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Oh, My Beloved Camellia
She was the one to make my heart skip a beat.
What can I say about Camellia? I met her when she was fresh out of college, looking for a job that might help her pay down some of her student loan debt. Some might say I took advantage of the situation, but I looked at it as an exchange like any regular business deal. I gave her money and attention; she gave me her time and something like affection. Was it a fair bargain? Hard to say — but she never complained.
I bought her the loveliest dresses, high-end perfumes, and all the accessories she could ever want. Letting her loose in a store gave me a hit of satisfaction as she pointed out things she wanted, no matter the price tags attached. I was all too willing to spoil her.
Then, at night, she would strip down to her underthings and stand before me as if she were a doll on display. But I worshiped her down every limb, from the tips of her fingers to her pinky toes. I didn’t care that I was besotted with her and she looked at me as just a lonely rich man. For me, there was no one else but her. In another life, I might have asked her to be my wife.
But I saw her eyes. There was no longing there for me within their depths. If a younger man with a hefty billfold came into her life, I would never hear from her again. I knew the stakes. I knew that one day…