All Comments on 'Between the Pages of Adultery Ch. 03'

From the depth of despair comes happiness.

My wife did something similar 25 + years ago. I forgave, moved on, and now we are happier than we've ever been with 2 great kids. Never would have happened if I'd one the nuclear route. 5+

The BTB crowd will hate it though.

It's always great to have a happy ending. It's just a shame life doesn't work that way.

Five Stars

I've always found it interesting how people confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. forgiving someone is actually quite easy but just because you forgive does not mean you have to get back together. i forgive people for things they do all the time but i don't associate with them anymore.

he is a wimp 1*

Was theaching the cunt wat to say, and the shit head was manipulated , he deserved to be shit upon because his stupidity, no cheater is gonna change his spots, but that's america women keep their husband balls in a trash bin in the attic and from time to time they take them out to dust it of, so the shit heads doesn't realise the truth,that everyday they get cream pies, well ..welcome to america , thank you and 99 percent of the writers for transforming literotica in cuckerotica, and loving wives in whoring cunts

blame it on the book.

the one we didn't (can't) read.

if in doubt, refer to chapter 12.

i knew you would have them get back together. Way to predictable.

Over 30 years ago my then wife was showing signs of extreme emotional problems. She finally confessed to having an affair with a very rich attorney. I threw her out and eventually divorced her.

Her lover lost interest in her when she wanted to know when he would leave his wife and family to marry her like he promised.

I felt sorry for her, but she should have known once she was free he would not live up to his promise to marry her.

The point is like Brad if it's free and good men will tell you anything to get in your panties. I lost track of her but I understand she was a bitter woman. Bitter at him and me.

Your story was a great slice of life, very real I like all your work.

I liked it

5starrs

Just a bloody good read

...is reading the comments the lunatic fringe leave. How dare you be compassionate and forgiving! Wimp!

Sometimes I long for the days when these basement dwellers could only share their idiotic thoughts with themselves and no one else. Still, they make me laugh.

This story is one that's repeated day in and day out in countless marriages. The BTB stories (which I love) are pure fantasy. This story is closer to the truth and often the truth can be very uncomfortable.

Five stars.

Your middle name is Harrison. TK U MLJ LV NV

Sunrises and sunsets are less predictable than this was.

I had a bad feeling this was a RACC from the second chapter, but held out hope till the bitter end. I didn't even start to skim once during the psycho-babble.

My Bad!

FWIW I did give you a number 2 which is synonymous with shit.

As in I had to do a number two after reading this.

good story. engaging (obviously).

You can honey cut a turd but it's still a turd. Wimp husband.

I liked this a lot. It was very well done as a reconciliation story. I liked that you started the story at the end of the affair, where Laura first realizes the consequences of her actions. Even though I'm usually a BTB guy in most cases, you were able to get me to empathize with Laura and pull for reconciliation.

You were able to capture the emotions of your characters very well and their pain was real and visceral. The emotional fallout of the affair for all characters was well described and showed the consequences of the affair very well. I felt this was the best part of the story. This and the originality of the wife coming clean are what separates this from the rest.

On the negative side, the ending was pretty much telegraphed throughout. Also, you were never really able to make Harrison's character 3 dimensional. Even though he is supposedly a main character, he just felt like a boilerplate, clichéd rendering of the cheated on husband. It feels as if he just goes through the motions the entire story. I took it that his talk with Ashley made him realize that his indecision and continued butthurt were affecting his family as much as Laura's affair did, leading him to begin counseling, but this was never explicitly said.

Overall very good submission as usual and voted 5*. Thank you

But too long in both length and plot. For a decisive businessman this guy can't make up his mind! Here is the thinking process of a guy who gets things done:

1. You Cheated!? Fuck you you stupid slut!

2. Now what?

3. I leave, and lose my relationship with my daughter and harm my daughter, or the slut leaves and my daughter loses her mother? Fuck that.

4. The slut has to admit to my daughter what she did and how the family dynamic has now changed. We stay in the same house in separate bedrooms co parent our daughter until she is out of the house. After that, we will see what the circumstances are at that time.

(that was all in day one)

5. After getting used to the new situation over the next several weeks, the slut thinks she is somehow going to get out of it because I haven't left and I am not interested in why she cheated. I am not a psychiatrist, I am a businessman, I care about actions and results. Her actions ended our marriage and resulted in this new less rewarding lifestyle. I am not going to put any more work into a dead marriage, it is a bad investment.

6. The slut is horny and has approached me for sex, I told her that I would never make love to her again but that if she wanted to fuck me and she could get a clean bill of health from the doctor I would let her fuck me.

7. She got the clean test results and I tell her okay, go ahead and fuck me. She looks at me oddly because I had always been the iniater and the one to actually do the work in our love making. If she actually wanted to have sex with her husband instead of some other guy, she could do the work from now on. As I mentioned, it was pointless to continue investing in a dead relationship.

8. I would make it very clear to her, she killed the marriage. If she wanted to start a new relationship with a person she had betrayed that was up to her. It is a risky proposition considering that person is likely not to trust you, possibly hold a grudge against you and you would have to do most of the work and make most of the investment in that relationship.

Some people may not like this approach, but then they probably are not good businessmen. The above is a good deal for a cheating wife if she really wants a second chance. To give her a free pass and jump back into a relationship with both feet as if nothing ever happened is silly. It is like scabbing over an infected wound. Eventually it will poison the rest of the body. We are born alone, we die alone, what we do in between is our choice. Why choose to be treated like shit by shitty people? No person with common sense will allow that condition for very long.

In page 3 you wrote " the experience of my boss at work". No, no, no! He was never allowed to make knowledge of his boss's infidelity known to anyone.

Captures the emotion of marital betrayal and does a good job of describing the fallout. Writing fairly good as well. Many married guys can be "wimpy;" that's what loving a woman does to them, kind of like kryptonite (although most men are far from super beings). It's easy to do the BTB thing if the love gets turned off, but some can't just turn it off, and it's even tougher when children are involved. This tale conveyed many of the relevant issues and feelings related to such a scenario. Only thing missing was the "get-out-of-jail-free" card for Harrison, LOL. Four stars, thanks for writing.

Thanks for a wonderful story in which you portrayed some life-like, all-too-human characters and their emotions, which I found gripping. I was glad to see reconciliation at the end after a long, tortured road leading from a wife's failing through her painful growth to forgiveness and renewal. The husband exhibited every agony that he should have but managed, with his boss's help, to overcome that. You are one of the best authors on the site. Thanks again.

but that can/should be viewed as a good thing. I certainly don't fault you for seeking to emulate a well respected author, and you do it quite well while still offering a few subtle variations on the common themes presented with the difficulties in surviving the aftermath of adultery. I happily devoured your story, and thank you very much for your effort.

I think what I liked best was your carefully engineered answer to what would surely be coming in commenter complaints. So many times when people complain about reconciliation stories, they have a problem with the cheating wife getting off "scott free". For a TWO month affair, she goes through over SIX months of pain and anguish (and since we believe her-no sex). Not to mention the strained relationship with her only child, switching careers, learning how to survive on her own, and difficult therapy. LTW, yes, I think your story shows quite clearly that she definitely paid a price for her adultery. Now Harry had to pay that price too, and endure undeserved pain, but you did a good job in making the case for reconciliation, and had (well at least most of us) believing that she learned her lesson, and would never stray again. Bonus was that both the daughter and Harry were able to learn lessons too.

Great Job, and thanks again.

I liked it. Reconciliation was a given, otherwise it wouldn't have been much of a story. The way you brought the reader there made it palatable. Focusing on the grief and emotions helped show that this wasn't an easy journey. I was against her writing a book earlier but the caveat of a college fund helped ease the pain that her mistakes could turn a profit. It probably didn't hurt my opinion that a Lincoln quote helped tip the balance since I hold him in such high regard. My only complaint was that the end seemed rushed. Once Harrison made up his mind the remainder of the story read like an epilogue far in advance of the one you provided.

I stand by my earlier comment that confession may be good for the cheating spouse, but it just shifts the burden of the pain onto the victim.

If the affair is truly over, and if there will truly not be a recurrence, then she should just keep it to herself and live with the guilt.

LTW, there is a reason that men and women are affected differently with adultery.

It is NOT largely because of men's "pride" !!

Most men have successfully dealt with simply "wounded pride" more than once.

Adultery affects men and women differently because men and women come to a marriage relationship with VASTLY different needs, purposes and expectations.

And so adultery naturally has a SUBSTANTIALLY different effect on men versus women.

I am NOT going to try to write the book here to tell you WHY you're wrong, but when a single act of adultery happens, from a basic biological viewpoint (not taking into account courts, laws, etc), it is in a man's best interests usually to TERMINATE the relationship but in a woman's best interests usually to CONTINUE the relationship, at least for the time being.

And we (men & women) each INNATELY perceive this.

You do men a great injustice and harm a lot of men telling them it is simply their "stupid pride."

Very nice! Reconciliation isn't for everyone, neither is divorce. It's different for each couple and as long as both partners are healthy and can come together to rebuild the 3 pillars of their marriage - there is no reason to not reconcile.

-V

very well written story. glad I read it all the way through and how it all turned out. keep up the good writing

and I enjoyed the ups and downs of the trip and did not want it to end.

Tough to get them together but LTW may have pulled it off.

(Hubby still should get a "Week in Vegas-no questions asked Pass" though....)

As I hoped...this a 5 * story!!! Congratulations...

Ye who cant forgive can never receve forgivness for your sins . You dont have to stay together but you have to for give to go forward,with or without each other.You will slowly become a person noone wants to be will because you cant get past the hurt.Dagoatmandavid said it Cya later

Harrison is a better man than I; my pride would have gotten in the way.

I am afraid pride has almost nothing to do with it in fact loss of faith is more to the point. A man who loves his wife has faith in her love, respect, and faithfulness. When the woman is the sole cheater it speaks to her total lack of respect for her self, her husband, and her family. There is no way a woman who is truly in love with her husband and family would cheat on and lie to her family and still be truthful, respectful, and faithful. Women who cheat in their work mainly do it for money directly or indirectly and therefore really fall into the classification of whores. In that case, she really isn't cheating since her husband, marriage, and family aren't really of any concern regarding her actions. Read into that what you will.

Makes you wonder how many couples make it after the discovery of adultery, and how many never make it even close to what life was before getting cought?

He gets his revenge by costing the guy money for banging his wife, but soon enough he (and his wife) will realize that all he did was make his wife into a whore, and they will be back before the good doctor sorting out a new set of problems.

This was way more believable than most reconciliation tales I've seen on here. Saw it coming from Chapter 1, and you pretty much succeeded in making Wifey a sympathetic character. I'm still not a huge fan of Reconciliation, and without Wifey's point of view, it never would have worked. I still believe that Trust goes hand in hand with Love, and he's a fool for trusting her again so quickly. Like I said, without Wifey's point of view on the whole mess...

Anyway, it was good for what it was. Well written as usual, but please don't make a habit of this.

5 Stars... Barely.

reminiscence of The Great LW Stories of the 2005 to 2010. This author is in the ranks of Ohio, HDK, capecodmercury, The Troubadour, DGHear, Slirpuf, K.K. SirThopas, and too many others to name here. Very well done.

i'm pretty sure that i have read a story here in "loving wives" similarly delving in "mercy as an act of grace". and if i'm not mistaken it went further on saying that mercy is on the same level as God has granted grace to man regardless of man's shortcomings, etc. this is a nice and heartwarming story though you could have further elaborated on the difference of "mercy" in forgiving the wife from that of just mere forgiving as a concept. all in all, it was a good read and it touches the emotions! keep it coming!

What a serious Let down . WOW. I really was enjoying the story and actually I do FULLY support the reconciliation because of the actions that his wife took in confronting her behavior... and doing so before her husband found out about

But just like so many other authors in LW .... just like Ohio and Britease and HDK etc etc the misuse of "Male Pride" angle absolutely KILLS this entire story.

It is so goddman mother fucking frustrating to see obviously intelligent capable insightful writers such as Laptopwriter ..such as OHIO... such as HDK such as slipruff such as Britease to use mis-use the " male prode " angle to move the story along.

Consider the explanation given by Harrison's boss. OK he cheated and he got caught. His wife reacted by have are numerous affairs... NOT JUST ONE. .. And doing so openly and making sure that all of their friends and family members knew about what she was doing.

Yet according to the Boss the only reason he did not take his 1st wife back was MALE PRIDE?

That is so unbelievably offensive... So unbelievably outrageous that it makes you want to put your fist through the computer screen .

The REAL reason why Harrsion's boss could not take his first wife back and accept what she was was doing was because it showed that the first wife was OUT OF CONTROL and mentally off balance .*** Having 1 revenge affair is NOT the same thing as having the multiple affairs . ***

It has NOTHING to do with "male pride" but the recognitions that one human being is is simply acting in a crazed of rational manner... and that there is no reason to associate with a neighbor.

at least harrison got his revenge without going to jail and the marriage did survive

It was nowhere near as bad as some of the tripe in LW, but not particularly good.

What killed it for me was the booooooooring factor. I had to skip to the end and cherry-pick my way back through. The therapy sessions made my eyeballs bleed.

See how it works? I'm sitting at work, minding my own business, so check in on Lit and see that HIV feels I misuse "Male Pride" in my stories. Then I see that HIV lumped Ohio in with me. I can only imagine how shitty that makes Ohio feel! He's pretty uppity and usually hangs with a better class of loser. I only hope that Ohio reaches a suicide prevention center before he Buckeyes himself!

As to the story, the husband had no choice but to forgive and move on. Manly pride and all of that is not worth ruining your life. He wife was a keeper, when she came to her senses.

The details were well done. The reactions of their daughter were very important and I agree that she learned a lot. We all know that there are lots of absolutists in the wings singing a chorus of "Once a cheater always a cheater". I wonder if they ever discovered that sometimes you want something and then never want to even think about it again because of a bad experience..

Makes one think about personal experiences and, adultery in general: regardless of the adultery there is almost always some balancing of scales; sooner or later in life. Under what circumstances would someone reap what they sowed?: under their own choosing & voluntarily (Laura - in this story) or, wait and someone comes and gives them their just rewards (Brad).

It was hard for me to read about the pain and suffering that went on in this story. In fact, I was unable to sit down and read all the chapters, each chapter took me a few days merely due to the uncomfortable nature of the pain involved.

My feeling was that Brad had to pay for what he had done for Harrison to be able to finally let go. I know that is what would have to happen for me. When he got his payback, I figured the marriage would be alright after that.

However, after talking with a few women who had other men when they shouldn't have, I can say with 100% certainty, Laura definitely compares Brad and her husband every single solitary time they have sex. And Harrison comes up the loser every time simply because it's not nasty illicit sex. And to see what I mean, go back to chapter one, page one when she's playing with her pussy, thinking about her time with Brad.

But well written none the less. It seems that there's no pleasing everybody these days in the LW section but I wouldn't let that bother you too much. I swear that if you were to publish a story written by King, Poe or Hemingway some people would complain bitterly. That's just the way things roll these days in this section. Thanks for the effort.

Before I talk about the story, someone lumped HDK with Ohio??? I am from Ohio and I can tell you that we wish we had HDK here instead of where he is! Ohio AND HDK are great writers. I love all their stories!! So there! PPPPPFFFFFTTTT!!!

And now I can add LTW to that list. This was so well done that I had to give it a five and make it and him one of my favorite! Damn, I wish I had written this one!!

I have to add FD45 to the list also!

Great writing!

With much regard,,

Chagrined

Let me be clear. I did not hate the story In fact I FULLY support the reconciliation.

But again my point about the misuse of the ",MALE PRIDE' angle is a pet peeve of mine because it shows a writer who ALWAYS is trying to force a reconciliation at all costs.

Invariably what is soooo aggravating is that these writers which ARE so talented never deal with the the REAL issue.... what does the wife's actions MEAN ?

It is self evident and obvious that there is a huge difference between having a one time revenge affair and having the wife fucks LOTS of men.. lots of time over the course of several weeks or months.

You cannot have a reconciliation story if the husband and the other people in the story -- family close friends -- come to the realization that her revenge is so extreme and over the top ... that it shows a serious character flaw or mental illness.

So when the author brings out the " oh get over it alreadt its just your male pride" song ... because (hypothetically ) the husband just found out that all of his kids are not his or that he has been been a lie for 18 years... what the author is really doing is ignoring the MEANING of the wife's deceit and betrayal.

It isnt brain suregery. If the wife has been cheating since the honeymoon .. If she has had multiple lovers for years.. If none of the kids are yours... If the wife disappears on the weekends after parting with your worst enemy and does come home until noon the next day... She is doing that behavior for reason. -- she WANTS to.

It is just THAT simple...

I went back and reread chapter 01. and I have to agree that she was really caught up in her affair. she enjoyed the escape, the emotions, the attention, and the illicitness of her behaviour. so much so that she completely forgot about her husband's birthday. and while shopping for lingerie for her upcoming tryst she forgot all about him again.

while you can gain remorse, begin to regret, and even feel bad about your behaviour, you can't erase the memories. she will always be comparing her husband to brad. her husband will always wonder if it is only the two of them in bed.

in spite of what "the book" might say, their marriage will never be back to normal. yes, you can forgive, you just can't forget.

I don't think you read the story very carefully. Monica, his boss' first wife, didn't have multiple affairs, she had one affair with one man. (She flaunted her affair.) Affair...singular! He was the one with multiple affairs. Hers was in retaliation. The problem was she exposed hers. Yes, in that case it was his pride. He was more guilty than her, but she embarrassed him by exposing it. He knew he screwed up. He could have forgiven her knowing she did it in revenge, but her letting everyone know about it put him in a corner. To keep his pride he HAD to divorce her.

He told Harrison pride is important. A man should always have pride in himself, his family, his work, and his accomplishments...but I can't believe you don't understand that pride can sometimes keep us from things. That's what his boss said, don't let it keep you from your happiness. Personally, I think it's good advice.

be undone. Despite the few hundred bucks she's gonna make from the exposé. The marriage has all gone wrong - how are you reconciling that every kiss ya ever try to plant on her, those lips have been covered in another man's spunk indelibly? I wish I could turn back the past too but it ain't ever happening..

Work that one out ...4*

Good writing - maybe tou can tune it up still. Great comments - I should have read them first.

For a change a story that deals with the real possible implications and consequences of an affair. I think it is fair to say that Laura informing her husband was a much better option than him finding out one day by him self.

I think every one deserves a second chance and at least the character of the wife was not to cuckold her husband like most of the stories are in the LW section.

This is true as many comments have mentioned but the reason was because the author drew such real characters. The husband was a good person and the wife was truly remorseful, so reconciliation was inevitable. I'm sure half the commenting readership read what they wish the author had written and not what was written.

Well done and 5*.

When a marriage is broken there is no one size fits all aftermath. Most of us know, or think we know what we would do, but why use our choices to try to condemn others? A patched marriage will never be the same, but that doesn't mean it will automatically be weak. Sometimes scar tissue is stronger than the original tissue. Around Lit, this is an uncommon ending, and a nice change to read.

Geeze! I thought you'd get a lot more static from the BTB bunch. Amazing. I'm "one of those". LOL! Good writing and reading. Burn the next one, will yuh? Cheers!

I would like to understand the negative towards Harrison? In reality what did anyone expect? violence, murder does the idea or desire to see blood overwhelm our morals? This is what an honest, hardworking, loving and supportive husband does, sadly crawls into a ball, shelters himself in a hotel room in the end the marriage was worth it to him and that is what matters. I will say Laura is or was selfish and dishonest. Her version of why she cheated was simple and of course book written. The simple truth she failed as a spouse and life partner to Harrison! When Brad Griffin came into Laura's world with cheap and easy comments its Laura that should have looked down at her wedding ring, gazed upon her desk top photos of Harrison and Ashley, looked at her IPhone photos gallery and looked into the eyes of her husband and daughter, BUT she didn't... Laura chose a course of action that spanned two months. Val her friend, by encouraging Laura to keep a secret would have faced certain Divorce, Brad Griffin would not go away quietly, I am sure pictures or video would have arrived I don't see Brad wanting Laura in a permanent way, but he is in business and manpower, cheap labor means profits and Laura managed labor. Laura got off lucky, and should be lucky to have Harrison as a husband. Excellent story please continue to write.

This is a good example of the remorse and consequences that both people go through after infidelity.

I did not notice glaring errors and the storyline flowed well. The story is captivating and emotionally charged. You wrote to the emotional level of your reader and stirred us like pancake batter.

Great job. Thank you for writing. 5*

Best regards,

-Pultoy

It's only a matter of time before she will be looking for her next reward after a big real estate deal.

LTW captured the angst of the cuckold well and the pain in the wife and daughter after everything went to hell. Very unusual for a woman to admit any fault - not sure if that aspect of this wife's behavior is credible. Five star story, though. PS: what HDK said - ditto.

I enjoyed the story a lot and I liked the ending.

Thanks for the good read

I have to admit that the story as a whole was well written, closely connected to what real life must be like, and the reconciliation was too smoothly constructed to be offensive to me. Well done!

Maybe next time there might be hair, teeth and eyeballs sticking to the walls everywhere as the result of the treachery, but for now, this was a really good read.

Thanks for sharing...

And believable,no evil therapist feminazi out to get hubby,no magic,just two people working through the pain. So many people think justice trumps mercy,when justice should be tempered.Even the revenge is measured,it is neither illegal nor all that far fetched,things like this go on.Laura is neither devil nor whore,she acknowledges her fault,and the husband realizes that her affair didn't define him as a man,and allowed him to show mercy.Having his boss explain was huge,he grew in that he realized that even those we admire are human. Touching,too,and a nice change from btb,or the wimpy guy accepting anything.

When I hear "once a cheater always a cheater" my response is that is only true if the cheater does nothing to figure out why they cheated.The spouse who says 'it meant nothing',or "well,it is partly your fault" never figures out why,never makes amends,never feels the pain of others and as a result,will cheat again.Contrast thst to.laura,who accepts respinsibility,rips open her soul,feels the pain she has caused,sees her hubris and arrogance.She quits the job that caused the problem and brings herself low,working at a low wage job,to break her pride.She realizes it was all about her,and that she needed to break that.The reason she wont do it again was she forced herself to.feel the pain,and someone who has done that wont want to do it again. She also did this on her own,telling him,not getting found out.

As far as male pride goes,of course it is.Pride that of course he is the best lover,pride that he owns his wife,pride that if she breaks that illusion,says I can't take them back and be a man.when someone wrongs you,your pride says you cannot forgive them,bc that makes you 'weak'

With the boss,the pride is despite him sleeping around,she humiliayed him publicly,which hurt his ego,having others see him as a cuckold,when he did far worse to her.Instead of looking at her actions and seeing the pain that drove the boss's wife to do it,he saw only his pain in reaction.It is interesting that many of those who castigated the boss's wife for her affair,were saying harrison should get some for himself....

This is straight from our classic pseudo cuck past here on the site:

1. wife is a totally animalistic whore. This is done mostly for the writer because nothing gets these guys hotter than the woman acting like a bitch in heat while they have a husband and kids at home.

2. The husband finds out. In this case, the wife comes clean. Husband freaks out and asks like a normal person, not a LW cuck freak.

3. HOWEVER, we have the infantile, really primitive reasoning and idiocy of the "hate the sinner, not the sin," excuse to ignore that sins don't just pop out of thin air and second grade level therapy talk that saves the day.

So the writer gets the perfect world. Wife goes wild and fucks like a slut on amphetamines (the real point of this guy's story), Husband wimps out, but only with the help of really stupid and primitive psychobabble. I swear this must be a new pen name for Ohio.

By the cheater is actually rare. When it does truly exists, reconciliation usually occurs. The problem with this story is Laura's remorse was central early on and made the ending inevitable.

This story moved me deeply because I had an affair that I deeply regretted as Laura did . While Laura suggested she cheated because she felt she deserved it after her own success at the Temp Agency ,,, I had lost my self esteem from a horrible job experience and was looking for someone who thought I was special . But by cheating I made myself very Unspecial and hurt my family . I was lucky enough to have a great wife who I hurt and counseling helped us save the marriage I almost threw away .

So I can relate to both Laura and Harrison and the pain they went through ,,, and honestly ,,, reading a few of the comments that are really negative about this story made me feel sorry for those who hated it ,, but that is their right.

Great story , well written , love overcame a stupid choice by Laura , and love won in the long run ... I was fortunate to win too but will never forget the jerk I was and how I hurt my family .

Very moving story. In spite of her remorse, the ending wasn't inevitable. The husband's pain was real and deep. Everything after her realization of doing wrong, actually after her seeing the book and compulsively buying it, was raw and painful. I found the revenge at the end tacked on and unsatisfying, so I choose to ignore it focus on a family that was able to pick up the broken pieces and put their lives back together again.

Very good ending. Could feel the anguish in your characters. Even identify with them. Each situation mentioned is plausible. Realistic? Maybe. For a reconciliation series I liked it. 5 stars. Thank you for posting, much appreciated.

Everything was going nicely (if predictably) until the revenge. Unnecessary...no, more...gratuitous! The Boss would not be motivated to go to the effort necessary to manage that ... and he showed enough sensitivity to probably realize that it would NOT do Hubby any good to seek revenge against the Bull. I'm sure it will be a popular component of the story for some readers, but it would NOT be something that a successful businessman would do (unless it provided a significant benefit to his own company). It would also be a sore point in a delicate relationship with Sweetie ... if she were to become aware of this act, she would realize that Hubby's forgiveness is still incomplete!

Keep up the good work.

5*

I, respectfully, disagree with Lickideesplit. I believe Harrison's boss lived vicariously through him; his revenge was their revenge, thirty years in the making.

Laptop, you hit your stride on this chapter. Harrison's wondering if ignorance would have been bliss really spoke to his humanity.

After my diatribe in the comments of chapter 2 .

I just wanted to say; Thank You for sharing this with us.

I'll be on the lookout for the next story.

AMerryMan

really enjoyed reading the entire story. I agree with the comment that everything worked well except for the revenge at the end of the story - it was too much and didn't add to the storyline and so it ended up detracting from what otherwise is a really good story. keep writing

Any story that brings tears to my eyes deserves a 5.

Keep writing

Thank You

Jimr122783

When I was 14 my parents broke up because she had an affair. After I grew and left home, they reconciled and stayed together till the end, both of them now passed, but I was always angry at my mother for making my father leave, especially through the years when I would have benefited from his presence more.

I left home at 20 to stand by a girl who found herself in emotional trouble... I was her young, naive knight in shining armor.

In the end, it turned out that she was a lying slut who was looking for a ticket to easy living, and who took as much fun from life as she could, which included riding a couple of associates who pretended to be friends at the time.

My luck changed a while after her, I met my wife of now 30 years. We have 4 children, some married themselves, and all is well.

But my experiences have caused me to always be wary... you know... trust but verify... give everything, but keep your eyes open.

Though I am now content, I do indulge on this site, and have contributed many anon comments. I wish to REMAIN anon, because I don't want to be profiled, and I don't want to get into comment wars.

I have written, but I will not say who I am. I will say, however, that I am BTB of the highest order. My past has embittered me toward anyone, male or female, who will betray those very people who trust them implicitly.

You see, it is the BARGAIN, the AGREEMENT that makes people fools. They themselves would never betray their spouse, so they believe their partner will adhere to the same code. It is their very goodness that makes it easier for selfish, arrogant, disrespectful and 'entitled' people to get away with anything.

ANYONE can be a whore.. all they have to do is kill any empathy they might feel for others, and just take whatever they want, damn the consequences. Often, unrepentant whores think they are superior people. They are just not really part of the human community, even if they think they are. They are vultures.

Which is why I hate certain writers who justify these types of outcomes. For me there is no reconciliation. And those people who get off on being humiliated, are just batshit crazy for using that as an excuse to let others think that disrespecting fellow human beings is ever ok.

But, LaptopWriter, you did it. You got past my defenses, and I can see that the wife was truly contrite. I can see that they belonged together, and both were better off by reconciling. To put it bluntly, you saved them and preserved their dignity.

Only one thing that rankles me. In the real world, statistics show that the profession most likely to enable extra-marital dalliances, is real estate. They don't have set schedules, they always go out dressed to impress, they meet all kinds of people, they have a venue away from prying eyes, and they don't have to show results from all of their work... so as a percentage it happens more there than in any other line of work.

I do think that Laura had learnt her lesson, and I do think that Harrison knew he had to trust her again... but there you go.

Your protagonist is a better person than I am, and this is a fine story, definitely worth the telling.

5 stars.

Story left me thinking that there should have been a more harsh punishment for the wife. Especially one she didn't initiate. Problem was this was the perfect example of two situations; 1- How would you want your cheating wife to show you how sorry she was? This pretty much went down the checklist of showing remorse.

2- When betrayed everyone has their own level of payback needed to move on. This was an example of 'no revenge' or taking the high road. Would've liked to see a divorce then a reconciliation but that wasn't how this main character would've responded.

So hats off to you laptop! Excellent no revenge is the best revenge story!.

I don't read many LW stories, but I saw the story listed in the New Story list and saw the author's name and thought, well, let's see what Laptop's written, and after having gone through two pages of the NS list without anything else catching my eye, here I am. I think the story was well-written and the characters were developed well. I am extremely happy the story wasn't a BTB. I'm not a fan of cheating stories either, but humans being what they are, it happens. If a couple can get past it and overcome it to have a better marriage, it's a happier and more productive read to me.

The only thing I noticed was a slight tendency to tell/explain, which prevents the reader from being more engaged in the story. But that's me. There were a few mechanical errors but nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, the story was good, I liked the writing style, and the characters were believable. I liked the beginning, middle, and end, and the story held my interest. 5+

What is the different between RAAC and beleivable and succesful Reconciliation story? An author should feel this well and good author could show this different fine.

I think the successful and believable Reconciliation story is very great challenge for the authors against writting any RAAC story.

when a writer subverts a whole genre and blows a gale of fresh air through it. (Hope that isn't too much of a mixed metaphor). From the wonderful sybaritic opening to the pain - some shared pain, some inflicted as hurt people lash out at each other - this is one of the classics. Maybe, just maybe the triumphant finale is a bit over the top, but only a bit.

First, can we ban the sickenly trite phrase: "love you more than life itself"? I mean, if it's really true, why is the person still alive? Why didn't they off themselves before betraying that love?

Secondly, couples do manage to reconcile after a betrayal, but can't you come up with a better way for the guy to get past the cheating. This "the actions she took showed that she was truly remorseful and would never do it again" is pure BS. It begs the question - did her actions when they wed indicate that she would cheat? If so why marry the skank and if not why should any actions she ever takes convince him of future fidelity? Swearing fealty at the alter had no impact on her faithfulness why should anything else? ILLOGICAL

Reading this story was very easy for me, I enjoyed the plot the family pressure to survive, the demonstration of feelings in a tug of war. Then I found myself routing for the continuation of the marriage. All very well done. I,M,H,O 5*

someone who has never been there wouldn't understand the repeated phrase. sounded like first hand story, sorry if it was, but glad you made it work.

The opening scene where she is fantasizing about her lover seems to contradict the way she downplays her feelings of having sex with Brad. She states here that he wasn't that good, certainly not as good as her husband. And yet, the story begins with her masturbating in her office to the thought of Brad. She must have really enjoyed the sex. She seems to be downplaying it in this chapter. Just an observation.

I love you more than life itself -

I gave 110% -

Greatest Dad in the world -

Everyone does it - - well most every one heh you make a statement out of a desire to drive home how important it is - not a factual or objective measure - get a grip -

That was a very good story well designed and wonderfully executed - for the BTB crowd - see how looking in the mirror (figuratively) took all the shine right of that damn Lilly for her - once she saw what she was doing in daylight - the fun, the appeal, the excitement faded to nothing - the important things came back to the front and she knew what she had to do - then did it -

Right is often very hard - do it any way -

Did she cheat? Burn her! Yeah, keep it simple stupid. Or, maybe not. This cheater is different. Oh hell, this is getting complicated. I might have to think.

Well, think I did; you more or less forced me to. You made me give up my self-righteous anger and recognize that we can change; but it may be painful. My contempt changed to admiration. I doubt that I would fess up if I thought I could keep it a secret. I wouldn't have the balls. No, literally; my wife would cut them off! See, real life. What worked for her wouldn't work for me. It's complicated.

"The quality of mercy is not strained.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

God ol' Shakespeare... a bit before Abe but the sentiment is the same.

Perhaps... A bit more outpouring of Harrison's grief & pain to really push the point with Laura of what her selfish actions had caused?

I'm a big fan... keep up the good work.

Well written and a great example of appropriate reconciliation. The process of forgiveness and how Harrison inched towards rebuilding his marriage.

Liked it very much.

There actually is a book about the repercussions of adultery, it does not bear the title from this story though. The title of the real book is 'Avoiding the greener grass syndrome' there is a bit more to the title but that will get you to it on Amazon. At $7.04 it is the least expensive, but most important, item every married couple needs to own. As a wedding gift it may raise eyebrows, but it may be the best gift you could ever get for someone. All the books in the world on surviving or reconciling after adultery don't help as much as preventing the adultery in the first place.

And no I don't have any connection to either the book or the author. I just want to inform others of its existence. If it can save even one couple from going through the pain adultery brings it will be worth it.

For a while I was really afraid Harrison was going to call it quits. You have the ability as a writer to actually make me care about the characters in your story. I'm sad to say not many others have managed to do that. I look forward to reading more of your stories.

The only thing is there was really much sex in the story! You could have resolved that by having Laura explain what the first time with Brad was like.

Other than that, great story and great ending! HE WAS NOT A CUCKOLD he is a man who loved is wife enough to swallow to forgo his pride!

5 stars!

First ... Laura took complete and commanding responsibility. It was decisive and swift. I have to give the Author a congratulations on that. It is rare to see how straight forward and direct that was done. Excellent writing.

Second, after Val and Ashley asked her not to reveal it she stood by her decision.

Third, she didn't sugar coat her affair, another good quality.

Fourth, I agree .."Absolute power corrupts absolutely", this story reveals that.

Fifth, the Author showed a single bad act can many ripple effects.

Lastly, the Author showed that it is sometimes hard to come to grips with REAL remorse and to give REAL forgiveness. We sometimes find that bit of solace in strange places, songs, friends, books, prayer and in this case a documentary on TV. When something is REAL and it feels right, just do it. Worry about the possible consequences later.

RB

I knew I would comment on this story before getting to the last line.

RB below got there before me and all I had intended to say is within that commentary.

There have been some quite juvenile comments and detractors along the way but for me this is a thoroughly 5* effort, with great introduction, the internal rational explained; demonstrations of understanding and courage and finally that little nub of clarity that made all the difference.

We tend to forget - there is also great joy in forgiveness; especially when coupled with the courage it takes to get to that point. For me, this was a journey that laid bare that courage - there are so many instances where peoples courage fails them and they subsequently loose the absolution of forgiveness.

PC

Plainly typical of LW and laptopwriter.

enuf said

I felt like I was on that roller coaster with them. This was a well composed, well written, and an automatic favorite story. I would like to know more about them and I realize that this is my weakness. I love these stories that have the psychological and counseling aspect to them.

Wonderful story and thank you for sharing your talent.

The most interesting thing about this contribution was the reaction of readers.

Its fascinating how people's responses are so varied. Individual differences !

Quite a variation in remarks on this story. Personally, I'm a BTB person. This story was SO different and complete that it has detoured my thoughts a bit in regards to forgiveness, but NEVER forget. That would be the stickler and possibly cause the demise of the marriage. Good writing and reading, ltw. Cheers!

Still one of the best stories I have read here in a long time. If you could find time to publish more it would be appreciated. Thanks again 5 *

5sssss

Really enjoyed the story of realization, sorrow, redemption and reconciliation.

Great character development and emotional intrigue.

Thanks!