On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 59

The initial fury passed, leaving a hollow ache in its place. Lance leaned back in his ergonomic chair, feeling trapped. His relationship with Jessica was at a dead end, a stalemate with no clear path forward. They couldn't go on like this forever.

When he calmed down, a sliver of doubt crept in. Seducing a therapist… it didn’t sound like the Jessica he knew. If she were capable of that, she would have begged and pleaded not to be sent to the asylum in the first place.

“Get the therapist,” he said to Catherine. “I want to meet him tonight.”

The smile vanished from Catherine’s face. “Lance, are you saying you don’t believe me? That I fabricated this?”

He looked up at her, at the tears welling in her eyes. “Of course not, Catherine,” he sighed. “I don’t doubt you. I doubt him. I don’t think he’s telling the whole truth.”

“Fine,” she said, her lip trembling. “I’ll have him meet you tonight.”

“The cafe downstairs from my office,” he instructed.

“Good idea,” she agreed. “It’s best if Jessica doesn’t find out. She’ll only throw a fit if she knows you’re investigating her.”

The thought of another one of Jessica’s tantrums made Lance’s head ache. He nodded slowly.

The doctor’s gaze was clear and steady. “Mr. Smith, if you want to have a happy life with your wife, I would advise you to ignore gossip. The woman you know is the only one who matters.” He paused. “Besides, her state of mind at the time was… unstable. She might not even remember what she did. We can’t expect someone in her condition to adhere to the same standards as a healthy person.”

His words were meant to be placating, but they had the opposite effect. Lance’s hands clenched into fists under the table. He knew Jessica wasn’t truly mentally ill.

“Just tell me what happened,” Lance said, his voice dangerously low. “As long as you’re honest, there will be no consequences for you.”

Dr. Carter finally sighed and looked down at his coffee. “When Mrs. Smith first arrived,” he began, “she was extremely hostile. As her primary therapist, I tried to build a rapport with her, but she treated me like I was the enemy.”