Susie floated in a space where time meant nothing.No watches, no pain, no sorrow. She felt like something left her. A heavy burden. She saw flashes of what happened before; the sound of shattered glass, siren, a child's cry all long gone. All the memories of her life played out one by one like a movie scene until...it let go.

 Loud thunder claps followed by lightning shook Susie from her long sleep. She looked around and tried to remember where she was.She looked and saw some syringes on a table beside her. That explains it. She was at a hospital. She heard some footsteps and lay back down, pretending to be asleep.

"Good morning ma'am." The voice sounded warm and friendly. Slowly, she opened her eyes showing a sign of someone that just woke up.

" How are you feeling now?" The kind man said. He wore a red shirt with black pants and black shoes. Ge wore a white cloak with a tag hung in it that said,'Dr.Bruce', apparently he is the doctor.

"I feel fine doctor." Susie tried to sit up but something like a sharp needle pricked her abdomen;

"You still need some time to rest ma'am, and we need to contact your family."

That statement made Susie's heart skip. Had her parents not come to see her?, did her husband hide what happened? She groaned as she sat up from the bed, eyes swollen;

" What do you mean doctor. No one came for me."

"No."

Susie hesitated. Not because she couldn't, but because for the very first time in her life, no one was expecting her. No one was in the waiting room, no husband pacing about or mother-in-law poisoning her husband's mind. She was alone. 

"The police will be hear soon so that we can reach out to your family, Jennie." 

That last word made Susie's heart skip. Jennie? 

"Did you just call me Jennie?" 

Dr. Bruce looked puzzled but he assumed that she had lost your memory so he explained;

" Well, yes. Actually you were admitted two days ago but you have a serious head injury so you might not remember anything. " Susie blinked. Slowly. The doctor didn't notice.

"So your true identity is Miss Jennie Oliver." He reached for his pocket and brought out some old photos, and a birth certificate.

"We found this in your car after the accident."

Susie grabbed them as if they were money. She wanted to know what is really going on. In the photos was the picture of a teenage girl in the 90s. She wore a baggy sweatshirt with shorts and posed with a 'peace' sign made with her hands. She seemed pretty happy even though she looked like someone who worked on the farm, but something about her looked familiar. Susie looked closer into the picture, her eyes popped. She turned it upside down. This can't be. The teenage girl looked almost like her...but younger....

 Dr.Bruce did some checkup and left. Susie jumped out of the bed, still feeling some pains, looked for some clothes. She wanted to escape. She found an old sweatshirt and a long skirt with worn out sneakers. This will do just fine. She opened the door slowly, making sure not to get seen. She quietly passed two rooms until she froze. She heard a familiar voice and peeped through a door hole to see;

"You mean that she is dead." A familiar voice said. That was Jonathan. His voice made her remember the incident, she blinked some tears away;

"I am so sorry sir." De. Bruce said. Susie heard some silent sobs. Why would he cry when he killed me. She bit her lip and thought of the numerous lies that he had told her family and wished that she could just go there and...

" Mommy, please wake up...." Her world shattered. Her sweet child;

" Mommy. Don't leave me... please." James bgan to cry. Susie sobbed quietly from outside the door. She couldn't just enter there and claim to be alive. Not when she was already dead.

" Leave Mommy to rest okay dear." Elena assured him. James looked away and sobbed silently in her arms. Susie turned away and started running. She didn't know where she was going. She just ran.

 She rested a bit just few blocks away from the hospital. She looked around. No one was there. Alone again. She screamed for about five minutes to relieve all the stress. She wanted to go crazy. She was alive, but was dead? She tried to fix the puzzles together. She was someonelse but was still herself.

No record.

She could just vanish. Live a new life. Become a musician or a ballerina. A smile slowly crept out of her mouth but disappeared. She couldn't just disappear like that, not when her son is still alive. The thought of the torture that he could be facing made her eager to go back to her toxic and tragedic relationship. She needed a way to see her son again.But how. She rested on a rock nearby and pondered on what to do. A poster flew straight up to her face, bored, she looked at it. An idea popped up in her mind.

The late afternoon sun slanted through the windows of the white-columned Georgian house, casting golden light across the polished hardwood floor. Susie squinted her eyes; the house had changed since she'd last been inside - new curtains, new rugs, a vase of roses she knew he would never have chosen by himself. She turned to her left and saw a picture of a woman in a red dress smiling so confidently; apparently that would be the woman he used to cheat on her, but Susie wasn't here to admire décor or to drag husband with anyone.She was here for her son.

Dressed in a neat pink skirt, a prim white blouse buttoned to her throat, and wire-rimmed glasses that dulled the fire in her blue eyes, Susie looked every inch the proper English nanny. Her usually free, dark curls were pinned into a tight bun. No trace of the woman who once lived in this house remained in her reflection - except in her eyes, which never stopped searching, calculating.

She had rehearsed this role a hundred times. Her name was Miss Jennie Oliver now, with a calm, clipped accent borrowed from BBC dramas and a forged reference letter from a retired family in New Castle. She had been a nanny for six years and has had lots of experience with children. Of course this was not a joke considering she has a son. Every detail had been perfected. Still, her hands were cold.

The door opened.

The woman who answered was tall and fair, with the effortless elegance of someone who'd never been left behind. Natasha, her ex-husband's new wife. Her own sister. At that moment, she wanted to just strangle her and toss her away but she couldn't . She wasn't like her husband.She smiled with the cool politeness of someone doing a favor, not seeking help.

"You must be Miss Oliver. Please, come in."

Susie gave a slight, deferential bow. "Thank you, Mrs.Colllins. It's a pleasure."

They sat in the sunroom. poured tea. The air smelled like bergamot and success. Eleanor smiled, serene, as Natasha scanned her résumé.

"So," Natasha said, crossing her legs. "You've been with the Hastings family for five years?"

"Yes," Eleanor replied smoothly. "Lovely children. Twins, actually. Very energetic. But the family is relocating to New York, and I'm unable to follow."

Natasha nodded. "And you specialize in... structured care?"

"I do. Routines, gentle discipline, and emotional development. I also speak Spanish and play piano."

Natasha tilted her head, clearly impressed. "And you're certified?"

Susie produced laminated credentials - carefully crafted. Natasha scanned them, and nodded. The silence lingered a moment too long, and Susie felt the weight of scrutiny.

But then-

"You'll be looking after James.He's six. Sensitive. Not my son though, some mongrel I guess...." Susie bit her lip.

"...Needs structure, frankly. His father's been very busy lately. "

James. Her James. Susie had to inhale slowly to steady herself.

"I look forward to meeting him. He must be a lovely boy." she said softly.

Natasha stood. "He's upstairs actually. I'll call him down."

" James come here now."

The sound of small feet on the stairs. The shape that appeared was slightly smaller, thinner, with new shoes and a wary expression. He blinked at her. Something flickered in his face - a spark of recognition, maybe. Or maybe just a six-year-old's instinct.

"He's been crying a lot lately. He lost his mom who is my sister. I would cry too but I have to stay strong for him." She said using a finger to remove a fake tear from her eye. James wore a blue pajamas and dinosaur shoes.

"James, this is Miss Oliver."

She bent to his level, her throat tight. "Hello, James. I hope we'll be good friends."

He studied her for a long time. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Okay."

Natasha smiled. "It's settled, then. You can start Monday?"

Susie studied his face closely. He was still in his pijamas. His face had cookie crumbs all over his face. He seriously needed a bath.

Eleanor rose. "He needs a bath."

Natasha who was polishing her nails didn't seem much bothered. She turned to James and squeezed her nose.

"Why haven't you had your bath James."

" I don't know how to." James said shyly.

" I could bath him if you want..." 

" That's your job so do it." Natasha said coldly and continued polishing her nails. 

Susie ushered the boy to the bathroom and began removing his clothes. James wasn't bothered. He felt like his mother was bathing him. He looked at the nanny again. She looked similar to Mom. Apart from the huge mole on her face and ruthless haircut. He could see the love and care in her eyes, but she wasn't his mother. He wanted his mother.Susie carried him into the bath tub. She began scrubbing. She wondered how he had been bathing when she was not available. She looked at her son's face and saw that he still missed her. 

" Are you thinking of your mom?" . No reply.

" Don't worry. She might actually be alive."

" She's dead." He said coldly. 

"And what do you know about my mother, you are just a nanny." He took his rubber duck and dipped it in the water.

" I know that your mom was very nice. Your step mother told me..." 

" Aunt Natasha would never be my mother." Susie smiled. At least she still has hope on winning her son's love back. The rubber duck popped out of the water, he pushed it back in again. Susie went to the cupboard and brought out a brown monkey rag doll, his favourite toy. She hid her face behind the toy and used her hand to control the arms. She started talking in a chipmunk voice;

"James cheer up buddy and have your bath." James giggled and joined in the fun. From cosplay to splashing bubbles, James looked more happy than he had ever been.

" Do come back soon." James yanked the hem of Susie's skirt. It was time to go home.She tried to control her emotions.

" James. She works here now. She will resume tomorrow." Susie waved at her son as Natasha dragged the boy back into the house.

As she walked out of the house - the house that used to be hers, Susie didn't look back. She had passed the interview. Gained entry into the house and her son's heart.

And now, she was closer to her son than she had been in a long time.

The rest of the plan could begin.

Susie settled into her new role as James's nanny, her days filled with school runs, homework, and playtime. She took James to school every morning, watching as he grew more confident with each passing day. She'd wave goodbye as he disappeared into his classroom, her heart swelling with love and determination. There were times when she almost broke out of her role. One time.

As she drove back home, her before driver, Alfred dropped her.Susie couldn't help but think about the life she left behind. She had been a wife, a mother, and a partner in her own right. Now, she was a nanny, a role she had taken on to get close to her son. It was a sacrifice, but one she was living with the consequences of her ex-husband's infidelity and her own desperation to be with her child.

After dropping James off, Susie would return home to tackle the household chores. Natasha couldn't clean, but was particular about cleanliness, and Susie made sure to meet her expectations. As she vacuumed and dusted, she'd catch glimpses of her ex-husband, Jonathan ,working from home. He'd look up, their eyes would meet, and for a moment, the past would come flooding back.

Susie would feel a pang in her chest, a mix of emotions she couldn't quite process. She had thought she was over him, that she had moved on from the pain he had caused her. But seeing him now, in this new context, brought back all the memories she had tried to bury.

****

"Susie, the laundry needs to be done immediately before I come back from the salon." Natasha hesitated as she pointed at the pile of dirty clothes.

" But I already did some laundry." Susie whispered and picked up the clothes. She went down to the laundry room and started sorting the clothes, so that there wouldn't be any issues. Moments later, the laundry was done. She walked upstairs to her former room. Now Natasha's. As Susie walked into the room, she got startled to see Jonathan here, on his laptop.

" I'm so sorry sir. I didn't expect you home today..." 

" What?!"

I mean...I..." Susie staggered back. What did she just say. Things are getting out of hand.

" Working home today. It's okay." He continued typing. Susie closed her eyes. 'He was right in front of her'. She couldn't take it. 

" Why can't this just add up." Jonathan tensed up as he covered his face with his hands.

"I don't know how she used to do it," he muttered, staring at his laptop screen. "This software is driving me crazy."

Susie raised an eyebrow, her fingers moving instinctively to help. " Can I take a look," she said, her voice calm and professional. She began tapping. Moving the mouse cursor to places, while Jonathan just gazed at her , with his jaw dropped.

" How do you know this?"

" I learned this in college." Susie pursed her lips. It was true but an average nanny shouldn't know this.

As she worked her magic on the software, their hands touched, and a spark of electricity ran through her body. 

" You sound smarter than my wife." Jonathan looked up, his eyes locking onto hers, and for a moment, she saw a glimpse of their old life, many years ago when she would sit on his lap and do jer little magic on the laptop.

But the moment passed,when Natasha walked into the room, her eyes narrowing. "What's going on here?" she asked, her voice cool.

Susie stepped back, her hands behind her back. "Just helping Mr. Collins with his computer issues, ma'am," she said, her voice demure.

Natasha's gaze lingered on Jonathan,then Susie, looking more helpless than ever, before she nodded and walked away. Susie let out a breath, her heart racing. She knew she had to tread carefully, but she couldn't help the way she felt.

As the days went by, Susie found herself growing closer to James, and even Natasha began to thaw towards her. But the tension between her and Jonathan remained, a palpable force that neither of them could ignore.

Susie's plan was working, but at what cost? She was getting closer to her son, but she was also getting tangled in her feelings for her ex-husband. And what about Natasha? Would she ever suspect the truth about Miss Jennie Oliver?

One evening, as Susie was putting James to bed, he looked up at her with big, round eyes. "Miss Oliver?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, James?" Susie replied, her voice soft.

"Do you think my mom is in heaven?" James asked, his eyes welling up with tears.

Susie's heart broke for her son. She knew he missed his mother, and she wished she could tell him the truth. But for now, she had to keep up the charade.

"I think your mom is always with you in spirit, James," Susie said, trying to sound reassuring. "She loves you very much, and she's watching over you from wherever she is."

James nodded, seeming to accept Susie's words. But as Susie tucked him into bed, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She was lying to her son, and it didn't feel right.

As she turned out the lights and closed the door, Susie couldn't shake off the feeling that she was living a lie. She was a nanny, a fake identity, a secret keeper. But for now, it was all she could do.

The next day, Susie woke up early, determined to keep up the act. She made breakfast for James, helped him get ready for school, and drove him to his classroom. As she waved goodbye, she felt a sense of pride and purpose. She was doing this for her son, and she would see it through to the end.

As she walked back home, Susie couldn't help but notice the way Jonathan looked at her. Not the look of a boss to worker. It was a look of curiosity, of interest, and maybe even a hint of attraction. He might still love me. Susie's heart skipped a beat as she realized that she might not be immune to his charms after all.

She pushed the thought aside, focusing on the task at hand. Getting James back. Jonathan has made his decision. A message beeped on her cell phone:

~ Can we meet?