The Suggestion

One question. One night. Everything changes.

Penelope and Jack LeBlanc have been married for over a decade. From the outside, they look like the kind of couple others envy—sharp, successful, steady. But beneath the routines and unspoken rules, something vital has withered. Intimacy has become a memory. Conversation, a negotiation. Grief sits between them like a third presence.

Then Penelope makes a quiet, disarming proposal:
What if we opened the marriage?
Not for revenge. Not even for thrill.
For truth.

What follows is an unraveling—both seductive and shattering. As Penelope steps into a world that offers her visibility and control, Jack begins to question the architecture of everything they built together. When the boundaries blur between permission and betrayal, they’re forced to confront not just who they are to each other—but who they’ve become alone.

Told in alternating perspectives with piercing emotional depth, The Suggestion is a provocative, lyrical portrait of a marriage at its tipping point. For fans of Sally Rooney, Lisa Taddeo, or Gillian Flynn’s quieter dread, it explores what happens when desire collides with honesty—and whether love can be rebuilt once the foundation is cracked.

Author’s Note on Content:
The Suggestion contains emotionally charged material including grief, miscarriage (briefly referenced), consensual non-monogamy, sexual content, and emotional manipulation. While it is not graphic in violence or abuse, the story explores psychological rupture within a marriage and themes of consent, trust, and betrayal.

This is useful for:

• Sensitive readers

• Book club discussion prep

• Transparency for therapeutic or trauma-informed readers