Natalie and Thomas Kavanagh were five years old, but unlike what every nanny who met them thought, they weren't normal children; they were incredibly intelligent, with shockingly diabolical minds. Not that they weren't good, adorable, obedient children, but they wouldn't accept, agree to, or trust the women their beloved father hired to take care of them. And the only reason they wouldn't accept a nanny was that they feared the women would take their father away from them—and they would never allow that. Liam Kavanagh didn't belong to anyone, and they wanted it to stay that way forever.
At that moment, they were both waiting for the new nanny to prepare their meal. The woman had long light brown hair with a few blonde streaks, and her eyes were a deep blue. While she prepared lunch, music played from her phone, and even though she knew the twins were only a few steps away, she paid them no attention; she was completely focused on singing along as she chopped an onion. The children whispered to each other, glancing at the woman now and then as they already thought of a way to get that nanny out of their way—or, rather, out of their father's way. She seemed sweet and friendly—for now—but they didn't believe that was her true face.
And they were completely right.
They discovered it a few minutes after the meal was finally ready, when Natalie refused to eat the onion and the woman got irritated, calling her a picky eater, which upset the little girl and made her brother extremely angry.
No one talked to his little sister that way. No one.
The woman had made garlic-and-oil pasta with a few pieces of pork, and Natalie irritated her again when she said she couldn't eat the meat, just like her brother, because of their allergy; this time, the little girl truly hadn't meant to make it seem as though she was provoking the older woman, but that's exactly how the woman took it. Then both children watched the nanny throw all the food in the trash and tell them to fend for themselves because she wasn't making anything else, before heading toward the TV room.
The little boy, already imagining that this might happen at some point during the day—especially since it wasn't the first time a nanny had left them without a meal—pulled a large bag of Ruffles chips out of the cabinet. He'd hidden it there the night before without his father knowing. He began eating with his sister, along with some juice their father had left in the refrigerator the night before so they could have it with lunch that day. For the next several minutes, he watched the woman file her nails while she watched a movie he wasn't the least bit interested in.
He realized then that she was extremely vain, and for that reason alone, he flashed a sly smile; an idea had occurred to him, and he was delighted. The little girl, still beside Thomas, noticed the smile on his lips with curiosity.
“Brother?”
“I know how to make sure she doesn't last the rest of the day, sis.” He looked at her with an even bigger smile. “Dad's probably going to get mad.”
“He always gets mad.” She shrugged. “And she called me a picky eater, brother. I want her gone.”
“Leave it to me, sis.” He looked away from his sister. “I have a plan, and I'm putting it into action now.”
He jumped out of his chair and headed for the cabinet across from them, climbing onto a different chair from the one he'd been sitting in moments earlier. He opened one of the doors and found a container of gum, then opened it and took four pieces.
“You'd better get the money Dad leaves in the drawer.”
“Okay.”
Though confused, Natalie did exactly as her brother asked. She went upstairs and took the money stored in the drawer of the dresser in their bedroom; it was for emergencies, or so their father always told them.
When she returned, she saw that her brother was crouched behind the couch, already ready to put the plan into action. So she stopped making so much noise with her feet—even though she figured the other woman wouldn't pay attention to what they were doing—and began watching him. Thomas chewed the gum he'd just taken, then quickly glanced at his sister before pulling out the chewed pieces and sticking them in the woman's hair. Just as he'd imagined, she jumped up in fright when he yanked her hair in the process.
“What are you doing, you little brat?” she practically snarled, immediately raising her right hand to her silky hair and feeling something strange.
Thomas quickly ran to his sister, hearing the nanny's hysterical screams the very next moment. He grabbed Natalie by the hand and raced out the door, hearing the woman curse and threaten them while shouting. It frightened them a little, especially when they heard footsteps and thought she was following them; even so, neither of them regretted making her pay for being rude.
The little boy knew he shouldn't go out alone, but he also knew it wouldn't be a good idea to remain near the nanny while she was completely furious.
Still holding hands, they passed through the apartment complex's entrance, and incredibly, no one saw them. They were desperate to get as far away as possible, afraid the woman might catch up to them. And even though they were frightened, especially because they'd never gone out alone before, they didn't stop running.
At some point, when they were already far from the apartment complex, they both looked back, afraid the nanny was following them, and felt relieved when they realized she wasn't.
“Oh, I'm sorry.”
Their eyes quickly met those of a young woman with exotic pink hair and incredibly green eyes. She wore a worried expression, something they'd never seen before except on their family members, and they were so surprised—and, they had to admit, enchanted. The woman was beautiful.
The pink-haired woman quickly crouched down and asked if they were all right, but they couldn't answer.
“Did I hurt you?”
Natalie blinked twice.
“Your hair is pink.”
The woman smiled.
“Ah, yes.” She touched her own hair with a smile. “It's strange and different, but yes, it's pink.”
“I think it's really cool. You look like a fairy!”
Thomas looked at his little sister as the older woman smiled, then quickly turned back to the woman.
“Thank you.” She helped the little girl to her feet, watching the little boy beside her do the same on his own. “I really didn't hurt you?”
“No.” The girl was the only one to answer.
“Where are your parents?” She looked around. “It's dangerous for you to be out here alone.”
“Our dad is working, and we need to go there.” Thomas finally spoke, afraid his sister would tell her the truth.
“Oh.”
“Can you help us get there, miss?” the little girl asked.
“Hmm...” She hesitated.
“I promise Dad is waiting for us.”
The woman with the exotic pink hair didn't believe them at all, but when she realized how desperate they were, she decided to take them to their father before something happened to either of them.
“Where does your father work?”
The children smiled, relieved that they'd managed to convince the woman in front of them, then answered together.
“Kanavagh Company.”