“It is, but probably not for the reason you’d think. A part of me misses being poor. I miss being dismissed and ignored. I never told Sebastian, but after we got married, most of the time when I was alone on campus, I felt like a sideshow at the circus. No one would talk to me; people would beg the professors not to be put in a group with me for projects. Everyone was terrified that I’d tell my scary husband that they did something wrong. I was a pariah, and not having to go to class and be around that is kind of a relief.”
Exhaling, I smile. If Starling had told me how she felt and how her classmates treated her, I could have done something to stop it, but knowing that even when I’m being high-handed and controlling, I’ve made her life easier, does make me feel more justified in the methods I’ve employed to keep an eye on her.
“Have you talked to your husband about this?” Dr. Sally asks.
“God no.” Starling laughs. “If I told him the people in my class were being mean to me, he’d probably get them all expelled.”
Dr. Sally’s eyebrows arch so high they almost hit her hairline. After swallowing thickly once, then twice, she clears her throat. “Has anything else happened since we last met?”
“I had an argument with Harry.”
“Your stepfather?” Dr. Sally clarifies.
“My mom’s husband,” Starling corrects.
“We’ve spoken about your newly established relationship with your stepbrother. Do you think there’s a reason why you can accept Evan’s new status in your life but not your mom’s husband?”
“Evan was a part of my life before his dad seduced my mom. He’s apologized, he’s changed, and he’s married to my best friend. I couldn’t ignore him forever.”
“How is Evan’s number saved in your cell phone?”
“Big Bro,” Starling says easily.
“And your stepfather?”
“Harry Morris.”
Pursing her lips, Dr. Sally writes something on her pad, then addresses Starling again. “You said that you and your stepfather had an argument. What was it about?”
“My mom helped to organize Sammy’s baby shower. She brought the baby with her the morning of the event. I was upstairs, and Evan brought Lysander up to us. He and Sebastian went to distract the moms and left the baby with me. When I returned him to his dad, Harry and I got into it.”
“What prompted the argument?”
Twitching uncomfortably, Starling flattens her lips into a line. “He invited Sebastian and me to dinner.”
“You refused?”
“I told him that he and Lysander were welcome at our place anytime they wanted, but that I wasn’t interested in having dinner with Cassidy. Harry asked if I was ever going to forgive her, and I lost it a little bit.”
Nodding, Dr. Sally makes more notes. “Did you speak to your mom at the baby shower?”
“No. I got incredibly drunk instead,” Starling tells her churlishly.
“And how did that make you feel?”
“Better at the time. Hungover the next day, but I’d take a month of hangovers rather than having to deal with my mom.”
“We’ve discussed in the past that Sebastian’s behavior has made you feel like your feelings were being dismissed. With the recent changes to your relationship, do you still feel that way? The changes in your sexual relationship have altered the power dynamic within your marriage. Has that had any impact on the way you behave outside of sexual situations?”
My heart skips a beat as I wait to hear what my wife says.
“Sebastian is the most controlled person I’ve ever met. He’s calm, calculated, and always thinking six steps ahead. But when it comes to me, he’s completely different.
“Different how?” Dr. Sally asks.
“I’m his Achilles heel. I’m the exception, and I always have been.”
“Could you explain that for me?”
