For someone trying to keep a pregnancy secret, I got caught easily. I left the test kit in the drawer. Jeremy stumbled on it.
He was thrilled. Boyishly happy, like a man who had just been handed a miracle. He hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe, but I told him we needed a proper confirmation from the doctor before we told anyone.
"Congratulations. You're six weeks pregnant," Dr Lina announced, her smile bright and warm.
Jeremy lit up instantly, almost glowing with joy. I managed a small smile. As soon as we left the clinic, he wanted to rush home and tell the family. I stopped him. He was relieved that the pregnancy meant I could finally be excused from household chores, but I was still stuck in the same mindset, still chasing Mildred's approval… my mother-in-law who never saw anything good in me.
After the appointment Jeremy headed to work while I returned home. I walked into the kitchen and froze. Ms Bang was stuffing food into a waste nylon. I knew the morning schedule. There was no food that was supposed to be thrown away today.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice already tight.
She didn't even look guilty. With her usual unfiltered arrogance, she told me the food had been sent by my mother, but Mildred had instructed that everything be thrown away immediately.
My mother had cooked that food with love and brought them over for me but I was never informed. According to my mother-in-law, anything from my family was filthy.
Ms Bang spoke to me as though I was nothing, as though I was a measly servant. Something inside me snapped in a small, quiet way. Tears were already blurring my sight, not from anger but from deep, unmistakable hurt. Hurt that my mother's effort, her love, her time, had been tossed aside like trash. Hurt that my parents were not even allowed to see me or Eden freely. Twice a year, that was the pathetic rule I was living under.
But this time, it was too much. This time, something in me couldn't bend again.
Damn the consequences.
I wiped my tears, pulled myself together, grabbed my bag, picked Eden up from school, and went straight to my parents' house.
While at my parents' house, I tried to carry a bright expression, something warm enough to mask the heaviness inside me. The moment my mother opened the door, her eyes lit up. She was genuinely happy to see me, but beneath that joy, I could sense her worry. She asked if I had informed my mother-in-law that I was coming over with Eden.
"Of course," I lied, forcing a smile.
Eden ate happily, humming as she swung her little feet under the table. My mother had prepared food that tasted like home—soft, tender, familiar. It was different from what we ate back in Mildred's house, where everything had to be strictly organic and measured and approved. Watching Eden enjoy herself made my chest tighten. I didn't realize how much I missed this until I was sitting in it again.
I told my mother that Mildred had sent her gratitude for the food, but the way her eyes lingered on me, they were quiet and searching. She knew I was lying. The high and mighty Mildred would never say something so gentle.
A while later, my mother-in-law's call came in. It flashed on my screen like an alarm. Like she was searching for me. Like I had run away. I rejected the call and immediately turned off my phone. Today, I didn't have the strength to listen to her voice or her insults. I just needed a few more hours of peace.
Eventually, I decided it was time to return. I took a cab home, Eden fast asleep in my arms, her warm cheek resting against my shoulder. When we reached the gate, Jeremy was already outside waiting for us. He immediately collected Eden from me, his face unreadable.
"Jeremy, I—"
He cut me off before the words even formed.
"Not here, Kathleen. Let's get inside. Mother is in a very bad mood."
He walked ahead with Eden, and I followed closely behind, already bracing myself for the confrontation I knew was waiting for me.
The moment we stepped into the living room, it came.
"Who gave you permission to leave the house?" my mother-in-law barked, her voice sharp and full of accusation.
"I went to visit my mother," I replied softly, my head slightly bowed.
"Why would you take Eden with you without telling anyone? She isn't just any child! You can't take her anywhere!" Her voice rose with each sentence.
"It isn't just anywhere. It is my parents' house." I tried to remain calm, steadying my breathing.
"Do you think you can take my grandchild anywhere without my permission? Even if it's your parents' house?"
"I felt bad that my mother's food was thrown away, so I went to visit her," I said quietly, trying not to let my voice shake.
"So you're saying you did nothing wrong?" she snapped.
"What you did was also wrong, Mother." The words came out before I could swallow them. They were gentle, but they held the truth. And I knew immediately that the truth infuriated her.
She shot up from her seat, her anger radiating so intensely it felt like heat on my skin. I knew what was coming next. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the slap.
But it never came.
Instead, I felt a sudden stillness in the room. When I opened my eyes, Jeremy was standing beside me, his hand firmly wrapped around his mother's wrist, stopping her mid-air.
For the first in a long time, Jeremy stood up for me and that too against his mother.
****
The next morning unfolded like every other one. I was up early, preparing breakfast and setting the table before anyone else stirred. After everything was arranged, I went upstairs to call Jeremy. By the time we came back down, Mother and Aileen were arriving. Father-in-law had decided to skip breakfast because of his health decline, which unfortunately created the perfect gap for humiliation.
Aileen was finally resuming at the family company as the intended designer, which was the entire reason Mildred had brought her into our home in the first place.
"Please sit with us, Kathleen. You already made an extra portion, and Father won't be joining us," Jeremy said, attempting to include me.
But Mildred immediately objected.
"This is a business-related breakfast. Everyone at the table is going to work, except her. She doesn't need to sit."
Jeremy's jaw tightened, but he didn't press the issue. I stepped back quietly and stood like a servant as they ate, listening to Mother's thinly veiled insults dressed as casual remarks. Each word pricked, but I swallowed them like bitter medicine.
After breakfast, as usual, I walked Mother out to her car. Today, Jeremy and Aileen followed. Their footsteps were usually behind me, but halfway through the walkway, I sensed silence. I turned, and so did Mildred. Her face glowed with satisfaction, too satisfied.
I froze.
Aileen was standing alarmingly close to Jeremy, fixing his crooked tie with delicate, practiced fingers. He didn't move. He just stood there, letting her adjust him as if it were natural. As if it were her place.
That was supposed to be my place.
I looked away immediately, pain burning behind my ribs. I turned and walked ahead before the scene could carve itself deeper into me.
When Mildred asked Aileen to ride with her to work, Aileen declined with a light smile and instead looped her hand through Jeremy's arm.
"I'll ride with Jeremy today," she said.
As his wife, I had no grounds to object without appearing insecure. Jeremy looked at me, he saw the hurt in my eyes but he still didn't refuse her.
Mother's car rolled forward, but not before she delivered her final blow for the morning:
"Ah, Kathleen, I've left today's task with Ms. Bang."
The way she said it made my stomach sink.
The task was to prepare one hundred meal boxes for an orphanage she donated to monthly. A generous act on paper. But she made sure to add a condition before leaving:
"You are to prepare all one hundred boxes yourself. No assistance from the maids. I want to ensure you learn responsibility."
I was to prepare one hundred lunch boxes with a high chance of miscarriage.