"Dr. Jung... you are just in ti. I received news about Marianne..."
lanie didn’t get to finish her sentence.
Elais cut across her words without hesitation. "Cadence and I will be leaving tonight," he said flatly. "You don’t have to worry about us anymore."
The finality in his tone made her stop mid-breath.
lanie blinked, taken aback, her gaze snapping to his face. He wasn’t even looking at her properly. His jaw was tight, his movents controlled in that way that told her he was angry, even if he wasn’t raising his voice.
She frowned slightly, her mind struggling to make sense of it. She would have expected sothing else entirely,maybe relief, maybe even quiet happiness, after all, he had co back to find Cadence in his bed, waiting for him last night. Sothing that had even surprised her. She had not expected Cadence to give in so easily.. Shouldn’t that have pleased him? That was what she had assud would happen.
But no. The man standing in front of her now looked anything but pleased. His face was set, his shoulders stiff, like soone who had made up his mind about sothing and wasn’t going to be swayed.
lanie shifted uncomfortably, the sudden silence pressing down between them. Finally, she asked carefully, her voice lower than before, "Dr. Jung... has sothing happened?"
Her eyes searched his face for any clue, but his expression didn’t change. Sothing had happened. That much was obvious.
The question seed to break sothing in him.
Elais turned on her so suddenly that lanie actually stepped back.
"You happened," he snapped, his voice sharp enough to cut through the air. "You and your sister!"
lanie’s eyes widened, but he didn’t give her a chance to speak.
"First she ca into his life when everything was finally going well," Elais said, his voice rising as the words poured out. "She walked in and ssed everything up! Do you have any idea what it took to get him to this point? Years! Years of building trust, of keeping him stable, of making sure he had a semblance of a normal life."
He took a step closer, his eyes burning into her.
"And then you!" His tone cracked like a whip. "I helped you. I trusted you. And what did you do? Instead of following the plan, instead of keeping things steady like we agreed, you changed everything at the last mont!"
lanie opened her mouth, but the look on his face made her shut it again.
"Do you understand what you’ve done?" His voice was raw now. "Everything is ruined! Cadence has lost all the progress he made over the years. Last night—" He stopped, his hands curling into fists. "I had to give him a sedative. Do you hear ? A sedative! After years of him being fine, after years of him living without one, you dragged him right back to square one!"
lanie slamd her hand down on the table, the sound sharp in the tense air. "That is enough, Dr. Jung!" she snapped, her voice shaking but loud. "What do you an you had to give him a sedative? Didn’t you say you only did that when he was particularly violent? When he was in the middle of an attack? Then why now? Did he try to hurt you? Did he hurt himself?"
Elais blinked at the rapid questions, his expression tight. He opened his mouth but shut it again when no words ca. It was true. The only ti he had ever given Cadence a sedative was when the man had been too panicked to listen to reason, when there had been no other way to calm him down. Tis when Cadence had been a danger to himself or anyone near him.
But last night...
Elais shook his head slowly. "No. He wasn’t violent. He wasn’t having an attack. He..." He let out a sharp breath. "He wouldn’t listen. He wasn’t in his right mind. He was saying things, doing things—things that weren’t like him. He wouldn’t stop, and he wouldn’t hear out. It was the only way to make him rest."
Almost in a confused state himself, he explained everything that had transpired and watched as lanie folded her arms, eyes narrowing as she said slowly. "Or, maybe it wasn’t Cadence who needed to let go. Maybe it was you."
Elais turned sharply toward her, disbelief flashing across his face.
"You," she continued, her tone calm as he listened to her in disbelief, "with your personal feelings involved—you probably weren’t able to make an objective judgnt about him last night. Maybe he was fine, and it was you who couldn’t handle it."
He let out a scoff, a humorless sound. "There is no one—no one—who is better able to take care of Cadence than . I have been there for him through everything. I know his history, his triggers, his progress. I know every single thing about his condition."
lanie didn’t flinch at his anger. She looked at him steadily. "Do you, though? Can you really say you’re the best doctor for him when you’re this involved? Because I’m willing to say that as a family mber, maybe you’re the best person to care for him. But as a doctor?" She shook her head. "You care too much, Dr. Jung. Maybe more than you should."
Elais’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer right away as the words nagged at him. Last night he truly had not been objective and lost his judgent. He was sure that he had done the right thing but after being questioned by lanie, he found himself on unfamiliar ground.
Finally, he clenched his hands and stared at her," I will contact another doctor and arrange for a consult. But lanie, I am warning you, if sothing happens to Cadence, I will not..."
He stopped at the threat, turned around and walked back the way he had co. There was no point in saying things now until he was sure...
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