Dr. Kayla Reed sat notebook in lap, awaiting Shane's words.
Minutes passed before he finally broke the silence. "Is this over?" he inquired.
"No, I have some questions for you, Shane," she said, opening her notebook and beginning to take notes.
"Go ahead," he replied.
"You mentioned that you initiated the divorce because you believed Paris deserved better, and you wanted better for her. Is that correct?" she inquired.
Shane nodded, observing as she rifled through her papers.
"You're aware that it's a matter of public record, correct?" she questioned.
Shane smirked, as did Kayla "You know where I'm going with this," she said. "I'm actually relieved Paris isn't here because I needed to ask you this alone. It relates to what she mentioned about you trying to control her. So, why did you do it?" she inquired.
"Why did I do what?" he asked, straightening up in his seat. Shane knew the direction of the conversation. He simply wanted to hear her articulate it.
Kayla also sat up, interlacing her fingers and gazing into his eyes. "You never filed for divorce, Shane. I checked, and there's no record of it in Florida. The only filing I found was the one Paris made years ago." Shane's smirk evolved into a smile as he observed her piecing everything together.
"But what confounds me is that Paris had a divorce attorney. Surely, he would have been aware that you hadn't filed for divorce, correct?" she inquired. "So, it baffles me why everyone knew except for Paris. Did you bribe her attorney to keep it a secret? What was the reasoning behind that? Because she remains unaware," Kayla stated, gazing at Shane with intense curiosity.
Staring her down, Shane was hesitant to admit his wrongdoings but if he had any plans on fully fixing his marriage he knew it needed to be discussed. "Me and Paris will never divorce." He replied
"Why not?" Kayla asked
"Once you join a gang do you ever get out?" He inquired.
Kayla smiled "Can you elaborate?" She urged.
"The day I put that ring on her finger and she signed the license, there was no turning back. No leaving, no divorcing. Paris knows too much and has seen too much. A divorce would paint a new target on both her back and mine," he replied.
"Don't you trust her?"
"Do I trust her? She saved me from a life sentence." He said
"But why go through all that if you weren't going to divorce her anyway?" She asked
"I was tryin' to do the right thing." He replied
"No disrespect Shane, but I think you're lying to me. And while I find you charming and very intriguing, I'm a licensed psychologist. I know when someone is trying to play me." She smiled
Silently, he observed the gears shifting in her mind as she attempted to decipher his enigma.
"I believe you acted out of desperation to put her in her place. When she got out of prison, you didn't like who or what she had become. She mentioned the time she initiated a divorce, and you deceived her by pretending to sign the documents. It had been effective previously, so why not again? Correct? " she said, smiling, and Shane mirrored her expression.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you? You knew Paris was deeply in love with you and she wouldn't really leave you. Only this time, you didn't expect Xavier to come along, or maybe you did you just didn't think Paris would take him seriously. So when she continued to turn you down and she didn't give in the way you thought she would, you brought in reinforcements. Marsella? Isn't that her name?" Kayla inquired
