Formidable

“It is just recessive genes.”

“Your grand mum must have had green eyes or something?”

“Your eyes are blue and your husband's are brown. Your baby does not have to have the same eyes,” everyone had something to say when I just subtly mentioned my shock after my daughter’s birth.

And honestly, I felt a little foolish for overthinking it. My bundle of joy was here, and that was all that mattered. I had become a mother.

However, a few months after I gave birth and returned to the company, shock swallowed me whole at the level of incompetence that I observed. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I had stepped back from the company, trusting that things would continue to run smoothly under Jerry’s supervision as managing director, but when I returned, reality met me in a way I was not prepared for.

Orders had piled up, production costs doubled and income dropped as well as the quality of our products. Deliveries were mismatched and delayed, production lagged, and clients grew impatient with each passing day.

The structure I had built so carefully over the years felt like it had begun to loosen at the seams, and no matter how much Jerry tried, it was clear that he could not hold everything together the way I did

So I worked so hard.

I did a total cleanup and I worked longer hours than I should have, while stretching myself thin, trying to fix what had been broken. At the same time, my half-brother and my stepmother remained constant thorns at my side, and were always looking for an opportunity to undermine me.

It was during one of the thorough evaluations at the company that I figured out that someone had been tactically siphoning company funds. I tried to secretly trace the account, and even got the accountant arrested but it was so difficult to fish out. I began to dig, but the operation was so clean that it scared me.

And in the middle of all of that, I was a mother. Taking care of Brittany was so hard by myself, but somehow Hilary was always there. By the time my daughter turned two, she had grown into the most beautiful child I had ever seen and her big green eyes stood out even more.

But life did not slow down.

When I realized that I had too much to do and doing it alone was too much, I decided to diversify fully into the new niche I had been working on before childbirth, but it consumed me. I spent days in the office working endlessly, travelled a lot to process some things, and was always stuck on my laptop on weekends.

Work demanded more of me, and most days, by the time I returned home, Brittany was already asleep. Jerry tried in his own way, but we barely had time together as a family because I just had to meet up.

My daughter, Brittany grew faster than I could observe all at once, but the first real shock of my life happened when she was five.

At first, I could not quite place it. It came in small moments and little things that did not sit right, but I brushed them aside, thinking they were just phases children went through.

Until I could not ignore them anymore.

Brittany was so rude and spoiled in an irritating manner, and it was during one of my vacations at home that I figured out that her character was way worse than I could ever imagine.

She spoke very harshly to the maids and housekeepers with a level of disregard that made me uncomfortable, and her teacher mentioned something to me that she was very mean to her classmates too.

But whenever I chided her, Jerry would always support her, “You are being mean to her. Just let her be. She is still a child,” he would always frown at me.

He showered her with excessive love and affection which I was so glad about, but he often bought her gadgets and things that weren’t age-appropriate. Everything I tried to talk to him about, regarding training Brittany with firmness always fell on deaf ears.

And goodness, Hillary spoiled her even worse.

Sometimes, Brittany would run past me to Hilary whenever I was correcting her wrongdoings, and would refuse to talk to me whenever I grounded her.

I couldn’t believe I was losing control because of Jerry, who never saw anything wrong, and Hilary who always scolded me that I was being too sensitive.

“Gee. Please don’t talk to her like that,” she had snapped once, shielding Brittany, who was crying because I had told her that she could only play games when she was done with school work, “She’s just a child.”

“Yes, Gina,” Jerry added, his tone heavy with disapproval, “You are being sensitive and irrational because you are too busy. You should rest more instead of wasting your energy like this.

I was trying my best to hold on tight and swallow the pain because I expected Jerry to have my back regardless of what anyone would have said. I expected him to understand me, but he has grown worse in attitude over the past few years.

I also started noticing that Jerry got so comfortable with Hilary over the years, and they became so close. She would follow him to pick clothes for Brittany whenever I was too busy to do so.

She would wear matching clothes with her, and as much as I was grateful that she doted on my daughter, I became quite uncomfortable with the over-closeness that I had indulged. It was also not settling to see her not have plans of marrying or having her own kids.

Over the past few years, I had tried introducing Hilary to a few of my close acquaintances who took an interest in her but she always had a complaint about everyone. I get that she might have her preferences, but I was scared that she was already psychologically attached to my family instead of her to start her own.

It was crazy that my own child now preferred the company of my friend to me, and that it felt like I was the bad one to her. I began spending more time at home while trying to bond with Brittany, but she was always wrong in her actions and would throw tantrums if scolded.

Thinking I was being too much and too sensitive regarding my child instead of being calmer, understanding, and explaining to her, I tried even harder to be a better Mum, wife, and CEO. I wanted to show that I was capable, and that I could raise my next of kin to a better version of myself.

However, that was the biggest mistake of my life. Of my existence.

It was a few weeks after I officially signed the documents that made Brittany the next of kin to my company that I decided to spend the entire day at home with my family. I realized that I needed to be more present, especially now that I could feel Brittany slipping further away from me in ways I did not understand.

She was in the living room, completely absorbed in the game she was playing on her tablet, her small fingers moving quickly across the screen as if nothing else in the world mattered. And she had school the next morning.

“Brittany,” I called gently, “Have you finished your schoolwork?”

Seeing that she did not respond to my question and was deeply engrossed in what she was doing, I rose to my feet from where I was sitting away from the laptop I had been working on the whole time, and moved a few steps closer, “Brittany, I am talking to you.”

She sighed loudly this time and lifted her gaze to look at me, her voice laced with irritation before returning her gaze to her game, “I will do it later.”

“No,” I said, keeping my voice calm even though I could already feel my patience thinning, “You will do it now. You know the rule.”

“I said later!” she snapped, and the sharpness in her tone made anger rise in me.

I reached for the tablet and snatched it from her hands, and I fought the urge not to spank her hard for being so rude.

“That is enough!” I said firmly with an icy tone, “You will not speak to me like that!”

Ignoring what I had just said, Brittany jumped instantly, her face twisting with anger as tears filled her eyes, “Give it back! I hate you!”

Staring in shock at the words of my daughter which hit harder than they should have, I commanded, leaving no room for argument, “Go to your room, now.”

However, Brittany did not move or flinch at my words as she stared at me with a defiance that spoke louder than the words she could ever utter.

“Brittany!” I snapped but she folded her hands insolently now, still frowning.

And in that moment of frustration, I stepped forward and put my arm around her to guide her toward the stairs, determined to teach her a lesson by confiscating all her toys. I have had enough of her nonsense already, and could not let her grow into the terrible adult who would wreck the company.

“Do not touch her like that!” The authoritative voice came so suddenly in a sharp manner, slicing through the tension in the room and my head jerked back instantly to see Hilary standing there, dressed in a white dress. I had not even heard her come in.

Her expression was nothing like the calm, composed look she usually wore, and a deep fury was brewing in her eyes as she gazed disgustingly at me, catching me off guard in a way I did not expect.

“She is just a child,” Hilary continued, her voice rising as she walked closer, “You cannot lay your hands on her like that.”

I stared at her, momentarily stunned by the tone she had taken with me, and considering the fury that was still quavering in me, I interjected immediately.

“Excuse me?” I said slowly, trying to process what was happening.

“You heard me,” Hilary replied, her gaze still shooting lasers at me, “You cannot treat her that way.”

“And who are you to tell me how to treat my own child?” I asked, my voice colder now as I stepped toward her, and Brittany moved immediately, slipping behind Hilary as if seeking protection. That alone was enough to make my anger rise further.

“She is my daughter,” I continued as my teeth gritted hard, while struggling to hold the rage that was simmering inside of me, “And I have every right to correct her when she is wrong. So please, I would like you to stay out of my business!” I warned dangerously.

At that moment, Hillary let out a short, almost disbelieving breath, and for a second, she just looked at me as though she was seeing me differently.

“Who told you that?” She breathed, and the words landed heavily between us as I blinked hard to be sure I had not heard wrongly.

“What?” I stared at her like she was losing her mind at that point, but she stared at me coldly, undeterred by my surprise.

“Who told you Brittany is your daughter?” She questioned again.