“Let’s talk about Brendon for a moment. You told me that he verbally and emotionally abused you for six years. You believed he truly loved you, so therefore, no matter how mean and vile he was, you wouldn’t leave him because you so desperately wanted to be loved. Which was something you never felt growing up.”

“True, and I’ve learned from my mistakes. I will never fall into that kind of trap again.”

“Tell me something. Tell me when you were the happiest and at peace with your life.”

I shifted in my chair because it wasn’t hard to answer and it rolled off my tongue before I could stop it.

“When I was with Simon.”

“Interesting. So out of your entire twenty-four years of life, your happiest and most peaceful time was when you were with him?”

“That was before I knew I was nothing but a business deal,” I spewed.

The bell rang, alerting us that our time was up. “Gabrielle, I want you to take something into consideration.”

“What?” I asked as I got up from my seat.

“I would like Mr. Young to join one of our sessions.”

My mouth dropped. “What? No way!”

“I think it would be beneficial in helping you. I would like to hear his reasoning behind his actions. Give it some thought. Don’t rule it out just yet. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

I walked out of his office and climbed into my car. There was no way Simon was getting involved in my therapy sessions.

Chapter 31

Another week had passed. My job was going well and I continued my therapy sessions with Dr. Roberts. Donovan’s wife was found competent to stand trial, so it was going to be a grueling next few months for him and G. I hadn’t heard from Simon since he dropped off the car. Was I happy about that? I didn’t know. Simon Young wasn’t a man that was easy to forget.

I was working at the coffee shop, taking a drink order, when I looked up and saw Simon standing in line. My body instantly tightened and my heart started to race. When it was his turn, he smiled as he stepped up to the counter.

“Hi, Gabrielle.”

The sight of him should have sickened me, but it didn’t. He was clean-shaven, his hair was perfectly in place, and he was in his dark grey expensive designer suit.

“What can I get you?” I said as I looked down.

“What kind of tea do you recommend?”

“Depends on what you like.”

“I think you already know what I like.”

I looked up at him as I bit down on my lip. My palms were sweaty and I felt like I was losing control.

“I recommend the chai tea with soy milk. It’s really good.”

Lorraine stood to the side of me, watching the two of us.