All Comments on 'Scenes from a Marriage'

Very good style of writing! A lot of emotion conveyed in such short phrasing. Very well done!

What a brilliant opening!!!

In their rooms at the other end of the hall the children were both asleep. Matt and Lynn sat side by side in bed, propped up against their pillows. He was reading a book on the Civil War, she was editing a marketing report.

With a tiny sigh, Matt closed his book and rolled sideways to gaze at his wife. He had always loved the way the tip of her tongue protruded just a bit from between her lips when she was concentrating. Pen poised above the paper, she absent-mindedly swept a stray lock of her dark hair back over one ear.

"Lynnie?"

"Mmm," she replied, without looking up. Matt waited, and after a moment she turned to look at him.

"Do you love him?"

Lynn became very still, and a little pale. She looked at him silently. She just couldn't bring herself to play the game—to say, "who?", or to try some ridiculous lie. Matt deserved better than that.

"No," she said.

"So then it's all just about the fucking?"

"Matt, I—," she began, trying to hold his gaze. Then she looked down at the papers on her lap. "Yes—I guess it was about the sex. The flirting, and then the sex."

"I see," he said. Silence.

Emotion pour from the page.

A bullshit story

5 for this story

Yes, children ALWAYS suffer the most in any divorce or separation situation.

I know this for a fact because it happened to my brother, sister and myself 60 years ago.

no probs. she will find someone and life will go on.

Reading it you feel the pain of both parties, as well as the anger and guilt. And though you’re thinking ‘is this going to be a BTB or RAAC?’ Instead it’s a... prolonged dying. Oh, the pathos.

I’ve read it enough times I just need to skin the story, yet all the emotions come wafting out. Sorta like the stories of jailed prisoners only having to yell “JOKE NUMBER FIFTEEN”, and everyone starts laughing.

Maybe too Real Life. That’s what makes it such a good story.

Too often the comment section seems a joke, many that I've read here complement a great story. Though a work of fiction, the pain is real - especially for those who have been there. It is well worth reading multiple times. Thank you for your story Ohio.

somewhere east of Omaha

Her lover needed to feel the pain he desroyed a family for his own pleasure.

With nothing but absolute garbage being posted in LW every day now, there is nothing to do but go back again to the gteat old stories and read them again. I love the stories where the wife wakes up too late, and loses everything.

I second 26thNCs comments.

This story is one of the all time best examples of being able to express the absolute devastation that marital cheating can produce.

At the same time, it makes me wonder how anyone can ever truly reconcile after such an experience.

Still one of the best tales, if not the besOf course one of my favs.t, tale on this site. More realistic than all I've ever read.

I agree with 26thNC. So much garbage written in LW section, one always needs to return to one of the top authors Ohio being up there with the very best and this is up there with the best of his.

This was a great story. 5 stars. Anyone who has a family, and is contemplating cheating on their spouse, should read this first.....

What a great but sad story. Reality really sucks.

Well done.

LWlurker

RE:sbrooks103x

"I continue to go back and forth between the "Once burned, twice shy," and the "She got away with it once, she'll do it again" schools of thought on giving her another chance."

It would be wonderful if the former was true, but sadly female nature makes the second one vastly more likely. Wives tend to cheat on their husbands when they've lost respect for them and reconciling is basically letting her get away with it. Is she going to respect you more after that? No, of course not.

I've read countless real-life horror stories of husbands forgiving their wives for being unfaithful "for the sake of the kids" or because "he still loves her and it was just one mistake". She then goes on to cheat on him repeatedly, or falls in love with another guy and divorces her husband to be with the lover. She cheated the first time because she wasn't happy with the relationship, or she's damaged goods. Neither of which you are going to fix with a reconciliation, especially when you've just had your heart broken.

My advice to any husband that's been cheated on is always the same: "There are plenty more fish in the sea." Just end the marriage and find someone else.

There are millions of single women in the world, huge numbers of which will be younger and more fun to be with than your unfaithful wife. You only live once... so why waste years of heartbreak trying to fix a marriage that a cheating wife has already burned to the ground. It will never be as good as it was, so why even bother to put in such a huge emotional effort for no real reward?

Matt made the smart choice and dumped Lynn for shitting on their marriage. Now he's with a lovely new woman who is helping him get over the wife's betrayal. Despite what the naysayer's spout on here, it is MUCH easier for an age 30+ man to establish a long-term relationship than it is for a woman. Age 40+ and the man's chances increase further and the woman's opportunities fall off a cliff.

At the end of this story, it's fitting that Lynn is crying, because she's totally fucked up her life. The likelihood of her being able to remarry a handsome, successful, fit guy, who is her own age is miniscule. She's now a single mother of two kids in her thirties... basically a massive red flag that most guys will run a mile from. Plenty of guys will be willing to pump and dump her, but a long-term commitment? No fucking chance. Any man who is a real catch and wanting to settle down will be dating hot twenty-something's.

Excellent Economy of words

Great twists, especially on the dinner scene and the resulting impact on wife as well as reader - one of the best graphic description of the emotion content physically enacted.

Intrigue_By

Highest rating I ever gave to ohio. For decades the standard response to infidelity was divorce. Of course in those days men were cheaters and courts were fair. Now with the last three decades seeing a huge rise in female cheating to the point where it is now statistically equal, or even surpassed, now we get the likes of such "experts" such as Esther Perel that now preach that divorce is not necessary, that marriage can go on and the man should just put up with it. Articles and writings to that effect are now everywhere, and the courts assist the cheating wife to have it all. There is no good reason now for a young man to marry. The MGTOW movement is gaining strength and is just the beginning. Stories such as this go against the grain of the lw wasteland, hooray.

You have a special talent of bringing your reader into the minds of your characters, allowing us to somehow share their emotions. This is a masterpiece.

Good one but needs a sequel.

Disturbing but brilliant

Infidelity has a horrible impact on kids.

Innocent collateral damage

That’s about as close to reality as you’re ever going to get on here. No nonsensical plans for revenge.

Most marriages end in a whimper not a bang. Just sadness, regrets and lots of pain.

Classic LW's tale of woe with the slow 🐌 but enviable collapse of a marriage permanently ruined because of infidelity.

A wonderful little piece. 5*

Tough time rating this story. Could have gone with a 3 or a 5 star. 3 because he took so long to get out. 5 because he finally got out. So I gave it a 4 star rate.

Serves the bitch right. She has absolutely nothing to cry about.

Stunningly tragic. This one is a true LW classic. Five BIG stars ⭐️ for this one.

Regardless of what the knuckle draggers think this is a common reality in many ruined marriages. These big boys all tough and tossing them out on their asses instantly is more rare than a smart MAGA't member.

Very well written, very realistic, not cluttered with superfluous crap that we dont need to read about. Hit all the high points.

4th time I've read this and its still deserving of more than a 5 star rating.

No MAGA comments please!

Once trust is gone you don't get it back. She cheated, he found out, he left...what did she think he was going to do?

Is better each time I read it. A classic of human emotions and stupid decisions

FIVE-Stars!

5***** for the sheer realism in this brutal portrayal of the true-pain, angst and anguish, of one who has loved to the N'th degree, then cringed, transfixed and frozen as if in a hypnotic trance, unable even to breathe or cry, let alone flee, as the concentrated corrosive acid-attack of stark naked brutal truth melts slowly but irrevocably away, relentlessly revealing every shred and strand of lies, fakery, fiction and falsehoods. Shining it's piercing cold, frosty light of an unreal new day, answers flooding in, faster than a Tsunami, in answer to so many unasked questions, with even a great many still as yet, unvoiced!

Our mind and our Body, following our heart, so desperate to leap into that acid-bath of oblivion, having been shot-down and evicted from Heaven, e'en Paradise would be of such small comfort, as we reside now in our Seventh Hell! So near, now so far!

RS.

good, cheating Bitch deserves unhappiness. Like that Matt would only do her from behind so he didn't have to see her face, LOL. pissing on the food, table was brilliant

Douglas????

why do women always want some strange? I know just how he felt.

Realistic!

Loved it.

Bills

Just re-read this story. 5 stars. All about consequences.

Need a little payback on Doug.

Douglas didn't suffer atall.knew what he was doing and cared nothing about her marriage o the kids who would suffer

For such a short story....

This has to be one of the most powerful one page stories on this site. You can feel the pain on both sides.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

Very good short story. I could feel the pain.

Really good short story. Everyone loves the fun and excitement of cheating but the cost of such is very high indeed.

The calm response from Matt was chilling at times but perfectly expressed the depth of his pain at her betrayal.

One of the best I've read on this site. Both sad and painfully realistic. Really good job!

Sad, but it sends a message of what can and in many times. Not immediate in most but the end is a dead relationship and marriage.. Well told Thank you for sharing it..

A man's ego destroyed, a marriage ruined all for and over what?

Love the story, it shows some people bite the bullet and some people eat the gun. I'd much rather bite the bullet and work to rebuild the marriage because I'm no angel but some people crash and burn in a case like this ....

Concise yet complete. One of the best and saddest stories here. Of course the crux of the story is when she didn't go in to him crying. If she had perhaps.... ?

Excellent, concise and well paced.

Brings back memories; I had actually had my same Friday evening described here. Came home to apologetic wife after a long day, and dining room replete with the candles and table dressing, including her selection of our fine china and sterling silver utensils. I bellied up to the table, and climbed on top of it, carefully avoiding the chandelier, but breaking several plates, and let go with a three-beer piss, and retired to shower and dress with the intention to leave the house, no longer a home.

Coming down the stairs, I hear a voice ask “Where is hubby?” Followed by a hollow response of He’s upstairs, readying himself for……”, her voice failing to finish her remark. Not giving a,crap myself, but recognized the inquisitor as her mother (she and pa flew in to visit).

In a moment her daughter’s appearance and the lingering aroma of urine reached her, and for the first time, she was speechless.

I spoke to the room briefly, mentioning that the trio had much to talk about.

Saw the ex once after that evening, after all devolved into divorce.

I remain unapologetic for my reaction to this day; the bitch passed away 19 years later—friendless, childless, and mourned by nobody.

Really powerful.

Sometimes you have to pay a big price and Lynn did. Matt tried and tried but he just couldn’t let it go. A very well written, realistic and enjoyable story.

This was so much more powerful than the usual burn the bitch stories. The fact that Matt tried to get past the betrayal makes the outcome a deeper sorrow.

Now THIS was a story. No winners, really. Regardless of the partner who initiates the divorce, I do believe both will end up suffering in the end. Realism- It’s not just gif breakfast, anymore!

lol and another SWAMP DONKEY joins the herd!

Pain

Not many of us would forgive a betrayal but she took responsibility and tried to correct and he in return tortured and humiliated her for months before leaving. An obsessive and narcissistic loser. No wonder in the cheated. I feel sorry for his new girlfriend.

Sad

Well written.

Price you pay.

Excellent story, why do to wives cheat? Why do potential cheaters get married? If you want to cheat why get married? A cheater with children is a very selfish person. They think only of themselves with no thought for others and how there actions would affect others. Families are lost and broken up. The worst thing is the cheater just moves on with no consequences to speak of. The husband loses the kids and can't hold a job. But then an angel shows up who shows him what real love is, and she just happens to have for wonderful children. fini.

Standing on the table and urinating all over the food - totally priceless. One of the best things I have ever read. Why do cheaters think they can make things better when they are found out, it is just totally bonkers.

Some of you commenters are fucked in the head.

I was cheated on in a marriage years ago. Terrible betrayal. With 3 children. Cheated with a friend of ours. Within 3 months of the divorce being filed I had more pussy than I had in 11 years of married life.

I'm sort of a slightly above average looking guy. Nothing special. And with a little bit of effort I got laid. Had plenty of girlfriends.

Once I accepted the split. And the divorce terms negotiated. And visitation with kids was worked out? On with life.

She on the other hand is a mess. To this day.

So fuck off with the comments about "no way the cuckolded would be able to get on with life" bullshit. You aren't a cuckold if you don't accept the cheating and either leave or kick the cheater out. Get a divorce. Don't accept the bullshit excuses. Move on.

Hell...in the US marriages fail more than half the time and a good portion of them due to cheating. It's common. Not a stigma.

Move on and live your fucking life. Just like this story. Cunt cheated. He tried to forgive. Couldn't get over it. Moved on. And it made her sad. When you split up families...it's sad.

Learn from it. And life goes on.

Concise, believable & well written with no loose ends.

Bill S.

So sad...

Good story WELL WRITTEN. As far as the wife is concerned. TUFF SHIT BITCH

I realize this was written a long time ago, but thank you for writing this story. It is succinct, powerful, and poignant.

Incredible. Such a well written story

5stars hands down

It's a hard story. I liked the story and waited for him to forgive her. Yes, she cheated and then did her best to come back to the fold. She said did it just for the sex with no emotional feeling. However you don't need love to get STDs or pregnant, just the sex act. Too bad, people get hurt, and children are people too. LP

A sad story, it appears she finally gets it. The type of story that she would actually do anything to go back in time and not have her affair. Matt loved her so much and unconditionally and her affair ripped his heart out and practically destroyed him. Matt tried very hard to get over and through this to forgive and reclaim his wife. He ended up losing his marriage and wife, became a part time dad missing out on at least half of his children’s development and his normally fatherly duties. All of this mess totally ruined two (2) lives. One of the main actors, who pursued a married woman and was 50% responsible for ruining so many lives, walked away scott free and that’s bullshit. He needed a nice long encounter with an aluminum baseball bat. Another great story from one of the best authors on this site.

Powerful, poignant story, that could be continued. Many avenues can still be explored. Why she did it, what happens in his new relationship, how the kids are handling it, etc. Many direction the story can still go in. I'm actually tempted to take a stab at it myself, provided the author would be okay with it. I've ready many of Ohio's stories, and for the most part, a very talented storyteller.

I think everyone should be required to read "1984" and "Brave New World" before HS graduation. We'd have a lot less ignorant lunatics screaming on the right or the left and more people in the middle willing to talk, not scream.

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I think everyone should be required to read this story before they marry. qhml1 hit the same target with "The Cost".

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I hadn't read an ohio story in 3 years. I hate having to give him a 5. Not damn, JUST damn!

So sad, it was inevitable, nothing more to say really. Two more children suffering because a lovely wife was so stupid.

One of Ohio's better non-cuck stories.

What a superbly written story! It's like a rock thrown off the rim of the Grand Canyon. The rock sails downward, bouncing with ever diminishing echoes off the canyon sides, until it comes to the inevitable conclusion of it trajectory, finally to be washed away by the Colorado's streaming waters.

Sad but very good.

Beautifully written tale. Can imagine it really happening. The children would be fine in real life with a good stepmother and eventually half-siblings. The ex-wife, well..... she had it coming. Few can tell it like Ohio.

Nicely crafted story, but character development is important to me and these people are largely one-dimensional and unpleasant. It takes two to kill a marriage, and there are second thoughts and nuances to the process. Infidelity isn’t always fatal. Trust can be rebuilt if both parties are honest and willing to work at it. The nuances, strength of character and love don’t come across here leaving both husband and wife looking superficial and foolish. They indicate upset at the trajectory of the marriage but at the same time unwilling to do anything to change it. Why?

Mmmmmmm so real it,s always so hard to see how much it hurts the one you love who cheats

Sad, but one of your better ones. Five stars.

🤡

Wow I actually felt their pain. I don't know how this could be more succinct.

What did she expect

ok, sad and realistic. rk

vcwriter17b writes''They indicate upset at the trajectory of the marriage but at the same time unwilling to do anything to change it. Why?" well the woman was unhappy w/ trajectory, didnt discuss issues w/ hubby, made unilateral decision to fix her issues excluding hubby then hubby finds out his happy marriage wasnt happy or perfect and reacts by sulking and feeling betrayed. Why? what vcwriter? was woman content to be married to stable provider, good dad, but boring lover but could put up w/status quo as long as she had exciting lover to make up for his lack? "takes 2 to kill a marriage"; since we dont know how the hubby was failing wife, anything he did to kill marriage came after wife acted to kill marriage by cheating and betraying. is the character development you want the explanation of why wife cheated and how husband failed her? he may have but shes the offender 2 times, didnt discuss unhappiness w/ spouse and cheated to satisfy her needs ignoring her promises to respect and be faithful, indicating absolute scorn for his feelings. rk

Good short story. Having the emotions implied instead of characters explaining them is a

nice technique. Thanks for sharing.

Nicely done, my curious ass always wants more details until I don't, and then It's too much and annoying, problem is I have no idea how much that is. this was almost the perfect amount leaves me with a pile of questions but the emotional range displayed in such a short is amazing.

I wish this weren't so good.

One of your few non-cuck stories.

No one is ever as clueless as you think they are. Lynn learned that the hard way.

A really well done slice of life commentary the cold calculated Husband asking out of the blue about her affair was a classic 💙 It's funny but most guys are so obvious as we run through the gamut of emotions as we confront a traumatic situation.

Ohio is a really talented writer who I genuinely enjoy their dialogue in particular is really well crafted. I wish so many of their stories weren't spineless men who rant and rage but ultimately take their cheating wives back.

Because in reality the vast bulk of divorces are initiated by Women and no to all you Feminazis out there it's not because of male infidelity. Women in the workplace who knew all these independent women feel entitled to fuck around on their husband's?😂

I have to agree... Great job. Dense and deep, even in a few words. Each character's pain experienced by their own need.

A man who discovers his wife's betrayal, experiences his moments of anger, accepts work and relationships and even seeks a reconnection... but is overcome by disgust, pain and loss of love for his wife.

He decides to separate, stays present in his children's lives and moves on, finding someone else to live with.

When this reaches the mother of her children, she only has the certainty of the existence of consequences for her selfish and conniving attitudes.

"It is up to the hanged, the right to kick."

But that's just my opinion.

As many here observed, very sad. But she deserved it. Truly. One would hope the ex-wife learned from the experience, moved on, and had more loyalty to another husband if she remarried. At least, tell the new one here past. No marriage started on deception, even by omission, would last if it ever came out. My first wife was a cheating bitch with her boss, so became a single mother, while the boss stayed in his marriage. Some men can forgive infidelity under the right circumstances, but not all. I still cannot sit in the same room with the woman seven years later despite a loving second marriage. Ohio captures this complexity amazingly well. Well done. I

Your style and original handling again saves what would otherwise be more mediocre. Squeaked out a 4.5, so, a 5 it becomes.

qhml1 pointed me here. Not a happy tale, but a very clear picture. 5.

The hurt and disrespect cheating puts into a marriage is unfathomable until you experience it. 5 stars and a few tears.

Very powerful ... excellent !

I can’t figure out what type of writer you are. This showed how a man was hurt so badly, it had to end. But half of your stories show how men are so weak and spineless, they are the poster men for being a cuckold

Sad ending to a marriage and a sad, mixed up life for the kids. Well written and perfect scenes, thoughts. Liked the 1st "special" dinner getting pissed on, nice touch.

Masterpiece. I'm absolutely speechless

Masterpiece huh? Since when is a "scene story" a masterpiece?

A scenestory is an obvious attempt by a writer to conceive a story around a particular image the author has imagined. In this case Ohio imagined someone urinating on a meal prepared by a cheating spouse as a means to teach her a lesson.

These stories never contain anything else but padding to develop the scene and then end the story as quickly as possible. That hack harddaysnight has deluded readers into believing be is talented through sheer volume of works despite rarely delivering an arc or even a plot.

Scene writers go for the quick scene, the quick phrase, the quick joke. Readers who are unfamiliar with themes presented in loving wives are quick to appreciate these stories because they are often sympathetic to present or past struggle.

Over time though, these stories are recognized for what they are, attention grabbers and lazy writing. It is only the truly stupid and/or fraudsters who pretend otherwise. You know, like the gatekeeping cult here?

Intentionally anonymous because I don't want the bullshit. It's amazing how many believe in bullshit

Well. That just kinda stopped. Sort of a "Oh. Alright then".

Good imagery. Vignette style scenes for a very short story doesn't really tell much tale in my opinion. But the imagery was pretty solid.