Chapter 3

I spent three days planning Harrison's birthday dinner. The private room at Le Ciel overlooked the city skyline, fairy lights twinkling against the evening darkness. I'd arranged for his favorite Bordeaux, a custom cake from that patisserie he loved, and a vintage watch I'd had engraved with our wedding date.

Perfect, intimate, romantic—everything a wife should do for her husband's first birthday after marriage.

I was adjusting the table settings when my phone buzzed with a text from Harrison.

*Running late. Meeting went long. Start without me if needed.*

Typical. I'd taken the entire afternoon off work while he couldn't manage to leave on time for his own birthday dinner. I ordered a glass of wine and settled in to wait, scrolling through emails to distract myself from the empty chair across from me.

Forty minutes later, Harrison finally arrived—with Saoirse trailing behind him.

"Surprise!" he said, as if bringing his best friend to our intimate dinner was a gift to me. "Ran into Saoirse at the office. She had something for my birthday and insisted on delivering it personally."

Saoirse's smile was pure triumph as she slid into the chair beside Harrison—not across from him, where I'd expected to sit, but right next to him. "Hope you don't mind, Leslie. I won't stay for dinner. Just wanted to give Harry his gift."

I forced a smile. "How thoughtful."

The waiter appeared, and Harrison immediately ordered Saoirse a glass of wine. "Just one drink," he said, though we both knew it wouldn't be just one.

"Open it," she urged, pushing an elegantly wrapped box toward him. "I had it custom-made."

Harrison tore into the wrapping with childlike enthusiasm that my gift had never evoked. Inside lay a sleek black box with a silver key dangling from a leather cord.

"Is that..." I began, my stomach dropping.

"The Titanium Sovereign," Saoirse finished, her eyes gleaming. "Top of the line. Much more comfortable than your current model, Harry."

Harrison lifted the device from its velvet nest—another chastity cage, but more elaborate than the wedding night disaster. My husband examined it with appreciation while my face burned with humiliation.

"Look at the engraving," she prompted.

He turned it over, reading aloud: "'For our special bond that transcends all others.'" He laughed. "You're terrible, Sao."

"Just Saoirse's quirky sense of humor," he explained to me, as if I were a stranger who needed context.

"Hilarious," I managed, my wine glass trembling slightly in my grip.

"The best part," Saoirse continued, leaning closer to Harrison, "is that this one has a digital component. The app lets you track exactly when it's been unlocked."

She didn't need to finish the thought: *So I'll know if Leslie ever unlocks it.*

"You shouldn't have," Harrison said, but his tone conveyed the opposite.

"Nothing but the best for you," she replied, her hand resting on his forearm.

Three weeks later, at the Children's Hospital Charity Gala, I stood alone at the bar while Harrison worked the room. We'd barely spoken since his birthday dinner, our conversations reduced to logistics and pleasantries.

As I waited for my drink, I overheard familiar voices from the other side of a decorative column.

"Poor Harrison," Saoirse's voice dripped with false sympathy. "He tries so hard to make it work, but she just doesn't understand him."

"I always thought Leslie was an odd choice for him," another woman responded—Victoria Tucker, my mother-in-law.

"He confides in me constantly," Saoirse continued. "Says she's too cold, too corporate. You know Harrison—he needs emotional connection, not spreadsheets in bed."

Victoria laughed. "You've always understood him better than anyone."

"Some bonds can't be broken by marriage," Saoirse agreed. "He's realizing that now."

I abandoned my drink and found Harrison chatting with donors across the room. "We need to talk," I said, pulling him toward a quiet alcove.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"Have you been discussing our marriage problems with Saoirse?"

His expression shifted from surprise to defensiveness. "Of course not."

"Really? Because she's telling people you confide in her about how cold and corporate I am in bed."

Harrison's face flushed. "She's exaggerating. I might have mentioned some... adjustments we're making."

"Adjustments? Is that what you call complaining about your wife to another woman?"

"She's trying to help us," he insisted. "She cares about our relationship."

In that moment, watching him defend her yet again, something crystallized within me. This wasn't just about Saoirse's inappropriate behavior—it was about Harrison's active participation in it. He wasn't a victim of her manipulation; he was a willing accomplice.

"No, Harrison," I said quietly. "She cares about her relationship with you. And apparently, so do you."

I walked away, leaving him stammering excuses behind me. The game was changing. If Saoirse wanted war, she would get one—but I wouldn't be fighting for Harrison anymore.

I would be fighting for myself.