297 A very Strong Woman

"Then all of a sudden I heard a knock on my hotel room. I thought it was my secretary so I went to the door very relaxed. But when I opened the door…" Maddie paused and tightens her grip on the tear dried tissue.

"It's okay, Maddie. Everything is over. You're just revisiting a memory. It can't hurt you anymore." The doctor tries to calm Maddie down for her to continue.

"I know. At the door was a hotel bell boy. I thought nothing of it then suddenly someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to stop him but i inhaled something then I lost conscience."

'Chloroform.' Vince and Yve instantly know what it was.

'The bellboy must be a real deal. He must be threatened. But no one came to our investigation. They must have killed him.' Vince thought.

"What happened when you wake up?" The doctor asks Maddie.

"It was still dark. My hands and feet were tied. I just don't know what to do." Maddie fully breaks down.

The doctor hugs Maddie and doesn't push her to say anything more. They have achieved the goal for this session which is to know the primary cause. It was not being able to see anything despite being awake.

'They blindfolded her.' Vince, Yve and the doctor think the same thing.

The doctor continues to comfort Maddie who continues to cry in her arms.

"It's okay now. That's the end of our session today. You did really well."

"Are you sure?" Maddie asks in between sobs.

"Yes. Now all you need to do is to wipe those tears and when you're ready, you can go out. I will talk to your son and his wife."

"Oh, about…."

"Don't worry. I will not tell them about your dream of playing with a grandchild soon."

With a wink from the doctor, Maddie smiles again and wipes her tears.

On the other room, Vince and Yve know that they need to leave and return to their position earlier. They walk back to the sitting area. Soon, Maddie returns with a smile flashed on her face as she tries to hide away the tears.

'You should cry more, Mom.' Yve wants to say these words to her mother-in-law in a voice that she can hear but couldn't seem to find the courage.

'Why don't you just tell me all these things? I know you're strong but I will not think less of you if you feel what you're feeling now.' Vince wants to scold his mother for acting too tough and not trusting him enough to prevent her fears.

"The doctor wants to see and talk to the both of you." Maddie informs and pushes the couple gently towards the doctor's room where she just came from.

The couple walks towards the room with Vince opening the room for Yve.

"Good evening, doctor."

"Good evening, too. I believe you're the daughter-in-law and so you must be the son." The doctor greets back and points at the two of them.

"Good evening, doctor. You're right, I'm the son please call me Vince."

"The pleasure is all mine to call you by name, Mr. Gray."

"Please… it should be me who's honored to meet the woman who is treating my mother." Vince offers his hand to the doctor.

"Thank you. Please have a seat."

The trio sits in front of each other with only the desk separating the couple from the doctor.

"I believe you have heard already what happened."

"Yes."

"Being blindfolded in that desperate and dangerous situation triggered her fear of darkness and being alone."

"…" The couple can only stay silent in reflection.

"Is her office well-lighted?" The doctor asks them.

"Well, yes. There are a lot of areas where lights are abundant especially in her room where she creates her designs and starts sewing her creations." Yve answers in full realization of Maddie's office's current interior.

"How about people? An office is usually empty after office hours." The doctor says her thoughts out loud.

"Not in the case of Mom's fashion house. In the main office, some of the designers live in their offices in the designing department, just a few blocks away from her office." Vince answers.

"That explains why she likes to stay in her office." The doctor concludes.

"What should we do to help her?" Yve asks the doctor.

"You heard her. She feels happy when both of you give time to her especially you, Vince. I hope you can squeeze a little time for her with your busy schedules. But don't make it too obvious though." The doctor suggests and smiles at them.

"We will, doctor." Yve answers and nudges her husband's elbow when he isn't responding.

"Yes, we will. But I want to ask when she can tell the entire story of what happened." Vince answers and pops a question in return.

"To be honest Vince, I don't really know. I was hoping to finish it in this session but since she broke down, I decided to stop."

"Vince, we already know why Mom wants to stay in her office. " Yve pulls Vince closer to her before whispering,

"You even said that you finished the enemies already. So there's no need to know the details."

"Now I fully know how good, loving and caring you are, Miss Yve. But as part of the therapy, she needs to share the events and move on from it. The sharing may not be to me, as long as it can be to someone she trusts." The doctor expresses her thoughts and plans for the therapy.

"That's all I can tell you. As for her other dream, I'll leave the decision up to you. With loving children in both of you, she will be fine in no time." The doctor concludes their talk with a smile.

"Thank you doctor." Vince thanks the doctor once more before standing up and leaving the room with his wife beside him.

"Do you have time to eat dinner with us?" Yve asks Vince as they walk back to Maddie.

"Yes, I can. Where do you think we should eat?" Vince asks.

"Somewhere with bright and happy ambience. I don't know so many places so you decide where." Yve smiles before running faster to her mother-in-law.

Then Yve pulls Maddie away from the clinic like a child pulling her mother towards something she wants.