Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband

206 Jayden's Unyielding

206

Jayden's Unyielding Resolver

(Winona)

We sat in the ward waiting room. Jayden is beside me, his hand clasped around mine. We haven't said much since Mom passed away, both of us caught up in our own thoughts.

Cass came back after ten minutes, tears streaming down her face, to say her final goodbyes to Mom. I couldn't bring myself to intrude on that moment. She needs her space, and I need to respect that.

Jayden squeezes my hand, grounding me in the moment. I look at him, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes. But he's strong, certain, and that's what I need right now.

"I should head back to Ashlyn's room soon," Jayden says quietly, his voice steady. "Check on the baby before I take you and Cass home."

I nod, standing up with him. The thought of seeing Cass now, of trying to convince her to come home with me, feels like an insurmountable task, but I know it needs to be done. I'm not leaving her alone. I promised Mom. But as we start along the ward corridors, past the nurses station to head off this floor, the hairs on back of my neck prickle.

the

I turn, and there she is-Judy. She's standing at the entrance to the ward, her face drawn and desperate The sight of her makes me confused. Why is she here? Why now?

"Jayden, please," Judy calls out, her voice cracking as she takes a step towards us. "Please, talk to me."

Jayden's face hardens, a wall of ice slipping into place.

He doesn't even hesitate as he turns to the security guard stationed nearby. "She's breaching a no- contact order. Call the police. In fact, call Detective Harris, who's leading the investigation into Ashlyn's fall."

The guard nods and steps forward, already reaching for his radio. Before long two other security men step in to block the way.

"Jayden, wait!" Judy's voice is frantic, her hands shaking as she reaches out, as if she could somehow pull him back to her. "Please, don't do this. I just need to talk to you."

I see Gus come in the ward doors behind her. "Judy, this is a bad idea, I told you."

"Shut up, Gus," She snaps. "I just need Jayden to talk to my son...."

Jayden's jaw tightens, his eyes narrowing. "There's nothing to talk about, Mother. You've crossed every line. There's no coming back from this. Now my baby is fighting for life." "Please, Jayden," Judy begs, her voice breaking as tears spill down her cheeks. "I never wanted this with Ashlyn. I didn't do anything to her."

Jayden's expression doesn't change. "I don't believe you, and even if I did, it wouldn't matter. You've done enough."

A security guard moves in, taking Judy by the arm to escort her out.

206 Jayden's Unyielding Resolv

#25 BONUS

But she resists, turning to me, desperate. "Winona, please. You're a mother. You understand. I love Abby. I would never hurt her. Please, make him understand that. Please."

I know, deep down, that Judy does love Abby. For all her faults, all the damage she caused, that love is real. And I can't ignore that Abby loves her as well. I have to tell her Grandma Lucy is gone. Tears well in my eyes. Do I need to tell her she can't see Grandma Judy anymore either?

I look at Jayden, who's watching me with a hard, unreadable expression. "Jayden, maybe... maybe we can talk about this later. Abby... she misses her Grandma Judy."

Jayden's eyes flash with a mix of emotions-anger, hurt, betrayal-but he takes a deep breath, his jaw clenched. "We'll talk about it later," he says, his voice clipped, but not unkind. "But not now."

Judy's face crumples, but before she can say anything else, the security guard begins leading her away. She goes, but not without a final, pleading look at both of us.

It's a look that says everything she's too broken to say out loud.

Gus lingers, his eyes following Judy as she's escorted out. "Jayden, please," he says, his voice low, almost pleading, "Reconsider. She's... she's not herself anymore. She's broken."

Jayden turns to Gus, "Judy is your problem now," Jayden says, his voice cold, final. "You've enabled her all these years, watching from afar while she tore our lives apart. You didn't step in when you should have. and now you can deal with her fallout." Gus's face tightens, but he doesn't argue. He knows Jayden is right. We all do.

Jayden turns back to me, his eyes softening just a fraction as he looks at me: "Let's go see Ashlyn and we'll come get your sister and go home to Abby. There's nothing more we can do here tonight."

I nod, slipping my hand into his as we walk away from the chaos Judy has once again brought into our lives. But this time, it's different. Jayden is in control again like he was before we married in Vegas, and we're facing our problems together. Finally, I can trust him again. We still have a lot to deal with and navigate. I'm not saying any of it will be easy. It won't.

I'm still in therapy, still dealing with letting myself forget what he and Ashlyn shared. Being able to let him love me physically and do the same back.

But I do feel like we are closer to that than we have been. I'm selling the townhouse. I can't live there after Steve was killed inside.

I think it's time we moved into the penthouse with Jayden to be a family.