The next week seemed to fly by. The routine was easy enough. Help Emily get dressed. Make sure she was fed, teeth brushed, hair brushed, then have her ready for her tutor by 8:30 am. She was a fairly independent little thing, so I barely felt like I was working at all. 

After morning tutoring was lunch, where she gossiped giddily about her K-Pop groups, or whatever new game she was playing on Roblox. The lunches were always so lavish that I felt absolutely spoiled. 

“You’re going to turn me into a whale,” I told Joel one day as he sat across the table from us, enjoying the second course of our three course lunch. 

“Whales are beautiful!” Emily pointed out. “People are always trying to take boats out to see them. It would be amazing to be a whale. Joel took me to see them once. I’ll never forget it. I love the ocean so much!”

Joel chuckled, then ordered us some ice–cream from the chef, just because. 

While Emily went to her afternoon tutoring, I would explore the house, or on Thursday, I headed out to meet with my therapist, Corrin. I couldn’t tell her much about my new position, of course, having signed the NDA, but I was giddy enough to explain just how much my life had changed thanks to Bob, the rich handsome uncle. 

“Please tell me you’re not trying to date your boss,” Corrin insisted. “That never ever ends well.”

“That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind,” I insisted, not sure if I was being honest myself. “But, what about what’s-his-name, Ethan Hawke. He married his nanny. I believe they’re still together.”

“Sure, at the cost of his other marriage and a lifetime of baggage. Do you even know about Bob’s past relationships?” Corrin asked. 

“I don’t even know if Bob likes women,” I shrugged. “And I’m not into him like that. He’s just fun to be around.”

And he was. Every night, I looked forward to Sebastian coming upstairs to say goodnight to Emily. We would have a little dance party in Emily’s room, with her wheeling her chair around us with all sorts of awesome tricks she’d learned over the years. Then Sebastian would carry her to bed, after begging to do so when she protested she could do it herself. He always reminded her that she was small for only so long, and it was his privilege to take care of her. 

Then he would hold her hand as he read her a book until she fell asleep. As awkward as it was to watch these beautiful moments of theirs together, I thoroughly enjoyed it. They never asked me to leave, and in fact, the first time I tried to, Emily begged me to stay. 

“I’m so lucky to be part of their little world,” I told Corrin, realizing there was a huge grin on my face. 

“You definitely seem happier,” she said. “That’s a good thing. I’m proud of you for taking this step. I also think all of this secrecy will be good for you in the long run. Keep you off of Jeffrey’s radar when he gets out of prison.”

I nodded.

I had received an email that morning that Jeffrey was being let out several years early for good behavior. I had slipped it into my conversation with Corrin early to get it out of the way because I didn’t want to think about it. But here it was again, snaking back into my consciousness like some dark tangible nightmare. 

“Hey,” Corrin put a hand on my wrist and gave a gentle smile, “you’re gonna be okay.”

I wanted so badly to believe her.