The Best Man novel Chapter 85

Nathan's POV

Later that day, I made a quick stop at the pet shop before heading home to buy some Whiskers for Missy. Walking out, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a familiar figure quickly turn on their feet and walked in the opposite direction. You see, I knew who this person was because it's all she ever did these days, thinking that I don't see her not realizing that she wasn't really that invisible.

"So you're following me now?", I deadpanned as I stood firmly behind her as she was unlocking her car and she immediately turned around, looking all startled like she wasn't expecting to see me

"Dr McCarthy", she laughed nervously, brushing her hair out of her face. "I was in fact not following you, I'm just r-running a few errands"

Yeah, right

Aria Stuart was one of my few patients when I just started my private practice. She had difficulties controlling her emotions and I didn't think much about it in the beginning but the more sessions we had, the more I realised that this was way more than that because she showed signs of being schizophrenic.

That's not all though; a few months into our weekly sessions, I noticed her behavior and attitude change towards me as she started getting a bit too comfortable, making these intense sexual advances at me....claiming that she had fallen in love with me over time

I tried handling and processing the matter professionally by finding a way forward without crossing any boundaries and taking her through her feelings that what she was feeling towards me wasn't love, it just that she had mistaken my interest in helping her as a romantic interest

My advances into the situation went into vain though because she didn't seem to understand, carrying on with the inappropriate behaviour, and so I had to immediately cut our session short and sent her right home

This matter was putting me in a conflict of intrest, and so I decided to transfer her to another psychologist. The day I broke the transfer news to her, I assumed it would be the last time I saw her.....or so I thought because after that, things just got a little out of hand.

I've always had my suspicions that someone is following me, but I didn't actually think it would be this fatal. I only noticed something was wrong before the time Olivia was admitted into hospital, everything didn't just add up, getting weirder everyday, and now it was clear, it's always been her from the very begining.

"You stopped at every stop I did, turned at every corner I turned at, and you want me to believe we were just coincidently going to the same places? This has been going on for weeks now"

"Like you said, it's just a coincidence", she shrugged off the matter lightly. "You can't be sure that it was me on all accounts following you"

"I'm not stupid Aria, just because you switch cars doesn't mean I don't know it's you"

"How do you know that if you won't even give us a chance?"

"Don't fucking patronize me", I finally snapped angrily at her and her eyes widened a little, resulting in her keeping quiet as she pocketed her hands in the sweater she had on while dropping her face to the ground. I drew a deep breath to calm myself down a little.

"Listen Aria, I won't be having this conversation with you again. If you don't stop this, I'll be forced to file a protection order against you. Do you understand?"

She started mumbling something under her breath and I couldn't quite hear what she was saying

"I said, do you understand?", I repeated, causing her to look up and stared me straight in the eyes

"Crystal", she shrugged her shoulders lightly, dismissing the matter. I backed away from her, and she got in her car, turned the ignition on, and I watched as she drove off.