Two Little Secrets From My Boss

Chapter 10

Saturday morning at my apartment was pure chaos.

"Mommy, I want braids! The pretty ones like Princess Elsa!" Nina tugged at my sleeve while simultaneously pointing at the kitchen. "And I'm hungry. Can we have pancakes? You promised pancakes last week and then we had oatmeal instead."

"I didn't promise, I said maybe, and… Lisa, honey, what happened?"

Lisa stood in the middle of the living room, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands covered in purple paint. Below her, the beige rug, the only nice thing in this apartment, now sported a massive violet stain.

"I didn't mean to…" she wailed. "The paint fell and I tried to clean it but it got worse and now it's ruined and you're going to be so mad at me…"

"It's okay, baby, it's okay." I rushed between disasters, still in my baggy sweatpants and oversized t-shirt, my hair thrown into a messy bun that was rapidly falling apart. "We'll clean it up. Paint comes out. Probably. Nina, step away from the stove."

The doorbell rang.

"Coming!" I shouted, wiping paint from my hands onto my already-stained shirt. "Nina, don't touch the stove! Lisa, it's okay, we'll figure it out! Just don't spread it around anymore!"

I yanked open the door, head still turned toward the apartment, mid-sentence. "And nobody is touching anything until I…"

Then I turned and froze.

Xander stood in my doorway, impeccably dressed in a charcoal sweater and dark slacks, holding a gift-wrapped package. His eyes traveled over my disheveled appearance—the paint smears, the falling bun, the shirt that had seen better days.

His expression remained carefully neutral. "You forgot this at the office," he said, extending the package.

I stared at him, stunned. "What are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?"

"Employee records." He said it like it was obvious. "You forgot this."

I took the package automatically, my brain struggling to catch up. "I didn't forget anything. I know exactly what I left at my desk, and it wasn't…"

I tore open the wrapping paper. Inside the box were two exquisite porcelain dolls—one with dark hair, one with lighter curls.

Clearly expensive. Clearly not mine. "These aren't…"

"The tall man!"

Nina's shriek cut through my protest. Before I could react, both girls burst into the hallway, their earlier disasters completely forgotten.

"Lisa, look, it's the tall man from Mommy's work!" Nina squealed with delight, grabbing Xander's hand. "I also grew up, by a whole millimeter! And I tried sneezing with my eyes open today. Can you do that?"

"Come see our room!" Lisa added, her tears miraculously dried, tugging his other hand. "I want to show you my drawings." The girls pulled him inside, chattering over each other, forcing Xander to bend down lower and follow them.

“Hold on, wait a minute..!”

Total disregard. I stood frozen in my own doorway, blinking at the empty space where Xander had been standing. I hadn't even said yes. Hadn't even processed that he was here, in my building, at my door.

And now he was just... inside my apartment. Dragged inside by mine four-year-olds twins, as if he was their old friend.

When I joined them, they were already showing him their room, their toys, their drawings.

I watched from the doorway as Xander crouched down to their level, examining Lisa's unicorn-horse with genuine interest, letting Nina demonstrate her collection of stuffed animals with the intensity of a museum curator.

Part of me wanted to intervene, to pull the girls away and demand to know what he was really doing here. But they were happy. Engaged. Not fighting over crayons or demanding snacks or asking me questions I couldn't answer.

At least they're having fun, I told myself. And not causing chaos while they're distracted.

Xander fit here. That was the terrifying part.

He fit in this tiny apartment with its paint-stained rug and cluttered hallways like he'd always belonged.

Later, with the girls occupied by their new dolls in the living room, Xander and I sat across from each other in my small kitchen.

The silence was heavy, charged with everything we'd left unsaid.

Xander was the one to break it, his voice quiet but firm. "I need you to tell me the truth, Daphne. The real truth this time."

He held my gaze, and there was no anger there anymore—just a desperate need to understand.

"Those girls... their eyes, their hair, the way Nina tilts her head when she's thinking. I see myself in them. I see you in Lisa's smile." His voice cracked slightly. "Please… Just tell me."

The walls I'd maintained for five years crumbled.

"I found out I was pregnant four weeks after you left…" I said quietly. "Tried to call the number you gave me. I searched for every Alex who worked in construction in this city."

I laughed bitterly, remembering the consuming desperation back then.

"Because you didn't exist. The man I spent that night with was just a ghost."

Xander's face tightened, but he didn't interrupt, sensing that there’s more.

"I was twenty-three. Alone. Terrified. I worked three jobs while I was pregnant—waitressing, data entry, anything I could find. After the twins were born, I barely slept for two years. I missed their first steps because I was working a double shift. I've sacrificed everything, my dreams, my career, my entire life, to give them what they needed."

"Daphne…"

"I didn't have the luxury of hiding behind a fake name," I continued, the words pouring out now. "Didn't get to pretend I was someone else and disappear. Every single day, for five years, I wondered if I should have tried harder to find you. If my daughters deserved better than a mother who couldn't even track down their father."

Xander's expression was raw with regret. "I never would have left if I'd known. You have to believe that. If I had any idea…"

"You made sure I couldn't find you." My voice came out flat, tired. "Why should I believe you would have stayed?"

He flinched like I'd struck him.

"Because that night meant something to me," he said quietly. "More than I was willing to admit. I was terrified of what I felt, so I ran. It was cowardly and cruel, and I've regretted it every day since."

He leaned forward. "Let me help now. Financial support, whatever you need. Private schools, a bigger apartment, a trust fund for their future…"

"No."

"Daphne, please…"

"We've managed without your money for five years. We'll continue to manage." I stood, signaling the conversation was over. "I don't want your guilt payments."

Xander's lips pressed together, clearly wanting to argue. But something in my expression must have told him this wasn't the moment.

He rose slowly, and I walked him to the door. He paused at the threshold, one hand on the frame, and turned back.

His expression was raw, vulnerable in a way I'd never seen from the controlled CEO.

"Think about it. The offer stands—as long as you need. And Daphne..." He swallowed hard. "I want to know them. I want to be their father. Please don't shut me out."

I didn't answer. Just closed the door before his face and leaned against it, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway a few minutes later.

In the living room, Nina and Lisa were making their new dolls at a tea party. They looked up at me with identical eyes—his eyes, I realized now.

"Mommy, is the tall man coming back?" Lisa asked hopefully.

I didn't know how to answer.