3: Farewell

Emily is only clear about one thing: she will win that boy over, no matter what it takes. 

When she arrives home, the first thing she sees is Luna, her only friend, sitting on the sofa quite impatiently. Luna has to leave and can’t leave Emily’s grandparents alone.

“Thank goodness you’re back! You know that I have to go finish a very important project for college; I care about you a lot, but I can’t overlook my commitments,” she says, grabbing her handbag and giving Emily a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later and you can tell me how it went. Your grandparents are fine; they ate and should be asleep by now.” Emily smiles at her friend once she finishes speaking. 

“Thank you so much, I wouldn’t know what to do without you,” Emily said, feeling quite grateful.

“I hope your financial situation improves, so you can hire someone to take care of them. I’m starting my internship and I can’t do it anymore,” she says. Emily nods in agreement. 

“I love you, my friend; I’ll see you early tomorrow.” Emily replies. Luna hurriedly leaves and takes the first taxi that comes by.

It was a very difficult day for Emily, and she felt quite exhausted. All she wanted was to go to sleep. She dropped her things off and went straight to see her grandparents. When she entered her room, she noticed they were sleeping peacefully. She approached slowly and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead before stepping away.

When she reached her room, she threw herself onto a chair and then closed her eyes. Despite everything, she felt happy to have found this job. The memory of that strong, dominant man flashed in her mind; she couldn’t deny that he was very attractive, and she laughed at the thought. 

The first rays of sunlight streamed through the window, and Emily jumped up hurriedly. When she saw the time, she realized she was running just as late again. She rushed to the bathroom for a quick shower and then dressed in the first thing she found. 

Before heading out, she went to her grandparents’ room; they were still sleeping. She left them a note and sent a message to her friend so that she wouldn’t take long to arrive. When she got to the house, she hurried down and ran as quickly as possible to ring the doorbell until a woman from the service answered.

She entered the house but didn’t know what she should do or where to start with her tasks. She stood in the middle of the living room, glancing around, until a hand on her shoulder startled her. One of the service women was there, and Emily decided to smile and ask. 

“Good morning, ma’am. I hope I’m not late. Can you please tell me what I need to do?” Emily pleaded as she spoke. The woman raised her eyebrows at the same time.

“Good morning. Young Liam is still in bed; he doesn’t want to have breakfast or go to school. I suggest you try to convince him; the only person capable of changing his mind is his dad, but he left earlier than usual today,” the woman said.

It was time to show that Emily could take care of the child. 

“Please tell me where your room is,” Emily asked. The woman nodded and they went there.

Upon entering, the little boy was lying under the blankets, completely determined to stay there. Emily took a deep breath, gathered her hair, and approached him.

Liam had a sad look on his face, hugging a picture of them both; he just wanted to see his mom. Even though she often yelled at him or didn’t pay attention to him, he wanted to hug her and see her.

“Hi sweetheart, I’m Emily. I’ll be here to help you with whatever you need. I’d like to know, why haven’t you gotten up?” she said. He closed his eyes, ignoring her. “How about we play a little while we get ready for school?” she asked.

“Play? My dad doesn’t play with me... and my mom doesn’t answer my calls,” Liam said.

Emily placed her index finger under Liam’s chin and then stretched out her hands.

“That’s why I’m here, to play and take care of you. Do you want to get up?” she asked with a smile.

Those words meant a lot to the boy because the other nannies only demanded obedience, while Emily wanted to fill the void he felt.

She took a couple of toys and made some funny imitations that made him laugh.

Liam started breathing heavily, his tender face was captivating. He stood up and hugged her.

In just a few minutes, he was ready to leave for school, and the best part was that he had eaten his entire breakfast.

They left the house hand in hand; Emily arrived at a vulnerable moment, making the most of it.

A driver took them to school, and along the way, they didn’t waste any time. Emily kept her promise to play, which made the little boy laugh a few more times. It was clear he wanted to take the day off just to play with her. Emily promised him she would come back to get him, something that excited him because she brought him peace.

When they arrived at school, Liam said goodbye with a huge hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek, smiling as he took small steps backward while walking away.

“Emily! I can’t wait for the afternoon to keep playing with you,” Liam said, raising his hand to wave goodbye.

Emily stayed there until he was gone. He was a good boy; he just hadn’t had an easy life with his mom absent and, in a way, his dad too. Emily’s curiosity increased as she wondered why that beautiful boy’s parents had separated.

She exhaled deeply while returning to Liam’s house; there was much to do in his absence so that when he came back, he would feel better than he had before.

Meanwhile, Noah was in the office, finishing up a meeting. The day had completely slipped away from him, and despite the pressing business in the company, he couldn’t help but think about what was happening at home. He wondered if his son had come out of his room, as he usually did with previous nannies. He had doubts; even though he called home, he didn’t entirely believe what he had been told.

The anxiety of not knowing what to do to make that boy understand that he needs to behave and let go of his whim of wanting his mother by his side kept him on edge. A woman like Isabel would never be aware that her son should come first before traveling and enjoying life with her lover. The worst part is that Liam thinks Noah is the reason his mom left; at such a young age, he can’t explain to him what really happened with his mother.

Noah poured himself one more drink before gathering his things to go home, but he was interrupted by his secretary who knocked on his door.

“Come in,” Noah said in a loud tone.

“Excuse me, Mr. Davis, the new nanny for your son is looking for you,” she said.

Noah gestured for her to continue, sitting back and waiting for her. 

“Good afternoon, sir,” Emily said in a weak voice.

“Where is my son? Who have you left him with?” Noah asked as he saw her enter alone.

The radiant look on Emily's face turned pale, and her eyes widened in shock.

Emily had no choice but to come looking for Noah because deep down, she thought he didn’t fully trust her and would prefer to fetch his son himself… how wrong she was.

“I thought he was with you,” she whispered.

Noah stood up and took a few steps toward her with an intense look.

“What are you saying?” he demanded. “Speak, but do it quickly because I can’t stand incompetence,” he repeated. She swallowed hard while her hands trembled.

“When I went to pick up your son at school, they told me he had already been picked up. I assumed it was you who did it,” she explained.

Noah felt a strong wave of anger consuming him.

Is she stupid? No one but you could have picked him up; listen very carefully, if anything happens to my son, you'll pay dearly for it… As of today, you have a job; don’t you dare come back here again,” he said with rage.

Noah went straight to the chair and grabbed his jacket to leave in a hurry.

His chest heaved as he breathed heavily, and Emily was in shock.

As he exited the office, his body brushed against hers, noticing how his words made tears roll down Emily’s pale cheeks.

“Please let me go with you to find your son,” she pleaded. He stopped and turned to face her in the middle of the hallway.

“Get out!” he shouted with such disdain that she simply closed her eyes. “I don’t want a woman like you around; don’t doubt that I will take legal action for your negligence. I’m sure you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” he spoke to her in a despotic manner. 

As he turned, he realized that everyone was watching them.

“Don’t you have anything better to do, or do you want me to assign you more work?” he said to the employees.

Noah continued on his way while everyone there lowered their gazes to their screens.

Emily wiped her tears and left the area, hearing the murmurs of the people around her. All she wanted was for Liam to be okay. 

Upon reaching the main door, Noah got into the car and ordered the driver to take him straight to the school. There, they would have to give him an exact answer about who picked up his son. "No one makes a fool of me," Noah thought.

After a few minutes, Noah found himself in front of the school entrance, entering without permission from the guard. The intense anger he felt was pouring out of him from every pore; naturally, the guard tried to stop him, but it was inevitable that he would go in search of the teacher.

“Stop right there, Mr. Davis; I don’t understand the abrupt way you have just entered,” the teacher said with complete calm.

“Don’t pretend to be innocent. Where is my son, and who did you give him to?” he demanded. She looked at him, bewildered.

“Your wife came for him; I don’t understand what the problem is,” the teacher explained, trying to excuse herself. Upon hearing her response, Noah cursed under his breath.

“I’m sorry; it was my fault for not letting you know that she couldn’t pick him up again. Goodbye,” he said.

Noah left there heading home; there was nowhere else she could have taken his son.

On the way, Noah clenched his hands, furious that she wanted to keep his little boy, and he wasn’t going to tolerate that; as he glanced around through the window, the intense urge to confront that unpleasant woman grew.

Arriving home, the scene was worse than he had expected; she was leaving with his son in one hand and a suitcase in the other. Noah watched her with disdain and rage.