He blinks, then drags his focus to her scolding expression. If looks could kill…
“When I speak, I want all eyes onme. I know you’re impressed with my work now that your wife is suddenly so thin, but we still have an unreasonable amount of work to do. Understood?”
Niklaus glares at Meridei long enough to make her shift on her feet.
“Continue,” he says coldly.
Meridei crosses her arms. “Before we begin this special exposure therapy, I have a special guest that I want you both to be on your best behavior for.”
A woman steps into the room wearing not only a white patient gown, but a robe and slippers to match. My eyes fixate on her hair before her face. It’s the most gorgeous head of hair I’ve ever seen. Thick, long, blue-black hair down to her lower back. Large, wavy curls that unwind in loose spirals down past her ribs.
“My mother will be released from the female ward in a few days. It’s been really more of a retreat and a lady-doll refresher for her since being checked-in. I thought this would be the perfect way to cheer her up!” Meridei holds her hand out to her mother, waving for her to stand by her side.
The woman strides over to her daughter, short, bony, and so pale I can see her blue veins as if her skin is see-through. She has Meridei’s face too.
The mother grabs her daughter’s hand lovingly, eyeing Niklaus a little too long.
“Hello, I’m Meridei’s mother!” She gives me a disgusted glance, then gazes adoringly back at Niklaus, tapping her finger to his bicep.
I sag in my chair and roll my eyes.
“My name is Apple May.”
39. The Matrimony Method
Niklaus
Where have I heard thatname before?
“Fairly simple guidelines here. Mrs. Valdawell, if you’re pulse and saliva production increase at these photographs of delicious meals, there will be very unpleasant consequences from this IV I’ve hooked you up to. If not, your husband may pleasure you howIsee fit,” Meridei explains, still holding her mother’s hand.
My stomach drops.
“What?” Sapphire’s dark, sleepy eyes widen.
“Don’t get too eager! Most patients have difficulty getting past the initial stage of correction from the excitement of food.”
What the fuck?!
My world is lagged from the days of sedatives Meridei has kept me on. I’ve slept so much, eaten very little, and fought endless to try and escape to find Sapphire. But I wasn’t prepared to see her look like this. And now Meridei wants me to do what to her?Pleasureher?
“This treatment…” Sapphire clears her throat, blinking as if her eyeballs are covered in glue. “This treatment is not necessary. I swear I will never eat those foods again.”
There’s a hint of truth to her statement. And there’s something agonizing about that.
Apple May chuckles pretentiously, patting her daughter’s shoulder with the back of her hand.
“Be that as it may, Mrs. Valdawell. But your lack of intimacy with your husband is a separate issue altogether. Your gluttonous ways have caused you to neglect your wifely duties. That alone has given both of you intense delusional disorders. We can’t let that go untreated.”
The fucking logic passing through her brain is comical!
Sapphire locks eyes with erratic nerves splintering her composure.
“I will be a good wife to him, I promise. I will perform all of my wifely duties. Won’t I, darling?” Sapphire’s eyes start to water as she looks to me for support.
I glare back at Meridei. “Sapphire is a wonderful wife. She—she already pleases me daily. This is pointless.”
Apple May clucks her tongue. “Look at him! He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Positively feverish. Probably built up with too much semen.”
