The nanny followed Nia with the backpack and handed it to Haru who was standing near the car. He opened the back door of the car for Nia. She entered into the car without waiting for a second to look back at the house, so that they could leave immediately.
The child on her lap was in deep sleep. She was earlier scared, seeing grandma collapsed on the ground and afterwards being rushed to the hospital. It was a scary experience even for a grown up. Yana was a child.
Back at her apartment Nia bathed and changed into pajama pants and a camisole. She warmed some milk for Yana, woke up the girl, changed her clothes. Nia gave her the milk and fried egg grilled cheese sandwich. She was too tired to cook anything else. Nia was not sure if she should put the little girl in the guest room. Back at Yana's home she had her own room but after the evening's experience Nia was not sure if she should let the child sleep alone.
"Baby, do you want to sleep with me or will you like to sleep alone?"
"I'll sleep with you." Yana replied and climbed into bed without waiting for Nia's response.
Nia smiled and lay down beside the little angel. Fluffy jumped on the bed and lay down between Yana and Nia. He eyed the girl with curiosity. Yana stretched out her hand to touch Fluffy with a big smile on her face.
"It is so cute. Does it have a name?" She asked Nia while caressing the cat with her small hand.
"His name is Fluffy."
"I want a cat too. I'll ask papa for a cat like Fluffy." Her eyes shone brightly as she tried to pick up the cat from the bed.
At the mention of the papa the man's face appeared before Nia as though he was in the room. She shook her head and his face faded away. Fluffy mewed as he did not like being lifted up by the child. Nia looked at him.
"Go to your basket, Fluffy." She gave the cat a little push. It jumped down from the bed and went to the other room.
Yana lay down in the bed after Fluffy's departure. Looking at her Nia thought, 'I must have gone crazy to be taking care of his daughter, bringing her home. I should be distancing myself from the past. But look at me, acting like a hypnotized person who has no control over her own will.'
She placed a kiss on the child's forehead and bade her good night. Surprising Nia the little girl came closer to her and with her tiny hands hugged her. Then she kissed Nia on the cheek and said with a sweet, mellow voice,
"Papa always tuck me in the bed whenever he's at home. He then kiss me on the forehead and the eyes. Are you going to kiss me on my eyes like papa?"
Nia froze, but the mellow tone of the angel talking to her further hypnotized her senses. She did not want to follow that certain papa but Yana's voice pleaded to her. Nia did not have the heart to say no to this angel hugging her and looking at her with expectant eyes. For all she cared, Yougal Lucas might go to hell, as he was the king of hell anyway. But her heart turned mushy by these cute puppy eyes and the sweet words.
"One from the angel", she said kissing Yana's right eye, "one from gramma", she kissed her left eye, "one from me." she kissed the tip of Yana's nose and tousled her hair.
"You forgot the one from papa." Yana innocently reminded her and pointed to her lips, indicating that papa's kiss should be on the lips.
Nia wanted to burn the devil at the stake, but devil would be unaffected by fire. She wanted to banish him to hell, again she felt frustrated. Devil lived in the hell. The cute puppy eyes were staring at her, they were now bright like the evening star. Nia sighed helplessly.
"Okay, kiss from papa. Happy now?" She asked. The little one smiled happily and yawned. Soon she was asleep but Nia lay awake for a long time. She chased after sleep but the cunning rascal eluded her like a bitter enemy bent on revenge. She looked down at the face of the sleeping child. Haru, the driver said that person had not married yet.
But Yana called him papa. 'Is she the child of a girlfriend?' Nia gave out a low mirthless chuckle as she remembered her own joke when she had told Rhianna that it might be that Yougal Lucas' got his gf pregnant. She felt drawn towards the little girl but she did not want to get entangled in a maze, however inviting it might look. Some things from the past must remain in the past.