Book TRK
Chapter 58
58 Taking My Life Back
58 Taking My Life Back (Jayden)
My brain can't handle all of this. The revelations hit me like a freight train, shattering my composure and ripping through the thin veneer of control I thought I had.
I just don't want to think about the emotional and mental abuse I copped from the man I 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. I 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. I often thought he hated her as well. I wonder why they ever got married if there was no love. I 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 made me want was a normal, loving family life. A life that seemed like a distant dream, something I could only watch from afar. Like I 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 I 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 I was born. But all I wanted and needed was a hug without her using that hug as emotional leverage.
I just wanted a mom and a dad who let me fail and it was okay. My throat tightens, and I swallow hard, pushing down the lump of resentment.
I realize I need to take control of my own life again. I can't have someone else calling the shots in my life. I used to call my own shots. I know that. I wanted Winona, so I married Winona.
Did Mother have anything to do with our accident? The suspicion, once a mere whisper, now screams in my mind. 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 I want as a a mother. The realization hits me like a punch to the gut, a stark betrayal that leaves me breathless.
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 I 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 wornes me now is the medical side of things. A chill runs down my spine. Am I 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! I can't trust Ashlyn now. Deep inside, I 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. I hate the silence. I 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 I want to see right now. I go to turn it off and I see all of us.
Winona, Ashlyn, Mother, me. I freeze, remote in hand, my breath catching in my throat. I turn up the volume, Great. That's all I 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 plastic creaking under the pressure. I don't care what he thinks he's going to do with Brennan Industries. I don't care if he' is the majority owner.
If he can do a hostile takeover, I have enough shareholders with confidence in me to do the same thing back to him. I need to set my future up and the future for my kids.
If I need to walk away from Brennan Industries, I will, but under my own terms. I also can't do this from here. I need to negotiate a deal with the shareholders who can change this by selling their shares to me.
The determination hardens within me, a fierce resolve to take back control.
The majority
jority of them live in Silicon Valley. Seeing as I'm not CEO for a while, perhaps a trip to my Santa Monica property is on the cards. The idea sparks a flicker of hope, a glimmer of a plan forming in the chaos.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
The doorbell rings. I'm not expecting anyone. better not be Mother, or Gus, or anyone to do with my life at the moment. I 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 I bend down, scooping her up into my arms, holding on because I realize she's the only thing anchoring me to sanity.