Page 132 of The Nanny

The guilt I feel is palpable, and I can only imagine that Aiden feels the same, if not worse. His knuckles remained stark white against the steering wheel the entire drive to the hospital, and he doesn’t utter a word the whole way there. I know that we were told that Wanda is stable, and that the worst is behind her, but still. I feel that looming sense of dread at the idea of the first person to really love me lying in the hospital.

When we finally arrive, I have to sprint to keep up with Aiden as we rush down the corridor of the floor Wanda is on, and when we finally round the corner near Wanda’s room to spot a tired-looking Sophie clinging to her aunt Iris, I feel equal parts relieved and terrified. Sophie doesn’t notice us at first, sitting next to Iris on a bench in the hall as Iris looks straight ahead with an angry expression. I know this isn’t going to go well.

Iris notices us first, turning her head at the sound of our footsteps and glaring at the pair of us as she tightens her arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “Nice of you to finally join us.”

Aiden ignores her, going straight to Sophie to crouch in front of her. He reaches out to cup her face, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Sophie mumbles, her little lip trembling. “Wanda’s sick. I tried to help, but she—she fell asleep, and I couldn’t wake her up.”

“Shh,” Aiden soothes, loosening Iris’s grip on his daughter and pulling Sophie into his arms. “You did amazing. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry we didn’t answer the phone.”

Iris looks livid, her expression darker than I’ve ever seen it as she glances between the pair of us with what can only be described as contempt. “How could you leave her with an elderly woman and then just ignore your phone all night?”

“I didn’t hear it go off,” Aiden answers tightly. I can tell he’s doing his best to remain civil, but I can also sense how stressed he is right now. “It was a mistake.”

“A mistake,” Iris snorts, moving to stand as she gestures between us. “I wonder why that is? Do you think that maybe it’s because you decided to go off”—she gives me a deliberate look that is anything but pleasant—“and have fun on your own?”

I feel my stomach twist with more guilt, hating that I’m the reason he’s being berated right now. Iris is looking at me like I’m something she is trying to scrape off her shoe, and Aiden’s weary expression makes me feel pretty equivalent to that. I can see every bit of ground I’ve gained with Iris blowing away like dust in the wind, every victory circling down the drain. It’s all over her face that she blames me for this just as much if not more than Aiden.

“Iris, it wasn’t his fault, it was—”

“Just don’t,” Iris practically spits. “You know, you really had me fooled. I thought youcaredabout her. But you were just trying to get something else. Weren’t you.”

I rear back as if she’s slapped me, and I hear Aiden take a deep breath. He smiles at Sophie, reaching into his wallet to pull out a few bills and handing them over to her. “Why don’t you go get yourself something from the vending machine? It’s right down the hall.” He points to the large machine at the end of the hallway we’re standing in. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Sophie nods solemnly, taking the bills and looking warily between the three very tense adults surrounding her before she shuffles off.

Iris is looking at me again like I’m garbage, and it makes my face hot with embarrassment. It feels like I’ve deluded myself into thinking that we were making progress, because with one mistake it’s all crumbling away.

Aiden’s voice is cautious when he speaks again. “Hey, I’m glad you were here for Sophie, but—”

“Of course I’m here for Sophie,” Iris hisses. “I’malwayshere for Sophie. Which is exactly why she should be with me.” She pokes a finger at Aiden’s chest. “You left Sophie with an elderly woman you barely know so you could run off and fuck your nanny. What the hell were you thinking?”

I can feel the air rushing from my lungs like I’ve just had the wind knocked out of me. The way she says it makes it sound like some dirty, cheap thing—like I’m someone Aiden picked up for a quick lay. It makes mefeeldirty, hearing it said like that.

Aiden looks livid, a tic in his jaw as if it’s taking all of his restraint not to completely tear Iris a new asshole. “You don’t know what you’re talk—”

“Actually, I think I do,” Iris laughs derisively. “I’ve turned ablind eye to it, because I thought she cared about Sophie, but it’s clear that she cares more aboutyou. Apparently, Sophie is just an afterthought to the both of you.”

“Iris,” Aiden says tightly. “Don’t you dare—”

“Don’ttellme what to do, Aiden Reid,” she seethes, clearly keyed up to the point of no return. “I sit back and watch you bumble your way through trying to be a father, and I have done everything I can to try and help you, to find a solution that’s actuallyinSophie’s best interest. But you’ve been so wrapped up in your own ego, you’ve never even tried to consider what might be best for her. Which is clearly not living with you.”

“Myegohas nothing to do with it,” he snaps back. “Sophie ismychild, not yours, and you’re not going to sit here and tell me that—”

“I don’t have to sit here and tell you anything,” she says with a humorless laugh. “I can tell it to a judge, instead. I think one might find this entire situation extremely interesting.”

That panic is back, scratching at my chest from the inside like it might burst right out of me at any second. “Wait,” I interject. “Iris. I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I would never do anything to hurt Sophie. I’m the one who suggested—”

“I don’t care,” Iris interrupts, her eyes wild and wet with unshed tears. “The only thing I care about is my niece calling me completely terrified this morning from the back of an ambulance because herfatherwouldn’t pick up the phone. All because he was getting his dick wet.”

“That’senough.”Aiden’s face is red, a hardness to his eyes I’ve never seen before. “Get the fuck out of here, Iris. Right now.”

“You can’t tell me what to—”

“If you don’t leave at this very second,” he says darkly, “I’m going to go straight to the courthouse tomorrow and file a restraining order. Do you want to spend the money it will take to fight that?”

She narrows her eyes. “And you think that will stick?”

---