The Mismatch

51.( A Nanny!)

Chapter 51

Manyata rolled over in bed, her eyes squinting against the stream of sunlight peeking through the curtains. She had spent the night wrestling with her thoughts, trying to knit them into coherent words for the report due on Monday.She sat up and yawned,stretching her arms out to shake off the last remnants of sleep,the plush pillows fluffing around her.

Her gaze fell upon the digital clock on the bedside table, and she groaned. It was already 10 AM. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had missed breakfast again.But she was thankful in one way.She didn't had to interact with him.

Manyata slid out of the warm embrace of the bed, her feet touching the cold marble floor. She padded softly to the bathroom, the sound of running water soon filling the suite. As she brushed her teeth, she heard a wail.

She paused for a moment and thought she heard it wrong. But then she heard it again.

The muffled cries now grew louder, piercing the quiet morning. She paused again, toothpaste foaming in her mouth. The cries weren't just in her head; they were real. But there was something strange about them—a child's cry?Something that didn't quite fit the picture of childless family members in this grand, isolated mansion.

Manyata rinsed her mouth and wiped her face, the towel feeling rough against her skin. She stepped out of the bathroom, the crying now a persistent, gnawing presence. She moved through the suite,following  the direction.The sound grew louder as she approached the heavy double doors that led to the hallway. Her heart quickened. It couldn't be a child.

And the child's wailing led her to a part of the house she rarely visited, a wing that had remained untouched since she  moved in.

It was coming from —Jai's room. Her sister-in-law's suite, known for its exclusivity and the coldness that permeated the very air around it.Jai had always been a private person, and Manyata had learned to respect her space, despite the past animosity that lurked beneath the surface of their relationship. But now, the sound of a baby's cry was shattering the silence, and she couldn't ignore it.

Manyata hesitated, her hand hovering over the doorknob.Jai didn't like children,and she certainly wouldn't have one in her room,especially not without informing her brother.But the cries grew more insistent, and she knew she had to check. With a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

The sight that greeted her was unexpected.Jai, dressed in a flimsy satin negligee, was pacing back and forth, her usually impeccable makeup smudged with what looked like sweats.

"For fuck's sake, K, shut her goddamn mouth!" she snapped at Kiara, who was holding a wailing baby girl. Manyata's eyes widened in shock.She had never seen Jai like this—disheveled and desperate.

Kiara looked up, her own desperate to calm the baby. She held the baby tightly to her chest, her hands shaking as she tried to soothe the child.

"I don't know what to do, Jai," she whispered,her voice breaking.

"She won't take the bottle." Lara, standing by the side, offered a pacifier with trembling hands, but the baby's cries only grew louder.

"You bitches just ruined my weekend, oh god!" Jai's scream echoed through the suite, her voice sharp and raw. She threw her arms up in the air, the silk of her robe fluttering dramatically. "How could you bring a child here?"

Kiara's eyes widened in fear as she took a step back, clutching the baby tighter. "I'm so sorry, Jai," she stuttered. "It's just that Millie's parents had to go on an emergency business trip, and they didn't have anyone else to take care of her. She's always so quiet; I didn't think she'd cause any trouble."