Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 214 -

Весса.

"Oh, they are just darlings!" Madeline said, causing me to smile brightly. It'd been a couple of weeks since I'd been inviting her over to interact with the kids. So far, everything was going very well.

I had been on edge ever since the camera picked up someone unknown. I told myself to focus on that later, though. Madeline was, surprisingly, doing a lot to relieve my stress. A bright smile was plastered on my face as I talked with her. "They are," I agreed, feeling tears form. A few dripped down my cheeks as I stared at Daliah.

At the moment, the toddler was in Madeline's arms, being bounced around. She was shrieking with laughter, which faded into joyous gurgles as she took a few breaths. I couldn't help but laugh along with her. A few strands of her hair fell messily into her face, making her look goofy.

I refocused on Madeline, who emanated a very positive aura. Her grin was brilliant, and her body language was relaxed as she regarded the kids with pure joy. That's when I focused on Dahlia, who was pointing at me and laughing. Almost as if she wanted to say something!

She'd be starting to say her first words soon, I realized. She was about eight months now, and the way she played with her toys made it clear she was very intelligent. Madeline said to the toddler, "That's right! Mama's looking at you, say hi to Mama!"

Dahlia raised her hand and did a little hand-bend wave, which caused me to beam and wave back in the same way. I watched Madeline, realizing she really had such a strong connection with the kids. I'd paid her for her time even though I'd monitored every time she was here.

The few times I left the room for an hour, I watched the camera feed, and it was always the same. She played with the kids, laughing with them, entertaining them when she could. The kids settled down with her to watch various age- appropriate shows that she engaged with, too.

She had so much patience, and I was very impressed. After a long pause and more baby chatter, I felt it was time. "I think I'm comfortable with you being our new nanny, Madeleine," I said. She blinked several times, then gasped, a joyous noise.

"Oh, Becca, darling! I'd be honored, really. I'm so happy you picked me. Your children are little angels, and I couldn't be happier. They say get a job you'd love with all of your heart. I think I've found just that," she said, causing me to smile and nod.

"Sorry I took so long," I said, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. "Ever since the camera caught someone outside near the house, I've been on edge. Especially since my time with James had been ruined by his ex," I explained. I'd told her the story in short terms so that she knew how unhinged Allison was.

Madeline's eyes flashed in sympathy, and she nodded. "Don't worry about it, dear. I understand entirely. How have things been since security's been beefed up?" she asked, tilting her head.

"They've been weird," I muttered. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again, giving a soft smile.

"But we've been safe. I trust the people we hired. Still... there's been an off feeling. A few more instances of things like the trash being knocked over. Lawn ornaments going missing. Someone messed with the postbox, but it had been empty," I said.

"That's concerning," Madeline said. She added, "But the people watching the place seem very sweet, yes. They take their jobs seriously. When I first started coming to help you with the children, they asked me tons of questions! For several days. Repeated ones, too."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," I said, feeling a slight bit of embarrassment. Madeline just shook her head and laughed, that smile of hers meeting her eyes.

"No, darling, do not apologize! I understand entirely. You have a family to look after. Me being connected to Sophia doesn't mean enough, it wouldn't for me, either, if I was in your situation. Better safe than sorry. I think my answers satisfied them. I don't get asked much anymore!"

"That's good," I said, recalling how security had discussed matters with James. They felt Madeline wasn't a threat, at all, and cited she was a joy to speak with. Given her clean background, adoration for the children, and approval from security, I knew I was making the right decision.

"When would you like me to start?" she asked, causing me to tilt my head in thought. Madeline then said, "I can make plans as soon as possible. I had an interview for another job on Friday, but that'll be canceled, of course. A long-term commitment is exactly what I'm looking for."

That sounded wonderful to me, and I grinned. "Glad I made that decision before you got that interview! Sorry for the back and forth and how unsure I was." My face flushed in embarrassment a bit, and I rubbed the back of my neck. "No! It's just fine, darling, you really don't need to worry about a thing. Between what you saw on security, and what you said you experienced with other nannies, I get it entirely. It wouldn't have been any frustration. Besides, you paid me for my time here, which was generous," she said.

I nodded, though I began to frown. My hand flew to my stomach as I felt it lurch. What was going on? The feeling of nausea was so sudden, and I ran my tongue over my lips, wondering if I was dealing with a case of food poisoning. The feeling was gone shortly following that.

"Is something wrong?" Madeline said, her eyes widening with concern. I gave a light shrug, taking a deep breath and telling myself to calm down. Probably just some minor stomach bug, or something. I sincerely hoped it wasn't actually food poisoning.

Giving a weak smile, I said, "I'll be okay. It's probably nothing." I blinked as Dahlia began to wiggle and whine, trying to break free from Madeline for now. The woman smiled and gently put her on the ground. She began to crawl toward me, then sat back, reaching up for me.

When she made grabby hands, I knew she wanted me to pick her up. I brought her toward my face and bumped noses with her, feeling a soft, blissful feeling at the cooing noises she made. Her beautiful eyes shined as she gave me a big, happy grin.

That's when the extraordinary happened.

After a happy little squeak from the child, she said, "Mama! Mama, Mama!"

It was the first time I'd heard her say that, and my jaw dropped. Tears welled up and began to pour from my eyes as I gasped, "That's right. Mama. That's right, Dahlia. Mama's here." I took her into my arms for a huge hug, rocking back and forth with her.

For a moment in time, everything froze, and it was just me and my baby. Her laughter filled my ears, my entire soul, and her words touched my heart. The feeling of happiness made my heart explode, and I just let out a soft cry of sheer bliss. I let go of the hug and brought her face to mine, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. Then, Dahlia grew impatient, having made her point and wanting to go crawl around. She began to squeak and whine, indicating I'd better let her down now, or face the consequence.

Setting her down on the floor, I smiled and refocused on Madeline, who wore a smile that was beyond delighted. She was positively radiant that she was able to share that moment with me. "That was beautiful," she said, a tear crawling down her face.

"I love them so much," I whispered, loud enough for her to hear.

Alessandro looked up from the toys he was playing with and said, "Love! Love Mama, love!" This only made me cry even harder, I was too touched!

My stomach lurched again, this time the feeling of nausea was far more powerful. My hands flew to my stomach, and I made eye contact with Madeline, who widened her eyes with concern. "Becca," she said, "are you sure you're alright? You've gone pale."

At that point, I shook my head. Bile began to rise in my throat as I realized I needed to go. A woozy feeling overcame me, and I coughed, the twisting and turning of my stomach growing more and more unbearable.

"I've got the kids here, Becca, go take care of whatever is going on. Please, darling, take care of yourself," Madeline said quickly. This time, I obliged, standing up and whirling to rush toward the door. I hurried into the bathroom, quickly making my way to the toilet.

The disgusting, acidic taste of vomit rose up into my throat as I opened the toilet right in time. Retching, I dispelled the contents of my stomach into it, almost getting some out of the toilet itself, but having the control to avoid that.

I held my head, dizzy, before letting everything loose again and again. Eventually, I was hunched over, clutching my stomach and sniffling. I'd gone from a feeling of complete happiness to one of complete misery in the fraction of a second. This feeling was familiar, but why? What could it mean? I tried to determine if it was stress or anxiety, but that didn't feel right. Sure, this whole fiasco with the cameras and unidentified person was really bothering me, but it would have led to this far earlier if it was too much.

Plus, as horrible as those feelings were, they didn't typically lead to me throwing up like that. I stood up, my legs shaky, and flushed the toilet several times. I needed to clean myself up, because that was disgusting. Quickly, I rinsed my mouth with cold water from the sink.

Running the hot water of the shower, I felt tears pour down my cheeks as I let out a sob of confusion. That didn't feel like food poisoning either, though I supposed such a feeling could vary, and I hadn't dealt with it enough to know for sure. Still, that wasn't the answer. Why was I feeling like this? Did I get so excited over Dahlia's words that I couldn't handle it? This hadn't happened so dramatically before, and I really didn't believe such intense feelings of happiness would lead to this.

The steam began to thicken in the bathroom, and eventually, I got myself together and stepped into the shower. For some reason, I was now feeling exhausted. Throwing up like that could be the culprit, but now I was stressed on top of that. What could any of this mean? I knew it was more significant than just a common bug. But why? And how did I know?