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Added 2025-09-06 15:14:30 +0000 UTCChapter XIII
"Maturing"
Part 54
A couple of days before the trip...
... The modest apartment reeked of perfume and acetone, a heady haze of chemical femininity that clung to the walls as tightly as the cheap floral wallpaper. The living room and even their kitchen had been transformed into a makeshift salon—ring lights, brushes, palettes, and extension kits scattered across the tables like weapons in some bizarre war against natural beauty. Two hired makeup artists worked with clinical precision, chirping compliments as they painted and glued and lacquered everything within reach.
Melissa sat stiffly at first, hands outstretched, trying to tell herself this was temporary, harmless. Just a little makeover before she went back to being babysitter for Mrs. Swanson—a kind of twisted bonus payment from Anna, who was about to jet off for fresh silicone with Kitty and had conveniently “forgotten” to mention the trip to Mommy. A playful gift, nothing more.
But the sharp sting of acrylic glue and the mesmerizing sight of her own fingers mutating into adorable talon-like claws gnawed at her resolve. She rotated her hands slowly under the lamp, watching the plastic catch the light, shimmer, and flash—unnatural, impractical, yet hypnotically feminine...
