Betrayed by her husband

LLOUIS'S POV Today was Thomas's first day of school after a long summer holiday and I got there early like I always did, waiting to pick him up. I spotted my little Thomas and I waved for him to come. He looked up, saw me, and didn't wave back. I stretched my hands again, "Thomas! Baby, I'm here." He was standing with his teacher, Mrs. Carter. She looked up at me, not letting go of his hands. "That's not my mum," he said to Mrs. Carter. "She's our nanny." For a moment, I found it hard to breathe. Mrs. Carter looked at me with an awkward smile "Is that true? Are you the nanny?" "No." My voice came out shaky. "I'm his mother. Louisa Yale. He's my son." "I'm sorry Mrs. Yale" She paused. "Is everything alright at home?" "Yes. Everything is fine." I took Thomas's bag and we walked to the car. I didn't say anything yet. I needed a second to collect myself. Why would my own son refer to me as his nanny? As I drove off the school's premises, I gazed at Thomas through the rearview mirror. Swallowing deeply as I was tempted to ask him questions. "Thomas.” I called. “Why did you tell your teacher I was the nanny?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Daddy said so." Again my heart sank. My husband Manuel told our son I was his nanny. Why would he say such a thing to our son? "What else did daddy say?" "He called you a live-in house wife. He said all you do is cook and clean and take care of the house. Like a nanny." I heard Thomas say. My eyes were already clouded with tears, hurting and stinging. I left my job for this family. I stayed home because we both agreed it was the right thing. He said he loved me and didn't want me to work. All I had to do was take care of his child. Then why would he say such hurtful things about me to our son. "Thomas." I tried to look calm. "I quit my job so I could take care of you and your dad. That doesn't make me a nanny. I'm your mother." Thomas didn't say anything, so I started the car. "Can we go to the play park?" Thomas asked. "You have homework." I replied. I watched him slump in his seat, folding his hands in rage. "Aunty Tiffany never says no to me. I like her better than you." I gripped the steering wheel tightly. What has my stepsister got to do with this? Tiffany Yale was my step sister who somehow became Manuel's secretary. She had been coming around my house so often I'd lost count. And now Thomas liked her better than me. I didn't say anything as he spoke. But my heart was betrayed. Now my son hates me. He thinks my step sister is better than I am. "Do your homework first then we can plan all through the evening." "Will aunt Tiffany be coming today? I miss her." His face went gloomy. I don't understand why he has changed so much-he used to love being with me. The ride home was in silence, and when we arrived home and I opened the front door I heard her voice before I saw her. Tiffany was in my kitchen. Standing there with a cup in her hand, like she lived here. "Aunt Tiff!" Thomas yelled, running into her arms. They hugged and laughed and he held onto her tight. I stood there and watched my son hug another woman the way he used to hug me. He didn't reach for me like that anymore. Not for a long time now. And watching him with Tiffany, so happy, it hurt me so much. "Thomas, go upstairs and change." He pulled back from Tiffany and looked at me. "No. I want to stay with Aunt Tiffany." "Thomas," "I'll take him up," Tiffany said. She smiled at me. "Come on Tommy, let's go." "Yay!" He grabbed her hand. "Thomas." My voice came out firmer. "I said go upstairs." He looked at Tiffany. "It's okay," she said to him softly. "Let's just go up quickly." As they went upstairs his little voice went on and on. He didn't look back at me once. Driven by a sudden surge of adrenaline, I followed them upstairs. But as I reached the landing, I passed the half-open door to Thomas's balcony. I froze as I heard my stepsister’s voice drop to a conspiratorial whisper. "I wish you were my real mother," Thomas murmured to her. Tiffany stroked his cheek, her eyes gleaming. "I will be your mother soon, Tommy. Just give it a little more time." Fury blinded me. I pushed the door fully open. "What are you doing? Why are you poisoning my son's mind?!" Tiffany didn't even flinch. She gave a low laugh. "The boy just has good taste, Louisa. He takes after his father." I looked at her. "What do you mean by that?" Since the day Tiffany came into my life as my step sister I've never been happy. My parents loved her more, gave her lots of attention and I got punished for something she did. The only reason she's Manuel's secretary is because father threatened to stop my wedding with Manuel. He knew that I was madly in love with Manuel and was willing to do anything for him. What I never expected was for Tiffany to try poisoning my son's mind against me. Thinking about all of it, a hot feeling moved in my chest. "Get out of my house!" I screamed, raising my hand in sheer desperation to push her away from the boy. I didn't know what I was going to do, yet, I raised my hands up. But before I could react, Tiffany stepped forward and shoved me. My heel caught on the rug. My body flew back, and the back of my skull collided violently with the concrete wall. A sickening crack echoed in my ears. Pain exploded through my head, blinding and white-hot. "What's going on here?" Manuel’s voice boomed as he stepped out of the adjacent master bathroom, a towel slung around his waist. "Daddy!" Thomas sobbed, running to him. "Mummy tried to hurt Aunt Tiffany! She went crazy!" Tiffany immediately clung to Manuel’s chest, weeping softly. "It's my fault, Manuel... I shouldn't have provoked her. She's been so unstable lately." Manuel wrapped a protective arm around Tiffany, glaring at me with icy, empty brown eyes. He didn't ask if I was okay. He didn't even look at the wall where I was currently slumping down, trying to hold onto consciousness. "Get her out of here, Tiffany. Let's go downstairs," Manuel muttered coldly. I stood right there, tears fell from my eyes. Manuel had said nothing to me or asked for my side of the story. Even my son rejected me. They walked away, leaving me alone on the floor. I raised a trembling hand to the back of my head. When I pulled my fingers back, they were covered in thick, dark blood. “The room spun, the edges of my vision turned black, and I collapsed into the dark”.