Chapter 28
Maxime
“This is unexpected,” Dr. Delphine Bisset says when she lets me into her office. Her smile is sly. “You even made an appointment.”
“Tell me again a psychopath can’t be considerate,” I say, taking the sofa facing Delphine’s usual chair.
“How are things going with the young lady?” she asks when she’s seated.
I stretch my arm along the back of the sofa. “Complicated.”
“Mm. What are we discussing today?”
“She’s changing.”
She tilts her head, regarding me with that smile still in place. “That’s a problem?”
“Yes.”
“People change. They grow.”
I consider that. “I’m not sure you can call this growth.”
“Let’s take this a few steps back.” She smoothes down her skirt. “Do you see yourself in a long-term relationship with this woman?”
“She’s my wife.” I let my mind wrap around the word, savoring the permanence of the meaning.
Delphine raises a brow. “Definitely long-term then. When did this happen?”
“Not so long ago.”
Her eyes narrow at my vagueness. “Max.” Her voice is chiding, but her look turns wary. “Did you manipulate her into marrying you?”
I straighten my tie. “Let’s just say I didn’t ask.”
“Oh, Max.” Her shoulders slump. “That’s not the way to do it. Haven’t we made any progress?”
“You’re not supposed to judge me.”
“I’m not judgmental, but it’s my duty to point out you lack a moral compass.”
“It’s done. Can we stay on the subject?” I check my watch. “In thirty minutes you’re kicking me out.”
“What am I going to do with you?” she exclaims.
I give her a pointed look. “We were talking about my wife.”
She straightens in her seat. “You said your wife is changing. Change isn’t necessarily negative. Change is necessary for growth.”
“As I said, I don’t think this is growth.”
“Tell me about these changes.”
“She used to be a romantic. Now she’s almost cynical.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Her style, for starters. Before, she’d wear frilly things. Feminine things.”
She taps a finger on her knee. “What does she wear now?”
“The kind of clothes my mother would wear.”
“Stylish?”
She’s no longer smiling, but there’s still a glint in her eyes. Trust Delphine to see the humor in this, that the woman I chose to be my wife would suddenly turn into someone who resembles my mother.
I shiver with repulsion at the thought. “I suppose you could say so.”
“What else is changing?”
Reaching for the jug on the coffee table, I pour a glass of water. “She’s becoming harder and less naïve.”
“Why is that a problem?”
I take a sip. “She used to believe in love.”
“You want her to,” she concludes correctly.
“I need her to.”
“Why? Because you still believe it somehow balances you and makes up for your shortcomings?”
I put the glass aside. “Because love is her survival mechanism. It’s how she copes.”
“Let’s approach this from a different angle.” She crosses her legs. “What are you afraid of?”
“That she’ll lose the one thing that makes her strong and pretty.” Pensively, I add, “Like a wildflower.”
“Will she be less pretty to you if she loses her faith in love?”
I frown. “Of course not. This isn’t about me. I don’t want her to lose the qualities I lack, the ones that make her humane and me a psychopath.”
“Because you care,” she says.
“I’ve already told you I do.” Goddamn, Zoe is withdrawing from me, and I don’t know how to stop it.
Delphine regards me for a moment before asking, “What do you think are the reasons for these changes?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m paying you to figure out.”
She drums her fingers on her knee again. “What happened in your lives before these changes started occurring?”
“I fetched her back from South Africa and married her. To do so, I had to break away from the mob and hand my possessions and position over to Alexis. My brother threatened her, and my mother tried to kill her. The person who did my mother’s dirty work ended up dead.” I tap my fingers on my leg, mirroring Delphine’s non-verbal body language. I like to mess with her in that way. “What else? Oh, the diamond business isn’t doing that well thanks to my brother who’s set on ruining me. I think that covers it.” More or less. I’m not elaborating about how the wedding played out or why Zoe was sick for a week afterward.
Delphine’s fingers still. She folds her hands back in her lap.
“Do I make you nervous?” I ask with a grin.
“You know you do.” Leaning forward, she gives no power to the comment by changing the direction of the conversation. She stays right on track, her worried expression not lifting. “Max, after everything you just mentioned, I’m very concerned about this young woman. What you’re describing is a lot to deal with. No wonder she’s changing. It’s called survival.”
“How do I change it back to how it used to be?”
Her look is level. “You take away the cause of the change.”
My jaw locks so tightly the joints ache. “My mother is no longer a threat. I’m protecting her against Alexis. I’m working my hands to the bone to get this business off the ground and give her the life she deserves. What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”