Chapter 5 Playing House
885 Words
Megan raised an eyebrow the moment she saw me. "Oh," she said lightly. "Claire's here."
I instinctively glanced down at myself. I was wearing a plain white T-shirt and faded jeans that looked almost worn out beside Megan's polished appearance. My gaze immediately shifted toward Simon.
"Why didn't you tell me..."
I never finished the sentence. His mother's expression had already darkened.
"What?" she snapped. "My grandson comes to visit his grandmother, and I need your permission first?"
She let out a mocking laugh. "Didn't realize you held such an important position in this family."
My face turned cold instantly, but Simon only frowned impatiently.
"Claire, Megan and I may be divorced, but we're still Tommy's parents," he said. "Don't make such a big deal out of this."
Megan smiled faintly before bending down to hand Simon a pair of slippers with effortless familiarity. "Yeah, Claire," she said gently. "Don't overthink it."
The moment I saw those slippers, my chest tightened. I had bought them myself a long time ago, a matching parent-child set. The pairs meant for me and Tessa were now sitting neatly on Megan's and Tommy's feet.
Simon seemed to notice my expression and frowned slightly before grabbing two disposable hotel slippers from the cabinet.
"Alright," he said casually. "Megan's a guest. Just wear these for now."
I didn't move. Before I could say anything, his mother impatiently jerked her chin toward the kitchen.
"What are you standing around for?" she demanded. "Go cook. Are you waiting for me to beg you?"
Her tone sounded so natural that anyone listening would have thought Megan was the daughter-in-law of the family while I was merely hired help. The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.
For years, I had taken her to hospital appointments every single month, rain or shine, handling her checkups and prescriptions without ever missing one. Yet no matter how much I did, she had never once looked at me kindly.
In her eyes, I was always the uncultured country girl who could never compare to Megan.
"Megan's so much better," she used to say constantly. "Local family, only daughter, respectable career. I honestly don't know what Simon was thinking back then."
If it weren't for Simon, I would have had a respectable career too. The thought stirred something sharp and restless inside my chest.
I had tolerated enough humiliation for one day. "I'm not cooking," I said coldly.
I saw his mother's expression tighten immediately, but before she could explode, Megan gently linked arms with her.
"I'll do it," she said with a smile. "I used to cook here all the time anyway."
His mother's face lit up instantly. "See?" she said smugly. "That's what a good woman looks like." Then she shot me a venomous glance before happily pulling Megan into the kitchen.
"I'll help too." Simon gave me a deeply disapproving look before following them inside.
I stared after him in silence.
In all the years I had known Simon, I had almost never seen him step into a kitchen. Yet tonight, he followed Megan in without hesitation.
I sat down quietly in the living room while Tessa remained beside me, clutching nervously at the edge of my shirt. Laughter drifted constantly from the kitchen, warm and lively in a way that made my chest feel colder with every passing second.
At some point, I heard Simon laughing as he promised Tommy a few more gaming consoles.
Beside me, Tessa lowered her head silently and rubbed her finger against the small patch sewn onto her sleeve.
When dinner was finally served, Simon instinctively picked up a shrimp, peeled it neatly, and placed it into Megan's bowl.
The moment he realized what he had done, he froze briefly before forcing out an awkward laugh.
"Habit," he explained quickly. "Sorry."
Megan blinked at me innocently before smiling. "Claire, you really are lucky," she said softly. "A man who peels shrimp for you, brings you gifts from every trip, and helps the kids with homework isn't easy to find."
Then she tilted her head slightly and laughed. "If I hadn't trained Simon so well back then, you wouldn't be enjoying any of this now."
"If you trained him so well," I asked calmly, "then why did you get divorced?"
The entire table fell silent.
Simon immediately frowned. "Claire," he warned quietly, "enough."
After dinner, Megan volunteered to wash the dishes, and Simon followed her into the kitchen without a second thought.
I stood there quietly for several seconds before suddenly realizing something. In my entire life, I had only seen Simon willingly enter a kitchen twice. This was the second time.
I carried my empty bowl toward the kitchen, but my footsteps stopped at the doorway.
The two of them stood side by side at the sink, laughing together with an ease and intimacy that no amount of pretending could hide.
Megan leaned closer and whispered something softly into Simon's ear, and almost instantly, the tips of his ears turned red. He looked exactly like a boy falling in love for the first time.
Behind me, his mother suddenly let out a dry chuckle.
"You know," she said meaningfully, "I think Simon was happiest when he was with Megan."
At that moment, something inside me finally turned cold for good.
- Writer
