I woke up to a beautiful scene, Oliver had Noah in the sling. The two of them were lying on the armchair, I don't know why, but I felt happy at the sight in front of me.Oliver was drawing closer to his son, they were forming a bond and that made me, in a way, emotional. I had nothing to do with those two, I wasn't family, a friend, or even an acquaintance. I was the nanny who had been working in the house for two months, and speaking of months, tomorrow would be my birthday. I felt happy and, at the same time, sad. It would be an ordinary day, because there would be no family member or friend to congratulate me in person, and besides that, I would spend it at the hospital.I had just eaten and the nurse gave me two more vitamins to take, besides the one I was already receiving through the IV.Soon, Noah woke up and, with that, Oliver did too. He looked tired, but he didn't say anything to me. He got up and changed his son's diaper. Oliver seemed to have a real knack for it, Denise ha

I was almost halfway through my lunch when Oliver started a conversation.“What are you going to do with your life now that you've come of age?”“Ah, I'll keep working and enroll in a distance learning college.”Oliver stopped eating, maybe surprised by my answer.“What will you study?” he asked, curious.“Pedagogy.” I answered and went back to eating, but he didn't. He kept watching me.“When will you start?”“I don't know yet. I still need to buy a notebook, and then I'll look for a good online course.”“A good notebook is expensive,” he scoffed.“I know, but I'll only use it for studying, so I won't be too demanding when I buy one.” I laughed ironically.“You've got an answer for everything, huh?”“Only for the questions I'm asked.” I didn't want to be rude, but I wasn't going to let Oliver put me down, it was enough that he already looked down on me because of my few clothes.“Did your mother call you?”Out of nowhere, he changed the subject, which made me a little uneasy, but of

I ate in silence because it was uncomfortable being close to Oliver, especially because he was unpredictable. Sometimes pleasant, sometimes irritating—I never knew which version of him I would find each time I saw him.“This month, you don't need to worry about Noah. Denise will help you. I want you to focus on yourself so you can recover quickly.”“I'm sorry for causing so much inconvenience, sir,” I apologized.I truly felt bad for going through the worst moments of my life with my employer as a spectator.Oliver looked at me, taking a deep breath. I didn't understand him; I couldn't read his expressions. Sometimes he looked like he wanted to kill me, but sweet words would come out of his mouth. Other times, his gaze seemed like he was about to let his guard down, but the moment he spoke, he ruined everything.“These things happen. I hope you get better soon and stop causing trouble.”See? The horse was ready to kick.It was fine for Oliver to be harsh in his own way, but I didn't t

Inside his room, the drunk man realized what he had just done.“Damn it... I kissed Aurora. I can't believe I did that. But she came close, talking, and it was all dark... for a moment, I thought it was her.”Damn Liana, who still ruled his thoughts. No matter how much she had hurt him, she still owned Oliver's heart.Well... maybe not anymore. Aurora's kiss awakened something dormant inside Oliver, like a volcano ready to erupt. But she was so young, so innocent, so unaware of the world.Oliver wouldn't be selfish enough to try something with her. He would never make her stop her life just to try to build one with him. It was wrong, and his conscience warned him of it.Aurora needed to see the world, meet people her own age. She needed ambition, because if he took her for himself, she would be trapped in that farm, and he didn't want her to go through what he had gone through with Liana. If Aurora discovered what the world had to offer, she would never settle for an ordinary life on

I sat at the table with Oliver, even though I didn't want to. I admit that, in the end, I didn't regret it. The moment he opened the pizza box and I saw that masterpiece, my stomach growled so loudly that I felt completely embarrassed.“See? Your mouth refuses, but your body asks for it,” he said, staring straight into my eyes.The way Oliver said it carried a certain… undertone. It felt like he wasn't talking about the pizza at all, and that made everything far more embarrassing than my stomach growling.I served myself quietly, not even looking at him. I ate that delicious slice in silence. It had been a long time since I'd had pizza—the last time was with Denise.“I'm taking Noah tomorrow to see the beach.”“Wow, that's nice!” I imagined Noah, that tiny, wearing little swim trunks and a hat. Of course, he wouldn't understand anything, but it would be adorable.“Obviously, you don't have any swimwear in your things, so while I'm in a meeting tomorrow morning, make sure you get one.”