Housewife Gone Wild

Chapter 32

When Jared hugged me, all | could think about was how another woman had been in his arms and how her

perfstill lingered on him.

My body stiffened before | could stop it. | stepped back quickly, then turned and fled to my bedroom.

Since our daughter was born, Jared and | had maintained separate bedrooms. He only visited mine when he

wanted sex. Most nights, he slept alone in the guest room, leavingthe master suite to myself.

| didn’t care whether my rejection wounded him. | remained in my room until dinner calleddownstairs.

Downstairs, | found Jared helping Yvonne feed her pony. When Wendy announced dinner, they washed up and

took their places at the table.

“Dad,” Yvonne whined the instant she saw me, clutching Jared's arm, “Mom hasn't made fried meatballs in

forever. Can you make her cook snow?”

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Jared met my eyes. “Yvonne's begging for your meatballs. Feel like making some?”

Wendy stood beside the dining table, her eyes darting between the spread of dishes she’d just prepared and my

indifferent expression.

“I'm not cooking tonight,” | said flatly, not moving from my chair. “There's more than enough food here.”

“I won't eat any of this,” Yvonne announced, crossing her arms stubbornly. “I only want Mom's meatballs.”

Jared knew Yvonne's eating habits all too well—the aversion to spices and the limited palate. I'd spent years

coaxing just a few bites into her.

These days, Wendy made three separate dishes at every meal just for her. Yet here she was, still complaining. |

figured this was her revenge forbringing up those rules.

“Actually, meatballs sound good,” Jared said, taking her side as usual. “Why don’t you whip sup?”

I nearly laughed out loud. “Darling,” | asked, “do you have any clue how long proper meatballs take to make?”

“At least thirty minutes,” Wendy added helpfully. “And that’s before all the kneading to get the texture just right.”

“That long?” Jared looked surprised. “I figured it would take five minutes.”

Seeing Jared's reaction, Yvonne pouted. “Dad, | only want meatballs. If Mom won't make them, I'm not eating

tonight.”

“Then don’t eat.” My patience was wearing thin.

She knew exactly how to manipulate me. These outrageous demands had worked every tbefore, so she

assumed persistence would makegive in again. But this time, | refused to play along.

Jared rubbed his temples. “Just eat something,” he said wearily. “We'll grab burgers later if you're still hungry.”

Yvonne made a show of sighing before dragging her spoon through her food. “Fine.”

| finished my meal in silence and retreated upstairs. Let them figure out their own -I was done for the

night.

1/2

Chapter 32

The tension from yesterday carried into the morning. | ignored Yvonne, and she returned the favor with icy

silence until Jared whisked her off to school.

| got to the office a little after ten. My first order of business was finding someone to draft the new project's

blueprints-not like | was short on work. If anything, my plate was full.

Jared had always treatedlike just a housewife, never taking my abilities seriously. But when he saw how

swiftly | jumped into action, his eyes took on a new, measuring look.

Tracy had a commanding presence in the company’s big decisions, and everyone fell in line under her. Jared

trusted her judgment completely and backed every call she made.