His Nanny, His Unplanned Love

Chapter 9

POV: Tristan

I didn’t move.

Even after the door had closed behind her… I didn’t move.

I just sat there in my chair, my eyes glued on the exact spot where Naomi had stood just seconds ago. The door was shut now and the room was quiet again, but my eyes didn’t leave that position.

It was strange.

I felt a little bit strange.

I wasn’t sure why I was still looking at it.

Maybe I was thinking.

Or maybe… I was questioning my decision.

A slow breath left my lips as I leaned back slightly in my chair, my fingers tapping lightly against the armrest.

Was I doing the right thing?

Letting her into my home…

Letting her into my daughter’s life…

It wasn’t a small decision.

It wasn’t something I could afford to get wrong.

Yes, Sophie liked her.

No.

That wasn’t even the right word.

Sophie didn’t just like her.

She had attached herself to her in a way I had never seen before.

And from what I had seen so far…

Naomi cared about her too.

That much was obvious.

The way she held her.

The way she spoke to her.

The way she looked at her…

It wasn’t fake.

It couldn’t be.

But still…

“She’s a stranger,” I muttered under my breath.

My eyes were still on the door.

Still unmoving.

And then—

“You know… she’s kind of weird.”

Conner’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I blinked once, then finally turned my head to look at him.

He was still sitting comfortably on the couch, one arm stretched across the backrest, watching me like he had been observing me this whole time.

“Why do you say that?” I asked calmly.

Conner shrugged slightly.

“On our way here I decided to test her… so I gave her a very sound warning.”

I raised a brow.

“A very sound warning?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I told her that if she hurts either you or Sophie…” he paused briefly, then added, “I’d make sure the remains of her body are never found.”

I stared at him.

For a second.

Then another.

And then— I burst out laughing.

A real laugh.

Loud and unrestrained.

“No way, Conner. You threatened her?” I asked between laughs.

Conner frowned slightly.

“Call it whatever you want.”

I shook my head, still laughing.

“Okay… so how did that go for you?”

He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes began looking around at nothing in particular.

“S—she had the same reaction you did.” He stammered.

That only made me laugh harder.

“I mean… who wouldn’t?” I said, wiping the corner of my eye. “That’s the most outdated way to threaten someone I’ve ever heard.”

Conner didn’t look amused.

“That’s not the point,” he said.

My laughter slowly faded as I looked at him.

“If she were a normal person… she wouldn’t have laughed it off like that. Don’t you think?”

That made me pause.

Just for a second though.

Then I leaned back again, folding my arms across my chest.

“Well,” I said calmly, “I knew she wasn’t normal the moment she stood up to me in the park that day.”

Conner raised a brow.

“And the way she threatened that man yesterday at the kindergarten…” I added, a small smirk forming on my lips. “You could take lessons from her.”

Conner leaned forward immediately.

“She threatened someone?”

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“How bad was it?”

I let out a short breath.

“The man looked like he was about to faint from fear.”

Conner blinked.

“Damn.”

He ran a hand over his face, shaking his head slightly.

“I still don’t like this whole idea of her being Sophie’s nanny.”

I exhaled slowly.

“Let it go, Conner,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”

He held my gaze for a moment.

Then nodded.

“Fine.”

There was a brief silence.

Then I shifted slightly in my seat.

“Now… let’s talk about business,” I said.

His expression changed immediately.

Serious.

Focused.

“Were you able to find out what happened to my four containers?”

Conner shook his head.

“Not yet. Silas is still investigating.”

My jaw tightened slightly.

“And?”

“He says no one is willing to talk to him,” Conner continued. “They all know he works for you.”

I leaned forward slightly.

“Then send someone else.”

“There’s no one else to send.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean there’s no one else to send?”

Conner didn’t hesitate.

“Exactly what I said. They’re all on one mission or another.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

I leaned back slowly, my expression hardening as I folded my hands together.

Four containers.

Four.

Missing.

And each one of them was worth billions.

Just the cars in one of those containers alone was enough to build a five star hotel.

My jaw tightened.

This wasn’t a small loss.

This wasn’t something that could be ignored at all.

“Call all of them back,” I said finally.

Conner looked up.

“By next weekend,” I added. “I want a meeting.”

He nodded.

“And tell Silas to find something,” I continued. “Anything. I want answers. And I want them fast.”

“Okay,” Conner said. “I’ll handle it.”

Just then—

His phone began to ring.

He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

Then slowly… he looked up at me.

“It’s Aunt Eleanor.”

My expression darkened instantly.

“Don’t pick it up.”

Conner sighed.

“You know she’ll just keep calling until I do.”

“Then tell her I’m not around. Tell her anything.”

He hesitated for a second.

Then answered the call and put it on speaker.

“Hello, Aunt Eleanor.”

Her voice came through immediately.

Sharp.

Impatient.

Always nagging.

“Conner, why didn’t you pick up my call quickly?”

“Sorry, Aunt,” he said calmly. “I wasn’t close to my phone.”

“You should make sure you answer my calls quickly,” she said. “Especially mine.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Conner replied.

There was a short pause.

“Give the phone to Tristan now. I want to speak with him.”

Conner's eyes looked my way.

“Sorry, Aunt. I can’t. He’s not here.”

“Then go give it to him wherever he is.”

“I can’t do that either. He’s not at the office today.”

There was another pause from her end.

“Were you able to speak to him?”

“Yes,” Conner said. “He said he’ll call you back.”

Silence.

Then—

“Well, tell him this,” she said coldly. “If he doesn’t call me soon… I will pack my bags and come over to his house myself.”

Conner raised a brow and looked at me.

“I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

“Good,” she said. “And next time, don’t keep me waiting.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Auntie.”

She didn't even bother to say good bye, she just ended the call like that.

Silence filled the room again.

But Conner broke the silence.

“Well… you heard her.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t mind her. I’ll call her when I’m free.”

“You could just call her now.”

I was already getting irritated just talking about her.

“Drop it, Conner,” I said sharply. “I said I’ll call her.”

He raised both hands up.

“Alright. Calm down. I was just delivering a message.”

I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair.

“Don’t pick up her calls for a while,” I added. “I don’t want to hear anything from her for now.”

“Okay, boss,” he said lightly. “Whatever you say.”

I pushed myself up from the chair.

“That reminds me… where the hell are Sami and Zaki?” I asked. “I told them to be on standby at the mansion.”

“Silas needed extra hands,” Conner replied. “So I sent them over.”

I rubbed my eyes as I let out a slow breath.

“You know what… just have everyone return by Saturday,” I said. “We’ll have a meeting on Sunday night. At the arena.”

“Sure thing.”

Conner stood up, stretching slightly.

“I should head to the office now.”

I nodded.

“Handle things while I’m away.”

“I will.”

He turned—

But suddenly—

CRASH!

The loud sound shattered the quiet.

Both of us froze.

Then we heard it—

Sophie’s loud cry coming from the kitchen.

“Ahhh—! No! No! No! I don't want to!”

My heart dropped.

I didn’t think.

I just moved.

Fast.

I was already out of the office before my mind could catch up, my footsteps hitting the floor hard as I rushed toward the kitchen.

Conner was right behind me.

We turned the corner—

And what I saw made me stop.

Sophie was on the floor.

Crying.

Tears streaming down her face.

Broken plates were scattered everywhere.

Lucy stood in the corner, quickly trying to pick up the shattered pieces, her hands shaking slightly.

And Naomi—

Naomi was crouched in front of Sophie.

Her face looked calm.

But stern.

Very stern.

“That was not a nice thing to do, Sophie,” she said firmly.

But Sophie cried harder.

Naomi didn’t soften either.

“You could have hurt Lucy,” she continued. “And now you’re the one crying?”

My brows furrowed.

“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded.

Naomi didn’t look at me immediately.

Her eyes stayed on Sophie.

Waiting.

Watching.

And for some reason…

Something about that moment didn’t sit right with me.

Not at all.

For the first time since I had met her…

Naomi didn’t look gentle.

She didn’t look warm.

She sure as hell didn’t look soft either.

She looked…

Unyielding.

And I didn’t know if that was a good thing.

Or a very dangerous one.