Between Duty And Desire

chapter 5

Hailey

“Why does this whole house look a mess, where is Hailey, or did she finally dump you too?” I hear my mother-in-law’s sharp voice echo through the sitting room, filled with mockery as she questions my husband.

“No, Hailey isn’t feeling too well. I already hired a housekeeper, she will be here tomorrow,” Raymond replies calmly.For a moment, I freeze in the hallway, since when does Raymond defend me?

My mother-in-law has never hidden her dislike for me, from the very day I moved into this house, she made it her mission to remind me I didn’t belong. She called me a gold digger, worse than Raymond’s ex, a woman I am sure she clearly doesn’t like. She claimed I was only here to drain whatever was left of his life. She never whispered these words behind me, she say it in my presence.

I step into the room, keeping my voice even. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Baldwin.”

She had once insisted I address her the formal way, never “mom” or anything remotely affectionate. As expected, she throws me one of her irritated looks, like the sight of me offends her.

“What’s the point of you being in this house if you can’t even take care of it? Look around everything is filthy,” she snaps, her eyes darting around the living room with exaggerated disgust.

“Mom,” Raymond interrupts, his tone show is irritated with her questions, “I just said Hailey isn’t feeling well, I will clean it myself.”

I blink at him, uncertain I heard correctly, he was really defending me against his mother? My husband who acts like he is not in the room when she throws her jabs, Is he drunk? That’s the only explanation I can think of.

Before I can dwell on it further, he moves closer, his hand unexpectedly warm as he takes mine. “Go upstairs and rest,” he says softly. “I already hired a housekeeper, she will be here tomorrow. Go, I will bring your food upstairs.”

I stare at him, searching for cracks in this sudden performance, it has been over a week since we spoke like a normal people, over a week of nothing but heated arguments that left me drained and tired. And I never once told him I wasn’t feeling well not since the night he abandoned me at the restaurant. So why this sudden show of concern, Who is he trying to fool?

Still, I can’t deny the relief, if his “act” means I won’t have to fight another pointless battle or scrub the house under his mother’s hawk like gaze. Without another word, I turn and retreat upstairs to the quiet of my room.

The silence pulls me into sleep, but hours later I’m stirred awake by a knock. My door opens, and there stands Raymond, balancing a tray of food in one hand and a gift bag in the other.

For a second, I wonder if I was dreaming, my husband, the man who barely acknowledges my existence actually brought dinner to my room.

“I’m sorry it’s late,” he says, setting the tray down with surprising care. “I had to wait until Mom left. Are you feeling any better?” His voice is softer than I’ve heard in a long time.

“I’m fine,” I answer cautiously, my eyes flicking from the tray to the gift bag. “But what’s all this about?”

He picks up the bag and hands it to me, his lips curling into a smile. “I just thought, maybe we should start over, Hailey. I have been too hard on myself, on you, on us. You have carried this marriage alone, and I can see how exhausted you are. I want to try again, I want to do better this time.”

My heart pounds, but my mind doesn’t follow, I study him closely, try to see if there is anything suspicious about this gesture.

“What’s the catch?” I ask, narrowing my eyes as I reach into the gift bag.

My fingers close around a sleek box, and I slowly pull it out. The moment I open it, my breath catches in my throat. My eyes widen at the sight inside.