Page 49 of 5000 Nights of Obsession

Inever pushedPoppytoward this company.Herdreams matured organically from being surrounded by the company culture.Poppy’sself-inflicted stress of competing with her cousins and wanting to be the best was somethingIdidn’t understand, nor wouldIencourage this toxic behavior.

Youcould sayIhad grown to resentAmbaniCorpand didn’t want my only child tied to something for the rest of her life.Itried steeringPoppyinto less stressful environments numerous times, encouraging her to be a kid.

Thissentiment of mine drovePoppycrazy.Iwanted her out of this toxic environment where the kids were pitted against each other for some unforeseen future.WhereasPoppyresented me for not pushing her.

WhyshouldI?

Shewas too young to be worried about a career.Evenif she weren’t,Ididn’t care what my daughter did for a living so long she was physically healthy, mentally happy, and safe.Iwanted her to feel loved, andIwanted her to love hard.Itwas the most important thing in the world.Notto mention, she was only a little girl.Whywas a child so preoccupied with becomingCEOwhenJaywouldn’t retire for another fifteen years?

Weconstantly butted heads over it.Ino longer understood my child, andPoppystarted viewing me as the enemy.Onlyone thing drove her anymore, the obsession with being the head of the company like her papa.

“Whywould a person with psychopathy specifically pursue such a role?”Iasked, tilting my head.

“Becausethey’re good at it,”Dr.Stevensonsimply replied, setting the container down. “Let’ssay a large corporation has numerous locations.Oneof the branches is suffering, and theCEOmust assess the long-term benefits of keeping it open.Thoughshutting it down would uproot workers, it would be fiscally irresponsible to let it drain the company’s resources, costing more jobs in the long run.”

“Okaaay.What’syour point?”

“IftheCEOis cold-blooded and lacks empathy, they can easily make the pragmatic decision of shutting down the branch.Iftheir moral dilemma and overwhelming guilt for the workers were to get in the way, leading to an emotional decision, it might be more harmful to the company in the long run.”

Hepicked up the container once more and resumed eating.Iwaited for him to finish chewing.

“ManyCEOs, politicians, and leaders who lack empathy are better at their jobs because they think rationally when making the tough calls, rather than under emotional duress.”

Inodded thoughtfully. “So, according to you, people with this… affliction might even be more prone to success because of it.”

Henodded. “Withone percent of the population exhibiting these characteristics, it’s likely we all know numerous people with antisocial personality traits, many of whom are leading perfectly normal lives.”

Myhead snapped to meet his gaze.Idid know someone else with psychopathy;Axel.LastIchecked, he was leading more than a great life.How?

Dr.Stevensonanswered my unstated question. “Justlike with everything else in life, how someone chooses to deal with it depends on them.”

“Ifit’s so common, why is there such a stigma surrounding this?”Iasked curiously.

Dr.Stevensonsmiled kindly. “That’ssocietal hypocrisy for you.Evenafter everything we discussed today, would you vote for a politician if you knew they couldn’t understand your needs or desires, nor do they care about it?”

Goodpoint.

Neitherof us spoke as he finished the salad and dove into the next box with chicken risotto.Ilet him take a few bites before resuming our conversation.

“Whatcauses someone of this nature to display violent behavior while others lead perfectly reasonable lives?”

Heshrugged. “It’sthe same as any affliction.Peoplewith mild cases have some empathy, while severe cases lack it altogether.Non-empaths lack impulse control, and their reduced remorse allows them to pursue their desires without regard for others.Butit’s not their fault.”

“Meaning?”

Hestabbed at shreds of lettuce with a fork. “Meaning…ASPDis a result of biological predisposition.”

Amelancholy coursed through my veins.Lackingempathy wasn’tPoppy’sfault.Likemy daughter, one percent of the population was susceptible to impulsive behavior from birth.Althoughshe lost the battle occasionally,Poppyfought her natural inclinations because she grew up in a loving home.Ithardly seemed fair to blame her for something she couldn’t control.

Thisconversation had proved more positive thanIhad imagined.

“So,Piya,”Dr.Stevensonsaid, diving into the last container with dessert.Chocolatechip cookies. “Areyou ready to discussPoppy’sASPDtendencies and how it’s affecting your life?”

Ismiled sadly and gathered my containers.Hesaw right through me, didn’t he? “Maybeanother day,Dr.Stevenson.”

BeforeIleft,Icouldn’t help throwing one last question his way.Itwas the one that had been bugging me the most. “Cana person without empathy love another human being?”Iwanted everything for my daughter, but most of all,Iwanted her to find love in her life.Tofeel loved was one of the greatest gifts on earth.

“Dependson your definition of love.Ifthey feel a connection, they go to great lengths to take care of the person in the way they’d care for a precious item they possess.Thatoften emulates what society defines as love.”

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