Billionaire's Match (by Tangy Candy) novel Chapter 451

Nick held it in as long as he could, but tears still welled in his eyes. He gave a low, hoarse "Mm."

Dr. Yale sat off to the side, watching the two of them. He leaned back slightly, his body relaxing at last.

When Loretta had first spoken to him about Nick, he'd been worried.

Emotional trauma isn't hard to treat—but like all wounds, trauma is still trauma. It never appears out of nowhere, and it never truly disappears. Healing only means learning how to walk out of it yourself. If you resist, the pain only loops, again and again.

Nick suffered from emotional stress disorder. Full recovery was impossible. But as long as he was willing to face his own emotions, everything could be unraveled.

There are wounds that never heal back to how they were—but there is no pain you can't eventually walk out of.

A simple assessment somehow turned into a quiet, affectionate moment between a couple.

Dr. Yale waited a long time. Only after the assessment ended did he finally steer the conversation to its real focus, asking about the first time Nick had lost control due to a stress response.

This time, Nick was clearly more receptive.

The first time he'd lost consciousness and hurt someone had been because of Arista.

At a family banquet, Arista had a minor conflict with one of Nick's relatives. Because her health prevented her from bearing children—and because after marrying George she had taken on the thankless role of being Nick's stepmother—the argument quickly turned ugly.

The other party humiliated her, calling her "just a stepmother" and mocking her for being unable to give birth.

Those words struck directly at Arista's deepest pain. Normally gentle and good-tempered, she finally lost her composure and fought back.

Nick was usually aloof, and with Arista he'd always maintained polite distance. But after all these years, he had long since come to regard her as his mother. Seeing someone insult her was something he couldn't tolerate.

He splashed his drink straight into the other person's face.

The other party was an older elder. Once the argument escalated, he lashed out physically. Arista tried to protect Nick and was dragged into it. Her arm was injured in the scuffle.

As for what happened after that—how Nick nearly beat the man to death—he had no memory of it himself.

He only remembered one thing. That man had cursed him too, calling him a bastard who had brought death to his own mother.

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