Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Once I called her bluff when I went over to a friend’s house when she said I couldn’t. I came home to find my dead puppy on the kitchen floor. She ordered one of the maids to stab him through the heart.
I’ll never forget cleaning up the blood through my tears. After that her punishments were more sophisticated. Anything I showed interest in, she found a way to destroy it. So I let her cultivate my friend group, approve of all my girlfriends and chose who I dated.
But now she no longer had anything to hold over my head and I refused to fall in line just because she snapped her fingers.”
“You seem to be under the impression that you can order me around. I said, I won’t be there so now you’ve said what you needed to, leave.”
She swings her hand in the air but I catch it before it connects to my face.
Her eyes widen in shock. I’ve never been this firm to me before. I never needed to be because the past twelve years, I’ve mostly avoided her.
Fat tears suddenly fall down her cheeks, another tactic she’s used on me when she wasn’t getting her way. Her crocodile tears didn’t move me and in fact they filled me with disgust because I could see right through her.”
“When you’re finished, you can go.” I emphasize my point by tossing her wrist away.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you treating me this way. If your father was alive, he wouldn’t stand for it.”
My chest tightens and I clench my fists at my side. There aren’t many cards my mother has left to play but she still knows which buttons to push. “If my father was alive, he probably wouldn’t give a shit because you would just be one of his many ex trophy wives. You live this privileged lifestyle because he happened to have a heart attack before he got bored with you and moved on to the next gold digger.”
Her palm flies across my face with a resounding slap. “How dare you? I am you mother!” Her nostrils are flared, and her coloring is nearly as red as her lipstick. Her face is still unmoving because of the various fillers she’s plumped it with but the anger in her eyes that are similar to mine is clear.
I laugh, ignoring the sting on my cheek. “Something you never let me forget. Now that you’ve reminded me for the 1000th time, you can leave. This is my property and you’re not welcome on it.”
“And here’s another reminder that you seem to have forgotten. I’m aware about the talk of your little company going public soon. What do you think would happen if potential investors find out you’re violent and a murderer. I bet…hmm, what’s that girl’s name? Melody Berkstram was it? I wonder what would happen if her family went to the media and discuss the cover up? And then there’s that poor unfortunate boy you assaulted on the night of your graduation party. I mean I guess I should take some of the responsibility for allowing that night to go unchaperoned but when the media comes knocking, I could always just say, I never expected my son to act like an animal.”
They say the one person who is supposed to love you unconditionally no matter what, your mother but mine is a completely different breed. When she doesn’t get her way, she has a way of going below the belt that would make even the most corrupt politician proud.
I have never claimed to be a perfect person, and I’ve committed many sins in my nearly thirty years on Earth. But she brings up the incidents that would have sent anyone else to prison. Incidents that still haunt me to this day.
“Just when I think you can’t stoop lower, you manage to surprise me. All this so I can come to your charity event?”
Her lips curve into what I think is a smile but looks more like a grimace. I can’t really tell because her face is like stone. “Does this mean you’ll be in attendance? Great. I will see you there. I’ll have my secretary forward you the detail. You can be my escort.”
She pats me on the cheek she’d smacked only moments ago.
My mother isn’t one to linger once she gets what she wants, she doesn’t wait for me to rely. She turns on her heels with the precision of a runway model and exit my condo.
“God, I hate her,” I mutter when the door closes behind her.
I wasn’t worried so much that she would bring my past up to the press. There were work arounds for that. But as long as she believed she was in control, she wouldn’t do anything stupid. Like going after Zora, and she would for various reasons.