And on the sofa? My mother, Dona Miranda. Sitting there, drinking tea with her eyebrow raised.“Faster, Elena!” my mother shouted. “The edges are still dirty! Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you’re a señorita! Remember where you came from. You grew up poor. You’re used to housework. Stop pretending!”
“M-Ma…” Elena cried, holding her lower back. “My stomach hurts… I feel dizzy…”
“I don’t care! Don’t stop until that floor is shining! And you maids—if any of you try to help her, I’ll fire you!”
My whole body went cold.
My mother… the woman I believed truly loved my wife… was turning her into a servant in my own house whenever I wasn’t around?
“MA!” I shouted.
They all jumped in shock. Doña Miranda turned pale when she saw me.
“M-Marco?” my mother stammered. “Son! You’re early! I thought you’d be home tonight!”
I rushed to Elena and helped her stand. She was trembling from exhaustion. Her knees were red from kneeling for so long.
“What are you doing to my wife?!” I shouted at my mother.
“Son, you’re mistaken!” my mother quickly changed her tone, suddenly gentle. “Elena insisted! She said she wanted to exercise! She said she wanted to help! Right, Elena?”
My mother looked at Elena with a threatening glare.
Elena lowered her head. “Y-Yes, Marco… I just wanted to clean…”But I wasn’t stupid.
I turned to the maids.
“Manang Fe,” I called the oldest helper. “Tell me the truth. How many times has this happened?”
Manang Fe burst into tears. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Sir Marco… please forgive us…” she sobbed. “Señora Miranda does this every day when you leave for the office. She makes Ma’am Elena wash clothes. She forces her to scrub the floors. We’re not allowed to help. She said if we told you, she would have our families back in the province killed.”
My world collapsed.
“Every day?” I whispered. “My wife is eight months pregnant… and you treat her like an animal?!”
“Because she’s not worthy of you!” my mother suddenly screamed, her true colors showing. “She’s poor, Marco! She’s after your money! She needs to know her place! I’m your mother, so I’m the one who decides in this house!”
I slowly walked toward my mother. The woman I had respected my whole life was a monster.
“Ma,” I said, my voice shaking. “Because of you… my child was almost harmed. Because of you, my wife has been suffering.”
