My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Lila

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Dr. Patricia Maple doesn’t look like a therapist. She’s in her fifties, athletic build, wearing jeans and a cashmere sweater She sits across from me in the suite’s living room, this hotel suite has a living room-with a notepad and kind eves.

“So,” she says. “Aidan tells me you’re going to war.”

I wasn’t expecting that. “I… yes. I suppose.”

“And you think you can win a war when you can’t even sit up straight?”

My spine automatically straightens. She smiles.

“See? You know how. You’ve just forgotten. Or been trained to forget.” She sets down her notepad. “Let me guess. Your ex-husband criticized your posture. Said you slouched. Made you feel like taking up space was an imposition.”

“How did you-”

“Because abusers have a playbook, Lila. They all use the same tactics. Make you doubt yourself. Isolate you. Convince you that you’re the problem.” She leans forward. “Tell me something. When you were married, how many times did you apologize per day?”

“I don’t know, I-”

“Guess.”

I think about it. Morning: Sorry for sleeping in (even though I woke up at six). Breakfast: Sorry, is the coffee too weak?Throughout the day: Sorry for bothering you. Sorry for asking. Sorry, please can I…

“A lot,” I whisper.

“More than ten?”

“Yes.”

‘More than twenty?”

“… Yes.”

Patricia writes something down. “You’ve been operating in survival mode for two years. Maybe longer. Your father and stepmother, Aidan gave me the background, they trained you young. Taught you that your worth was conditional. That love was transactional. That you had to earn the right to exist.”

Tears prick my eyes. I blink them back.

“Don’t,” Patricia says gently. “Don’t push it down. That’s what you’ve been doing for years. Feel it.”

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“I can’t-“My voice cracks. “If I stari, I won’t stop.”

“Good. Start.”

And suddenly I’m crying. Really crying. Huge, ugly sobs that shake my whole body. Years of swallowed pain pouring out.

Patricia doesn’t move. Doesn’t try to comfort me. Just sits there, bearing witness.

When I finally stop, gasping for air, she hands me a tissue.

“How do you feel?” she asks.

“Empty.” I wipe my face. “Hollow.”

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“Good. That hollow space? That’s where we’re going to build something new.” She picks up her notepad. “I want you to understand something. The woman you were before Mark, before your family broke you down, she’s not gone. She’s buried. And our job is to excavate her. But it’s going to hurt. Healing always does.”

“I don’t know if I can…”

“Can’t is a word other people taught you. I want you to stop using it.” She stands, walks to the window. “You signed a contract with Aidan Storm. Why?”

“Revenge. I want to destroy Mark Knight.”

“No.” She turns to face me. “That’s what you think you want. What do you actually want? Deep down. The

truth.”

I open my mouth. Close it. Think.

What do I want?

“I want…” My voice is small. “I want to matter. I want to walk into a room and have people see me. Really see me. Not through me. Not past me. Me.”

“Go on.”

“I want my father to regret choosing them over me. I want Mark to realize what he lost. I want…” My voice breaks again. “I want to look in the mirror and recognize myself. I want to feel like I deserve to exist.”

Patricia’s eyes are bright. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Everything else, the revenge, the power, the transformation, that’s just the path. But the destination? The destination is you learning that you were always worthy. You just forgot.”

“How do I remember?”

“We start small. Daily practices. Affirmations that feel stupid until they don’t. Therapy homework. And most importantly…” She sits back down, looks at me intently, “you start making choices for yourself. Not for your father. Not for Mark. Not even for Aidan Storm and his revenge plot. For you.”

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Chapter 16

“I don’t know how ”

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“Then we’ll learn together” She writes something, tears off the page, hands it to me “Your homework Three things, every day.”

I read it.

1. Stand in front of a mirror for five minutes. Don’t criticize. Just observe.
2. Say out loud: “I deserve to take up space.” Repeat until you believe it.
3. Make one decision based solely on what YOU want. No one else.

“That’s it?”

That’s everything. Small actions, repeated daily, rebuild neural pathways. Right now, your brain is wired for survival. We’re going to rewire it for thriving.” She checks her watch. “We’ll meet every day. Same time. And Lila?”

“Yes?”

“The work is going to be brutal. You’re going to want to quit. You’re going to have days where you backslide and apologize fifty times and wonder if any of this is worth it.” She stands, extends her hand. “But I’ve worked with Aidan Storm for years. He doesn’t invest in lost causes. If he chose you, there’s something in you worth fighting for. The question is, do you believe that?”

I take her hand. Her grip is firm, grounding.

“I want to,” I say honestly.

“Want to is enough to start.” She smiles. “Now go do your homework. And Lila? Tomorrow, we talk about boundaries. Because you’re going to need them.”

After she leaves, I stand in front of the bathroom mirror. Set a timer on my phone for five minutes.

Just observe. Don’t criticize.

I look at myself. Really look.

My eyes are red from crying. My hair is coming loose from Simone’s bun. The makeup is smudged.

I look like a disaster.

No. Stop. Observe. Don’t criticize.

I look… human. Vulnerable. Real.

My eyes are actually a pretty color. Brown with gold flecks. When did I stop noticing that?

My bone structure is good. High cheekbones. Strong jawline.

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Chapter 16

:.

My mouth is full. Too full. Mark used to say “I ike you’re always pouting.”

No Not too full Just full

The time goes off. Five minutes.

I take a breath. Look at my reflection.

“I deserve to take up space,” I say to the mirror.

It sounds ridiculous. Like a lie.

I say it again. “I deserve to take up space.”

My voice is stronger this time.

Again. “I deserve to take up space.”

Again. “I deserve to take up space.”

By the tenth time, I’m not sure if I believe it. But I’m not sure I don’t, either.

And maybe that’s enough for today.

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I walk back to the living room, look at Patricia’s homework assignment. Number three: Make one decision based solely on what YOU want.

What do I want?

I look around the suite. At the grand piano I don’t know how to play. At the city lights beginning to twinkle as evening falls. At the room service menu on the counter.

When was the last time I ate what I wanted instead of what I thought I should eat?

I pick up the phone. Dial room service.

“Yes, Ms. Stark?” The voice is crisp, professional.

“I’d like to order dinner.”

“Of course. What would you like?”

I open the menu. Scan past the salads Mark would approve of, the grilled fish my stepmother would order, the safe choices,

My eyes land on something. Stop.

“The bacon cheeseburger,” I say. “With truffle fries. And a chocolate lava cake.”

“Excellent choice. Anything to drink?”

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Chapter 16

“Champagne Because why not? “The best you have”

“Right away. Ms Stark”

1 hang up Smile

It’s small Stupid, even A burger and fries.

But it’s mine. My choice. My want.

And for the first time in three years, I didn’t apologize for it.

5 your tic

I walk back to the mirror. Look at the woman standing there in borrowed clothes and smudged makeup

“I deserve to take up space,” I tell her.

She looks back at me. Broken but not shattered. Hurt but not destroyed.

Still standing.

And maybe, just maybe, starting to believe.

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