When Home Becomes A Nightmare

a full maternity leave was a luxury I couldn't afford. That' s why I hired Ms. Jenkins, a live-in nanny who came highly recommended from a l

home, I felt a strange shift in the air. I was sh

and modern furniture not with admiration, but with a kind of judgment. "It

ignoring the sligh

ners, Ms. Jenkins. Your fo

pressed into a thin line. The res

g peacefully in her bassinet beside my desk. Ms. Jenkins walked in without kn

he declared, her voice low but firm. "A man should be the one

ckly, my patience a

for your salary. My husband, Mark, is a high

sound. "A man who lets his wife work so hard

as momentarily stunned. This wasn't just a difference

rought it up again, thi

ul homemaker. Her husband left her, poor thing, but she knows how to keep a man happy. Sh

omfortable smile. The seed of a terrible idea was being planted, and I felt a chill

b wasn't ours; it was mine. I bought it with cash from the sale of my first company, long before I even met Mark. His teaching job, which he constantly complained

ns trying to feed Lily a spoonful o

on away from her. The pediatrician was very clear:

ely unrepentant. "This is how we did it back home. You city people wit

ice shaking with anger. "You will follow my rules and the doct

o back down. For the first

e I was having my coffee. Her eyes were

I don' t know any better. It' s just... seeing you and your perfect family, it reminds me of my own Tiffany. She

to make me feel guilty. But looking at her tear-streaked face, a small part of me softened. Maybe sh