Succession

Blake

“It’s true,” he nodded. “I lost her because of the company. I gave up so many things in my pursuit of success, but your mom was something I could never replace. No matter how hard I tried.”

A quiet sob shook my mother’s shoulders. She placed her pointer fingers beneath her eyes and wiped the first tears away. As if I was looking at her through a prism, my view started to change.

Her actions had by no means been justified or validated, but my father’s side of the story corresponded with hers. She still tore my heart out and irrevocably changed our lives forever, but if Dad was willing to give her a second chance, maybe all the blame didn’t belong at her feet.

“What does this mean?”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a few quiet beats, then my dad spoke up. “We’re going to try again. Your mother will be coming home with me when I leave here. She’ll stay by my side for my recovery and we’ll take it from there.”

“You’re serious?”

He nodded. “As a heart attack. Or a stroke—appare