Chapter Forty-nine
I appears that the healing process is coming along VERY nicely. In fact, I’d say that it’s coming along a great deal better than I could have ever expected. Of course, it does help that a substantial amount of in-story time seems to have passed between the last chapter and this one.
Just to make things clear, although I did note the rapid passing of time between chapters, I still did NOT feel that the pace of the storyline was rushed in any way. Chloe needed, and was given, a substantial and satisfying amount of time to go through the slow healing process. I especially approved and appreciated the idea of Chloe having gotten on a very close long-term relationship with a trusted psychiatrist. It felt much more organic and realistic to imagine Chloe being able to heal with at least one objective, neutral ally to talk to about all kinds of heavily sensitive and even personally shameful topics.
The idea of Chloe blaming herself in ANY way, not only for Lionel’s eventual violation of her, but also his initial attentions on her… that was horrible to contemplate, and I’m so grateful knowing that Chloe was able to voice these concerns, address them, and deal with them with a professional. I don’t know how much Lex was paying for Dr Concord’s services, but they were obviously worth every penny.
At least, I assume that Lex was the one handling all of Chloe’s medical and counselling expenses…? Actually, I think I’d like to see Lex and Chloe have a tiny mention about how helpful the psychiatrist was… just to throw Lex a bone and prove to him that he DID help Chloe considerably through her healing process… even if it was from a distance.
But besides hearing about Chloe getting better, it was ALSO very satisfying hearing about how Chloe still suffered adversely from her experiences, and didn’t really enjoy the ‘normal experience’ of college like most students. This is seriously not because I like to hear about Chloe suffering… but purely because I feel that it added on a layer of realism and naturalism to Chloe’s healing process… hearing about how different she was from the other students, in terms of attitude, behaviour, desires, interpersonal interactions, etc.
Heeee! And it was wonderful to see that Chloe had at least ONE interpersonal relationship that WAS running strong, despite all her other troubles. Lois was fantastic! I loved how supportive she was… and it was very, VERY cute imagining Lois forming a kind of closeness to Lucas Luthor of all people, LOL! Actually, I’m just giggling imagining the kind of conversations that Lucas and Lois probably bonded over… talking about their extremely traumatized, depressed, morose relations, and how best to help them without inadvertently pushing them into some kind of new nervous breakdown. I wonder whether Lois and Lucas created conversation trees and pie-charts to help them out, lol!
And that very last scene with Chloe and her psychiatrist… WOW!! I think it was the pitch perfect way for Chloe to realize and admit to her growing attraction towards Lex. The timing was perfect! I heartily approved of the way that Chloe was given a significant amount of time before she could even feel something resembling a sexual instinct again, and I loved, LOVED how Chloe addressed her newly rediscovered libido with her psychiatrist, sorting out the worst of the remaining issues before taking it any step further. And, most of all, I loved, Loved, LOVED the idea that it was actually a natural, logical, reasonable and organic choice for Chloe to be attracted to Lex Luthor!!! I loved how the discussion with the psychiatrist allowed the audience to place that attraction into perspective, and see how natural it actually was for Chloe to want Lex.
Plus… I liked the idea of Chloe beginning to think, and even dream, of Lex as a ‘sweet, tender version of him she somehow trusted’. It’s a huge improvement over getting panic attacks in his presence, that’s for sure
I’m looking desperately forward to the next chapter. Please do update as soon as possible, Nonky!
Bookmarks