Enticed by the Orc by Tabitha Black EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Tabitha Black
- Language: English
- Genre: Romantic Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
ARIEL
How did I get here?
When people are asked to describe me, they all say the same things:
bubbly, outgoing, confident, vivacious, optimistic…
In other words, my mask works. What hardly anybody ever sees is my
shadow self. My deepest fears. My insecurity.
My pain.
Growing up, I carefully constructed a shield around the parts of me I
didn’t want others to see. The only people who ever really get to look
beyond that are those closest to me. My mom. My sister. My high school
boyfriend.
And my ex.
Jake.
Just thinking his name, not even saying it aloud, still causes a physical
reaction in me. Then again, it’s only been a few months. Dr. Giles, my
therapist, said it would take a long time to heal. For some, it can take years.
“I want you to go home and look up narcissistic personality disorder,”
he’d said, leaning back in his creaky chair.
I remember staring at him. “What?”
“Since I’m not Jake’s therapist, I can’t diagnose him, of course, but I’ve
been seeing you for a year now, and he’s accompanied you to several
appointments. He’s definitely displaying strong traits of NPD, and you’re
showing all the classical symptoms of NAS.”
“NAS?”
“Narcissistic Abuse Syndrome.”
There was a long pause, punctuated only by the steadily ticking clock
on the wall. “You’re saying I’m being abused?” I croaked, swallowing past
my dry throat.
Dr. Giles cocked his head, his eyes filled with something it took me a
moment to recognize: pity. “Ariel, I’m saying that if you don’t get out of
this relationship soon, you could die.”
“That’s a bit overdramatic, don’t you think?” I scoffed, determined to
hide how freaked out I was. “He’s never hit me.” Well, outside of
consensual kink play. “I know domestic violence is a real problem and I get
that you need to be aware of warning signs, but it’s not like Jake stays out
all night drinking, comes home and blacks my eye or anything.”
“Emotional abuse is just as dangerous,” Dr. Giles said. “In some ways,
it can be a lot worse—partly because it’s so insidious.
Often, victims don’t
even realize they’re being abused until a lot of damage has been done.”
My mind was reeling. I had started going to see Dr. Giles after Jake
insisted I had mental issues that needed dealing with, and threatened to
leave me if I didn’t start therapy. In over a year of weekly sessions, this was
the first time the doctor had outright stated his belief that Jake was the
problem, not me.
“Just go home, and look it up,” he said, glancing at the clock.
“Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”
“Okay.”
Late that same night, after Jake had gone to bed—in the other room, we
hardly ever slept together anymore—I sat in my office and Googled the
phrase that would totally upend my life.
And now, here I am. In my friend’s spare room, knocking back a bottle
of wine and wondering where to go from here. How the fuck I could have
been so blind.
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