Hellooo!

Oh guys thank you so much for the reviews and all the alerts and favorites, I'm so glad that you're interested in this story, I really hope you keep lliking it as we move forward. I also want to thank Lorena for being my beta and doing a great job at it.

I really hope you enjoy the new chapter and please let me know what you think.

"We grow up with such an idealistic view on how our life should be; love, friendships, a career or even the place we will live, only to age and realize none of it is what you expected & reality is a little disheartening, when you've reached that realization; you have learnt the gift of all, any new beginning can start now and if you want anything bad enough you'll find the courage to pursue it with all you have. The past doesn't have to be the future, stop making it so."

-Nikki Rowe-

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Elena placed the last of her items in the cardboard box and closed it with a sigh; she knew that it was necessary, that things changed and that was just the way life was but the truth was that she never really liked change. Caroline had been saying for months that the apartment was a hell hole but it was the first place that made her feel independent and as she looked around the tiny place she couldn't help but feel sad at leaving all of this behind, it felt like she was leaving a part of her behind.

"Enough with the gloomy face" Caroline exclaimed while exiting the bathroom and heading to the small kitchen "This is good for you, Lena. Even though if you technically don't work on the weekends why are you moving on a Saturday?" The blonde asked

"I think that I'm technically working this weekend, you know to get a hold of things and stuff like that" Elena answered while plopping down onto the brown couch that had seen better days.

"That makes sense" Her friend's voice said from the kitchen "I'm sorry Tyler couldn't come to help, he got stuck at work" The blonde said while exiting the kitchen with two champagne glasses. She had appeared early that morning with the glasses and bottle because apparently they had to celebrate that she was finally leaving her stinky apartment.

"Oh that's not a problem, honey, don't worry" Elena answered while taking the glass her friend was offering

"Ugh I hate that you guys can't get along" Caroline said while plopping down onto the couch next to her and taking a sip of her drink

"We get along" Elena lied before drinking from her glass as well, the cold bubbly liquid going smoothly down her throat, if there was one thing you could always be sure around Caroline was that she would give you expensive alcohol.

"Oh please, I know that you guys hate each other. I just wish you guys could make a bigger effort" The blonde said with a sad face and Elena couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew how much Caroline loved Tyler, her love blinded her so much that no matter how hard she and Matt tried to make her see she was in a very abusive relationship she just couldn't let him go.

"Some people aren't just meant to be BFF's, Care, but that doesn't mean that we hate each other" Elena answered

"It's just, you, him and Matt are the most important people in my life. I want all of you to love each other like I love you guys"

Elena looked at her with sympathy "Okay, I promise that I'll try harder to be friends with him or at least be civil with him" She told her dear friend while leaning closer to her and placing her head onto the blonde's shoulder. She knew those words would take the sad expression from her friend even though she didn't actually mean it, there was no way she and Tyler could get along after seeing the way he treated her friend.

"Thank you" The blonde said in a small voice while she leaned down her head to rest on top of Elena's "Oh I forgot to tell you! Briar was super excited yesterday, she said she can't wait for you to go live with them" Caroline said in a more animated voice, changing the subject entirely.

"Really? She's such a sweet kid, both are actually and they're both so adorable" Elena answered before taking another sip of her drink

"Yeah of course they are, have you seen their dad?" Caroline joked and Elena couldn't help the blush that crept onto her face at remembering Mr. Salvatore.

"Oh yes I have" The brunette said before sitting herself straightly and downing her entire drink

"I bet you already had naughty dreams about him"

"What? Of course not, he's my boss" Elena answered indignantly

"So? He's super-hot and you were practically drooling when you told me about your interview. Trust me, I've been your best friend your entire life and I've never seen you react that way to a man" Caroline said while giving her a knowing look "Plus he's like super rich"

"That is completely irrelevant…but yeah he is super rich" Elena stated while remembering his home "I mean the place is practically a mansion, a mansion in New York imagine that and honestly, if he can pay the fees of the school you work in he's gotta be super rich" She said and Caroline slapped her leg playfully at the comment.

"He owns a luxury chain of hotels all over the world that goes four generations back, it's very old money, my guess is he could go without working and he would still live well for the rest of his life" Caroline said and Elena looked at her with eyes wide open, she imagined he had money but never that much "In fact, they say that her wife trapped him by getting herself pregnant so he could save her father's company or something like that"

"Caroline! Do not bad mouth dead people" Elena chastised her friend

"Hey, I'm just saying what I've read, I honestly don't know. Never met the woman"

"Where do you learn these things?"

"I read gossip sites" Caroline answered and Elena rolled her eyes. Yes, because gossip sites were so trustful. "Anyway, Matt's birthday party is in two weeks so let your boss know that you'll arrive home late, or not arrive at all" She said while giving her an insinuating look. Elena could only guess her friend was trying to set her up with one of her friends again and Matt's party was perfect for it, Caroline would never understand that she had zero skills as a matchmaker.

"Don't worry, I'll let him know" Elena answered while laughing and shaking her head slowly.

A knock on the door startled both of the girls and they looked at each other frowning "Oh damn, that must be Edward" Elena said when she remembered the man was supposed to be picking her up

"Edward?" Caroline asked with a raised brow while Elena stood up

"He works for Mr. Salvatore" Elena explained "He's here to pick me up"

"Uuuh fancy" Caroline answered while following her friend to the front door.

Elena opened it and greeted the older man with a smile and proceeded to introduce him to Caroline who helped them load Elena's things into the car. Edward offered to drop Caroline off at her house and the blonde couldn't look happier "Told you this job would be good for you" She whispered into her friend's ear before entering the car. Elena stood outside and watched the building for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and entering the car as well.

Her life was finally changing. She just hoped it would be for the best.

Elena arrived at the Salvatore house while still trying to process that she would be living in this place from now on. And silently praying that she didn't screw it up because if they fired her she would truly have nowhere to go.

As she made an attempt to unload the contents on the car truck Edward ushered her away and told her that someone was going to take everything to her room but that he wanted her to meet some of the people working in the house first. As they entered the house a dark-skinned woman with warm eyes and beautiful dark short hair was walking out but stopped to introduce herself to Elena.

"Hi, I'm Bonnie, I'm Damon's personal assistant" She said with a kind smile and extended her hand so Elena could shake hers. It was the first time she heard someone saying Mr. Salvatore's name out loud and truth be told, it sounded pretty damn good

"Hi, I'm Elena" She answered back

"I know, you're the new nanny. You're very pretty" She said and Elena couldn't help but smile at her since her words actually sounded sincere "She's very pretty, right Edward?" She gave Edward a knowing smile and the elder man laughed softly while Elena stared at both of them without really understanding what was happening

"Anyway, I have to run" She said just before her phone started ringing "Work never stops" She gave both of them a smile and practically ran out of the door while she answered her phone

"That was weird" Elena muttered to herself so low that Edward couldn't hear her.

He introduced her to Alicia and Miranda who were two middle age women who were in charge of the cleaning in the house. Elena though briefly that two women were not enough to clean this castle of a house. Then she met Gerard, an elder man who was in charge of the gardens and was super sweet and by last he took her to the kitchen so she could meet Alessandra Flowers or as she liked to be called, Allie.

She was an elder woman with a warm smile and sparkling eyes who chatted too much and who Elena instantly liked. She couldn't help but think that the whole staff in the house was a bit cliché but what the hell, they all seemed nice enough.

After their little trip to the kitchen where Allie insisted on giving her a biscotti Edward finally took her to see her room. The moment the door opened Elena was left speechless because the freaking room was bigger than her damn apartment. It had cream colored walls and white blinds that were currently blowing in the wind, a flat screen, a dresser, a small ottoman and a divan next to a beautiful lamp which she guessed was for reading. The bed was huge and looked so comfy that Elena wanted to immediately dive in it, but the best thing about the place were the white French doors leading into a small balcony where Elena knew she would spend a lot of her free time painting.

And she had her own bathroom, which looked like it came out of one of those interior design shows she and Caroline watched in home and health, and it had a bath tub! The place was truly a fairytale.

After she finished gaping and exploring her room she returned to Edward who was standing in the entrance with a big smile on his face "Sorry, I kind of lost myself there" Elena said wincing

"Don't worry, Miss Gilbert"

"Oh please, just call me Elena" Elena said with a smile "Oh and is there any chance I can speak with Mr. Salvatore? I still don't know what I am supposed to do today or any other day for that matter"

"Mr. Salvatore is in a conference call right now, but he'll come find you once he's done" He gestured towards the hallway and she followed him "The girls room is this one" He said, pointing to the door in front of them "They're both in there right now but you don't have to be with them, for the moment you're free to do as you please, Elena" He said with a smile and Elena smiled back at him, there was something about the elder man that made him so easy to like.

"Thank you, Edward" He nodded and excused himself. Elena debated over what to do and decided to go to the girls' room, it was better if she got to know them soon and it would help them getting more comfortable around her.

She knocked softly on the door and heard the quiet footsteps approaching before the door opened and revealed the elder Salvatore child "You came back!" The little girl shrieked and threw herself around Elena's middle, hugging her tightly. It touched something deep inside her to see how excited the girl was to see her, she never thought much about having kids, she loved her siblings and always enjoyed taking care of them but it wasn't something she saw in her near future; however, there was something about these girls that made her maternal instincts come out. Maybe it was because she saw in their eyes something she often saw in hers when she was little and wondered why her father wasn't next to her.

"Of course I came back, and I'll be taking care of you two from now on" She answered as she stroked the girl's hair.

"Elenaaaaa!" She heard the shriek of Violet who was coming from the bathroom "You're finally here" She threw herself at Elena and she caught her immediately, twirling her around the room while the little girl laughed out loud.

"Yes I am"

"That is so cool!" The little one said and Elena laughed quietly at hearing her words

"What are you two doing?" Elena asked while looking around the room with Violet still in her arms, the room was a soft pink color that made the place look very sweet and it was decorated like something out of a fairytale. Caroline would love this room Elena thought to herself.

"I'm doing Math" Briar said with an annoyed tone and moved to the small wooden desk placed against the wall

"I'm playing with my Barbie's, do you want to see them?" Violet asked Elena and she nodded with a bright smile on her face so she placed the girl down and let her go find her dolls.

"What's bothering you?" Elena leaned down towards Briar and stroked her hair softly.

"I don't like numbers, I suck at numbers. It's too hard" She turned her amber colored eyes to Elena and they were full of concern

"Don't worry, it's not as hard as it looks" Elena kneeled next to the girl and asked her to give her the notepad "I was very good at math when I was at school, numbers are my thing" Elena told her as she sat cross legged on the floor and motioned for Briar to sit next to her.

"Elenaaa come please, my Barbie's are here" Violet called for her from across the room and Elena couldn't help the soft laugh that left her lips

"Let me help Briar for a little while and then I'll go with you. Kay?" Elena told the little girl who nodded at her.

After a good half an hour of going through the math problems Briar could finally understand what she was doing and thanked Elea whole heartedly, Elena ruffled her hair a bit and stood up to go to the other side of the room where Violet had her whole Barbie's collection for her to see.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until Mr. Salvatore walked into the room and she looked to the clock to see that it was already seven o'clock. The girls immediately ran towards him and he wrapped both of them into an embrace, Elena's heart melted at the sight of the three of them and a small blush crept onto her face when he noticed her staring and smirked.

"May I speak with you for a moment, Miss Gilbert?" He asked in that velvety voice that she remembered.

"Nope" Violet said and ran towards Elena, sitting on her lap "She's with us and I don't want to share her daddy" The little girl said in a playful manner

"Oh really?" Damon teased with a grin "Why not Violet?"

"Because she's so much fun" The girl explained with a matching grin that made her look so much like her father

"But can I have her just for a moment? I promise I won't keep her long"

"You promise to be good to her?"

"Yes of course, I'll be on my best behavior" Damon answered with a crooked grin and Elena was sure that her entire face was red by now.

Violet's grin widened and looked at Elena before giving a brief kiss onto her cheek "Okay, you can have her daddy, I'll share her with you but only with you" Elena's heart warmed at the girl's actions and felt her throat clogging with emotion, little kids had so much magic in them.

Elena saw a dumbstruck expression on Damon's face but he composed himself quickly, she placed Violet on the floor and followed him out of the room.

When the door closed he turned around to stare at her and Elena swore his eyes looked even more blue than the first time she met him "First of all, Miss Gilbert, I know that technically today was a free day but I-"

"No, don't worry about it, it's no problem" She shook her head and smiled at him "I enjoyed being with them" He leaned against the door of her room and stared at her with something resembling amazement in his gaze

"I see, they seem very fond of you, Miss Gilbert, that's a first" He told her sincerely while crossing his arms across his chest

"Well I'm glad"

He nodded and then stayed in silence for a while. He stared at her in a deeply way that made Elena squirm, there was something in that gaze, something she had never seen in anyone before, and it scared her and excited her in ways she couldn't explain.

He shook his head as if to get out of the spell that was casted around them and cleared his throat. "I'll leave Edward with a schedule of the girl's activities on the weekdays so it can help you out, Briar goes to school all morning so it will only be you and Violet" He told her

"Violet doesn't go to kindergarten?"

"No, she has a tutor that spends around four hours with her everyday" He explained "I have the belief that she's still very young… call me overprotective but I want to keep her at home a little more" He said with an almost timid expression.

"I understand" She answered and looked down, there was something about him that made her feel uncomfortable but not in a bad way, just…in a way that scared her.

"And I'll also leave you a credit card for your personal use" Elena's eyes widened at this and he seemed to notice the surprised expression on her face "Don't make a big deal out of this, Miss Gilbert, I like to keep my staff happy and you are such an important part of this house now…you're taking care of my daughters and as long as you're good with them you can have anything you like"

Anything you like? Yeap, she wasn't sure she could get everything she liked because that would involve the two of them together doing a lot of things that weren't PG rated.

Elena was sure Caroline would freak out when she told her this but she didn't like it, it made her feel uncomfortable "I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Salvatore, I mean you're already paying me enough. I really don't need anything else"

"Please, Miss Gilbert, I insist, you can use it whenever you go out with the girls, movie tickets, treats, whatever you like. It will be completely yours" His penetrating gaze rooted her to the spot as if daring her to disagree with him on the matter.

"I don't- I mean I-" He interrupted her by raising his hand in the air and an arched eye brow "I mean thank you" She told him, not wanting to stir a discussion between them outside the girl's room

"Well then…I guess that's all. I will dine with the girls and put them to bed so you're free to do as you please" He told her with a warm smile, she nodded and thought that a bath sounded really good now.

"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore" She said and watched as the recognition that he was standing in her doorway appeared on his face, she thought she saw him blush but that was probably just her imagination.

"I guess I'll see you around" He moved to let her pass, she opened the door and she thought she heard his voice as she closed the door "Good night, Miss Gilbert"

Elena woke up early the next morning, it didn't really matter if it was the weekend, she could never manage to sleep in late unless she had been out late the night before, so after lying in bed with her thoughts for a while she decided to leave them to rest and stood up. She took a shower and dressed into a cute green summer dress and let her wet hair hang from her back. She exited her room and marveled at how quiet the house seemed, since it was early she guessed everyone was still sleeping. As she headed down the stairs to go to the kitchen she stumbled across a blonde girl coming from the hallway, opposite the one where her room was.

"Hi" The girl said sounding a bit embarrassed "I'm Kennedy"

"Hi, I'm Elena" She answered while looking at her with a confused expression on her face "The nanny" She added

"Right" The girl answered and they stared at each other in an awkward silence for a few seconds "Well I should get going" The girl said and Elena motioned for her to go first down the stairs. She stayed at the top a little longer while staring at the hallway the girl just came out of.

Well that was a nice way of killing her silly crush on Mr. Salvatore she thought as she lowered down the stairs.

Elena went to the kitchen where she found Allie, apparently every Sunday Mr. Salvatore had breakfast with the girls in Manhattan so they should be leaving in a few hours, but he instructed that they should have breakfast ready for Elena when she woke up so even though she protested and told her it wasn't necessary Allie was making her French toast and eggs for breakfast.

"So…" Elena let the words linger in the air as she watched Allie move around the kitchen "…the blonde girl"

"Oh you saw that" The elder woman had her back towards her but Elena could hear the mirth and a hint of disappointment in her voice "Sometimes it's a blonde, other times it's a brunette, and if we're lucky, it's a red head"

"So, that happens a lot?" Yeap, that ship was sinking quickly.

"Not that much but probably more than it should" Allie made a disapproving noise and turned around to face Elena "He's not a bad man, my boy Damon. He's just very scared"

"Scared?" Elena asked with a raised eye brow.

"His wife… she wasn't… let's just say she left a big hole in his chest" Allie gave her a warm look and turned again to keep cooking "He has a big heart, and yes, he makes a few mistakes once in a while but that's not all he is"

Elena nodded even though Allie couldn't see her and both women stayed in silence after that. Elena stared at the garden as the smell of eggs started to fill her nose.

What could a man like him be scared of? She shook her head lightly while she contemplated the big enigma that Damon Salvatore appeared to be.