Husband Made Mom Nurse His Ex's Mother; I Ruined Him

After the baby was born, my mom deliberately turned down her work to come take care of me.

I'd barely finished my postpartum month when my husband brought his ex-wife's mother into the house.

Honey, I've noticed Mom really knows how to look after people. She's taken great care of you and the baby this whole month.

"It just so happens Mila Henson's mother isn't in good health and needs someone to care for her, and Mila's usually too busy with work to do it."

"I figured you're out of your postpartum month now, so Mom won't be as busy, and looking after one more person shouldn't be a big deal. So I brought her over."

I stared at him, unable to believe it.

"My mom came to take care of me because I'm her daughter. She's not a nanny. Why on earth would she wait on a stranger?"

Clarence Fox's brow furrowed.

"She was family to me once. How can you call her a stranger?"

Then he went right on assigning the rooms as if it were already settled.

"Her health is bad, she needs proper rest, so she should have the master bedroom."

"Mila already told me she'll come see her mother once a week, so we have to keep the second bedroom for her."

"I need the study for work, that can't change. For now the two of us will just make up a floor bed in the living room with the baby."

Without thinking, I asked, "Then where does my mom sleep?"

Only then did he seem to remember something.

He was quiet for a moment, then his eyes drifted toward the balcony.

"How about we just put Mom on the balcony? There's exactly enough room out there for a folding bed."

I stood frozen, looking at the faint guilt on his face, and said coldly.

"And if I say no?"

"..."

Clarence's face darkened at once.

"Antonia Swanson, when did you become so heartless?"

"She's old, she's not well, she's only staying with us for a little while. Do you really have to nickel-and-dime over this?"

I stared at him, almost laughing from anger.

"I'm the one nickel-and-diming?"

"You bring your ex-wife's mother into my home, make my mom wait on her, and want me and a one-month-old baby to sleep in the living room, and now I'm the one with no compassion?"

Clarence looked impatient.

"We're husband and wife. Shouldn't we share the load when something comes up?"

"Besides, I've already worked it all out. Are you going to make a scene and leave everyone with no way to save face?"

I was about to speak when the kitchen door opened.

My mom came out carrying the chicken soup she'd just finished, her forehead damp with sweat.

She'd clearly heard us arguing, and her eyes were full of worry.

"Antonia, don't be upset. You just got out of your postpartum month, be careful you don't make yourself sick."

Then she turned to Clarence.

"Clarence, if you're really that worried, then let Mila's mother move in."

"Anywhere is fine for me. The balcony's nice, it's bright, and I can look out at the view."

My nose stung sharply.

My mom was saying it so I wouldn't be put in a bad spot.

But Clarence didn't feel she'd been wronged at all. If anything, he looked relieved.

"See, Mom's reasonable about it."

"Honey, you should learn from her instead of only ever thinking about yourself."

My mom's face stiffened, and she set the chicken soup down on the table.

"But Antonia and the baby can't sleep in the living room."

"The baby's only a month old, he can't catch a chill at night, and Antonia hasn't recovered yet. The master bedroom has to go to the two of them."

"Mila's mother, whatever else you say, is just a guest. The second bedroom is fine for her."

"And when Mila comes to visit her mother, the two of them can squeeze in together and have their time to talk."

Sitting on the sofa, Mila's mother suddenly pressed a hand to her chest and coughed twice, softly.

"This is all my fault."

"With this useless body of mine, anywhere's the same. If it's really too much trouble, I'll just go."

She started to rise, and the moment she was on her feet, her knees buckled.

Clarence rushed to steady her.

"Ma'am, don't strain yourself."

She waved him off.

"I'm just afraid of being a burden to you all."

"I thought you were a good, devoted son, willing to look after me for a few days. I never expected it would upset your wife."

Instantly Clarence's heart went out to her, and he turned to glare at me and my mom.

"She needs peace and quiet, she has to have a room of her own."

"Mila's worn out from work, and she comes over once a week. Surely she can't be left without even a place to sleep."

I let out a cold laugh.

"Doesn't she have her own home?"

"Since when did this place become her mother's house?"

Clarence's expression turned uglier.

"It's only a few nights. Do you have to put it in such ugly terms?"

"You're out of your postpartum month already. What could possibly be wrong with your body?"

"Lay the living room floor a little thicker. What's the harm in a few nights on a floor bed?"

"Other women get up and do chores during their postpartum month. What makes you so precious?"

His voice startled the baby, who suddenly began to cry.

I quickly picked him up.

My mom dropped the argument too and came over to help me check his diaper.

The two of us were busy fussing over the baby, while Clarence eased Mila's mother into a seat, fetching a cushion, pouring warm water.

I never once saw that kind of attentiveness during my own postpartum month.

There was a time I had a fever of a hundred and two and asked him to hold the baby for a while.

He said he had a meeting the next day, put in his earplugs, and went to sleep.

Now Mila's mother coughed twice and he was beside himself with worry.

I patted the baby and slowly pressed my feelings back down.

"I won't give up the master bedroom."

"And my mom won't sleep on the balcony."

"If you want to be the dutiful son, take her to a hotel. You pay, you take care of her."

Right then the door lock beeped with the sound of someone entering the code.

A few soft clicks, and the door opened.

Mila wheeled a suitcase in.

My heart dropped.

"How do you know the code to my home?"

Mila raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Clarence took her coat from her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I gave it to her."

"She's here to see her mother. The code makes it easier."

I let out a bitter laugh.

"So you handed our door code to your ex-wife without even mentioning it to me?"

Clarence frowned at me.

"It's just a code. Don't blow it out of proportion."

Mila sat down beside Rachel and glanced at the soup on the table.

She covered her nose at once and looked at my mother.

"My mom has high cholesterol. She can't have anything this greasy."

"Now that there's a sick person in the house, the cooking should account for her health."

"Ma'am, be more careful next time."

My voice went cold. "My mother made that for me. If your mother wants something, she can make it herself."

Mila looked over at Clarence.

"Your wife has quite the temper."

Clarence lowered his voice and scolded me. "Mila's just worried about her mom. What's wrong with saying a few words?"

"Since Mom's cooking anyway, being a little more careful isn't any trouble."

Mila let it drop and turned to scan the living room, then frowned again.

"Why is the place such a mess?"

"My mother's not well. She needs a clean environment to recover."

"Clarence, why haven't you hired a cleaner?"

Clarence looked around, and to my disbelief, he nodded.

"It is a bit messy."

"Mom, you're home all day with nothing much to do. Couldn't you tidy up a little while you're at it?"

"Mila's mother isn't well. Seeing all this clutter affects her mood."

My mother froze where she stood, at a loss.

That was it. I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Clarence, my mother takes care of me and the baby. She cooks three meals a day and gets up in the night to help too."

"She's a person, not a machine. How is she supposed to cover everything?"

"And you? You come home, drop onto the couch, never change a single diaper, never mix a single bottle. When the baby cries, all you do is call for me."

"If the mess bothers you so much, clean it yourself."

Clarence couldn't keep his face together.

"Whose mother doesn't do all this when she comes to help with the newborn?"

"Why is it some big favor only when it's your family?"

My mother quickly grabbed my arm.

"Antonia, stop arguing."

"You just came out of recovery. Getting worked up is bad for you."

She bent down and started gathering the little clothes off the couch.

"It's my fault for not tidying up. I'll clean it now."

"It'll be spotless in no time."

I watched her bent back, and something in my chest closed up until I could barely breathe.

My father died young. She was proud and stubborn, and she raised my brother and me on her own.

And now, for my sake, she was bowing her head in front of Clarence and Mila.

I caught the clothes out of her hands.

"Mom, don't."

"Whoever thinks it's dirty can clean it."

Mila leaned back against the couch and laughed out loud.

"Clarence, looks like life after your remarriage isn't much better."

She stood and walked up to me.

"Antonia, don't get too pleased with yourself."

"If I could have had children, and Clarence's family hadn't been so against it, do you think he'd have divorced me?"

"You're nothing but a tool he found to have a baby!"

I turned to look at Clarence.

"Is what she said true?"

He wouldn't meet my eyes.

"It's all in the past. Why bring it up now?"

Watching him, my throat went tight.

When Clarence was chasing me, I knew he'd been divorced. He'd told me plainly that he didn't want to step into a relationship that wasn't over.

He'd held my hand and said the divorce was because he and his ex-wife had no feelings left, that they simply couldn't go on.

That from then on, he'd be devoted only to me.

After the wedding, he pushed me to start trying for a baby, saying his parents were getting old and wanted a grandchild soon.

Once I was pregnant, he told everyone he finally had a family.

So it turned out what his "family" had been missing was never a wife.

Only a child.

Suddenly I felt ridiculous.

"So you lied to me."

Clarence shot me an impatient look.

"That was ages ago. What's the point of dragging it up?"

"I'm married to you now, we have a kid, and you insist on clinging to the past. Is there any point to that?"

"The reason Mila and I divorced is complicated. It can't be explained in one sentence. But you, I really"

Rachel suddenly clutched her chest and slumped onto the couch.

"Mila, it hurts."

Mila shrieked and threw herself down to hold her up.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Rachel gasped, struggling for breath.

"Clarence, don't blame your wife. I shouldn't have come."

"She just had a baby. It's normal for her to be short-tempered."

"I'll go. I'll go right now. I can't be the reason you two get divorced."

Clarence snapped, whirling around to unload on me.

"Happy now?"

"If you push her into a real health crisis, can you carry that?"

I just picked up my phone.

"If it's that serious, I'll call an ambulance."

"Get her to the hospital for an EKG and bloodwork. Let's not waste time."

Something like panic flickered in Rachel's eyes.

"No need."

"My condition is always like this. I'll be fine after some rest."

I opened the dialer.

"That won't do."

"If there really is something wrong, who's going to answer for it?"

"Might as well get a full workup, and let the doctor decide whether she truly needs absolute peace and quiet."

Mila snatched the phone out of my hand.

"Antonia, what are you getting at?"

"Are you saying my mom is faking?"

"I didn't say it. You did."

Rachel clutched her chest at once, her body sliding toward the floor.

"I don't want to live anymore."

"Living under someone else's roof, and still humiliated like this."

"Clarence, take me home. At least I can die clean in my own house."

Mila swung her hand at my face.

"If anything happens to my mom, I'm not done with you!"

Before the slap landed, my mother caught her wrist.

"Don't you dare bully my daughter!"

Mila yanked twice and couldn't get free.

"Let go!"

Clarence rushed over and shoved my mother.

"Mom, Mila's just worried about her own mother. Can you stop making things worse!"

My mother lost her footing, and the back of her head slammed into the wall.

She didn't even make a sound. She just dropped to the floor.

"Mom!"

I threw myself down and held her.

Her eyes were shut, and no matter how I called her, she didn't respond.

Clarence froze, then took a step forward.

"Is she"

But Mila was crying out behind him: "Clarence, my mom passed out!"

Clarence turned at once and lifted Rachel into his arms.

"I'm taking her to the hospital."

I clung to the hem of his shirt with everything I had.

"My mom is hurt too. Take her with us!"

Clarence flung my hand off.

"Your mom does all that work every day, she's perfectly healthy. Don't go copying people, faking sick for sympathy."

"Get out of the way, now!"

"If anything happens to Rachel, neither you nor your mother can bear the blame!"

With that, he charged out with Rachel in his arms.

I called for an ambulance right away.

When it arrived, I climbed in with the baby in my arms.

The doctor checked my mother's pupils and blood pressure, then asked how she'd fallen.

I opened my mouth a few times before I could say it: my husband pushed her.

The doctor glanced at me and said nothing more.

At the hospital, they took my mother in for tests.

I sat in the corridor, the baby asleep in my arms after crying himself out, my clothes still smelling of chicken soup.

Mila had knocked that pot over on her way out the door.

The soup had spread across the floor, and no one cleaned it up.

Just like this marriage of mine.

I'd always believed that if I just endured a little, gave way a little, things would smooth out over time.

But some people don't soften because you back down.

They only decide you can back down further.

The results came back. It was only soft-tissue bruising and a mild concussion.

The doctor said she'd need to stay for observation to rule out delayed bleeding.

Only when I heard there was no real danger did the breath I'd been holding finally release.

That was when I remembered to call my brother, Percy Swanson.

He was at the hospital in under half an hour.

He looked at the figure in the bed, his face frighteningly dark.

"Who did this?"

I didn't hide anything from him.

From Clarence bringing Mila's mother into the house, to him making us sleep in the living room, to Mila raising her hand and Clarence shoving people, I told him all of it, leaving nothing out.

When he'd heard it all, he turned and headed for the door.

I grabbed him fast.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Clarence."

"He dared to lay hands on Mom. I'm finishing him today."

"Percy, don't."

He whipped around.

"After all this, you're still protecting him?"

"I'm not protecting him."

I pulled the baby tighter against me.

"You go beat him now, sure, it'll feel good, but the second he calls the police, we're the ones in the wrong."

"Mom's still lying in this hospital. I can't have something happen to you too."

He stared at me for a few seconds, then sat down, holding his temper in.

"So what do you want to do?"

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed a few times.

It was a message from Clarence.

Mila's still with her mother for tests. Have Mom get the master bedroom and the second bedroom cleaned up right away. They'll be moving in the moment they're back.

Especially the second bedroom where your mother stayed. Replace everything that can be replaced.

Toss the sheets, the duvet covers, the pillows. Anything that can't be tossed, disinfect it.

Mila's a germaphobe. She doesn't like using things other people have used.

Then he added one more.

Don't throw a tantrum. It has to be done tonight.

From start to finish, not one line asking how my mother was.

Percy snatched the phone from me.

When he'd read it, the veins at his temple stood out.

"He put Mom in the hospital, and he wants her to go back and change the sheets for his ex-wife?"

"This animal actually treats our mom like a servant?"

"Antonia, just wait. I swear I'll"

"Percy."

I pressed my hand over his.

"You asked me just now what I want to do."

"I've made up my mind now. But I need your help."

When I finished, his expression shifted from fury to a cold smile.

"Fine. Leave it to me."

"You just stay here and take good care of Mom."

After my mother woke and the doctor confirmed she'd be all right, I took her and the baby back to my parents' place.

The moment I stepped through the door, Clarence's call came through, his voice full of rage:

"Antonia, where did you go? Get back here now!"

"What the hell happened at the house?!"