Contains overt cuckolding themes of a slight science fictionish nature. Don't read it if that's not your thing.
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I found myself filled with shame and regret. How could I let my insecurities get the better of me?
My fiancé Henrietta was sitting besides me on the couch, completely oblivious to me staring at her. She was too immersed in her favourite nature documentary - she loved stuff like that.
Henrietta - or Hen as I like to call her - has always been a nerd. She was unfamiliar with the world outside of books, being a PhD student in biology, she'd spent all her youth to date studying the world of life around us. Safe to say, she never made room for any partying, boys, or even much of a rebellious phase.
Her appearance told much the same story. Her skin was so pale, she'd be transparent if she got any paler - a by-product of all the time she'd spent inside. She had a tall, slim, but slightly hunched figure. Her brunette hair was often tied back so as to not get in the way whilst she read. Her mouth was always slightly open, showing off her braces that added to her goofy look.
Of course, I loved every bit of her nerdy goofiness, her character as an intellectual. I was her polar opposite; being a carpenter by trade, we started dating through my eager advances towards her when I was on a job at her university building. I can't forget the first time we kissed - her pale, slightly freckled face turned a blotchy red that showed me how she felt about me. It paled, of course, in comparison to when we first made love. I wanted to pleasure her by going down on her. With my eyes closed, went to town and came back up after a good 15 minutes to find her face glowing with a tomato red. Indeed, she was very poor at hiding her feelings - and every indicator had told me she was madly in love with me.
And it was these lifestyle choices and appearance that led me to believe I'd be her first. Expecting an easy answer, I asked after we finished making love for the first time. To my shock, she shook her head and told me she didn't want to talk about that.
I think it was from this that my insecurities grew. She's never wanted to talk about it since, and it was as though there was a side to her she never let me explore. With our wedding only 3 months away, it only took the push of a finger.
Hen had been doing a lot of wedding planning on our shared laptop, so I was used to being inundated with wedding related ads on the internet. But one particular ad stood out:
'Feeling insecure about your partner? Find out how loyal they are'
The ad stabbed me right through my eyes to pin me straight to it. Nothing wrong with having a look?
Next thing I knew, I'd received an email:
'Dear Mr Andrews,
Thank you for your order of Loyalty Test Deluxe.
One of our qualified agents will now conduct the test on your partner.
Please rest assured, with our Miramory technology, your partner won't ever know that they've been tested - this is our guarantee!
Please ensure that your partner is alone at home on 18th of May from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. If your partner is not present or isn't alone at this time, our agent will not conduct the test and a penalty will be incurred before your test can be rescheduled.
Once our agent has conducted the test, you will receive a report highlighting our findings.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service.
Kind regards,
The Loyalty Test Team'
I half-thought I'd been scammed. It was an entirely impulsive decision that I regretted the morning after. Out of the shame of having done it, I left it and forgot about it until this morning when I received a text:
'Dear Mr Andrews,
A reminder that our agent will visit your house tomorrow at 10:00AM. Please ensure that only your partner remains in the house until 12:00PM'
And suddenly, it felt real. I did more of a background check on the company and found that they had raving reviews. Not a single complaint about their partner having found out. I felt a bit safer and looked to Hen, still oblivious to all the thoughts running through my head. She noticed me staring at her and let out an awkward laugh.
"What? Have I got something on my face?"
She was as loveable as ever. With this test, I'll finally be able to close this chapter in our lives, live a happy life as a married couple.
With this rationale, I rushed out the door the fateful morning - making excuse of a busy deadline for why I had to go into work on a Saturday. Hen waved goodbye from the window looking down at our drive, her face looking more longing than usual for some reason.
I plopped myself down in my empty office without any real work to do. I did some menial admin work to keep myself busy til 10, when I got a text.
'Mr Andrews, our agent has notified us that they've successfully started the test. We'll let you know as soon as the test is complete'
I took a deep breath. I was feeling more reassured about the possibility of Hen finding out, but now got myself questioning what I'd do if they found actual dirt on her. Would I take their word for it and break up with her? On what basis? What would I do if I couldn't breakup with her still? How would I live with her after finding out about her past - or whatever it is they'll find out about her?
I started to sweat bullets as I nervously walked around the office asking myself these questions. The 2 hours felt like an eternity. I kept looking back on my phone checking for the time. I loved her so much, I starting praying now that they wouldn't find anything.
In the last 10 minutes to 12, I sat myself down looking straight into my phone waiting for an update.
Then, exactly on the dot at 12:00 - I received an email.
'Dear Mr Andrews, we're pleased to inform you that our agent has completed their test. Please find the report of our findings attached.
Should you need any further clarifications about the contents of the report, please don't hesitate to contact us again.
Best wishes from the TLT Team.'
With shaky fingers, I opened up the PDF to read the report.
'SUBJECT: Caucasian woman, 30 years old, 15 Privet Drive
Loyalty Test Package: Deluxe
Loyalty Tester: BBC0353
Loyalty Testing Rating: 95/100
What this means: this subject has shown an extremely high tolerance to our tests, meaning that their infidelity is likely impossible, no matter the temptation. This places them on the top 99th percentile for their loyalty to you.
When we grouped all those within the 95th percentile and above, all subjects were shown to have been married to one partner for the entire duration of their lives.
We bid your relationship all the happiness it deserves,
TLT Team'
Immediately, I felt a massive sense of relief. Then, angst started to fill up.
Clearly, I'd been duped. It was all too convenient for them - they'd pretend they did a test and say the subject wouldn't remember a thing, making it impossible to know if the test had ever been conducted. There was no detail to this report, no personality descriptions or insight to indicate they'd ever actually talked to Hen at all.
With angry guiding my fingers, I called up their customer service.
'Welcome to The Loyalty Test, how may we help you?' it was a voice of a chirpy young woman.
"Hi, this is Mark Andrews - I just received my concluded report. I- I don't know what to make of this. How am I supposed to even believe any of this?" I tried my best to hold back my anger, but felt it seeping trough in my abrasive voice.
'Ah, Mr Andrews, congratulations on your partner having scored so high. Would it help if I explained how we conduct our tests?' she sounded very used to being accused, ready to pounce with a cheerful retortion.
"I don't know, but go on" I agreed reluctantly.
'Thank you Mr Andrews. You see, our agents use special devices that trigger a specific part of the human brain using sound. In this case, we adapted the frequency to trigger only certain impulses in your partner's brain associated with loyalty to you. We test this at varying intensities to see how she'd react - and safe to say, she was a tough cookie!' the employee laughed as she told me, a clear attempt at trying to sway my opinion.
"Hah, well that's all well and good, but there's nothing on this report that suggests you know anything about my Hen. How am I supposed to know the test was conducted at all?" I asked as I felt my anger seeping out more.
'Mr Andrews, I assure you, we have thousands of reviews from happy customers who now feel happier in a relationship they can trust. It just wouldn't have been possible for us to build such a reputation by carrying out fake tests, if that's what you're insinuating' now her voice took a more serious tone, which I interpreted as her being defensive.
"Do you have anything? Anything. Real evidence to show that you've talked to, or even SEEN my Hen!" I wasn't holding back now. They weren't getting away with my money without at least being shouted at.
The employee fell silent, and I wondered if they're run off already.
"HELLO?!"
'I'm here Mr Andrews.' she said quietly.