Chapter 20: Chapter 20: No Experience as a Nanny

When Yvonne Sutton came out of the kitchen after tidying up, she saw Vincent Reed still sitting in the dining room. He didn’t look well and was rubbing his stomach. It must have been a stomach ache.

She ignored him, intending to go tidy up the living room.

"Get me the stomach medicine," Vincent Reed said.

"Don’t you have hands?" Yvonne Sutton shot back.

"You’re the nanny now."

Yvonne Sutton nodded, not wanting to waste her breath. She went to the living room, took the first-aid kit from the bottom drawer of the coffee table, and brought it to the dining room.

"What kind of stomach medicine did you buy? It doesn’t work at all," Vincent Reed said.

"What do you mean, it doesn’t work?"

"I took it last night, and I still feel sick."

Yvonne Sutton’s professional habits kicked in. She began asking Vincent Reed detailed questions about his discomfort and whether he had been drinking excessively or eating irregularly recently. She opened the first-aid kit again; the usual medicine for stomach discomfort was right on top. She then checked the expiration date.

"You need to take this on an empty stomach, ideally with some stomach-soothing pills. Look, these are the ones. Just take two."

She measured out the correct doses of the stomach medicine and the soothing pills, placed them in Vincent Reed’s hand, and reminded him to be sure to eat breakfast later.

Next, she went through the first-aid kit again, removing all the expired medicine.

Vincent Reed watched Yvonne Sutton muttering to herself as she organized the kit, and he smiled unconsciously. But as he smiled, his heart suddenly felt empty.

"If you still feel sick, you should go to the hospital for a check-up. Stomach problems shouldn’t be taken lightly."

After speaking, Yvonne Sutton habitually moved to put her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat, only to grasp at empty air. The motion snapped her back to reality. Her face fell, and her voice grew cold.

"Get it checked out soon. In case it’s stomach cancer, you’ll want to make your arrangements sooner rather than later."

Vincent Reed had just swallowed the medicine, and her words made him choke, nearly causing him to spit it all back out.

"You’ll be the one crying if I die."

"What do I care if you live or die?"

Yvonne Sutton turned and walked away. She had to go check on the renovation’s progress. Although Mr. Webb was there, they still needed her input sometimes.

"Vincent, I’m craving your noodles," Wendy Winters said as she came downstairs, then headed straight for the living room.

Vincent Reed glanced at the medicine in his hand, then at the time. ’I really should be heading to work,’ he thought.

"Noodle soup with clear broth?" he asked.

"Seafood noodles," Wendy Winters answered, her eyes fixed on the TV.

"I’ll have to go to the supermarket for ingredients to make seafood noodles. Why don’t I just order some for you?"

"No. The food they make outside isn’t clean."

Seeing that Wendy Winters still hadn’t turned to look at him, Vincent Reed had no choice but to put away his medicine and head out to buy seafood and noodles.

When he went outside, he saw Yvonne Sutton helping the workers move floorboards. She was laughing and joking with them, clearly in a good mood.

Yvonne Sutton was indeed in a good mood, most likely because she had made Wendy Winters and Vincent Reed eat noodles boiled in dish-rag water. It was childish, but it had let her vent.

"Miss Sutton, the room on the far west end of the second floor is locked. Do you have the key?" Mr. Webb asked as he came down from upstairs.

Yvonne Sutton put down the floorboard, grabbed a ring of keys from a drawer in the entryway, and went upstairs with Mr. Webb. She’d never really paid attention to that room. In fact, aside from the master bedroom, she’d never been in any of the other rooms on the second floor.

She tried every key on the ring, but none of them worked.

Yvonne Sutton thought for a moment. ’Was it locked on purpose? Something not for outsiders to see?’

With this in mind, Yvonne Sutton took out her phone to ask Wyatt Shaw.

It was dinnertime where he was, so his reply came quickly.

"The key is probably lost. Just have them break the lock."

Since there was no secret to hide, Yvonne Sutton had the workers break the lock. The room was thick with dust, looking as if it hadn’t been opened in years. It wasn’t large; there was only a piano inside.

The piano was covered with a dust cloth. Yvonne Sutton lifted a corner to peek underneath. ’It must be quite expensive,’ she thought.

"He can play the piano?" she asked, turning to Mr. Webb.

Mr. Webb’s eyes darted away. "He can. A little."

Yvonne Sutton didn’t press the issue. Everyone had a past, herself included.

"In that case, be careful when you move the piano. Don’t let it get bumped."

Yvonne Sutton was very conscientious. At noon, she went over to Vincent Reed’s side of the house to cook. She was making wontons for lunch and had bought a piece of meat, which she began to chop noisily in the kitchen. WHACK, WHACK, WHACK. It wasn’t long before Vincent Reed came downstairs.

"Can’t you be a little quieter? Wendy is catching up on her sleep!"

Yvonne Sutton was surprised to see Vincent Reed at home. "You didn’t go to the office?" she asked casually.

"I took the day off," Vincent Reed said, sounding annoyed.

"So you made seafood noodles this morning?" Yvonne Sutton asked, seeing the leftovers in the pot.

"Mhm."

"How miraculous. You actually know how to cook."

’And to think I used to believe he’d starve to death if I didn’t cook for him.’

"It doesn’t taste as good as yours."

"Hah. How honored I am, getting a compliment from my ex even after we broke up."

Vincent Reed came into the kitchen and, for some unknown reason, started washing the pots and bowls from breakfast. He had rarely done this kind of chore, and in the process, he dropped and broke a bowl. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"My bone china bowl!" Yvonne Sutton cried out in distress.

That bowl was part of a matching set, a very expensive one she had picked out herself.

In fact, she had bought all the pots, pans, and dishes in the kitchen, and she loved every single piece.

"It’s just a bowl," Vincent Reed mumbled, squatting down to clean up the mess.

"You’re so clumsy!"

"I said I’d pay you back for it!"

They exchanged a few barbs, just like in the old days, but then were struck by the realization that things were different now.

Yvonne Sutton turned away and went back to chopping the meat, putting even more force into it this time.

By the time lunch was ready, Wendy Winters was just coming downstairs. She looked pale and seemed as if she hadn’t slept enough.

Pregnancy came with all sorts of reactions. For some, it was a poor appetite; for others, fatigue; and for some, it was hypersomnia.

Wendy Winters sat at the dining table, and Yvonne Sutton set a bowl of wontons before her.

"From now on, can you try to be quieter when you cook? You disturbed my sleep," Wendy Winters said peevishly.

Yvonne Sutton hid a smirk and replied, "Can’t be helped. I’m just a loud cook."

"Yvonne Sutton, I’m pregnant. Can’t you be a little more considerate?"

"I’ll try."

"Not ’try.’ ’Must.’" Wendy Winters took a breath. "You’d better learn how to be a proper nanny and serve your master."

’Hah. Does she think this is some historical drama? "Serve your master"?’

Wendy Winters took a bite of a wonton. It had no flavor.

"Did you put any salt in this?"

"I think so."

Wendy Winters tried another bite; still tasteless. She looked over at Vincent Reed, who was devouring his food. As she glanced back, she happened to notice a bandage on Yvonne Sutton’s finger.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, I accidentally chopped my hand just now while I was cutting the meat," Yvonne Sutton said, looking completely unconcerned.

Wendy Winters curled her lip. "Be more careful next time. Try not to chop your whole finger off."

"I didn’t chop off a finger, but I did slice off a piece of flesh. It got mixed in with the filling."

Wendy Winters, who had just taken a bite of a wonton, immediately spat it out upon hearing this.

"You—you... RETCH..."

Unable to hold it in, Wendy Winters ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Yvonne Sutton hummed quietly. The truth was, she’d only scraped her hand by accident while moving the floorboards.

"Be more careful next time."

Yvonne Sutton looked at Vincent Reed, who had just spoken. He was still heartily eating his wontons.

"Hah. Save your concern for someone else. I don’t need it!"

Vincent Reed finished his entire bowl of wontons. He stood up, looked at Yvonne Sutton, and said in a teasing tone, "Now I’m really looking forward to dinner."

Yvonne Sutton’s eyes narrowed. ’Looking forward to it, are you? Then I’ll be sure to give you a surprise!’