“He wants me to forgive him. He said that he can’t live the rest of his life knowing that I hate him.”

“Fuck, Gabby. The man is in love with you and is trying to make amends. People do fucked up and crazy things.” She cleared her throat and looked down at my arm.

“Oh my God, G, how could you?” I picked up the glass and took it over to the couch.

“It’s the truth. Listen, Gabs, if it was only a business deal, then he wouldn’t be going to all this trouble to get you back or ask for forgiveness. If the man didn’t love you or care for you, he would write it off as a business deal gone bad. But that’s not what he’s doing.”

“Can we please talk about something else? I’m done with the subject of Simon Young.”

****

My stomach knotted as I pulled into the parking lot of Dr. Roberts’ office. I was about fifteen minutes early, so I got out of my car, went into the building, and took my usual seat in the waiting room, waiting for Simon to walk through the door. Maybe he wouldn’t show. I couldn’t imagine that therapists were his thing. At about five fifty-five, the door opened, and Simon walked in. He smiled and took the seat next to me.

“Hi,” he said in a low voice.

“Hi.” I looked down.

Dr. Roberts opened his office door and broke the awkward silence between us. “Gabrielle, come on in.”

“Hi, Dr. Roberts. This is Simon Young.”

“Hello, Simon. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, Dr. Roberts.”

“Please have a seat.” He motioned us over to the couch.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?”

“I’m good. Thank you,” Simon replied.

“Do you have any strong alcohol around here?”

Dr. Roberts smiled. “Sorry, Gabrielle. All I have is water, coffee, juice, or tea.”

“Then I’m fine,” I said as I put up my hand.

Dr. Roberts grabbed his notepad before sitting down across from us. He pushed up his glasses, which sat low on the bridge of his nose.

“Simon, thank you for coming tonight. Tell me why you agreed to come.”

Simon shifted his body and crossed his legs. “I came for Gabrielle. I need to make her see how sorry I am for what happened.”

“Do you think she believes you?” he asked.

“No.”

Dr. Roberts looked at me. “Gabby? Do you believe he’s sorry for what happened?”

I inhaled deeply. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Anything in my life that seems real turns out to be fake,” I spoke as I wiped a tear that was about to fall.

Simon reached over to me.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped.

“Why are you so angry, Gabby?” Dr. Roberts asked.

“Because of what he did to me.”

“How did he make you feel?”