Am I Under House Arrest?

I unbuckled my seatbelt and told her, "Don't worry about it, just leave! Make sure the surveillance cameras don't catch you in our community!" Then, I got out of the car and walked into the hair salon.

By the time I finally made it home, exhausted, Sean was furiously yelling at Anna. When he saw me suddenly walk in, he was momentarily stunned.

I didn't even bother changing my shoes. I walked straight in, collapsed onto the sofa, kicked off my shoes, and lay back to catch my breath. I was truly exhausted.

That short walk through the community felt like a grueling march. The fact that I made it back was a miracle.

Sean strode over to me, looking incredulous. "How did you get out? And what did you do to your hair?"

I touched my short, ear-length hair and said nonchalantly, "Isn't it nice? It's better this way, prevents all that hair loss."

I knew Sean hated short hair on women. When he was a stylist, he never did short haircuts. He used to love my long, black, waist-length hair, but now it was far from beautiful—more like dry, lifeless straw.

Sean stared at me, his anger barely contained, but he said nothing and turned to go upstairs.

I sneered inwardly. Why should I play along with him? From now on, unless he kills me, I'll kill him. No compromises.

As soon as Sean turned to go upstairs, Anna came over, holding Kyle, and glared at me angrily. "Madam, why did you go out? When did you go out? Who let you out?" She bombarded me with three questions, her attitude clearly bad. It was obvious Sean had just scolded her and she had nowhere to vent her anger.

Oh, wait! There were five fresh handprints on her face. It seemed she'd been hit! I felt a wave of satisfaction, barely suppressing a laugh.

"What did you go out for?" Before Anna could finish, Sean had come back downstairs, holding a thin blanket.

I lay on the sofa, looked at Anna coldly, and said recklessly, "I went out while you were asleep. What's wrong? Am I not allowed to leave the house? Do I need your permission to go out? Even if I wanted to ask for permission, I'd have to wake you up first! Didn't you see what I went out for? Are you interrogating me, Anna?"

Anna was speechless, nervously glancing at Sean, who was coming over. She took a step back, then suddenly plastered a smile on her face and tried to explain, "Madam, I didn't mean that. I wasn't asleep…"

"I don't care if you were asleep or not, but don't ever speak to me like that again. Have you been here so long that you think you have the right to order me around? You can manage the kids, but not me!" I looked at her sharply, refusing to back down. "I told you before, if the work is too much, I can hire another housekeeper. Don't blame me if you can't handle it."

Then I turned to Sean. "Did you tell her to confine me to the house? Don't tell me it's because of my health! Even if my health is poor, you can't restrict my freedom!" I cut off Sean's excuses and continued calmly, "It's time to find a kindergarten for Kyle and hire a better cook. The housework is too much for Anna alone. She needs a good rest."

Anna's face turned pale. She stepped forward quickly. "Madam, I'm sorry. I was too anxious earlier. I was worried about your safety, given your health… When you suddenly disappeared, Mr. Sean scolded me for a long time! I was genuinely concerned about you!"

I smiled faintly, my attitude doing a 180. "It's okay. I didn't mean to blame you." Then I looked at Sean, who was draping a blanket over me. "Honey, we should probably go to the hospital tomorrow and get my head checked."

"What's wrong?" Sean asked, concerned.

"The hairdresser took a photo and said there might be an issue with my scalp," I said, turning on my phone and showing him the photo.

Sean's reaction was subtle. First, he was stunned, then he frowned, hesitating before taking my phone. "What's this about?"

I watched his face and smiled. "It's the pain I've been telling you about. The one you said was nothing."

Anna tried to appear calm, but her face was stiff. She pretended to soothe Kyle, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Does it still hurt?" Sean asked, leaning closer to examine my head. "How could this happen? A few days ago, there was nothing. We definitely need to see a doctor."

"Yes, a few days ago, I asked Anna, and she said it was fine. But the hairdresser saw it immediately and took the photo to show me. Shouldn't we find out the cause?"

I called out Anna directly. She couldn't pretend nothing was wrong after stabbing me and thinking I'd forget. I was pressing hard, wanting to create tension between them.

"I'll make some arrangements. We need to go to the hospital," Sean said firmly, checking the time. "It's a bit late today, and you're tired. We'll go tomorrow. You'll need to fast for the tests, so don't eat anything in the morning." He planned everything perfectly, knowing fasting was necessary for some tests.

I nodded. "Okay, I'm tired and need to sleep. Don't disturb me." Then I took the blanket and went upstairs, not wanting to see the two of them anymore. Besides, I needed to inform Inara to stand down.

But I was certain that after my actions today, I'd sown the seeds of discord between them.

To prevent Anna from doing anything extreme, I pretended to sleep all night and skipped dinner. Since I hadn't found the object, I couldn't let my guard down.