Lydia
I woke up to a dull ache in my back, my body feeling heavy and sluggish. I let out a slow breath before sitting up and pushing the covers off me. The room was warm, but I still felt cold.
I needed to pee. Badly.
Dragging myself out of bed, I walked toward the bathroom. The floor was warm under my feet-heated floors? In a house this big, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I stepped inside and stopped.
The bathroom was already prepared for me.
A neatly folded towel sat on the counter, with a fresh toothbrush and toothpaste ced beside it. There was even a ss of water waiting for me. The shower was spotless, a fluffy robe hanging on the door.
Gloria had done this.
I frowned, staring at it all. It was… thoughtful. Strange but thoughtful. I wasn’t used to people thinking ahead of me.
Shaking my head, I took care of business, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. The cold water helped a little, waking me up fully. By the time I walked out, I felt a bit more human.
Then I stepped into the hallway and nearly forgot how to breathe. The house was… ridiculous.
The walls were painted a soft cream, the floors polished so perfectly that I could see my reflection in them. A massive chandelier hung in the middle of the staircase, sparkling even in the morning light. Every piece of furniture looked like it belonged in a museum.
Just how rich is Gloria?
As I was still staring at a gold-trimmed mirror that looked older than Canada itself, the sound of clinking china caught my
attention.
I followed the noise downstairs, and soon, the smell of something cooking drifted through the air-eggs, maybe? Bacon?
I reached the kitchen and froze.
Gloria was cooking.
She stood by the stove, a spat in one hand, flipping pancakes like she did this every morning. The sight of it was… weird. Unfamiliar. Mother didn’t fit her, not in my head. Not yet. But she is my mother, and honestly… I can see she’s just trying to be a mom.
She turned and spotted me. “Morning,” she said, her voice softer than usual. I-blinked. “You cook?”
She gave me a look. “I didn’t get money eating air.”
Fair point.
I stepped forward, ncing at the spread of ingredients on the counter. Eggs, milk, flour. She had made the pancake batter from scratch. I hesitated before muttering, “I can help.”
Gloria paused. “You want to cook with me?”
“Don’t make it weird,” I said. She smiled, handing me a whisk. “Alright, chef. Mix this while I check the bacon.”
I took the bowl and started whisking, the motion oddly calming. The kitchen was too fancy, the stove too high-tech, but it felt… normal. Domestic, even.
We stayed in silence for a while and I could feel her gaze on me now and then. After a while, I set the whisk down and leaned against the counter. “I understand.”
Gloria nced at me. “Understand what?”
I swallowed, my fingers tightening around the edge of the marble counter. “I understand why you left me at the orphanage. She wiped her hands on a towel, watching me carefully. “You do?”
I nodded. “I don’t actually want to, but… I put myself in your shoes and… I spent so much time hating you, and it’s just so hard to let go of that…” Gloria nodded slowly. “The hate.”
I nodded. “You were young, and obviously, I was a mistake.”
“A good mistake.” she corrected and I chuckled. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “A good mistake but I…. Forgive you.”
She smiled, but it wasn’t smug. It was… relieved. Like she had been waiting for me to say that. I crossed my arms. “So… what
now?”
“Now?” She handed me a te of pancakes. “We eat.”
I took the te, staring down at the golden pancakes, the syrup drizzled perfectly over them. I had never sat and had breakfast with my mother before. It felt strange.
But maybe strange wasn’t bad.
Over the next few weeks, I was finally feeling a bit better. My babies were perfect.
After weeks of worry, of sitting in that sterile hospital room watching them fight for their lives, they were finally healthy.
I held them in my arms, one on each side, their tiny fingers gripping onto me like they never wanted to let go.
And maybe they never would. Maybe, in some way, they could feel how badly I needed them too.
Gloria sat beside me, smiling as she traced a gentle finger along my daughter’s soft cheek. It’s a boy and a girl. “You did well,” she murmured.
“I’m a grandmother.” She said with tears building up and I leaned into her arms. “And my mother,” I whispered in a way she couldn’t hear.
The days passed quickly.
My rtionship with Gloria had changed. I didn’t hate her anymore. I didn’t forgive herpletely either, but I understood her. And she was trying. She was there for me and my babies.
For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a real mother. A family. I should have been happy.
And I was.
But every time I saw Mason’s name in the news, the happiness faded. Not into sadness. Not into pain. But into a rage.
2
Mason Woods Expands His Empire, Mason Woods Spotted with Julia Everett Again,
Wedding Bells for the Woods’s Heir?
Every headline irritated me. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palm.
One day. One day, I would make sure he felt everything he put me through.
“What are you watching?” I suddenly heard Gloria’s voice and turned to find her standing by the doorway. “Mason again?”
I didn’t reply to her. She walked over to me on the living room couch and said, “You’re ready.”
I turned to her, frowning. “For what?” She leaned back in her chair, watching me carefully. “To take over.”
“Take over what?” She smiled, but there was something serious in her eyes. “Mypany.”
I stared at her. “What?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” she said, folding her hands on the table. “I don’t want to run it anymore. I want you to.”
I blinked. “Gloria-”
“It’s yours, Lydia.”
I shook my head. “I don’t—”
“You do,” she cut in. “You’re smart. You’re strong. And you need power if you want to get your revenge on Mason.”
She wasn’t wrong. Still
She sighed, leaning closer. “Think about it. You disappear for a while, build your name, build your influence. And when the time is right…” I exhaled sharply.
“I go back.” She nodded.
I hesitated, staring down at my hands.
“I don’t even have a proper identity anymore.”
Gloria smirked. “I know, and I fixed that.” my brows creased as I watched her open the folder she had brought along with
her.
The name on my new documents felt foreign at first.
Alissa Brooks.
I stared at her, trying to process it. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed. “Why?”
Gloria exhaled, leaning forward. “Because I built this for you. From the very beginning. Everything I did, every decision I made-it was for this moment.”
I shook my head. “But I don’t know anything about running apany.”
“That’s why I’m training you.”
1 exhaled again, my fingers tightening into fists. I was scared to ept this as a part of me told me I’d mess it up.
But another part of me-the part that had fought to survive wanted this. I wanted power.
But more importantly, I wanted revenge on Mason and Victoria.
Slowly, I reached for the pen. My fingers wrapped around it tightly. Gloria didn’t say anything. She just watched.
I opened the folder. My new name was already on the legal documents.
I swallowed hard. Then, before I could overthink it, I signed.
I set the pen down.
I wasn’t the same woman I used to be. The moment I walked into the corporation headquarters, I knew it. The old Lydia was gone. The one who loved blindly, who trusted the wrong people, who thought love was enough.
That woman died the day Mason tried to kill me. And now? Now, I was reborn.
As I entered thepany’s building everyone tensed up and rushed to say their good mornings. As I walked into the elevator, my new assistant followed me. He seemed tense around me, as he should be; he barely knew me. All people had on me was the fact that I was now CEO.
Gloria had made the announcement earlier that week. She was stepping down. Handing over everything she owned to me- herpany, her assets, her power.
A new identity. A new name. A new start. I wasn’t Lydia Woods anymore. I was now Alissa Brooks, CEO of Kavas Corporation.
And I was just getting started.