A few weeks passed since the meeting with Rasha, and Ze’ev’s patience with Adi wore thin. If he thought living with her when she was detached from everything was difficult, he was wrong. Never knowing what mood Adi would be in from one moment to the next was irritating. One second she was happy and wanting to get out and the next she would be crying before they could even get out the door. She had spent several days in bed complaining of having the flu and dizziness. To him, life was miserable. He was used to being a free man coming and going when he chose. Now he felt suffocated and trapped. As he walked into the kitchen to fix his morning coffee, he saw Adi was already there fixing breakfast.
Eyeing her cautiously, he gruffly asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”
Adi looked up at him and smiled brightly, “Much better. I’m sorry, Ze’ev, for being so difficult lately. But to show you that I’m feeling better I made you some breakfast and coffee!”
Just as she turned to hand him his plate of steaming scrambled eggs and toast, the room tilted and swayed. Losing her balance, she fell dropping the plate of food. Eggs splattered everywhere.
Kneeling down to face a now sobbing Adi, Ze’ev squinted in agitation, “Adi, have you been taking your pills?”
Closing her eyes against the spinning, she cried, “Why do you ask me that right now?”
Growing impatient, Ze’ev snapped, “Because these dizzy spells, mood swings, and even the flu symptoms are all signs of discontinuation symptoms.”
“What?”
Grabbing her wrists, Ze’ev roughly pulled her to her feet. “Get your pills, Adi, I want to see your pills!”
Weak from the dizziness and frightened by Ze’ev’s reaction, Adi stammered, “I-I don’t have them. I flushed them down the toilet.”
Gripping her shoulders tightly, he yelled in frustration, “You fool, don’t you know that you need those? You’re no good without them!”
Tears streamed down Adi’s face, “But I did it for you, Ze’ev! I wanted to be happy again for you!”
Pushing her away, he snapped, “For me? If you were thinking of me you would have stayed on them. You are so selfish, Adi.” Grabbing his keys from off the counter he headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Adi cried in alarm.
“Away from you.” Ze’ev hollered as he slammed the door.
Adi spent the rest of the day nursing an excruciating headache. Seeing an opportunity, Michael stood close by whispering doubts into her thoughts. “Why does Ze’ev want you on the pills so badly?” “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with a man that you are afraid of?”
Hours later, Adi heard the front door shut firmly. The sound of Ze’ev’s footsteps in the hallway caused Adi to sit up in bed. Clutching the blankets closer to her, she fearfully stared at her bedroom door with apprehension. Ze’ev had been gone all day. Hoping that his getting out of the house would put him in a better mood, Adi debated on whether or not she should venture out to meet him. Before she could decide, the door opened and Ze’ev walked in brusquely. His eyes were cold and unfriendly as he threw a small bag onto her bed. Adi tried to hide the shiver that swept through her.
“Here are the pills. I’ve counted them out and each day I will count them and there had better be one missing.” With that, he turned and left.
Adi’s stomach knotted with misgiving as she stared down at the brown bottle. How dare he order me about as if I were an imbecile! Warning bells were going off in her mind, something was not right. Fine. I’ll play his little game and in the end he’ll come to understand that I was right! She decided.
The next morning, Adi showered and dressed. Reaching for the bottle, she spilled a pill out and threw it in the toilet. Michael breathed a sigh of relief. Gathering her courage, she put a smile on her face and yanked the door open. Finding Ze’ev already at the table drinking his coffee and sifting through his emails, she quietly approached placing the bottle of pills on the table. Without a word, Ze’ev spilled out the contents and counted. Satisfied that one was missing, he finally said, “Good. When you start feeling better, you’ll thank me for being so rough on you. You’ll see.”
Time will tell who’s right. Adi thought angrily. The game continued, Ze’ev counting the pills and Adi throwing them out. As the discontinuation symptoms subsided, Ze’ev claimed the credit for Adi getting better while Adi quietly applauded herself for making a good decision. She was excited that she could feel again even though some of her emotions were of sadness and guilt, but she took this as a step closer to feeling joy and happiness. Even Ze’ev’s attitude had changed from impatience to tolerance. Realizing that her moodiness had hurt their relationship, Adi worked hard at regaining what was lost. Whatever Ze’ev wanted her to do, she did. If meditation and talking to her spirit guide brought her closer to Ze’ev, then she did it. If attending the many social functions helped Ze’ev get into a better position in society, then she encouraged him to attend. To the outside world, they were a couple in love. Their romance was the most talked about in the social circles and in the tabloids. She was Cinderella and Ze’ev the Prince that saved her from the brutality of her step-father. At times, she could almost believe that the stories were really true. She loved the times when Ze’ev would shower her with jewels and clothing for the next event and how he would show her affection in public. But in between events, Adi felt unsure of how things really were between them. Ze’ev would slip out quite frequently for secret meetings with someone. When he would return, he would be gruff and withdrawn. Several times, Adi caught him staring at her with cold hard eyes. The insecurity of it all caused Adi to try even harder to please Ze’ev. After a year and a half of reaching out to him, Ze’ev surprised her one day by inviting her out to lunch.
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