His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan)

Chapter 87

#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 i***t 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?” Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

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.”