Chapter 25

Chapter 25:
Her appointment with the doctor had been pushed to the afternoon. The timing now felt just right.
After a quick lunch, she headed to the clinic.
She knocked softly on the door and waited as the doctor glanced toward her direction.
With a small nod, she stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her. Rita Carpenter looked up from her notes. She gave Millie a warm smile. “You look a little different today,” she said. “How have you been feeling?”
Rita had been Millie’s therapist since her depression diagnosis.
Millie had lived through both joy and heartbreak. There had been bright days. But there had been many more shadowed ones.
For the first twenty years of her life, she had been able to hold on, thanks to the people around her. Then Vivian showed up.
Millie had already felt that something wasn’t right, even before the anonymous messages were sent to her phone.
She’d shown Brandon the provoking texts, hoping for clarity. Instead, he accused her of trying to frame Vivian.
That was the day she walked into the psychiatry department for the first time.
The diagnosis had been moderate depression.
Rita had recommended medication, but Millie had wanted a baby—so she chose therapy instead.
Brandon hadn’t taken her mental health seriously. He hadn’t even known she was seeing someone.
“I’m doing better than I was,” Millie answered. “I’ve decided to let go of a few things. I think that might help.”
Rita nodded, relieved.
“How’s everything else? Day-to-day life?” Rita asked.
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She had been following the media storm too. Vivian’s livestreams, her cancer, the headlines—it was all too public to miss.
Even though she appeared relieved that Millie mentioned she was doing better, she didn’t really feel hopeful about her situation. And it was because she understood how much Brandon had meant to Millie.
Millie looked at the desk in front of her. She didn’t speak for a few seconds.
Then, quietly, she smiled. “Actually, not great.”
Saying that, she felt a lump in her throat but restrained herself from breaking down.
“Dr. Carpenter,” she said, “I’ve decided to take medication.”
For a long time, she had hoped that things with Brandon could improve and that they would have a child together. That hope had kept her from taking medication. But now, she didn’t want him or a child with him. And so, medication became an option.
Rita studied Millie for a moment, a look of worry on her face. Millie looked so much thinner. Being a professional, Rita began to wonder if she should reach out to the patient’s family at this point, which—in this case—was Brandon.
If anyone had to be contacted in Millie’s family, Brandon—still legally her husband—would be the first name on that list. But Rita set the thought aside, just for now.
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