His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan) novel Chapter 71

#Chapter 71: End of the Line

Moana

The gap that existed between Edrick and I could never be bridged; I knew that now.

Our ride home was silent. The steak that I could still taste on my tongue now tasted foul. To think that I had spent the entire day feeling as though we could have some semblance of normalcy; even if we never became romantically involved, why couldn’t we still be proud of what we had created between us? Why did he always have to hide me and Ella? Would the new baby also face the same struggle of having a father who didn’t want anyone to know about his or her existence?

We went home that night, still without a word spoken between us. I took Ella to bed with only a brief word of thanks for everything he did that day, but after that, I didn’t look at him again.

…

On Monday morning, I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on my door.

“Come in,” I called, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. The door cracked open and Selina poked her head in.

Your first appointment is in a couple of hours,” she said. “I’ve already made breakfast for you. Come and eat before you get dressed.”

I sighed, having completely forgotten about my appointment that day, and climbed out of bed. As I followed Selina to the dining room in my robe, I noticed that Edrick was nowhere to be found.

“Is Edrick coming to the appointment?” I asked as I sat down at the table and began to spread butter on my toast.

Selina shook her head while she poured some hot coffee into my cup. “He has something to deal with at work, but he may come later.”

I frowned, feeling my shoulders droop a little. It was my first prenatal appointment; I was hoping Edrick would be there to see the first ultrasound, seeing as how he was the father, after all.

“I guess I’ll go alone, then,” I said, taking a bite of toast.

“Nonsense,” Selina said. “I’ll be going with you.”

At the very least, hearing that Selina would be there with me was a bit of a comfort. “Thank you,” I replied with a smile. “That would be nice.”

After I ate, I hurried back to my room to shower and get ready for the day. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, put on a loose-fitting dress and comfortable shoes, then met Selina out in the foyer. As we took the elevator down, I realized that this was only the second time that I’d ever seen her going out into public, with the first time being my first day of employment. She had changed out of her housekeeper uniform and was wearing a crisp linen dress and held her purse stiffly in front of her.

“Do you ever go out?” I asked as we walked across the lobby.

“Rarely,” she said. “Only if I have to.”

“You never want to go out with friends for a meal or anything like that?”

Selina simply shrugged. “No one ever invites me.”

As she said that, I felt my heart ache a little for her. I decided, then and there, that I would start inviting Selina out more — even if just on my morning walks with Ella.