The Day I Stopped Waiting Was the Day He Started Begging novel Chapter 149

"Dr. West, you know exactly how I clawed my way out of that darkness. There are some roads that, once you walk them alone, you realize aren't actually that impossible to endure. That desperate craving for companionship when you're fragile is just an illusion born of a refusal to let go."

Madeline's eyelashes fluttered softly, her gaze completely tranquil.

"Alright. But as your attending psychiatrist, I still strongly advise you to tell your husband."

"Shouldering the immense pressure of a psychological condition entirely on your own is simply too heavy of a burden."

"Furthermore, Ms. Monroe, if your condition continues to deteriorate this time, you won't just hurt yourself. You will inevitably harm the people closest to you."

The toll of a psychological illness is often invisible.

It wasn't like a physical wound.

This was especially true for Madeline's Traumatic Somatic Release Disorder.

It caused patients to unconsciously lash out at those they loved the most.

Any person, upon regaining their senses and realizing they had brutalized the person they cherished above all else, would completely shatter.

That was the true terror of this disorder.

"Thank you, Dr. West."

A bitter smile pulled at the corners of Madeline's lips.

"Let's start the treatment."

By the time Madeline walked out of the consultation room, it was nearly midnight.

She sat in her car for a very long time before finally driving back to Azure Bay.

When she pushed the front door open, the living room was pitch black.

She unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.

York wasn't home.

It made sense.

She had completely lost her mind and bitten him. York wasn't a saint; of course he was furious.

She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes.

There was a time when, after every single therapy session, she would sit alone on this exact couch from dusk until dawn.

She had repeatedly warned herself that she had to climb out of that abyss of despair by herself—that she had to let York go forever.

He had already walked out of her life.

It was absurd, really. He had only been back for two months, and her condition had completely spiraled.