Chapter 6 of The Billionaire's Reluctant Nanny

Alessia's POV

I looked at the picture I was sent for God knows how long and I was in disbelief and hurt as well. Even though I knew my husband cheated I never expected his mistress to get pregnant this quickly just a few months after our divorce.

I was distracted from the conversation I was having with Adrian and from how I acted Adrain noticed something was wrong and he asked if I was okay ?

I lied and just said yeah I'm fine nothing happened he asked again, And I still gave him that same response of saying I was fine when within me I was crying silently.

I was hurt and even felt like crying but I guessed the tears in me had run out. I couldn't cry,I couldn't express myself. I just sat down dormant like a statue. The picture just kept replaying in my head like it was a bad dream that I needed to come to an end.

I gave everything to my husband,I was a loyal wife,I did everything a good woman was supposed to do for her husband and still ended up being divorced because I couldn't bear him a child over the years we were married and that's how my marriage crumbled.

And now he wanted to start a family with a woman who could bear him a child when I couldn't. After regaining myself I looked around and realized Adrian had already left the room.

I was so immersed in my own thoughts that I had not realized when Adrian had left.

There was a knock on the door and I answered '' come in ". It was Mrs. Davenport who opened the door gently and said she just wanted to know how I was feeling and if the bowl of soup made me a bit warmer.

Then I answered'' yes ma " it did keep me warm but deep within me my heart was cold from the picture message I received and this wasn't what a bowl of soup could make warm.

The rest of that day was just sour for me because of how I felt. I still couldn't get that picture out of my head and started thinking maybe yes I was a barren woman. Because never did I miss my period or had even a miscarriage before.

And yet somehow just a few months after my divorce Marissa was pregnant with my ex husband's child.

The next morning I got up late because I couldn't sleep properly and Ava was already prepared for school and breakfast was already served when I got down to the dinning room. Adrian and Ava was having breakfast and Ava started her mischievous behavior with "Look at the time you are waking up" And added don't you know you are the one supposed to get me ready for school ?

I just snarled and said " sorry Miss Ava it won't happen again". And Adrian just watched without saying anything to his daughter.

After breakfast I escorted Ava to the Car where her driver was already waiting outside to take her to school.

The morning air was crisp against my skin as I stood by the car, watching Ava settle into the backseat like a tiny queen being chauffeured to her kingdom.

"Bye, Miss Alessia," she said with a small smirk, almost as if she enjoyed bossing me around.

I forced a smile. "Have a good day at school."

The car door shut, and within seconds, the vehicle pulled away from the mansion, leaving me alone in the driveway.

Alone... just like I had been feeling since yesterday.

I wrapped my arms around myself, as if I could hold together the pieces of my heart that were slowly falling apart.

That picture.

It flashed again in my mind.

Marissa, smiling brightly, her hand resting on her slightly protruding belly... and beside her-my ex-husband, looking happier than I had ever seen him.

I clenched my fists.

"Stop it," I whispered to myself. "You're stronger than this."

But was I?

A barren woman.

The words echoed in my head like a cruel chant.

I had never said it out loud before. Never accepted it. But now... it felt like the truth was being shoved right in my face.

"Alessia."

I turned abruptly at the sound of my name.

Adrian was standing a few steps behind me, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, his expression unreadable as always.

"I thought you went back inside," I said, quickly masking my emotions.

"I did," he replied calmly. "Then I realized you didn't follow."

His sharp eyes scanned my face, as if trying to peel back every layer I had carefully put up.

"You look pale."

"I'm fine," I said immediately.

The same lie.

Again.

He didn't respond right away. Instead, he took a slow step closer, his gaze never leaving mine.

"You keep saying that," Adrian said quietly. "But you don't look fine."

My throat tightened.

Why was he doing this?

Why was he looking at me like he could actually see me?

"I said I'm fine," I repeated, this time a little firmer.

For a moment, silence stretched between us.

Then Adrian sighed softly, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright," he said. "If that's what you want."

Relief should have washed over me.

But instead... something inside me felt disappointed.

He turned to leave, but paused after a few steps.

"If something is bothering you," he added without looking back, "you don't have to deal with it alone."

My heart skipped.

I watched as he walked away, his tall figure disappearing back into the house.

Deal with it alone?

That was all I had ever known.

I let out a shaky breath and followed him inside.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur.

I tried to keep myself busy-helping Mrs. Davenport in the kitchen, rearranging Ava's things, doing anything to stop my mind from wandering back to that picture.

But it was useless.

Pain has a way of finding you... no matter how hard you try to run from it.

By afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore.

I slipped into my room and closed the door behind me, leaning against it as my body slowly sank to the floor.

My hands trembled as I picked up my phone.

I opened the message again.

There it was.

That same picture.

That same smile.

That same proof that I had been replaced... so easily.

Tears finally welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision.

"So this is it..." I whispered.