Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

MATTHEW

The first intensive therapy session with Dr. Fisher lasted two hours, and I watched every minute of it through a one–way mirror, feeling my heart break with each word my son spoke.

Dr. Fisher’s office was designed for children–soft colors, comfortable furniture, toys and art supplies scattered around the room in carefully arranged chaos. She’d settled Theo on a oversized beanbag chair and surrounded him with options: LEGOS, action figures, drawing materials, a small sandbox with miniature animals.

“You can play with anything you’d like,” she’d told him gently. “Or we can just talk. Or you can draw. Whatever feels right to you.

11

Theo had chosen the sandbox, his small hands moving mechanically through the sand, creating patterns that meant nothing and everything.

For the first twenty minutes, he didn’t speak at all. Just played in silence while Dr. Fisher sat nearby, occasionally commenting on what he was doing without demanding responses.

“That’s an interesting pattern,” she’d say. Or “I see you’re burying the elephant. Sometimes things need to be buried for a while.

11

Simple observations. No pressure. No demands.

And gradually, almost imperceptibly, Theo had started responding.

“The elephant is sad,” he’d whispered. “It needs to be buried so it can sleep.”

“Why is the elephant sad?”

“Because it did something bad. Something that made someone go away forever.”

My hands had clenched on the armrests of my chair, fighting the urge to storm into that room and tell my son he hadn’t done anything bad, that none of this was his fault.

But Dr. Fisher had been explicit in her instructions: I was to observe only, to let her guide Theo through the process without

interference.

So I’d stayed silent and watched my four–year–old son work through trauma I’d caused.

“Tell me about what the elephant did,” Dr. Fisher had said, her voice calm and accepting.

And Theo had told her everything.

About how he’d been mean to his mama. About how he’d said he hated her, wanted a new mommy, thought she was evil. About how Aunty Mia was prettier and nicer and better, and he’d wished Mama would go away so Aunty Mia could stay instead.

“And then Mama went away,” Theo had said, his voice so small I’d had to strain to hear it through the speaker. “She went away forever and she’s never coming back. And it’s because of me. Because I was bad and mean and I didn’t love her enough.”

The words had hit me like physical blows, each one confirming the depth of my failure as a father.

Dr. Fisher had picked up a small toy wolf from the sandbox. “Can I tell you something about wolves?”

Theo had nodded, still playing with the sand.

“Wolves are pack animals. They live in families. And sometimes, wolf pups get angry at their parents. They growl and snap and say mean things.” She’d moved the wolf through the sand, demonstrating. “But you know what? Their parents don’t leave

Chapter 67

+25 Bonus

them. Because parent wolves know that pup wolves are learning how to express feelings, and sometimes those feelings come out wrong.”

“But I made Mama leave,” Theo had insisted stubbornly.

“Did you have magic powers that could make people disappear?”

He’d looked up at her, confused. “No.”

“Then you couldn’t have made your mama leave. Because making someone go away–really making them disappear–would require very powerful magic. The kind of magic four–year–old boys don’t have.”

“But I wished for it,” Theo had argued, and I’d heard my own terrible logic reflected in his reasoning. “I wished for Mama to go away and for Aunty Mia to be my new mommy. And then it happened.”

Dr. Fisher had been quiet for a moment, and I’d seen her making notes on her tablet.

“Theo, can I tell you a secret? About wishes?”

“Okay.”

“Wishes don’t have the power to make things happen in the real world. I can wish for it to snow in summer, but that won’t make snow appear. I can wish for pizza to magically appear for dinner, but I still have to order it or cook it. Wishes are just thoughts, and thoughts can’t change reality.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify