Rowan’s Point of View
I wasn’t meant to say all this, but the image of that guy holding Janet is almost destroying me from the inside. The urge to punch something is driving me crazy from within.
“Isn’t it why you haven’t come home?” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “Because someone else claims they love you and they come outside to show it?”
Janet looked at me like I had lost my mind. “You sound delusional, Rowan. You need to go see your doctor.”
I chuckled, but it wasn’t a good laugh. “I need to see a doctor?” I repeated. “Janet, when did you even become a doctor? We’ve been married for three years, and you never said anything about being a mental health doctor. And look at this–this is not
the wife I know I married.”
“Oh, come on, Rowan,” Janet said, staying firm in her seat. “You never knew what I’m capable of.”
My hands clenched into fists. “You claim I don’t know you? Do you want me to really expose you out there? Wow, I don’t
know, it’s even easier nowadays to fake careers and pretend to be professional.”
“Enough, Rowan!” Janet said, her voice hard now. “I don’t care what you believe, and I don’t owe you any explanation. And if you think my credentials are fake, why don’t you take it up with the licensing board? And if that’s why you came up here, I’m
going to call security on you.”
I laughed, ready to say something back, when the door opened. When Janet and I turned to see who was coming in, it was that guy who had just left.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I heard noise and decided to check,” he said, his eyes moving between us.
“It’s okay, Edward. He’s just leaving,” Janet said calmly.
“Just leaving?” I said. “Is that how you really treat your patients here?”
Before Janet could even speak, Edward stepped forward. “Actually, sir, I think you’re the one being unprofessional here. Janet is one of the best counselors at this clinic. If you have a problem with her work, you should speak to the director, not yell at her in her office”
“Oh, I see,” I said, turning to face him fully. “You’re the one who’s been standing up for her?”
I moved closer to Edward, the urge to hit him in the face growing stronger. But Janet quickly stepped between us.
“It’s fine, Edward. I can handle him,” she said.
Edward looked uncertain. “I’ll wait outside if you need anything,” he said, but his eyes stayed on me as he left the room.
Once he was gone, Janet turned to me. “Mind how you talk to my patients.”
I was standing close to Janet now, close enough to smell her perfume–the same one she’d worn when we were happy. Even in my rage, she still had this effect on me that I couldn’t explain or control.
I laughed, but it sounded bitter. “So I won’t ruin your new relationship that just started? Tell me, Janet, how long have you both been together? Was he the reason you suddenly wanted to get divorced?”
Janet laughed too, but her’s sounded amused. “Is this jealousy, Rowan?” she asked. “Anyway, I don’t owe you any explanation since we both know we are legally divorced now. So can you drop this act and tell me why you really came here?”
I got lost in thought, just staring at her. She was unrecognizable again–very sharp, and her aura had grown so much. I didn’t know Janet had this side of her. The quiet, agreeable woman I married was gone, replaced by someone confident and strong.
After some minutes of silence, I spoke up. “I came because of Flora’s session. I want to know what really happened.”
1/2
Chapter 0025
+25 BONUS
Janet chuckled. “What do you want to know? Didn’t Flora tell you? Or don’t you believe her again?”
“Stop that,” I said. “I need to know what happened and get justice for her.”
Janet’s expression turned professional. “It’s against my policy to disclose patient conversations to strangers. If Flora has issues with me, she should take it up with the law.”
“I know that,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I just want to hear your side.”
Janet stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. “Fine. But only because Flora made our session about you, not about her
healing.”
She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a small recording device.
“I record all my sessions for notes and protection,” she explained. “Listen to this, and then tell me if Flora was really there for
therapy.”
She pressed play, and Flora’s voice filled the room. I listened as Flora talked not about her grief or her dead husband, but about me. About how I came to comfort her, how I chose her over my own wife, how I defended her.
My stomach sank as I heard Flora’s words. She wasn’t talking about trauma or loss. She was bragging about taking me away
from Janet.
The recording continued, and I heard Janet trying to redirect the conversation back to Flora’s healing. But Flora kept talking
about me, about our relationship, making it clear she saw me as more than just a friend.
When the recording ended, I felt sick.
“Do you see now that Flora isn’t struggling to move on?” Janet asked quietly. “She’s not emotionally unstable from grief.
She’s obsessed with you.”
I sank into the chair, my head in my hands. “I… I didn’t know.”
“Did you even know her, Rowan?” Janet continued. “Did you know what she was up to? Or did you think she was just your
best friend’s wife who was crying and playing the victim?”
