"This is personal for you."
It's not a question.
I don't answer.
Pietro exhales slowly. Runs a hand through his hair.
"Do it," he says. "Pay the debt. But I want Liam tracking every dollar to make sure nothing bounces back on us." He pauses. "And Nico?"
I wait.
"When this is done, we're going to have a conversation about why you're this invested in a temporary housekeeper."
I nod once. Turn for the door.
"Nico."
I stop.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"No promises," I say.
And I walk out.
Kristen
The latte tastes like dirt.
I take another sip anyway, watching Lily tear across the playground like a small tornado with pigtails. She's been on the swings, the slide, the weird spinning thing that makes me dizzy just looking at it. Now she's conquered the climbing structure, waving at me from the top like she's planted a flag on Everest.
"I'm the queen, Mommy!"
"The highest queen in all the land!" I call back, forcing brightness into my voice.
She beams.
I'd imagined this day differently. Our first real outing since I started working for the Sartoris. I'd pictured us laughing, maybe getting ice cream after, Lily chattering about the ducks while I actually relaxed for once. Instead, Jack's voice keeps echoing in my skull like a bad song stuck on repeat.
The latte turns to acid in my stomach.
Jack's a lot of things. A liar. A cheat. A man who made me feel like I was slowly disappearing for five years. But he wouldn't hurt Lily. He loves her in his own twisted, convenient way—when it suits him, when there's an audience, when he needs to look like Father of the Year for Instagram.
Right?
I set the cup down on the bench beside me, pressing my palms against my thighs. The air bites through my jacket, but the cold feels good. Grounding. Real.
My mother called earlier. We talked for twelve awkward minutes about nothing important.
By Monday, she'll be okay to watch Lily again. That's what she said. Okay. Not happy to or looking forward to it. Just okay.
I'll take okay.
"Mommy, watch! Watch!"
Lily launches herself down the twisty slide, arms raised like she's on a roller coaster. Her shriek of joy cuts through the playground noise, through the fog in my head, through everything.
This. This is why I signed that contract. This is why I walk into a house full of secrets every day and pretend I don't notice the guns or the tension or the way Nico Sartori looks at me.
