Leibnitz made a note to ask Michelle to explain the comment about her son later. It was obvious why Michelle was a poor wife, but how had she been a poor mother? Leibnitz would eventually have to find out why Michelle believed her son deserved better, but it was more important to unravel the affair first.
Michelle reluctantly gave an account of what had happened. For professional reasons, Leibnitz was very curious to know which one of her fellow local therapists took advantage of Michelle, but she avoided asking for his name because it wasn't relevant to Michelle's case. She was pleased when Michelle volunteered that she'd been a patient of Dr. Jacob Brianson.
I've met that guy!
Leibnitz thought.
He must be a jumbo-sized asshole! I hope he's sweating bullets because Michelle's husband has a video that could get his license revoked. I need to NEVER refer patients to Brianson!
They spent the entire session talking about what happened. When it was over Leibnitz realized that Michelle wasn't a patient with a simple problem that could be explored in a few weeks. It would take months before Leibnitz understood the full range of issues that forced Michelle to return to therapy.
One of the first things Leibnitz noticed was that Michelle wasn't the kind of patient whose problems stemmed from a disadvantaged childhood or a lifetime of poverty. Michelle dressed in designer clothes, was well-educated, had a professional career, and presented herself with the manners and social graces of a member of the upper middle class. She'd been raised by good parents who provided all the benefits and love a child needs to grow up and become a healthy, happy adult.
The affluent city of New Haven was full of upscale residents like Michelle. That meant that the local therapists faced different professional challenges than counselors who served depressed urban communities scarred by drugs and violence.
Therapists called patients like Michelle "the worried well." The name implied that such patients were less in need of therapy than people who'd suffered harder lives. Many of the problems of "the worried well" were of their own creation. That certainly was true of Michelle, who apparently had a satisfactory life and marriage before she started acting stupid.
Leibnitz knew she'd eventually untangle the web of mysterious events that explained Michelle's seemingly inexplicable behavior.
Ted sometimes asked Michelle for updates on her meetings with Leibnitz. "I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm an idiot," Michelle said.
That makes two of us,
thought Ted, who harbored lingering feelings of anger and hurt.
It was obvious that it would take a lot of time for Michelle to get to the bottom of her issues, so Ted tried not to think too much about what she told her therapist. He continued going to work, caring for Henry, remaining cordial with Michelle, and finding consolation in the arms of Sassy.
Ted and Michelle kept having regular sex because they both wanted to, and because Michelle was afraid of what would happen if Ted ever stopped. The fact that Ted still enjoyed taking Michelle to bed made her think he wouldn't carry out his threat to expose all her dirty secrets.
As Leibnitz grew more familiar with the details of Michelle's case, she found something striking about the affair. Michelle described Ted as a kind, caring, generous husband who'd done everything he could to please her in bed. But she'd had an affair with a sleazy, unethical jerk who treated her like a slut. Why would a woman who had a husband like Ted go looking for a lowlife like Dr. Brianson?
"Michelle, this is a bit delicate, but I have to ask," Leibnitz said. "You've implied that Ted always treated you like a lady in bed, but that Brianson was very different. What do you think about that?"
"I think it just shows I'm stupid," Michelle said. "Any woman would be thrilled to have a husband like Ted. What I did makes no sense."
"Actually, it does make sense. Michelle, the longer we talk about this, the clearer it is that you are one of those women who aren't satisfied by a man who treats her like a queen. This isn't common, but it's not exactly rare, either.
"Lots of women crave abuse. Some crave it more than others. I've counseled women who like it when their husbands beat them. They think beatings are signs of their husband's devotion. In a twisted way, they see it as a sign of love.
"Let's be clear: pathological behavior like that is never acceptable. But it happens all the time.
"You've already talked about what went on after Ted discovered your affair. He began acting rough in bed, spanking you, forcing you to perform sex acts, and even whipping you once when you misbehaved. Since he never behaved like that before, it's clear that his extreme behavior now is an aberration caused by the trauma of your betrayal.
"The most significant thing is the way you've reacted to that. Clearly, you like that kind of treatment.
"I want you to think about something. Ask yourself if you've always craved rough treatment from men, but you never sought it before because our society says it's wrong. Since society says you should marry a man who treats women with respect, that's what you did.
"But as the years went by, is it possible you became increasingly unhappy that your husband wasn't giving you the rough treatment you craved? Is that the reason you became critical and abusive? Were you trying to provoke Ted to get angry enough to punish you?
"Only you can answer these questions. But they might provide insight into the reasons you did things that were so risky and self-destructive."
Michelle reflected and eventually concluded that Leibnitz was right. It became obvious that Michelle was one of those people aroused by being abused. That's her kink.
She eventually shared this insight with Ted.
"I hope you aren't waiting for me to apologize because I never beat the crap out of you," Ted said.
"Of course not," Michelle said. "That's not my point. If I'd known this about myself years ago, I would have asked you to play role-playing games where you treated me like a slut. I would have asked you to spank me. Call me dirty names.
"But I didn't know this about myself. Don't think I'm making excuses. The fact that I had unfulfilled urges doesn't excuse anything I did. All it does is help explain why I did things that don't make sense otherwise."
Ted understood. He'd harbored such ill feelings about Michelle that it was painful to review how she'd hurt him. But time helped him heal, and his male ego was recovering thanks to Sassy, who'd restored his manhood. He kept Michelle on a short leash, but he stopped being deliberately cruel.
Despite everything that happened, he still felt a small fraction of the love that made him marry Michelle so many years ago. It helped him understand that it was sad it took so long for her to understand how much she needed such kinky sex. He would have given it to her if he'd known she needed it.
And it all made sense. The more Ted spanked Michelle and treated her like a slut, the happier she seemed to be. She liked her new role as a fucktoy who had to give Ted any kind of sex he demanded.
He was thinking about that when they went to bed. As always, Michelle stripped off her clothes and climbed between the sheets, ready to suck or fuck her husband any way he demanded. Ted's cock got hard a little faster than usual. He touched Michelle's pussy and felt that it was a bit wetter than most nights.
Ted climbed on top of Michelle, so she spread her legs and waited for him to shove his cock inside her. He grabbed her wrists and held her hands over her head, pinning her to the bed as he ravaged her body. They both finally understood why Michelle craved such rough treatment.
She was getting ready to climax when Ted pulled out. Orgasm denial had become a common part of their sex life. Ted enjoyed how it felt to bring Michelle to the edge of the climax, and then prevent it from happening. It made him feel powerful. Michelle always felt deprived when it happened, but she knew Ted would let her cum eventually, and that the climax would be stronger because it had been delayed.
