3: 3
My phone started buzzing like mad.
I found I'd been dragged into a group chat with people I didn't know.
The group was called “Xav's Crew.”
I scrolled up through the messages. The earliest one was from Nellie.
A selfie of her lying in the top suite at the postpartum recovery center, an expensive mask on her face, a delicate bowl of bird's nest soup on the nightstand.
She flashed a peace sign at the camera, beaming.
The caption read “Thanks for coming to see me, boys, and thanks on Xav's behalf to his wife for being so generous. Love you all~”
Below the photo, Xavier's buddies piled on with jokes and flattery.
“Look at our Xav, husband of the year in the making! Other men's wives can step aside!”
“Exactly. What wife? Is any wife as important as our Nell?”
“Just some washed-out housewife who can pop out kids.”
“Xav the man!”
The chat was one long chorus of laughter and agreement, and the filth in it was more than I could stand to look at.
I handed my phone to Melvin and asked quietly.
“Melvin, could this count as evidence that he's putting me through emotional abuse?”
When we left the firm, Melvin insisted on driving me home, but I turned him down.
Some roads you have to walk alone.
Back home, the babies were crying to be fed, so I pushed through the pain and boiled water, sterilized the bottles, mixed the formula.
I fed one until he was full, then went to soothe the other.
By the time everything had settled, it was already afternoon.
The doorbell rang.
It was the temporary night nurse Xavier had found for me.
The moment she came in and saw two babies in the apartment, her face filled with distaste.
“It's just you? Two babies? That's not easy to handle.”
My heart sank.
“Xavier didn't tell you?”
“He only said to come look after a new mother. He never said one nurse, two babies! Let's get this straight. I'll only lend a hand during the day. Nights are not my problem, and no amount of extra pay will change that.”
I was too worn out to argue. Given the situation, I told myself an extra pair of hands was better than nothing, so I let it go for the moment.
But I soon found out I was wrong.
This night nurse did everything in the laziest way possible.
She changed the babies' diapers without even wiping them clean.
She mixed the formula either too hot or too cold.
Most of the time she just sat there on her phone, scrolling short videos, howling with laughter loud enough to wake a baby who'd just fallen asleep, and then complaining about how hard the babies were.
That night, I went to feed the babies. I opened the fridge, and everything in me froze.
The colostrum I'd pumped and stored in milk bags was all gone!
The fridge was empty.
“Where's the breast milk I stored?” I rushed out to confront her.
She was cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV, and didn't so much as lift her eyelids.
“Oh, that stuff? I poured it out.”
“What?” I couldn't believe my ears.
She didn't miss a beat.
“That yellowish gunk? One look and you can tell it's gone off, full of bacteria! Feed it to the babies and they'll get sick. I did you a favor.”
“You……” I was shaking all over with rage. I pointed at the door. “Get out, now! You're not staying here!”
My face startled her for a second, then she threw a fit.
“What gives you the right to throw me out? Mr. Simmons hired me!”
“Besides, I'm Nellie Fox's distant aunt. She just lost her baby, and here you are bullying her family. Mr. Simmons won't let you get away with it!”
Only then did it hit me. She was actually Nellie's relative!
Xavier! Well done!
Just then, both babies broke into wailing from the bedroom.
My stomach lurched. I stopped bothering with her and rushed into the bedroom.
I unwrapped the swaddles and my heart clenched.
Huge patches of red rash had broken out over both babies' skin, and it was spreading fast, alarming to see.
Their faces were flushed dark red, their little bodies twisting and struggling against the itch and the pain.
An acute allergic reaction!
I scooped up the babies and demanded loudly “What did you do to my children?”
