The mate of his nanny

Chapter 118: A Choice to Make

Moana

The morning after I finally revealed the truth about my lineage to Edrick, I thought that everything would finally be okay. I thought that maybe, we could finally be together without any issues now that he knew that I was a werewolf; or, at the very least, I thought that his family would hate me a little less.
But as it turned out, things rarely ever happened so easily.

I had spent the past two nights sleeping in Edrick's room again. It seemed that our sleeping arrangement went back to the way it was before — only now, there were fewer barriers between us. When I woke up, the curtains were open to allow sunshine to come in. Edrick was already gone for work, so I laid in bed for a few minutes and looked at my phone while I woke up.

However, my eyes shot wide open when I saw the headline of an article with a picture of Edrick and I going into the hospital from the day that I was attacked by the rogues. Neither of us were wearing masks. As I read the headline, I felt my heart sink.

"WERECORP CEO SEEN WITH MYSTERY WOMAN ONCE MORE," the headline read.

Below it was an entire article of speculation on who I was and why I was going to the hospital with Edrick. Finally, at the end, the article seemed to hit the nail on the head: that I was the mother of an illegitimate child, and that Edrick was the father.

But that wasn't all. If that had been it, I would have been able to move on. Instead, there was a second article; this time, the article had a photograph of Edrick and Kelly together. It wasn't a paparazzi photo like the first one, but rather a family photo that appeared as though it had been taken at least a year or two prior. The article headline read:

"WERECORP CEO, EDRICK MORGAN, ENGAGED?"
My heart sank.

The article seemed speculative, but it claimed that Kelly and Edrick were engaged; not only that, but that Kelly was possibly the mother of a child that Edrick already had.
Ella.

I sat up in bed, feeling my heart race and break at the same time. Was it possible that Edrick was going to allow this? Was he finally going to choose Kelly as his fiancee, real or not, because he couldn't bear the effect that my low status would have on his public image?

Part of me didn't want to believe it. Edrick had been so close with me since the incident. Ever since our kiss in the kitchen, even, he had been close with me. I thought back to the night of the banquet, when we kissed in the fountain after playfully splashing each other. I thought about the childlike smile on his face as we splashed each other, and the way that his hands traveled along my body when I kissed him.

I thought about how jealous he got when he found out that Ethan kissed me, and I thought about the scared look on his face when he scooped me up out of the alleyway. The way that he held my hand so tightly when we were in the hospital, and the way that he didn't want to let me out of his sight when we got home...

Even after all of that, was he still so afraid to be true to me?

...

That night, I decided that I couldn't stop thinking about this. If Edrick really was going to choose a relationship with Kelly, then I needed to have some dignity. I decided, when he came home, that I needed to talk to him.

But Edrick didn't come home until late that night. I was already in my own bed with the conviction that I would sleep in my room that night when he arrived, but I was still awake when I heard him knocking quietly on my door.

"Come in," I called, sitting up in bed.
Edrick cracked the door open and quietly slipped in, already in his pajamas.

"You want to sleep in here tonight?" he asked.

"That's fine. Scooch over."

I frowned as he came over to the side of the bed, and although I did make room for him, I still felt uneasy. And Edrick, seeing this, stopped in his tracks and gave me a worried look. "What's wrong?"

I didn't know what to say at first. My throat clammed up so nothing would come out, and I only shook my head and laid back down, having lost the confidence to say anything about the situation upon seeing his handsome face in the moonlight.

Edrick sighed and laid down beside me. We laid there like that for several minutes, neither of us speaking but also neither of us trying to sleep at the same time, until I finally spoke. It came out fast, a jumble of rushed words.

"Are you going to marry Kelly?" I asked.

Edrick paused, then slowly sat up and looked at me with his brow furrowed. "What?" he asked.

"I saw the articles," I said quietly, sitting up now too as my heart raced. "I want to know if you're planning on marrying Kelly."

For a few moments, Edrick was completely silent. He seemed uneasy, as though my question had taken him by surprise. But how could it have been a surprise to him if he was really planning on marrying Kelly while still upholding the sleeping arrangement with me? How could he seriously seem so shocked that I would ask him about it?

"Just tell me," I said. "In the same way that you had the right as the father of my baby to know about my werewolf lineage, I deserve the right as the mother of your child to know if you're planning on marrying Kelly."

Edrick sucked his teeth, then answered. "I'm not planning on marrying Kelly," he responded. His voice was low and even- toned, but I was immediately aware of his choice of words. He only specified that he wouldn't marry Kelly in particular; he didn't specify, however, that he wouldn't marry someone, and I was smart enough to know that he had no choice now but to have some sort of public relationship to save his family's and his company's pristine image.

"Well then," I said, laying back down and turning on my side to face away from him, more so to hide the tears that were beginning to well up in my eyes more than anything, "if you are going to have a relationship with anyone, whether it's real or fake, then I'll terminate our sleeping arrangement. I'm not interested in going to bed at night with a man who's supposed to be married to someone else, even if it's just fake for positive press." I paused then, taking in the silence, then spoke once more. "Furthermore, I won't be a nanny here any longer. I'll take my child and leave so you can have your real wife here instead."

The Alpha billionaire was silent. He sat up for a long time. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't once turn back to face him, and instead closed my eyes and tried to sleep. At least if my eyes were closed, maybe I wouldn't cry so much.

But when Edrick eventually laid down and fell fast asleep beside me without another word, I couldn't help but quietly cry myself to sleep.