My CEO 58
+25 BONUS
58 Taking My Life Back
58 Taking My Life Back (Jayden)
My brain can't handle all of this. The revelations hitlike a freight train, shattering my composure and ripping
through the thin veneer of control | thought | had.
| just don't want to think about the emotional and mental abuse | copped from the man | thought was my father.
He always acted like he hated me. Every scornful glance, every harsh word, a bitter confirmation of how he
despised me. | never got it back then. Now it's all clear, the pieces fall into place in a sickening puzzle.
Why would Mother keep us there like that? Greg was nothing short of cruel to her at times. The memory "of his
rage, his unrelenting criticism, sears through me. | often thought he hated her as well. | wonder why they ever
got married if there was no love. | pace the room, my hands clenched into fists, nails biting into my palms. I'm
confused and angry, a tempest of emotions swirling inside me. If this Gus thinks he is going to be welcomed with
open arms as my father, he has another thing coming. All my dysfunctional family ever madewant was a
normal, loving family life. A life that seemed like a distant dream, something | could only watch from afar. Like |
saw other kids had. Parents showing up at sports days, and performance days. Parents who high-fived the losses
for trying anyway. My mind drifts back to those school events, where | stood on the sidelines, pretending not to
care. Not parents who constantly added more pressure because nothing was ever good enough. "I know Mother
loves me. Despite everything, that much is clear. That's been her only motivation since the day | was born. But
all I wanted and needed was a hug without her using that hug as emotional leverage.
| just wanted a mom and a dad who letfail and it was okay. My throat tightens, and | swallow hard, pushing
down the lump of resentment.
| realize | need to take control of my own life again. | can't have someone else calling the shots in my life. | used
to call my own shots. | know that. | wanted Winona, so | married Winona.
Did Mother have anything to do with our accident? The suspicion, once a mere whisper, now screams in my
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmind. I'm certain she would never risk my life like that.
But if she would put the life of the woman I loved at risk, that is not someone | want as a a mother. The
realization hitslike a punch to the gut, a stark betrayal that leavesbreathless.
Did she have anything to do with the death of Greg Brennan? The thought swirls in the back of my mind. dark
and insidious
I'm not sure | even care about that. We'd both been better off without him. I never shed a tear, that's for sure.
His absence was a relief, a lifting of a dark cloud that had hung over us for too long.
What wornesnow is the medical side of things. A chill runs down my spine. Am | keeping something buried
deep inside like Gus says?
Is there something I just don't want to remember? Maybe there's a lot i don't want to remember. My mind
SE Taking My Life Back
is a tangled web of half-formed memories and lingering doubts.
Then there's my best friend, Lance, and the woman I'd chosen to move forward in life with, the mother of my
second child. Mind blown! | can't trust Ashlyn now. Deep inside, | know she probably took advantage of Lance to
try and get pregnant as a back-up plan. But the baby is mine according to Gus. The doubt gnaws at me, a
constant, unsettling presence.
I'd like to know for myself. To hear it first-hand from our doctor. I'm not sure what Gus would have to gain from
lying about this, but if he has that much power and influence, I'm not blindly trusting him.
In fact, the only person I'm trusting from now on is myself. The resolve hardens within me, a steel edge to my
thoughts.
This place is altogether too quiet. The silence is oppressive, a mocking presence that amplifies my inner turmoil.
| hate the silence. | walk into my living room and flick on the television. I'm hit immediately by the news and
guess who? Gus Brennan.
His face fills the screen, and a surge of anger courses through me. He's the last person | want to see right now. |
go to turn it off and | see all of us.
Winona, Ashlyn, Mother, me. | freeze, remote in hand, my breath catching in my throat. | turn up the volume,
Great. That's all | need. The whole world knowing our business.
"Brennan Industries is under threat of being engulfed by Nexus Global." The reporter's voice says.
Like Hell it is.
"Gus Brennan says the board has lost all confidence in Judy and Jayden Brennan."
He has no right to go shooting his
mouth off like this. My grip tightens
on the remote, the lego creaking
& |
upder the pressure. | don't care what
3 ' 9 0
he thinks he's going to do with
: f f |
Brennan Industries. | don't care if he
is the majority owner. The content is
on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
If he can do a hostile takeover, | have enough shareholders with confidence into do the sthing back to
him. | need to set my future up and the future for my kids.
If | need to walk away from Brennan
Industries, | will, but under my OWA
1108 ai from
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmterms. | also cAptids. from here. |
EeilitoNegbiiate a deal with the
shareholders who can change this by
selling their shares to me. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
The determination hardens within me, a fierce resolve to take back control.
The majority
jority of them live in Silicon Valley.
q ' 2
Seeing as I'm not CEO for a while
perhaps a trp to-mySartaiMonica
aT on the cards. The idea
sparks a flicker of hope, a glimmer of
a plan forming in the chaos. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
The doorbell rings. I'm not expecting anyone. better not be Mother, or Gus, or anyone to do with my life at the
moment. | go and open it. Winona and Abby are standing there.
Abby steps in and hugs my legs. Her small arms wrap around me, and the innocence in her voice breaks through
my defenses. "Don't be sad, Daddy."
Tears sting my eyes, and | bend down, scooping her up into my arms, holding on because | realize she's the only
thing anchoringto sanity.