The Housemaid's Wedding

“The Housemaid’s Wedding” (2025) is a domestic thriller short story by American author Freida McFadden. It takes place in the same world as her best-selling The Housemaid series and is set after The Housemaid (2022) and The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and followed by The Housemaid Is Watching (2024). The series follows Millie Calloway, a housemaid for wealthy families who later helps women escape abusive marriages. “The Housemaid’s Wedding” depicts her wedding day, as she is set to marry Enzo Accardi. She receives threatening phone calls from a man who vows to kill her. As she navigates her fear, she tries to convince herself that she can handle it alone and still have the perfect wedding day. The story explores themes of Expectations and Desires Versus Reality, The Enduring Power of Love, and The Value of Support in Confronting Trauma.

This guide refers to the Kindle edition published in 2025.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, sexual violence, graphic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and cursing.

The story is primarily told from the first-person point of view of Wilhelmina “Millie” Calloway. The Epilogue is told from the first-person point of view of Enzo Accardi, and the Prologue’s narrator is revealed at the end of the text as the man who harasses Millie with threatening phone calls on her wedding day. He is trapped with an unnamed man, later revealed as Enzo, who has hit him in the face and locked him in the bathroom. Enzo threatens to kill him, as the man laments the fact that he tried to handle the situation alone and shouldn’t have.

In Chapter 1, the narrative shifts back to Millie’s wedding day, when she is woken up by a phone call from a man threatening to kill her. She angrily hangs up. When her fiancé, Enzo, asks who called, she claims that it was a telemarketer. She is adamant that the threat meant nothing, as she has received them before, and that she is not going to let the call ruin their day. Because she helped several women escape their abusive marriages over the last few years, she is certain that it is one of the husbands trying to scare her.

Four hours before the wedding, Millie gets out of bed and begins getting ready. She is nervous that her parents will be there, as she hasn’t seen them since she was a teenager. After her best friend was sexually assaulted, Millie killed her attacker, leading to 10 years in prison and Millie’s parents disowning her. However, when she called them a few months ago to tell them that she was pregnant and getting married, they agreed to come to the wedding. They are only going to Manhattan City Hall, and her parents will be their only guests, but Millie wants the day to be perfect.

When Millie tries on her light blue dress, she is devastated that it doesn’t fit. Enzo says that it doesn’t matter what she wears, but she wants to wear something elegant for the ceremony. Enzo calls his friend, a tailor, and promises to get the dress fixed in time. He leaves with it, allowing Millie to work on her hair over the next half hour.

When Millie comes out of the bathroom with her hair done, her phone rings again. It is the same number, and the man on the other end threatens her again. He tells her that she lied to his wife, convincing her to leave him. Millie suggests that he learn from the experience. However, he scares her when he asks if she has checked the closet since her boyfriend left.

Distraught, Millie hangs up the phone. For several minutes, she contemplates checking the closet, calling the police, or leaving the apartment. Because they live in a dangerous section of the Bronx, they have a high-grade lock on their door. She realizes that she didn’t lock it after Enzo left, leaving plenty of time for someone to come in while she was in the bathroom. She calls Enzo, but he is still 10 minutes away.

Feeling cornered, Millie gets a knife from the kitchen. Just as she goes to open the door, Enzo returns. She contemplates telling him what is happening but doesn’t want to ruin her day. Instead, she lies and tells him that a mouse went into the closet. When Enzo opens the door, there is nothing inside.

Because it is beginning to snow heavily, Enzo drives to City Hall. They stop at a café, where Enzo’s friend is supposed to deliver the wedding dress. While Enzo eats, Millie worries that the dress is both her “new” and “blue” item for the wedding. Her mother is bringing her a necklace—an old heirloom from her grandmother. She is also wearing earrings, her “something borrowed.” Millie stresses about getting her dress and making it to City Hall on time, but Enzo reassures her that they still have an hour, holding her hands and calming her down.

As Millie finally relaxes, she looks outside and sees a man in a trench coat. He has a “menacing” look in his eyes, and Millie becomes convinced that he is the person making the calls. However, when he enters the café, Enzo excitedly greets him. He introduces the man as Giuseppe, the tailor who fixed Millie’s dress.

Millie takes her dress into the café bathroom. To her relief, it fits. When her phone rings, she answers it without looking. The unknown man is on the line. He compliments her blue dress and says that he cannot wait to see her blood on it. He tells her that he is on the other side of the door. The doorknob begins to turn, but Millie hears a woman’s voice. She is relieved until she realizes that the man knew her dress color and location, so he must be watching her closely.

Millie decides that she needs to tell Enzo what is happening. When he sees her, he immediately compliments her and tells her how happy he is to be marrying her. She decides that she can’t ruin the day by worrying him.

Millie and Enzo arrive at City Hall a few minutes before her parents are set to arrive. She spots a bald man standing nearby who is talking on the phone and staring at her. She realizes that she also saw him watching her in the café. Her phone rings.

Millie’s mother tells her that they are not coming to the wedding. She thought that Millie had changed, but she realizes now that Millie is still a “mess,” as she is marrying a “blue-collar immigrant” just because she is pregnant (45). Millie tries to argue, but her mother’s vitriol leaves her speechless. Enzo grabs the phone. He tries to convince Mrs. Calloway to come to the ceremony, but after listening to her talk for several moments, his tone changes. He tells Millie’s mother that they don’t want her in their lives, or their daughter’s, and then angrily hangs up the phone.

The bald man continues to stare at Millie from several feet away. She convinces herself that he is the man who has been threatening her and decides to confront him.

As Millie angrily yells at the man, he interrupts her to say that he recognized her because she saved his sister, Dee Widmayer. He introduces himself as Paul. Millie remembers Dee from a year ago. Millie, feeling embarrassed, immediately apologizes, but Paul is just grateful to have met her. Enzo asks if Paul would be the witness at their wedding, as it was supposed to be Mrs. Calloway, and he eagerly agrees.

Enzo pulls Millie aside. He gives her his sister Antonia’s butterfly pin. Millie is touched, as Antonia died at the hands of her abusive husband, leading Enzo to spend his life helping other women with Millie. He tells Millie that it can be her “something old” for the ceremony.

Enzo, Millie, and Paul go inside City Hall. They wait in chairs until their number is called. As they wait, Millie feels the baby kick for the first time. Then, they go before the judge and say their vows. As they kiss, Millie thinks of how happy she is to be marrying Enzo, feeling as though they have “earned this life together” and “will live happily ever after” (56).

The narration then shifts to Enzo. He thinks of how lucky he is to be marrying Millie. He believes that it is the perfect day and that nothing can ruin it.

As they prepare to leave City Hall, Enzo thinks back to the conversation with Mrs. Calloway. She warned Enzo that Millie is “dangerous” and will ruin his life. He dismissed her and believes that Millie is better off without her mother.

Enzo spots a man in the lobby who makes him pause. He tells Millie that he needs to go to the bathroom and follows the man in there. He checks to make sure that the bathroom is empty and then locks the door.

Enzo confronts the man, asking him why he has been following them all morning. The man tries to say he wasn’t, and Enzo punches him in the face. He grips his collar, threatening to break his fingers. The man finally admits that he was following them. He tells Enzo that Millie helped his wife leave him and take his kids. He wants Millie to pay for it. Enzo threatens the man, warning him to stay away from Millie or he will kill him. The man trembles and promises to leave Millie alone. Enzo smashes his head into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Enzo empties the man’s wallet on the ground, taking his driver’s license. He wants the man to know that Enzo has his address, and he plans to visit him soon to scare him further. He washes the blood off his hands, not wanting anything to ruin Millie’s day. He vows to protect his wife and children forever, no matter what.

Back in the lobby, Millie tells Enzo that she has been thinking about baby names. She wants to name their daughter something similar to “Antonia” in honor of Enzo’s sister. Enzo is moved by the suggestion, pulling Millie close to him as they walk out into the snow and back to their home.