Discarded Housewife Novels & Stories

"But you're right, let's not waste time on the help. Show me our closet!" As they disappeared into what was once our bedroom, I remained rooted to the spot, my mind reeling. The reality of my situation was crashing down around me. In the span of a few hours, I had gone from being Zane's wife to being dismissed as nothing more than an ugly, classless maid. No! I can't let this happen. Regardless of whatever Zane thinks, I can't just stand by and let this evil woman into this house. I'll confront him… he must not be blinded by her pretentious nature.

The head housekeeper made a slow round through the room, flipping through everyone’s files before speaking. “All single women, step forward.” Those who were unmarried looked thrilled as they took a step ahead. They thought being single would make them the most desirable choice. But the next words out of the housekeeper’s mouth crushed that hope. “You’re all dismissed. Step back.” The single women froze for a moment, then walked out, faces pale with disappointment. Only a dozen women remained, all of them married.

“That child was never meant for you.” Something inside me twisted, but I didn’t react, didn’t give her the satisfaction. She scoffed again and turned on her heel, her voice still carrying the venom in her soul as she walked out. “Good riddance, one less disgrace tied to this family.” The door shut behind her. For a few seconds, I just lay there, listening to nothing, then the doctor moved closer. I didn’t look at her immediately, I just took a slow breath and pushed myself up. My muscles protested as I sat up, but I ignored it, stretching slightly, I smiled.

"You’re a garbage in a five-thousand-euro dress. That’s all you are. And my father still has friends in Rotterdam." She turned back to the dark room, the green light from the television screen casting long, distorted shadows across the ceiling, while the voice on the broadcast kept talking about the future of the Voss Group, smooth and regular, as if the coast had already forgotten what it felt like to have a real family running the docks.

Kids often said the cruelest things. My heart clenched so tight I couldn't breathe. After seven years of marriage, I'd gone from a career woman, a rising star in the design world with a name people recognized, to a housewife who spent her days circling the stove and chasing after a kid. I gave up my dreams and the glamour all for this family. And in the end, in my own son's eyes, I was just some "old, ugly" woman who "looked like a maid".

I became acutely aware that I was wearing old jeans and one of my threadbare college sweatshirts, my hair piled in a messy bun, face free of makeup. I must have looked like exactly what I was—a girl playing house in a mansion she didn't belong in. "What are you making?" he asked. I blinked. "Just... stir-fry. Nothing fancy. I can make extra if you—" "I haven't had a home-cooked meal in years." The vulnerability in those words cracked something open in my chest. Before I could think better of it, I smiled. "Then you're in luck. Stir-fry is actually one of the five things I can make without burning down the kitchen."

Delfina refilled the cocoa without commentary, which was its own kind of mercy. — — The columnists did their work by ten. *Every family has its trials,* Beatrice told the society page, serene in diamonds. *Ours has better lighting.* The pull-quote ran with a photograph of her mid-gesture, magnanimous, the family matriarch weathering a charming storm. My destruction, laundered into an anecdote with a lighting budget.

He had believed he was trading an unremarkable bronze token for a flashy, gilded trophy. Now, looking at Adelaide standing before a standing ovation of the world's most powerful tastemakers, Oscar realized the horrifying truth. He hadn't thrown away a bronze token. He had cast aside a diamond because he lacked the vision to see its brilliance. The woman he had dismissed as simple and passive had built an empire out of raw flax, determination, and untouchable talent. She was no longer the quiet girl who adjusted his tie before he left for the board meetings. She was a titan.

“Don’t you often find that position filled by a woman? It explains why you wouldn’t have time to focus on housecleaning.” “That and Hilda claimed years ago I could burn water and so I got banned from working in the main house’s kitchens.” “Who’s Hilda?” “She’s the chief cook and housekeeper at the p… main house. If you need anything for everyday living, you talk to her. She gets it all cleared away for accounting and such.” “Wait, you pool money together? Don’t you have your own money?”

She cried because of what she had given up to be his wife, which was herself, which was everything. The second child drowned her even more into the life of a housewife. While Bill's career skyrocketed, the money he was making made it easier for all of them. He wanted a big house as a showcase of all his hard work. She said 'okay' but it had to come with a set of staff that will take care of it.