CHAPTER FOUR: They All Come Here for Different Reasons
Wednesdays were always full.
By noon, Dr. Matteo Reyes had already seen three women—each one different, each one predictable.
Client #1: The Widow18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8B5Gb3tce6
Mrs. Arriola, 56.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypCt9xFM4W
She wore pearls with her grief, always requested jazz music in the background, and never wanted to be looked at while being touched.
“Talk to me while you do it,” she always whispered, eyes closed. “Lie to me. Tell me I’m still beautiful.”
Matteo did.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5mFk6trNB
Not because she needed to believe it—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCz4xM3B4jo
but because, in that moment, she was.
Client #2: The Trophy Wife18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnAQylWZTs
Celeste, 39.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9vsC0CjhP
Impeccable red lips. Designer perfume. Bruises she pretended were from falling asleep on her husband’s watch.
She didn’t want slow. She wanted punishment.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7INgU8FGq7
Quick, cruel fingers. Bites that didn't bleed, but burned.
“Make me feel like a whore,” she’d said once, eyes daring him.
But Matteo never played to shame.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZRnihYCG0
He played to release.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKahiGZmsUW
And when she finally cried, it wasn’t from pain.
Client #3: The Actress18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUep4Gfkk9A
Laia Cruz, 47.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQZ3c1cx9L
A face the nation loved. A voice trained in charm.
She booked under a fake name. Paid in cash.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHi1M2k7qg
Always smiled—until the door shut. Then dropped the act.
“I’m tired of pretending,” she would whisper.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSaOqfhVwR
“Can you just... let me fall apart, for once?”
And he did.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6YeJ2Honi
He let her shatter on his table, holding her hand like she was someone worth saving.
Each session followed a rhythm.
Warm oil. Whispered truths.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sOr5Q53bN
Boundaries respected. Needs met.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQdsQnC3cQ
Matteo gave them what they came for.
And then forgot them.
But Ms. De Luna was different.
She didn’t want a fantasy.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrRNxWOXY8
She didn’t play roles.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GOmQ4KoSw
She didn’t moan on cue.
She sat in his mind like a puzzle that didn’t fit.
Her voice.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡys4D8GtIQK
Her restraint.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySKgMKUtWT
The way she kissed him and trembled after like she’d done something sinful.
And how Matteo wanted her to do it again.
He washed his hands between sessions, like always.
But even as the lavender soap clung to his skin…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTGxOJg6Ds
he could still taste her silence on his lips.
And that terrified him more than any confession ever had.
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