“To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be.” ~Jack Kornfield

I must admit right off the bat—as a serial entrepreneur, I’m a risk-taker. Throughout my twenties and thirties, I jumped at opportunities without always vetting the characters involved or asking what six months down the road might look like. I trusted, I leapt, I learned.

At twenty-three, I launched my first real business with another partner—an upscale pet resort. We had climate-controlled suites, a beautiful play yard, and classical music playing softly in the background. An elaborate four-tier fountain greeted guests in the lobby, where you could also view the handcrafted “Catio” patio built by my father himself.

Within a few months, it was already turning a profit. On the surface, it seemed like a dream come true. But something felt off.

My partner, M, was in charge of the books. At first, I brushed off the small red flags. A check deposited here, a discrepancy there. But one night after the last guest was picked up, I went into the office, pulled the books, and began a deeper investigation. What I found left me cold.

There were large withdrawals I hadn’t approved. Checks made out directly to M. While we had agreed on how much we would each take from the business, these amounts far exceeded our arrangement—and were happening far more often.

I was sick with disbelief. I confronted her. She cried. She apologized. But she didn’t offer an explanation, only tears. I kept asking, “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

The betrayal grew stranger. Tensions rose. Communication broke down. One day, I pulled into the parking lot, and someone was there—recording video because they believed I would become physically violent (huh? Me? I don’t even hurt bugs!) as they told me I was no longer allowed on the property.

Wait, what?

I was the president of the company. I had put up all the money. It was my vision. My energy. My debt.

But here’s the thing—I had trusted M to handle the legal paperwork. And while I believed I was an equal owner, I never verified that the documents said so. I wasn’t listed as a shareholder. I had no legal stake.

I was the president of a company I didn’t actually own.

At thirty-three, I didn’t know what to look for. I had no real business background—just ambition, trust, and big dreams. And now I was being lied to, stolen from, and kicked out of the very place I built.

The desire for revenge was overwhelming. I wanted to scream. I wanted to sue. I wanted justice.

I met with attorneys. I weighed the options. And ultimately, I had to accept one of the hardest truths of my life: pursuing justice might bury me further. The legal costs, the emotional toll—it wasn’t a fight I could afford to win. So I let it be.

This was the beginning of a long line of “Let it Be’s” with many entrepreneurial hardships, missteps, and mistrusts. It was just the first in what would become an incredibly wild journey over the next twenty years. I was wronged again and again—faced the pain of greed, anger, narcissism, and outright insanity—and I let it ALL be.

And believe me, the devil on my shoulder had a full revenge script ready—dramatic, petty, borderline illegal. But I never acted on it.

Every. Single. Time.

And the truth of it all is taking the higher road isn’t easy. Letting things be is HARD.

But it’s not weakness. It’s wisdom.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: fighting fire with more fire only leaves you burned. And the more oxygen you give a flame, the bigger it gets. The longer you cling to betrayal, the more time you spend stuck in it.

And time? It’s precious.

Instead of plotting revenge, I began to rebuild. First, I crumbled. Then, brick by brick, I picked myself back up. I changed direction. I started over.

Here’s what helped me through:

• I got quiet. No grand social media posts, no smear campaigns. Just space. Silence gave me clarity.
• I got help. From mentors, therapists, friends who spoke truth when I couldn’t see it.
• I wrote everything down. The facts. The feelings. The fear. Putting it on paper helped me process it.
• I took responsibility. Not for what M did, but for what I missed. I studied, I learned, I vowed never to be that uninformed again.

Because I chose to let it be, I didn’t carry the weight of revenge, I moved forward with grace, and my integrity stayed intact.

Yes, I lost money. I lost years. I lost a dream.

But I didn’t lose myself.

Letting it be doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t happen. It means choosing not to carry it forward. It means making peace with what you can’t control—and putting your energy where it counts.

This was the first of a long line of experiences I’ve had throughout my entrepreneurial journey. After this event, I faced even more heartbreak and challenges. But every time, I have chosen to let it be.

Sir Paul McCartney once shared how his mother visited him in a dream and told him the simple words: “Let it be.”

Well, Mother Mary—you were right.

This is the way to do it.

So the next time you’re standing face-to-face with betrayal, I hope—for your sake—you let it be.

We only get so much time here. Let’s not waste it on battles that don’t build us.

About BrookeLynn Cohol

BrookeLynn Cohol is a writer, entrepreneur, songwriter, and creator focused on personal growth, resilience, and creative expression. She believes in starting over as many times as it takes. Connect with her and her current projects at EllaVatour.com.

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Beyond the Gates spoilers for June 2-6, 2025 see Eva Thomas (Ambyr Michelle) toying with the idea of destroying her mom and Hayley Lawson (Marquita Goings) playing wicked stepmother.

As we always do on early edition day for all the soaps. We first talk about what is coming the rest of this week.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Wednesday, May 28th Drama Unfolds

On Wednesday, May 28th, we’ve got Tyrell messing up his first kiss by accusing the girl of pranking him for a social media stunt, hoping it will go viral. Looks like she wasn’t doing that, so she gets mad and she goes just as Daddy Bradley “Smitty” Smith (Mike Manning) arrives. But Tyrell won’t tell his dad or his sister Samantha why the girl stormed out.

Speaking of storming, Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) is angry after Smitty told him that Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett)’s been talking out of turn. And so he shows up over to the Fairmont Crest Country Club to throw some shade at the lawyer. Hayley does not want to hear their bickering, and she leaves the table for a few minutes. Bill really doesn’t want to hear it either, but Martin just won’t stop.

Bill calls Martin out for being a liar who has not come clean to his husband, Smitty, and Martin threatens violence on Bill. We also have that sketchy dude who was stalking Martin at Orphe Jeans who’s now masquerading as a bus boy at the country club to spy on the Dupree grandson. So, Bill threatens back because he’s got juicy leverage on Martin. And Bill brings up that fateful night, the one that’s clearly haunting Martin.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Hayley Reveals Her Pregnancy News

When Hayley returns, she reveals her pregnancy news. And Martin offers a sarcastic, slow clap. Then he insults Bill and warns Hayley to get away from the bad guy. Martin then insults Bill’s dad and he throws hands. But it turns out that a lot of that was just in Martin’s head. I just don’t like fantasy scenes like that. It just clogs things up.

Anyway, Bill lies to Hayley and says Martin’s issue is about the Dr. Ted Richardson (Maurice Johnson) affair thing and the cover up that he did. Martin takes off and the secret spy follows after him. Also, Hayley tells her ex BFF Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne (Arielle Prepetit) that she has got Bill’s bun in her oven, but she isn’t impressed by Hayley one bit.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Chelsea Rages

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) is there to see all of this. And Hayley is hoping that they can call it bygones because they’re all family now, but Naomi is not having it. And she takes off with Jacob. Chelsea Hamilton (RhonniRose Mantilla) is super mad that her stepmomster is having a baby with daddy Bill.

But when Hayley tells her to get used to the idea, Chelsea has a mini meltdown and storms away. So that’s two for two stepdaughters hating on her. And it turns out Bill has already started a college fund in advance of getting Hayley pregnant because of the last near miss pregnancy thing. So they’re excited about it. They could check that off the list, but literally nobody else is down for this.

Derek Baldwin (Ben Gavin) wants to give Ashley Morgan (Jen Jacob) back her key, but she wants him to keep it only in case of emergencies. Turns out they’re still dating, but not cohabitating. Naomi and Jacob show up, and Ashley says that they do love each other, but she and Derek just can’t live together.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Smitty Confronts Martin

Meanwhile, Kat calls Jacob and he waits for her at Orphe Jeans because she’s got stuff to tell him. Smitty confronts Martin about lying about where he was gone to and his hubby actually admits, “Okay, fine. I went to see Bill”, but Martin keeps on lying to Smitty about why he went to see him. And then Martin drops the Hayley bomb baby bombshell to distract his hubby Smitty. And guess what? It works.

So Martin and his husband know that Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley) is going to blow up when she finds out. And guess what? That’s happening on Wednesday as well. So Chelsea trots over and tells her mom, Dani, that Hayley is pregnant. And Dani is wondering if Hayley got knocked out by somebody else and cracks an AARP old guy joke about her ex-husband Bill.

Then Dani suggests that Hayley is faking the pregnancy for some kind of monetary gain. And then Dani suggests Hayley is faking orgasms too, which icks out Chelsea. She doesn’t want to hear anything about it. Hayley and Bill head home from the country club. And when Bill goes up to make a work call, Dani walks in the door to confront her.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Thursday, May 29th Confrontations and Schemes

Thursday, May 29th, we’ve got Dani wanting Hayley to go pee on a pregnancy test stick while she’s there to witness it because Dani thinks Hayley is lying and faking. Dani warns Bill about making babies with his hussy wife. And I’m sure she’s going to throw shade like she did while talking to Chelsea about Bill being too old for kids, etc.

Doug is furious at Joey, who he now realizes set him up and deliberately used him to get to Vanessa McBride (Lauren Buglioli). And Joey brings Vanessa to his casino and rigs it for her to get a big win. And then Joey takes Vanessa to his office while she’s on that gambler’s high and rips off her clothes. Will Doug find out what they did?

Jacob meets Kat to discuss the ongoing case of Lara being run off the road. And Kat suspects it’s Eva but signs are now pointing more firmly to insane Leslie. And at the law office, Naomi stops by to flip out on Bill and wonders if her dad expects her to throw her stepmomster Hayley a party.

No one is excited about this baby except Bill and Hayley on Beyond the Gates. Leslie tries again to get Ted in the sack. And when she’s got her hands on him this week, Kat walks in on Ted looking way too close to Leslie and totally loses it.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Friday, May 30th Secrets and Stealing

Friday, May 30th, Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie) worries her past actions will cause future trauma and trouble, but her friend Tracy agreed to talk to the other Articulate about a reunion show with the three of them. Ted wants so badly to reconcile with Nicole. But if Kat tells her mom that Ted was alone with Leslie well, that’s going to be a big problem.

Meanwhile, Eva sneaks into Leslie’s apartment to steal her mom’s motorcycle helmet and gloves to use against her. But will Eva hand it to Jacob the cop, her detective half-sister Kat, amateur detective? Or just keep the goods to blackmail Leslie and try and keep her in line? Her mom realizes they’re gone and she blows up at Eva.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: June 2nd through 6th Legal Trouble and Payback

June 2nd through the 6th, we’ve got Leslie possibly facing arrest because Kat is closing in on her for not only the crash, but the potassium poisoning at the hospital. Jacob is still pushing and investigating, and Eva stealing hard evidence that could indict crazy Leslie are all very problematic.

Smitty keeps digging into Martin’s dirty secret because he knows his husband’s telling him lies. And with Bill getting tired of Martin making scenes, who knows what he might say to Smitty because Bill has got all the power in this deal. But Martin keeps pushing his buttons.

Anyway, Kat’s not going to give up until she takes down Leslie and gets her out of her mom Nicole and her dad’s Ted life once and for all. Doug wants payback on Joey, but he’s got no money, no leverage, no power, no mob connections like the casino owner has. Doug is literally risking his life by pushing back on Joey too hard.

Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Doug Comes Clean?

Will Doug do the one thing that he can do and come clean to Vanessa about the debt and tell her that Joey did it to him on purpose to make the casino owner look like the bad man that he really is? And by then, since Vanessa shagged him, will she even care?

Hayley was hoping that having Bill’s baby would put her into the mainstream. And get her more accepted in the social sphere of Fairmont Crest, but it might do just the opposite and further alienate her. Dani will make sure she makes it even harder on Hayley.