Chapter 140 Alexander

Chapter 140 Talia
Talia's POV

Adrian didn't say much on the way downstairs that morning, just a small, knowing smirk sitting on his mouth like he was waiting for me to catch up to something he already knew. 

I found out what it was the second we reached the living room.
A young woman stood near the kitchen island, dressed simply but unable to hide the kind of figure most women would kill for, her smile already wide and welcoming before either of us said a word.

"This is Emilia," Adrian said. "She'll be helping with Noah from now on."
"It's so nice to meet you both," Emilia said, her voice warm, her hand extending toward me first like she'd been coached on exactly the right order to greet people in this house. 

I shook her hand because I didn't know what else to do, but something in my chest had already gone tight and sour.
The moment Adrian turned to grab his coffee, I pulled him aside by the sleeve, lowering my voice as much as I could manage.

"Why would you hire her," I whispered. "Out of every nanny in this city, you picked the one who looks like that?!”
Adrian raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Looks like what?"
"You know exactly what I mean." 

"I hired the most qualified candidate," he said. "Her credentials were better than the other four I interviewed combined."

"That's not what I'm worried about and you know it," I said. "What if you end up cheating on me with her?”

Something flickered across his face, somewhere between irritation and disbelief. "Have you forgotten what I told you about love already? I don't fall for women. I don't fall for anyone. The trait that makes me cold to you makes me equally cold to her."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should," he said. "A man who refuses to feel anything for the woman he's married to isn't suddenly going to feel something for the nanny."

I almost chuckled, this man was unbelievable. 

I didn't find that comforting in the slightest, but I didn't have time to argue further before Emilia called from the kitchen that breakfast was nearly ready.
We sat down together, Noah already babbling at Emilia about his elephant and his trains, completely charmed by her in a way that made my jealousy worse instead of better.

"You like eggs, Mr. Kane?" Emilia asked, sliding a plate in front of Adrian with a little extra warmth in her smile that I was almost certain I wasn't imagining.
"I do," he said simply, not even glancing up from his phone.

I watched her every move after that. The way she refilled his coffee without being asked. The way she laughed a beat too long at something he said, even though he hadn't actually said anything funny. 

The way she leaned slightly closer than necessary when she set his plate down.
"You're staring," Adrian murmured to me at one point, not even bothering to lower his voice.
"I'm not staring," I said. "I'm observing."
"Observing what."
"Whether I need to fire your new hire."

He looked at me then, really looked at me, and something strange happened to his face. A flush crept up the back of his neck and into his cheeks, faint but unmistakable, and he looked away quickly like he hadn't expected it to show.

I had no idea what to make of that. Adrian Kane, the man who claimed love made men weak, the man who slapped my hand away from emotion every chance he got, blushing over a jealous comment at the breakfast table.

"What was that," I asked.
"Nothing," he said, too fast.
"That wasn't nothing. You're blushing."
"I am not blushing."
"Adrian."
"Eat your breakfast, Talia."

I let it go, mostly because Noah chose that exact moment to knock over his orange juice, sending Emilia scrambling for napkins and giving Adrian the perfect excuse to avoid my eyes for the rest of the meal.

But I filed it away, the way I filed everything away these days, certain that whatever had crossed his face for that brief second meant something he wasn't ready to admit out loud, even to himself.

Once the juice was cleaned up and Noah had been resettled with a fresh cup he insisted on holding himself, Emilia turned her attention back to the table and asked Adrian about his schedule for the day, her voice carrying that same easy warmth she seemed to bring to every sentence.

"Meetings most of the morning," he said. "I'll be back by early afternoon."
"And will you need me to keep Noah occupied while you're out, or would you prefer Talia have him to herself," Emilia asked, glancing at me with a polite, open expression that gave me absolutely nothing to work with.

"Whatever works best for Talia," Adrian said, not even glancing up.
"I can manage him myself," I said, a little too quickly.
Emilia smiled like that was exactly the answer she expected. "Of course. I'll just be around if you need anything."

I watched her stand and start clearing plates, watched the easy, unbothered way she moved through a kitchen that wasn't hers yet, like she'd already decided she belonged in it.
"She's very comfortable here for someone who started yesterday," I said quietly, once she'd stepped into the pantry.

"She's good at her job," Adrian said. "That's the only thing I asked her to be."

"That's not what I asked."
He set his fork down and looked at me properly for the first time since the blush had crawled up his neck. "What exactly are you asking me, Talia."

I hesitated, suddenly aware of how it would sound out loud. "I'm asking if I have something to actually worry about, or if I'm just being paranoid because of everything Alexander did to me."

Something in his expression softened, just slightly, the cold edges of it blurring for half a second. "You have nothing to worry about. Not from her. Not from anyone."

"You can't promise that."

"I can," he said. "I just did."

Noah chose that moment to demand more juice, breaking whatever fragile silence had settled between us, and Emilia reappeared with a fresh pitcher like she'd been listening for her cue the entire time.

I watched the two of them interact for the rest of the meal, watched Adrian's attention drift toward his phone and back to Noah and never once, as far as I could tell, toward Emilia in any way that matched the version of disaster I'd built up in my head.

It didn't stop the tight feeling in my chest from sitting there anyway, stubborn and unreasonable.

Yes, Alexander had fucked with my mental health, he had almost driven me mad to be honest, but this was Adrian, even though they were brothers, they were two different people, I had no reason to dount him like this.

It wasn't fair to Emilia either, not every woman was Emma, I had to let go of some of my paranoia, Emilia is here to work, and I would see to it that she was comfortable.

Adrian and I are not married yet anyway, there is no reason for me to panic. He was a free man, he could do what the hell he wanted.

That didn't stop my heart from skipping two beats when I thought about Emilia and Adrian together, that wouldn't do at all.