His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan) novel Chapter 75

#Chapter 75: Loveless Family

Moana

The next morning, I decided to take Edrick’s offer for a day off and went to the orphanage to get out of the penthouse for a while. I was still incredibly hurt and angry by Edrick’s refusal to admit that the baby was his to his own mother, but at the very least, I knew that a day out might lift my spirits just a little.

As I arrived at the orphanage, I already began to feel just a little bit better.

“Hello?” I called as I walked in. I didn’t get a response, but I heard the children’s voices coming from the recreation room as they laughed and played, and it made me smile a bit. I walked over to the recreation room and stopped in my tracks when I saw Ethan playing with the children.

They didn’t see me at first. Ethan was giving them an art lesson and was walking around the room, looking at all of the children’s artwork and giving them compliments. Seeing how sweet he was being with the children made me smile, but at the same time, it made me feel sad knowing that his brother was seemingly incapable of having such truly genuine kindness and love for anything except his pristine image.

Suddenly, as I stood in the doorway, one of the children jerked her head up from her intense scribbling and gasped, pointing at me with her chubby little finger. “Moana’s here!” she shouted.

All at once, the children erupted into cheers and swarmed me like little bumble bees. I couldn’t help but laugh as they bombarded me, and I caught Ethan’s eye from behind. He was smiling at me, but as his eyes traveled down to my belly and his smile faded, I knew that my dress didn’t hide my pregnancy well enough today.

Regardless, Ethan seemed to keep his thoughts to himself, which was a welcome relief. I spent the afternoon helping him with the children, and we all had a wonderful time making artwork and playing with clay. When it was finally over, Sophia thanked us and whisked the children away for dinner, leaving us alone for the first time that day.

“Long time no see,” Ethan said as we cleaned up the mess left behind in the recreation room.

“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat nervously. The last time we saw each other was at our dinner date. At the time, he had asked if I was pregnant jokingly. Now, I was clearly pregnant. “I know what you’re gonna ask,” I said, turning to face him with confidence. “It’s okay. Ask.”

Ethan’s face went red. He glanced briefly at the floor, then ran a hand through his hair. “Uh… Are you…?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“So does that mean that… When we went out…”

I nodded. “You were right that night. I just wasn’t ready to admit it. I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Ethan shook his head vehemently. “No, it’s perfectly fine,” he said gently. “It’s your right to choose who to tell and when to tell them. But if you don’t mind me asking… Is it Edrick’s?”

I felt my heart leap into my throat as I wondered if it would be appropriate to tell Ethan. If Edrick wasn’t even willing to tell his own mother that he was the father of my baby, then was it really my place to tell his brother?