All Chapters of The War Between Us: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Milena DragovicAria insisted on walking us out.She said it like a compromise, like she wasn’t already halfway asleep on her feet, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. Stella had walked ahead, Aria’s keys rattling in her hand, muttering about the global shortage of good maple syrup and her lifelong policy of never trusting men who didn’t eat pancakes. (“It means they’re hiding something,” she’d whispered to me once, dead serious, as if it was a diagnosis.)Aria said, looping her arm through mine, anchoring herself to me like she didn’t quite trust her own legs. “We’ll all go together.” She nudged me so I’d start walking, then looked over her shoulder and jerked her chin at Alexander, daring him to contradict her.He didn’t. Alexander shook his head once.“I will,” he said, and it came out so matter-of-fact that it sounded like the only logical outcome.Aria paused. Looked at him. Then at me. Her gaze lingered, searching my face for something. Fear, hesitation, protest?I didn’t give

Milena DragovicMonday arrived too soon as I’d lain awake most of the night. My thoughts racing. When I finally forced myself out of bed, I showered, got dressed, and drank my coffee at the counter, telling myself a strict routine would pull me through the day. It didn’t.Opening my calendar, I stared at the one entry I’d tried to ignore:Alexander Li Chen – 16:00It was my last session, and likely the hardest. Before I could look away, my phone buzzed:COACH: Alexander can’t make today’s session. He asked to reschedule and will confirm a new time soon.Not a cancellation. Just a pause.After Saturday, I should have felt relief. Clients skip first follow-ups all the time, especially men like him. Yet his phrasing unsettled me: he “asked to reschedule,” he “will confirm.” That looked like control exercised from afar. I set the phone down, finished my coffee, and forced myself to think, Fine.I spent the day doing as usual. I saw clients. Took notes. Drank tea.And still, between sessi

Milena DragovicThe rest of the week passed without incident.Sessions happened. Sometimes they didn’t. Alexander showed up once, canceled once, rescheduled another through Coach Jansen with the same polite distance he always maintained. When he was present, he was controlled. Regulated. Almost frustratingly intact.On paper, it still looked like progress.In reality, we were circling the same thing without touching it.I spent those days refining the idea I hadn’t been able to shake since the night he’d walked me home. Drafting notes. Reviewing research. Replaying patterns. Not just his, but my own. The way certain clients stalled not because they lacked insight, but because insight alone wasn’t enough.Or because that insight was something they didn’t want to let in.Alexander didn’t lack awareness.He lacked a way to stop himself once momentum took over.By Friday afternoon, I had clearance.One hour. After the scheduled training. Coach Jansen had listened without interrupting, arm

Alexander Li ChenI canceled the next session on purpose.I did it twice, technically three times, each time with a slightly modified reasoning. The first was a tactical scheduling conflict, a prior engagement, the kind of reasoning that required no apology or follow-up and generated no suspicion.The second was due to boundaries, or so I told myself, a deliberate signal that this thing between us would collapse under its own weight if left unchecked. The third time was just me, stalling.Not because I didn’t need it.Not because the work wasn’t effective.Because it was.Med-boxing had done exactly what she said it would. It stripped away excess noise. It bypassed language. It forced my nervous system to respond instead of strategize. And that was the problem.Therapy was supposed to create distance. Between impulse and action, between reaction and consequence. What Milena had introduced did the opposite. It replaced verbal space with physical proximity. Replaced neutrality with pres

Milena Dragovic The message arrived at 08:14 in the morning. I was already awake, sitting at my kitchen counter with coffee gone cold between my hands, scrolling through my calendar like repetition might change what I already knew. Mondays had become predictable again, at least they seemed so. My phone vibrated once. Email. From: Alexander Li Chen Subject: Regarding Treatment My stomach tightened, slow and familiar. Not panic. Not surprise. Recognition. I didn’t open it right away. I stared at the subject line long enough to feel something settle into place, like a puzzle piece clicking where it had always been meant to go. I’d known this was coming. I just hadn’t known how or when he would do it. I opened the email. Milena, After careful consideration, I’ve decided to terminate treatment effective immediately. This decision is based on a conflict of interest that compromises the neutrality required for continued work. I appreciate the professionalism you’ve shown and the