True to his word, Christian had called in every resource he could think of to help Cristina pull out of this dark place. He knew, however, that there was one more hurdle to jump over. Cristina had to block her ex, but she still refused to do so. It was as if she relished the daily torment of seeing his posts. Christian suspected that she felt a need to punish herself in the hopes that, through suffering, she might learn a lesson for the future.

Christian, however, had learned long ago that there are two kinds of suffering in the world, suffering that leads to life and suffering that leads to death. He knew it was crucial to distinguish one from the other. It was a lesson Cristina had yet to learn. He hoped her Zoom with her therapist might prove helpful.

He got her set up on the Zoom session and closed the door after himself as he walked out of the room. For her part, Cristina had finally gotten up and taken a shower and eaten something. Her doctor had told her to eat a steak. He said when people came into the ER feeling suicidal, the first thing they did was to give them protein because they were often experiencing a dramatic protein deficiency.

"Cristina," her therapist, Selim said. "It's good to see you this morning."

Cristina nodded.

"Have you been taking your medication regularly like we talked about?" she asked.

"Yes, Christian barges in here every morning at 8:00 like clockwork," she said, trying to sound annoyed, but her gratitude still managed to shine through.

"Good, I'm glad to hear he has the situation in hand," Selim replied. "Have you started an exercise program?" she asked.

"That's the hard one," Cristina admitted. "Of all the changes you asked me to make the exercise piece is the hardest. I did cut down on sugar and added more protein to my diet, but just getting the energy to move my body is extremely hard."

Selim nodded sympathetically. "Yes, it is hard," she conceded, "but as you do it more and more, you will find that it becomes easier."

"I guess," Cristina said, sounding unconvinced.

Selim moved on. "So, have you considered what I said about fasting from social media for a time?"

Cristina shook her head. "I can't do that. I'm sorry, but the curiosity is just too much. I can't stop looking at the shit Sean is posting."

Selim frowned slightly but said nothing.

"So, get this!" Cristina exclaimed. "Sean posted about them touring houses they are considering buying. And he wasn't allowed to have anything on his wish list. It was all about her. SHE needed a walk-in closet. SHE needed a double vanity. SHE needed a soaking tub. I mean, this chick is the most high-maintenance bitch I've ever seen."

"And this bothers you because...?" Selim waited for Cristina to fill in the blank.

"It bothers me because he said I was too much," she complained. "I let him have his way all the damn time. Now, he has a woman who controls everything he does. What's she doing for him? I have to ask myself what's she doing for him sexually that he will put up with this kind of abuse?" Cristina went on.

"Okay, let me just stop you there. I feel like we're getting off course here. We need to remember that how people treat us says more about them than it does about us. So, it would be a mistake to compare yourself to his new woman because the comparison doesn't hold. The common denominator here is HIM. He's the one that his behavior reflects on. Not you and not her," Selim corrected.

"I know. You've told me that already," Cristina said with a sigh.

"And yet, you still haven't learned it," Selim replied with a breezy smile. "Now, there's something else I would like to tell you about this situation. In all relationships where there has been a rupture, the choices are to either renew or release the relationship."

"Well, I sure as hell am not going to renew it!" Cristina asserted.

"Nor would I expect you to. So, it would seem that you only have one option left, and that is to release him," Selim commented.

"But it's not that easy," Cristina protested. "He was such a huge part of my life for so long."

"Right, so, a barrier to releasing him would be the history that you two have together. I affirm that it is difficult to release someone with whom we have history. That's why, with romantic relationships, we often seek to renew the relationship instead of releasing it. But, in this case, that would be foolish. And if I am hearing you correctly, you don't want him back, right?" Selim asked.

"Hell, no!" Cristina responded.

"Well, then, if you don't want him back, you will need to release him," Selim persisted.

"Ugh!" Cristina groaned. "Why do you always gotta be telling me things I don't want to hear?"

Selim smiled a slow, effortless smile. "That's why you pay me the big bucks. I get paid to tell you things you don't want to hear."

Later, as Cristina and Christian were watching TV, a Facebook notification came onto Cristina's phone. She reached for it, but Christian grabbed it first.

"Give it back!" she demanded.

"Sorry," Christian sighed. "For your own good, I can't let you have this phone back until you promise to block him on social media."

"Listen, I don't tell you how to live your life!" Cristina protested.

"What about that time when I wouldn't get out of bed, and you answered my phone and told my business partner that I was out of control?" he reminded her. "You took matters into your own hands to try to save me for self-destruction. That's exactly what I'm trying to do here."

"But you can't keep my phone from me," Cristina argued.

"You're right. Ultimately, I can't keep your phone from you, but I want you to take a moment and think about this. I'm trying to intervene for your own good. I'm telling you that following Sean's every update is killing you. I see it draining the life out of you. The woman I met a few weeks ago is vibrant, electric, strong, independent, and beautiful. But every time you read a new update, I see the air leaking out of you like an old party balloon." Christian handed her phone back to her. "You're right. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you that I can't watch you do this to yourself. If you keep this up, I'm going to pay for you to go and ride out this pandemic elsewhere. You can't do it here if you won't let go of this man," he asserted.

Cristina thought for a moment. Was she willing to give up what she might have with Christian just to hold onto something she was sure she would never get back? It seemed rather foolish when she thought about it.

Cristina sighed. "My abuela has this saying in Spanish. She says, 'Sufres porque quieres' which basically means, 'You suffer because you want to.' Maybe it is time that I stop willfully suffering," she admitted. "Okay, listen, if you give me the phone, I will block him," she vowed.

"Okay," Christian replied. He handed her the phone. "So, start with Facebook," he instructed. Cristina made touched a few buttons and turned the phone toward him.

"Blocked," she declared.

"Instagram?" Christian prodded.

Again, she made a few clicks and said, "Blocked."

"Pinterest?" he added.

"Does anyone even use Pinterest anymore?" Cristina asked.

"You'd better block him just in case," Christian said. "I wish there was a block button in your brain so you would stop thinking about this clown," he bemoaned.

"Well, my abuela had another phrase. She used to say, 'Un clavo quita otro clavo' which means 'One nail takes out another.' It basically means that you get rid of one guy with another," Cristina said, smiling wickedly.

Christian didn't address the veracity of her grandmother's wisdom. He merely put his arm around her companionably and said, "I see you with your carpentry references!"