Page 46 of The Breaking Point

“Yourselves. Learn about each other again. Outside of your roles as parents. Just Kate and Aiden.”

Aiden nods slowly, taking it in.

Dr. Claudia leans back slightly. “And one more thing. No sex.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What?”

She doesn’t blink. “Sexual relations can muddle things. You need to see each other clearly. This isn’t about fixing anything with touch. It’s about connection. Start there.”

Aiden lets out a soft laugh through his nose. Not mocking. More surprised.

I look down at my hands and then over at him. He’s already looking at me. We both nod. Small. Quiet. But maybe that’s something.

Chapter 18

We walk out of Dr. Claudia’s office together. The hallway is quiet, the soft shuffle of our shoes the only sound between us.

“So,” Aiden says, his voice uncertain, “are you going to keep doing your individual therapy?”

“Yeah,” I tell him. “It’s actually now.”

“Oh.” His expression flickers. I hear the disappointment he tries to smooth over. “I was hoping to get coffee.”

“Well,” I start, not quite sure what to offer.

“No, you should,” he says quickly, waving it off. “It’s good. That’s good.”

I nod and begin to turn away, then pause. “Aiden?”

He glances up. “Yeah?”

“Will you keep going to therapy?”

He looks caught off guard, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t really know if it’s for me.”

I tilt my head. “You do realize we’ve been together for eighteen years and this is the first time I’ve ever heard you talk about your dad?”

“I told you about him,” he says, defensively.

I shake my head. “Yeah, when we first started dating. You said he left. And then nothing. You practically took my head off when I asked about inviting him to our wedding.”

He grimaces. “That was a bad night.”

“It was one of the worst fights we ever had.”

Aiden doesn’t say anything right away. His jaw works, like he’s trying to chew the right words into shape.

“It’s your choice,” I say, my voice soft but steady. “But you should know, it helps. Talking about it.”

Aiden looks at me, his arms still crossed, but something in his face shifts, less guarded, more exposed. He gives a small nod, not quite agreement, but not dismissal either. Maybe just the beginning of a crack.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Maybe.”

I don’t press him. I just offer a small smile, watching him walk out the doors. I walk to Dr Brett’s office, knocking on his office door. I’m a little late, so I rap my knuckles once before opening the door. He looks up from his seat and nods me in.

I drop down onto the sofa, exhaling hard. “Aiden thinks I’m possessive of the boys. That I never let him parent them. So, every month he’d take them on some boys’ trip just to get them away from me.”

I look up at Dr. Brett. He waits.

---