The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 356

Her ruthless words sliced through Mathis's heart like icy blades. A pulsing headache set in. Their past was an unsolvable dead end.

The air in the car froze. As the city's neon lights blurred past, Bianca turned her head to stare out the window.

Mathis didn't say another word. He just quietly watched her, a desperate urge to pull her into his arms gnawing at his chest.

But he didn't dare. He was terrified that giving into his impulses would only push her further away.

Their relationship was barely holding on by a thread; it couldn't withstand another hit.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up to Dr. Mills's clinic.

After chatting with Bianca for a few minutes, Dr. Mills realized this woman was the most resilient patient she had ever encountered in her entire career.

Dragging herself through severe clinical depression while flawlessly maintaining her demanding career.

Bianca offered a faint smile. "Actually, working keeps me grounded. When my family fell apart during my childhood, my mother struggled terribly. I swore I would study hard and change our fate.

"I wanted to give her a good life. Sadly, things didn't work out that way.

"Winning a major computing competition got the university's attention. I worked relentlessly and eventually became Professor Adler's protégé.

"I never dared to abandon my skills. They're the only thing that guarantee my survival."

Dr. Mills realized how fundamentally insecure Bianca felt. It made sense—she was only twenty-eight, yet she had already lost both her parents and her grandmother.

The man she had deeply loved paraded another woman around for two whole years. It would be a miracle if she felt secure.

"You're already incredibly wealthy now," Dr. Mills said softly. "You don't need to push yourself this hard."

Bianca smiled bitterly. "I constantly remember the humiliation of taking those ten million dollars from the Jagger family, the way I had to endlessly tolerate Mathis's behavior. I swore I would never be that desperate again."

Dr. Mills asked if she could speak with Mathis after the session, to suggest that he keep his distance from her.

She had deduced that in Bianca's subconscious, Mathis was the monster dragging her into the abyss.

Her choice to be with Milo might not have stemmed from profound, overwhelming love, but rather a fundamental instinct for self-preservation—choosing to step out into the sunlight.

Bianca didn't want to see Mathis's face every single day either. Grateful, she replied, "Dr. Mills, if you could actually convince him, I'd be endlessly thankful. Seeing him forces me to relive all the horrible days, making me feel like the nightmare will never end."

"I can only try to persuade him. I can't guarantee he'll listen."

Dr. Mills honestly wasn't confident. Mathis's obsession bordered on the incurable.

Bianca had likely been the only glimmer of hope in his dark youth. But loving someone was like tending to a garden; he had simply wanted to trap her in a cage, even willing to destroy her career to do so, without showing her an ounce of respect.

That kind of love was suffocating her.

"If you can't convince him, it's fine," Bianca said. "Things can't possibly get any worse than they already are."

Dr. Mills gently encouraged her not to lose hope, reminding her that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel.

After the session ended, Dr. Mills told Mathis it was too late tonight, but she would come to his office tomorrow to discuss Bianca's condition.

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