Chapter 44 No More Than A Maid
Jessica laid on her bed with her tears trailing down her face. Her life was never as terrible as this. She had quit working due to her pregnancy and now that she had delivered, she was so busy taking care of her son that she didn't even think of getting a job.
But wasn't that someone worth considering now? If she was busy with her work, she wouldn't have the time to think about her husband and be heartbroken.
But who would want to hire a nursing mother?
Sarah, Chris' mother, had a fashion house, maybe she wouldn't mind hiring her as an extra worker. It didn't really matter if the pay was small, she could get any money she needed from Chris anyway, but just a chance to leave home and breathe again.
Raising herself to a sitting position, she sniffed and wiped her tears. The least she would do was to hire a baby sitter to take care of her son.
She reached for a tissue and blew her nose before getting to her feet and leaving her room.
She bumped into a cleaning lady and the lady bowed. "Oh right," Jessica tried to compose herself. She couldn't afford to let a lowly maid see her and the mess she was underneath her pride. "My mother-in-law, is she still in?"
The Lady, still bowing, responded. "Yes ma'am."
Jessica had strictly warned all the maids to never dare to look into her eyes or else they would be fired immediately.
"Alright. Carry on with your duties and tend to my son as quickly as possible." She commanded with an air of authority flowing around her. She might be the least respected person in the entire house, but at least she had power over all of the maids.
The Lady responded but Jessica had abandoned her where she was and started towards her mother in law's bedroom.
She raised her hand to knock but held it in the air. Her heart began to pounce abnormally and she kept taking deep breaths.
It was no secret that Sarah hated her more than a bad hair day. She hated her guts and didn't care to hide it. What Jessica found weird was the fact that Sarah didn't like Cara either even though she was always talking about her probably to make her jealous.
Taking a deep breath, she made to knock but footsteps from behind called her attention and then she heard her mother in-law say;
"What are you doing standing by my door?" Sarah's brow arched as she stood with her arms folded beneath her breast.
Jessica turned around to face her. She forced a smile. "Oh! Hello mother in-law, I am here to see you regarding something quite important to me."
"Please, come back later, I am too busy with work to discuss anything important to you." Sarah rolled her eyes and started towards her bedroom door but abruptly stopped when Jessica stood in her way.
"Actually... I'm here to see you on a matter regarding that... Work."
Sarah arched a brow but said nothing.
Jessica took her mother-in-law's silence as a sign to speak and she continued. "You see... I had a job... I used to work before I got pregnant for Chris, your son."
"I think we've met before." Sarah sarcastically said with a roll of her eyes.
Jessica forced a laugh. "Right. Uhm... So I had to quit my job to focus on being a good wife and mother to our son. But now, uhm... I'm less busy these days and I thought maybe... maybe at your fashion house or anywhere you'd like to put me, if you could offer me a job."
Sarah suddenly erupted into laughter. "Oh you're serious?" She arched her brow as she asked after a short while of laughter.
Jessica nodded and Sarah was all serious again. She sighed softly. "What makes you think a wife should have a job? What will you do with your little boy?"
"I can be a working mother like you were, you didn't stop working after you had Chris right?"
"I did. And I didn't get a job until later on. As for you, I'll advise you to remain unemployed until your son is five or ten years old." Sarah said plainly.
Jessica's eyes widened. Her son was not even close to being a year old but now her mother in-law was telling her to remain unemployed till he was what? Five? Ten! That was beyond absurd!
"But... But that doesn't make sense! How can you even say that?! I can't stay at home and just do nothing! You can't tell me to just do nothing! It isn't right!" She ranted on in anger.
Yet Sarah stared at her with a calm expression on her face, obviously not bothered by Jessica's outburst. "Are you done?" She arched her brow at her, arms still crossed under her breast.
Jessica breathed heavily but said nothing more.
Sarah took a step forward towards her. "Listen up now darling, firstly, you obviously will only bring bad luck to my fashion house if I were to make the mistake of letting you in-- even as a cleaner or a groomer.
"Secondly, what will you do with your son? And before you say you will hire a baby sitter, let me stop you. Baby sitters are unpredictable! Who knows what she will do to the poor boy? Besides, it is sad for a child to grow up without his mother."
Jessica took a deep sigh and spoke up. "Mother in-law, I can assure you that I will not spend too much time at work, I will always come home early to check on my son, he will never be lonely! And your fashion house will bloom well, nothing will happen--"
"Just stop! As you can see, I am busy, very busy and I have no time to waste on the likes of you. You have one job and one job alone, to stay here and guide the maids and make sure they don't steal anything. If you wish to care for your son or not, that's your problem."
Without waiting to hear anything else, Sarah shoved Jessica out of her way and went into her room, slamming the door loudly.
Jessica stood dumbfounded. To her, she is no more than a maid.