VIII

“Ma'am, can you see he has a serious problem?! What kind of man are you?!”

“Please, I’d advise you to stay calm, Mrs Briggs. Let's handle this maturely,” Emerald tried to pacify her clients.

“Listen to the sexy lady for once, Olivia,” George Briggs, the husband, teased while passing a subtle wink at Emerald.

Such a disgusting berk!

She looked over at Olivia Briggs who was red with anger, literally. Her face had turned red from fury and she was taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Emerald took pity on the woman because the man she had gotten married to was nothing but a man–whore who knew no more and no less than sex.

Emerald wasn't the judgemental type but the man's body languages and attitudes since the commencement of this session had been nothing but the acts of a cocotte; more like the man of the street and the painful part of it all was that he wasn't even an amazing sight to behold with his crooked nose, overly long and full hair that stopped around his shoulders and even his nose had some nasal hair sticking out of it.

In summary, the harsh reality was that the man was ugly, hands down and Emerald couldn't help but look between the couple. They didn't look compatible at all and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was an arranged marriage but she didn't let her thoughts drift.

She took a deep breath and held her hands together in front of her, assuming her signature professional stance with her expressionless face on.

“Now, Mrs Briggs, can you gently tell me what exactly is the problem?” she asked, her eyes staring straight at the beautiful woman seated before her. Her red face had slightly returned to its previous shade and her hazel eyes were back to its normal colour.

Anger was still evident but something else was fighting for dominance and Emerald could see clearly that it was akin to pain. It really must be an arranged marriage. She clearly doesn't look happy.

“Well I really don't kn—”

“I was talking to Mrs Briggs and not you, Mr Briggs,” Emerald interrupted as the man began butting in without being asked to.

“Tell me Miss Pearce, is it normal for a married man to demand for a third party while making love to his wife?” Olivia asked, her voice hard with restrained anger and pain.

Emerald's eyebrows furrowed in thought. Third party? What did she mean by that?

But before she could ask further questions from her client, her husband decided to butt in again.

“Oh please Olivia. Just because you haven't seen or experienced it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist. People do it, just so you know,” he said in his disgustingly nasally voice, once again giving Emerald a suggestive look.

Emerald couldn't stymie the hard look that crossed her face as she looked back at the man before her, trying to hide her disgust.

“Mr Briggs, clearly it seems you would be more of an interruption than a coadjutor to your wife here. So if you would please excuse us. I'd like to have a word with Mrs Briggs. Alone,” she spoke, her voice icy cold as she stared him down.

“But we came here for a couple's session not an individual one. I see no reason for sending me out,” he argued, his eyebrows furrowed.

This man was beginning to infuriate Emerald but she kept her voice and face cold and emotionless as she lifted her chin in defiance.

“If you would please excuse us, Mr Briggs. I'd be calling you in to have a word with you as well, so don't worry about your money going to waste.”

His eyebrows suddenly shot up his forehead as a smirk appeared on his lips, dreadfully showcasing his semi–white set of teeth.

“Oh you should've said so earlier, hottie. I'll be right outside,” he stood up and adjusted his black suede jacket, which had dark brown patches at the elbows. He puckered his lips and made a rather disturbing smooching sound as though passing an air kiss to Emerald before he finally left the office.

Emerald heaved a sigh of relief before settling comfortably in her seat, this action not going unnoticed by Olivia, who gave a knowing smile to Emerald, completely aware of her unease and clear disgust for her husband.

“Oh I'm sorry, Mrs Briggs. I just can't help it,” she apologised, trying to be polite although she didn't mean even half of it; she had no regrets for disrespecting him.

“It's fine, Miss Pearce. I understand you perfectly and truth be told, the feeling is mutual,” she mumbled the last part quietly, her tone laced with sadness.

“What did you mean by what you said earlier about the third party?” Emerald began as she adjusted her glasses to sit well on her nose before grabbing the pen in her left hand, preparing to write down the important details.

The woman before her heaved a sigh as she sagged into the leather chair, her expression turning gloomy. She ran her hand through her wavy, shoulder length, auburn hair.

“It's been going on since we got married approximately two years ago. Actually, the first few months after we got married, our sex life had involved only the two of us, which is how it should be until about six or seven months into our marriage and he started acting weird,” she let out a breath.

Emerald's attention was solely on the woman as she jotted down the vital information while listening keenly.

“It started out with him demanding for sex almost everytime; morning, noon, night, he had no self-control whatsoever and I began refusing him sometimes just to keep him in check but I guess that was a grave mistake on my part,” she ran her hand through her hair again, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip.

Her attention diverted to the wooden desk before her as she played with her fingers nervously.

“He started coming home late at night and most times, he'd be drunk. His demands for sex didn't waver a bit, infact it was even more than before and then one day, he told me that. . .” she gulped.

“. . . that I was boring in bed. He even went further on to suggest that I watch some porno or that I should at least take lessons from a drab or a strumpet on how to satisfy a man because my lack of changing positions was not enough to sate him anymore,” her fingers were now tightly gripping each other, her red painted finger nails digging into her palms.

A scowl threatened to break on Emerald's face at the man's harsh words but she did her best to hide her expression. Emerald could feel the anger, pain and sadness radiating off her client in waves. George Briggs had not only given the hint that he had been patronising harlots, he had also insulted his wife and belittled her all because he had uncontrollable sex urges.

Emerald couldn't bring herself to write anymore as she dropped her pen and listened intently to Olivia.

“I tolerated all of these and even began watching pornography just to sate his desires until one day, he took it too far by bringing up a very disgusting and downright obscene suggestion,” anger filled her eyes now as her jaw clenched painfully, giving a slight tick sound.

Emerald's eyebrows furrowed deeply as she waited patiently to hear what Olivia had to say.

“He suggested — no, it wasn't a suggestion — he demanded that we find someone that would be interested in a threesome or a foursome even; ‘the more the merrier’ he had said,” a harsh, humourless chuckle left her lips as she finally looked up at Emerald, her hazel eyes blazing with fury.

“I see you find it absurd too, don't you?” she asked as she took in Emerald's disgusted scowl that had slipped past her control.

Emerald finally let out a breath as she leaned into her seat, putting her blank expression on again as she watched the woman sitting in front of her, trying to gauge her expression.

“Was he like this before you two got married?” she asked.

“Uhm. . . no? I really have no idea how he was until after we got married,” Olivia mumbled sheepishly as she averted her gaze to the desk again.

“What do you mean?” Emerald had already guessed what the answer may be but she wanted to hear it from Olivia's own mouth.

She released a shaky sigh like she had been doing since she got here with her husband. “I–It's an arranged marriage,” her voice was merely a whisper as forlonness flitted across her face.

Emerald wasn't surprised; the signs were quite conspicuous or maybe it was because she was a keen observer but she had perceived the looming snuff of an arranged marriage.

“I see,” she wrote something down before looking back up. “So you guys knew nothing about each other?”

Olivia gulped before she nodded stiffly. “It was a last minute alternative that I had no choice but to accept. It had been the only solution to my problem at the time a–and I thought that maybe the further we went, the closer we would become and maybe, just maybe we would grow to love each other but. . .” regretful tears welled up her eyes.

“. . . his sexual appetencies are just too unbearable. It's like most times he just married me for the sex; yeah, I also got married to him not because I loved him but I was willing to know him for who he truly was. I was ready to make things work for the sake of both of our sanity but he–he treats me like he purchased me from some auction house just to be his sex slave,” she sniffed as the angry tears were now streaming down her cheeks, making her face tint red.

Emerald felt really sorry for her and she couldn't help but also feel resentment towards the bastard sitting in the lobby just outside her office.

She leaned forward and reached for a tissue paper from the tissue box sitting on her desk before passing it to Olivia, who took it and mumbled a small ‘thank you’ before wiping her face with it in attempt to stop her tears.

Olivia had never seen anyone like Emerald before; well, she had never seen a woman like Emerald before and she couldn't deny the fact that she had been intimidated by her when they had first walked in, especially with how her always horny husband couldn't keep his eyes or lewd comments off her.

She had also noticed how stoic Emerald was. Whatever feeling she truly felt inside was never reflecting on her face except for the disgusted look she had passed to George on his way out which had showed her obvious dislike for him. Even her voice had no emotion to it.

Other women and even some men would've immediately stood up to comfort and try to soothe her but Emerald only passed her a tissue and just sat there, looking intently at her with no expression on her face. Olivia had to admit that she really did feel intimidated and she couldn't help but feel as though Emerald was looking deep into her soul and could unravel all of her secrets; that was how powerful her gaze felt.

She looked down at her laps as she nervously played with her fingers again, hoping that Emerald wouldn't judge her or tell her how stupid she had been to agree to such condition without getting to know who the person was first. She knew she deserved everything happening to her but she didn't know if she could bear to hear someone else judge her actions.

Emerald noticed how her client shrunk back into the chair and she had grasped the look of fear in her eyes before she looked down. Her features softened as she continued to gaze at the petite woman seated before her.

Against her ethics, she stood up and reached out before gently taking hold of Olivia's hands. She gave her a gentle smile as she rubbed her hands softly.

“I genuinely assure you that I don't bite. . .” Olivia gave a smile to which Emerald grinned in reply.

“. . . And you have nothing to worry about. I won't judge you. Everything that happens in life happens for a reason and I don't want you to think that you deserve any of what is currently happening to you because you don't.

You have a good heart, Mrs Briggs. Your lascivious and lewd husband is just too blind to see it,” she concluded with a small smile.

A grateful smile graced Olivia's face as a lone tear slipped down her cheek. That was all she needed — someone she could confide in, someone that would listen to her and not judge her whatsoever but no one was there for her.

Her parents had disowned her after what had happened — which was what had led her to marry George in the first place, some of her friends had left because they couldn't stand her husband's lustful advances while others had betrayed her by yielding to her husband's desires. She had absolutely no one to comfort her; Emerald had no idea how grateful Olivia was.

“Thank you so much, Miss Pearce,” Olivia pulled Emerald in for a hug, unable to contain the emotions that coursed through her. There was a glimmer of hope at the end of the dark tunnel that was her life after all.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she held her eyes tightly shut, her hands laced around Emerald's back.

Emerald had gone stiff at the sudden action of her client but reluctantly she raised her arm to slowly pet Olivia's back. Noticing Emerald's rigid stance, Olivia withdrew, feeling embarrassed.

“I'm sorry. I just got carried away,” she mumbled solemnly.

“It's fine,” she smiled reassuringly. “Do you still want to proceed with today's session or we could have it sometime next week? Depends on when you're comfortable enough,” she looked down at her black Cartier wristwatch, the golden hands ticking slowly by. It was already time for her to close the building.

“Definitely. I'm sorry we came quite late today. We would try to schedule something better next time,” Olivia began packing her bags as Emerald proceeded to zip her bag after placing her portable, foldable laptop in it.

She nodded and underneath the desk, she immediately swapped her flip-flops for the heels she had initially put on this morning before she stood up and grabbed her bag with Olivia following after.

She strode towards the ceiling to floor window and pulled the black Venetian blinds down to shield her office before she headed to the door with Olivia.

Pulling open the door suddenly, the man eavesdropping on the other side of the door had not expected it as he consequentially stumbled into the office, making Emerald and Olivia throw him cold, death glares.

▬▬▬▬▬

“So the idiot was actually hoping to have a session with you alone? Even with his wife seated right there, he still hadn't filtered his words?” Oriana asked, her voice laced with disgust.

“Hmm mmm. . .” Emerald hummed in response as her eyes remained closed, her head resting on the back rest of the passenger seat of Ori's car.

Oriana had picked her up after her session with the Briggs — well, specifically Olivia Briggs. George had been aggravated and had demanded that Emerald make time for him too since it was supposed to be a couple's session but she had threatened him with the cops and begrudgingly, he had accepted, all the while mumbling lewd profanities under his breath, saying he wouldn't ever patronise E.P's therapy place again. To say Emerald was relieved, would be an understatement.

“That's just plain disgusting. Why didn't she just divorce him?” Oriana asked again.

She had arrived at the time George had been making a fuss because due to the great breakthrough she had brought to her workplace, she had been promoted as promised by her boss, Mr Hyde and had been given the rest of the day off to celebrate.

“I don't know Oriana and please I would like to forget today's events, so if you would please, do not stress on the issue,” Emerald muttered tiredly, trying to stymie the headache that had appeared just at the sight of George's seductive wink as soon as they had walked into her office.

“Sorry,” she snuck a glance at her friend before focusing on the road again. “You know you've been working a lot lately, I think you need a break,” she suggested.

She continued when Emerald didn't respond, “I was thinking we could celebrate my promotion this Saturday. We could go to a club. It would be the perfect way to loosen up a bit; plus, I already invited Amari and Aubrey to come with. So what do you say, Mera?”

She snuck another wary glance at Emerald, who was still quiet.

“Hmm?” she prodded, using her index finger to poke her friend's cheek.

“Please?” she poked.

“Who knows, you could meet your prince charming there?” she poked.

“Eme?” she poked again.

“Mera?” and again.

“Maree?” she poked again as she called her by her middle name.

“Fine!” Emerald grabbed her index finger as she attempted to poke her again. “I'll go. I could use some loosening up,” she mumbled. “Now, eyes on the road, McStuffins. I don't wanna die yet,” she laid her head back as she heaved a sigh.

Oriana squealed in delight.