Chapter 6 - The Unspoken Shift
After the hot sauce incident, everything changed between Julian and Elena.
He stopped eating his dinners alone in his massive, echoing dining room.
Instead, he started carrying his plate up to the nursery.
He would sit on the tiny toddler chairs, his knees practically touching his chin, and eat mac and cheese with Elena and the boys.
The staff whispered about it constantly.
The ruthless CEO was softening.
One rainy Tuesday evening, the boys were finally asleep.
Elena was sitting on the plush rug, exhausted, leaning her head back against the sofa.
Julian walked in holding two glasses of expensive red wine.
He handed her one and sat down beside her on the floor.
“You look exhausted,” he noted, taking a sip.
“Toby decided that today was the perfect day to teach your sons how to bark like dogs,” Elena sighed, rubbing her eyes.
Julian laughed.
It was a deep, rich sound that made Elena’s heart flutter in a way it hadn't in years.
“I heard,” Julian smiled. “Thorne was terrified.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the rain hit the bulletproof glass.
“Why did you really hire me, Julian?” Elena asked suddenly.
“I know Toby made them laugh, but you could have just paid me for playdates.”
Julian stared into his wine glass.
“Because you weren't afraid of them,” he answered honestly.
“Everyone else looked at my sons like they were broken machines that needed fixing.”
“You looked at them like they were just kids who needed a hug.”
He turned to look at her, his gray eyes softening.
“And maybe I realized I needed someone who wasn't afraid of me, either.”
Elena felt a blush creep up her neck.
Before she could reply, the baby monitor on the table crackled to life.
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But it wasn't a baby crying.
It was the sound of a heavy window sliding open in the adjoining playroom.
