After my divorce from my husband, we continued living together for the sake of minimizing the impact on our children. This arrangement lasted for four years. One day, he brought a young girl home.

***

After my divorce from my husband, we continued living together for the sake of minimizing the impact on our children. This arrangement lasted for four years.

That day, he brought a young girl home.

The girl was really beautiful, with expressive eyes, a small mouth, and a face the size of a palm, looking completely harmless. She seemed a bit shy when she saw me.

My ex-husband handed her a glass of water, and then they went into the innermost room.

Since the divorce, I have been living with our two sons in a 430-square-foot room outside, while my ex-husband, Olly Barker, has been living in a small 100-square-foot room at the back.

The girl obediently went into the room with him, and Olly's intentions were clear.

I sat in the living room and felt suffocated, only hearing the sound of voices coming from inside the room.

"Who is that lady outside?"

"A nanny!"

I endured and returned to my own room, feeling even more stifled.

I divorced Olly four years ago. After the divorce, we split the house in half. The kids were still young, with the elder only three and the younger only one at that time.

To avoid hurting the two sons, I accepted Olly's suggestion to divorce but stay in the same house.

We still lived together as a family of four.

Over the years, Olly adjusted his work situation. He used to be away on business trips for more than half a month and hardly ever around.

He changed jobs, reducing his business trips and spending more time with the kids and me.

Our relatives have been encouraging us to remarry, but I didn't expect him to bring home such a young girl.

"For the sake of the children," I thought to myself.

Over the years, for this reason, I stayed at home to take care of the children.

I had no personal life or job, doing some small side gigs. Most of the household expenses were covered by Olly.

I composed myself and went to the kitchen. I had bought some vegetables in the afternoon but hadn't washed them yet.

There was a small mirror in the kitchen, very tiny, placed there by my younger son, Tyler Barker.

He likes to look at himself in the small mirror in the kitchen every morning, smile at himself, and then leave for school.

I picked up the vegetables and looked up, just in time to see my reflection in that tiny mirror.

How long had it been since I properly used a mirror to touch up my makeup?

I used to be such a proud white-collar worker.

The reflection in the mirror showed me with a sallow complexion, sagging skin, and my once bright eyes now lacking their original sparkle due to years of hard work.

After having two sons, I rarely exercised, and my middle-aged figure had lost its appeal to the opposite sex.

What should I do if Olly remarries?

The children must be supported; they are still young.

I stood there, aimlessly, with the water in the kitchen flowing away.

"Hey, do you need help?"

It was Olly's voice. I snapped out of my daze and saw him looking radiant and energetic, like a man in his early thirties.

It's true that women age easily. I've lost my shine after staying home all these years.

"Has she left?"

I asked carefully. Olly didn't answer directly.

"Just a friend."

He washed a tomato for himself.

"What kind of friend?"

I pressed on, as I don't like guessing. Imagining things makes me fall apart.

Olly was in a great mood and answered vaguely, saying that tonight we could add a chicken leg.

Because he had been promoted again, we could celebrate with the kids.

I didn't know where the chicken legs came from. Olly transferred money and asked me to go buy them.

Fine, I'll go buy them. He's really gotten used to ordering me around.

I glared at him, and he grinned and pushed me. I put on a mask, grabbed my phone, and went out.

Olly is still generous to the three of us, never cutting back on the money for groceries and living expenses.

I walked quickly to the nearest market and ran into the girl who had come to the house earlier. She was holding a takeout box of lobsters and happened to bump into me.

"Senior, are you buying vegetables? I'm Zoe Ball. Tonight, Olly is having lobster at my place. You might want to buy less."

What does she call me?

I stood at the market, feeling dizzy and disoriented, with tears unexpectedly welling up in my eyes.

I'm only thirty-five, yet I'm called a "Senior" by twenty-something girls?

I felt a surge of anger and a metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

For the sake of my children, I've lost my job and my life, and ended up as just another "Senior" or nanny in others' eyes.

I can't continue like this.

When I got home, I resumed cooking as usual and went to pick up the kids when the time came.

I told the kids that their dad had been promoted.

The two little ones were thrilled and kept asking if there would be chicken legs for dinner.

When we got home, I started setting the table. Olly came over to help when he saw the kids were back.

He looked at the sumptuous dinner and smiled, saying we three should eat plenty. He also mentioned that he would be working late and would only have a chicken leg before leaving.

Working late?

I smiled faintly, but I knew well that he was going out with his girlfriend Zoe.

I gave the kids a look, and as Olly was putting on his shoes to leave, one of the kids gave him a kiss.

Olly was surprised by how much the kids liked him. He shyly touched his nose and promised he would come home early.

The older son said he wanted to hear a story about Dad's promotion at bedtime. Both he and his younger brother were very interested.

The younger son insisted that Dad give him a good kiss before leaving.

Being so adored by the kids, Olly was obviously pleased. He immediately promised to tell them the most interesting stories when he got home.

After Olly left, I took on the task of looking after the kids. They were very well-behaved and soon went to do their homework.

I washed the dishes, tidied up the table, and went back to the room.

Olly's salary isn't high, and I haven't saved much over the years because I don't have a steady job.

However, little by little, I saved the money I didn't spend on groceries each month. In just four years, I saved forty thousand dollars.

This is all my savings.

If Olly starts a new family. I'll have to live with two kids in tow, and this money will barely cover anything.

I need a higher-paying part-time job that doesn't affect my ability to care for the children and can steadily improve my future quality of life.

My close friend knew about my situation and asked what I was best at.

I used to work as a recruiter, and with administrative roles, there's usually only one position per person. After so many years away, opportunities are very precious to me now.

My friend introduced me to a part-time headhunter job. She told me that this year's market is very tough, but this industry has high earnings.

As long as I am willing to settle down and work, the rewards are very high. Moreover, this company gives ninety percent of the earnings to the headhunters, keeping only ten percent for itself.

I had only heard of the headhunter industry before. I repeatedly asked if the boss was reliable, and my friend just said she recommended it with confidence.

While the kids were doing their homework, I began trying out the headhunter role, recalling the little experience I had from my recruitment days, organizing and reviewing it, and then continuing...

Olly did indeed come home early, arriving at eight-thirty. He brought a trendy little bread and picked up our younger child.

"Did you miss me? Look what I brought for you. Have you finished your homework? Let me check it."

The younger son was giggling at him, overjoyed.

In the children's eyes, Olly is a good father.

No matter how poorly they perform in exams, he always treats them kindly.

I packed up the headhunter materials and followed Olly and the kids into his room.

This was the first time in years that I took the initiative to enter his room.

Olly looked at me with bright eyes, and the two kids were nestled in his arms.

The three of us lay on the narrow bed, and I sat on the sofa opposite, while Olly began to tell the story of his promotion.

I left the room to bring them juice. The kids liked it, and Olly enjoyed it too.

I sat quietly, watching the harmonious scene of the father and his two children, feeling a sense of serene contentment.

At that moment, Olly's phone vibrated.

It was that girl again. Olly's expression turned uncomfortable, but he skillfully covered it up.

I tactfully took the kids back to our room to rest, while Olly went out to the balcony with the phone.

After the kids fell asleep, I started working with the headhunter materials again, beginning my new career.

Soon, I had a few good resumes.

I went out of the room to get some water, and encountered Olly.

I thought he had gone out for Zoe, but it turned out he was still at home.

After seeing me, Olly smiled again and gave me the living expenses for this month for me and the kids.

This time, it was a bit more than last month.

Olly left the money and went back to his room. I looked at the heavy money in my hands, feeling mixed emotions.

The next lunchtime, Olly brought Zoe back home again.

The three of us sat at the same table.

I kept my head down and ate, while Olly didn't say much. It was clear that the girl had a lot to say.

"Senior, I already know about your situation with Mr. Barker. Since you're hired by Mr. Barker, he wouldn't mind if I came over for lunch every day, right?"

Olly's expression was normal, but my face turned terribly awkward. Did Olly really see me as a nanny?

Was I supposed to serve this young girl?

"Olly, you really are something!"

The girl exchanged glances with Olly. Just as Olly was about to speak, I interrupted him.

"You serve yourself!"

I took the fork, washed my own portion, and went back to my room.

I knew this was just the beginning.

I looked bitterly at the only forty thousand dollars I had saved and steeled myself.

After Zoe left, we had our first argument due to discord.

"Olly, if you're going to flirt with that little vixen in front of me, I'll give you what you want. I'll sell my share of the property to you at market price, and I'll move out with the two kids to clear the space for you."

Olly didn't expect me to bring this up, and his face turned dark.