Chapter 205: Luke

The lies she lived with couldn't continue. I refused to allow her to destroy herself. She barely slept and I wasn't as stupid as the first time she stayed with me. Then, I missed the small nuances that showed how exhausted she was. That would never happen again. And now something set her off without lack of sleep involved. Some trigger that no one but she understood. I couldn't fucking help her if she wouldn't talk to me. All my frustration from months ago came rising to the surface. I imagined her as a young child being raped, beaten, or both. I couldn't stand the pictures in my head... the unknown.

I wrapped rubber bands tightly around the ends of the sticks, securing them together. Machala's breasts were hanging freely over the bench, which made clamping the sticks on her nipples easy. The rubber bands applied the pressure so her nipples squeezed between the lacquered wood. When I put them on, she stopped struggling and speaking. I grabbed the sticks in the middle between her breas