Chapter 1

I caught my wife, Sera Hayes, cheating.

Before I could even speak, she laid out her three proposals:

“Option one: You pretend nothing happened. My extracurricular activities won't mess with our bedroom dynamics.”

“Option two: We divorce, and I’ll marry Dempsey right away. We can still sleep together, but you’ll be the ‘other man’ instead of my husband.”

“Option three: You two fight for me. Winner ‘gets’ me – though that doesn't mean I won't still seek other men. Any injuries or arrests from your little brawl are on you. I won't wait around for anyone. I'll just move on to the next chapter!”

She cleared her throat and continued:

“I belong only to myself. If you love me, you can have me with my consent, but you can never own me exclusively.”

The living room air hung heavy and silent.

After Sera finished speaking, she slowly picked up the glass from the table and took a sip of water.

Her posture was completely relaxed, legs crossed comfortably, waiting for my decision.

I watched her, this woman I’d loved deeply for five years.

Her face was familiar, but the words she’d just uttered made her seem like a stranger.

Was I angry?

At first, yes. When I saw the photos of her kissing that man outside the hotel, my hands had trembled with rage.

But now, standing here, listening to her "solutions," that fire had oddly extinguished.

It was mind-boggling, completely insane, and frankly, hilarious in its absurdity.

I said nothing, just turned and walked out of the house.

“Michael, where are you going?”

She called after me, her tone devoid of concern, only a hint of impatience.

I didn't look back.

“I’m going out to process your ‘life philosophy’.”

I closed the door.

Outside, the late-night street was deserted.

I walked along the road, aimlessly.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. A message from her.

“Think it through and tell me your choice. Don’t be childish.”

I switched off my phone.

Childish?

To her, adhering to conventional morality and staying faithful in marriage was just childishness.

I walked for a long time, until my legs ached, then sat down on a park bench.

It wasn't betrayal.

I finally understood.

Betrayers feel guilt, they conceal, they fear. Sera felt none of that.

She was enacting some twisted ‘philosophy’. She’d repackaged her infidelity as some cutting-edge, enlightened, beyond-the-mundane theory.

And I? I was her first, and most crucial, test subject. If I agreed to any of her schemes, I’d be validating her entire warped ideology. I’d become the poster child, the first true believer in her cult of nonsense.

I couldn't let that happen.

As dawn broke, I returned home.

Sera Hayes was sitting on the sofa, seemingly having waited up for me all night.

She stood when she saw me.

“Have you made up your mind?”

“I have.”

I walked towards her.

“Your three proposals? I reject every single one.”

Her brow furrowed.

“Michael, don’t push me. You know I hate being tied down.”

“I have a fourth proposal.”

Sera looked at me, a flicker of unconcealed curiosity in her eyes.

“A fourth proposal?”

“Yes.” I pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

“You believe you belong only to yourself, that others can ‘have’ you but not ‘own’ you exclusively, right?”

She nodded. This was the core of her ideology.

“And you think this kind of relationship is a more advanced, freer way of being, right?”

She nodded again, a faint smile even touching her lips, like a teacher watching a student finally grasp a concept.

“Good then,” I said.

“Let’s play a game. We’ll call it ‘The Ownership Game’.”