Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband
My CEO 160

160 Cutting the Ties (Winona)

I'm sitting at a wooden park table, my fingers tracing the rough surface, trying to focus on anything but the dread pooling in my stomach,

The park is beautiful today-familles laughing, kids playing by the stream, and ducks floating lazily in the clear water. It's the kind of day that should bring peace, but instead, my frayed nerves barely hold me together. Gordon had assured me that Steve would find me and to just sit somewhere amongst other people. Gordon is here as well. I can't see him but I know he is. Knowing that quells the gnawing anxiety.

My phone is recording, hidden in my pocket, ready to capture every word of this twisted reunion. I brace myself for what I know will be an ugly encounter.

The wind rustles through the trees, and I catch sight of him walking toward me. He's thinner but well dressed and that same smug smirk twists his lips. His presente is a shadow, darkening the brightness of the day. ach

"Well, well," Steve says as he approaches, his voice laced with condescension. "If it isn't my bougie

daughter."

I steel myself, taking a deep breath, "What do you

want?"

He takes a seat across from me, leaning back like he owns the place. "Straight to the point, huh? Always so serious. I figured you'd want to catch up, see your old man before I disappear for good."

"I have nothing to catch up on with you," I reply, my voice steady. "You're a part of my life I'm ready to

leave behind."

Steve chuckles, shaking his head. "You say that, but here you are. Couldn't resist seeing what I had to say, could you?"

I grip the edge of the table, trying to keep my composure. Memories of my childhood flood back-the stench of unwashed clothes. Painful hunger that was a constant companion.

The shame of wearing tattered hand-me-downs while other kids had proper school uniforms.

The only time I had anything decent was when the school stepped in with uniforms and seeing I had lunch.

Steve took me out on the streets, a pathetic prop in his begging schemes. I was just a tool to make people feel sorry for him, to make them give more.

I remember the disgust on their faces, the pity, the way they looked at me like I was something to be pitied, not a child who deserved love and care.

But as much as they pitied me, no one ever stepped in to help. No one wanted to get involved. Not until i did so well at school, I got a scholarship and best of all, I got Anne.

The authorities didn't want me living alone or in the school dorm right away.

They knew I needed extra protection and care, so I didn't go down the wrong track as a teen.

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160 Cutting the Ti

+25 BONUS

"My entire childhood was a nightmare," I say, my voice firm. "You dragged me through hell, using me to

I get sympathy from strangers while I went hungry and cold most of the time. You never cared about me, not once."

His smirk fades slightly, but he covers it quickly. "I did what I had to do to survive."

"You did what you had to do to survive," I repeat, disgust curling in my stomach. "But what about me, Steve? I was a child. I deserved a childhood, not a life spent begging on the streets and going home to a drugged-out mother and a father who saw me as nothing but a tool."

He leans forward, his eyes narrowing. "You think you're better than me now, don't you? Living your fancy

came from."

life, acting like you've got it all together. But you can't ever erase where you."

I meet his gaze head-on, refusing to back down. "I'm not here to erase anything, Steve. I'm here to tell you that I'm done with you. You don't get to control me anymore. You don't get to manipulate me. You're nothing to me now."

The words feel like a release, a long-overdue purge of all the poison he's injected into my life, But as much as I want to walk away, I know him too well. He's not going to let me go without trying to

burt me.

"I was the only one who ever protected you," he sneers. "You think you had it bad? You should be grateful 1 didn't sell you off to the highest bidder every night. I could've made a fortune off you, but I didn't. You owe me for that."

I stare at him, incredulous. "You think not selling me to other men makes you a good father? You think that's something to be proud of? You're sicker than I thought."

He shrugs, clearly unbothered. "You've always been ungrateful. I kept you alive, didn't I? I kept a roof over your head. I let you go away to high school and college, and I left you alone. You had it better than a lot of kids."

"Better?" I spit out the word. "You call that better? I lived in fear every day of my life. I had to survive Steve, not live with you. And the fact that you can sit there and act like you did me some favor by not selling me off makes me sick to my stomach."

you,

For a moment, I think I see something flicker in his eyes-fear, maybe, or regret-but it's gone as quickly as it appeared. "You might be all high and mighty now, but you can't run from where you came from. Bet your perfect life doesn't have room for a brother or sister." The shock grabs my breath away.

"If they're even still alive."