Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband by Anney GW

My CEO 188

188 My Mom, My Friend

(Winona)

Two weeks later, | sat across from Mom at the kitchen table in my townhouse.

The place is quiet, too quiet. Abby's at preschool, and Cass is... well, who knows where Cass is.

Enjoying her newfound freedom and independence, no doubt.

I'm trying not to worry about her, | mean she isn't a kid, but the knot in my stomach isn't loosening anytime

soon. | feel like her look will attract people who like to make trouble.

Jayden has been busy all this week and apart from Abby time, we've barely had the chance to talk or stress or

argue about anything. It's a good feeling actually.

Just us getting on with it without all the crap overshadowing our days.

Mom's hands tremble slightly as she sips her tea. We've never had a proper conversation. Not about the weather

or dinner plans, but about real stuff. The kind of stuff that digs deep and leaves a mark. But | know if | want to

help her and get her to joinwith Barnaby, we need to get more than skin deep.

| take a breath, deciding to dive in. "Mom, I've been thinking a lot about everything that's happened since left for

high school. Jayden, Judy, Ashlyn... It's been a real shitshow."

She looks at me, her eyes softening with that mix of love and guilt that always gets to me. "Winona, I'm so sorry

you've had to go through that. | wish | could've protected you from it."

"I mean | often think how my life would've gone if I'd never been friends with Jayden. If I'd just walked, let him

get caught for trying to cheat in an exam. That should've been red flag number one."

"We can't know these things. | often think the sabout being with Steve. If only I'd listened to my parents."

"Who were they? | mean, | never heard of parents, not yours, not his." | might have grandparents out there

somewhere.

"My mom and dad. They were amazing really. But very strictly Christian. Of course, no teen ever thinks that. |

was in love and | didn't care. When I told them | was pregnant, Dad was so angry. He threwout." "Oh, Mom.

That's awful."

"It was a different era, you have to understand. | knew the rules and | broke every one of them."

I nod. "I'm hearing you."

"I knew if | went back I'd be sent away and the baby, you, would've been adopted out. | never went back there. |

don't know if they are still alive."

| wonder how that may have turned out. What if an entirely different family had raised me?

"Little did | know at the tgoing back hwould've been a blessing for us both maybe."

"We'll never know, will we? Do you want to try and contact them now?"

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160 My Mom, My Friend

She shakes her head. "I think it's best left as water under the bridge."

"Do you know anything about his family?"

"He toldhe had no family, that he was alone in the world. That's whyand the baby would mean so much

to him. | don't know if he was telling the truth or not."

"lI guess we never really knew at the time."

"I like to think that a part of him believed he'd change for me, and for you. But | was never enough to make him

change."

"It's not your fault," | say quickly, shaking my head.

"And it's not your fault either. Just like Jayden's mother, you weren't to know what she was about. | guess neither

was he at the time."

"It's just... it's been a lot. And sometimes, I'm not sure I'm handling it all that well."

Mom reaches across the table, her hand covering mine. "You should be proud of where you are now. You're an

amazing mother, and you've stayed level-headed through all the chaos." "Level-headed? | don't know about

that," | state. "Half the time, I'm scared out of my mind. I'm constantly waiting for the next disaster to hit."

"That was me."

T

"Not having an anxiety attack is something | have to work on every minute of the day. You the outside, but I'm

always one wrong move away from losing my shit."

dn't see it on

She nods, a sad smile on her lips. "I know that feeling all too well. | lived it every day when Cass was young. It's

exhausting, trying to keep it all together when everything around you is falling apart."

We sit in silence for a moment. I've never felt closer to her than | do right now. And yet, there's still so much

between us, so much we haven't said.

"I don't know how you did it, Mom," | finally say. "Raising Cass in that hellhole, keeping her on skind of

path."

"| tried to give her stype of direction in life, and I've failed miserably."

"You're not failing." | say to Mom firmly. "You're giving her choices. She's young, and she's angry. It goes with the

territory. She'll figure out her place in the world in time."

"I hope so," she sighs. "I just don't want her to end up like..." She trails off, not needing to finish the

sentence.

"She won't," | say quietly. "She's got you, and that makes all the difference."

"And now, you."

"I've been thinking, Mom. About my therapy sessions. Jayden is taking stout to focus on his business.

Would you consider coming withtomorrow?"

She hesitates, her eyes flicking to the side as if she's trying to find an escape route. But then she sighs and nods.

"Are you sure?"

188 My Mom, My Friend

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I'm sure. Barnaby is something else. He specializes in past trauma. Somehow he just gets you to see things

clearly without barely saying a word. | think he's magic." "He'd have to be a magician to work on me."

"No pressure. This is to helpcto terms with my childhood trauma, If you happen to get something from

it, that's a bonus. | just feel being able to take you into my safe space means | can get through a lot more." "If it

helps you, I'm in."

"Thanks, Mom," | say, giving her hand a squeeze.

We sit there for a while longer, talking about everything, the way mothers and daughters do when they're best

friends too. For the first tever, | feel normal. Like a mother and daughter should be.

| like the security of that very much. Today's Bonus Offer