Chapter 3 - Eleanor’s Version
Eleanor was waiting in the library.
She had changed out of her evening gown and was wearing a pale silk
robe, her silver hair still pinned perfectly in place. A cup of tea sat
untouched beside her.
“You’ve caused a great deal of damage,” she said as I entered.
Alexander closed the door behind us.
“Mother, explain the resignation letter.”
Eleanor folded her hands.
“Emma has become indispensable to Noah. That is precisely the problem. A
child should not confuse an employee with a parent.”
“I never told him I was his mother,” I said.
“You allowed him to call you that.”
“He said it tonight because he was frightened.”
“And you lifted him in front of four hundred people.”
“He was shaking.”
“You should have handed him to his father.”
I looked at Alexander.
“He was standing there.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
Eleanor turned toward him. “You cannot let sentiment dictate the future
of this family. Noah needs a stable woman in his life. Someone who
understands our responsibilities.”
“Did the women tonight know they were being asked to compete for my
son’s affection?”
“They knew the family was considering a marriage.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Eleanor’s silence answered him.
Alexander walked to the desk and opened a folder. Inside were printed
emails from the event planner, the candidates’ representatives, and
Eleanor’s assistant.
He placed one page in front of her.
“Why does this schedule say Noah would spend ten minutes alone with each
candidate?”
Eleanor glanced at it. “It was a chance for them to meet.”
“Why were they instructed to ask him what he wanted in a mother?”
“He is part of this family.”
“He is five.”
Eleanor’s composure cracked.
“You have been alone since Clara died. You work until midnight. You
refuse to attend family events unless I arrange them. I was trying to
give you a chance to move forward.”
“You arranged a public test for my child.”
“I arranged an introduction.”
“You arranged a performance.”
Eleanor rose. “You are making me sound cruel.”
Alexander’s voice stayed quiet. “I am asking why you threatened Emma’s
job and made my son believe she was leaving because she no longer loved
him.”
“I never said that to him.”
I remembered the afternoon Noah had come into the pantry with red eyes.
He had asked whether people could stop loving someone if they were paid
to stay.
At the time, I thought he had heard it from a television show.
Now I understood.
“Did you tell him that I was only here because I was paid?” I asked.
Eleanor looked at me.
“I told him employees have contracts.”
“He asked me whether I would still like him if I didn’t work here.”
Alexander went very still.
Eleanor’s mouth tightened. “Children ask strange questions.”
“No,” Alexander said. “Children ask questions when adults make them
afraid.”
He gathered the documents.
“Until this is reviewed, you will have no authority over Emma’s
employment or Noah’s care.”
Eleanor stared at him.
“You would humiliate your own mother for a servant?”
“I would protect my son from anyone who makes him feel disposable.”
She looked at me as if she wanted to say something devastating.
Instead, she picked up her tea and walked out.
At the door, she stopped.
“You think he will choose you forever?”
I didn’t answer.
Because that was exactly what I did not want.
I didn’t want Noah to have to choose between people he loved.
I wanted him to be allowed to love his father, remember his mother, care
about me, and still be a child.
Alexander waited until the door closed.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I looked at the folder in his hands.
“Don’t apologize to me for what you say to your mother. Show Noah
something different tomorrow.”
He nodded.
May you like
And the next morning, for the first time in months, Alexander canceled
his early meetings.
