Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Forty-One

JACE

"Jace Wilder?"

I sit up in my chair and drop the Psychology Today magazine I'd been thumbing through onto the table next to me. "That's me."

"Dr. Holloman will see you now," the receptionist says, and I breathe a sigh of relief. One step closer to working through this disaster.

"Thank you." I walk through the open door and back to Dr. Holloman's open office.

Knocking on the doorframe, I poke my head in and Dr. Holloman removes his gold rim glasses and stands, his bright smile immediately improving my mood. "Jace, good to see you. Come on in, have a seat." He gestures to the fluffy, red armchairs in front of his desk, and I plop down in one with a heavy sigh. He sits back down and settles in behind his desk, propping his elbows on the glass top.

"Hey, doc. Thank you for fitting me in even though I'm not scheduled for another two weeks."

"Of course. It was clear you needed to talk." He leans back in his chair and folds his hands over his round stomach. "What's going on, Jace? Has something else happened with Hannah?"

I shake my head. "No. Hannah is out of my life. It's not her, it's—it's someone else."

He raises a dark eyebrow. "You met someone?"

"Remember my roommates I told you about?" Dr. Holloman nods and I continue, "Desi. It's her. I know I said when they moved in that there would be no drama, but things happened, and she and I ended up in this..." I tilt my head back and forth, "fake dating scenario that sort of turned into a real dating scenario."

"Fake dating? How do you fake date someone?" He holds up his hand and shakes his head. "On second thought, let's not go there right now. Clearly, the fake dating turned into something more."

I swallow and lean back against the chair, staring at the ceiling before meeting his gaze. "That's an understatement. Doc, she's perfect. Smart, kind, funny as hell, beautiful. But the timing is all wrong. She has these over-the-top family responsibilities, and I just signed this talented designer to my firm. She had no choice but to move back home to take her place in her," I pause and choose my words carefully, "family business, so if we wanted a shot at anything serious, I'd have to move, and I just—I can't."

"Why can't you? You work from a computer screen and own your own business. I'm having a hard time seeing what is tying you down."

I went through a couple of doctors before choosing Dr. Holloman. I hated feeling coddled and treated like everything I was doing was a normal part of my healing process. The minute I walked into Dr. Holloman's office he told me he doesn't serve up shit sandwiches. I wouldn't always leave feeling warm and fuzzy, but I would always know he told me the truth and gave me the opportunity to tell mine. His straightforward approach spoke to me, and he has held firm to his word to this day.

"I just can't do it. I can't commit to a relationship. I'm too busy with getting the business off the ground. It wouldn't be fair to either of us," I say, because I can't explain to him that I can't run a business in the human realm from Infernis.

"That's fair. The business is more of a priority than a relationship right now. Even if the relationship is with a 'perfect' woman?"

"Yeah?"

"That's your decision to make, Jace. How does she feel about all this?"

Emotion builds inside of me and gets lodged in my throat. "She left yesterday."

He nods once, but infuriatingly, he presses, "That's not what I asked. How does she feel about it? Did you talk to her? Ask her what she wanted."

"It doesn't matter what she wants because I'm not ready for that level of commitment again. I don't know if I ever will be."