The mate of his nanny

Chapter 87: Another Woman

Moana

Somehow, I managed to fall asleep that night. In the morning, I woke up with a headache after the night spent in emotional distress.

Edrick and I had kissed last night in the darkness of the kitchen. Even now, I could still feel his hands on my waist and could feel his body pressed up against mine. Even now, I could still taste his lips and his tongue, and I had spent the night dreaming about him. The sun was shining through my bedroom window, but I just wanted to go back to the darkness of the night before and be with Edrick; I hadn't realized it before, but I was admittedly lonely, and his touch was welcome. I hadn't been with anyone since our one night stand and didn't realize how starved I was for intimacy with another adult.

To add insult to injury, I felt like an idiot for thinking for even one moment that Edrick was beginning to fall for me. The way he doted on me while we went shopping together despite the tabloid incident... The way that he scared away the creepy man at the mall and put his arm around me protectively, genuinely worried for my health and safety... The way that he kissed me so gently in the kitchen. Was any of that even real, or was it just a moment of weakness on his part? Was he lonely, too, and just looking for intimacy?

As I laid there, I remembered that Edrick and I promised to take Ella to the orphanage today so she could play with her friends. Even though I didn't particularly want to see Edrick after our kiss in the kitchen the night before, I knew that I would have to see him eventually, so I groaned and got up and headed to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and ease my headache.

When I walked through the living room, however, the soft sound of snoring caught my attention. I furrowed my brow and peered over the couch to see Edrick sprawled out; he was dressed up with his shoes on as though he'd gone out, and there was an empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the floor next to him.

I was astonished. Ella couldn't see him like this; it would confuse her too much to see her father passed out drunk on the couch, so without taking a second thought, I snatched the empty alcohol bottle up off of the floor and abruptly shook Edrick's shoulder.

Edrick's eyes snapped open and he groaned as he came to his senses. Before he even had a chance to say anything, I shoved the bottle in his face and frowned deeply.

"I know that you got upset last night, but this is unacceptable," I said, gesturing to his appearance. "Your daughter will be awake soon. It's a good thing I found you before she came out here."

Edrick's eyes widened momentarily as he looked at the bottle. He slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the couch, then stood after pausing for a moment. He didn't seem to want to look at me.
"I'm sorry," he said, taking the bottle out of my hands. "It's really not as bad as it looks; the bottle was almost empty, and I just got too tired. I wasn't drunk."

As he reached for the bottle and leaned closer to me, however, I suddenly got a whiff of something other than alcohol: something sickly sweet and flowery. Perfume. Women's perfume, to be exact.
Did Edrick have a one night stand last night, right after our kiss in the kitchen?

The smell of the cheap perfume made my head reel, and I instantly became nauseous. I quickly covered my nose and mouth with my hand and stumbled backwards, shaking my head vigorously as tears welled up in my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Edrick asked, taking a step toward me. As he did, the smell of the perfume hit my nose again, and I covered up a gag with my hand. The smell was too strong, and I could only imagine the father of my baby sleeping with a strange woman at the bar, or even a prostitute. I couldn't tell what made me more sick: the smell or the thought of him being with someone else.

To think that Edrick not only went out drinking right after our kiss in the kitchen, but also had a one night stand on top of it... It made my heart hurt. Inside of me, Mina became stronger, but not out of love this time; rather, she became stronger with rage, like a lion pacing in its cage at the zoo. I could tell that she felt just as betrayed as I did right now.
But I had to hold my head high for Ella, and despite Edrick's confused look as I stepped away from him, I lowered my hand and tilted my chin up confidently.

"Don't forget that we promised Ella we'd take her to the orphanage today," I said. My voice shook a little as I spoke, but I tried to hide it. After everything, I couldn't let Edrick see me get emotional over his one night stand with another woman, even though Mina was reacting strongly to the cheap scent as well.

Edrick only sighed and walked over to the kitchen, where he tossed the empty bottle in the trash. I followed him, waiting to see what he would say about his promise to poor little Ella.

And, to no surprise, he said exactly what I expected.
"Maybe we should go another day," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair and straightening his shirt.

My jaw dropped. For Ella's sake, even more than my own, I was furious. How could he really be so willing to drop his plans with his daughter because he irresponsibly went out, had a one night stand, and got too drunk to even make it to his bedroom?

By this point, I forgot all about how this supposed one night stand even made me feel, and I felt the need to argue for Ella's sake. She needed to spend time with her father; clearly she was beginning to feel abandoned.

"Just because you got too drunk last night doesn't mean that you get to just disappoint your daughter like that," I said. Without thinking and without caring about the smell that made me sick, I stormed up to him and grabbed his tie, taking him by surprise. "You should be ashamed of yourself. What will Ella think?"

Edrick stared down at me with shock written plainly across his face. "I told you I wasn't drunk," he said. "What's gotten into you?"

I realized what I was doing and quickly released my grip on his tie, then turned on my heel and walked a few paces away. I paused then, clenching and unclenching my fists as I blinked away the tears in my eyes.

Finally, I turned back to face him.

"I really can't believe you," I whispered. "To have a one night stand like that, not only right after you came onto me, but also on the night before you're supposed to have a wholesome day with your daughter... It makes me sick."