4. Trapped in the middle

Alexa's POV

The hot water cascaded down my back, but it didn't wash away the lingering ache in my chest. It was the same ache I felt every time I remembered what happened to Mom. How Dad stole her rightful place and gave it to his new wife. 

I was fifteen when Dad decided to trade her in for a younger model. The divorce ripped our family apart. The pain of it was a gaping wound that never quite healed.

Dad's new wife, Claire, was everything Mom wasn't. Blonde, bubbly, and with a smile that never seemed to falter. She was twenty years younger than him, and she'd sneaked her way into our lives with a charm that Mom never possessed.

I hated Claire. I hated how easily she'd won Dad over. How she seemed to fit into his life so effortlessly. And how she'd used her beauty and cunning to get everything she wanted.

Mom had been a mess after the divorce. She was always anxious, always on edge. She had these episodes, these sudden bursts of anger, and she'd lash out at everything and everyone. She lost herself, her confidence, and eventually, her sanity. 

I was trapped in the middle. I loved Dad, but I hated what he did to Mom. He was supposed to be her rock, her support system. But he’d chosen a younger, more attractive woman.

He made her give up the company. "It's for your own good," he'd said, his voice a hollow echo of the man I'd once known. "You're not well enough to handle it."

But Mom had always been a strong woman. She was the one who built the company from the ground up. She was the one who had the vision, the passion, the drive. She started the company way before she met Dad.

Claire, however, was a master manipulator. She saw the company as her ticket to a lavish lifestyle, and she convinced Dad to take over. She was supposed to be just a model hired for the runway show, but she somehow left her catwalk and slipped her way into Dad's heart,  causing chaos in our family. 

I blamed myself for not doing more. I blamed myself for being too young, too naive, too afraid to fight for Mom. 

I hated Claire for stealing Mom's life, her identity, her legacy. And I hated Dad for letting her do it.

I'd been working on a plan to take back the company and give it back to Mom once she was well enough. But it had all gone to hell when Dad  gave Elsie the new CEO. I was so sure that Claire was behind that move. Having her daughter take over meant more control in the company. 

My mind raced, searching for a solution as I prepared for bedtime. There had to be something I could do. But I was just a 25-year-old with a business degree and a lot of anger.

I found Mom watching one of those soap operas she was obsessed with in the living room. 

"Hey, Mom," I said, as I joined her on the couch, "I wanted to talk about something important."

"Sure. Once the soap opera ends."

I watched with her, and once they started showing the end credits, I told her about Elsie and how she’d taken over the company.  Mom was silent for a while, the only sound was the gentle hum of the TV. 

"You need to be careful, Alexa," she said, her voice laced with concern. "Claire and that evil daughter of hers are not to be trusted."

"I know," I said, "but I have a plan."

I told her about my godfather. About how he could teach me everything I needed to know about the company, about business, about how to beat Elsie at her own game.

"He's not the right person, Alexa," she said, her voice a little stronger. "He's just like your father. Even though he never supported your father from divorcing me, he also didn't try to stop him when he went after that cunning Claire." 

"What?" I asked, my heart sinking, "But he had always been nice to me."

"Nice to you but numb to everything your father did to us? It's complicated, Alexa," she said. "You will not understand."

I sighed, the tension building in my chest.  I didn’t want to argue. 

“I’m going to do it, Mom,” I said. “I have to. Dad asked him to teach me. If I learn, he will give me back the CEO position.”

"But Alexa…" she began. 

"It's the only way to get the company back to you," I said, cutting her off. 

"Elsie or your father are not the problem," she whispered. "I am. You don't think I would have fought for what was mine if I had wanted it so bad? You need to let it go, Alexa. It's over."

Even if Mom had assured me that it was over, I know it isn't. 

I went to bed resolved to let my godfather teach me everything I needed to know. What to do about our attraction to each other is what I didn't know. 

He was charming, intelligent, and undeniably handsome. Even as a kid, I’d felt a pull toward him, a strange mix of respect and longing.

But the attraction had intensified over the years. We had grown closer, especially after Mom’s breakdown. He had become a constant presence in my life, a source of strength and support. He was the one who'd encouraged me to pursue my business degree, the one who'd listened patiently to my anxieties about Mom.

I still couldn’t stop thinking about the way he looked at me. His gorgeous gray eyes had me mesmerized for minutes. His touch had sent shivers down my spine. What he said about not teasing him unless I wanted to please him had remained at the forefront of my mind.

I knew I had to be careful. I couldn’t let my feelings get in the way and complicate things more, especially with my father.

But it was hard. It was damn hard.