The Day I Hired A Maid: Married, Mothered, And Finally Mad Novel – It was just another ordinary day when Richard Harrison suddenly spoke up after dinner, “You shouldn’t waste your time on things anyone could do. You need to improve your knowledge and refinement. Emma doesn’t need a mother who’s nothing but a housewife.” My hands paused while clearing the dishes.
In that instant, I understood completely. He had found someone to compare me to. With our six-year-old daughter present, I kept my composure and finished clearing the dishes. “Emma, go to your room and draw for a while.” After our daughter left, I turned on the TV and started watching a soap opera. Richard’s brow furrowed slightly. “Why aren’t you washing the dishes? They’ll start to smell soon.” He was extremely sensitive to odors—our home couldn’t have even the slightest unpleasant smell.
Anything that might produce an odor had to be cleaned up immediately. I made myself a cup of tea and kept watching TV. “If it’s something anyone can do, then you do it yourself.” Richard chuckled softly. “I was just giving you a suggestion, and it’s for Emma’s sake too. Do you really need to get this worked up about it? Whether you wash them or not is up to you.” The TV was playing a dramatic scene. The wife and the mistress were fighting in public.
The man held his mistress protectively in his arms while scolding his wife, “Look at yourself acting like a crazy woman! Do you have any dignity left as a socialite wife? Looking at your disheveled appearance every day makes me sick.” The wife seemed deeply hurt by these words and had no strength to fight back. She just watched helplessly as her husband walked away with his smug mistress in his arms. It really was melodramatic.
I turned to look at Richard. “Tell me, don’t cheating men always make excuses to cover up the fact that they can’t keep it in their pants?” His face tensed, then quickly went cold again. “What kind of question is that? How would I know?” I didn’t respond, just kept staring at him. I saw his throat move slightly before he spoke again, “If you have nothing better to do all day, you should take some classes to improve yourself.
Don’t waste your time on such meaningless things.” I turned off the TV and got up to go to my room. As I passed by him, I didn’t forget to remind him, “Don’t forget the dishes, Professor Harrison.” The next day, I hired a housekeeper to handle cooking and washing dishes. When Richard came home that evening, Emma and I had already finished eating.
Seeing an extra person in the house, he frowned and looked at me questioningly. “The housekeeper,” I answered simply. He said, “You know I don’t like having strangers in the house. You should cook from now on—after all these years, I’m used to your cooking.” I smiled. “After all these years, shouldn’t you be tired of it by now?” I’ve never been one to suffer in silence. Back in school, when people bullied me, I’d fight back and make them cry, but you could barely see any marks on them.
Instead, I’d deliberately leave evidence of being bullied myself. Faced with my sarcasm, Richard sighed. “I only said one thing, and you’re still holding a grudge. Sarah, people can’t stay immature forever. Some rough edges need to be smoothed out. You need to set a good example for our daughter…” I grabbed a water glass and threw it at his feet. “Are you finished? If you don’t want to eat, I’ll have the housekeeper throw it away.” Ignoring his shocked expression, I turned to the startled housekeeper and said gently, “You can go home now.
Please come back at the same time tomorrow.” “Mrs. Mitchell, don’t you need me to wash the dishes?” I shook my head. “No need. I have someone else in mind for that job.” After the housekeeper left, Richard looked thoroughly annoyed. “You act like this even in front of outsiders?” “What’s wrong? Embarrassed about looking bad in front of Professor Harrison? Do you think I lack knowledge and refinement compared to someone else out there?” “Sarah Mitchell, you’re absolutely unreasonable!” He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Unreasonable?