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 Widow27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmgpUQIHCz
Mrs. Arriola, 56.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAtAGHo85v
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4x3bJS1B3
Not because she needed to believe it—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWzAgapRDa
but because, in that moment, she was.
Client #2: The Trophy Wife27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9hA3dxoNk
Celeste, 39.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktSSeF62zs
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbprzsl9ePV
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAP22vPPth7
He played to release.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7cEnLpnza
And when she finally cried, it wasn’t from pain.
Client #3: The Actress27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIoSmxGF3C
Laia Cruz, 47.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfg21Cs8xD
A face the nation loved. A voice trained in charm.
She booked under a fake name. Paid in cash.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3BQOD7GCm
Always smiled—until the door shut. Then dropped the act.
“I’m tired of pretending,” she would whisper.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBGtH6oyqG
“Can you just... let me fall apart, for once?”
And he did.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCutjnGsE8
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡem7dfuD90P
Boundaries respected. Needs met.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJk2jgSTvJD
Matteo gave them what they came for.
And then forgot them.
But Ms. De Luna was different.
She didn’t want a fantasy.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre6PtJ4en8
She didn’t play roles.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo8KlzExwZ
She didn’t moan on cue.
She sat in his mind like a puzzle that didn’t fit.
Her voice.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlRP6K1YCZ
Her restraint.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4b6GXYU60
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…27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XtCJMrtbw
he could still taste her silence on his lips.
And that terrified him more than any confession ever had.
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