I’d never done anything so rebellious.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I was still dazed.<\/p>\n
“…Huh?”<\/p>\n
“Dress up beautifully. Stop revolving around your husband and sons.”<\/p>\n
“Have your own hobbies, your own life. Find a boy who can make you happy.”<\/p>\n
My mother sat behind her massive desk, tapping the surface with her index<\/p>\n
finger.<\/p>\n
“Annabel, choose: be a princess or a nanny.”<\/p>\n
“Remember, this is your only chance.”<\/p>\n
“Miss it, and I won’t help you again. We won’t see each other again either.”<\/p>\n
She meant what she said.<\/p>\n
When I stubbornly married Caleb, she didn’t take my calls for five years.<\/p>\n
She even went to Europe alone and had a sister twenty-five years my junior.<\/p>\n
My mother stated plainly: I was a lost cause. She needed to start a new one<\/p>\n
in time.<\/p>\n
She couldn’t hand over the vast family business to a foolish daughter like<\/p>\n
me.<\/p>\n
Her aura was intense. I’d always been afraid of her.<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t have sought her out if I weren’t desperate.<\/p>\n
I felt unsure. “Mom, can I think about it?”<\/p>\n
She pointed to the office door.<\/p>\n
“You have 24 hours. After that, the offer’s gone. Now get out. I have a<\/p>\n
meeting.”<\/p>\n
She clearly didn’t want to talk anymore.<\/p>\n
On the way back, I kept thinking about what she said.<\/p>\n
She said the reason she opposed my marriage to Caleb was his privileged<\/p>\n
background\u2014he was the youngest child, spoiled rotten.<\/p>\n
People like that are used to taking and often don’t know how to cherish.<\/p>\n
Plus, she’d privately investigated.<\/p>\n
Caleb started changing girlfriends frequently in high school.<\/p>\n
I was just blinded by his looks and attentiveness, dead set on marrying him.<\/p>\n
Had to admit, my mother was prescient.<\/p>\n
Walking in, I found the house lively.<\/p>\n
Caleb was back, and he’d brought someone.<\/p>\n
A ridiculously cute girl in a white dress, shoulder-length blonde hair, sweet<\/p>\n
smile.<\/p>\n
She was curled up on the sofa I’d carefully chosen.<\/p>\n
My two sons were snuggled on either side. Caleb sat nearby looking at files<\/p>\n
on his tablet.<\/p>\n
From my angle, they looked like a perfect family.<\/p>\n
But only I knew our family of four hadn’t had a leisurely meal together in a<\/p>\n
very, very long time.<\/p>\n
On his rare days off, he was always in his study.<\/p>\n
The kids didn’t like going out with me either.<\/p>\n
They said I was always nagging, too annoying.<\/p>\n
Now, even usually quiet Noah was excitedly holding Sophia’s hand.<\/p>\n
“Sophia, you’re amazing! You actually beat that hardest game level. My mom<\/p>\n
can’t do it.”<\/p>\n
The girl named Sophia smiled, eyes crinkling.<\/p>\n
“Of course! I was the main player in my college gaming club.”<\/p>\n
Caleb handed her a cup of warm milk.<\/p>\n
“Alright, drink some milk first. Don’t want a stomachache later.”<\/p>\n
“Annabel will be back soon. She’ll cook. Her roasted ribs are delicious. You’ll<\/p>\n
love them.”<\/p>\n
They chatted easily, as if I weren’t the lady of the house, but a servant.<\/p>\n
I looked at the haggard, sallow face reflected in the entryway mirror.<\/p>\n
Almost instinctively, I threw the grocery bags on the floor and ran out.<\/p>\n
I wished I could run faster.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, I drove frantically to my mother’s Beverly Hills<\/p>\n
mansion.<\/p>\n
I rushed in, voice trembling.<\/p>\n
“Mom, help me!”<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to be a frumpy housewife anymore. I’ll listen to everything you<\/p>\n
say.”<\/p>\n
My mother put down her coffee cup.<\/p>\n
Walked over and slapped me hard across the face.<\/p>\n
“Hurt, Annabel?”<\/p>\n
I stammered, “A bit.”<\/p>\n
“Good. Remember this: that slap was for wasting five years of your youth on<\/p>\n
the wrong person.”<\/p>\n
“You made a huge mistake. Now you need someone to clean up your mess.<\/p>\n
Face reality.”<\/p>\n
“Starting tomorrow, go see Assistant Lena.”<\/p>\n
“She’ll help transform you from this sorry state into a truly radiant woman.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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