His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 20

Kian Shaw was currently overseas, and Dr. David Vance was the sitting head of a department at Capital University Hospital. He couldn't just walk away.

Virginia closed her eyes.

She obviously knew exactly what this meant.

Her mentor was using the most painfully logical method to tell her—she could not avoid this case.

"Fine."

"Are you absolutely sure? Both of them will be sitting right in front of you."

"Doctor White, I am a professional psychotherapist." Virginia's voice was remarkably steady. "I know how to separate my work from my personal life."

The line went silent for two seconds before Doctor White finalized it. "Good. The day after tomorrow, ten in the morning, at your clinic. I'll drop by a day early to calibrate the equipment."

"Understood."

After hanging up, Virginia remained leaning against the wall for a long moment.

Once her turbulent emotions settled, she lifted a hand to massage her temples, smoothed out her expression, and turned back toward the main convention hall.

...

Two days later, at 9:40 AM.

Virginia arrived at the clinic early. She left the blinds half-open, the soothing scent of white tea wafting through the air to help relax the nerves.

Doctor White had already been inside for half an hour. His hand-written treatment outlines and a piece of recording equipment were spread out across the desk.

"Ready?" Doctor White asked without looking up.

"Yes."

"You'll be handling the clinical notes the entire time. Do not initiate any conversation unless I explicitly prompt you."

Virginia nodded, grabbing her charting tablet and pen, and took a seat off to the side.

At 9:55 AM, the receptionist called the internal line to announce the clients had arrived.

When Virginia picked up the phone, her voice was perfectly composed. "Please send them up."

Footsteps echoed from the hallway.

The door swung open.

Before turning to leave, his gaze swept over Virginia's face.

It was incredibly fast, almost looking like an accident.

Virginia was looking down, flipping through her notes, completely oblivious to it.

The door clicked shut, leaving only the three of them in the consultation room.

Doctor White gestured for Chloe to sit in the plush armchair opposite him. His voice was incredibly soothing. "Chloe, today we're just going to chat. There's no need to be nervous. Say whatever comes to mind, and if there's anything you don't want to talk about, you don't have to."

Chloe sat down, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Her fingers anxiously twisted the hem of her sweater while her eyes kept uncontrollably darting toward Virginia's sharp, flawlessly calm profile.

"Doctor White, I... I really don't know where to start."

"Then let's start with your most recent episode."

"My most recent?" Chloe thought for a second. "It was probably last month. I woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. My heart was racing, my whole body was shaking... I curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging my blanket for almost two hours."

"What was the nightmare about?"

"I dreamed about... what happened back then." Chloe's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper.