Chapter 6: The Maid in Their Eyes
“Ah!”
Just as the cup was about to smash into her face, the “unconscious” Queenie shrieked, eyes flying open as she dodged at lightning speed.
Terror still flickered in her gaze. “Sister, how could you do that to me!”
An odd hush fell over the room.
Steven and Michael both stared at Queenie, surprise flashing in their eyes.
Wendy had called it.
Realizing she’d been exposed, Queenie forced herself to look calm. “Steven, Michael, I really did faint just now. I wasn’t trying to trick you–it was Sister who tried to hurt me!”
“She knew how dangerous it is to throw things but still did it. What if my face had been ruined? How would I face people then?”
At once, both Steven and Michael turned their ire on Wendy.
“Even if Queenie woke up, it doesn’t prove she was faking. But you–you’re her sister and still pulled such a vicious stunt. Wendy, I misjudged you. You’ll never be as kind and pure as Queenie!”
“Dad’s right. No matter what, you’re not as good as Auntie Queenie. You’re a bad woman–get out!”
As always, Michael stood blindly on Queenie’s side.
Sheltering behind the Steven men, a hint of smugness slid through Queenie’s eyes.
See? Whatever she did, neither of them would doubt her.
And Wendy was the utter fool.
Faced with her husband and son’s scolding and blame, Wendy no longer had the strength to explain.
What was the point?
No one believed her.
She closed her eyes, exhausted.
These were the husband and child she had loved for years.
She had put the truth right in front of them, yet they still refused to see it.
Or perhaps what Queenie was didn’t matter; even if she committed murder and arson, they would gladly help bury the bodies.
When she opened her eyes again, they were desolate and still.
“Since you’re determined that Queenie is blameless, I have nothing more to say. From now on, stay out of my life.”
Without a backward glance, she left the villa.
Watching her lonely, slender back, a sharp ache pricked at Steven’s heart, as if something precious were draining away.
He felt… unsettled.
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Chapter 6: The Maid in Their Eyes
“Steven, Sister must be angry with you and Michael. We should hurry and coax her back,” Queenie suggested, playing her part.
But he tugged irritably at his tie, impatience edging his voice. “If she wants to go, let her. Why should we coax her? If she has the guts, she can stay gone for good.”
He didn’t believe it–without him, could Wendy even live?
In half a day, she’d be back to apologize.
After a night shift, Wendy stumbled home, spent.
Thankfully, Steven and Michael weren’t there.
Not seeing those two cold–blooded ingrates gave her a sliver of peace.
She lay on the sofa to rest when her phone rang. Michael.
“Mom, I’m almost home. Get dinner ready! I want grilled fish, fried chicken, and strawberry pie!”
He barked orders with lofty superiority, as if she weren’t his birth mother but a maid to be commanded at will.
Her face sank.
He knew she’d just finished a night shift and was dead tired–and still demanded a feast?
Ha.
So this was the son she’d carried for ten months.
Before she could answer, he hung up. In the instant before the call cut, she distinctly heard Queenie’s voice on the other end.
“Michael, thank you! Grilled fish is my favorite.”
Pain lanced through her chest, as if her organs were about to burst.
He couldn’t bear to have Queenie cook–yet he had no problem ordering her around.
The contrast was… cutting.
Forcing herself upright, she glanced toward the kitchen, a self–mocking smile tugging at her lips.
Those dishes would take at least two hours. She could barely stand, let alone summon the strength to cook.
But to the Steven men, her entire world began and ended in the kitchen.
Whatever she was outside, once home she was there to serve them.
But she was a living human being.
She had her own emotions and a private life. Who were they to treat her like this?
Taking a steadying breath, she called a chef to come cook.
Three hours later, Michael returned.
The aroma drew him straight to the table. “Auntie Queenie, look! Didn’t I say Mom would obey and make dinner?”
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Chapter 6: The Maid in Their Eyes
“Auntie, you’re not feeling well–come eat.”
He handed Queenie a pair of chopsticks sweetly.
She sat down smiling and ruffled his hair. From that tiny gesture, he felt an unprecedented satisfaction.
“Auntie Queenie, I wish you were my mom. If Mom hadn’t schemed back then, you would’ve been with my dad already!”
Her eyes flashed even as she kept smiling. “Michael, if your mom heard you, she’d be angry.”
“She’s not my mom! I only have one mom–Auntie Queenie!”
Just thinking of Wendy made him mad.
A “bad mom” could never compare to Auntie Queenie’s gentleness. Better no mom at all than a bad one!
Then he noticed something and his eyes went wide.
He blurted, guilty, “Who said you could eavesdrop on me and Auntie Queenie?”
Wendy stood there, a little pale, chest heaving as if her fury might burst forth any second.
She forced it down and managed a thin smile. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. You just didn’t notice I was here. But, Michael, I never imagined you’d be this kind of child. I bore you with great pain, and you wish another woman were your mother. Do you have any conscience at all?”
Guilt flickered across his eyes.
Just then, Steven came home.
He’d clearly heard the exchange. When his gaze slid over Wendy, it held no warmth.
“Michael’s telling the truth. What right do you have to be angry?”
“You know perfectly well what you did back then to break Queenie and me apart.”
Wendy bit her lip, unable to speak.
She had no way to defend herself.
She hadn’t done it–yet everyone believed she had.
Whatever she said, they would never believe her.
Eyes full of disappointment, she turned to go upstairs. Steven’s voice stopped her again.
“Later, help Queenie compile the Administrative Department’s work report and the materials for the hospital’s training events.”
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