Chapter 1 — The Wife Was Treated As A Nanny

Eight year old son comes home from school. While he was taking a shower, his phone rang. It was my husband, who was working overtime, sending it a text message.
“Son, quickly see if your mother is home.”
I laughed, thinking that today was our wedding anniversary, Luc Nham wanted to give me a surprise. So I pretended to be confused and replied in a boy's tone:
"Mom's not home, she probably went to buy food to celebrate her parents' wedding anniversary."
But the next second, Luc Nham's answer made my whole body cold.
"Then quickly run down, let's go eat with Aunt Nhien Nhien."
“Don't you like Aunt Nhien Nhien the most?”
I was stunned. Giang Nhien is the new assistant that Luc Nham recruited. I stared at the screen, still unable to recover for a long time. Luc Nham seemed impatient.
“Dong Dong?”
“You don't want Aunt Nhien Nhien to be your mother anymore?”
My fingers started shaking. Hearing the sound of running water in the bathroom, my head was pounding. Hesitating for a few seconds, fearing Luc Nham's suspicion, I tremblingly answered a few words:
“Okay, I'll be down now.”
Almost at the same time, Luc Nham sent me WeChat.
"Sorry, I can't be with you on your wedding anniversary. The company has a big project, tonight we have to stay up late to work on a plan."
“I'll eat dinner myself.”
I looked at the large table of food that I had been busy all day preparing, and suddenly wanted to laugh. It turned out that this whole table of food was made just for me. Also good. After that, I made it myself and ate it by myself. …… When Luc Dong Dong came out of the bathroom, I put the clock back to its original place. His hair is still wet. As soon as it saw me, it frowned.
“Mom, why are you so dumb, quickly dry my hair!”
“Really, there's no sense at all.”
Almost by muscular reflex, I stood up and walked over, but the moment I picked up the towel, I stopped. I remembered the previous conversation history between it and Luc Nham in the watch. Every sentence is related to Giang Nhien. When he encountered a difficult lesson in class, he texted Luc Nham to complain:
“Dad, the homework is so difficult.”
"I wish Aunt Nhien Nhien were here. She's a genius, elementary school homework is just a small thing to her."
“It's not like the people in that house, so stupid.”
Luc Nham didn't refute a word, just sent it a meme, a helpless, bitter smile. On the way home from school, he complained again:
“I really hope Aunt Nhien Nhien can come pick me up.”
"Aunt Nhien Nhien is so beautiful, unlike the person next to her, she's not delicate at all."
At that time, I was next to him, helping him carry his school bag, one hand carrying the food he had just bought from the market, the other hand holding an umbrella to protect him from the sun, and I was so hot that I was sweating profusely. But he looked at the picture of Giang Nhien that Luc Nham sent him and smiled stupidly, imagining that that person was his mother. Last time, he secretly took my phone and loaded money into the game, and I lectured him a bit. He also texted Luc Nham:
“I really have had enough of this housewife.”
"It's clear that you're not doing anything at home, just living like a parasite, but you still have the face to teach your children?"
“Dad, to be honest, I really want Aunt Nhien Nhien to be my mother.”
“When will Dad divorce Mom and marry Aunt Nhien Nhien?”
This time, Luc Nham finally spoke up.
"Dong Dong, be good, don't talk nonsense."
A little warmth arose in my heart, I thought Luc Nham still had some conscience. But I saw that Luc Nham immediately sent another sentence:
"Aunt Nhien Nhien's hands are so soft, how can she do heavy work like your mother?"
Thinking of these things, I put down the towel in my hand and watched as the water droplets in Luc Dong Dong's hair dripped down his face, blurring his eyes. It turned out that my hardships and sacrifices, in their eyes, were nowhere near as good as Giang Nhien. If that's the case, just let Giang Nhien come and serve them. Luc Dong Dong waited for a long time, but when he saw me not moving, his tightly closed eyes opened slightly. As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was impatient:
"Wipe it! I'm so speechless, my movements are so slow it's so slow!"
“I'll remind you first, if I catch a cold, don't regret it!”
"Stupid."
He scolded me while closing his eyes and waving his hand to find a towel. I stood up, conveniently hung the towel where he couldn't reach, and left a sentence:
"After showering, wipe yourself. Otherwise, just leave it wet like that."
Luc Dong Dong's hand that was reaching for the towel clearly stopped. It opened its eyes again and looked at me with a bewildered expression. But the water was about to flow into his eyes, so he had to change his gaze, quickly took a towel, and wiped it for himself. My mouth was still muttering, complaining that I was a psychopath. At this moment, the phone rang again. I didn't need to look to know it was Luc Nham's urging message. Sure enough, Luc Dong Dong glanced at his watch. When he raised his head to look at me again, his eyes clearly sparkled. After all, he's just an eight-year-old child, he can't hide it.
“My classmate invited me out to play, I…”
“Go away.”
“There's no need to go home for dinner tonight.”
Without waiting for him to finish making up an excuse, I directly let him go. Luc Dong Dong was stunned again, but soon a smile appeared on his face. He quickly dressed and ran downstairs. I went to the window, watched Luc Nham get out of the driver's seat, went to the passenger seat and opened the car door for Giang Nhien. Then he hugged Luc Dong Dong who had rushed downstairs into his arms. Giang Nhien also kissed Luc Dong Dong on the cheek. A family of three talked and laughed for a long time before Luc Nham put them in the car one by one and drove away. Watching the car gradually disappear from sight. The last bit of warmth left in my heart seemed to be drained away little by little. I sat down in front of the dining table. The first time after getting married, I was the first person to sit at the table, eating a whole table of food that no one else had touched. I poured myself a glass of wine, clinked it with the empty glass, and drank it all. Consider it a celebration of your new life. They ate until very late before returning. When entering the door, there was still an unsatisfied smile on his face. As soon as he entered the house, Luc Dong Dong kicked his shoes around at the door. Luc Nham just gently looked at it and smiled, not stopping him at all. If it were before, I would definitely run over immediately, arrange Luc Dong Dong's shoes neatly, and conscientiously teach him not to do that next time. But this time, I calmly sat on the sofa, not even moving. I recently asked a lawyer to prepare a divorce petition. Just waiting to rent a suitable house and find a job, I will immediately leave this house. Seeing that I didn't say anything, maybe Luc Nham felt guilty and took the initiative to sit down next to me.
“To Lan, you're not angry, are you?”
“I'm really sorry, I'm so busy today that I can't be with you to celebrate your anniversary wedding day."
He pretended to pull his tie, revealing his tiredness to me.
"When I got off work, I heard that Dong Dong was still at his classmate's house and hadn't returned yet. I'll pick him up right away."
Listening to Luc Nham's hidden explanation, I just wanted to laugh. Since I gave birth to Luc Dong Dong eight years ago, Luc Nham has never really cared for him one day. Breastfeeding in the middle of the night is me alone. Even though I was so sleepy that I was nodding off while hugging my baby, Luc Nham still didn't give me a hand. I'm the only one who got sick and was hospitalized. On a heavy rainy day, my child had a high fever and couldn't call a car. I called Luc Nham. He just used the phrase "busy" to ignore me. My child goes to school alone. From registering for admission, going to class, picking up and returning from school, meals and activities, and tutoring with homework, Luc Nham never asked once. He only plays the role of “good dad” when necessary. Luc Dong Dong played with toys and threw them around. I told him to clean it up himself, Luc Nham would stop him:
“It's a small matter like this, there's no need to make fun of it. Children's childhood should be fun.”
Luc Dong Dong bullied his classmates at school. I pulled him away to apologize, Luc Nham will protect Luc Dong Dong's back:
“Both sides are at fault in this matter. I only criticized Dong Dong, it was a kind of psychological damage to my child."
Luc Dong Dong secretly deposited money into the game. I angrily criticized it, Luc Nham would frown:
“My family doesn't lack this little money. Don't leave your child with the impression that he or she is extremely poor. Later on, he or she will have low self-esteem."
Therefore, Luc Dong Dong's phone watch is only used to confide in Luc Nham. As for me, it's forever just sentences like:
“School is over, come pick me up.”
“Tonight I want to eat sweet and sour fried ribs.”
“The teacher told mom to come to school once.”
He was even lazy to call me mom. Before, I thought it was normal for my son to grow up and be close to his father. It wasn't until I saw on the clock that she wanted Giang Nhien to be her mother that I realized that in this house I was just a joke. I laughed bitterly, not exposing Luc Nham. Before, I only worried about serving them and my father, but I had long forgotten about myself. Now, I also have to be busy for myself. I was looking at houses on the rental app, when Luc Dong Dong suddenly raised his exercise book to block my sight.
“Mom, help me write my homework.”
“I don't want to be criticized by the teacher tomorrow.”
His face darkened, still without a word of address. Instinctively, I wanted to teach him, but as soon as the words reached my mouth, I swallowed them down. I pushed his exercise book away and didn't look at him.
“Written myself.”
“Mom has something to do.”
At first, Luc Dong Dong was stunned for two seconds, then he laughed. It's the kind of laugh that looks down on me.
“Mom is busy? Busy surfing videos?”
“There is no nutrition at all.”
“That's right, with my mother's level, I can only surf short, mindless videos, unlike Aunt Nhien Nhien…”
As soon as Giang Nhien was mentioned, Luc Nham, who was smiling, finally sat up straight.
“Dong Dong.”
He stopped Luc Dong Dong. Then frowned and looked at me.
“Dong Dong is right.”
“I really don't pay too much attention to this aspect. Normally you should read more books, otherwise how can you teach Dong Dong well?
He stood up, pulled Luc Dong Dong, and prepared to go to the bedroom.
“Dong Dong's homework, you should still do it Help him write.”
“Elementary school lesson, are you sure you can do it?”
“First grade homework, sometimes it's okay to be a little lacking.”
Luc Nham smiled at me. That smile made me very uncomfortable, feeling as helpless as punching cotton. He pulled Luc Dong Dong, without looking back, into the bedroom. I looked at the empty exercise book in front of me, speechless and burst out laughing. I picked it up, tore it apart, and threw it in the trash. Just like this house, in my heart, it has also been thrown into the trash. I contacted the landlord, viewed the house via video, then paid the deposit directly. After signing the contract online, he said I could move in at any time. After that, I rarely got to sleep early one day. Over the past eight years, I've always been the one to sleep late because I had to tutor Luc Dong Dong and cook dinner while waiting for Luc Nham to come home. I am a mother, a wife, just not myself. The next morning, I also did not prepare breakfast for Luc Nham and Luc Dong Dong. When I woke up and opened the door, Luc Nham had a dark face helping Luc Dong Dong put on his schoolbag and prepare to take him to school. As soon as he saw me, Luc Nham's face darkened.
“Why didn't you wake us up? Dong Dong is late for school."
Luc Dong Dong sighed and couldn't help but glanced at me.
"Dad, stop it, don't rely on mom anymore."