Chapter 7

• Even though the last time he saw her was when they were teenagers, heaven knew he couldn’t go wrong with her identity. The petite teenager he was very fond of had grown into a beautiful woman. Normal height, her then skinny body was now replaced with well-defined curves which were evident from her knee-length dress. She still maintained her dark wavy hair and even though it’s been years, her face still remained the same, except for the fact that she looked even more beautiful.
• “Kara????!!!” Adam whispered, not believing the fact that the face that has haunted him in his sleep for over ten years was now looking him back in the eye.
• “Good evening, Sir, I’m here to see Mr Sleeves.” She said in a professional tone, sounding and looking normal, unlike Adam who looked shocked.
• Even though Adam’s eyes were deceiving him, He knew his ears couldn’t deceive him. Her voice was exactly the same. Just as he remembered.
• “Katherine?” He whispered, as though wanting to confirm that She was the one even when he could swear that she was ‘his kara’.
• “I’m Helen Pierce, the new nanny.” She replied, still looking normal which made Adam want to go crazy.
• He frowned, trying his best to stay calm. “Helen Pierce?”
• The lady nodded.
• Adam sighed, running a hand over his face. “Look, Kara, I know I wronged you. I don’t even deserve to stand before you right now but the truth is that I’m sorry for everything and I have a reasonable explanation for everything that happened.”
• “I searched for you everywhere. I hired a couple of people to track you down but they came back with nothing. It was as if you disappeared from the surface of the earth. I know I’ve wronged you but lying about your identity isn’t the right thing to do.” Adam tried to stay as calm as possible but he failed. His voice came out as someone who was frustrated.
• “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir. I’m not Katherine or Kara or whoever you think I am. I am Helen and I don’t think we’ve met before. You don’t look familiar to me at all.” She said without any emotion in her eyes or her voice.
• Adam exhaled. He was about to say something when someone interrupted. It was Calvin who came and stood beside him.
• “Buddy, you shouldn’t have left your sister alone,” Adam said to his son. He feared leaving her alone since She started crawling.
• “But you were taking too long.” Calvin pouted.
• Looking at the beautiful and unfamiliar face, the little boy smiled. “Hi, I’m Calvin. Are you my new nanny?”
• Helen nodded, crouching towards the young boy. She smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Calvin. I’m Helen but you can call me Elle. And yes, I’m your new nanny. I’m happy to be here and I hope we get along pretty well.”
• Calvin smiled, nodding his small head. “Come in. I want to introduce you to my little sister. She will like you too.” Calvin said, clinging to Helen’s left hand.
• “Sure, let me bring my things in.” She freed her hand from Calvin’s own and reached for her luggage. She took them in, dropping them not too far from the door after which Calvin took her hand again and led her to the living room where little Anna was.
• All this while, Adam was by the door. He still couldn’t wrap his head around what the hell was going on.
• After a couple of seconds when his son and Kara or whatever her name was, was no longer in sight, he shut the door, then went to join them in the living room.
• She was seated on the floor, by Anna’s playpen, playing with his little girl and Calvin.
• Adam couldn’t help but stand by and watch. She seemed to be getting along with his children which was a good thing. But his attention was more on her. He could swear that she was ‘his Kara.’ Her smile, the sound of her laughter as he played with his kids, everything was the same. Just as he remembered. He had no idea why She was denying her identity and that was making Adam go crazy.
• “Do you want me to show you our rooms, Helen? You will love them.” Calvin voiced out, standing to his feet.
• “Yes, love.” She smiled at the little boy, taking Anna in her arms.
• “I will give you a house tour so you can get familiar with everything.” Adam chipped into their conversation.
• Helen nodded, standing up with Anna in her arms.
• Calvin held onto Helen’s free hand. Adam noticed that.
• Adam started the tour. On the ground floor was the main living room, the smaller one, the kitchen, a guest room, a home office which Adam hardly made use of since he was hardly ever at home or just preferred to work in his room, a visitors bathroom and a home gym.
• When they got upstairs, Adam showered Helen all of the bedrooms. He showed his and Tessie’s own by pointing towards the door. He showed her her room which was just beside Anna’s own and then last but not least, Calvin’s room. As well as the theater room upstairs and the kids’ playroom.
• Calvin wanted Helen to see his room so bad so they went there after exploring what was going to be Helen’s room. The little boy’s bedroom was what any four year old could wish for. Despite Adam’s incompetency with regards to his fatherly duties, he made sure his children got the best, even though those services were provided by a third party.
• Once they were done exploring Calvin’s room, they went over to Anna’s. Helen was really impressed.
• “I wanted to ask what the kids’ routines are. If they have a meal plan I need to follow and any other important thing I need to know about them.”
• Adam sighed, rubbing his palm together, “It’s okay to say I’m a shitty father and trust me, I’m not proud of it.”
• “That’s a bad word, Daddy.” Calvin voiced out, referring to the word ‘shitty’.
• Adam mentally facepalmed. “Sorry, buddy.”
• “Calvin is in preschool, he goes three times a week. School starts for him by 9 and their bedtime is 8 pm.”
• “Anna will be with you all day. No strict routines but I’m sure the more you spend time with her, the more you will get to know her better.”
• “You will have access to a car and the driver in case you need to be moving around. Of course, you will be the one to pick Calvin from school, but I can’t promise you that I’ll be available to take him to school all the time.”
• “Do they have allergies or any other important thing that I need to know?”
• “No, no allergies. I think I have a doctor’s report along with a recommended meal plan the previous nanny got from their last doctor’s appointment. I’ll search for it so you can go through them.”
• “I was told you have a contract for me to sign and some negotiations to make.”
• Helen nodded. “I’ll give you the papers when we get downstairs.”
• “Are you hungry?” Helen asked Calvin who stood by her side. It was already getting late and She figured out he and his sister should have dinner soon.
• The little boy nodded immediately.
• “Our chef resigned three weeks ago. I had the intention of hiring someone else but I’ve been pretty occupied. I no longer gave it a priority since the previous nanny offered to do the cooking for the kids. I hardly eat at home and Tessie sorts herself out.”
• “It’s fine. I can always take care of what the kids will eat but I’m not going to be responsible for you and your wife’s meals.” Helen said politely.
• Adam has heard a lot of people refer to Tessie as ‘his wife’ and he didn’t feel anything. To him, it was just like a mere title but he couldn’t help but feel guilty and angry upon hearing Katherine call Tessie his wife. He tried to search Helen’s eyes for any emotion but he didn’t see any and that was starting to annoy the shit out of him.
• “We have someone who comes around every day to clean the house,” Adam said.
• Helen nodded, taking note of that.
• “I’ll go take their bath for them now,” Helen said with Anna in her arms, leading Calvin out of the room.
• Adam couldn’t help but stare at her till she left the room with his children.
• “Fuck!” He cursed the moment She was out of sight. Staring at her back view was starting to bring back memories. Memories that were starting to turn him on. Adam knew this wasn’t the right time but he couldn’t help it.