Anna's eyes widened, and she stopped the drink that was on its way to her mouth. She had forgotten that detail. Helen didn't know that Ian wasn't Maxwell's son. How could she have known? The two of them looked too much alike. She put the cup down on the table and looked the nanny in the eye.
"We got married after Ian was born. And until then, we hadn't slept together again." It wasn't entirely a lie. He couldn't tell her the truth, because he couldn't trust anyone like that. That woman loved her husband and could report their relationship and Anna would be deported.
"But then, why did you get married? It doesn't make sense..."
"Maxwell and I wanted Ian to grow up thinking that we were a happy couple... That we got married and only then had him..."
"He'll be able to see the lie in the date on your marriage certificate!"
"Don't be naive. Have you ever asked your parents to check their wedding date? Nobody does that." Anna said impatiently.
"You... Did you know I was talking about him with you? This morning? Do you know that I love Maxwell?"
"Yes."
Helen stood up.
"Then I think you should start looking for a new nanny for Ian. I don't know if I should stay in this house..."
"Why not?"
"You know my feelings. You'll never trust me. And the atmosphere between us won't be what it was before."
"If you leave, you'll lose the chance to win his heart."
"That heart is already occupied, apparently..."
"I wouldn't bet on it. Do you realize how I've been humiliated? Did you see him defend me or... say that he also wanted what happened last night?" Anna asked, and after drinking the entire contents of her glass, she turned her gaze firmly on Helen. "I'd rather it was you, who already loves my son, who won his heart..."
"You just took him by surprise... He didn't say he didn't like you revealing the resumption of your romance."
"He didn't have to..."
"Look..." Helen picked Ian up from his car seat and sat down again. "He didn't know how to act, and his father's reaction made everything worse. You'll be fine. The timing wasn't right for the revelation, but time always takes care of putting things right."
"Then stay. I don't want you to leave us. You know I don't trust anyone else to look after my son. E... I'm already very fond of you."
"I'll stay if that's what you really want." Helen said thoughtfully. "But I won't be eating with you anymore. If you accept that, I'll stay here."
"Why is that?"
"I don't want to witness your love. I know that in time I'll come to terms with it, but I don't want to find you two together. Not now."
"That's fair enough."
Helen stood up.
"I'm going to bed. I've lost my appetite. I hope your... problem is resolved in a way that makes you happy." She said and left with Ian, without waiting for an answer.
Anna was left alone with a lost look on her face, but her mind was working fast. The cook arrived just then. She was discreet. She arrived sympathetically, pretending not to hear her father's screams, which must have echoed throughout the building.
"Call somewhere and ask them to bring marmitex containers. After you arrive, put this food in each one. I'll go out myself and distribute it to the less fortunate. I'm not going to waste the food I've made so lovingly. There are people who deserve much more than the people who were on my mind while I was cooking." Anna said, and went to her room. She was burning with anger now. Humiliation had turned to hatred. She didn't need any more of them. She was leaving that country the next day. It was a welcoming country, for people who weren't afraid to work, but she didn't want to be around Maxwell anymore. Like Adam, she needed to distance herself and not breathe the air of the same country as him. It had been a mistake, she now realized. She would quit her job and go somewhere where they couldn't find her. But she wouldn't do that until the next day. She took off her one-piece dress, which left her back bare and her breasts standing out, and put it away carefully. Then she put on jeans, a shirt and a sweatshirt and returned to the dining room. She must have taken longer to change than she thought. The cook was already serving the lunchboxes, and she began to help without saying anything.
"You didn't give me time to tell you, but we have these jars here. Mr. Lens, whenever he gave a dinner, had it distributed to orphanages and hospitals... You have a good heart, just like your boss. But I dare say it's not good for you to go out alone at night. Take one of your father's men with you. The streets are dangerous."
"Don't be fooled. I don't have a good heart. Quite the opposite. Don't ever count on it, because it will never be as good and pure as it once was. I'm sorry I lost the naivety that made me happy with little things..." Anna said, staring into the void. Anna said, staring into the void. "But I will never allow such humiliation to happen again."
As soon as everything was ready, Anna took the cook's advice and invited one of the men to accompany her on the deliveries, after all, she had never seen wanderers there before and had no idea where to find them. They set off in a black van to distribute the food she had made with such zeal.
...
Maxwell followed Anna's father to his room. When he got there, he was taking his suitcase out of the closet.
"What was that? That's no reason for it either! Stop it. I won't let you leave." Maxwell said as he opened the closet, and started to throw the clothes into the suitcase, but stopped to stare at Maxwell.
"Do you love her?"