Chapter 45 Marriage Counsellor?!

Fuck! I just realised yesterday's chapter was unreadable since it was behind an un-unlockable privilege tier. Sorry.

Anyways, this month came to an end. And next month, I am going full throttle. Support me in any way you can- votes, reviews, comments, buying privilege chapters, and in return I will publish 2 chapters per day and if possible, mass release.

Stay tuned! Enjoy!

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"We are here to catch your husband."

Xavier's words did not only take the beautiful lady by surprise, but also Eulene.

But before anyone could say anything, Xavier continued. "I had a hearty talk with him during our appointment. And I am returning to Aramon today. It would be a shame if I could not bid him farewell before I do so."

"You scared me Mister Godwin." Miss Hearts let out a giggle.

"Is that so?" Xavier said. "Then I apologise for my transgression."

"You are quite the gentleman, aren't you?" the lady said with a smile. "Please sit." She gestured towards the sofas.

Everyone sat down. Miss Hearts moved her green eyes to Eulene. "Oh my! How come I never caught wind of someone as beautiful as you being here in Derbury? May I know your name?"

Eulene contemplated for a moment. Though the pretty lady looked nice, it did not change the fact that she was the wife of a serial killer. She might be an accomplice, or maybe… she was a victim herself.

"The people here call me Eulene," she said nonchalantly.

"Oh." Noticing her disinterest, she moved her gaze back to Xavier. "I am afraid my husband is not here. He has been busy lately. So much that he hardly ever comes home." She let out an inaudible sigh.

Eulene noticed marks of longing in her green eyes. She inwardly sighed herself. The pretty woman was a victim.

"Aye aye aye!" The usual life returned to Eulene's voice and face. "No wonder you look so pretty. You can focus on yourself while he rots away somewhere without looking at you."

Miss Hearts could not hold her laughter back. A melodious laughter resounded through the room. "Is that so?" She finally composed herself and turned to Eulene. "To be honest, you are the first woman ever to make me feel a bit insecure." She gave Xavier a glance before turning back to Eulene. "But seeing that you already have such a handsome partner. I have nothing to be afraid of."

Eulene blushed a bit, but did not retort.

The poor Xavier, on the other hand, was gobsmacked. Wasn't Eulene supposed to be a bit depressed and have hostility against Miss Hearts? Why were their recent exchange akin to that of old friends? And most importantly, how did he come into the conversation?

Women, he sighed inwardly. 200 years was not enough to understand them.

Eulene had also scanned through the guest room before- the photographs, the framed certificates, and the visceral showpieces.

"Looks like your father is a great physician," she said as she turned to the austere looking man standing behind the young Miss Hearts in the black and white photograph.

"Yes," Miss Hearts replied with pride as her own green eyes glued to the photo. "He is currently the director of Melbin General Hospital."

"Melbin?" Eulene raised her brows in astonishment. "Isn't that the third largest city in the country, the one famous for its ports?"

"Indeed it is." The lady nodded. "It's the city just East to Derbury. Father visits us once or twice every month."

"If you don't mind Miss Hearts, can I ask you a question?" Eulene said.

"Sure, but you need to call me Trisha from now on," the lady- Trisha- smiled.

"Then Trisha it is." Eulene also showed a bright smile in return. "Why are you still here in Derbury? With your status, you can shift to Melbin, or even Aramon."

"Actually, our whole ancestry is that of physicians- my father, grandfather, great grandfather, his father and so on. And all of them were based here in Derbury. But my father was so accomplished that the Ministry of Health decided that it would be a waste to let him practice medicine in Derbury clinic. Originally, he was to be posted in Aramon. But since father was so attached to his hometown, he lobbied his post to Melbin nearby.

"Nevertheless, after my marriage, he told me that I could shift to Aramon if I wanted. Though I was eager to do it, Joseph apparently had other plans." Trisha sighed.

"I can understand your father." Eulene sighed. "To stay far away from home- it's suffocating."

Both Xavier and Trisha turned to Eulene. They could feel the homesickness she was emanating.

But the smile soon returned to Eulene's face as she asked Trisha, "haven't you ever thought of becoming a physician?"

"Of course I did!" Trisha admitted. "But father had other plans. She said I was too soft to become one. Moreover, he is overprotective. A handful of doctors die every year due to infectious diseases and such. He feared more for me than for himself."

Eulene turned to Xavier. "Is that true? That physicians die this way."

"That indeed is the case," Xavier replied. "Some of my colleagues faced the same fate."

"Are you a physician?" Trisha's eyes twinkled.

Once again, Eulene beat Xavier to it. "Was."

"Oh. I never heard of a doctor changing professions. What are you into now?" Trisha asked with intrigue.

"Research." Xavier turned to the family photograph. "If I am not wrong, your little brother is practicing medicine."

Trisha let out a giggle. "Everyone thinks the same. He is studying medicine at The University of Aramon."

Xavier looked into Trisha's green eyes with his silver ones. "The University of Aramon- seems like you have quite the connection to it; first- your husband's alma mater, and now- your brother's."

But before Trisha could say anything, Eulene opened her mouth. "Almost everyone in the town knows of your love story- of how your beauty hooked the great Psychiatrist from Aramon. Tell me about it." Her eyes were twinkling.

Trisha blushed and shook her head aggressively. "People exaggerate this matter. In fact, our meeting and marriage was much more human."

"I am all ears." Eulene arched a bit forward.

Trisha sighed and told them her story. Five years ago, Joseph Hearts came to Derbury and opened his facility. Doctor Ponting, Trisha's father, getting news of the matter, went to meet him. Trisha's father found the psychiatrist to his liking and had Trisha and Joseph meet. They liked each other, and thereafter, Doctor Ponting arranged their marriage.

"…I don't know who spread the rumours and made it look like he was the one desperate, when we were equally onto each other. But since he never retorted, I didn't take any step either." Trisha ended her story.

Eulene giggled. "I am sure it was your previous courters who spread the rumours."

Trisha chucked as well.

Eulene continued with her questions, as if she were some young fiancée who was soon to get married. "So, how's life after marriage?"

The smile on Trisha's face wavered and her heart skipped a bit.

Both Xavier and Eulene resisted their urge to give each other a glance.

Eulene decided to strike the iron while it was still hot. "What's wrong?"

Trisha's heartbeats lost its usual flow as she shook her head. "N… nothing."

Eulene pointed to Xavier. "He 'was' a marriage counsellor. He always bragged that he has saved hundreds of marriages before."

Xavier looked at Eulene with his eyes wide open. When the fuck did he say that? And what the hell even was a marriage counsellor? He had never heard of it in his 200 years of life!

Trisha turned to Xavier with a pair of eyes that expressed doubt, hesitation… and hope. Xavier, seeing this as a chance to get clues, put his acting mode on.

[You can do it!] He heard Eulene's encouraging voice, but it barely helped.

He arranged all the information he had and looked Trisha dead in the eyes. His face was indifferent, but unlike his usual indifference, it was 'professional indifference'.

"If I am not wrong," he said with an utterly professional tone, "it has something to do with children."

The doubt and hesitation in Trisha's green eyes disappeared. What replaced it was utter astonishment. Moreover, the hope in her eyes intensified.

Even Eulene was surprised. Was the bastard really a marriage counsellor?

Xavier, on the other hand, kept up his act on the outside. But inside, he sighed in relief. He had sensed no children in the entire mansion, neither did he see any photos of them. He decided to push further.

"And it has nothing to do with any disease or physical problems," Xavier said with his 'marriage counselling tone'. He used his senses to scan Trisha's body, and he found no problems.

Trisha's eyes almost popped out of her socket.

"If you speak about your problems," Xavier said, "maybe I can come up with a solution."

Trisha, hearing Xavier's soothing and confident voice, took in a deep breath and composed herself.

"Can you really help me?" Trisha asked with a pleading voice.

"Of course!" Xavier raised his chin. "I have never failed before."

Trisha took in a deep breath yet again. "It's Joseph- he doesn't want children."

Xavier raised a brow. "Have you ever asked him 'why'?"

"Many times." She sighed. "At first he didn't say anything. But one day, we got into a fight. And when I pressured him, he finally revealed the reason."

"And, the reason is?"

"He said he was scared." Trisha put on a wry smile. "He even said that he didn't deserve a child. He even said something along the line that he was a monster."

Xavier and Eulene shared a glance before turning back to Trisha.

She continued, "I mean… I know that parenting is a huge responsibility to take. But it doesn't mean that one has to be that over dramatic, does it? Even I am a bit scared. But that doesn't mean that I don't ever want to be called a mother." She bit her lower lip. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Xavier needed to change the topic, and he suddenly remembered something. He pointed to the picture of two young men.

"Who is the person beside your husband?"