"Where is he?" lanie asked as she stepped out, her eyes imdiately finding Dr. Jung, standing alone, stiff and frozen in place.
Her words cut through the silence and seed to jolt him back to life. His face twisted, and he suddenly rounded on her and asked in a sharp high voice, bordering on panic, "What were you thinking? I chose to help you, I took the risk of pulling you away from Cadence, and instead of distancing yourself, you are throwing yourself deeper into this ss. Why? What is wrong with you? Couldn’t you just have replaced lody, taken back your place and let handle the rest?"
lanie didn’t flinch at his anger. She only gave a small shrug, then walked over until she was standing right beside him. "It’s because you helped that I feel the need to help you. I don’t like owing favors, doc. That’s just not who I am. As for lody, I’ve decided, Cadence Sint does not need her."
Her gaze shifted forward, and she sighed," I know it is crazy to feel pity for my kidnapper. But here it is. For years you’ve kept him with you. You’ve guarded him, sheltered him, pulled him away from the world outside. You’ve protected him, yes, but at the sa ti, you’ve also kept him under your control. You’ve been both his shield and his prison. This ti, I only pushed things a little further, twisted the balance just enough to make him react differently. And to make you react differently.
She paused, and gave the a man a look, "You are a psychologist. So you are smart enough to understand the princips from today. If things go right, if the pieces fall into place, then maybe you’ll finally have the one thing you’ve always wanted. A partner. Soone who doesn’t just accept your care but actually gives sothing back. Soone who responds to your love, your patience, even your insanity, all of it. But if it doesn’t work out..."
She gave a short breath, half a laugh, half a sigh. "Well, then nothing changes, does it? He’ll only go back to what he’s always done. Once you pull him away from everyone else again, he’ll return to treating you like the sa thing he always has-like you’re nothing more than furniture with a heartbeat. A machine that keeps him running. Nothing more. Nothing less. Whatever. Either way, Cadence is under your control."
Elais Jung sighed, feeling horrible for a mont, as he realized that what lanie said was indeed correct. Yes, Cadence had suffered violent episodes in the past but he had made sure that he would need help. Slowly, over the years, even though he believed that he had given up a lot for Cadence, the truth was that he had also kept him by his side. Just like Cadence wanted to keep lody by his side, under control.
But now, lanie had shown him a mirror that shook him. And then she had thrown him into a quagmire of things that he had no idea how to wade. How was he supposed to reach if Cadence really did see him in a different light?
"If you really wanted to prove that I was attractive or whatever, you could have just arranged a woman for tonight’s blind date," Elias muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
lanie’s lips curved into a sly grin. "And what exactly would’ve been the point of that? For you to sit there proving you can still charm won? That isn’t what this is about. The point, Elias, is to make Cadence see you not just as his shadow, not as his safety net or caretaker, but as a man. A person he might actually want to... sleep with."
Elias winced at the bluntness of her choice of words. He almost flinched, but then the truth of what she said sank in, and his discomfort turned into a pensive silence. There was sothing there—sothing he had never allowed himself to say out loud. Of course, he had been with won before. He had dated, he had lived, but the mont he realized his heart leaned toward Cadence, all of that had shifted. It was as if every other attraction had drained out of him. Since then, he had practically lived like a monk. No other body drew him in, no other voice called to him. The only person his body, his heart, his very nerves responded to was Cadence. Always Cadence.
lanie, seeing the silence stretching, simply shrugged. "Exactly. So maybe stop wasting ti questioning and start asking yourself if you’re willing to fight for what you want. Oh. And my cab is here. You can co later.. Max is still inside."
With that, lanie stepped away from the doctor and walked towards the cab that had just arrived, whistling happily. However, her triumph was shortlived because the mont the car stopped outside the apartnt building where they were presently living, she saw Cadence pacing there.
Ti to get back into character.
She forced a look of concern onto her face as she stepped out of the cab. "Cadence? What happened? Why did you fall sick so suddenly? I was looking forward to this date so much."
But her words bounced off him as though they ant nothing. Instead of answering, Cadence flicked the cigarette away with a sharp movent, closing the distance between them in a few quick strides. He seized her hand with a grip that bordered on painful and almost shook her, his eyes blazing with suspicion.
"Who is Max?" he demanded, his voice low but trembling with fury. "How do you know him?"
lanie stared at the man and carefully unwrapped his fingers from around her arm... and spoke softly," Why? Are you really going to be jealous of him?Didn’t you see he is interested in Dr Jung. He is more likely to hit on you than hit on ?"
Cadence let go of her arm and moved again," I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. Keep away from him." And then as if realizing sothing, Cadence looked around, before asking sharply," Where is Dr Jung."
lanie shrugged before she gave him a sly look and said," He decided to continue his date with Max."
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