The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 315

“I couldn’t possibly list all her good qualities,” Ethan replied, his voice soft with emotion. “And even if I could, it wouldn’t matter. I love every part of her.”

Ramona, though expecting such an answer, still felt a blush creep up her neck. She cleared her throat. “Dr. Yeton, can we please talk about something else?”

“Of course,” the doctor said with a kind smile. He turned back to Ethan. “Mr. Jordon, can you think of any recent moments when you felt particularly calm or emotionally stable?”

“Yes,” Ethan answered without hesitation. He turned to Ramona, his gaze intense. “Many moments.”

“Like when I wake up in the middle of the night and see her sleeping beside me. Or… like right now. Just having her sit here with me, even if we’re not speaking. As long as I know she’s here, I feel at peace.”

Ramona was speechless. So much for not talking about her. But his words wrapped around her heart, warming her from the inside out. She knew she was his emotional anchor, but she hadn't realized just how much she meant to him.

“It seems Mrs. Jordon is a very powerful source of strength for you,” Dr. Yeton said. “You are a lucky man. Many people search their whole lives for that kind of connection and never find it.”

“I know,” Ethan said, his hand tightening around hers.

Finally, Dr. Yeton produced a questionnaire. He asked Ramona to help Ethan fill it out, reading the questions aloud while he chose the answers.

Ramona had expected Ethan to resist this part, but he was surprisingly focused and honest, as if he were laying his soul bare. As he answered, Ramona found herself learning things about him she never knew, seeing the world through his eyes. When an answer revealed a particularly painful or self-destructive thought pattern, she would gently tap his arm.

“Ethan, you can’t think like that. Keeping things bottled up doesn’t solve anything.”

She spoke from the heart, a rush of emotion making her bold. He knew it was an impossible promise, but her words moved him so deeply he had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He just nodded, his own eyes glistening.

Dr. Yeton watched them, a gentle smile on his face. This was going better than he had hoped. Healing from trauma was a long and difficult process. The wounds never truly disappear, but with love and support, one could learn to live with them, to move past the pain. Ethan’s PTSD might never be fully cured, but as long as he was willing to face his emotions, he could find peace.

The questionnaire, which should have been a clinical assessment, had turned into an intimate conversation. When they were finished, Dr. Yeton finally broached the subject of Ethan’s first dissociative episode. This time, Ethan was more receptive.

It had happened at a family dinner, after an argument involving Shelby Whitaker, his stepmother. A relative had insulted Shelby for her infertility and her status as a stepmother. Shelby, usually mild-mannered, had been deeply hurt and had argued back. Ethan, who had come to see her as a mother figure over the years, had thrown a drink in the relative’s face. The man, an elder in the family, had retaliated, striking Shelby and injuring her arm as she tried to shield Ethan…

Ethan had no memory of what happened next, only that he had nearly beaten the man to death.