Housewife Gone Wild

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

George took a sip of coffee. “Ms. Murphy has had a child and reached a certain age. Maturity was inevitable,” he said.

I glanced at George. He wasn’t wrong, but it was interesting he’d addressed me as “Ms. Murphy” rather than the casual “Victoria.”

Jared let out a tired sigh. “She was so easy when she was little. Now she’s a teenager who talks back constantly, and I don’t know how to deal with her anymore.”

Sandra smiled knowingly. “No one understands parenting like Victoria. She put her whole life on hold for six years to raise Yvonne–that kind of devotion shows.”

I smiled bitterly to myself. Morality wasn’t taught–it was something people were born with or without, plain as that.

Lunch was served amid pleasant conversation. Jared made a show of putting food on my plate–those carefully calculated husband gestures he’d mastered.

Sandra watched with undisguised envy while Wendell shoveled food into his mouth, completely oblivious.

Without Tracy, without Jared’s betrayal, I might have called this a happy marriage. But that illusion had shattered long ago.

After lunch, true to his word, Jared transferred the money. When he asked if I was going to the office that afternoon, I declined, saying I needed to visit the Harmonia Hotel site instead.

He arranged for his driver to take me while he left with George.

After six years of marriage, we’d settled into a comfortable routine–all the passion spent, our conversations as predictable as the tide.

Was this what happened to all marriages eventually? Or was ours uniquely empty?

*****

The Harmonia Hotel occupied two buildings in a prime location, though its aging facilities showed their years. While its reputation kept occupancy decent, the declining numbers spelled an inevitable end.

my inspection. I

I’d resolved to send her back to

returned for dinner in his usual suit, shrugging

from the hotel documents spread across

time when I’d rush to greet him, taking his coat to hang up

even shift on the couch. Jared waited a beat before taking his coat

called from the stairs. Then her voice turned sulky. “Mom won’t play with me. Is she really going back to work? But you promised she’d stay home with me

her words. When had Jared ever made

murmured. “You’re a big girl now with school and friends. You’ll have

1/3

to do”

Mom home. I’m still little, and

a smile when I

gave her my whole heart, all she wanted was to keep me prisoner in our home. Yvonne’s version

unreasonable,” Jared said sternly, realizing how self–absorbed his daughter had become–a clear parenting failure. “Your mother and

disregarded my words but perked up at her

You’re going to

when she saw the documents in my hands, she grabbed them with every intention of tearing

my hand connecting with her

Yvonne screamed.

day, and it stunned me. Jared and I were both

it clicked. Jared’s sister–my sister–in–law–had the same explosive temper. Maybe

thirty minutes,” I

a split second before crossing her

I knew I had

she

of regret. They said too much