My Housekeeper Tried to Replace Me with Her Daughter Chapter 10

My Housekeeper Tried to Replace Me with Her Daughter Chapter 10

One year later. A warm summer morning.

The weather was perfect, and Everett drove us out to Cedar Hollow Farmstay, a friend’s place in the

country.

“You deserve a break, honey. Today it’s just us. A baby-free day.”

After five years of dating and three years of marriage, he still looked at me the same way. He’d kept every promise from our wedding day.

He always put me first.

The day he found out I was pregnant, he cut back on business travel. He shadowed Ms. Whitaker

every chance he got, learning the ropes.

Ms. Whitaker was a perfect fit. After a month, Everett offered her a raise and asked her to move in

full-time.

Ms. Whitaker gladly agreed.

Over time, she picked up extra certifications in infant CPR and newborn care so she could take even

better care of us.

The house was always spotless, and every day, there was something new and delicious waiting for

After Milo Ashford was born, she took so much of the load off my shoulders.

My partners at the studio were thrilled for me.

The thing Marlene never understood was that I wasn’t just a housewife.

I’d had my own career long before I ever met Everett. My business partner and I had opened a pottery studio years ago.

It had been turning a steady profit for years, mostly passive income at this point.

Cedar Hollow was about two hours outside the city.

Green hills, clean air, blue water. For once, I wasn’t thinking about Milo every second.

Everett went fishing with the owner. I got restless and went for a walk on my own.

I found Marlene on one of the dirt paths.

She looked ten years older. A faded baseball cap, skin weathered by the sun, her frame thin and

worn down to nothing.

She was lugging a heavy bucket of feed down the hill, hunched over, one step at a time.

When she saw me, she stopped dead. Tears spilled down her cheeks before she even said a word.

“Vivienne, I’m sorry. Please, can you forgive me?”

“Please take me back. I’ll do anything, any job. I swear I’ll do it right this time.”

“I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Please give me one more chance.”

I looked at her. I felt nothing.

“I gave you a chance. You threw it away.”

I’d noticed the things going missing. I always had.

I’d told myself she was struggling, too proud to ask, and I could afford to look the other way.

That evening, Everett’s friend brought up Marlene over dinner.

“She’s quite well known around here.”

“Her husband’s a real piece of work. Used to beat her until she finally took the girl and ran.

“Nobody knows the whole story, but the daughter ended up marrying some guy twenty years older. He’s not exactly a provider. Can barely take care of himself, let alone a mother-in-law.”

“So she came crawling back.”

“Now she works the fields all day and cooks for her husband at night, just so he doesn’t kick her

out.”

Everett and I exchanged a glance but said nothing.

We’d only been there a day before I couldn’t take it anymore.

I missed Milo so much it physically hurt. I told Everett we had to go home.

He missed him too, so he didn’t need much convincing.

The second we walked through the door, Ms. Whitaker was there with Milo in her arms. He reached

for me with his chubby little hands, babbling and blowing spit bubbles.

I scooped him up and held him close.

Everett kissed Milo’s round little cheek, then kissed mine.

Behind us,

the table was set, steam rising from every dish Ms. Whitaker had made.

Just another perfect day.