Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Anna’s POV

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“Boo!” Lily squealed, pointing at the blue blocks scattered across Roman’s living room floor.

“That’s right, sweetheart. Blue!” I bounced her gently on my hip, watching as she giggled and reached for another block.

Elena and Malia had left about twenty minutes ago. We’d kept Lily distracted the whole time, making silly faces, showing her toys, playing peek-a-boo so she wouldn’t notice her mother slipping out.

Elena had kissed her daughter’s head a dozen times before whispering instructions one more time, then finally forced herself to leave.

The second the door closed, I’d braced for tears.

But Lily just turned to me with those big brown eyes and said, “way?”

Now she was laughing in my arms, grabbing at my hair and babbling about colors. “Wed! Wed!”

“Red, yes! You’re so smart!” I set her down carefully on the plush rug, and she immediately crawled toward a stuffed bunny, the one Elena said she needed for nap time.

That’s when I finally looked at Roman.

He was standing by the kitchen island, arms crossed, shooting me what could only be described as a death glare.

I glanced down at Lily, who was now trying to put the bunny’s ear in her mouth, then back at him. “What?”

“What?” Roman’s voice was suspiciously low.

“What’s with you and my sister acting like you’ve known each other for years rather than a few minutes? One minute you think she’s a ghost, the next you’re besties?”

I giggled, unable to help myself. “About earlier, I just woke up so my brain was still fuzzy. And Elena, she’s such a sweetheart. We just clicked.”

Roman repeated my words slowly, dripping with sarcasm. “You just clicked.”

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding me?” Then he exploded. “You just accepted babysitting responsibility when neither of us has any experience with this!”

He gestured wildly at Lily. “What if something goes wrong? What if she chokes? What if she falls? What if…”

“Roman…”

“Roman!” I cut him off, feeling a pang of guilt. He had a point, sort of. “I do have experience, actually.”

He stopped mid-rant. “What?”

“I babysat kids when I was a teenager. That’s how I made money hrough high school and college.”

I turned to look at Lily, who had abandoned the bunny and was ow stacking blocks. “I’ve changed diapers and handled tantrums. I’m not completely clueless,”

“Had I been made aware of this earlier, I could have ensured you volunteered at your house. Alone.”

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Chapter 141

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Anna caught his sarcastic undertone and laughed. “This isn’t my fault. Look at her.” I pointed at Lily, who chose that exact moment to look up at us with the sweetest smile.

“How could we say no to her? She’s so adorable.”

“I know how adorable she is. She’s my niece,” Roman shot back. But I could see his expression softening as he looked at her.

Then the panic returned.

“But what if we screw things up?” He started pacing. “What if she starts crying and we can’t calm her down? Or she has an allergic reaction to something and needs emergency medical attention and we don’t know what to do?”

I studied his face closely. Behind all that frustration and anger, there was fear and deep concern.

This wasn’t about not wanting to help. This was about being terrified of failing.

I walked over and took his hand. His fingers were cold.

“Everything is going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Because Elena shared the schedule with us. She gave us detailed instructions. And look.” I pointed at Lily, who was now attempting to put a block on top of the bunny’s head. “Look at her. She’s playing by herself. She’s happy. She’s not scared. We’re not going to mess this up.”

Roman stared at Lily for a long moment. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. Almost a smile.

“If anything goes wrong, I’m blaming you.”

“We’re both to blame. We’re a team on this.”

“I didn’t agree to this. I’m being forced against my

will.”

“Oh, please. You could have said no.”

“I did say no. Multiple times. No one listened.”

I was about to respond when a loud twinge hit my stomach.

I placed my hand over it instinctively, wincing slightly.

Roman’s expression immediately shifted from irritated to concerned. “Are you alright?”

I hesitated, then shook my head. “I’m hungry.”

Relief flooded his face, “Oh. That’s okay. I’ll make breakfast.”

I blinked at him, genuinely surprised. “I thought you’d ask Eva to do it.”

“She can prepare lunch.” He was already moving toward the kitchen. He washed his hands. “You need to look after Lily while I make breakfast,”

I started laughing. “I see what you did there. Anything to avoid your responsibility.”

“I have never run from my responsibility,” Roman said with mock offense, pulling ingredients from the refrigerator. “I’m literally about to cook for two people. That’s responsibility.”

“Two people?”

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Chapter 141

“You and me. Elena said Lily would have snacks.”

“She did?”

“Check the bag Elena left.”

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I walked over to the diaper bag and found a half-empty juice box and a container with apple slices Elena had cut up as her snack before she napped.

Twenty minutes later, I was sitting on the kitchen island with Lil. She was happily munching on apple slices from the container. I’d given her a fresh juice box, and she was alternating between sips and bites, completely content.

Roman was at the stove, eggs sizzling in one pan while bacon criped in another. The kitchen smelled incredible.

“So,” Roman said, flipping an egg with surprising skill, “you said you babysat a lot. How much experience are we talking

about?”

“A lot.” I handed Lily another apple slice. “I started when I was fifeen. There was this family in my neighborhood, the Johnsons. They had three kids under five. I’d watch them every weekend.”

“Three kids?” Roman looked horrified. “At the same time?”

“Yep. It was chaos, but I learned fast.”

Roman was quiet for a moment, then asked, “What about your nom? Your sister? Couldn’t they have done it?”

I stiffened slightly. “My mom… she said my sister wasn’t built for work.”

Roman paused mid-flip, visibly pissed. “And you were?”

“It’s not like that…”

“Then what is it like?” His tone was almost protective.

“My sister doesn’t really like kids. Being a nanny would have been difficult for her. She’s just different.”

“Wasn’t it difficult for you?” Roman turned to face me fully now, patula in hand. “You were a kid taking care of three kids.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I said quickly. “I just had to watch them for aouple of hours. Feed them, play with them, put them down for naps.”

“That’s different,” Roman countered. “If it was a side gig for fun, ne. But doing it for survival is different. No child should carry that burden.”

The words tore through me because they were true.

He looked down at Lily, who was oblivious to the tension, happily chewing her apple.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “But I turned out okay. And those skills prepared me for today.”

Roman paused, making direct eye contact with me across the counter. His gaze was intense and searching.

“The way you see the good in terrible situations needs to be studied. You have such a kind heart, Anna.”

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