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Then the girl seemed to realize something, and she picked up something from the ground and held it out to Katie. She smiled when she saw it was a homemade doll Ayla had obviously put together.
“I love it, Ayla.”
Ayla sniffed again, and Katie pulled her into another tight hug. She kissed the girl’s forehead before standing.
“Okay, be a brave girl for me, okay? We’ll see each other very soon.”
The girl nodded and furiously wiped at her own tears. The sight absolutely twisted her stomach into knots. She didn’t want to let the girl go for even a day. She didn’t want some other nanny watching over her. But Axur had made his choice, and now she was making hers.
Speaking of Axur, he stood next to the door, just watching her with that unreadable expression of his. Katie squared her shoulders. He was right; this was over, and the only other time they’d see each other was the custody hearing. They could be civil.
“Thank you for letting me be a part of this household,” Katie managed in her most professional tone.
Something flickered in his eyes, and he nodded curtly. “It was an honor to have you in it.”
Katie held her breath. This was it. She was about to walk out that door forever. The moment she stepped through the threshold, it would be all over.
She waited for him to say something more. To apologize, to beg her to stay, to say he was wrong.
But he didn’t.
Katie swallowed down the hurt and gave him a curt nod of her own.
“Goodbye, General.”
And then she took her bags and walked out the door, not allowing herself to look back.
SEVENTEEN
AXUR
He stared at himself in the mirror, examining his appearance. He had this formalwear prepared for the custody hearing long before he knew Katie would be the petitioner. Always, his time with Ayla had been leading to this … to a judge appointing a new and better caregiver for her.
He blinked, unsure why he was so damn nervous. This was everything he wanted. He agreed to take her for a while, and that was it. His brother would understand.
His brother was the one who signed up to have children, but he hadn't. Anyone would understand that this wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life.
And yet, having Ayla with him shifted his life in ways he didn't even know were possible.
He looked down at the paper on his dresser. It had the date and time of the meeting and the signature of the judge at the bottom. The letter had sat there since he got it.
“Ayla, you need to get dressed.”
He could hear the nanny trying to talk to Ayla once more. Ayla had grown angry since Katie left, and it showed in everything. The shy girl that had been there was just fueled with rage.
“I’m not wearing that, and you can't make me!” she yelled, and he could hear her stomping down the hallway. A second later, he heard the soft pitter-patter of the nanny following after her.
Ayla wouldn’t have raised her voice at Katie. In hindsight, Katie wouldn’t have given her a reason to raise it to begin with. Katie knew how to handle Ayla when she was being difficult.
The door to his room swung open and slammed against the wall. The walls shook as Ayla stood in her pajamas, her arms crossed as she stepped inside. The nanny just a few feet behind her stopped, not entering. She looked exhausted, and her bun was coming loose from running after Ayla all morning.
“I don’t want to go!” she said angrily, her lips pulling into a pout. Her hair was half down and half up. Clearly, she had refused to let the nanny finish it.
He sighed. “Ayla, I told you this isn’t an option. We both have to go.”
“Why?” she asked, throwing her arms up. “Why do we have to go? I live here. I don't understand why we have to go to a meeting that decides where I live.”
He looked at the nanny, who looked at him. Neither of them knew what to say. He didn’t know how to explain to Ayla that his job needed him. He didn't know how to tell her she wouldn't be living with him.
