He was an older man, his salt-and-pepper hair neatly combed back. It was a sharp contrast to Wade’s untidy hair, calloused hands, and sun-worn face. “My husband, Wade, is working on your guesthouse, sir,” I said smoothly.
“Evelyn hired him. Sir, we are desperately in need of money. We have two young children.
So I thought… I could work for you too. As a housemaid?
I’ll clean, cook, and do whatever else you need me to do.”
His gaze flickered down to the basket of still-warm homemade bread in my hands, then back to my face. There was a pause, and I swore that you could have heard my heart pounding in the silence. Then, a slow, considering smile found itself on Hugo’s face.
“That bread smells delicious,” he said. “And look, your husband has done some good work. If you’re as hardworking as him, I don’t see why not.”
And just like that, I was inside Evelyn’s house.
I was inside her marriage. I scrubbed, dusted, and folded clothes in a closet bigger than my entire living room. It was humiliating at first, crawling through the house of the woman who had played me for a fool.
But as time passed, a new feeling replaced the shame. Control. Evelyn barely looked at me, too busy with her parties and yoga classes.
But her husband? Hugo noticed me. “Coffee, Marielle?” he’d offer in the mornings.
Casual. Friendly. A gesture that made Evelyn’s fingers tighten around her cup.
“Oh, I don’t think Marielle drinks coffee,” Evelyn said one day, her voice tight. Hugo just smiled. “She does now,” he replied.
It was subtle, but it was enough. Then, one day, everything changed. I was in Hugo’s bedroom, rearranging his wardrobe, joking with him about his ridiculous tie collection, when the door swung open.
Evelyn froze. Her face twisted into something sharp, her expensive heels clicking against the floor as she stepped inside. “Well, isn’t this just a lovely surprise,” she drawled, arms crossed.
“You really have no shame, do you?”
Before I could open my mouth, her husband cut in. “I hired her, Evelyn,” Hugo said. His voice was calm but firm.
It was easy to see that he was a man of stature and wealth. His voice and his presence commanded it. “Marielle is here to clean.
That’s all. Unlike some people, she actually works.”
From the mirror in Hugo’s closet, I could see Evelyn’s body go rigid. I didn’t have to look at her closely to know that the blood had drained from her face.
She scoffed, spun on her heel, and stormed off, her heels clicking like gunshots against the floor. After that? Evelyn avoided me.
She avoided Wade, too. And she barely even looked at her husband. Checkmate.
Weeks passed. I kept working at the mansion. Wade finished the guesthouse repairs.
One evening, as I packed up for the day, my phone buzzed. Just got home. Taking the kids to pick up pizza for dinner.
Got my last paycheck today. Love you. I smiled.
Love you, too. Almost done here. Just making dinner for Hugo.
I glanced around Evelyn’s kitchen, gleaming and perfect. She hadn’t been home in days. I moved around the kitchen quickly, cooking for Hugo.
The moment I was done, I was ready to head home to my family. By the time I got home, the house was quiet except for the low hum of the TV. Wade sat at the kitchen table, absentmindedly rolling a beer bottle between his palms.
The sight of him there, waiting for me, sent a wave of exhaustion through my bones. I shut the door behind me, dropping my bag onto the counter. He glanced up and smiled, his eyes tired but searching.
“The kids have eaten,” he said. “They couldn’t wait to dig into the pizza. I saved you some.”
I nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.
“Marielle, I need to tell you something…”
I didn’t move. “Then tell me.”
“She tried,” he finally said, his voice low. “Evelyn.
Tommy was right about what he saw. But she wanted me. And I knew it.
And I let it go too far.”
The words hit me like a dull punch to my gut, expected but still painful. “Define ‘too far.'”
Wade’s jaw tightened. “Nothing physical, Mari,” he said.
“No cheating. But I still didn’t push her away like I should’ve. She liked to flirt, and I…
let her. I knew she wasn’t just being friendly. I wasn’t stupid.
I played along here and there because…”
His voice trailed off, and he sighed. “Because we needed the money.”
The room felt too still, too full of things unsaid. “You flirted with her for a paycheck,” I said quietly.
“I didn’t think of it like that at the time. I told myself I was keeping it professional, that I was doing what I had to do for us. But the truth?
I liked the attention.”
“At least you’re honest,” I said. Wade shook his head, frustration flickering in his eyes. “It wasn’t worth it.
It was never worth it. And then, when Tommy saw… I knew I’d messed up.
I should’ve shut it down long before then. I should’ve told you.”
Silence stretched between us. “Why didn’t you?” I asked, my voice softer than I expected.
His hands clenched on the table. “Because I was ashamed. Because I didn’t want you to see me as weak.
We were drowning, Marielle. The bills, the food, the kids’ school stuff. I was failing as a husband, and some rich woman tossing me easy work made it feel like I was fixing things.”
For the first time, Wade looked small.
Not in size, not in strength, but in the way that men look when they’ve disappointed themselves. I let the words sink in. I let myself feel them.
The hurt. The anger. The relief that he was telling me now.
Then I reached across the table, covering his hand with mine. “Wade, I was drowning too,” I said. “I was the one standing at that checkout, wondering which food I’d have to put back.
I was the one lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out how we’d get through another month. You weren’t failing me, Wade. We were failing together.”
My husband smiled and gripped my hand.
“There’s something else,” he said. “I got a call from an old friend. He’s got a construction project lined up.
It’s steady work. Not just one job, but months of it. It’s good money.”
And just like that, hope bloomed in my chest.
The next morning, when I arrived at work, Hugo was alone at the breakfast table. “Evelyn won’t be needing a housemaid anymore,” he said, sipping his coffee. His tone was calm, but the meaning was clear.
My work here was done. I nodded, grabbed my things, and walked out the door, knowing she would never pull this stunt again. Evelyn once stood behind me, watching me struggle to pay for my groceries.
She had handed me a bag of food like a queen tossing scraps to the poor. Now? She wouldn’t even look at me.
Because I had done what she never expected. I didn’t cry. I didn’t beg.
I stepped into her world and made her irrelevant. Source: amomama
