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Chapter 0738
As an intense battle unfolded elsewhere, Valerie and Peter found themselves admitted to the Rosaria psychiatric hospital, each grappling with their own demons and unresolved issues. Though they were physically close, they felt worlds apart. Days passed uneventfully for the most part, and Peter, who had managed to maintain stability for several days, allowed Dr. Hill to begin breaking through the barriers of his mind.
Valerie, on the other hand, was nearing the end of the first phase of her treatment. Questions that once had no answers now seemed within reach.
“Valerie, how are you feeling today?” Dr. Hill asked with her usual warm tone.
“Hello, Dr. Hill. I’m fine, and you?”
“I’m doing well, Valerie, thank you. It’s wonderful to hear you’re improving–you’ve made incredible progress.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hill! Honestly, it’s all thanks to you…
“Oh no, this is entirely your achievement. My job is just to guide you toward understanding the things your mind has struggled to let go of.”
“Yes… I know.”
“Valerie, when you first arrived, I asked you some questions–some you couldn’t answer back then. I think now might be a good time to revisit them. What do you think?”
“We can try.
“Great! Let’s start. What are your thoughts on your relationship with Peter?”
“Peter…” Valerie said, standing and looking out the window. “Peter is my past–a beautiful past. Life didn’t allow us to stay together.”
“I hear a hint of nostalgia in your voice.”
“Yes… I met him when I had just turned eighteen. He gave the a life I could never have imagined.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because from the moment I was born, my father blamed me for my mother’s death. My paternal grandparents adored me, but my father didn’t. He treated my life as if it were his to control–a punishment for taking my mother away from him. I basically lived in a gilded cage.
“Looking back, if not for that fraud, my life wouldn’t be what it is today. My father would have married me off to some rich man seeking status and wealth. I never would have experienced the life I now remember as my past.
“Peter took me into his home. At first, he wasn’t exactly great company, but over time, being together brought us closer. We ended up forming a rather… unusual relationship.”
“What do you mean by unusual?”
“Well, we weren’t officially a couple, but sometimes we acted like one. Neither of us took the first step, but we were already doing… other things. You understand?”
“Neither of you wanted to commit?”
‘Maybe we did, or maybe we didn’t. All I know is that when Maximus came along, he seemed more grounded. I was drawn to his maturity–or at least, that’s what I thought at the time. He gave me the impression that everything would be okay with him. With Peter, no matter how much I wanted to see stability, I just couldn’t find
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it.”
“Is that why you decided to marry Maximus?”
“I’m afraid so. The truth is, I didn’t think about it much. Maximus was the first man in my life who gave me the security Peter never could. I hate admitting it, but that was the main reason. With Maximus, I pictured a calm life, a happy marriage, a serious relationship.
But with Peter… Peter was something else entirely. With him, I could only see a rollercoaster of emotions. It was exhilarating to live freely, don’t get me wrong, but Peter… Peter was unpredictable. One day he’d be there, and the next, I couldn’t be sure. Peter could tell me he loved me, but in the next moment, he might say the same to another woman.”
“But didn’t Maximus ultimately do the same?”
“Yes…” Valerie said, lowering her head. “But back then, I didn’t know for sure. I had my suspicions–part of me felt it but it wasn’t confirmed. By the time I realized it, my life already belonged to Maximus. My life, once free and untethered with Peter, was now trapped by a poor decision. And from that moment, it would never be the same again.”
”
“I clung to the idea that I had made the decision and had to accept the consequences. I clung to the image of the man I married, to an illusion–and that led me to a breaking point. In the end, I see now that I was just repeating the same cycle I lived with my father. The truth is, I sought the same control my father had over me. Without realizing it, I found that control in Maximus.
“Peter didn’t fit into that life–not because he was wrong for it, but because I wasn’t ready for or accustomed to that kind of life. Even though I liked it, I wasn’t prepared for it. In the end, I went back to what I knew.”
“I appreciate your honesty about what happened then,” Dr. Hill said gently. “How do you see those two men now?”
“Life has given me the chance to see them again. At first, I hated Maximus with every fiber of my being. I wanted him to suffer, to feel even a fraction of the pain he caused me–both when we were together and after we were apart. But eventually… everything changed.”
“What made it change?”
“He’s my daughter’s father. I can’t hate her father–it’s not healthy. He made mistakes, and he paid for them. To what extent, only he knows. As for me, I forgave him. I forgave every single thing he did to me when we were together. I forgave all the pain and fear I endured when we were apart. I did it so none of this would ever reach our daughter.
