TBG - Chapter 13: The Breaking Point

Theodore was deep in the middle of a business meeting, his focus on the financial charts in front of him. His partners were discussing projections and strategies, but his mind was always ten steps ahead. The hum of conversation and the click of pens filled the air, but Theodore’s attention was momentarily interrupted by the buzzing of his phone.

It was Miranda.

He excused himself from the table, stepping into the hallway with a sense of urgency. “Miranda,” he answered, his voice professional but curious. “What’s going on?”

“Mr. Thatcher,” Miranda’s voice came through, laced with concern. “I need to speak with you. It’s about your mother and Nadia.”

The mention of Nadia immediately made him tense. “What happened?” he asked, his mind already racing.

Miranda didn’t waste any time. “Your mother… she threatened Nadia. She humiliated her, said awful things. She told Nadia to stay away from you, even offered money to make her leave you alone. It was bad, Mr. Thatcher.”

Theodore’s stomach tightened. His grip on the phone tightened too. This wasn’t part of the deal. Nadia wasn’t supposed to endure this kind of treatment. His emotions shifted quickly from calm professionalism to boiling anger.

“She said those things?” Theodore’s voice was low, controlled, but the anger was palpable. “Nadia wasn’t supposed to go through this. What the hell was she thinking?”

Miranda’s voice was steady, but it carried a trace of worry. “I don’t know, Mr. Thatcher. I just wanted to let you know what happened.”

Theodore paused for a moment, letting the weight of her words sink in. His jaw clenched. This wasn’t just a matter of business anymore. It was personal.

“I’m ending this meeting,” he said coldly, without another word. “I’ll handle it.”

Theodore hung up the phone and walked back into the conference room, his gaze sweeping over his partners. He barely spared them a second glance.

“I have to go. We’ll resume later,” he said, his voice firm.

Before anyone could respond, Theodore turned and left the room, his mind already set on what he had to do. His mother had crossed a line, and he wasn’t going to stand for it.

The drive felt too long, each second heightening his frustration. When he arrived, he didn’t wait for an invitation and stormed up to the front door. Leonora opened it with her usual poised composure, but her smile faltered when she saw the fury in his eyes.

“Theodore,” she greeted him smoothly, though there was a nervous edge to her voice. “What brings you here?”

Theodore didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I know what you did,” he said, his voice firm and unwavering. “You threatened Nadia. You humiliated her.”

Leonora’s expression hardened, but she didn’t back down. “I’m just trying to protect you, Theodore. That girl—she’s nothing but trouble. I won’t stand by and watch you make a mistake.”

“No,” Theodore cut her off, his voice cold. “You don’t get to decide who I love. Nadia is important to me. I love her. And no one, not you or anyone else, is going to change my mind.”

Leonora’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked as though she might say something, but Theodore didn’t let her.

“If this ever happens again—if you ever treat her like that again—I don’t think I’ll be able to look at you the same way. Do you understand?” His tone left no room for doubt, no room for negotiation. His mind was made up.

For a long moment, Leonora stood silent, a mixture of surprise and anger flashing across her face. But Theodore didn’t wait for her response. He turned and walked out, the weight of the moment settling over him.

Theodore’s relationship with his mother, Leonora, had always been strained. Growing up, he felt the absence of warmth and affection from her, a coldness that permeated their household. Unlike many children who grew up with the protective love of a mother, Theodore had been raised mostly by his father.

His father, a man of quiet strength and integrity, was the one who nurtured Theodore’s sense of discipline and ambition. They spent countless hours together, whether it was at the dinner table discussing world affairs or in the study, where Theodore learned the finer points of business and life. His father’s guidance was the anchor that Theodore needed.

Leonora, on the other hand, remained an almost ghostly presence in the background, only emerging when it suited her. She was never the nurturing mother he needed. Her interests always seemed to lie elsewhere—her social circle, her image, and her pursuit of things that could elevate her status.

Theodore never fully understood why his mother had always been distant. She had no time for him, and he had come to expect little from her. Their interactions were often brief and transactional—nothing deep, nothing personal. In a way, it felt like she saw him more as a pawn in her life, a way to maintain her position in society rather than as a son to be cherished.

When his father died, the tension between them only worsened. The sudden loss left a gaping hole in Theodore’s life, and in the months that followed, he looked to his mother for support and comfort. Instead, Leonora introduced someone new into their lives—her boyfriend. It was too soon, far too soon, for Theodore to process the death of his father, but there was no time for grieving in his mother’s world. She was already moving on, as if his father had never mattered to her.

To Theodore, it felt like betrayal. His father had been a man of loyalty and honor, and seeing his mother so quickly replace him left a bitter taste in Theodore’s mouth. It sent a strong message that his mother had never truly been invested in the life they had built together. It made him feel small and inconsequential, as though she had been secretly dissatisfied with their family life all along.

Leonora’s choice to introduce her new boyfriend was done without any consideration for Theodore’s feelings. There was no delicacy, no attempt to ease him into the idea. She acted as if he should simply accept the change. In Theodore’s eyes, this was not only disrespectful to his father’s memory but also a cruel reminder of how emotionally detached his mother was.

From that point on, their relationship became irreparably strained. Theodore’s trust in his mother fractured beyond repair. He no longer sought her approval or affection. Their interactions were limited to necessary exchanges—business matters, appearances at family events, and obligations. Theodore couldn’t bring himself to look at her the same way after what she had done.

Her coldness, her selfishness, and her refusal to acknowledge the depth of his grief had severed the bond between them. Theodore had learned to rely on himself, building his empire with the lessons his father had taught him. But as much as he had distanced himself from Leonora emotionally, he could never forget the profound impact her actions had on him.

Their relationship, once distant, had now become a formal, obligatory connection. It wasn’t that Theodore hated her, but he could never bring himself to trust her again. The scars of her betrayal ran too deep, and the hurt from the years of neglect and indifference would never truly heal.

It was this fractured relationship with his mother that played into Theodore’s fierce protectiveness over Nadia. For the first time, he was allowing himself to care for someone beyond the transactional nature of his life. Nadia was different—she wasn’t a pawn in his game, and she wasn’t someone he could easily push aside. And now, with his mother threatening her, he couldn’t stand idly by.