[SHORE RESORT]
"What!?" Alyssa gasped in shock. "Your store was demolished! H... how?"
Sapphire exhaled. "The homeowner sold to Yvonne, and she demanded instant monthly payment."
"Who the hell is Yvonne!? Does she have a personal beef with you or what? Nobody destroys property without prior notice!"
Sapphire nodded. "She has a beef with me. She's Wilson's fiancée."
Alyssa sprang up, her face written with shock. "What are you saying, Sapphire? Wilson's fiancée? Like Wilson DeVille, your husband?"
"How do I start?" Sapphire inhaled and palmed her forehead.
Alyssa pulled down her hand. "Start from anywhere. What do you mean by Wilson's fiancée? You are Wilson's wife!"
"He married me for his business with my dad's. Yvonne is his real fiancée." Sapphire dropped the bombshell, and just like that, she began explaining everything that had happened, right from the time of her wedding night until her marriage to Tristan.
Alyssa's jaw popped open, and she couldn't say a word for the first few minutes. It felt as if she were processing the news.
"What!?" She snapped out of her shock. "This isn't making sense, Sapph. Two men. Two brothers. A contract marriage." She paced around, fanning herself with her hand.
"It's the truth. Everything happened quickly, and I didn't have the time to process it," Sapphire explained.
Alyssa stopped pacing around. "So, the morning after that, when I visited and found you returning in a taxi... was because of that? The forehead injury was because of... the fight?"
Sapphire nodded slowly.
"My God." Alyssa sat slowly down and buried her face in her palms. "It's all my fault."
Sapphire scooted closer and held her shoulder. "Don't start the self-blame. No one knew—"
Alyssa shook her head without raising her face. "I should have protected you. You married the wrong man, and all this while, I couldn't see something was wrong. I felt it... I should have..." She sniffed.
"Lys, don't cry. I'll soon start to regret telling you this."
"All this while, I thought everything was okay with you, and I even teased you a lot of times, not knowing what you were going through."
Sapphire engulfed her in a tight hug. "If you don't stop, I'll start crying."
"You don't understand, Sapph. I can't bear to see you suffer. You've suffered enough, and I promised to never let you suffer. I couldn't even stop you from getting married to the wrong man."
"Come on, Lys, stop the tears." Sapphire patted her back. "I'm not used to seeing you this way."
Alyssa raised her face and wiped her tears. "I'm not crying anymore."
Sapphire joined her in wiping away the remaining tears. "You can be dramatic sometimes."
"You have no idea how much I care about you."
"Yeah, it's scary sometimes." They both shared a laugh.
"I can't believe Wilson turned out to be a scumbag," Alyssa said with a low grunt.
Sapphire relaxed on the couch. "Well, as they say, fear the perfect guys—"
"And trust the wrong guys," Alyssa completed with a teasing laugh.
"Calling Tristan wrong is the worst word choice. He's a devil in human form. He's literally the worst."
"He's your psychologist-turned-husband." Alyssa bumped her shoulder teasingly against Sapphire's own.
"And that's it. A number of times, I want to gouge out his eyes. Wilson behaves like a perfect CEO, and Tristan... oh, I don't want to start talking about him. He's such an annoying fish—"
Alyssa burst into laughter. "Fish!?"
"He's got deep blue eyes, and he's blunt, so... yeah." Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Then there's his criminal disguised as an ally... I don't even know her place in his life. She acts like Tristan is her one and only."
Alyssa's laughter increased. "I'll have to find a way to meet Tristan soon."
Sapphire clicked her tongue.
"Jokes aside, you do know how deep this game you're in might run? Two brothers who don't get along, and Wilson has refused to sign the divorce papers."
"Tristan and I end after thirty days. As for Wilson, he'll have to sign the papers," Sapphire replied.
"And if he still refuses?"
"Not when I use his relationship with Yvonne against him."
"Speaking of Yvonne, I don't want to believe she's the supermodel, Yvonne Hart?"
"You know her?"
Alyssa nodded negatively. "I once planned their company's event. I feel like chopping off Wilson's d**k and feeding it to the dogs. He dared to toy with your heart."
"Not now. Recovering my nerves is my primary priority."
"But you just called your psychologist a fish?" Alyssa raised her brow.
"That doesn't mean his therapies aren't working."
"...about your store? It's one of the things you value the most."
"I don't know about that for now," Sapphire smiled. "All I know is that I'll be at the DeVilles' annual charity event."
"Why?"
----
[TRISTAN'S PENTHOUSE]
Sapphire unwrapped her head towel and picked a blue band off the table. Holding her hair together, she tied it up in a loose ponytail.
She glanced at herself in the mirror while leaving the room. She had spent the whole day with Alyssa, and this day could pass as her best day since she got married to Wilson. With Alyssa around, she had forgotten all her worries, including the loser Tristan called her.
Reaching the dining table, she sat down, then checked the time. An hour until her session. Staring at the dishes, she wondered if she should eat or wait for Tristan. Pondering the thoughts for about ten minutes, she decided to wait.
Ten minutes later, she was still waiting, and the reality of him not having come back began dawning on her. But if he were still out, dinner wouldn't have been set. For all she knew, Yasmine cared only about Tristan.
Could he have... that didn't sound like something he'd do.
The door creaked open, and Yasmine walked in, carrying a briefcase with her.
Giving Sapphire a brief glance, Yasmine started climbing the stairs, as she didn't acknowledge her. On the third step, she paused. "If you're waiting for T, he isn't coming for dinner."
"What about you? Join me and eat. I dislike eating alone."
For roughly three seconds, Sapphire's offer hung in the air until Yasmine resumed her steps.
Sapphire sighed. "I wasn't expecting anything less."
She began eating while noting the excess food that was on the table.
"Guess they derive joy from wasting food." She resumed eating.
----
[RED ROOM]
Sapphire peeled off the satin nightgown she was wearing when there were two minutes left until 9. She got to the room exactly ten minutes before 9 and began waiting. If she wanted to stand up to Wilson, she'd have to take her sessions seriously.
She hadn't seen Tristan all day and was starting to question if Tristan was back.
Her thoughts got clogged when she heard the door squeaking closed. His footsteps echoed until he stopped behind her.
Her breathing slowly rose before he did anything. His scent wrapped around them, and she held her hands together.
She turned around without being told. "You were at home?"
His expression went darker, and she knew she had just asked a stupid question.
She gulped when he walked past her and went to sit in the chair beside the wall. That was when Sapphire had a clear look and saw there were two chairs kept there, as if set on purpose. Looking at his hand, she saw he was with a notepad and pen.
"Tonight, you're going to satisfy yourself while I record your experience." He crossed his legs and placed the notebook on his thigh.
Sapphire stepped closer until she stopped a few steps away from him.
"How?" she asked.
"Sit," he ordered.
Without hesitation, she sat in the chair that faced him.
"The first two sessions were me trying to make you feel safe with my hands. Tonight, you are going to do it," he said. "You are going to touch yourself."
Sapphire gulped, then nodded in understanding.
"Spread your legs," he commanded.
She curled her toes, then slowly parted her legs to the edge of the chair. The cold AC hit her warm cunt and sent a wave of sensations down there.
His soul-draining eyes bored holes through her body, and strangely, she wasn't feeling a single bit shy. It wasn't the first time she'd gone naked in front of him, but it was the first time she'd felt so exposed before him.
"What next?"
"You are going to free yourself and your mind. Just you and your fantasy." He opened the notebook and held the pen, ready to start writing.
"Start."
Her hand barely moved as she felt his hot gaze on her. Her chest rose, and slowly, her left hand moved to her left breast while her right hand went down to her thigh. She shut her eyes, remembering his words as she slowly let her fantasy take over.
She rubbed her n*****s while fondling her breast. Her right hand traced up her thigh, and the immediate moment her finger brushed her c**t, she shuddered.
"How do you feel?" Tristan's voice sounded sinfully in her ears as she rubbed her c**t.
"G... good." Her hand's speed increased, and soon, her wetness slid out. "So... good."
"Eyes on me."
Her eyes flickered open, and she met his gaze. She sank deeper into the chair, rubbing both her breasts as she slowly inserted her index finger.
"Ah..." The first moan rolled off her lips, and she inched her finger deep inside her.
Her left hand fell from her breast, and she threw her head upward, slowly inching her finger in and out.
"Add another one," Tristan commanded, taking his eyes away to pen down something.
She did as told, making the fingers two. Her juices slid down her fingers, and they rubbed on the chair.
"Fast."
Her mind wandered away, his voice echoing like a sinful psychologist rather than a moral one. Her hips bucked against the chair as she rode her fingers.
She moaned, louder than the first time, as her fingers hit her sensitive spot.
"Fuck..."
Her body jolted when she felt his hand on her arm. "Don't stop," he told her in a rich, gravelly voice.
She moved faster, using both the chair and her fingers to pleasure herself.
His touch was light against her skin, and her aversion was slowly creeping in.
He traced his finger down her cleavage.
"I... it's coming," her breathing grew heavy.
"Don't stop."
She nodded, closing her eyes again. This time, he let her.
His finger circled around her right n****e, and it hardened immediately.
"Good," she moaned in pleasure as she felt herself reaching the peak.
"I... I'm c*m—"
He added his other hand, and her breast filled his palm. Rubbing her erect n*****s, he pinched them hard.
"s**t!" Her head fell and rested on his pants—directly on his bulging c**k.