Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 411

“I considered that, but Riley is not new,” Maddox tells him. “This baffles me.”

Doctor Holland shakes his head. “You can’t decipher everything, genius. This is where I come in.”

“So?” Maddox raises an eyebrow. “What is it? DID?”

“No,” Holland shakes his head. “From the brief interaction we had, I would say she’s adopted a dissociative disorder, but I can’t be sure unless I fully examine her.”

“No,” I snap. “No one will be touching my mate.”

“No touching is involved,” Maddox says. “We can be present in the room.” He tells me.

Holland nods in agreement, but it’s too late. I don’t trust anyone with Aeliana anymore. “It would appear something happened that made her not want to be present, so she created a persona that was...how do I say this...untouched by her current life situations.”

“Riley Vanderbilt,” I tell him. “She was always the opposite, she’s acting just like her now, only grown.”

“It happened before?” His eyes widen with a sick intrigue, one that prompts me to believe he could use her as an experiment, too. “If so, then this Riley has made a comeback something must have triggered her. She sees this Riley person as a safety net.”

Oh goddess. It’s that damn place

They made her feel like she couldn’t be herself anymore. She’d rather be a made-up person than live her life now. I need to fix this. I should’ve helped her myself, but I was so scared of failing her that it slipped my mind that what I was doing was possibly failing her. I failed her.

In her mind, no one cares, but everyone loves Riley. Maybe that's why she did this, so somebody would care and, most importantly, listen, because in Riley’s world, everyone listens and obeys her.

“So how long will this last?” Maddox asks.

“Temporary,” Holland shrugs, but he seems rather unsure of himself. “Treat her well, she will come back when she sees how loved she is.” He says, his eyes meeting mine. “It’s rare that cases like this last, and while it may get a little frustrating, I recommend patience. Don’t try to force-feed her reality or make her accept it, it will only make her condition worse.”

“So I should let her pretend to be Riley?”

“I’m guessing that bastard trying to assault her.” I groan, my fists balling at the memory of what I saw. When Aeliana was assaulted the first time, I didn’t look at the video, out of respect for her and not wanting my ego bruised because I was once the only man she ever showed interest in. But this time, the goddess was cruel enough to have me see it, that’s something that will haunt me forever. Her being unable to scream or fight because she was unconscious is tearing my heart out. I will make Claude James pay for this.

“I still can’t believe this,” Maddox huffs. “Vield Moon is a renowned hospital, how could he get away with that?”

“This is why I wanted a clean sweep in the first place. I ruined her life.”

“It's not your fault,” he repeats, this time the words are stronger and less comforting than they were each time before now. “We didn’t know that James was a sick bastard.”

“I want the entire hospital shut down,” I tell him, staring at Ellie, turning in her sleep.

“There are over six thousand patients in their estate. Shutting it down won't be best.” He tells me. “However, new staff and stricter screening for caregivers might help a ton.”

“Handle it,” I nod. “I want everyone who let James get away with assaulting her punished. Someone... no, some people knew he was doing this, and she might not be the only one he did this to because jerking off in his office was too bold.”