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 Widow28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIsf01VHmK
Mrs. Arriola, 56.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bbZLD7IZQ
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7RROP9XOq
Not because she needed to believe it—28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEK1WTrNQ1S
but because, in that moment, she was.
Client #2: The Trophy Wife28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNNgcCMDBR
Celeste, 39.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjL3yxUDy9
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10kKLRuBYy
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBN912wKBD
He played to release.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9p6olMveJ
And when she finally cried, it wasn’t from pain.
Client #3: The Actress28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYUMXuCmx1
Laia Cruz, 47.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6fT6Tvd5f
A face the nation loved. A voice trained in charm.
She booked under a fake name. Paid in cash.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡum2lgCN3GZ
Always smiled—until the door shut. Then dropped the act.
“I’m tired of pretending,” she would whisper.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkpZsQ3ckL
“Can you just... let me fall apart, for once?”
And he did.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeX7q5YSAJT
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWXSknPRk3
Boundaries respected. Needs met.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIANEczXziw
Matteo gave them what they came for.
And then forgot them.
But Ms. De Luna was different.
She didn’t want a fantasy.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9XTZIRTVb
She didn’t play roles.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkgIvGVJOL
She didn’t moan on cue.
She sat in his mind like a puzzle that didn’t fit.
Her voice.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Fg8cfNQQT
Her restraint.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCcQ7pw5wJ
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…28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNCM4l8MaT
he could still taste her silence on his lips.
And that terrified him more than any confession ever had.
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