Chapter 3

3: 3

3

Detective Mercer still sounded a little put out, so I gave him a quick explanation. The mood on the other end shot up at once.

"Ms. Gilbert, no one plays this smarter than you. Anyone who calls you a lovestruck fool is a pig."

I hung up and let a small curve settle on my lips.

Nobody in these old-money families is actually a fool. They simply prefer to believe someone is sincere.

Maybe because they'd learned a grandson was on the way, my in-laws had come to New York too, moving into the estate over at Cloud Lake.

Hubert lied to me that his parents were getting on in years and wanted to see us often, so they'd relocated from back home.

He didn't feel easy leaving them alone, so he'd sent Winifred over to look after them.

He even went out and bought me a gift, and that night he was trying his best to get on my good side.

I only kept calmly patting my skincare in.

"That's good. Winifred's a country girl, gentle by nature. I feel fine leaving Mom and Dad in her care."

Then I used my period as an excuse and sent him off to the study.

A cucumber rotten from the inside out. Forget using it, one look is enough to turn your stomach for three days.

The next day, I made myself up nice and pretty on purpose and went to the Cloud Lake estate.

The instant the door opened, my in-laws froze on the spot, stammering.

"Polly, what are you doing here?"

I breezed in, tossed my bag onto the sofa.

"Mom, Dad, weren't you the ones saying you missed us? I came to see you."

My mother-in-law awkwardly untied her apron and immediately took my hand, warm as anything.

"Polly, Mom really did miss you both, but we were afraid of intruding on you newlyweds, so we didn't dare come over."

Gone from her face was the old sneering, the jabs about my useless womb.

"We're family. How could that ever be intruding? Mom, from now on I'll come see you often—"

I was still speaking when Winifred came out of the bedroom in her pajamas, eyes bleary. The moment she saw me she went rigid, her voice catching.

"Polly, you—how are you here?"

I stood up at once, my face darkening, and scolded her low.

"Winifred, Hubert and I sent you here to take care of Mom and Dad. How are you only getting up now? Someone who didn't know better would think you were the lady of the house."

Winifred's face flushed red instantly. She looked over at my in-laws, flustered.

"It's not like that. Mom—no, Auntie said I'd worked hard at the site yesterday and told me to sleep in a while."

I gave a string of cold laughs, my eyes fixed on her, then slowly sliding down to her belly.

Panic flickered in Winifred's eyes, and her hands moved to shield her stomach on their own.

My in-laws stood up nervously too, hurrying to catch my arm.

Looking at all their pale, tense faces, I suddenly burst out laughing.

"All right, I'm only teasing."

"Winifred, my dad's coming today. Go buy some groceries. Remember to peel the shrimp before you stir-fry them, and get fresh fish and gut it yourself. I don't trust how clean other people do it, and also—"

I ticked off more than a dozen dishes on my fingers. Now that I'd been reborn, of course I meant to eat and drink well. Otherwise where would I find the strength to take down a cheating man and a shameless woman?

Winifred's face grew uglier and uglier, and in the end she picked up her bag and headed out into the blazing sun.

An hour later she came back, out of breath. Watching the sweat pour off her, I curled my lip.

"Winifred, your constitution just won't do. You need more exercise. If it comes to it, I'll sign you up for a gym class later so you can really train."

"No."

The word was barely out when Hubert's voice came from outside.

He quickly took the groceries and carried them into the kitchen.

He was about to speak, his face already dark, but I got there first.

"Honey, the second phase of the project is about to start. I invited Dad over today so we can all get together. Spend the evening drinking with him. When he's in a good mood he'll throw in another billion."

Hubert's face stiffened for a moment, then flashed with wild delight.

Government project payments came back slowly these days, and the second phase couldn't be delayed. This was exactly when he was desperate for cash.

"Winifred, hurry and go peel the shrimp and gut the fish. Remember, wash them well. Dad's a clean freak."

I turned and hurried Winifred along, then looped my arm through Hubert's and sat with him on the sofa, chatting about the company's partnership, about how his parents were keeping.

The three of them agreed with me as though they were sitting on pins and needles, their eyes darting constantly toward the kitchen. Too bad I'd had Winifred shut the glass door, so all they could do was fret in silence.

They half wished they were the ones being smoked out over the stove.

At noon Winifred had put together twelve dishes, soaked in sweat as she carried out plate after plate.

I sat calmly at the table, picked up my chopsticks, and ate the shrimp.

"Honey, Dad's got something come up, he's not coming. Let's just eat ourselves."

"He says he'll come by tonight instead."

"Winifred, go buy a few more dishes this afternoon and make it all fresh again, so Hubert can have a good few drinks with Dad tonight."

Every face at the table stiffened. Winifred retched, clapped a hand over her mouth, and ran into the kitchen.

I curled my lip, gave a mocking little smile. Raised too soft and precious.

The instant Hubert rose to go after her, I threw a chopstick straight at his face.

"Hubert, I trust your feelings for me. I trust you'd never pull any of that filthy business. But that doesn't mean my father trusts you."

"Or would you rather he look into all those rumors floating around out there?"

Hubert slowly sat back down, slowly squeezed that doting smile back onto his face, and eagerly started putting food into my bowl.

That evening my father arrived as planned and fell into warm conversation with his in-laws.

Winifred, naturally, cooked another full table, shelled the crab with her own hands, and made a bowl of oatmeal exactly as I'd asked.

Being the mistress isn't easy either. It takes stamina.

The next day Detective Mercer messaged me: Winifred had been hospitalized. Overexhaustion, with signs of a miscarriage.