No Longer Your Nanny

After getting married, I became a full-time housewife, devoting myself to supporting my husband and raising our children. But then my husband ended up giving my most prized jewelry design to a new female intern at his company. I confronted him, but he brushed me off, calling me petty and overly emotional. That intern shot to fame with my design, becoming a rising star in the jewelry world. She and my husband began appearing together at events, with the industry praising them as a match made in heaven. Even my son, Linden, grew close to her and began criticizing my lack of style, even asking me not to pick him up from school. Looking at this husband father and son, I packed my suitcase and left the house that no longer felt like mine. Later, they begged me to come back, but I just waved them off nonchalantly. "Whoever wants to play nanny can go back. I still have an award to collect at the jewelry exhibition!" ***** While cleaning the study, I noticed the safe beside the desk was left ajar. I rushed over to check if anything was missing. The cash and jewelry were all there, except for one jewelry design. It was my last work from when I was a jewelry designer. Back then, I was preparing to marry Leo, and he said we were both busy with work and hoped I could take care of the family after marriage. So I poured all my heart into finishing this design and quit my job. Life as a housewife was dull and boring. I was busy with trivial matters every day. Countless times, when I couldn't stand it, I would look at this design, recalling my fulfilling and exciting career, which was what kept me going. But now, the design was gone. I was feeling extremely down. It was at this time that Leo came home from work. He called out from the doorway, "Honey, is dinner ready? Hurry up, I have to go back to work overtime after eating!" Linden also shouted, "Mom, I'm starving! Isn't dinner ready yet?" I walked out with my head down and silently brought out the steaming food from the kitchen. "Help me get the bowls and chopsticks," I said. The father and son sat on the sofa like masters, completely ignoring me. I slammed the dishes onto the table. Leo glanced at me and patted Linden's shoulder, signaling him to come to the table. Linden reluctantly went to get the plates and knives and forks, muttering, "Staying at home all day with nothing better to do, and still throwing a tantrum..." Linden picked at his food with his chopsticks, frowning. "Mom, why do you use so much oil in your cooking? It's unhealthy. The light meal Rosy made last time was so much better..." "Hurry up and eat!" Leo interrupted him, glancing nervously at me. Seeing that I didn't react, he relaxed. I was still thinking about the missing design and had no appetite. I picked at my food absentmindedly, but I couldn't help but say to Leo, "Honey, I think we might have had a thief. The safe was open..." "What?" Leo jumped up and rushed to the study. Upon seeing the open safe, he frantically checked its contents. "The money and jewelry are all there. That's good, that's good. Nothing's missing." He let out a sigh of relief. “But my design is gone." Tears welled up in my eyes. "Oh, you mean that." Leo looked like I was making a fuss. "Then you were worried for nothing. There was no thief. I took it. I probably forgot to lock the safe last time. I thought it was unnecessary to keep that old design in there, taking up space, so I took it out." He said it casually. I took a deep breath, trying to suppress my anger. "Fine, it doesn't have to be in the safe. Then give it back to me, and I'll find another place for it." Leo looked up at me and said indifferently, "I gave it to the new female intern in our company's design department." Hearing this, I couldn't bear it anymore and raised my voice, "That design is mine! Shouldn't you have asked me before giving it away?" Leo frowned at me. "Why are you so angry today? It's just a ten-year-old design. You're not a jewelry designer anymore, what use is it to you? It's better to give it to a newcomer who can learn from it!" I felt a sharp pain in my chest from the anger swelling inside me. That design was my life's work, carrying my dreams and career. But now, he had given it away so easily! Tears streamed down my face. "Leo, how could you..." Leo looked impatient. "Okay, stop making a fuss, will you? I'm exhausted after a long day at work and need to go back for overtime. Don't blow this out of proportion. Let’s just eat. Linden is still waiting!" "You two can eat. I'm not in the mood!" I said coldly, going into the room and slamming the door shut. I vaguely heard Linden ask outside, "What's wrong with Mom?" Leo's indifferent reply, "Ignore her; she's just being unreasonable!" I buried my head in the pillow and cried my heart out. This wasn't the first time. They always easily destroyed the things I cherished and then righteously accused me of being petty. Once, I had proudly displayed my trophies on the shelf, but Linden grabbed them to play with, swinging them around carelessly. Leo didn't stop him but laughed along with him. Finally, Linden broke a trophy, and I threw a big fit. He then hugged Linden and accused me of overreacting and scaring the child. My once-proud career as a jewelry designer meant nothing to Leo. In front of Linden, he always glossed over my past achievements and emphasized how busy and hard he worked. So Linden always thought that I was a housewife who relied on his father for support, someone who could only do housework and nothing else. He didn't show much respect for me in his words. And when I wanted to tell Linden about my past, he would wave his little hand impatiently. "Mom, I have to do my homework, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense." I didn't know when it started, but the rift between me and this father and son had grown wider and wider.