His housekeeper had set up a room for her with all of the luxuries she could have expected from a five star hotel; she had robes, fluffy towels, soft blankets, and her own bathroom with a claw foot tub as well as a steam shower. It was much nicer than the room she had rented for herself downtown. All she had to do was be Eduardo's little babysitter, and she could enjoy the amenities of the rich.

She stretched and got up from bed, eyeing the wrapped present sitting pretty on her chrome vanity. This wasn't the first gift from Eduardo and wouldn't be the last, but she hadn't exactly known the best way to handle it. It wasn't like he was handing them personally to her, and she highly doubted he picked them out himself.

His personal assistant most likely was running rampant trying to find more and more lavish gifts for her each day.

On the first day she awoke to a pair of emerald earrings, the next day an onyx broach, the third day a silver locket with her name on the back of it, etc. So far he had gotten her a gift for each day- would we really keep this up for four months?

She highly doubted it.

Isabella unwrapped the small box and smiled down at the contents. It wasn't jewelry this time, instead a small lotus crystal piece. She held it up to the light, marveling at the way rays of the fluorescent light shined through.

"Maria?" She called for the housekeeper, who was constantly bustling around the manor in search for messes and dust bunnies. Isabella could admit that she missed having a housemaid. When she moved out of her parents' house at eighteen, she didn't have the funds to buy a luxury towel set let alone hire a maid.

She had a trust fund but it was heavily monitored by her parents, and she really hated letting them feel like they gave her anything.

She had worked two waitressing jobs and went to school during the day just to stay afloat but it had paid off when she earned her degree and didn't have to thank her parents for it. Even when she had been hired at Forever Home, an organization that dealt directly with displaced immigrants and refugees, she hadn't gotten it through her parents' connections. It felt amazing to earn that, too.

"Si, Senora?" Maria was at her door a minute later; her combed back bun sleek and neat despite having scrubbed tile floors that day.

The first few days had been bearable because of her. Maria was kind and motherly, offering to show her the ropes and get her acquainted with her temporary home. "Tienes comida?"

Isabella shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry. I was hoping you could tell me what public transportation is near here? I want to take the baby shopping today."

Maria looked uneasy. "Don Marquez would not like that."

Isabella contained an eye roll. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He won't be home until late, right?" Not that anyone of them knew his actual work schedule, but he always got home late. Most of the time Sebastian was fed and bathed and in bed before he got in.

Not that Isabella waited, not that she cared.

But she began to understand just what her role was here, very quickly. A foster mom of sorts- if he knew she was around entertaining Sebastían and keeping him occupied, he didn't have to feel guilty that he wasn't there.

This big house was beautiful but babies needed different scenery to keep their little minds stimulated, and Isabella was starting to feel suffocated herself.

Eduardo had a full staff hired for his home- a daytime chef, the housekeeper, a few maids that filtered about, the gardeners…. this massive estate existed and ran without him having to be present, which is what he seemed to enjoy. For the last week all she had seen him do was leave to go to work and come home from work- he didn't enjoy time with friends or family, he didn't even bother her with nonsensical chatter.

On the off chance that they did run into each other, he would ask about his son or how she was fairing.

Nothing personal and nothing that took more than a few moments of his time- though she had tried her hardest to irritate him with questions and drabble of chatter. He would just stare at her until she was finished and nod in dismissal, as though nothing bothered him.

Isabella pushed it out of her mind and dressed for a day of walking and sightseeing before packing an according baby bag and slamming the folded stroller down the marble staircase steps, hoping deep down it would chip a step and Eduardo would need to pay to fix it.

Maria came through the foyer with Sebastían in her arms, a warning look on her elderly face. "Senora, this won't be good."

Isabella smiled in return. "Eddie will live." She started strapping the energetic almost two-year-old in the new stroller, noticing it didn't have much wear for being this old.

It wasn't like Eddie was taking his son out for daily strolls, so why would it have normal wear and tear?

"Senora." Maria put extra emphasis on her title. "There is a brand-new pool on the estate, as well a garden freshly planted by Gustavo. If you are in need for shopping, the Don Marquez could arrange a driver-"

"We're fine." Isabella nearly snapped at her. Eduardo's staff had their lips pressed tightly to his ass and perhaps that was a good thing on his part, but Isabella had played nice for an entire week. There was only so many times you could wander around a manor before you lost your mind. "We will be back before dinner." And with that, they were off.

An hour later they were knee deep in their very first adventure, snacking on Spanish sweets and one cappuccino down before they even made it to Plaza Soledad.

Things looked much different to her now.

On vacations from school, their parents would bring them back here to Spain in hopes that the culture and roots would shape their four children. Both her parents had family here in Valencia, but they hardly ever saw them when they were there. At a certain age, she and Rosalina chose to party their way through the two-week visits instead of pretending to appreciate the culture. During those vacations she mostly enjoyed the nightlife and slept during the days, so all these beautiful sights and sounds had been lost on her. Now with a sober mind and clear thoughts, this was just amazing.

From her earliest memories, they had even lived here for some time. Her parents were always chasing the next big client and cared little as to what it did to their kids.

Sebastián let out a giggle to let her know he was still awake. "Valencia is more beautiful than I remember!" She spoke down to him in his cot. "But one day I'll take you to Peniscola where my villa is. You will love it! It's not very big but it's almost as old as the castles there."

"Senorita! You've dropped this!" Isabella snapped her eyes from the baby to the man rushing up to them. Pick Pockets and local scams artists ran rampant here in the main city, especially as close to the coast as Eduardo's manor was. They were used to taking advantage of American tourists, who were so trusting- most of the time drunk, and just looking for a good Instagram picture. Before she could bark at him to leave them be, he offered her Sebastían's pacifier in an outstretched hand. As much as Maria and the other girls looked down on the use of it, it really did soothe Sebastián in his time of need.

"Gracias." Isabella muttered back. Her parents had always warned her to speak Spanish when she was in Spain- the more foreign you seemed, the easer of a target you'd be. "Buenas Dias." Her Spanish was terrible for having parents that spoke it fluently but she could understand a lot more than she could speak.

"Cesar." He tipped his hat towards her, a short smile playing at the end of his lips.

Isabella went from weary to flushed in a span of seconds. Was he flirting with her? In the middle of the day, for seemingly no good reason? "Isabella." She mumbled in return.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." His English was choppy but she couldn't deny the butterflies it gave her. In one of her far off fantasies, she imagined a romance blossoming by bumping into a handsome stranger on a bustling street… not living in a nicely made prison with a warden that wanted to strangle her for asking questions.

The thought of Eduardo put her back on edge.

"Is that your son?" Cesar gestured to Sebastían. "You have one lucky husband." Cesar was about her height, short for a man, but there was something about the way he was built that attracted her to him. Unlike Eduardo, he had an average male figure and wild hair barely kept under his hat. He looked normal- normal the way that she was normal. He didn't have the body of a marble sculpture and wasn't serenely beautiful the way Eduardo was.

It felt… safe.

Isabella blushed. "I'm not married. I… I'm his nanny." She held a tighter grip on the stroller. "We have an appointment, so we must go along. Have a good day, Cesar." He bequeathed her with another boyish smile before she turned around and kept going on her way, forcing her head not to turn around and look at him again. He was a stranger on a street! She had to keep reminding herself.

"Senorita! Wait." His fast footsteps caught up to hers before she had the chance to stop and turn around. "I must see you again." The hilt in his tone was almost laughable, but she fought the urge. A guy in California would never say something like that… where she was from men slid in your DM's, they didn't declare their passion on the street. He had a weathered book in his hand and ripped out a page from the back of it before scribbling his number on it. "Don't worry about the book, it will understand the sacrifice for such a beautiful woman."

He slid the torn note into her free hand and lingered for just an extra second before ripping his hat off and scurrying back to his day. She stood there for a few minutes, reveling in being admired for the first time in what felt like forever.

Eduardo wanted her, sure. But he wanted her in the way of possession and ownership- he wasn't interested in her heart or her soul, and sure as hell would never talk to her the way Cesar did.

But a piece of her being was forever bonded with Eddie, whether she liked it or not. Aside from being her first lover, he had helped her when she needed it the most for her little brother. And he made her feel things that made her uncomfortable and awakened.

Her mind had been bouncing between both ideas as they passed through the cobblestone streets of Valencia, taking in the sunshine and the cool weather. They stopped at a corner so that traffic could pass by when the small newsstand bodega caught her eye. She hummed softly and patted Sebastían's legs as she perused the articles before freezing over a very popular rag.

The cover page was of a royal family scandal, but Eduardo's side profile on a small corner picture had caught her attention, though the Spanish headlines and descriptions were lost on her. Bella snatched the paper magazine from its holder and flipped through the pages erratically, ignoring the gruffly man's hollering that she needed to buy it before she read it. Was their picture in it? Would the whole world know what her vagina looked like? Would her family disown her? Would she lose all her credibility as an advocate for the immigrant community?

When she finally found the picture of him, her heart lifted and dropped at the same time. It wasn't their inappropriate charity event picture, but it almost felt worse than if it had been. Eduardo was pressed up against the woman, his hand wrapped around her waist and his tongue all the way down her throat.

Her knuckles turned white, and she almost ripped the damned thing in half just holding it.

What kind of man blackmailed a woman into staying in a foreign country, left her gifts and said nice things, flirted unabashedly, then ignored her sexually like they hadn't ever had relations in the first place?

And then had the nerve to bang supermodels while his son was being looked after by his blackmailed nanny?

Isabella's blood caught on fire again. She chalked his abstinence up to being overly polite, then perhaps because he was over-worked… but all along he had his cake and was eating it too!

She tossed a dollar in the owner's direction to shut him up before hightailing it back in the direction of home- his house. A million scenarios played in her head at once. Should she trash his office and break all his important things? Should she pack up her belongings and leave him in the lurch for another sitter? Should she just let it go and act like it never happened?

He was a grown man, single, and she had no claim on him whatsoever. He was free to be with whoever he wanted, and they hadn't promised anything to each other beyond the scope of having a mutual interest in Sebastían's well-being.

Eddie didn't belong to her, and so she didn't belong to him.

So instead of flying off the handle when she walked into the lavish home, she calmly set Sebastían in his crib and called to Una to start his bath.

If she was to be regarded as just an employee, she was going to start acting like it. She would clock in and out at a regular schedule and the gifts would need to stop- she needed to clarify what their relationship exactly was. He would need to watch over his son at all times of the night, she didn't need to be losing sleep when he was out fucking models while his son was at home. And for his stipulations that she remain at the manor with Sebastían at all times, that would end now. He didn't want her to have company over, so she would find company somewhere else. For the next four months, she would work an eight hour shift and the rest could be his problem.

And she was absolutely going to get laid, regardless of how he felt about it.

In short, he was going to pay.