Claire stood frozen at the doorway, Sophie’s hostile words still hanging in the air.
She took a small breath and reminded herself that she had not come here to argue with a five-year-old.
“I’m here to see your father,” she said.
Sophie snorted, her nose wrinkling as she looked Claire up and down.
“Only Auntie Belle gets to come see Daddy.” After that, she turned away and ran back into the house, not waiting for a reply.
Claire bit her tongue.
Every instinct told her to chase the girl down and scold her, but this was not a classroom and she had no intention of starting her first day in this household by disciplining the owner’s daughter at his front door.
She took a small breath to quiet her raging emotions, stepped inside, and closed the door carefully behind her.
She followed the sound of Sophie’s footsteps toward the sitting room.
She had only taken a few steps when she noticed someone sitting on one of the large couches.
A man was holding a magazine in one hand, turning through the pages with the relaxed manner of someone who had no reason to hurry.
He wore a white shirt and trousers that looked simple at first glance, but Claire could tell from the quality of the fabric that they were far from cheap.
The man looked up when he noticed her.
His fingers stopped on the edge of the page and for the smallest moment, the calm expression on his face disappeared.
His eyes remained on Claire a little longer than she expected before he seemed to remember himself and lowered the magazine.
“You’re…” he started, then paused.
His eyes moved over her face again, lingering just long enough to make Claire feel a bit uncomfortable.
Whatever he had been about to say seemed to disappear from his mind, but his expression quickly settled into a calm, friendly one.
“You’re here to see Sebastian?”
Claire guessed that ‘Sebastian’ was Mr.
Valerius’s first name.
“Yes.” She nodded politely.
“I came to see Mr.
Valerius.
His assistant asked me to come today.”
The man closed the magazine and placed it on the glass coffee table.
“He’s occupied at the moment.
He’ll be out shortly.”
Claire nodded.
“Alright.
I’ll wait.”
Before the man could say anything else, a small voice came from the direction of the staircase.
“Daddy, make her leave!”
Claire turned toward the sound.
Sebastian was halfway down the stairs, one hand resting on the railing.
He wore a dark, fitted shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his elbows.
His dark hair was less formal now, falling across his forehead.
The sharp lines of his face and cold eyes gave him the same distant presence Claire remembered from the office.
Sophie stood a few steps below him with her cheeks puffed up in annoyance.
“She shouldn’t be here!” she complained.
“You should fire her!
At school!
Not in our house!”
Sebastian looked down at his daughter before his eyes shifted toward Claire.
There was no surprise in his expression.
“You’re early.”
Claire straightened her back.
“The assistant told me to come at four.”
Sebastian glanced toward the clock on the wall.
It was a little after four, but not by much.
“Then you’re late.”
Claire wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she simply nodded.
Sebastian came down the remaining stairs without any hurry.
Sophie immediately moved closer to him, still looking at Claire as though she had personally offended her by showing up.
“I told you I don’t want her here.
If you want to fire her, you can go to the school and do it.
She should leave our house.”
Sebastian stopped and glanced down at her.
“She’ll be coming here to teach you after school.”
Sophie went completely still.
For a moment, she seemed unable to understand what he had just said.
Then she gave a small awkward laugh and waved her hand as if she was dismissing a silly joke.
“No, Daddy.
Stop it.
I don’t like pranks.”
Sebastian’s expression didn’t change.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Sophie’s smile disappeared.
She stared at him for another second before her face twisted in disbelief.
“No.
No, you can’t!” Her voice rose as she pointed toward Claire.
“She can’t come here!
I don’t want her teaching me!”
Claire stood there awkwardly, unsure whether she should say anything.
She had expected Sophie to be unhappy about seeing her again, but she hadn’t expected this much anger.
Apparently, the little girl had truly believed her father would have her removed from the school.
Sophie turned toward the sitting room and glanced at the man on the couch.
She then hurried over to him and grabbed his arm.
“Uncle Xavier, tell Daddy!
Tell him I don’t need a tutor!”
The man, Xavier, looked down at her with a faint smile.
He seemed amused by her reaction but when his eyes moved toward Claire again, the amusement faded a little before returning.
“Sophie, your father has already made his decision.”
“But I don’t want her!”
“I know.”
“Then tell him!”
Xavier gave a small laugh and gently removed her hands from his arm.
“I’m afraid that’s not something I can decide for him.”
Sophie huffed and folded her arms, glaring at him.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Claire noticed that this Xavier seemed much easier to talk to than Sophie’s father, although there was something about the way he kept glancing at her that she couldn’t understand.
Sebastian’s attention moved away from Sophie to Claire.
“Chloe.”
The housekeeper appeared from the hallway almost immediately.
“Yes, Mr.
Valerius?”
“Show her around the house.”
Chloe nodded.
“Of course.”
The tour was not rushed, but Chloe kept it simple.
“This is Sophie’s study,” She explained as she opened a door.
Claire stepped inside and looked around.
The room was bright and spacious with a large desk placed near the windows and shelves filled with children’s books.
“Mr.
Valerius thought this would be the best place for the lessons,” Chloe added.
Claire nodded in agreement.
“Yes.
It should work well.”
Not long after, they stopped in front of a guest room.
“This room is available to you whenever you’re here,” Chloe said.
“If you need somewhere to rest between lessons, change, or take care of anything, you can use it.”
Claire looked inside.
The room was almost as large as the apartment she shared with Ruby’s bedroom and living room combined.
A neatly made bed stood against one wall, with a small sitting area near the window and a private bathroom beyond another door.
“This wasn’t necessary.
Really.” she said.
Chloe smiled faintly.
“Mr.
Valerius prefers everything to be arranged properly.”
When they returned to the main sitting room, Sebastian was already seated opposite Xavier, their conversation stopping as the women entered.
Sophie sat on the sofa nearby, her arms folded under her chest.
“Finished?” Sebastian asked without looking up from the papers beside him.
“Yes,” Chloe answered.
“I showed her the rooms she’ll need.”
Sebastian gave a small nod.
Claire remained standing, unsure whether to leave or wait for instructions.
Her eyes moved toward the hallway leading deeper into the house, then toward the staircase.
Something about the house bothered her, though she couldn’t quite name what it was.
It was beautiful and expensive, but lacked…
something.
She couldn’t find any family photographs, no feminine decorations or personal items that suggested another adult woman lived here.
Her gaze swept the room again, searching without meaning to.
She wasn’t even sure what she expected to find, maybe a woman’s handbag left on a chair or a pair of shoes near the entrance.
She was still thinking all of this when Sebastian’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Looking for something?”