Annelise

Chapter Three

IT WAS WHEN he started living with her that he began to notice she would always get headaches. Annelise did not always have access to medication, so she was extremely grateful when Pierce handed her a tiny box of aspirins.

"Thank you," she coughed out, embarrassed. "I get sick from time to time. It must be the New York weather."

Pierce resumed his managerial duties at home, finding himself with extra time to complete his workload now that Annelise was taking care of the apartment. "I would've thought you'd be used to it by now."

She shook her head as she arranged the cutlery neatly. "I'm afraid not. You see, I—"

"ANNIE!" Lila screamed, sprinting into the room on her two little legs. "Read me a story!"

Annelise chuckled under her breath. "Let me guess... The Myridian Princess?"

Lila nodded enthusiastically in response.

Annelise glanced back at Pierce, hesitant. "Do you need anything else? I can make dinner."

Pierce shook his head. "Leave dinner to me." It was probably obsessive on his part, but Pierce disliked it when other people made food for him. It was a thing his ex-wife used to do, and it was part of the reason why he declined Annelise's offer. That, and the fact that Annelise had no idea what she was doing in the kitchen. He supposed that was what happened when you did not own one yourself.

Yet again, after he was finished cooking dinner, he found himself straying to Lila's bedroom and watching Annelise read. This time, Lila was wide awake and chatting animatedly with the woman.

"... The princess was pretty and kind—the most beautiful of all. The Myridian princess really did have it all. So the palace decided to hold a fair in her name, and much to her delight, the prince came! But the prince, she realized, was not there for her sake; he did not even have wine or cake. "I came to slay a mighty dragon," said he, "... Not dance around and drink from a flagon!" The princess then wept all day by her bed, she could not leave while she felt such dread. "The prince hates me. Oh, I know this for sure! Will I ever find a way to endure?""

"You know, you're kind of like the Myridian princess," Lila exclaimed.

Annelise blinked, surprised. "Me? Oh, I don't think I'm like her, at all. The Myridian princess was loved and admired by her people—I'm not."

"But you're really pretty," Lila stubbornly insisted, as if that was reason enough. "And you're blonde," she pointed out. "Besides, it's not about how many people love you, it's about how much they love you."

Annelise looked discomforted by Lila's statement. She stood up promptly and patted Lila's head. "Time to sleep," she insisted. "Goodnight, Lila."

"Night, Annie." Lila glanced Pierce's way perceptively. "... and daddy."

Annelise jumped, taken aback by Pierce's sudden appearance. "Bonne nuit, ma belle," he softly replied.

Yet again, Pierce found himself sitting across Annelise at the dining table. She poked at her spaghetti bolognaise with a fork. "I didn't know you were French."

"I'm namely American, but my mother's side is French. It was my grand-mère who taught me how to speak." Pierce paused, feeling unusually sentimental. "... About what Lila said before, I apologize. She can often say confronting things. I think she got it from her mother, honestly."

Annelise appeared intrigued as Pierce mentioned Lila's mother. "Who is she, by the way? I remember you were dating some girl in high school. Is it her?"