Chapter 6 Not His Choice

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The words did not echo. They landed flat, deliberate.

Caroline’s smile did not falter. “Derek,” she said lightly, like he had commented on the weather. “Do not be rude.”

“I am not being rude,” Derek replied, though his tone suggested otherwise. His arms crossed over his chest, posture shifting from casual to closed in one smooth movement. “I am clarifying.”

Tessa kept her spine straight and her face neutral. She had learned that expression in middle school, perfected it through years of balancing school, work, and a house that ran on quiet panic. It was the look that said nothing was wrong, even when everything was.

Inside, something tightened.

Clarifying what, exactly?

Michael stepped forward, hands clasped loosely in front of him. “We explained everything already,” he said, voice calm and even. “The schedule, the afternoons, the evenings when we travel. It will make things easier for everyone.”

“I did not ask for easier,” Derek said.

Caroline let out a soft laugh, like this was all playful. “You never ask for help.”

Because he does not think he needs it, Tessa thought.

Derek did not laugh. “I do not need help.”

The warmth in the room thinned slightly.

Tessa felt the weight of the moment pressing in, and she forced herself not to shift under it. She was aware of Emma standing near the coffee table, small hands clasped in front of her dress, eyes flicking between them.

“I have been taking care of her,” Derek continued. “I have been doing fine.”

“You have been juggling,” Caroline corrected gently. “School. Practice. Everything else. This is not about whether you can. It is about whether you should be doing it alone.”

Derek’s jaw ticked. “I am not alone.”

Tessa understood then.

This was not performance. Not hallway banter. Not a crowd and a smirk and easy dominance.

This was a line he had not drawn.

And she was standing on it.

“I did not hire her,” Derek said, more clearly now, his gaze shifting to Tessa directly. “I did not ask for this.”

There it was.

Framed as intrusion.

Tessa felt the sting of it, sharp and unwanted. She kept her hands folded in her lap. “I was contacted by your parents,” she said evenly. “I will follow their instructions.”

It was calm. Professional. Controlled.

Derek’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if measuring her tone for something hidden.

“I am perfectly capable,” he said. “I do not need someone watching me.”

“No one is watching you,” Caroline said quickly. “This is about Emma.”

“It feels like it is about me,” Derek replied.

Michael stepped in before the words could sharpen further. His voice did not rise. It did not need to.

“The decision has been made,” he said.

The room stilled.

Derek’s shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly. The correction had been gentle, but it had been public. In front of Tessa. In front of Emma.

He did not like that.

Tessa could see it.

“I understand,” she added, unable to stop herself from smoothing the air, even though it was not her place. “It is not always ideal when someone new steps into a routine. But I am here to be professional. I show up. Even when I am not thrilled about it.”

The sentence left her mouth before she could weigh it.

The silence that followed was heavier than before.

Derek’s gaze snapped back to hers.

She had not meant it as a jab.

He heard it as one.

“Not thrilled?” he repeated.

“I meant,” she said carefully, “that showing up matters. Regardless of personal preference.”

He laughed once, short and humorless. “Right.”

She felt the old hallway heat creeping up her spine.

He thinks I am mocking him.

And she, stubborn and tired and already embarrassed once in front of him, thought, He thinks everything bends around him.

Michael cleared his throat, a quiet interruption. “This is not a debate.”

Caroline clapped her hands softly, redirecting the energy. “Let us reset. Emma, sweetheart, come here.”

Emma hesitated for only a second.

Then she walked past Derek.

Straight to Tessa.

It was not dramatic. Not announced. She simply moved, small shoes padding softly against the hardwood, and stopped at Tessa’s side.

Her fingers reached out.

Caught the edge of Tessa’s sleeve.

Clung.

The shift in the room was immediate.

Tessa looked down, startled. “Hi again,” she murmured, softening instinctively.

Emma did not look at her parents. Did not look at Derek.

She looked at Tessa.

Derek went quiet.

Something in his posture changed, not defensive now, not sharp. Just still.

Tessa felt the tiny grip tighten.

It was not calculated. It was not political. It was a child deciding, in real time, where she felt steadier.

Caroline’s expression brightened in a way that was not subtle. “Well,” she said gently. “That answers that.”

Michael nodded once, satisfied.

Derek’s jaw tightened again, but differently this time. Not anger.

Loss of control.

He had been arguing structure and autonomy. Capability and pride.

Emma had chosen anyway.

Tessa felt the weight of that choice settle on her shoulders. She did not move. Did not smile too widely. She let the girl stand there, sleeve twisted in her fist.

“This is exactly why,” Caroline continued, smoothing the moment. “She needs consistency. Someone whose attention is not split.”

Derek did not respond.

His eyes remained on his niece.

Then, briefly, on Tessa.

It was not accusation this time.

It was calculation.

Caroline glanced at the clock on the wall. “Michael and I have dinner reservations,” she said. “We will only be gone a couple of hours.”

The words landed like a second drop.

“Tonight?” Derek asked.

“Yes,” Michael replied evenly. “Tonight.”

“We thought it would be best to begin immediately,” Caroline added. “No prolonged transitions.”

Tessa’s pulse quickened.

Begin immediately.

“Everything will be fine,” Caroline assured, stepping toward Emma and brushing a hand gently over her hair. “You are in good hands.”

Emma did not let go of Tessa’s sleeve.

Derek exhaled slowly through his nose.

He did not argue again.

That was almost worse.

Coats were collected. Keys lifted from a small dish near the door. Caroline kissed Emma’s temple. Michael squeezed Derek’s shoulder briefly, a silent reminder of authority.

Then the front door opened.

Closed.

The sound echoed faintly through the house.

Silence settled.

Different now.

The house felt larger without the buffer of adults who owned it. The ceilings higher. The quiet deeper.

Tessa became acutely aware of the space between herself and Derek.

No parents.

No polite framing.

No structure except what they made.

Emma still stood pressed lightly against her side.

Derek uncrossed his arms slowly. He looked around the room once, as if recalibrating the territory.

Then his gaze returned to Tessa.

It was no longer public. No longer performative.

It was direct.

Assessing.

The air between them held tension that had nothing to do with hallways and everything to do with control.

Tessa swallowed, steadying herself.

She had walked into this house thinking it was just a job.

Now it felt like something else entirely.

The three of them stood there in the quiet.

The house, suddenly, was theirs.