Contents
Part Two — Chapter Seven
Overview
Theo abandons caution and directly confronts Alicia about her silence, adopting a relational approach and disclosing his marriage to elicit trust. He presses the idea that Alicia both loved and hated Gabriel, provoking her first clear denial and an angry exit. The rupture exposes Theo’s impulsivity and escalates the therapeutic stakes.
Summary
The session begins with Alicia rigid and silent as Theo references her prior attack. Frustrated by the impasse, Theo decides to address her muteness directly, framing it as overwhelming emotion that requires trust and time. He explains his relational approach, admitting therapists inevitably reveal themselves.
To leverage that reality, Theo shows his wedding ring and discloses his marriage to Kathy, hoping reciprocity will invite connection. He links love to mixed feelings, admitting he sometimes hates his wife, and suggests Alicia felt both love and hate toward Gabriel.
Alicia gives her first explicit response: a firm shake of the head denying hatred. Encouraged, Theo presses harder, asserting, “Or you wouldn’t have killed him.” Alicia’s anger spikes; she abruptly rises, pounds on the door, and rushes out when Yuri opens it.
Left alone, Theo castigates himself for pushing too hard, too soon. He recognizes that Alicia’s silence reflects his own anxieties and compulsions, exposing the instability driving his choices and deepening the therapeutic rupture.
Who Appears
- Theo FaberPsychotherapist; confronts Alicia’s silence, discloses his marriage, overreaches by asserting her hatred, and regrets provoking a rupture.
- Alicia BerensonPatient; remains silent, denies hating Gabriel with headshakes, becomes furious, bangs on the door, and flees the session.
- YuriNurse; opens the door as Alicia bolts, briefly checks on Theo.
- KathyTheo’s wife; mentioned as part of Theo’s self-disclosure to build rapport.
- Gabriel BerensonAlicia’s murdered husband; central to Theo’s provocation about love and hate.