Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 137: Keeping Up Appearances

Moana

Edrick showed so much affection for me when he realized that I was freezing up in front of the

paparazzi, and without a moment of hesitation, he shielded me from the cameras with his body to hide

my vulnerability and ushered me inside. Once we were safely inside, he led me over to a table and left

me there while he got me some water. Even though I was still stunned by all of the shouting and the

flashing cameras, I couldn’t deny the fact that my heart felt full of love for the man who always cared so

deeply about me.

While I waited for him, I began to calm down a bit and take in my surroundings. The inside of the

building was a beautiful old concert hall with round tables scattered around, an art deco ceiling, and an

ornate wooden stage at the front. There was a microphone and a stool sitting on the stage, and it made

me realize that there must be a live show tonight. I hoped it was a comedian; I needed to laugh.

But as I sat, I still couldn’t help but notice that people were talking about me. I could hear their whispers

and their snickers, and as I looked around, I realized that there were many sets of eyes on me,

watching me like hawks circling their prey. It almost seemed as though they were suspicious of me, as

if I would steal something or cause some trouble. All I could do was stare down at my lap and wait for

Edrick to return.

As soon as he returned, he put his arm around me once again. The people whispering about me

immediately stopped as soon as they saw him, which made me feel safe once more.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

Edrick merely nodded. “Let me know if you need another,” he said. He seemed so nonchalant, but I

could tell from the way that his jaw was clenched that he was annoyed about something, and the way

that he held me tightly was almost territorial. Maybe he noticed that people were staring, too, and

wanted to show them that he would be here to protect me if they tried to say or do anything nasty.

Not long later, waiters dressed in black and white uniforms came around and started taking people’s

orders. There was a limited menu, but each meal was extremely luxurious and decadent. I ordered

pasta with clams, and when it came out I was awed by how fragrant and full of flavor the meal was. I

had never eaten such exquisite foods in my life; sure, Sophia tried her best to give us a wide variety of

foods to try, but we never had the money for food like this. As I glanced around at all of the other

women who hardly even touched their meals, I felt culture shocked. I still couldn’t wrap my head

around the fact that there were people who were so used to this that they didn’t even want to eat the

food, and I decided then and there that no matter how much Edrick spoiled me, I would never let myself

forget what it was like to go hungry as a child.

Once the meals came out, the lights dimmed so that the only light in the room aside from the spotlight

on the stage were the flickering candles at each table. Then, someone came out on stage to announce

the show for the night: a celebrity comedian.

While we ate, the comedian performed his show and made Edrick and I laugh together. It was so funny

that I quickly forgot about how scared I was before, and soon I felt as though it was just Edrick and I

there, enjoying a show together while we had dinner. In fact, with the way that Edrick sat right next to

me with either his hand or his leg touching me at all times, I really did feel like a real couple on a night

out. And at one point, I glanced over at him to see him laughing loudly at one of the comedian’s jokes.

He was even more handsome when he was happy. I loved the way his eyes squeezed shut and the

way that he tilted his head back when he laughed, and it made me smile even more. During those

moments, I thought that I could see him laugh like that forever and I’d be happy.

After the show, the lights came back on and people began to stand.

“Is the event over already?” I asked.

Edrick shook his head. “Not for a while yet,” he replied, sounding a little disappointed. “Now we’ll have

to mingle. It’s important for appearances.”

I swallowed and nodded, feeling nervous as we stood, but Edrick held his arm out for me. As I looped

my hand through his arm and followed him around while he chatted with people, however, I could tell

that their smiles were fake and that they kept giving me side glances — especially the women. I felt

instantly judged and out of place, and as the time went on, I felt more and more uncomfortable despite

being right beside Edrick. However, I quickly learned to put on a fake smile like the rest of them, and

tuned out all of the boring conversations and instead busied myself with looking at all of the beautiful

artwork and reliefs carved into the walls and ceiling. Even if events like this would always contain a lot

of boring chatter between businesspeople, I couldn’t help but think that I was at least lucky to enjoy so

much beautiful and historic artwork. But I also noticed that many of the other wives seemed to be

mingling together and talking, and not a single one of them invited me to chat, which honestly hurt quite

a bit.

At one point, I needed to use the restroom. I excused myself while Edrick was having a lengthy

conversation with one of his business partners about market fluctuations or some other boring business

topic, and made my way over to the restrooms.

The restrooms were located down a small hallway, which offered a bit of reprieve from the noise of the

event. I let out a small sigh as I walked up to the door and put my hand out to open it.

But I stopped when I heard laughter and voices inside.

“How ridiculous!” I heard a woman say. “Who wears green eyeshadow to an event like this?”

Another woman laughed loudly. “Maybe she got too busy playing with her mommy’s makeup before the

event.”

Then, a third woman: “No, darling. She’s an orphan. Don’t you know?”

The other women gasped in unison. “Edrick Morgan is planning on marrying not only a human, but an

orphan, too? I always thought that there was something wrong with him. Surely a man like that being

single for this long has some sort of strange fetish or another.”

My eyes widened as I listened to their conversation. I could handle people talking poorly about me, as it

was something that I had grown used to as a human in a world dominated by werewolves… But to say

something so nasty about Edrick made my blood boil.

Maybe I should have just walked away, but I was too stubborn. I couldn’t stop myself from pushing the

door open.