{"id":16412,"date":"2026-08-09T00:54:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=16412"},"modified":"2026-08-09T00:54:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:54:54","slug":"part-2-mommy-look-thats-the-lady-who-plays-in-your-bedroom-when-you-go-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=16412","title":{"rendered":"PART 2 “Mommy, look! That’s the lady who PLAYS IN YOUR BEDROOM when you go to work.””"},"content":{"rendered":"

That evening, I carried a stack of clean towels toward the guest room, but the door would not open.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cMark?\u201d I called. \u201cWhy is the guest room locked?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it?\u201d he called back from downstairs. \u201cMust\u2019ve stuck. I\u2019ll take a look in a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cDo you have the key?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I kept my hand on the doorknob for a long moment.<\/p>\n

Then I walked away, because that was what a sensible wife did.<\/p>\n

That was what a woman who trusted her husband was supposed to do.<\/p>\n

By the following afternoon, I had nearly convinced myself that nothing was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cMilk, apples, bread, and something for dinner,\u201d I told Leo while buckling him into the grocery cart. \u201cHelp Mommy remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMilk, apples, bread,\u201d he sang, kicking his legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The store buzzed with its usual afternoon noise\u2014squeaking cart wheels, a baby crying two aisles away, and a thin pop song drifting from the speakers above.<\/p>\n

I selected a carton of milk, placed it in the cart, and joined the checkout line.<\/p>\n

For the first time in weeks, I felt the pressure in my chest ease.<\/p>\n

Almost peaceful.<\/p>\n

Almost normal.<\/p>\n

Leo sat in the cart seat, humming and swinging his legs while I checked my watch and wondered what I should cook for our anniversary.<\/p>\n

Then, without warning, he became completely still.<\/p>\n

He grabbed my sleeve and pulled hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMommy. Mommy, look.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cashier\u2019s scanner beeped somewhere behind me, but the noise suddenly seemed distant, as though it belonged to someone else\u2019s afternoon.<\/p>\n

Leo continued tugging at my sleeve and pointed toward the bakery display.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see her, sweetheart,\u201d I whispered. \u201cKeep your voice down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s her,\u201d he said, still pointing. \u201cThat\u2019s the lady who comes to our house when you\u2019re at work! She plays in the room upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

My hand clenched around the milk carton so tightly that the cardboard began to buckle.<\/p>\n

I quickly placed it on the conveyor belt before I crushed it.<\/p>\n

The woman near the bakery had not turned around.<\/p>\n

She looked young, perhaps 30.<\/p>\n

She wore a short green dress, her dark hair loosely pinned up, with a canvas tote hanging from one shoulder.<\/p>\n

I could not see her face.<\/p>\n

I was not sure I wanted to.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo, honey,\u201d I said, crouching so my eyes were closer to his. \u201cWhat do you mean, plays?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGames,\u201d he answered casually, swinging his legs again. \u201cBut Daddy said it\u2019s a secret. So I\u2019m not telling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mouth opened, then closed.<\/p>\n

His eyes widened with the particular terror of a five-year-old who had suddenly realized he had broken a rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t mean to,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Ten years.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That evening, I carried a stack of clean towels toward the guest room, but the door would not open. \u201cMark?\u201d I called. \u201cWhy is the guest room… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":0,"today_views":0},"yoast_head":"\nPART 2 "Mommy, look! 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