The mate of his nanny

Chapter 176: Live-In Caretaker

Moana

The relief I felt when the doctor said that Edrick would be okay couldn't even possibly be put into words.

"Well, I think you'll be okay now," the doctor said as Edrick got up to his feet with no trouble. "Rest today and you'll be fine by tomorrow."
Edrick nodded. Both of us watched as Selina and the doctor walked out of the room, leaving Edrick and I alone once more. Instantly, I turned toward him with a frown.

"Don't scare me like that," I said in a scolding, yet quiet voice. Before Edrick could answer, I ushered him over to the bed and forced him to lie down, just as the doctor ordered.

"Geez," Edrick said, lying down. "I get it. You don't need to worry about me now, though."

I shook my head and frowned even more. There was so much I wanted to say; I wanted to tell him that he was a bloody fool for pushing me away. I wanted to ask him if he realized now that he needed me after all, and that it wasn't smart of him to take my presence for granted. But as I looked down at him and watched as he pulled the blankets up to his chest and stared up at me with his icy gray eyes, I couldn't bring myself to scold him. I was just glad that he was okay, and I wanted to take care of him.

"I'll get you some tea," I said quietly. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, then made my way over to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Selina was still giving the doctor the remainder of Edrick's leftover pill bottles by the front door, and I could overhear him giving her strict instructions on how to keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn't try anything else to sleep, such as illicit drugs or too much alcohol. While they talked, I prepared a pot of chamomile tea and waited for the water to boil.

I tried to reach out to my wolf again to see if she was feeling better, but still got no response. She seemed to be sleeping again, and when she stirred a bit, it wasn't for long. This made me nervous; I decided then and there that if this went on for too much longer, I would have to figure out why this was happening. I still figured that it was just the pregnancy, but I couldn't be too sure.

Suddenly, Selina came into the kitchen and saw that I was preparing Edrick tea. I had even begun to make breakfast for the two of us without fully realizing it; even I was exhausted after the night before and the whole ordeal from that morning.

"You look tired," Selina said with a sigh. "Let me take care of Ella today."

I shook my head and stifled a yawn. "It's okay. I won't make you do that."

Selina frowned as she looked at me. "Nonsense. Besides, Edrick needs someone to keep an eye on him. Doctor's orders; and that person might as well be you..."

A little while later, I returned to Edrick's room with a tray laden with tea and breakfast. He was no longer in bed when I walked in, which caused me to panic for a moment until I heard the bathroom door open. Steam poured out of the bathroom as he walked out, drying his hair with a towel. He was only wearing his pajama pants with no shirt, and I felt myself blush as I set the tray down on the bed.

"I'm really fine," Edrick said. "You don't need to go to all of this effort."

"It's the doctor's orders," I replied. "Just eat your breakfast and don't complain."

I thought I saw a bit of a smile flash across Edrick's lips, and I couldn't help but smile a bit, too.

"Well... Thanks," Edrick said quietly as he sat down on the bed and picked up a cup of tea. "I do appreciate it. I appreciate you." Edrick's words made my face turn a deep shade of scarlet red. Without a word, I nervously sat down across from him and joined him in eating breakfast in bed.

However, after our argument from the night before, the air between us was awkward and silent as we ate. Finally, after several minutes of eating without a single word said between the two of us, Edrick opened his mouth to speak. Part of me thought that he was going to apologize... But instead, he pointed at the TV.

"Wanna watch a movie while we eat? I found a good one that I think you'll like."

"Um... Sure," I replied. Edrick nodded and turned on the television, then turned on the movie. Much to my surprise, it was a romantic comedy; Edrick had never struck me as a movie-watcher, let alone someone who liked romantic comedies. But soon enough, I found myself laughing alongside him. In fact, when we finished the movie, Edrick suddenly jumped up and ran out of the room, only to return a few minutes later with his arms full of snacks. Her threw the bags of popcorn and chips down on the bed like a little kid who had just raided the pantry, and put on another comedy movie.

It was odd seeing this side of him after our argument from the night before. Edrick never brought it up or apologized for it, but in a way, I almost felt as though this was his way of trying to make it up to me. I even caught him looking at me sheepishly on more than one occasion, as though he knew that he had hurt my feelings the night before and that he had scared the hell out of me that morning.

As we laughed and ate too many snacks, watching movies well into the night, it reminded me of the night that we had watched the live comedy show at the networking event. I remembered how much I loved seeing him laugh loudly and naturally that night, and that was what he did tonight. The sound of his laughter filled the air, and regardless of everything that was said during our argument and regardless of what had happened that morning, I couldn't help but smile as well.

Somehow, we managed to spend the entire day and all evening laying in bed and watching movies. Once Edrick knew that Ella was asleep, he sneakily ordered food to be delivered to the penthouse. We spent the rest of the evening eating take-out burgers and laughing at more funny movies, and soon enough I found myself not thinking about our argument or his accidental overdose at all.

In fact, that night I fell asleep on Edrick's chest as the movie played. And just before I slipped off into sleep, I felt his arm gently wrap around me, and I felt his lips kiss my forehead. I pretended to be asleep and hid my expression.

But secretly, I was still hurt over what Edrick had said the night before. And now, I hoped that I wasn't just a sleeping pill or a live-in caretaker to him.