Page 34 of Wickedly Played
She blinks several times to clear the tears from her eyes. “Maybe I wasn’t sexy enough for him. He is the one who wanted to spice things up. I tried to be everything he wanted me to be. He just kept telling me that I’m too difficult.”
“Your husband is struggling with his own regrets and mental health. It is easy to blame yourself when these things fall apart,” he tries to console her.
“Maybe he didn’t love me at all. We got married because our parents arranged it. You know how things work in our world,” she tries to reason.
He sighs. “Serena, his cheating on you with Amanda was not your fault. He did that because it was something he wanted to do. It wasn’t you.”
Her tears flow faster and harder down her cheeks. “If that was the case, then why would he have married me? Why didn’t he just say he would marry Amanda? I don’t understand.”
“This is one of those things you might never know the reason behind. I wish I could give you a better answer than that.”
“I guess it is a good thing I didn’t get pregnant. It is obvious that a baby wouldn’t have solved our problems. I keep wondering if there was something more that I could have done.”
Dr. Reynolds sits back in his seat. “You are allowed to want a baby. You are allowed to want someone to love you for who you are. Serena, he wasn’t it for you. The person you need is out there for you.”
Her sobs are loud. “Maybe I’m the problem. Maybe I’m just bad at relationships. I never saw a good relationship as a child. My parents never cared about each other and only got married because they were betrothed.”
“I’m going to write you a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication. How have you been sleeping?”
“I get about an hour of sleep at a time. I can’t stop wishing things were different. I feel like I’m a desperate woman who can’t stop obsessing over someone who doesn’t care about me.”
I’ve become a man obsessed. Each of her sessions, until the last one, is similar to this one. Serena’s blonde hair was shorter in these recordings of her sessions and court appearances. When I get to the last video, she looks more like the woman I know today. I would love to find him and beat his ass for putting this much stress on her.
What does that make me? Aren’t I hurting her, too?
God damn it.
In just an hour, I hacked into the system and obtained information about her family. Armed with this information feels dangerous. I know the ramifications of what will happen to me for hacking into their system to access it. I could be killed for it. With all of that known, I still look for more.
I’m fucking obsessed.
After clicking on the last video of her with Dr. Reynolds, only one thing is clear to me. I like her a lot more than I’m willing to admit to myself.
“Dr. Reynolds, I have realized something,” she confidently states.
He sits forward in his seat. “What’s that, Serena?”
She sighs while throwing her hair over her shoulder. “That I’m going to be okay.”
“You will be. I’m sure of it.”
“I cut off ties with my family, too. I can’t stand how they make me feel like it is my fault that he left me. I’m not the disgrace of the family.”
The doctor smiles at her with contentment. “You are not the disgrace of the family. You were given a shit hand and nowyou’re going to rise above. I can’t wait to see how high you can go.”
“Thank you for everything. I owe you a lot.”
Serena is about to leave when Dr. Reynolds calls her back. “Serena, one more thing.”
She tosses her hair back over her shoulder. “Yes.” Her hand is hovering over the doorknob.
“Please don’t shut yourself off for love. You are an incredible woman who deserves great love, okay?”
“I will try. Thank you.”
Dr. Reynolds is left alone in the room after she leaves, and then a man enters next. He’s holding the hand of a woman who looks similar to Serena, but with darker features. The man pulls out a seat for the woman.
“Hello, welcome. It is nice to see you again.”
