The Things Done to Me Ch. 05

"I understand," Persephone said as she scrolled through the website with one hand. "I do have a question, though."

"By all means."

"How far outside the mainstream is too far for our brand?"

"As you know, we're a small company; I haven't felt confident enough with our financial standings to risk more avante-garde designs," Scarlet admitted. "Your line of light blue, purple, and pink wedding dresses was the furthest we've strayed from classic designs. I only gambled on those because your previous designs had been so popular."

"And that line earned us accolades in the fashion industry," Persephone reminded her.

"Yes, they did. However, the wedding industry as a whole will take a turn for the worse due to the pandemic. It may be a full year or more before COVID-19 is under control and the wedding industry recovers," Scarlet said.

"We don't know that it'll be a whole year..."

"With the way the Federal government is handling the crisis? I'm considering contingency plans to keep the business from going belly up before the end of the pandemic."

"Layoffs?" Persephone tensed.

"It's possible. I'd try to keep everyone on, but I may need to let go of my less successful designers."

"We could do designer masks for a stop-gap measure," Persephone offered. "If you're correct about COVID, then we'll see a flood of new brides once the pandemic has lifted. It's also possible the design direction I'm considering could apply to clothing outside of weddings, broadening our customer base."

"You may be right about what will happen after the pandemic lifts. I ask everyone for mask designs using the materials we have on hand. I'm hesitant to agree to support more radical designs," Scarlet confessed. "They would have to impress me. What exactly are you thinking?"

"Fetish and gothic wedding dress designs."

Persephone's heart was in her throat as there was silence on the end of the line and then a heavy sigh. "Just six months ago, my youngest daughter got engaged to a rather, uh, strange man. When we started talking wedding dresses, she revealed she wanted a vampire-themed wedding and that none of the dresses we made would work. It became an argument between us, and she hasn't talked to me since."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Persephone said.

"No - it's my fault. It just hurts my pride to think of my baby getting married in anything other than a Red Belle dress. Design a dress that she would want to wear, and I'll strongly consider your proposal for a new line of dresses and accessories."

"Thank you - I'll have three dress designs by the end of next week for her to choose from!"

"Three?" Scarlet choked. "In twenty hours?"

"I'll make it work," she assured Scarlet. "Thank you, Ms. Belliveau - for everything. I promise you won't regret this!"

"I hope not. I'll talk to you next week, Ms. Winther." Scarlet hung up.

"YESSS!" Persephone shouted. She hopped out of bed and ran over to Vince's bedroom door, and knocked.

Vince cracked open the door and looked out at Persephone with a confused smile. "May I help you?" he asked.

"I have some news!!!" she bounced.

"I may have some news too, but I'm in the middle of something delicate - can we talk on my lunch break?"

Persephone deflated. "I guess. I'm sorry - it's not that important..." she mumbled.

"Sephie, don't be like that. We'll talk in two hours - I promise. I've got to go," he said as he shut the door.

Spineless Cunt... Worthless Slut... Useless Whore...

She only watched the conditioning video for those phrases once and didn't even remember saying those words. Persephone wouldn't have even known she said those words if it wasn't for the video she unknowingly took of herself. Yet, they were already ground into her consciousness - echoing through her mind as her disappointment crushed her.

Her eyes filled with tears even as her sex became slick. She found herself yearning to be humiliated, manipulated, used, and abused. 'It's the conditioning,' she reminded herself. 'I'm not spineless, I'm not worthless, and I'm not useless.'

Yes, you are. Helpless Mind, Harmless Body, Hopeless Heart. You can't fight the conditioning. You can't fight what your Master does to you. You can't hope for anything better.

Persephone dropped to her knees in front of Vince's door and silently cried to not disturb her Master. Two hours later, she was still kneeling there, still crying, when Vince opened the door.

"Jesus! Sephie, what's wrong?" Vince gasped as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

"The conditioning..." was all she managed to say.

"Come here." Vince wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It's okay - you're okay..."

"No, I'm not," she sobbed. "All I can think about is how useless, worthless - how stupid I was to think what I had to say was important."

Vince picked himself up and helped her up, then guided her to the sofa "Sephie, tell me exactly what you're thinking and feeling."

Persephone took a deep breath and released it in an attempt to calm herself down. "When you told me you couldn't talk to me right now, it felt like you were rejecting me - which I know isn't true but, I couldn't help but feel that way. Then the conditioning kicked in. Spineless -"

Vince interrupted her and placed his fingers on her lips. "Don't. Don't reinforce it by saying it."

"Okay, but... it made me ready for you to use me in any way you saw fit. I guess because I consciously want you to be my Dom, the conditioning has decided that you're the one that owns me." Persephone looked down. "I'm sorry."

Vince lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "If I own your mind, body, and heart, does that mean I can tell you what to think, do, and feel?"

"I think so..."

"Sephie - You are strong, and you will fight this conditioning. You are beautiful and sexy, and you're not going to let anyone, including me, abuse you. And you will love yourself - do you hear me? You are worth loving."

"Then why don't you love me?" she mumbled.

Vince hit the couch pillow with his fist. "I do love you. Sex isn't love."

"Discipline is love," Persephone echoed the voice in her head.

"No. Love is love. Caring for you is love. Protecting you is love. Wanting you to be free of this bullshit they put inside your head? That's love. Do you understand me?" he begged her.

She nodded and gave him a shy smile.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Sephie - this is why I don't want to involve you in BDSM right now; we have no idea what any of this will do to you psychologically."

Persephone frowned and looked down as if deep in thought. "Maybe I need you to be my Dom to get through this," she whispered. "I trust you not to take advantage of me."

"Maybe you should talk to Dr. Angioli tomorrow and see what she thinks," he whispered back to her.

"Maybe you should speak with her as well," Persephone suggested.

_____________

Vince did repetition after repetition of weight lifts on his home gym. He had purposely chosen a twin-sized bed so he could fit his gym equipment and his work computer in his room. Thankfully, his room was larger than where he previously lived, but it was still cramped.

He tried to clear his mind, but he couldn't help thinking about Persephone. After she had calmed down, she told him about her wedding dress design idea. He found her excitement infectious; he hadn't seen her this happy since before he moved in. This opportunity, and the creative freedom that came with it, was just what she needed to feel positive again. But, when it came to his news? He decided it could wait for another day.

The fact that his new contract with Teleigence would include a promotion at almost triple his current rate of pay was more than he could have hoped for. It was enough to easily counter any offers that other, smaller companies might make. In addition, it would mean that he would continue to work with the FBI on criminal and national security issues involving the dark and deep web.

But that wasn't what was bothering him. He kept playing moments he'd recently had with Persephone in his head - moments when they were close, moments when she was vulnerable, and all the moments that caused sexual tension between them. He hungered for her. He wanted to possess her, fuck her senseless, and have her mewling at his side with lust. He wanted to taste her skin, her mouth, and her sex. He yearned to gaze into her eyes as she swallowed his cum.

And that scared him. Vince didn't want to hurt her and wasn't sure what she could handle. Nor did he want to risk his current relationship with her for a romantic one. But, most importantly, he wanted her to be happy again.

There was a knock on his bedroom door. Vince finished his last rep and yelled, "Come in!"

Persephone peeked out of her bedroom. "Dr. Angioli will see you now," she said with a smile.

"Oh? You look happy about something," Vince noted as he stood up.

"I'm mostly amused by my own joke. My eyes are red and puffy again from crying; it's hard to see when only one of them works, and it's full of tears."

"Does she always make you cry?" Vince asked as he followed her towards her bedroom.

"I've only had two sessions, so... yes?" she said with a shrug. She motioned into her bedroom, and Vince walked in.

The TV screen was dominated by the image of an older woman wearing a blue blazer and a golden broach. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled. "You must be Vincent! It's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Beatrice Angioli - you may call me Dr. Angioli, Beatrice, Dr. Bea - as long as it's respectful, I'll respond."

Vince smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Nice to meet you too, Doctor. Please call me Vince. Uh, what did Sephie tell you about the incident yesterday?"

"Sorry. Doctor/Patient confidentiality; I won't repeat a word she said to me. Why don't you tell me what happened in your own words," Beatrice said.

"Well, to be brief, she came to me excited to share some news. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a highly sensitive work-related matter, so I couldn't take the time at that moment to listen to her. I told her that I only needed two hours and then I could give her my complete attention. When I was done, I walked out of my bedroom and found her crying on the floor. Apparently, something I said triggered her conditioning, which caused her self-esteem to crater."

Vince shifted on the bed. "She wants me to be her Dom. I'm afraid that anything sexual or BDSM-related would just cause more harm to her. She's not in a good place, and I don't want to lose her."

"Vince, I can honestly say that your heart is in the right place. Most of my work is with severely abused women who were saved from human trafficking rings. Sexual relations at such early stages of healing would be devastating to such a patient. Forced conditioning and hypnosis certainly qualifies as abuse. However, Persephone isn't acting like an abused woman. Quite honestly, what she needs is affection."

Vince shook his head. "Yeah, but, given the shit they put into her head -"

"You should let me worry about that. Now, I can't say I agree with BDSM - I understand it on an intellectual level, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble just to get your jollies. I've had to study your lifestyle due to how often it's used as an excuse to abuse women," Beatrice said.

"All the more reason to avoid it right now - I don't want to cross that line." he insisted.

"I know there's a fine line between BDSM and abuse, Vince. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to cross over that line, and that makes me uncomfortable with the whole concept. However, I am also well aware of men and women in your lifestyle who have happy and healthy relationships. Given your hesitation and what she had said about you, I feel fairly confident that you wouldn't knowingly cross that line."

"You don't know that for certain," Vince said as he turned away.

"I don't know anything for certain, Vince, but I am a keen observer of human behavior. What you said to Sephie yesterday was what she needed to hear and pretty damn close to what I would have said myself in a similar situation. You truly love her, don't you?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes. I've loved Sephie most of my life, just not romantically," he admitted. "Until now, that is."

"Then you'll want to help her. The best way to break this type of conditioning is to counter its message in every way possible. The most powerful way is to use a method similar to what was first used to ingrain that message in her mind. However, given the sexual nature of her conditioning, it is professionally unethical for me to prescribe such a treatment." Beatrice cleared her voice. "I hope you understand what I'm getting at, Vince."

Vince's eyes widened, and he nodded.

"Good. Then do what's best for Persephone - show her the affection she needs. I'll be observing any changes in her behavior carefully, and I'll be asking her hard questions about how you treat her..."

"Is that a threat?" he snapped.

"No. It's a professional responsibility that I take very seriously, and you should be thankful that I do so," Beatrice countered. "I'm afraid our time is up. Please let Sephie know I look forward to seeing her on Friday, and if she could be on time, I would appreciate that."

The image of Beatrice blinked away, leaving Persephone's computer desktop visible. Vince rubbed his temples and breathed a long sigh before he walked into the living room. Persephone was on the love seat, bouncing with a slight smile on her face.

"You knew what she was going to say to me, didn't you?" Vince said with a raised eyebrow.

"I had a pretty good idea." She grinned and blushed.

"I bet you didn't know she would stress being on time for your Friday appointment."

"Uh, no."

"If you're late again, I'll punish you," he scolded.

"Yes, Sir," she said.