EuropeNovelMy 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 holdtogether.
Gordon had assuredthat Steve would findand to just sit somewhere amongst other people. Gordon is
here as well. | can't see him but | 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. | brace myself
for what | know will be an ugly encounter.
The wind rustles through the trees, and | catch sight of him walking toward me. He's thinner but well dressed
and that ssmug 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."
| steel myself, taking a deep breath, "What do you
want?"
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He takes a seat across from me, leaning back like he owns the place. "Straight to the point, huh? Always so
serious. | figured you'd want to catch up, see your old man before | 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 | had to say, could
you?"
| 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 shof wearing tattered hand-me-downs while other kids had proper school uniforms.
The only t| had anything decent was when the school stepped in with uniforms and seeing | had lunch.
Steve tookout on the streets, a pathetic prop in his begging schemes. | was just a tool to make people feel
sorry for him, to make them give more.
| remember the disgust on their faces, the pity, the way they looked atlike | 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, | got a scholarship and best of all, | got Anne.
The authorities didn't wantliving alone or in the school dorm right away.
They knew | needed extra protection and care, so | 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," | say, my voice firm. "You draggedthrough hell, usingto
| get sympathy from strangers while | 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 | had to do to survive."
"You did what you had to do to survive," | repeat, disgust curling in my stomach. "But what about me, Steve? |
was a child. | deserved a childhood, not a life spent begging on the streets and going hto a drugged-out
mother and a father who sawas nothing but a tool."
He leans forward, his eyes narrowing. "You think you're better thannow, don't you? Living your fancy
cfrom."
life, acting like you've got it all together. But you can't ever erase where you."
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| 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 controlanymore. 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 |
want to walk away, | know him too well. He's not going to letgo 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. | could've made a fortune off you, but | didn't. You owe me
for that."
| stare at him, incredulous. "You think not sellingto other men makes you a good father? You think that's
something to be proud of? You're sicker than | thought."
He shrugs, clearly unbothered. "You've always been ungrateful. | kept you alive, didn't I? | kept a roof over your
head. | let you go away to high school and college, and I left you alone. You had it better than a lot of kids."
"Better?" | spit out the word. "You call that better? I lived in fear every day of my life. | had to survive Steve, not
live with you. And the fact that you can sit there and act like you didsfavor by not sellingoff makes
you,
For a moment, | think | 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 cfrom. 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."
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