Corporate Prince

Chapter 27: Counseling and Phone Call

Author Announcement: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, Wattpad was giving me issues. Thank you all for reading my story. I wanted to let you know that I've recently started my own original web novel called Y.O.W.

Below is the synopsis if you're interested in checking it out, I would greatly appreciate it. If not, all's well and enjoy the new chapter! 😊

Ren is a middle-aged Japanese man whose game-obsessed and has no friends or family. He lives life just to play one game and to romance Mary, an NPC, who he's fallen head over heels for. His obsession with her is just as legendary as his stats.

His only goal is to play Your Own World and see Mary every day. But what if Mary is more than just a blank-faced NPC?

Chapter 27:

Counseling and Phone Call

"How are you feeling today? Have you had any more attacks?" A woman and a therapist, named Nanami Aoi, asked Ana as she wrote some notes on her clipboard. Nanami was plump with a motherly face and a gentle smile.

"Better, I haven't had any massive attacks." Ana sat on her living room couch and twiddled her thumbs. It had been about a week since Seto's surprise visit. She'd finally been released from the hospital, but she was still resting at home since fractured ribs took about six weeks to heal. Plus, her parents didn't seem ready to let her go back to school just yet. Ana wasn't pushing to go back right away either. Nanami had been visiting her every few days to check on her mental state. Ana had thought she was fine at first. A couple days after her abduction the first panic attack hit her out of nowhere. Her parents immediately sought her treatment.

"That's good. Have you been sleeping better?" Nanami asked her gently.

"I have, actually. I haven't woken up because of nightmares lately." Ana was happy she could report that, but the panic attacks were still present and she couldn't go outside without someone with her.

They spoke at length about Ana's diet, her sleep, and how she was handling being at home again. They didn't talk about the abduction. She knew that Nanami was being patient with her and would not push her to speak about it. That put her at ease. Thinking about the event induced the panic attacks and anger. She didn't want to talk about it, yet. She didn't want to think about it. When their visit concluded Nanami left and Hikari came into the room.

"How... did it go?" He asked cautiously.

"Fine." Ana responded, but she had little else to say. She didn't like that her family was treating her like glass. Especially Hikari, who seemed to keep her the most at arm's length even though he was the one monitoring her. It had almost been refreshing to have Seto visit her last week and be his usual Amin-chan self. Even if it had made her angry, it had still been nice not to be treated like she would break at any moment.

Ana stood up. "I'm going to go read in my room."

"Ana..." Hikari frowned and then sighed. "You're still under watch."

"I haven't attempted to take my life even once." She glared at him and he bowed his head.

I wish my family trusted me a little more. I would never let that prick win by taking my own life. She turned and headed upstairs to her room. Carefully, she sat down on her bed and picked up her phone. Sanae had sent her pictures of her classmates holding signs saying they wished she'd recover soon. Ana quickly set the phone down, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She knew that they were trying to be nice, but right now she didn't enjoy their sympathy at all. Picking her phone back up, she wondered if she should give Sanae a call. Sanae had tried to come visit her in the hospital a few times, but Ana had Hikari send her away. Sanae messaged her every day, but Ana didn't respond to any of her text. She didn't know why. She just couldn't bring herself to talk to her friend.