Billionaire's Lost Time

Individual Therapy Sessions Part One

(Alexander''s POV)

After a quick power nap, Harrison helped me out of bed again and took me to one of the spare office guest rooms. 

Upon entering the room, a middle-aged man behind the desk stands to greet him. From a glance at his appearance, you can instantly recognize that this man served in the military. He still kept the military haircut of baldness which with his Caucasian skin shows off his scars more. Moreover, his body was still the muscular physique of constantly working out. Lastly, the quickness and ease as he stands to greet him is similar to the confidence and readiness he had when called to attention by his commanders.

Holding his hand out, the man initiates the conversation by saying-Hello, Mr. Wilson. I am Doctor Leo Agapov. However, please call me Dr. Leo. Since it is easier to understand who you are addressing when you call us our first names when working with my wife and I. May I call you Alexander? Since in our sessions we will be getting personal with each other and I have come to know it is easier to do so when there is no formal barrier. 

Grasping his hand, Alexander replies-Hello, Dr. Leo. Yes, you may call me Alexander. 

Sitting down, Dr. Leo says-Before we start, I want to be frank with you. While my wife has seen Mia for many years we never spoke of you until recently when my wife asked me if I was comfortable taking on your case. Beforehand, the only knowledge I had of you was what I saw printed in the newspapers and we both knew to take that with a grain of salt. After I accepted your case, you filled out the new patient information form. This form is what I am going to base the beginnings of our conversations on. Once I personally get to know you then I can use that experience to base the rest of our sessions. 

He continues-During our couple therapy sessions with my wife and Mia, I need you to know that whatever you disclose in our individual sessions I will not bring up in our couples sessions unless you give me permission. I might give you some contextual clues that here is where you should open up to Mia. However, it is up to you to open up to Mia. Also, in our couples sessions my wife is not Team Mia and I am not Team Alexander, meaning I will not always take your side. My wife and I's goal in our therapy sessions is to help you both get to a healthy place in your relationship. We will do this by modeling and offering suggestions, but the two of you will have to put in the work. 

Alexander replies-I understand. Obviously, I am here to put in the work.

Dr. Leo remarks-Excellent. For today, I thought I would tell you a little background knowledge about me since I know a little background knowledge about you.

He says-Due to my extensive experience from the past 21 years as a psychologist, I am well-versed in the best psychological practices. Notably, I got my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees after serving 8 years in the military. Like you, I am also an only son of Russian immigrants who came here in search of the American Dream. So growing up we were poor as we tried to work our way up. For my parents, they saw their way up was through me. So they tried to give me every opportunity for me to succeed. Particularly, they emphasized the importance of a great education, which they believed should have helped with finding a well-paying career. However, it was not enough. Even with scholarships I could not afford college. So I joined the military so that when I got out I would receive assistance. 

He continues-So after high school I joined the Navy. During boot camp, I decided that I wanted to become a Navy SEAL. After passing training, the military placed me in a unit overseas. Unfortunately, due to being overseas, we were very limited in our interactions with our family and friends from home. Consequently, we developed closer bonds with each other. To the point where my unit became my family. Until one day, a member of our family betrayed us. 

Momentarily, he pauses his story to clarify-While discussing my military service, I sometimes cannot give specifics due to classification purposes. During those moments I will speak in general terms. Now, back to the story.

He continues-Generally speaking, everything was going accordingly to plan with our mission in the Middle East. In this situation our mission was to track down and capture a terrorist wanted for a multitude of crimes. This terrorist was high on many international wanted lists for years. For many years, he was a slippery target who always seemed one step ahead of us. However, finally it seemed like he was getting rusty after years on the run given that my unit was able to close in on him. This time felt like the closest we had to success of ending the chase. Undoubtedly, this made most members of my unit suspicious. However, one member of our unit palliated our concerns. 

He explains-Ultimately, by virtue of our trust in that member of our unit we ignored our instincts and paid a heavy price for it. During the mission we received information that the terrorist was going to be in a specific location on a select date for a transaction. Given this information my unit planned to be there first to intercept him. However, when we got there beforehand to scope out the location, we were in awe when our target was already there waiting for us with his own personal mercenaries. Absolutely, they outnumbered us in people and weapons. So we had no other choice but to surrender. Once we did, he informed us of his nefarious scheme.

He continues-The transaction he was there for was our deaths. The member of our unit who palliated our fears made a deal with the devil. In return for our deaths, that member would receive a fortune and beautiful women to serve him while he worked for the terrorist. 

Pausing for a moment, Dr. Leo takes a deep breath before explaining-The terrorist and betrayer were able to walk out those doors and get away while the battle for survival started for the rest of my unit. Without our weapons we had to do hand-to-hand combat while dodging the enemies weapons. In essence it was a blood bath with no apparent escape. The building only had one way of getting in and out. Unfortunately, when they left they barricaded it so we could not follow after them if we survived. 

He continues-Since there was no available exit we had to make our own. One of my comrades and I were able to get our hands on some weapons. While my comrades were battling our enemies, we decided my comrade would guard me while I tried to make an exit by making a hole in the wall. It took some time and pure adrenaline, but I was able to make a small exit.

He explains-However, once the enemy saw that I actually created an exit they lost what little self-control they had. The terrorist always has a backup plan. If for some reason we were able to escape the building, then the mercenaries would turn to using explosives to blow the place up. If they couldn't kill us with their weapons or hand-to-hand combat, they were hoping the explosion would finish the job. 

He continues-My comrade pushed me out the exit and told me to run and survive. He would guard my back. The other members in our unit had either sustained critical injuries or had already died. Initially, I refused to leave him. However, he wanted one of us to go home and explain what happened. His last words to me were to make sure the sacrifices our brothers made were not in vain. In order for that to happen one of us needed to survive. So I utilized everything I had left in me to run away as far as I could in the limited time before the blast went off. I barely escaped with my life since I caught the edge of the blast. 

He finishes-I am telling you what happened to me because I know what betrayal that could have caused death feels like. I also personally know the hard road to recovery afterwards. 

He straightforwardly states-We are both similar. So I will tell you this. Everything that happens to us makes us who we are. We have to take the good, the bad, and the ugly to move forward into the future and to shape us into the best human beings we can be. Everything has a reason for being. We just have to look at ourselves to find the reason or create a reason for ourselves. This will be a never-ending journey, however it gets better with time and with people helping us along the way.

Alexander remarks-I understand now why Mia thought it would be an excellent idea for you to be my personal therapist.