Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband by Anney GW

My CEO 202

202 Fractured Bonds (Winona)

I sit beside my mother's hospital bed, the steady beep of the monitors is the only sound breaking the silence. Mom's face is pale, almost translucent under the harsh fluorescent lights, her breathing shallow but steady.

I reach out, gently taking her hand in mine. It's warm, but she doesn't react.

The doctors told me she's unconscious, that she'll wake up when she's ready, but that's all they'd say. Some confidentiality agreement that keeps them from saying more. They've given her a bed and treatment, but answers are scarce. And the waiting is suffocating.

Cass is in the corner of the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring out the window with a fierce intensity. She hasn't said a word to me since I arrived at the hospital. The tension is thick.

Every time I try to talk to her, she shuts me down with a glare that cuts deeper than any words ever could.

"Cass," I start softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "She's going to be okay. The doctors said-"

"I don't care what the fucking doctors said," Cass snaps, finally turning to face me. Her eyes are red- rimmed, her face contorted with anger. "This is your fault. All of it. If you had just stayed away, none of this would have happened to her."

Her words hit hard. I want to defend myself, to tell her that I never wanted this, that I never asked for Steve to come back into our lives. But the look in her eyes stops me cold.

pain, she needs someone to blame. And that

for her for now. She's never had anyone but Mom. She must be hurting so

trembling. "I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to find Mom, to

"You showed up, and everything went to hell. Steve came back because of you. Mom had to kill him because of you. And now she's lying in this bed because of you. If she dies, I'll be alone...because of you!" Her words are venomous, each one lasered with the hurt and fear she's feeling. I want to reach out to

you're scared," I say, trying to keep my voice steady, to not let her see how much her words cut me. "But we're family. We need to stick together,

you never looked back. I knew about you;

did not know about you. I couldn't come back. I never expected Mom to survive. You have to understand, she hated me. She hated the

+25 BONUS

"Poor you."

want you to be able to relate to that kind of life. But know, I came back with hope, that I had a brother or sister. That Mom had

She was my Mom. We

say firmly. "And I'm not going anywhere, I love Mom, and I love you, Cass. I'm not going to give up on either of you.

and despair. "I don't need you. I don't want you. You've done enough damage. Just... get the fuck

want to reach out to her, to tell her that it's okay to be scared, that I'm scared too. But I know she won't let me in. Not now. Maybe

and fragile in that hospital bed. We shouldn't be in here arguing like this. It won't help Mom. I have to diffuse the situation and give Cass the space

her in my life now that I've finally found her, is unbearable. I squeeze her hand gently, hoping