The CEO's Desire ⚣ ✓

07

Honestly, this is almost completely unedited buttttt here you go, beauts!
As always, thank you
Enjoy!
xoxo

Warning: There is mention of sexual assault in this chapter

Christian

Brad and I took a seat on the terrace chairs, but our mother remained standing near the balcony. I felt a chill run through me as another breeze blew through the balcony panels. My mother tightened her hold on the silk robe to keep herself warm.

I still didn't understand why we were outside right now. I also didn't quite get why my father wasn't.

Brad dug deep into his pockets, before he pulled out a small metal box. I didn't know what it was, until he flipped it open and pulled a short white cigarette out. My mother glanced down at the box, and her mouth opened to say something... but then she shut it. This probably wasn't the time to start chastising Brad for his bad habits. Not now. Not when our father was sitting on the couch in sweatpants drinking wine.

We had much bigger fish to fry.

"The home Vadik and I grew up in was far from comforting. I told you both a little about it, but I never went into detail- partially to spare you, but mostly to spare myself. It's memories I never wanted to relive again." My mother took a deep breath, then another sip from her glass.

The wine was almost gone now.

"With our father being just shy of a monster, the person who protected me most from that wrath was Vadik. My father had a job that brought in close to no money. My mother had left us when we were very little, and the money my father did make was mainly spent on alcohol and narcotics."

It was a very rare thing to hear my mother speak about her own. That was a topic she did her best to avoid like the plague. I couldn't even begin to comprehend how to cope with a mother leaving her own kids.

"Vadik was the one who found odd jobs to feed us. He was the one who managed to keep me in my primary classes, forfeiting his own education. More importantly, he was the one who took the majority of my fathers abuse. Going back to that home everyday was for shelter, and nothing else. Sometimes we would go weeks without seeing our father."

That reminded me of what Alex once told me about his mum. When she would go on benders, leaving him to take care of himself.

"Though he left us to pay for everything, those were the times Vadik and I looked forward to the most. Every night, we'd pray that he'd just never make it back one day. That he'd stumble out of some pub, trip into an alley, and die in the cold there. Sometimes it feels like God only takes away the good ones."

I couldn't even begin to process my mother's words.

I couldn't wrap my head around being hurt so badly, you wish your parents ceased to exist completely. What my mother was telling me now, put so much more into perspective.

"It disgusts me to say that I grew an attachment to Vadik. Now, being much older, I know that that, what I felt then, wasn't love." My mother's voice broke a moment. Her eyes had been watering throughout this entire conversation, but she managed to hold those tears at bay. "That was the closest thing to Stockholm syndrome. Vadik was the real reason for the roof under my head. He was the reason for my last meal. How don't you form an attachment to someone like that?"

Brad had kept the unlit cigarette between his lips as he listened to our mother speak. It was after she took the next pause, did he finally light it. We all sat in silence a moment, hearing the metal cap flip back on his old fashioned lighter, before the sound of the ignition sparked a flame.

My mother brought her wine glass to her lips, to finish off the last sip remaining. It was clear as day that she'd be going back for another soon.

"What Vadik told you was right. There's so much more there, than what I've let on. What I've told you two... But don't let him confuse you. He took advantage of my needs, and sexually assaulted me on multiple occasions... in his own twisted mind, he called that love. And maybe in my own twisted mind, I did too."

I glanced back at my father through the glass windows. He was still staring straight ahead at the unlit fireplace. It made me wonder whether he had known this all long, or if my mother had told him this tonight.

"I'm not saying that Vadik was born a monster." She continued. "I had to crouch in this wall space he hammered out for me behind my bed, to protect me from our father. Most nights I would hold myself tight as I silently listened to my father beat him unconscious. I don't think most monsters are born monsters, there's often something devastating to shape them into that. My father was that. While Vadik had apologized in every way he's thought possible through the years, he's still holding onto the feelings that we had for each other when we were together. The feelings that are now completely one sided and unwarranted."

I felt another chill run through me as the air grew colder out here. I couldn't tell how much time had passed anymore. Brad took a deep inhale from his cigarette, allowing the thick clouds to blow out over the balcony.

"When I found out I was pregnant with Brad, I was terrified. Vadik was overjoyed. He had always talked about being a father. Being better than the father this world decided to grace us with. By then, I knew what he was doing was hurting me. I knew I couldn't stay in that house any longer. I didn't lie to you two about leaving, but I did lie about how I left. I wish back then I had the strength to severe ties from him. To severe ties completely from that life. There was just too much holding me there.

"The money we gave Vadik wasn't to keep his distance from the company. He didn't have interest in my growing wealth or what I was creating with your father. The money I sent him was out of guilt for leaving. Leaving him with our father. It didn't take long before he managed to get out, himself. Vadik was always resourceful. He was blessed with a beautiful mind, but plagued with a unfruitful environment.

"In order to protect Brad, I told Vadik I lost the baby shortly after I left home. When our servers were hacked, it only cemented the fact that he had discovered I lied. Now there really isn't much I can do to protect either of you."

With that last paragraph, my mother sounded unrecognizably defeated- it was something I had never detected in her voice before.

I glanced at Brad. We both didn't know how to respond to that. With the background check I had requested on our mother right before our trip to Hawaii, we were able to see that she had kept ties with Vadik after leaving Russia. At the time, it contradicted the story she told us about Vadik finding our parents years later, and asking for money.

After hearing the full story, I could understand why she felt the need to lie.

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