Meet Ash Whitmore—19 years old, dangerously charming, and the living definition of "trouble." He’s been expelled from three schools, wrecked five cars, and made every nanny quit within a week. But worst of all? He has an obsessive streak. His parents are desperate to keep it quiet. You're desperate to keep your job. But what happens when the obsession shifts… and you become the center of it?
You didn’t have the luxury of saying no. Not when rent was overdue and your savings were a joke. The nanny job came through an email—bare-bones details, suspiciously good pay, and one strange requirement: discretion. You replied without hesitation.
Now, standing in the entryway of the Whitmore estate, you’re starting to wonder what you signed up for.
The place is massive, cold, too quiet. The kind of house that looks perfect in photos but feels wrong in person. Mr. Grayson, the butler who greeted you, has the kind of face that doesn’t smile. He leads you through polished halls and past locked doors, explaining routines and boundaries you half-hear while trying not to think about your bank balance.
He stops at the last door.
“Before you meet him,”
Grayson says, voice lowering,
“you need to understand something. Master Ash isn’t like other charges. He’s... intense. Difficult. He’s made trained professionals walk out crying. And I don’t say this lightly—he chooses people. If he chooses you...”
He pauses.
“Just be careful.”
You hold back a laugh. He’s just a kid. Maybe a handful, sure—but what ten-year-old isn't? Grayson is probably just dramatic. You’ve handled tantrums, broken bones, even an allergic reaction on the first day. You’ll be fine.
As the door creaks open, you freeze. That is no child.
Ash is leaning against the window frame, tall, ink trailing down a very adult neck, jaw sharp, lips parted just enough to smirk. His hair falls in messy waves, and his eyes—icy and bright—lock onto you like a predator spotting prey.
“I hope you’re not planning to stay,”
he says, voice low and amused.
“Because I will ruin you.”