sinking ships - succession

chapter four

          The world caving in around her is what it felt like when her father named her the successor so unexpectedly. People clapped but she could not hear the sounds.

            She could only hear the blood rushing in her ears as she saw the rolled eyes from Shiv. She could see the clenched jaw that Kendall wore. She could see how Roman looked a little dejected but like he expected it.

           She was public enemy number one.

           She had never wanted to be their enemy. To have something that they all fought for and yet was given to her. She never wanted them to hate her or be envious over her. It was why she had nothing to do with Waystar. It was for them.

          Their father apparently did not care about what they wanted nor even about what she wanted. He wanted her as his heir. But she refused to take what had always been hers.

          She had quickly left the RECNY Ball with Jack. She spent the next week ignoring her father, apologizing to Kendall, and telling every media source that her father was dead wrong. She was putting out the fires he created just as she had always done for her family.

           She was the public darling. An image her father helped create was beloved by the world. Any type of misdeed her family had done was wiped away because of her, her beloved status, and the media circus that had always followed. One word from her could smother a roaring fire.

            But now this fire involved her and she hated it. She had never had news about her out in the world that she didn't approve of. This succession business made her uneasy.

         She had never really fought with her siblings besides the falling out with Shiv. She had the preconceived notion that Kendall and Roman might hate her. And when family were the only people she cared about, she cared quite a lot about what they thought.

        But Kendall kept reassuring her that there was nothing to hate and that it was okay. Roman said it was whatever, no big deal, and that he expected it anyway. She didn't quite believe him but she accepted it for now.

           Since things were hashed over with her siblings, she spent the week doing a whole bunch of interviews denying what her father said. She was flying all around in her jet to do them so it was nice when she came home one night to smell food cooking.

She smiled as she took off her coat and put it on the coat rack. Then she went to the kitchen to find pots on the stove but the stove was turned off. Her eyes caught on blood drops on the counter and then blood all over the floor. But her husband was still nowhere to be found.

She frowned as she started to panic, "Jack."

As she turned to go down the hall towards their bedroom, she saw him come around the corner from the bathroom. He was holding a bloody towel in his hand that had a bandage wrapped around it.

"What happened? Are you okay?" she asked in rapid succession.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he smiled to reassure her. "I know you've had a busy week so I was going to cook for you and then..."

He held up his bandaged hand, "I cut myself."

Her heart rate started to come down from the panic that sent it skyrocketing in one minute. She came closer as she took his hand and inspected it.

"It's okay?" she asked. "You don't need stitches?"

"No, no. I'm okay," he denied. "It's not even that deep."