7| Profession

☼Willow☼

"Bella, please don't cry," I said wiping the few tears that managed to escape her eyes before she wrapped her small arms around my neck.

"But I don't wanna go to school," she sobbed. "It's boring and I'm gonna miss all the fun you and Luke are gonna have."

"Bella," I sighed rubbing her back. "I promise you Luke and I are not having fun while you're gone besides, he's also in class right now," I said looking back at the study room where he takes his classes.

"Why can't I have classes at home too?" she whined pulling away to look at me.

My face fell after seeing how red her face had become. I shook my head as I used another wet wipe to clean her face.

It's been four days since I started working in the Moretti residence and it's been nice so far.

Theo and Julia weren't kidding when they said these kids hate vegetables, they would literally flip this house over if they found as much as a carrot in their curry. But I'm working on it, I prepped some brussels sprouts, cucumbers, and tomatoes in my tuna salad the other day at dinner and they said they'd wanted to try it.

I found out that Isabella gets clingy when she likes you. I ran her a bubble bath the night I met her before she went to bed, and she loved it. She'd ask me to sleep with them or say she'd want to sleep with me. Yesterday she woke up around 4 in the morning so she could cuddle with me and ended up sleeping in front of my room because she couldn't get in.

Lucas says my hair looks like a fluff of orange-flavored cotton candy in the morning because of how messy it looks, he says it's worse than their dad's hair in the morning. I showed them a picture of Merida from Brave and Isabella had to ask me if that was where I got my hair from. I allow them to watch cartoons before bedtime and try to interact with them during homework time, so they don't find it boring. They actually love doing homework because I told them whoever does his homework first can have an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert, even though Lucas found out that I still give them both extra scoops.

Bummer.

All in all, we have so much fun that it has become a routine for Isabella to cry every morning about hating school.

"Why don't you ask your dad when he comes back, hmm?" I calmed her down by tucking back her stray hair behind her ears. "I promise that I'll make you the yummiest food before you come back and soak you in a long bubble bath so you can pretend to be a mermaid again, alright?" I said making her eyes brighten up.

"Do you think Daddy will let me learn at home too?" she said, her eyes glimmering with hope.

"As long as you are a good girl and go to school right now," I said making her nod frantically, her pigtails wiggling at the motion. "That's my sweet Bella." I smiled kissing her forehead.

"Now don't forget to eat your carrots and cucumber slices or else I'll make witches soup for dinner," I said as I stood up making her eyes widen.

"Please not witche's soup!" she exclaimed.

I laughed. Witche's soup was practically soup that had chunks of vegetables inside and a few potatoes.

These kids.

"Alright, off we go now," I said picking her up and heading for the front door.

I made sure to give the hefty amount of security outside a smile before we got into the car that was already waiting for us. Julia waved at us from the door and Isabella waved back excitedly making the old lady laugh.

Isabella's school was a solid 15-minute drive without traffic and 20 if there was any. Even at her school, some of the security from home need to be on standby, at least three or four of them.

When I dropped her off at school, she looked like she was about to cry again but I popped a strawberry-flavored toffee in her mouth and kissed her forehead. She reluctantly went after that.

When I got back home, I spent my time cleaning their room and then mine before taking lunch to Lucas and asking the teacher if there was anything he needed. I asked Lucas if he needed anything, and he said he was fine, so I sneaked him a piece of candy under his lunch tray after mouthing that he better eat all his vegetables.

Julia now leaves early because I'm here and after seeing her out I sat on one of the barstools in the kitchen trying to figure out what I should eat.

I settled for a fruit bowl, and I almost sliced my fingers off while cutting the watermelon, so I stopped for a moment to have a mental discussion with myself after that before resuming with a butter knife. It was hard but it got the job done.

I made a lot knowing that the kids would want some and stored the rest in the fridge. I took my bowl to the living room, and I scrolled through TikTok as I ate in silence.

Normally, Theodore would be here by this time, but Julia told me that he had an emergency flight yesterday and he couldn't stop to say goodbye. It's nice to be with the kids too but the house gets quiet when they are in school.

To think about it, I have never thought about how it's going to be when Mr. Moretti comes back. Is he going to be locked away in his room or busy in his office or will he fly out immediately again?

Whatever the case, I hope Theodore comes back soon. I miss the company.

---

"–ly? Wooly!"

My head shot up immediately when a hand patted my shoulder. My hands reached up to rub my eyes before looking at Lucas' figure that was before me.

"Hey bud," I said, my voice groggy from sleep. I cleared my throat before reaching out to ruffle his hair.

"Class ended two minutes ago," Lucas said coming to sit next to me.

"Really?" I asked checking my phone for the time. I had slept for almost 30 minutes. "Where is Mr. Lawrence?" I asked referring to his teacher.

"He just walked out, he said I had no homework today," he said with a toothy grin making me chuckle.

Before I could get a word out, the front door opened.

"I'm home, I'm home, I'm home!" Isabella's small voice sang, her small footsteps tapping toward the kitchen.

"Isa, we're here!" Lucas called out standing to go fetch her.

I stood up too, stretching my back before picking up the bowl I had eaten with earlier. A bodyguard that I recognized walked into the room.

"Hello," I greeted.

He responded by nodding once.

"Ms. Isabella is back," he informed me, and I nodded.

"Oh, yes. I heard her come in," I said looking over to the direction Lucas went off to. "Thank you for bringing her back safely, again," I added with a grateful smile, and he nodded once again before walking out.

My brows furrowed as I walked to the kitchen. I don't know why he feels the need to report to me every time he brings Isabella home, but I don't mind, maybe it's a part of his job.

I went to the kitchen and saw Lucas handing his sister a glass of water.

"Guess what, Wooly? I don't have any homework today," she said excitedly as she hurried toward me, the glass in her hand spilling water everywhere.

"Bella, you're spilling," I said and she stopped to take a few sips of water before handing the glass to me.

Lucas came over with the kitchen mop, trying to clean the mess.

"I'll do that, Luke," I said dropping the glass on the dining table and collecting the mop from him.

"I'm sorry for spilling Wooly," Isabella mumbled making me smile at the small pout resting on her lips.

"It's fine, Bella, I'm not mad," I said as I finished wiping the floor. "I can never get mad at my little mermaid."

Lucas shook his head at us picking up the glass from the table and taking it to the sink.

Why does he act like he's older? I wondered as I wrung the mop in its bucket and kept it aside.

"Do you guys want a fruit bowl while I make dinner?" I asked as I washed my hands in the sink. "I made some earlier."

"Uh huh," Isabella said as Lucas helped her take a seat. I also noticed that her lunch bag was set aside on the kitchen counter.

Lucas is a neat freak, he just keeps fixing things and I wonder if he is just like that, or if he takes after one of his parents.

"What's for dinner, Wooly?" Lucas asked coming around to take a seat across from Isabella.

"I was thinking meatballs and pasta?" I suggested as I brought out the big bowl of fruits from the fridge.

Julia had left the meatball mix marinating in the meat section of the fridge and the sauce was also premade. She prepped everything when I told her my thoughts on dinner with the kids.

"Awesome!" he cheered, and Isabella also nodded her head in agreement.

"That's settled then," I said as I served them the fruits in their bowls.

~*~

I blew on the food before feeding Isabella. She counted her fingers as she chewed, I noticed she did that a lot. Lucas says it's because she doesn't want to talk while eating.

Cute.

"It's Thursday tomorrow," Lucas suddenly announced as he twirled his pasta.

"Yes?" I answered before stuffing a meatball in my mouth.

"I love Thursdays." he finished with a wide smile.

I covered my mouth as I laughed. This kid.

I cut down a piece of meatball on Isabella's plate before handing her the plastic fork.

"Okay," I started, watching as her eyes widened in panic already. "Try to pick up the meatball, Bella," I instructed, and she shook her head.

"I'm gonna swallow the fork and it's gonna get stuck in my throat," she explained frantically.

I blinked. What?

"I– What?" I sputtered turning to look at her brother.

"Dad," he said shortly before plunging a fork full of pasta into his mouth.

I opened my mouth to say something but paused, I thought I heard the front door open. But I've already keyed it.

When I couldn't hear anything again, I continued.

"Bella, your father was just messing with you." I tried to explain as I collected the fork from her trembling hands. "A fork is never going to go anywhere past your lips, okay?" I said feeding her the meatball.

She started counting her fingers immediately. I stood up to refill the water in the pitcher, when I was doing so, Isabella piped up a question.

"What about a spoon Wooly?" She asked fearfully.

"It—"

"A spoon is even worse, amoré," A calm deep voice intercepted making my blood run cold for a second. "It will make your throat so wide that flies would enter without missing a beat."

I whipped my head to the dining table only to see Mr. Moretti walking in.

My eyes darted to Isabella who was torn between fear and delight.

"So, you'll only be safe when Daddy feeds his little principessa okay?" He said walking over to her.

Lucas was just smiling as he chewed his food, but I knew he wanted to say something. Was this normal for them? Does he just pop out of nowhere?

I thought he was supposed to be on a business trip.

"Mr. Moretti, sir, good evening." I greeted holding on to the now-filled pitcher in my hands.

He spared me a glance, his hair falling in front of his eyes as he did. He tilted his head as if he was trying to recall something.

He had his suit jacket in his hands, and he was wearing an off-white turtleneck that matched the color of his suit.

I was wearing a baggy shirt with a pair of shorts, but you could barely see them since my shirt reached mid-thigh. If I knew he was coming I could've worn sweatpants or longer pajama pants.

"Nanny," his calm voice uttered before taking a seat near Isabella, where I was previously sitting. "Good evening." he greeted.

"Hi, Dad," Lucas said once he swallowed.

"Hey, Luke. How've you been?" Mr. Moretti asked picking up my fork.

"Great," Lucas replied with a toothy grin before eating the last morsel of food left on his plate.

My food was in front of Mr. Moretti. I had barely even touched it, all I ate was one meatball. Should I get him a new plate?

"I can get you a new plate of food, sir–" I started but the words died on my tongue when he waved a hand at me unbothered.

He twirled the pasta around the fork carefully before picking it up and eating it. He hummed quietly in satisfaction when he chewed and then he picked up Isabella's fork to feed her.

I took the pitcher to the table, putting it down slowly.

Mr. Moretti seemed to be a very calm and quiet man so I feel like even the slightest noise would disturb him.

I opened the serving dish where the pasta sauce was served, took out one meatball with the serving spoon, and carefully placed it on Mr. Moretti's plate.

This made him look up at me, his eyes boring straight into mine at the sudden action. My eyes widened.

"I-it's just that...I ate one before you...started eating." I stuttered slightly, my guts churning from anxiety.

Fuck!

I wish that his hair would cover his eyes, just this one time. I felt like he was trying to decipher the meaning of my whole existence with this one gaze.

Eventually, he nodded and went back to feeding his daughter.

I didn't know what to do so I went over to where Lucas was seated and sat next to him. I will just have to eat when they go to bed.

Lucas engaged me in a conversation about how he thinks it's weird that I have freckles all over my face and body.

I do have freckles all over my body but it's not that they're many in one place, they're just scattered everywhere, and they cover my chest, breasts, stomach, legs, and arms. You can't even see them from afar, they're very light.

"We should paint you green and then color the freckles as lights during Christmas." He suggested somewhere in the conversation making me laugh.

He said I would look like a masterpiece. Agreed. Maybe I should buy a tree costume for Christmas.

I pushed my hair back as I listened to Lucas. I looked up to see if Isabella was done only to find her counting her fingers as she chewed on the last bite. I went to look away but found Mr. Moretti staring at me.

I raised my eyebrows in alert if he wanted something, but he just stared silently which made heat crawl up my neck.

"I'm done, Wooly!" Isabella announced making my attention snap towards her.

"That's great," I said standing up. "Let's get you ready for bed then?"

She nodded before looking at her father expectantly. He arched an eyebrow at her, and she told him to help her get down.

When he did, she quickly walked to me hugging my legs as if we weren't together the whole time.

"I miss you." She mumbled making me chuckle before picking her up.

"Of course, you do," I said attaching her to my hips before going to pick up her plate.

Mr. Moretti was looking at Isabella, amusement clear in his eyes.

After putting the children's plate in the sink, Lucas came to grab my free hand so we could go upstairs together.

"Good night, Dad." The children said to their father who was still eating.

He hummed in response.

"I'll come to clean the dishes after I put them to bed, sir," I told him before going upstairs.

Mr. Moretti surely is a quiet man. I feel like as long as I do what he expects of me, we can live on good terms.

That's right, keep it together Willow.