Nanny By Day, The CEO's Obsession By Night

Maria Fernanda's POV:

"I had always believed that real love was quiet," I muttered softly, more to myself than to anyone else.

Michael looked up for a moment, but he didn't respond. I continued speaking. "It wasn't the kind of love you needed to announce to everyone. Instead, you saw it in the difficult choices people were willing to make."

Michael only shrugged because his attention was somewhere else. I didn't mind. Things had always been that way between us. I had never asked him for anything. I didn't ask for promises, answers, or any kind of certainty.

I simply remained beside him. I had always been there whenever he needed me.

"Are you listening to me at all?" Michael's voice pulled me away from my thoughts.

"I always listen to you," I replied with a small smile.

At the time, I was completing my fourth semester of nursing school. A full scholarship covered my studies because I had earned it through good grades and hard work.

"You still think we only got lucky?" Michael teased.

"No. It took pure persistence."

He laughed because he knew everything I had gone through. My mother had died far too young, and my father had never managed to move on.

We still had our house because I had never missed a single payment. The reason was that simple. For years, nothing else had mattered to my father. He spent his days living with memories of my mother. She had been the only woman he had ever loved.

"You need to get more sleep, Fe." Michael had noticed how tired I looked.

"I have bills that need to be paid," I responded. "Besides, my day isn't finished yet." I still had to work at my babysitting job that night.

"Do you actually enjoy working as a babysitter?" he asked.

Did I enjoy it? No, I didn't. Still, my feelings didn't change what I needed to do.

"I need the job," I said simply.

Every household expense rested on my shoulders. Michael had never guessed the real reason I worked during those nights.

Michael was studying medicine, and he had nearly left the program. I could still remember that day clearly.

"I'm dropping out," he'd said in a hollow voice.

"No, you aren't," I'd insisted. My voice had remained firm.

"I don't have another choice, Fe."

"You always have another choice." He couldn't give up, I had thought.

What he didn't know was that I had paid his tuition that same week.

For some time, Michael had kept trying to discover who helped him finish his degree. Since the donation had been anonymous, he eventually stopped searching for the person behind it. He never guessed that a woman had paid the money. That woman had been me. I helped him because I loved him. When someone did something out of love, they didn't expect anything in return.

My younger brother's name was William, but our family called him Will. He could never seem to keep a job. His dreams were huge, but the world around us had little space for anything beyond our harsh reality. We were poor kids from the suburbs, and we had no clear way out.

Will believed he would become famous one day, and I believed in him. Until that day arrived, I was the one who kept our lives from falling apart.

Back then, I truly believed I could hold everything together.

When noon arrived, Michael asked me to have lunch with him.

Once we reached the restaurant, he could barely sit still because he was so excited.

"I can't believe Leticia is back today!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

"Michael, she has only been gone for four years, not forty."

"It honestly felt more like forty years," he said with a laugh.

"To me, the time passed much faster," I replied dryly.

His laughter continued for another moment, but his attention had already shifted back to his phone.

"Are you checking her Instagram again?"

"I'm only... curious."

Of course, he meant Leticia. My cousin was beautiful and wealthy, and everyone treated her like the perfect standard the rest of us could never reach.

"Do you still compare yourself to her?" he asked after noticing my silence.

"No. I was only remembering all the small things she used to do to me."

"Her welcome home dinner is going to be incredible!" Michael sounded far too thrilled about it.

"I'm sure it will be," I replied without much interest.

"Anyway... I need you to help me with something."

"What do you need?"

"I need help choosing a gift. A ring, actually."

My throat tightened, and I struggled to breathe for a moment.

"Did you say a... ring?"

"Yes, I said a ring."

I tried to control my reaction, but a smile spread across my face before I could hide it. He was finally going to propose to me. I had loved him for years, while he had continued pretending that we were nothing more than friends.

"Of course. I'd be happy to help you."

Once we arrived at the jewelry store, he asked for my opinion on every ring that caught his attention. Naturally, I liked all of them. I believed he wanted me to choose my favorite so he could surprise me later.

"How about this one?" he asked.

"It's beautiful."

"Do you like this one better?"

"That one is lovely too," I remarked cheerfully.

"Which one would you choose?"

"I'd choose that one." I pointed toward a delicate ring that perfectly matched my taste.

The jeweler measured my finger. Several minutes later, Michael walked out with the ring box safely tucked inside his pocket.

I would've accepted any ring he gave me. Even one made from paper would've been enough.

That night, I planned to tell him the whole truth. I would explain that I had paid for his degree and had secretly loved him for all those years. I would also tell him that I couldn't picture my life without him.

@MFe: He's finally going to ask me to marry him.

Will's reply arrived at once.

@Will: Finally. It's about damn time.

@MFe: Tonight is going to be the biggest night of my life.

That was exactly what the night should have been. I never imagined how it would end. I had no idea what would happen afterward.

The dinner started, and tension filled the room at once.

As usual, every person there focused on Leticia.

"Things like this are so common in Paris..." she said, drawing everyone's attention.

Michael sat beside her and looked uneasy. I understood why he was nervous. Still, I was sure he had never considered that I might refuse him.

I kept waiting. Then, I waited some more. Still, nothing happened.

When would he finally do it?

"Fe, you look like you've gone pale," Will whispered beside me.

"I'm just nervous."

Dessert reached the table, and Michael finally rose from his seat.

"I need to tell everyone something."

Silence settled over the table. My heart pounded against my ribs. He smiled. My own smile widened, and I began to rise from my chair. Then, I froze because he wasn't coming toward me. He walked around Leticia's chair and knelt before her.

"Michael?" she called out in a startled voice.

"Leticia... will you marry me?" His next words were meant for her, but they tore straight through me. "I love you... I've spent years waiting for this moment."

My heart kept beating, so at least I knew I was still alive. The harder part would be learning how to live with the empty space he had left inside me.

Applause burst around the table for the flawless proposal and his touching confession of love.

"Yes!" Leticia exclaimed. Tears shone in her eyes, but her surprise was nothing more than an act.

She kissed him. Just like that, they stepped into their happy ending. Me? I stayed in my seat and watched everything unfold. Every bit of pain and humiliation sank into me. Worse, I knew half the people at that table had known about my feelings for Michael since we were children.

"Get up." Will placed a hand on my arm and gently pulled me from my chair. "You don't have to stay here and watch this."

"Wait..." I tried to protest. "Where are we going?"

"We're getting out of here," he said firmly.

Will pulled me away, and that moment changed my life forever. Right then, I finally stopped pretending.