In a soft tone, Hopkins said, "You have a sincere heart. ”

Hefner paused for two or three seconds to determine if Hopkins was sarcastic, "I think you know I divorced twenty years ago. ”

Hopkins nodded, and Hefner asked again, "Do you know what the reason is?" "Personality incompatibility, I guess." Hopkins said.

"You don't care enough about me," Hefner said sadly, "you have been so derelict in your duties, my new doctor, you should know me all right." He raised his hand and drew a circle: "My past, my present, my future." ”

"I'm not your lawyer, I'm not your financial advisor, I'm not your executor," Hopkins replied mildly, "I'm just your psychiatrist, I just need to listen, are you willing to say it now, and if you do, I'm here to listen." ”

Hefner was a little undecided, but he had drunk too many three saints, smoked too many cigars, and absinthe, nutmeg, and tobacco deposited in his stomach with the past, and pushed up his stomach with all his might, and he felt that he had to say something, or he would explode: "I was only twenty years old when I first married. Before that I had served twenty-four months in the military," he said, holding up a hand, motioning for Hopkins to add wine to him: "From birth until I reached adulthood at the age of eighteen, I stayed in a small town south of the capital, Palermo, which was small and not well-known, and lived mainly on a few small boats and three hundred hectares of olive groves around it. Oh, Hopkins looked up, and he was not mistaken, all the peculiar smells of Hefner, the dregs of fish, olive, and gunpowder.

"Marlena, like me, grew up in that small town, she was beautiful and smart, and I had an agreement with her since I was fourteen years old that I would marry when I came of age and finished my military service." Hefner took a sip of absinthe and pressed it under his tongue, the sunlight projected through the window embraced him, the man from the small fishing village involuntarily closed his eyes, he had been away from his hometown for more than thirty years, and he still remembered everything so clearly, the small gray-blue pier, the oyster-white sand, the steep and sparsely visited stone coast, the high and low undulating roads, the narrow alleys, the balconies with flowers, the houses with painted golden walls, the maroon roofs, The green olive groves and fuchsia olives, and Malena, who was in the prime of her cardamom years, her skin was not as ruddy as the other girls, her exposed calves, arms, neck, and face were as white and lubricated as ceramic, and there was a burning smell everywhere in her body: "On the second Sunday when I returned home, I visited Malena's parents, accompanied by my uncle, and asked them to marry their daughter to me. They were a little hesitant at first...... "Hefner crooked his mouth," Hefner crooked: "I thought it was part of the old custom, a little trouble from the woman's parents—yes, I insisted on marrying Marlena, and finally they agreed." ”

Hopkins turned, his back against the windowsill, the sun partially obscured by him, a circle of fluffy golden light around him, and he lowered his wine glass back on the bar, his slender fingers crossed and placed in his abdomen.

"It was only after I got married that I realized why they were always so worried – that Marlena was not a virgin."

Hopkins listened patiently, motionless, and he had a hunch that the interesting part was about to appear.

"I never doubted that Marlena wasn't a virgin." Hefner said gloomily, throwing the empty glass on the carpet, and a dark stain immediately appeared on the white carpet: "I have always ...... I loved her, we kissed countless times under the olive tree before I joined the army, but I never crossed the thunder pool, I loved her, cherished her, and kept the promise in mind - I fulfilled my promise, I did not touch any other woman before I went into the marriage room, even if I was ridiculed and despised by the men in the army for this - but I dare to swear by the graves of my father and mother, I am clean, I swear to be loyal to my wife, my marriage, my children, but what have I gained? Concealment, deception, tricking, yes, tricking, she and her parents succeeded in turning me into a well-known clown, and the people of the town, Mag in the bakery, Giglia in the butcher's shop, Kolos in the post office, my uncle Giotto, they all knew, all of them, but no one reminded me that they just watched a little fool of twenty with no father and no mother with joy to get a fifteen-year-old with a wandering singer, He also welcomed him into the house as the Virgin Mary for the prodigal goods who had had an abortion. ”

"But you didn't divorce her right away."

"No, no, no, Hopkins, I didn't want to divorce her then." Hefner said sincerely, "I was in pain, but I did love her, and I thought I could hold on—as she said, that those things never happened, that she was still that innocent and lovely little girl—and she confessed that she loved that man, but she also admitted that she was so stupid at that time, that she was seduced and forced by that guy who was glamorous on the surface and despicable at heart, and she was also a victim...... She fell to her knees and swore to me that she would never betray my marriage and ours again...... What can I say or do, I'm a coward, I forgive her.

But we can't live in the town anymore, and everyone knows about Malena's dirty stuff - think about it, what will they say behind their backs? Poor fool Hefner! I hate to see those sympathetic and smug eyes, damn it! For a while, I thought I was going to erupt like Mount Vesuvius, drowning everything with gray-white soot and fiery magma, and I, and my shame, made Marlena and the whole town turn to ashes in an instant - if it weren't for Don, maybe I would have done it - Don is a good man, he gave me this job, this career, for which I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life, may God bless him" Hefner got up from his chair and kissed the ring on his hand: "Here I am, I had a new life, I had a daughter with Malena, I became famous, I succeeded, I gathered in my hands a wealth that I could never have imagined before, and then this wealth brought me power, and power knocked on the door of celebrity for me...... You have to admit it, I did a good job. ”

Hopkins nodded, Gucci. Hefner is an out-and-out legend, even if he has Don's support, but at the beginning this support was not so strong and solid - everyone knows that the first issue of Rabbit Magazine was hand-pieced together in the kitchen, each copy was only five dimes, the quality was not good, the content was complex but unattractive, if it weren't for Hefner's inspiration, boldly using the star ** who was known as the "sexy kitten" at the time as the cover and pull page, This congenitally deficient little rabbit may have died in the nest before it could start.

Incidentally, the magazine sold nearly 60,000 copies.

Gucci Hefner took the first step smoothly, and the rest was much easier, the cover of the magazine and the pull-page girl were changed every month, the age limit was 18 to 21 years old, and each selected girl had to be like a virgin, healthy and plump, had never been on the ** before, had never been a topless girl or stripper, and must not be a drug addict or an alcoholic. Rabbit photographers look for objects from the streets, campuses, and beaches, promising a lot of money and a chance to reach the sky, few girls can refuse, and some people even recommend themselves; Later, Gucci Hefner created the Bunny Girl, opened nightclubs, clubs, and brought the shares of the Bunny Enterprise to market......

Hefner's career was booming, and it was his marriage that was inversely proportional to it.

He started cheating almost on the first day he got on his feet.

"Many people may think I'm ruthless and shameless, but every night I wonder, why should I accommodate a woman who once betrayed me?" Hefner walked up and down the room, waving his arms, "Although she has been very quiet and considerate to me since she got married, and has given me a lovely angelic daughter, I always can't help but recall the past, and I feel sick at the thought of her body being touched, and her deception and the shame she brought me...... Wait, wait, I can't stand being in a room with her, hearing her voice, seeing her face, breathing the same air...... Why can't I choose a better one? The thought swirled around my head like a bee all day long. ”

He clenched his fists emphatically, "I've decided to change wives." He shook his head suddenly, "Do you believe it?" Hefner said: "I was not very happy when I made this decision, but in life, there are always gains and losses. He shrugged his shoulders: "And I've given her marriage, visitation rights to her children, two houses by the sea, a decent amount of cash, and a year she can get a maintenance payment that increases or decreases in proportion to inflation, even if I'm dead." ”

In ten years, nearly 2,000 freewheeling, vengeful infidelity, indifference, indifference, isolation, and finally merciless abandonment, Hopkins thought, the man punished his wife with pleasure.

However, Marlena can't be said to have gained nothing, compared to Hefner's last two wives, her ending is not bad, her two successors were almost kicked out by Hefner, because they had a property notarization relationship before marriage, and they could only get a small amount of money agreed in the agreement.

"So," Hopkins asked curiously, "with all due respect, you've been sure...... Is Lilith Mel really whole enough - flawless as a baby? ”

"Of course." Hefner smiled proudly and slyly: "Reliable doctors, reliable instruments, reliable eyes, they make sure I don't suffer a second deception." He raised his hand and ran his fingers through his lead-black, curly hair, "I'll be cautious, and I'll do it again before taking the oath to make sure my treasure is still intact." He sighed, satisfied: "You see, Hopkins, from the first time I saw her, I knew that she was mine, that she was God's compensation to me. ”

"I'm going to have a pure wife, which I deserved thirty years ago."

(To be continued)