The Billionaire's Housekeeper (Betsy Jones Book 1) - Unedited

The Billionaire's Housekeeper - Chapter 34

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Nick turned to face Betsy. His heart was hammering in nervous anticipation and his palms were clammy.

"Are you ready to do this?" He asked, his voice steady even though everything within him was shouting at him to stop. Why was he going through with this? Surely if he threw himself at her mercy she would stay.

His little blonde pixie nodded her head in response. Yet, even as she proceeded through the mechanical gesture, her eyes were averted to the floor and her shoulders were stooped. It was the day the pair of them had been dreading. They had already put it off several times due to inconsequential reasons, each of them latching on to every excuse they could find not to make it real. He had appreciated each and every delay. Nick knew that, even though she had been the one to make the decision, Betsy hated the idea of moving out and leaving the kids behind. He had not commented on it, but he had seen the way she had watched his children over the past few days. There was always bittersweet pain etched on to her features; a look so full of love and sorrow it had the power to steal his breath. And it did, each and every time he was there to witness it.

A sniffle filled the air between them. Nick swallowed loudly and averted his gaze. He couldn't watch her cry. Not now.

"We can do this later. We don't have to do this right now." Nick offered, his hand reaching out to comfort her before he tucked both of his hands safely into his pockets. He needed to be strong if he was to make it through this and she was his undoing.

Betsy shook her head. "No. If I put it off, I'll keep putting it off. It's just so hard." She drew back her shoulders and released a long sigh. "Let's speak to the kids. This really can't wait any longer."

Nick held out his hand and offered her a weak smile. "Don't worry, we'll do this together."

Betsy stretched out her hand and placed it within his. He wove their fingers together and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before tugging her towards the door. His stomach knotted tighter and tighter as he led the way through the house, his ears leading him in the direction of his raucous children.

He found them in Delilah's room. They were both laid on the, their heads bent together as the scribbled onto large pieces of coloured paper. Their giggles and happy chatter was a soothing balm for his weary soul. It always amazed him how something simple, such as colouring pencils and paper, could utterly enthral them both. It just hurt that he was going to disrupt their joy.

"Kids?"

Two heads popped up from the paper, their feet kicking happily behind them. "Hi daddy." Delilah replied, a happy grin on her face. "We're drawing us at the park. Did you see?" She lifted the paper to show off her design

Nick smiled in response, warmth filling him as he stared down at his daughter. And then he remembered why he was there and he felt the smile slip from his face.

Delilah's little face contorted into a frown. "Daddy?"

Nick swallowed, squeezing Betsy's hand before they both stepped further into the room. "Betsy and I wanted to talk to you both. Can you stop colouring for a moment?" Nick asked softly.

Delilah set the pencils down carefully, her wide eyes never leaving his. He hated how pale had grown, her entire body held taught as she waited with poorly concealed fear. Nick felt as if he had been sucker punched in the gut. His daughter had always been sensitive to the world around her. He still remembered her little face in the weeks after her mum had passed. She had been young, too young to truly understand what death was, but she had recognised his pain even though he had done everything in her power to shield her from it.