h4Chapter 397: A Discovery/h4

    "Where is he?" Mnie asked as she stepped out, her eyes immediately finding Dr. Jung, standing alone, stiff and frozen in ce.

    Her words cut through the silence and seemed to jolt him back to life. His face twisted, and he suddenly rounded on her and asked in a sharp high voice, bordering on panic, "What were you thinking? I chose to help you, I took the risk of pulling you away from Cadence, and instead of distancing yourself, you are throwing yourself deeper into this mess. Why? What is wrong with you? Couldn’t you just have reced Melody, taken back your ce and let me handle the rest?"

    Mnie didn’t flinch at his anger. She only gave a small shrug, then walked over until she was standing right beside him. "It’s because you helped me that I feel the need to help you. I don’t like owing favors, doc. That’s just not who I am. As for Melody, I’ve decided, Cadence Sint does not need her."

    Her gaze shifted forward, and she sighed," I know it is crazy to feel pity for my kidnapper. But here it is. For years you’ve kept him with you. You’ve guarded him, sheltered him, pulled him away from the world outside. You’ve protected him, yes, but at the same time, you’ve also kept him under your control. You’ve been both his shield and his prison. This time, I only pushed things a little further, twisted the bnce just enough to make him react differently. And to make you react differently.

    She paused, and gave the a man a look, "You are a psychologist. So you are smart enough to understand the princips from today. If things go right, if the pieces fall into ce, then maybe you’ll finally have the one thing you’ve always wanted. A partner. Someone who doesn’t just ept your care but actually gives something back. Someone who responds to your love, your patience, even your insanity, all of it. But if it doesn’t work out..."

    She gave a short breath, half augh, half a sigh. "Well, then nothing changes, does it? He’ll only go back to what he’s always done. Once you pull him away from everyone else again, he’ll return to treating you like the same thing he always has-like you’re nothing more than furniture with a heartbeat. A machine that keeps him running. Nothing more. Nothing less. Whatever. Either way, Cadence is under your control."

    is Jung sighed, feeling horrible for a moment, as he realized that what Mnie said was indeed correct. Yes, Cadence had suffered violent episodes in the past but he had made sure that he would need help. Slowly, over the years, even though he believed that he had given up a lot for Cadence, the truth was that he had also kept him by his side. Just like Cadence wanted to keep Melody by his side, under control.

    But now, Mnie had shown him a mirror that shook him. And then she had thrown him into a quagmire of things that he had no idea how to wade. How was he supposed to reach if Cadence really did see him in a different light?

    "If you really wanted to prove that I was attractive or whatever, you could have just arranged a woman for tonight’s blind date," Elias muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

    Mnie’s lips curved into a sly grin. "And what exactly would’ve been the point of that? For you to sit there proving you can still charm women? That isn’t what this is about. The point, Elias, is to make Cadence see you not just as his shadow, not as his safety or caretaker, but as a man. A person he might actually want to... sleep with."

    Elias winced at the bluntness of her choice of words. He almost flinched, but then the truth of what she said sank in, and his difort turned into a pensive silence. There was something there—something he had never allowed himself to say out loud. Of course, he had been with women before. He had dated, he had lived, but the moment he realized his heart leaned toward Cadence, all of that had shifted. It was as if every other attraction had drained out of him. Since then, he had practically lived like a monk. No other body drew him in, no other voice called to him. The only person his body, his heart, his very nerves responded to was Cadence. Always Cadence.

    Mnie, seeing the silence stretching, simply shrugged. "Exactly. So maybe stop wasting time questioning me and start asking yourself if you’re willing to fight for what you want. Oh. And my cab is here. You cer.. Max is still inside."

    With that, Mnie stepped away from the doctor and walked towards the cab that had just arrived, whistling happily. However, her triumph was shortlived because the moment the car stopped outside the apartment building where they were presently living, she saw Cadence pacing there.

    Time to get back into character.

    She forced a look of concern onto her face as she stepped out of the cab. "Cadence? What happened? Why did you fall sick so suddenly? I was looking forward to this date so much."

    But her words bounced off him as though they meant nothing. Instead of answering, Cadence flicked the cigarette away with a sharp movement, closing the distance between them in a few quick strides. He seized her hand with a grip that bordered on painful and almost shook her, his eyes zing with suspicion.

    "Who is Max?" he demanded, his voice low but trembling with fury. "How do you know him?"

    Mnie stared at the man and carefully unwrapped his fingers from around her arm... and spoke softly," Why? Are you really going to be jealous of him?Didn’t you see he is interested in Dr Jung. He is more likely to hit on you than hit on me?"

    Cadence let go of her arm and moved again," I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. Keep away from him." And then as if realizing something, Cadence looked around, before asking sharply," Where is Dr Jung."

    Mnie shrugged before she gave him a sly look and said," He decided to continue his date with Max."