The Housemaid Who Abused Me Wanted to Marry My Dad

Mom passed away moments after giving birth to my baby brother, Owen Blake. Overwhelmed by grief, Robert Blake left for work in South Africa, hiring a live-in nanny, Margaret Hale, to care for Owen and me. She treated Owen like the apple of her eye, while I, just a few years older, became their personal maid. Four years later, Robert finally returned, vowing to raise us himself. He even offered Margaret a hefty retirement payout to leave. But she refused to go, demanding status as his mother for raising Owen as her own. "Stella, Owen—Daddy's home!" The voice echoed from the doorway as I knelt by an icy basin, scrubbing Owen's clothes till my fingers ached. I looked up to see a face so like mine, yet strange after years apart. Ever since Mom bled out delivering Owen, grief swallowed Robert whole, and he barely came home. He'd hired Margaret to manage our household before vanishing into a faraway country, leaving behind only biannual phone calls and a framed photo of him and Mom on the table. When Robert saw my chapped, red hands, he froze. Then he dropped everything and rushed over, lifting my numb fingers from the freezing water. Anger flashed across his face. "Margaret, what's this? Why's my daughter washing clothes in icy water in winter's chill?" I tried to hush him, afraid she'd take it out on him, but he held me tight against his chest. In the living room, Margaret, lounging with imported fruit, jolted upright at his voice. She shot me a sharp glare, hastily hid the fruit behind a cushion, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Then, in an instant, she pasted on a syrupy smile and cooed as she approached. "Oh, Mr. Robert, it's all a misunderstanding! Stella dotes on her brother and insists on doing everything herself." "I've tried keeping her from chores, but she refuses! Says she wants to care for Owen personally." Robert's tension eased at her words, his eyes glistening as he stroked my hair. "I see... Ms. Margaret, thank you for looking after them all this time. I'll make sure to properly thank you on behalf of their mother." "Stella's grown into such a caring sister!" His chest was so warm, and I could feel sensation slowly returning to my frostbitten fingers. Just then, Owen, awakened by the commotion, emerged from the room, gaping at Robert like he was some stranger. "Owen, this is Daddy from the photos! Come say hello!" The chubby, rosy-cheeked boy clung timidly to Margaret's leg, hiding behind her. "His eyes... they're the spitting image of his mother's." Robert's eyes welled up, his lips trembling as he reached out to embrace Owen, only to send the boy wailing in fright. Ignoring Robert's open arms, Margaret smugly scooped Owen up herself, a sly gleam of victory in her sharp eyes. "Don't mind it, Mr. Robert. He's just clingy at this age. Give him a few days to adjust." "This is my fault. I failed to care for them properly... I can't even face their mother now." Robert hung his head low, swallowed by guilt as he looked between my gaunt frame and Owen's tear-streaked face. A thousand regrets stuck in his throat. Meanwhile, Margaret's beady eyes darted around. For years, she'd ruled this household with an iron fist, playing the lady of the house while Robert was away. Now, with his return, her grip on power was slipping. Panic set in as she imagined being cast out. She crushed Owen against her. This child would be her bargaining chip. Once he'd unpacked, Robert headed out again. "I'm meeting a friend about business. You both get some rest. Tomorrow, I'm taking you to the amusement park." Amusement park? I'd only ever heard stories about that place. Margaret had taken Owen multiple times, always insisting the tickets were too expensive to waste on a girl. "Really? I can go too?" "Of course! We'll have fun together after my meeting." My eyes instantly sparkled as I watched him rush out the door, already daydreaming about spinning on a carousel in a frilly princess dress. A harsh bark yanked me back to reality. "What' re you gawking at? Your dad's gone! Get Owen's clothes washed now!" "You think raising you two alone was easy? Owen sticks to me like glue because I've treated him as my own!" Margaret clutched Owen, tilting her chin up like a queen bossing around a lowly maid. In that moment, they looked like mother and child while I might as well have been the hired help. I never dared disobey. I trembled at the thought of nights with my stomach growling, of shivering in soaked clothes as punishment. Shrank when she'd hiss: If only you'd been born second, your brother first, your mother would still be breathing. "You worthless little! Dawdling like this was this whole pathetic act just for your father's benefit?" It was true. Paul White had told me after overhearing Margaret's phone call in the elevator. Before exiting, she'd threatened through gritted teeth: Breathe a word and you'll pay. He'd seen it all—her snapping orders, striking me whenever she pleased. No matter how often he'd stood up for me, nothing changed. "Listen, Robert pays you plenty. Even if you've got no heart for this girl, show some damn respect for her father!" Margaret's face twisted grotesquely, spit flying as she snarled, "Her mother's dead, her father fled abroad. Without me, she'd be six feet under with her mom!" "Who the hell gave you the right to meddle? Take this little nuisance off my hands if you care so much!" She waved the overpriced lobster and fancy organic crap in his face. "Could you even afford her breadcrumbs? Worry about putting food on your own damn table, pauper!" Paul's face darkened with anger, his fists tightening as he wrestled with his rage. With his whole family depending on his meager paycheck, just putting food on the table was hard enough. He knew he couldn't help me, and in the end, he had no choice but to stay out of it. But when he heard Robert was finally coming home, he couldn't wait to tell me. "Stella, with your father back, no one will dare push you around anymore." Yes, Robert was home. I had a father again. I wasn't going to take her abuse anymore. "What are you staring at?" she snapped. "Don't think your daddy's return changes anything! As long as I'm here, your father will still do as I say!" I stared straight into her eyes, unblinking, seeing the hunger in them. "What if you're not here much longer?" "What did you say?" Stunned that I would dare talk back, her face went pale. Her face twitched with rage as she jabbed a finger at me. "Robert Stella, you'd better know your place! You'd be nothing without me! How dare you mouth off?" "At the amusement park tomorrow, keep your mouth shut if you know what's best for you!" With that, she whirled around and marched to her room.