Bride Behind the Mask novel Chapter 858

Half an hour later, at the psychology clinic.

When Stella saw Silas push open the office door, she looked genuinely surprised.

Usually, she was the one calling Silas, practically begging him to come in. Even when he did show up, the sessions never really went anywhere. Silas always seemed resistant to therapy; more than once, he’d simply gone silent and refused to answer her questions.

For him to show up on his own like this? Unprecedented.

She abruptly swung her crossed legs off the desk and got to her feet, mock astonishment coloring her voice. “Well, well—look who finally paid us a visit!”

Silas shot her a sidelong glance, rolling up his sleeves in the summer heat. “What, is your clinic too broke to afford air conditioning?”

Stella grumbled as she switched on the AC. “Still as charming as ever. Is 77 degrees cool enough for you? Any lower and my electric bill’s going to suffer.”

He didn’t bother replying, just slipped into his usual spot on the therapy couch, as if he owned it.

Stella grabbed her camcorder and tripod, heading over to set up. Before she could finish, Silas’s voice cut through the air, cold and abrupt. “I don’t like cameras pointed at me.”

Without even looking up from her equipment, Stella replied, “It’s just protocol. We both know you’re not here for a real session, so let’s just go through the motions. I won’t even turn it on.”

But Silas fixed her with a steady look. “Let’s actually do it, this time.”

Stella paused mid-assembly, caught off guard. “Sorry, what?”

“This time, I’ll cooperate. I’ll answer whatever you ask—honestly.”

He’d always refused to participate, never wanting strangers to pry into the corners of his mind. But lately, he’d found himself wondering—why did his head hurt every time he saw Marguerite?

Tomorrow was his wedding day. He wasn’t sure if Marguerite would show up. But either way, once tomorrow passed, his life would change forever.

If Marguerite appeared, he’d take her away with him. But he couldn’t spend his life on painkillers. If she stayed away and let him marry someone else, he couldn’t keep living with the scars she’d left and pretend everything was fine with Violet.

He needed answers.

Stella’s eyes went wide. She had to be dreaming. Was the world turning upside down? This man had always hated therapy.