Surrender My Heart

Bonus Chapter

Aylea sighs, letting the water run in the shower as she sits on the tiled floors. The water runs over her but she barely pays it any mind. Her mind elsewhere.

Today she has off, so while Dong Woo was napping for the evening she decided to shower and catch up on paperwork. But a sudden bout of depression caught her off guard and she spent the last hour crying under the water. She couldn't even pinpoint the exact reason. She just felt so empty.

Reaching up she turns the water off and leans back against the wall. Two rooms over her baby lay asleep. Well fed and healthy and happy. Downstairs her husband worked hard, running two successful businesses. Her mom was in great health. Her siblings and friends were doing amazing things. She had a very nice position at work.

Yet she still felt unhappy. Incomplete. Empty.

And maybe it was her depression just arising again. After all she can't fully get rid of it. It's what she tells her patients all the time. But she was a doctor. She was supposed to help other people get better.

"Aylea?" Seung Jo calls, having come up to bring her lunch. It just occurs to her that she was cold, wet, naked, and shaking. She bites her lip.

"Baby?" He knocks on the bathroom door. After she doesn't respond he opens it and glances around, almost missing her small figure in the corner. "Aylea?" He goes over to her quickly "Aylea what's wrong?" He asks pushing her wet hair out of her face.

Leaning over he grabs a drying towel and wraps her up in it, lifting her into his arms and holding her close. Seung Jo carries her to their room and sets her on the bed, drying her off and trying to warm her up. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" He asks.

She shakes her head "No..." she mumbles quietly, her voice cracking from just that small word. "Do you want to eat?" She shakes her head again. "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I just needed to cry."

He kisses her head and goes to the closet, getting her pajamas and fuzzy socks, helping her dress. "I understand. Do you want me to stay here with you?" He pulls the cover up over her. Aylea blinks, thinking on it. "I'll stay." He says seeing her hesitation. He pulls off his apron and climbs into the bed beside her, pulling her to his chest.

She cuddles close to him, closing her eyes to rest her nerves. He was truly the perfect fit for her. He never pushed her to talk, and seemed to understand just what she needed. He never made her feel crazy. He just knew that some days were hard on her. And he was there for her when she couldn't handle them on her own.

A lot of patients come to her with fear, because they don't want to be looked down on. Because they have 'normal' lives they think it is weird that they are depressed. Or anxious. They don't realize that sometimes, for no reason at all depression strikes. Or that something that happened a decade ago can suddenly resurface and cause an episode.

Often it never goes away. Just becomes manageable.

And Seung Jo never judged. He simply held her and wiped her tears.

This chapter isn't too similar to the rest of the story but Is still important !

🌸🌸