Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 437

Chapter 437 The Source of the Pain

The sight of her grandmother’s tears shattered Tatiana’s resolve.

She closed her eyes and finally yielded. “Alright, Grandmother. I won’t go. I’ll stay here with you.”

Lindsey’s face finally filled with a look of profound relief.

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Finished:

Once she abandoned the search, life seemed to slide back into its usual routine. For the outside world, nothing had changed because of Jasper’s disappearance. Thirteen kept the news of his boss’s status strictly confidential, and even the Lund family believed the powerful man had simply returned home as suddenly as he had arrived.

However, that brief appearance had been enough to force the Lunds to re–evaluate Lucas’s worth. Holton began to entrust his eldest son with significant responsibilities, leaving Lucas so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

Meanwhile, Tammy’s extraordinary physical capabilities caught the eye of the special forces, and she was formally invited to undergo specialized training.

The only ones truly suffering were Ann and Hubert. They struggled to sleep, and even when they finally drifted off, they would frequently wake up in a panic, crying out for their daddy. Tatiana could only bring them into her own room and sleep beside them to offer what little comfort she could.

Even so, the children were so well–behaved it was heartbreaking. They never mentioned their father in front of her, pretending they didn’t know and making a conscious effort not to ask. Their quiet stoicism only made Tatiana ache more, yet she was powerless to fix it.

Her chronic headaches grew worse.

The pain was far more intense than ever before, feeling as though she were being subjected to a slow, agonizing execution. Her painkillers had lost all efficacy. At the height of the agony, she would lose control and smash her head against the wall, desperate to drown out the internal pain with external trauma.

Blood began to stain the wallpaper.

“It’s useless. If you keep this up, you’ll kill yourself.”

A sudden voice interrupted her self–destruction. She collapsed on the floor, forehead bleeding, looking gaunt and hollow. Cayden stood silently behind her, his handsome face filled with a mixture of understanding and regret.

“I am sorry. I didn’t intend for the plan to go awry, causing your condition to deteriorate like this.”

She closed her eyes, her voice raspy. “Dr. Xander, it has nothing to do with you. No one could have predicted the accident with the parachute. Could you please leave me for a while? I want to be alone.”

She didn’t want anyone to see her in such a wretched state–not even her doctor.

Cayden didn’t move. He stood there, silhouetted against the light like a judge delivering a final verdict. She loathed the feeling of being scrutinized and raised her voice. “Dr. Xander! I asked you to leave!”

“Your situation is dire.”

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20:47 Fri, Jan 9 MT.

MJ

Chapter 437 The Source of the Pain

“I know. I just need to be alone.”

Finished

“Do you realize the human brain has a limit for processing pain? You are approaching a breaking point. The result will be psychosis, cognitive collapse, or sudden cardiac arrest.”

“Please! Just leave!” Her voice shook with uncontrollable tremors.

Cayden spoke slowly, each word landing like a heavy blow. “He is the cause of your illness, Tatiana”

“You refuse to admit that you still love him.”

“You are fighting a war against your own instincts.”

“You want to deny the truth so badly that your subconscious has conjured this pain as a way to punish yourself.”

Cayden’s words were like a series of explosions, leaving her utterly stunned. She instinctively denied it. “That’s impossible!”

Cayden looked at her, his eyes sharp and burning. His voice remained steady, yet it cut through every excuse she had ever made. “Every scan and test has been performed. Your body and your brain show no physical pathology.”

“There is nothing physically wrong with you.”

“Your headaches aren’t the result of trauma. You are simply someone who refuses to acknowledge her own emotions. You are running away.”

“To you, admitting that you still care for him is an unpardonable sin. You reject it so violently that your logic and your emotions are at war. Your reason has the upper hand, but it cannot kill the feeling, so it creates a punishment instead.”

“These headaches are the penance you’ve assigned yourself.”

Every word Dr. Xander spoke left her defenseless. She sat on the floor, her face ashen. Cayden approached slowly, taking out a handkerchief to gently dab the wound on her forehead.

“Tatiana, if you keep running, it will cost you your life.”

She didn’t resist his touch; her eyes were vacant.

“The treatment plan I gave you? I sent a copy to him as well, He chose to trust it and participate, which is why you kept running into him.”

“In my plan, those repeated encounters would have allowed you to resolve your internal conflict and heal naturally. I didn’t account for an actual disaster.”

It was the first time Cayden had ever felt a sense of personal failure, and he offered a clumsy apology. His plan, rooted in science, had been dismantled by fate. For a man who believed only in logic, he was beginning to wonder if some things were simply predestined to fail.

“Dr. Xander.”