Post by matt on Sept 29, 2022 6:24:37 GMT -6
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Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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Wrestling is one of the few ways that Glory Braddock can truly clear her mind lately, and even then it is becoming more and more difficult to keep the problems of her daily life out of her mind. In the past simply being in an arena for a wrestling event was enough to put her in a completely different zone and allow her to completely forget about everything else going on in her life. But now the only way Glory can truly forget is in the heat of the battle. The stressors and pressures of Glory’s daily life outside the ring is slowly but surely breaking down the mental protections she had set up for herself. Her personal problems are beginning take their toll and reignite certain post traumatic stress issues that have been brewing for quite some time now. Then again, what would anyone expect from the perfect storm of problems brewing in her personal life?
Braddock has her own ideas of how to deal with it all and none of them include seeing a therapist. Glory is a very prideful woman and doesn’t like to think that she needs any counseling or therapy. She wants to think that she is mentally and emotionally strong as she is physically strong. She doesn’t want to admit that maybe she isn’t as tough as she would like to think, that even she may need help once in awhile. Glory also doesn’t want word to get out that she is struggling to keep herself together mentally. Image and reputation are very important to Braddock for many reasons. She knows the consequences if the public were to find out that she may be losing her mind. So as much as it pains her, she must bite the bullet and at least give therapy a chance.
Braddock is seated in the off white colored waiting room. The carpeting is a plain grayish color. Unlike most waiting rooms this one does not exactly shout excitement or joy. Glory is wearing a burgundy spaghetti strap sleeveless high waist cami dress with a short hemline that stops above the thighs. She is wearing sandals and has sunglasses covering her eyes despite the fact that she is indoors as well as a large hat over her head. The hat and sunglasses is mainly to obscure her identity. The British Bombshell was concerned about possibly being identified if her therapist had any other patients this morning. Lucky for her, the waiting room is empty and she has not seen anyone come in since she arrived. There is a chance that she was the first scheduled patient and she may get seen and get out of here before anyone else stops by.
She is highly recognizable by the people of Miami who have welcomed and accepted The British Bombshell as one of their own in the seven years that she has lived here. Therefore Glory is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to hiding her identity. She has a gardening magazine up over her face. She isn’t really reading this magazine. In truth, Glory doesn’t give a damn about gardening. She is just using this magazine as yet another way to cover her identity in case someone happens to come strolling into the waiting room.
“Ms. Braddock…”
“Huh?” The blonde is startled by the new voice. She lowers the magazine and looks up. She breathes a sigh of relief as she sees her therapist; a slightly overweight balding man in brown khaki pants and a light blue button up shirt named Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald. His warm smile is disarming. She sighs and smiles politely back at him as he motions for her to get up.
“I’m ready for you. Please, follow me.”
Braddock nods her head and then gets up out of the seat. She places the magazine back down and then follows Dr. Fitzgerald out of the waiting room and down a narrow hallway. They do not walk very far down this hall before making a quick right turn into another, much smaller room. Inside there is a very comfortable looking red couch. Perpendicular to the couch is a plain black office chair and a nearby coffee table. Fitzgerald motions for Braddock to go to the couch. She does as she is told while the therapist sits down on the black office chair. He picks up a pen and a notepad that were both lying on the table and proceeds to start writing.
“I must admit, Ms. Braddock, I was surprised to hear from you again. Our sessions were not always very pleasant.”
“I hated the sessions, doc.” Glory says bluntly. The therapist chuckles softly and nods his head in agreement.
“Yes, quite correct. You hated them. I was just trying to be kind. Yet near the end of our regular sessions you started to cooperate. You still did not like me or these sessions, you were still in denial that you even needed any help, but you cooperated. And you showed real progress.”
“If I recall you gave me a clean bill of health.” Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head in confirmation of Glory’s statement.
“That’s true. With all of that being said, I must admit that I was rather surprised to receive your phone call requesting this appointment.”
“I was just as surprised as you were that I made this appointment.” Glory begins with a cheeky grin on her face. “I will be completely honest with you, doc…I still don’t believe I need these silly counseling sessions. I still think I am fully capable of dealing with my own problems by myself. And I still think it is a rip off that you get paid to tell people like me how I feel.”
“Yet here you are.” Dr. Fitzgerald remarks with a grin of his own. Glory nods her head in agreement.
“Yeah, here I am. I wouldn’t be here were it not for my sister. She is worried about me and thinks I should at least speak to you about certain problems going on in my life right now.”
“Whatever your problems may be, Ms. Braddock, there is at least one silver lining and that is the fact that you are showing growth and maturity. The fact that you were willing to listen to someone else who wanted to just simply help you and then the fact that you were willing to swallow your pride and come here to see me today is evidence of the progress you have made.”
“Whatever.” Glory rolls her eyes. “Can we get on with this? I really don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. People might see me.”
“Your privacy is always my utmost concern, Ms. Braddock. And for you, I even went the extra step to schedule no one else this morning except you. So believe me when I say that your secrets, whatever they may be, are safe with me. Now then, I would love to help you, offer my advice, offer you some guidance, but to do that I need to know exactly what your problems are.”
“Right…” she sighs deeply; she knows that she needs to do this but still finds it difficult to be open to this man “...look, I have a lot going on in my life right now. So much stressors, so much pressure, and I feel like I’m being pulled apart at the seams by all that’s going on with me right now.”
“Start with the smallest, least stressful event and we can work our way up from there.”
“Ok…well, you remember how we began this whole doctor patient relationship, right doc?” She asks. Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head.
“Yes, your company no longer trusted your mental faculties and they took control of the company away from you. Upon advice from the board of directors as a way to potentially regain control, you agreed to seek therapy from me.”
“Right, well I have been approached by a member of my company’s board of directors. According to him, there are employees of my company, even members of the board, who are trying to once again take control away from me.”
“I see.” Dr. Fitzgerald writes this down on his notepad. “Do you believe this person?”
“I don’t believe a damn soul on that board of directors.” Glory sneers angrily. They are all snakes and con artists, as far as I am concerned. But I need to take this threat seriously, because what if it is true? I don’t want to risk losing my company again.”
“Well if you think that this individual is a scoundrel and not trustworthy then this rumor is just that, a rumor. You shouldn’t concern yourself too much with this until you hear or see something more substantial to prove that it is true. That is my advice regarding that issue. Don’t let paranoia tear you apart, Ms. Braddock.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Well why don’t we move on to the next of your list of problems, Ms. Braddock? You did indicate that there was more than one.”
“Yeah,” Glory nods her head “my next problem is with my daughter. Melinda, my oldest child, she once dated a guy named Clyde Sutter. If I had known they were dating I would have ended that relationship before it could begin but they dated in secret. I knew Sutter. I had kicked him out of my wrestling school because he was too violent and too aggressive. He could not control his rage. He and my daughter broke up because he lashed out and hit her. That’s what Melinda said, anyway. I suspected that there was more to it…”
“Sexual assault?” The therapist asks. Glory nods her head. “Can you prove it?”
“No, I can’t. But I am sure that he did! Now they are dating again and poor Mel is convinced that he is changed!” Tears form in Glory’s eyes. Dr. Fitzgerald sees this and offers her some tissue. Glory nods her head in thanks and takes the tissue and begins to wipe the tears from her eyes. “I don’t want to see my daughter hurt again, doc.”
“Well now that is a little more serious. Have you ever spoken to your daughter about these charges you have alleged?”
“A little…”
“Have you spoken to Mr. Sutter about any of this since he and your daughter started dating again?”
“Yes…”
“Does he seem any different to you from the last few times you encountered him?” He asks. Glory sighs and nods her head.
“Yeah, I admit, he seems calmer now than before. But I only spoke to him just the one time since I found out he was dating Melinda. Can I really make such a determination on one meeting?”
“I think you just answered your own question there, Ms. Braddock.” The therapist says with a knowing grin. “Can you make any judgment, one way or the other, on their new relationship based solely on one meeting? You admittedly have said little about this relationship to either Mr. Sutter or your daughter. Perhaps you should talk to them again? You very well could be worrying yourself over nothing.”
Glory Braddock rolls her eyes. “Fair enough, doc, you seem to have some fairly easy solutions to the first two problems. But the next one I guarantee you can’t help me with, unless you can raise the dead.”
“What happened?” He asks curiously. “Did a loved one pass away?”
“Yeah…my mother.”
“I see.” He sighs and his grin turns into a look of concern. “How close were you?”
“Well as a teenager I wasn’t close to her at all. She divorced from my dad and left to leave in the United States. I remained in London and was raised by my dad. I subconsciously grew to hate her for leaving me. But later on when dad died, mom and I grew closer. I gave her a second chance at being a mother to me and I really enjoyed being with her. But now…” she shakes her head “...now I just have regrets. I wish I hadn’t been so damned angry at her. I wish I had given her a chance earlier, I wish I had gotten to know her better. But now she’s gone…” the tears are beginning again. Glory wipes the tears from her eyes.
“I can see how all of this combined can create some issues for you, Ms. Braddock. It could even trigger your PTSD. My best suggestion is to renew our regular sessions. This way I could prescribe medication.”
“No, I don’t want medication.” She vehemently shakes her head. “I can handle this without medication.”
“Ms. Braddock, please, I understand why you do not wish to have to endure these sessions and I understand your pride gets in the way of you agreeing that you may need medication. But please, you need help and this is what I see as the best possible solution to calm you down and to move on from all of this, especially the grief surrounding your mother’s death.”
“C’mon, doc, you have to know of some other alternative method of therapy?” She sits up and glares at the therapist. “I did not come here requesting to be your patient again, doc. I pay you. I’m not being paid to see you. And what I wanted from this session today is just some advice on how I can handle this because I would much rather deal with this myself.” There is a tense pause as doctor and patient stare at one another. Finally Dr. Fitzgerald sighs and nods his head.
“I understand. Yes, I do know of some alternative methods of therapy, but I would highly encourage you to at least consider resuming our regular sessions.”
“Ok fine, I considered it. Now what do you suggest I do ON MY OWN?!” Glory says demandingly. The therapist sighs deeply. At this point he realizes that Glory won’t actually resume these sessions. He isn’t sure he should help her anymore. Is she beyond helping?
“Do you know of anyone else in your life that you looked up to in the past? Another family member like an aunt or an uncle? Maybe even a grandparent? Or any person who served as a role model to you in the past would do.”
“Yeah…” Glory’s maternal aunt and uncle, Bart Jones Kelly Kurinsky-Jones, are both deceased; both murdered years ago. Glory’s paternal uncle Peter Braddock is deceased as well. He died of cancer. All of her grandparents are deceased as well. But the therapist did suggest a role model would work as well and the only true role model outside of her family that Glory had was Aphrodite Noel. Braddock’s relationship with Noel began when Aphrodite taught Glory everything she knew about how to run a successful business. She taught Glory how to survive in the cutthroat, ruthless world of the corporate world. Glory credits the business savvy and knowledge that she gained from Aphrodite for helping her regain control of her company after it was taken from her.
Glory isn’t the only person from her family that Aphrodite helped. Glory’s sister, Julia, was strongly addicted to drugs. The addiction was destroying Julia physically and emotionally. She was even in danger due to debts she had accumulated to drug dealers. Aphrodite paid off the debts and got Julia clean. In exchange for the assistance she provided to the Braddock sisters, Aphrodite requested only one thing; she wanted them to become her daughters, her adopted children. Julia was more than willing to give her what she requested. Glory always thought Aphrodite was rather eccentric if not insane for living in that fantasy, and she thought Julia was just as nuts for agreeing to live that fantasy too. Glory did agree and she pretended to be her daughter but she only did so in order to get more knowledge out of Aphrodite. But playing with Aphrodite’s fantasy world is what got Glory in trouble with her company. She nearly lost everything. The moment that her relationship with Aphrodite became a problem, Glory quickly ditched her. But things have changed. Glory does feel, despite the rumors otherwise, that she has as stronger hold upon the board of directors. Could she resume her relationship with Aphrodite Noel? Could her former mentor help her again in her time of need? Will she want something from Glory in return?
“Perhaps you should go see this person.” Dr. Fitzgerald suggests. “If you are unwilling to resume sessions with me, then maybe you should reconnect with this person. May I ask who it is?”
“Just a friend.”
“No matter. If this person can at least help fill the void left in your heart from your deceased mother then I can’t see why it would hurt to open up to them. That is my advice.”
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Belfast, Northern Ireland
Off Camera
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After seeing her therapist, Glory Braddock needed to make another visit and that was to one person who has been very loyal to her family, a trusted friend and ally; Sophie O’Brian. Seeing Sophie serves many purposes but primarily is to help Glory with has to do with all of her personal issues. Yes, she went to see a therapist about this a few days ago. Yes, the therapist gave his advice. But Glory knows where that advice will send her. If she follows the therapist’s advice then she will be going back to her former mentor and friend, the eccentric Aphrodite Noel. Does Glory trust Aphrodite? Of course she does. She knows Aphrodite at least could provide her with the comfort she needs, if not provide her with all the answers and solutions to her problems. But all Glory really needs is comfort, a way to ease the tension, the pain, and most importantly the grief she is suffering from because of the death of her mother. Aphrodite can do it, but Glory knows that it will come with a price. Is her comfort and peace of mind worth the potential cost?
Normally Glory trusts her own judgment in situations such as this. Lately she has lost faith in her own judgments. She does not trust herself to make the right decision, especially not when she knows that her own mind is crumbling under a trio of stressful attacks. She always has and always will trust Sophie. Unlike the therapist, and others who have led her astray in the past, Sophie has never once led Glory astray. If anyone can help her decide whether to go along with the suggestions and advice she received from her therapist, it would be Sophie O’Brian. Glory spends plenty of time with her best friend Sophie. Despite this fact, it has been a long time since she has actually been to Sophie’s home. The last time she heard, Sophie was living with her brother Mark and his wife Ashley. Sophie never was a wealthy individual; one of the many differences between her and Glory. But what Braddock has found upon her trip to Belfast is surprising to say the least.
Braddock is walking the grounds of her best friend’s lavish new home, a verifiable luxury mansion. She is wearing denim jeans, black boots, a purple silk blouse, and a black leather jacket. Walking alongside The British Bombshell is Sophie O’Brian. Sophie, who is naturally a brunette but has now dyed her hair blonde, is wearing a forest green bodycon dress with patent leather high heel pumps and a long black overcoat. They approach a large fountain located out in front of the main home, a three story estate that looks almost like a castle. The British Bombshell is used to living in the lap of luxury but even this impresses her.
“Wow, Sophie…just…” she shakes her head “...wow…”
“You are speechless, I take it? I feel accomplished. Glory Braddock is at a loss for words thanks to me. That is quite an achievement. I should pat myself on the back.”
“I have so many questions.” She looks at the fountain. It is indeed, gorgeous, but it isn’t Sophie’s style. At least it wasn’t the last time Glory saw her. “I mean, the last time I checked you weren’t into this kinda stuff.”
“Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” Sophie smirks. “Victor Hugo.”
“Huh?”
“People can change, Gloria. You of all people should know this. You were once a stubborn bullheaded tomboy who played pranks and never thought things through. You once lived a simple life like you father. Now you live the lap of luxury and have rejected your childish past.”
“It may have been childish but it was fun…” Glory says with a regretful sigh.
“Fun does not always advance your cause. You made the necessary changes to become the best version of yourself. Change is inevitable, Gloria. Just ask Charles Darwin. If you do not change you are doomed to go extinct. I will never go extinct, my friend. Thus I changed my outlook on certain things. So here we are.”
“But how did you get all of this…” she motions to the fountain and then turns and motions to the large three story home behind them “...it isn’t like you just won the freaking lottery, mate.”
“In a way I did.” Sophie says with an evil grin.
“Uh oh, I know that grin of yours all too well. What did you do?”
“I did nothing.” Sophie insists. “This lovely estate once belonged to my mentor, Quinne Murray.”
“I thought my dad was your mentor?”
“He was my wrestling mentor. Quinne taught me everything I knew about strategy and tactics. The Art of War by Sun Tzu? Quinne made me read it. She made me memorize. It became my gospel thanks to her. She also had me read and study other philosophers, mostly philosophers of warfare. I owe much of my success to her. She recently passed away.” She shakes her head. “Quite a sad loss, I must say. I was surprised to find that she left everything she owned to me in her will.”
“Now that’s quite a story.” Glory furrows her brow. She is still taken aback by the enormity of this huge estate Sophie now owns. She is still shocked by Sophie’s new image. Sophie is the one to break her reverie.
“Now I assume you didn’t just come all the up here to my home so that you could gaze in awe at my new splendor. You have a championship match Sunday. Correct?” Sophie asks, snapping Glory out of her thoughts. She nods her head.
“Uh, right, yeah, I definitely want to work on that while I’m here, mate.”
“You could have done that in Miami. Isn’t your husband a former wrestler?”
“Yes, Kurt is a wrestler, but he is more of a brawler. Hudson is a tactician and he is smart. I need to work with someone on Hudson’s level and, to be perfectly honest with you, love, you are the absolute best pure wrestler and best strategist and tactician I have ever known.”
“Better than you?” Sophie asks curiously. Glory smiles and nods her head.
“Yeah, definitely better than me.”
“You have no idea how it warms my heart to hear you say that. Yes, I will help you prepare. I will do whatever I can to assist you, Gloria. I have always been loyal to you and your family and that will never change.”
“Good to know.” Glory says with a warm smile. “Because I don’t just need to be prepared physically, I need to be ready mentally and right now my mind hasn’t exactly been in the best of places.”
“Of course it isn’t. Your mother just passed away. How could it be right?”
“I have made progress. I sought out help from my therapist and I received some good advice. I got an idea of what I can do to move past the grief, to help deal with the stress and pressures that I have been dealing with lately, but I’m not sure…”
“What aren’t you sure about?” Sophie asks curiously. “If you have a solution you should take it.”
“It isn’t that simple.” She insists, shaking her head. “You know me, Sophie. I’m terribly prideful and I hate seeking out help. There are very few who I would ever seek out help from, you are on of those few and part of the reason I rely upon you so much is because you are my friend and I trust you will give me assistance with no strings attached.”
“Always.”
“But you know as well as I do that rarely is anything in this life ever free.” Braddock sighs deeply. Sophie takes Glory by the hand and guides her past the fountain and then over towards a nice, gorgeous looking marble bench. The friends sit down next to one another. Sophie pats her on the hand in a rare show of comfort, rare for someone like Sophie at least. “I need someone to hold my hand. I need someone to guide me through this current darkness. Sophie…I need a mentor.”
“I see.”
“And I can’t ask you to do that.” Glory shakes her head. “I don’t want to upset the relationship you and I currently have. I need to go back to my former mentor but I’m worried about the cost.”
“Aphrodite.” Sophie states. “You are thinking about returning to Aphrodite.” Glory nods her head in confirmation.
“Yeah.”
“What you need to do is a cost-benefit analysis. Is the benefit of returning to Aphrodite worth the potential cost?”
Glory shrugs her shoulders. “Sophie…you just told me that you had a mentor once, you had Quinne Murray. Tell me about your relationship with Ms. Murray.”
“What is there to say? Quinne Murray was not the easiest person to deal with, I can assure you of that.” She chuckles softly. “I met her actually before I met your father. Immediately I recognized that she was more than just a little eccentric. ButI also recognized that she had something I wanted. She had great wisdom, great knowledge, and I wanted her knowledge so badly because I knew her wisdom, knowledge, all of that would assist me moving forward in life. I was left permanently scarred from being abused and beaten by my alcoholic father. I wanted to learn under her wing. I would do anything to learn because I knew with her wisdom I could raise my status so that I was no longer the gutter rat my father had helped create. I wanted to be as powerful as Quinne. I was fearful of asking her. I was intimidated back then. But I did work up the courage to ask her and much to my delight she agreed to take me under her wing and mold me, to guide me. She agreed to teach me everything she knew.” She holds up one finger. “But there was one condition. It was something I never told you, your father, or even my brother about because I knew you would have tried to stop me.”
“What was the condition?” Glory asks, suddenly very nervous.
“I had to become her slave. Not even her slave…her toy. Her pet. Quinne taught me how to protect myself by turning off my emotions. She taught me about strategy and tactics. In return I served her hand and foot. Anything she asked of me, I would obey without question.”
“How…” Glory shakes her head “...how long did this go on for?”
“Nearly my entire adult life. But I got what I wanted…I gained the knowledge I needed to succeed in life. And at the end of the day, I became the same kind of powerful person Quinne Murray once was…quite literally.” She snickers. “I inherited her entire estate. A parting gift for my years of service to her.” She pats Glory on the back. “So you tell me, Gloria…what is it that you hope your former mentor, Ms. Noel…what do you hope she can do for you?”
“Honestly?” Tears form in Glory’s eyes. “I just want the pain to stop. My father died…my daughter is dating a man who I think is a monster…my mother died….the one thing I have left, my company, I’m hearing rumors that people are trying to take that from me now. I just can’t stand the loss any longer, Sophie. All of it hurts too much and I want it to stop. I want to numb the pain.” She looks at Sophie. “Can you help me turn off my emotions? The way Quinne taught you?” Sophie chuckles and shakes her head.
“I wish it were that easy. But to be honest, my friend, I think you have another, better solution, a solution that would be much easier and better for you than shutting off your emotions.”
“What do you mean?”
“From 2014 to 2016 you abandoned your own family, the Braddock family, and briefly became a member of the Noel family. I remember this very well. At the time it even enraged me because of my fierce loyalty to your father but I now can understand why you did it. What is wrong with going back to that scenario?”
“You’re a bloody mind reader.” Glory laughs lightly. “That’s what I was considering but I’m not sure I can do it, Sophie. Even if I wanted to, the fact is that the entire time I did that, those two years, I was just pretending. I was faking it.”
“So?”
“So, if I faked it then the same painful memories and emotions will still be there. Nothing changes.”
“Ah but for two years you pretended.” Sophie grins maniacally. “It doesn’t take long for the seeds to be planted. It didn’t take that much time before I truly believed my purpose in life was to serve Quinne Murray. It didn’t take me that long before I began drinking her proverbial kool-aid. And if I understand your relationship with Ms. Noel, she would treat you not as property but as her own beloved daughter. All you would be doing is living a fantasy and in this fantasy you would have your mother back.” Sophie embraces Glory in a tight hug. “If it truly does hurt so much to live in reality, then just force your mind to leave reality and live in her fantasy. The pain will go away.”
“You don’t realize what you’re asking me to do…” Glory gently pushes her away. She shakes her head. “...I mocked my sister for giving in to those fantasies, for living out those fantasies. Hell, I secretly mocked Aphrodite herself for having that kind of fantasy. But now you want me to just give in?”
“Gloria, my friend, I am asking you to take the path of least resistance. You have so much going on with the death of your mother weighing heavily on your mind, your daughter dating Sutter, a potential corporate takeover, and yes you could just keep on trying to fight it yourself. You could accept reality and then how much longer will it last before the pain goes away? Or you could just give in and sink into the blissful ignorance of a fantasy. The pain would be gone. The stress would be gone. You could focus on what is important to you.”
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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Wrestling is one of the few ways that Glory Braddock can truly clear her mind lately, and even then it is becoming more and more difficult to keep the problems of her daily life out of her mind. In the past simply being in an arena for a wrestling event was enough to put her in a completely different zone and allow her to completely forget about everything else going on in her life. But now the only way Glory can truly forget is in the heat of the battle. The stressors and pressures of Glory’s daily life outside the ring is slowly but surely breaking down the mental protections she had set up for herself. Her personal problems are beginning take their toll and reignite certain post traumatic stress issues that have been brewing for quite some time now. Then again, what would anyone expect from the perfect storm of problems brewing in her personal life?
Braddock has her own ideas of how to deal with it all and none of them include seeing a therapist. Glory is a very prideful woman and doesn’t like to think that she needs any counseling or therapy. She wants to think that she is mentally and emotionally strong as she is physically strong. She doesn’t want to admit that maybe she isn’t as tough as she would like to think, that even she may need help once in awhile. Glory also doesn’t want word to get out that she is struggling to keep herself together mentally. Image and reputation are very important to Braddock for many reasons. She knows the consequences if the public were to find out that she may be losing her mind. So as much as it pains her, she must bite the bullet and at least give therapy a chance.
Braddock is seated in the off white colored waiting room. The carpeting is a plain grayish color. Unlike most waiting rooms this one does not exactly shout excitement or joy. Glory is wearing a burgundy spaghetti strap sleeveless high waist cami dress with a short hemline that stops above the thighs. She is wearing sandals and has sunglasses covering her eyes despite the fact that she is indoors as well as a large hat over her head. The hat and sunglasses is mainly to obscure her identity. The British Bombshell was concerned about possibly being identified if her therapist had any other patients this morning. Lucky for her, the waiting room is empty and she has not seen anyone come in since she arrived. There is a chance that she was the first scheduled patient and she may get seen and get out of here before anyone else stops by.
She is highly recognizable by the people of Miami who have welcomed and accepted The British Bombshell as one of their own in the seven years that she has lived here. Therefore Glory is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to hiding her identity. She has a gardening magazine up over her face. She isn’t really reading this magazine. In truth, Glory doesn’t give a damn about gardening. She is just using this magazine as yet another way to cover her identity in case someone happens to come strolling into the waiting room.
“Ms. Braddock…”
“Huh?” The blonde is startled by the new voice. She lowers the magazine and looks up. She breathes a sigh of relief as she sees her therapist; a slightly overweight balding man in brown khaki pants and a light blue button up shirt named Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald. His warm smile is disarming. She sighs and smiles politely back at him as he motions for her to get up.
“I’m ready for you. Please, follow me.”
Braddock nods her head and then gets up out of the seat. She places the magazine back down and then follows Dr. Fitzgerald out of the waiting room and down a narrow hallway. They do not walk very far down this hall before making a quick right turn into another, much smaller room. Inside there is a very comfortable looking red couch. Perpendicular to the couch is a plain black office chair and a nearby coffee table. Fitzgerald motions for Braddock to go to the couch. She does as she is told while the therapist sits down on the black office chair. He picks up a pen and a notepad that were both lying on the table and proceeds to start writing.
“I must admit, Ms. Braddock, I was surprised to hear from you again. Our sessions were not always very pleasant.”
“I hated the sessions, doc.” Glory says bluntly. The therapist chuckles softly and nods his head in agreement.
“Yes, quite correct. You hated them. I was just trying to be kind. Yet near the end of our regular sessions you started to cooperate. You still did not like me or these sessions, you were still in denial that you even needed any help, but you cooperated. And you showed real progress.”
“If I recall you gave me a clean bill of health.” Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head in confirmation of Glory’s statement.
“That’s true. With all of that being said, I must admit that I was rather surprised to receive your phone call requesting this appointment.”
“I was just as surprised as you were that I made this appointment.” Glory begins with a cheeky grin on her face. “I will be completely honest with you, doc…I still don’t believe I need these silly counseling sessions. I still think I am fully capable of dealing with my own problems by myself. And I still think it is a rip off that you get paid to tell people like me how I feel.”
“Yet here you are.” Dr. Fitzgerald remarks with a grin of his own. Glory nods her head in agreement.
“Yeah, here I am. I wouldn’t be here were it not for my sister. She is worried about me and thinks I should at least speak to you about certain problems going on in my life right now.”
“Whatever your problems may be, Ms. Braddock, there is at least one silver lining and that is the fact that you are showing growth and maturity. The fact that you were willing to listen to someone else who wanted to just simply help you and then the fact that you were willing to swallow your pride and come here to see me today is evidence of the progress you have made.”
“Whatever.” Glory rolls her eyes. “Can we get on with this? I really don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. People might see me.”
“Your privacy is always my utmost concern, Ms. Braddock. And for you, I even went the extra step to schedule no one else this morning except you. So believe me when I say that your secrets, whatever they may be, are safe with me. Now then, I would love to help you, offer my advice, offer you some guidance, but to do that I need to know exactly what your problems are.”
“Right…” she sighs deeply; she knows that she needs to do this but still finds it difficult to be open to this man “...look, I have a lot going on in my life right now. So much stressors, so much pressure, and I feel like I’m being pulled apart at the seams by all that’s going on with me right now.”
“Start with the smallest, least stressful event and we can work our way up from there.”
“Ok…well, you remember how we began this whole doctor patient relationship, right doc?” She asks. Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head.
“Yes, your company no longer trusted your mental faculties and they took control of the company away from you. Upon advice from the board of directors as a way to potentially regain control, you agreed to seek therapy from me.”
“Right, well I have been approached by a member of my company’s board of directors. According to him, there are employees of my company, even members of the board, who are trying to once again take control away from me.”
“I see.” Dr. Fitzgerald writes this down on his notepad. “Do you believe this person?”
“I don’t believe a damn soul on that board of directors.” Glory sneers angrily. They are all snakes and con artists, as far as I am concerned. But I need to take this threat seriously, because what if it is true? I don’t want to risk losing my company again.”
“Well if you think that this individual is a scoundrel and not trustworthy then this rumor is just that, a rumor. You shouldn’t concern yourself too much with this until you hear or see something more substantial to prove that it is true. That is my advice regarding that issue. Don’t let paranoia tear you apart, Ms. Braddock.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Well why don’t we move on to the next of your list of problems, Ms. Braddock? You did indicate that there was more than one.”
“Yeah,” Glory nods her head “my next problem is with my daughter. Melinda, my oldest child, she once dated a guy named Clyde Sutter. If I had known they were dating I would have ended that relationship before it could begin but they dated in secret. I knew Sutter. I had kicked him out of my wrestling school because he was too violent and too aggressive. He could not control his rage. He and my daughter broke up because he lashed out and hit her. That’s what Melinda said, anyway. I suspected that there was more to it…”
“Sexual assault?” The therapist asks. Glory nods her head. “Can you prove it?”
“No, I can’t. But I am sure that he did! Now they are dating again and poor Mel is convinced that he is changed!” Tears form in Glory’s eyes. Dr. Fitzgerald sees this and offers her some tissue. Glory nods her head in thanks and takes the tissue and begins to wipe the tears from her eyes. “I don’t want to see my daughter hurt again, doc.”
“Well now that is a little more serious. Have you ever spoken to your daughter about these charges you have alleged?”
“A little…”
“Have you spoken to Mr. Sutter about any of this since he and your daughter started dating again?”
“Yes…”
“Does he seem any different to you from the last few times you encountered him?” He asks. Glory sighs and nods her head.
“Yeah, I admit, he seems calmer now than before. But I only spoke to him just the one time since I found out he was dating Melinda. Can I really make such a determination on one meeting?”
“I think you just answered your own question there, Ms. Braddock.” The therapist says with a knowing grin. “Can you make any judgment, one way or the other, on their new relationship based solely on one meeting? You admittedly have said little about this relationship to either Mr. Sutter or your daughter. Perhaps you should talk to them again? You very well could be worrying yourself over nothing.”
Glory Braddock rolls her eyes. “Fair enough, doc, you seem to have some fairly easy solutions to the first two problems. But the next one I guarantee you can’t help me with, unless you can raise the dead.”
“What happened?” He asks curiously. “Did a loved one pass away?”
“Yeah…my mother.”
“I see.” He sighs and his grin turns into a look of concern. “How close were you?”
“Well as a teenager I wasn’t close to her at all. She divorced from my dad and left to leave in the United States. I remained in London and was raised by my dad. I subconsciously grew to hate her for leaving me. But later on when dad died, mom and I grew closer. I gave her a second chance at being a mother to me and I really enjoyed being with her. But now…” she shakes her head “...now I just have regrets. I wish I hadn’t been so damned angry at her. I wish I had given her a chance earlier, I wish I had gotten to know her better. But now she’s gone…” the tears are beginning again. Glory wipes the tears from her eyes.
“I can see how all of this combined can create some issues for you, Ms. Braddock. It could even trigger your PTSD. My best suggestion is to renew our regular sessions. This way I could prescribe medication.”
“No, I don’t want medication.” She vehemently shakes her head. “I can handle this without medication.”
“Ms. Braddock, please, I understand why you do not wish to have to endure these sessions and I understand your pride gets in the way of you agreeing that you may need medication. But please, you need help and this is what I see as the best possible solution to calm you down and to move on from all of this, especially the grief surrounding your mother’s death.”
“C’mon, doc, you have to know of some other alternative method of therapy?” She sits up and glares at the therapist. “I did not come here requesting to be your patient again, doc. I pay you. I’m not being paid to see you. And what I wanted from this session today is just some advice on how I can handle this because I would much rather deal with this myself.” There is a tense pause as doctor and patient stare at one another. Finally Dr. Fitzgerald sighs and nods his head.
“I understand. Yes, I do know of some alternative methods of therapy, but I would highly encourage you to at least consider resuming our regular sessions.”
“Ok fine, I considered it. Now what do you suggest I do ON MY OWN?!” Glory says demandingly. The therapist sighs deeply. At this point he realizes that Glory won’t actually resume these sessions. He isn’t sure he should help her anymore. Is she beyond helping?
“Do you know of anyone else in your life that you looked up to in the past? Another family member like an aunt or an uncle? Maybe even a grandparent? Or any person who served as a role model to you in the past would do.”
“Yeah…” Glory’s maternal aunt and uncle, Bart Jones Kelly Kurinsky-Jones, are both deceased; both murdered years ago. Glory’s paternal uncle Peter Braddock is deceased as well. He died of cancer. All of her grandparents are deceased as well. But the therapist did suggest a role model would work as well and the only true role model outside of her family that Glory had was Aphrodite Noel. Braddock’s relationship with Noel began when Aphrodite taught Glory everything she knew about how to run a successful business. She taught Glory how to survive in the cutthroat, ruthless world of the corporate world. Glory credits the business savvy and knowledge that she gained from Aphrodite for helping her regain control of her company after it was taken from her.
Glory isn’t the only person from her family that Aphrodite helped. Glory’s sister, Julia, was strongly addicted to drugs. The addiction was destroying Julia physically and emotionally. She was even in danger due to debts she had accumulated to drug dealers. Aphrodite paid off the debts and got Julia clean. In exchange for the assistance she provided to the Braddock sisters, Aphrodite requested only one thing; she wanted them to become her daughters, her adopted children. Julia was more than willing to give her what she requested. Glory always thought Aphrodite was rather eccentric if not insane for living in that fantasy, and she thought Julia was just as nuts for agreeing to live that fantasy too. Glory did agree and she pretended to be her daughter but she only did so in order to get more knowledge out of Aphrodite. But playing with Aphrodite’s fantasy world is what got Glory in trouble with her company. She nearly lost everything. The moment that her relationship with Aphrodite became a problem, Glory quickly ditched her. But things have changed. Glory does feel, despite the rumors otherwise, that she has as stronger hold upon the board of directors. Could she resume her relationship with Aphrodite Noel? Could her former mentor help her again in her time of need? Will she want something from Glory in return?
“Perhaps you should go see this person.” Dr. Fitzgerald suggests. “If you are unwilling to resume sessions with me, then maybe you should reconnect with this person. May I ask who it is?”
“Just a friend.”
“No matter. If this person can at least help fill the void left in your heart from your deceased mother then I can’t see why it would hurt to open up to them. That is my advice.”
==========
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Off Camera
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After seeing her therapist, Glory Braddock needed to make another visit and that was to one person who has been very loyal to her family, a trusted friend and ally; Sophie O’Brian. Seeing Sophie serves many purposes but primarily is to help Glory with has to do with all of her personal issues. Yes, she went to see a therapist about this a few days ago. Yes, the therapist gave his advice. But Glory knows where that advice will send her. If she follows the therapist’s advice then she will be going back to her former mentor and friend, the eccentric Aphrodite Noel. Does Glory trust Aphrodite? Of course she does. She knows Aphrodite at least could provide her with the comfort she needs, if not provide her with all the answers and solutions to her problems. But all Glory really needs is comfort, a way to ease the tension, the pain, and most importantly the grief she is suffering from because of the death of her mother. Aphrodite can do it, but Glory knows that it will come with a price. Is her comfort and peace of mind worth the potential cost?
Normally Glory trusts her own judgment in situations such as this. Lately she has lost faith in her own judgments. She does not trust herself to make the right decision, especially not when she knows that her own mind is crumbling under a trio of stressful attacks. She always has and always will trust Sophie. Unlike the therapist, and others who have led her astray in the past, Sophie has never once led Glory astray. If anyone can help her decide whether to go along with the suggestions and advice she received from her therapist, it would be Sophie O’Brian. Glory spends plenty of time with her best friend Sophie. Despite this fact, it has been a long time since she has actually been to Sophie’s home. The last time she heard, Sophie was living with her brother Mark and his wife Ashley. Sophie never was a wealthy individual; one of the many differences between her and Glory. But what Braddock has found upon her trip to Belfast is surprising to say the least.
Braddock is walking the grounds of her best friend’s lavish new home, a verifiable luxury mansion. She is wearing denim jeans, black boots, a purple silk blouse, and a black leather jacket. Walking alongside The British Bombshell is Sophie O’Brian. Sophie, who is naturally a brunette but has now dyed her hair blonde, is wearing a forest green bodycon dress with patent leather high heel pumps and a long black overcoat. They approach a large fountain located out in front of the main home, a three story estate that looks almost like a castle. The British Bombshell is used to living in the lap of luxury but even this impresses her.
“Wow, Sophie…just…” she shakes her head “...wow…”
“You are speechless, I take it? I feel accomplished. Glory Braddock is at a loss for words thanks to me. That is quite an achievement. I should pat myself on the back.”
“I have so many questions.” She looks at the fountain. It is indeed, gorgeous, but it isn’t Sophie’s style. At least it wasn’t the last time Glory saw her. “I mean, the last time I checked you weren’t into this kinda stuff.”
“Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” Sophie smirks. “Victor Hugo.”
“Huh?”
“People can change, Gloria. You of all people should know this. You were once a stubborn bullheaded tomboy who played pranks and never thought things through. You once lived a simple life like you father. Now you live the lap of luxury and have rejected your childish past.”
“It may have been childish but it was fun…” Glory says with a regretful sigh.
“Fun does not always advance your cause. You made the necessary changes to become the best version of yourself. Change is inevitable, Gloria. Just ask Charles Darwin. If you do not change you are doomed to go extinct. I will never go extinct, my friend. Thus I changed my outlook on certain things. So here we are.”
“But how did you get all of this…” she motions to the fountain and then turns and motions to the large three story home behind them “...it isn’t like you just won the freaking lottery, mate.”
“In a way I did.” Sophie says with an evil grin.
“Uh oh, I know that grin of yours all too well. What did you do?”
“I did nothing.” Sophie insists. “This lovely estate once belonged to my mentor, Quinne Murray.”
“I thought my dad was your mentor?”
“He was my wrestling mentor. Quinne taught me everything I knew about strategy and tactics. The Art of War by Sun Tzu? Quinne made me read it. She made me memorize. It became my gospel thanks to her. She also had me read and study other philosophers, mostly philosophers of warfare. I owe much of my success to her. She recently passed away.” She shakes her head. “Quite a sad loss, I must say. I was surprised to find that she left everything she owned to me in her will.”
“Now that’s quite a story.” Glory furrows her brow. She is still taken aback by the enormity of this huge estate Sophie now owns. She is still shocked by Sophie’s new image. Sophie is the one to break her reverie.
“Now I assume you didn’t just come all the up here to my home so that you could gaze in awe at my new splendor. You have a championship match Sunday. Correct?” Sophie asks, snapping Glory out of her thoughts. She nods her head.
“Uh, right, yeah, I definitely want to work on that while I’m here, mate.”
“You could have done that in Miami. Isn’t your husband a former wrestler?”
“Yes, Kurt is a wrestler, but he is more of a brawler. Hudson is a tactician and he is smart. I need to work with someone on Hudson’s level and, to be perfectly honest with you, love, you are the absolute best pure wrestler and best strategist and tactician I have ever known.”
“Better than you?” Sophie asks curiously. Glory smiles and nods her head.
“Yeah, definitely better than me.”
“You have no idea how it warms my heart to hear you say that. Yes, I will help you prepare. I will do whatever I can to assist you, Gloria. I have always been loyal to you and your family and that will never change.”
“Good to know.” Glory says with a warm smile. “Because I don’t just need to be prepared physically, I need to be ready mentally and right now my mind hasn’t exactly been in the best of places.”
“Of course it isn’t. Your mother just passed away. How could it be right?”
“I have made progress. I sought out help from my therapist and I received some good advice. I got an idea of what I can do to move past the grief, to help deal with the stress and pressures that I have been dealing with lately, but I’m not sure…”
“What aren’t you sure about?” Sophie asks curiously. “If you have a solution you should take it.”
“It isn’t that simple.” She insists, shaking her head. “You know me, Sophie. I’m terribly prideful and I hate seeking out help. There are very few who I would ever seek out help from, you are on of those few and part of the reason I rely upon you so much is because you are my friend and I trust you will give me assistance with no strings attached.”
“Always.”
“But you know as well as I do that rarely is anything in this life ever free.” Braddock sighs deeply. Sophie takes Glory by the hand and guides her past the fountain and then over towards a nice, gorgeous looking marble bench. The friends sit down next to one another. Sophie pats her on the hand in a rare show of comfort, rare for someone like Sophie at least. “I need someone to hold my hand. I need someone to guide me through this current darkness. Sophie…I need a mentor.”
“I see.”
“And I can’t ask you to do that.” Glory shakes her head. “I don’t want to upset the relationship you and I currently have. I need to go back to my former mentor but I’m worried about the cost.”
“Aphrodite.” Sophie states. “You are thinking about returning to Aphrodite.” Glory nods her head in confirmation.
“Yeah.”
“What you need to do is a cost-benefit analysis. Is the benefit of returning to Aphrodite worth the potential cost?”
Glory shrugs her shoulders. “Sophie…you just told me that you had a mentor once, you had Quinne Murray. Tell me about your relationship with Ms. Murray.”
“What is there to say? Quinne Murray was not the easiest person to deal with, I can assure you of that.” She chuckles softly. “I met her actually before I met your father. Immediately I recognized that she was more than just a little eccentric. ButI also recognized that she had something I wanted. She had great wisdom, great knowledge, and I wanted her knowledge so badly because I knew her wisdom, knowledge, all of that would assist me moving forward in life. I was left permanently scarred from being abused and beaten by my alcoholic father. I wanted to learn under her wing. I would do anything to learn because I knew with her wisdom I could raise my status so that I was no longer the gutter rat my father had helped create. I wanted to be as powerful as Quinne. I was fearful of asking her. I was intimidated back then. But I did work up the courage to ask her and much to my delight she agreed to take me under her wing and mold me, to guide me. She agreed to teach me everything she knew.” She holds up one finger. “But there was one condition. It was something I never told you, your father, or even my brother about because I knew you would have tried to stop me.”
“What was the condition?” Glory asks, suddenly very nervous.
“I had to become her slave. Not even her slave…her toy. Her pet. Quinne taught me how to protect myself by turning off my emotions. She taught me about strategy and tactics. In return I served her hand and foot. Anything she asked of me, I would obey without question.”
“How…” Glory shakes her head “...how long did this go on for?”
“Nearly my entire adult life. But I got what I wanted…I gained the knowledge I needed to succeed in life. And at the end of the day, I became the same kind of powerful person Quinne Murray once was…quite literally.” She snickers. “I inherited her entire estate. A parting gift for my years of service to her.” She pats Glory on the back. “So you tell me, Gloria…what is it that you hope your former mentor, Ms. Noel…what do you hope she can do for you?”
“Honestly?” Tears form in Glory’s eyes. “I just want the pain to stop. My father died…my daughter is dating a man who I think is a monster…my mother died….the one thing I have left, my company, I’m hearing rumors that people are trying to take that from me now. I just can’t stand the loss any longer, Sophie. All of it hurts too much and I want it to stop. I want to numb the pain.” She looks at Sophie. “Can you help me turn off my emotions? The way Quinne taught you?” Sophie chuckles and shakes her head.
“I wish it were that easy. But to be honest, my friend, I think you have another, better solution, a solution that would be much easier and better for you than shutting off your emotions.”
“What do you mean?”
“From 2014 to 2016 you abandoned your own family, the Braddock family, and briefly became a member of the Noel family. I remember this very well. At the time it even enraged me because of my fierce loyalty to your father but I now can understand why you did it. What is wrong with going back to that scenario?”
“You’re a bloody mind reader.” Glory laughs lightly. “That’s what I was considering but I’m not sure I can do it, Sophie. Even if I wanted to, the fact is that the entire time I did that, those two years, I was just pretending. I was faking it.”
“So?”
“So, if I faked it then the same painful memories and emotions will still be there. Nothing changes.”
“Ah but for two years you pretended.” Sophie grins maniacally. “It doesn’t take long for the seeds to be planted. It didn’t take that much time before I truly believed my purpose in life was to serve Quinne Murray. It didn’t take me that long before I began drinking her proverbial kool-aid. And if I understand your relationship with Ms. Noel, she would treat you not as property but as her own beloved daughter. All you would be doing is living a fantasy and in this fantasy you would have your mother back.” Sophie embraces Glory in a tight hug. “If it truly does hurt so much to live in reality, then just force your mind to leave reality and live in her fantasy. The pain will go away.”
“You don’t realize what you’re asking me to do…” Glory gently pushes her away. She shakes her head. “...I mocked my sister for giving in to those fantasies, for living out those fantasies. Hell, I secretly mocked Aphrodite herself for having that kind of fantasy. But now you want me to just give in?”
“Gloria, my friend, I am asking you to take the path of least resistance. You have so much going on with the death of your mother weighing heavily on your mind, your daughter dating Sutter, a potential corporate takeover, and yes you could just keep on trying to fight it yourself. You could accept reality and then how much longer will it last before the pain goes away? Or you could just give in and sink into the blissful ignorance of a fantasy. The pain would be gone. The stress would be gone. You could focus on what is important to you.”