A slow smile spread across my lips before I could stop it.

I leaned back in my chair, resting my head against the leather.

For a moment there… I had actually been worried.

Not for myself.

For that man.

A low chuckle escaped me.

The way she had stepped forward… so small, yet so fearless.

“Repeat that statement one more time,” she had said, her voice cold and steady.

“I dare you… and you’ll end up in a hospital with one ear missing.”

I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head.

It was… impressive.

No.

More like, it had been dangerous.

And the funny part?

The man had believed her threat.

I could still picture it clearly. The way he had taken a step back, his face going pale. Fear written all over him.

Fear… of a woman half his size.

I ran a hand over my mouth, still smiling.

“She’s feisty…” I muttered to myself.

And I liked it.

That kind of fire… that kind of boldness… it meant she wasn’t weak.

It meant she wouldn’t hesitate.

It meant she was always ready to protect.

My expression slowly turned serious.

And that meant…

She was capable.

Capable of taking care of Sophie.

At least… that was how I saw it.

Even the way she had spoken to the teacher…

“You’ll be seeing more of me.”

It was a simple sentence.

But there had been nothing simple about it.

It had been a promise.

A warning.

And strangely…

Reassuring.

I leaned back further in my chair, staring up at the ceiling.

But my thoughts didn’t stop there.

They shifted.

To something else.

To another moment.

Another image that refused to leave my mind.

Sophie. And the way she had ran straight into Naomi’s arms.

My chest tightened slightly.

And then… That word.

“Mommy.”

My eyes snapped shut.

That single word had hit me harder than anything else today.

I still didn’t understand it.

Why had she called her that?

Why Naomi of all people?

Why someone she had just met?

My fingers curled slightly against the armrest.

And then she had clung to her all day refusing to let her go.

Even when I tried to take her back.

My jaw clenched.

I had tried not to read too much into it.

I tried to tell myself it was just a child being emotional.

But still… I had felt it.

That small, sharp feeling in my chest.

Jealousy.

I opened my eyes immediately, frowning.

“That’s ridiculous,” I muttered under my breath.

Jealous?

Of what?

Of who?

It made no sense.

Still….The feeling had been there.

And I didn’t like it.

I exhaled slowly, straightening in my chair.

I would have to talk to Sophie.

That much was certain.

She couldn’t just go around calling anyone “mommy.”

Especially not Naomi.

My expression hardened.

“She’s her nanny,” I said quietly.

“Nothing more.”

And I was going to make sure it stayed that way.

My phone suddenly began to ring, filling the silence of the room.

I looked down at the screen.

It was Conner.

I picked it up immediately.

“What’s up, Conner?”

His voice came through the line, calm as always.

“I got all the information I could on this Naomi Moore woman you asked for.”

I adjusted in my seat, my attention sharpening.

“And?” I asked. “What did you find?”

There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

“There’s nothing special about her, really.”

I frowned slightly.

“Go on.”

“She has a degree in project management from the University of California. Worked in a company for about two years… then resigned.”

“Resigned? What was the reason?”

“Something about trying to find her way.”

I tapped my fingers lightly against the desk.

“And after that?”

“She disappeared for a while,” Conner continued. “Completely off the grid. No records. No activity.”

My eyes narrowed slightly.

“And then?”

“She showed up again and has been working different part time jobs since then.”

Silence filled the room for a moment.

I nodded slowly.

“Hm.”

Then I said,

“So when she disappeared… that was when she racked up the debt she has?”

“That’s what I’m thinking too,” Conner replied.

I leaned back again.

“That’s fine.”

There was no hesitation in my voice as I added,

“She’ll be moving into my house tomorrow as Sophie’s new nanny.”

There was a short silence on the other end.

“I want you to go pick her up,” I continued.

“I don’t know how many things she has. Just make sure she gets here safely.”

Another pause.

Then—

“Are you sure about this, Tristan?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Conner said carefully, “you don’t know this woman. You can’t just let her into your house like that. What if she does something to harm Sophie?”

My expression didn’t change.

“I don’t think she will.”

“You don’t know that yet.”

“I’ve seen her,” I said calmly. “Three times around Sophie.”

I paused, then added,

“She’d rather get hurt herself than let anything happen to that child.”

Conner let out a breath.

“Fine… but what if she’s pretending?”

I didn’t respond immediately.

“What if she's trying to gain your trust,” he continued, “and then stabs you in the back? What if she kidnaps Sophie or—”

“That won’t happen,” I cut in.

My voice was quiet.

Firm.

“And you know it.”

He knew who I was and what I would do to anyone who tried to lay a finger on Sophie.

There was silence again.

Then Conner sighed.

“Okay… but what if—” he hesitated slightly, “and this is a real what if… what if you fall in love with her?”

I scoffed.

A cold, humorless sound.

“You know the answer to that.”

I didn’t need to explain.

He already knew.

“This heart,” I said slowly, “loves only one woman.”

The line went quiet.

Because we both knew who I was talking about.

Nora.

My grip on the phone tightened slightly.

The memory hit me like it always did.

Sharp.

Heavy.

Final.

“When she died,” I continued, my voice lower now, “I swore I would never love another woman again.”

A pause.

“Naomi is no different. I don’t feel anything for her and I will never feel anything for her.”

Conner sighed again.

“Alright,” he said. “But when the time comes, I’m going to tell you I told you so.”

I smirked faintly.

“Sure. But I doubt that time will ever come.”

I shifted slightly in my seat.

“That aside. I’ll be spending some time at home with Sophie,” I added. “So I can see how Naomi works around her… and around the house.”

“Don’t worry,” Conner said. “I’ll handle things at the office. I’ll only call if it’s necessary. How many days will you be staying home for?” he asked.

“Maybe a week,” I replied. “I’ll let you know.”

“Alright.”

Then he paused again.

“Before I forget… Eleanor called me yesterday.”

I let out a slow, tired sigh.

“What did she want?”

“She said you haven’t been picking up her calls.”

“I’ll call her when I get the time.”

“And…” Conner hesitated, “she said she hasn’t been feeling too well for the past two weeks.”

My expression didn’t change.

“Don’t mind her,” I said flatly. “She’s just looking for attention.”

“Tristan…” Conner’s voice softened slightly. “She’s still your mother. Why don’t you just call and check on her?”

“I will,” I said. “When I’m less busy.”

There was a pause.

“Alright,” he finally said.

“I’ll bring Naomi over tomorrow.”

“Good. We’ll talk then.”

And with that said, I ended the call.

I dropped the phone on the table and pushed myself up from the chair.

Running a hand through my hair, I walked toward the window.

The large glass overlooked the garden.

The lights outside were dim, casting soft shadows over the trees and pathways.

Everything looked calm.

Peaceful.

But my mind wasn’t.

My gaze drifted to the phone on the desk behind me.

I had seen the missed calls from my mother.

Every single one of them.

And I had ignored them.

On purpose.

My jaw tightened.

“I don’t want to talk to her,” I muttered.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.

Everything that had happened… It was her fault.

If she had taken Nora to the hospital on time—

My breath hitched slightly.

“She would still be alive,” I whispered.

Silence answered me.

My hand clenched into a fist.

“It’s a miracle Sophie survived,” I continued under my breath.

The doctors had barely managed to save her.

Barely.

And even now…

Even after everything…

She hadn’t apologized.

Not once.

I closed my eyes briefly, exhaling slowly.

“I’ll call her,” I said.

But not now.

I didn’t have the energy to listen to her voice.

Or her constant nagging.

Her constant need to control everything.

“Next week,” I decided. “I’ll call her next week.”

I opened my eyes again, staring out into the dark garden.

The silence stretched.

Heavy.

Then I let out a long breath.

I was tired.

Today had been too much.

First, Naomi.

Then the school.

And then the hospital.

Everything.

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Tomorrow,” I murmured. “I’ll figure the rest out tomorrow.”

Because right now… I didn't have the energy.

Only the living had the luxury of worrying about tomorrow.

And tonight…

I just needed to rest.

But for some reason, as I got into bed... my mind refused to let her go.