Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband

(Mia)

The chandelier glitters overhead, casting rainbows across the marble floor as I pace the room, my heels clicking loudly in the oppressive silence.

Judy might be gone, but the specter of her looms large over this place. Gold fixtures, crystal vases, and overpriced art that screams wealth and power.

I stare out the window of Judy's luxury apartment as I clutch my phone. The screen glows with a message from Gus's people, promising me that everything will be fine. That they'll protect me. That I'm safe.

Safe.

I've just met with the person they are supposedly keeping me safe from at Cass's old apartment. I had a key cut, just in case I needed it.

No one is safe from Don Alejandro, my grandfather. That's what they don't realize. There is no escape from him. They'll never get anyone close enough to him to kill him. Gabriel's voice echoes down the hall, he's staying here with me.

I sink into one of the velvet armchairs. Gabriel was supposed to sell me more shares. He promised he'd think about it. But now, he's locked everything down, called Mamá, Ana, and Eva back to the States, and is planning to put the company's future in some airtight contract.novelbin

Control. That's all he cares about. He doesn't trust me. Even when I've proven myself and given them what they needed to arrest my grandfather.

"Mia." Gabriel's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look up to see him standing in the doorway.

"What?" I snap.

He crosses his arms, his gaze piercing. "Do you always have to throw a tantrum every time I say your name?" He comes into the room. "Don't flatter yourself," I shoot back. "I have better things to do than let you bother me."

"You're transparent, Mia. You think I don't know about you and Grandfather?"

"It's nothing to do with Grandfather. I've earned Brennan Industries," I say, sitting up straight. "Judy mentored me. She trusted me to run things while she was in Europe. I know Brennan Industries better than you do. You have your own business. Why do you have to have control of everything?"

"You think Judy mentoring you is a badge of honor?" His eyes narrow. "She was a manipulative monster, Mia. She left you enough rope to hang yourself. Anyone can see that. And you're walking a fine line if you think following her playbook or Grandfather's is going to get you anywhere."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," my voice rising. "You're not my father, Gabriel. Stop acting like you are."

"No, I'm not your father," he says coldly. "But Mamá, Ana, and Eva will be here by the end of the week. We're going to sort out the company's future-together. You don't have to like it, but you will respect it."

I clench my fists, my nails digging into my palms. He's always been like this. Overbearing, controlling, acting like he knows what's best for me. It makes me want to scream.

"You don't get to have it all your way," I say steadily, the words dripping with venom. "I will have what I'm entitled to. You can't deny it to me, no one can"

He steps closer, his expression softening just a fraction. "Mía... I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?" I ask bitterly. "From myself? From Abuelo?"

The air between us shifts. Gabriel's body tightens, and for a moment, I think he might actually walk away.

"You don't know what he's capable of," he says finally, his voice low and strained. "You think he cares about you? He's using you, Mía. It's his way." "Maybe he's the only one who ever saw my potential," I fire back, standing up to face him. "Maybe he's the only one who believed in me." "That's not belief," Gabriel snaps. "It's manipulation. And you're falling for it."

I glare at him my chest heaving with anger. "You don't know anything about me Gabriel. You never have You've spent your whole life trying to controtme, but you've never once tried to understand me. None of you have."

"I don't have time to argue," he says, turning toward the door. "Mamá will deal with you when she gets here."

The living room door slams behind him, and I sit back into the chair. I don't need him. I don't need any of them. I've always had to fight to be seen, to be heard.

I thought I could do good with Brennan Industries. Make a legitimate change. But I should've known Don Alejandro was playing all the cards.

That's been my whole life, hasn't it? Trying to prove to my mother, Gabriel, Ana and Eva that I'm not just the youngest, the least of us. I have a voice, and my grandfather hears me. He sees me.

"You've always been my favorite, you know. The others... they're too proud. Too stubborn. But you, Mía... you are like me. You are so much more than they see."

I swallow hard, my chest tightening at the memory, his words seared deep in my brain for as long as I can remember.

I should have said nothing, but I told him. I had to tell him. I replay the moment in my head.

"Abuelo, I don't want to be part of this anymore, I told Gus everything. They're going to take you down."

His smile never faltered, but

something cold and dangerous shone in his eyes now. "You think

they can stop me? You think their et

laws and their agents mean

anything to me? I built an empire, Mía I've survived more than they can imagine. And I'll survive this too."

"Only I can protect you," he continued, his tone softening again. "But you need to protect me too. Stay where you are. Feed me information. Help me rebuild what they've tried to destroy. And when the time comes, you'll take your place at the head of the empire. Our empire. Entire nations will bow to

you."

My breath catches. The thought of it sends a thrill through me, despite everything. Despite the fear, the doubt, the shame. He sees me. He believes in me. He's the only one who ever has. Even Mama treats me like I'm still five years old. I'm not.

"You've always been meant for greatness," Don Alejandro's voice, low and persuasive, invades my mind. "You're not like them. You're not weak."

His words find the cracks in my armor and mend them. His words make me whole again. I don't want to be weak. I don't want to be invisible. I want to matter.

But I don't want my mother to hate me. To be disappointed in me. Why can't she just love me for who I am not who she expects me to be?

My heart is being torn in two, one half pulled toward the light, the other dragged into the darkness.

I don't know who I am. The good, honest girl my mother needs me to be? Or the queen my abuelo says I'm destined to become?

Maybe I'm both.

Maybe I'm neither.