Page 20 of Fractured

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And now that I realized it had been happening, I made a silent vow to her.

I was going to help her let that light shine.

I just didn’t know how... but I would figure it out.

‘Your bullshit is sucking up my bandwidth.’

– Talia’s Secret Thoughts.

Chapter 3

Talia

I kicked off my heels, removed my bra, and sighed. Today had been long.

I had managed to salvage the client Dominik had almost cost me by oversharing with her.

And I had made partner.

The first thing I did... was have a written warning given to Dwayne.

He didn’t know what personal space meant, and if he crowded into my space one more time, I was going to knee him in the groin.

My head was bent as I looked into my fridge, trying to decide what I wanted for dinner, when there was a knock on my door.

I sighed, closed it, and then headed to my front door.

I lifted on a tiptoe and checked the peephole.

At the sight of my mom, I unlocked the door and opened it.

She smiled at me, “Hey, honey. Can I come in?”

I stepped to the side as she walked in, then I closed the door.

She headed to my couch, and I followed her.

The moment we both sat down, she took my hands in hers and offered me a smile, then she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that I have been taking Dom’s side in things. Not until you were quiet at dinner.”

I nodded.

She shook her head, “Don’t do that, Talia.”

I lifted a brow at her, “Don’t do what?”

She smiled sadly, “Don’t nod and agree with me. Tell me how you really feel.”

I shook my head, “Mom, it’s fine. Really.”

She sighed, “It’s not fine, Talia. I can’t fix what I’m doing if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

I nodded, then tentatively I asked, “Can you look at it from my perspective?”

She nodded, then said, “Explain it to me.”

“I was the surprise baby. You had already decided not to have any more kids. And things had been a certain way. And Dominik was already a part of everything. So, from my perspective, you loved him more than you loved me. You had more time with him to build that relationship.”

She winced, “I can definitely see that.”

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