A Wife's Revenge Ch. 03

"Listen to yourself Chase. She left you and the girls? What fucking lunatic woman does that? I like Susie, but you are talking like you will stand around waiting for her to come back to you. What if while she's deciding she decides she needs a little love from some strange cock? Maybe the tag team assholes? You're going to still stand there waiting for her to get it right?" He was full on in preacher mode. "What if she comes back to you groveling for mercy? How are you going to stand by her and trust her when some other slimy dickhead chases her? Will you trust her absolutely? You said that she did shit, even when she didn't want to hurt you, but she did it anyway. You are just going to stand by and wait for her? Your first decision is always right. Do you even know what your first instinct was? You burned your wedding ring and trashed the wedding photos." He took a breath. " you know as well as I do, don't second guess your gut."

I hated the clarity he had on stuff. The only argument I had on his ability to be that clear was that same clarity was also responsible for him remaining single. No woman stood up to the standard. It wasn't much of an argument.

I changed the topic to ask him what he was up to. He told me he found a girl he likes being around. But she is a great lady and fun, but still not long term material. They both are in it for a short term. He also was planning his summer. He loved hiking and mountains. He was going to do a section of the great divide trail starting up in Canada. He'd be gone for almost 2 months. He would cover close to 300 miles of mountains, closer to 500 miles of walking distance..

"That's pretty intense? Are you going solo?" I asked.

"I haven't found my soulmate yet, so yeah solo. You should come do a few days with me? Any longer and I'd have to use your bullshit for bear bait." He laughed, "seriously bud, a few days up there and your perspective would be so clear."

We ate and talked. He didn't belabor his position on Sue and I. He had made his thoughts clear. For him he gave his opinion, like he always had. And then as a friend does he lets me do all the bullshit I would do anyway. If it blew up in my face it would be me saying he told me so. He wouldn't. That's why he was my best friend.

I realized we had been talking for hours and I had to go get the girls. We gave each other a hug. "Call me! I'd love to see the girls. Maybe we could have a BBQ and go out afterwards?" He said before hopping in an Uber.

I picked up the girls and we began what was to be our new routine of diner, playing at the park, and bedtime. My time after the girls went to bed was usually reading or going down to the basement and clearing out junk.

The following Saturday we went to go visit Sue. Friday evening was impossible to keep the girls on any routine. They were too cited to be seeing their mother. We did cards and drawings for her. I did call her one evening and we talked. Our conversation was good, however we steered clear of the hard issues.

Our visit was really nice. We went out to a lake that we had to hike into. We brought a picnic lunch and sat by the lake. The girls tried the water but it was still really cold. While the girls played Sue and I had a good heart to heart talk.

"I didn't think about it at the time, but I'd always known Darren to be a manipulative ass with women. He had a charm, and the ability to sweet talk women. I had totally forgotten that side of him. I realised when he called you the last time, he didn't just want to play. He wanted to destroy you, and possess me to have me be his sexual fantasy slut." She told me, looking at the ground.

"I was trying to tell him we were done, but he turned that around and got to me. I don't even know how I let him. Twice I told him we were through and each time he managed to get me to let him fuck me, and each time he used that to destroy your feelings for me."

I let her talk. It was giving me some perspective on how their relationship evolved.

She continued "When we talked about piercings, he made it sound erotic, like I would be a sexual goddess for him and for me. It sounded like something I wanted." She had to stop and compose herself. "When it was done, I realized he wanted it for him, so he could show that I was now forever marked as his. He told the guy who did the piercing he could fuck me, any way he wanted. Darren wanted to fuck my mouth and cum on my tits so he could take a picture, and video me getting fucked. I didn't get any say in it. When he sent you the picture I knew he was after only getting you out of the picture so I would be his."

"The next night, we were going to an event. I had to dress up nice. But I told him that we were done. Somehow it turned out that we wound up having sex again. He sent you pictures and videos of that too." She was crying as she was telling me this. " I hated him, but he knew how to get to me, to get me to allow him to give his way. While I say he took advantage of me, I didn't do what I should have to stop. I don't know why I was so weak willed, how I allowed myself to hurt you like I did. I don't know how I was so blind to what was going on."

"I felt such a relief inside when you allowed me to touch you, how we had sex. How you turned your rage into something that I wanted so badly, and that was to have you again. I went into the office and quit. He was determined that I at least let him enjoy one last time. It was pure garbage. I know I was absolutely stupid to, but he convinced me it would be the right way to wrap up our affair. Then when he had me coming he called you and set the phone down in front of me. I had to talk or he would. That call shattered my soul. I heard and felt your reaction. I felt Darren cum inside me gloating over the control and how he fucked you over one more time. He told me you would never be able to touch me again without hearing me cumming as I called you. I realized I was a useless slut. Worse than useless. I allowed myself to be played and used."

She told me another bit of information that she learned.

"One of the young guys you saw the night I got, um, I got used, called me. He wanted to know if I was available for another event. Money was no object. He offered thousands to have me. It turns out I was their bonus for meeting a deadline on time and on budget. Darren left the party, leaving the guys to use me how they wanted before they took me home. They fucked me all the way home, feeding me shots so I was completely out of it. " She sobbed "To them I was a prostitute, a whore, and you were the cuck who they could laugh about."

"I know I hurt you, far worse than I realized. Way worse than I intended. I just wanted a simple revenge and to make you feel like your life was shattered, like mine was. I was hoping to have it be simple, you screwed around, I screwed around. It would hurt, but we would put the pieces back together and be together and be stronger after." She looked me in the eyes. "I don't know when I became so stupid as to think I could put this behind us and get us back together. "

"Do you know what hurts still, and probably always will? " I asked her.

"What?" She asked

"That through all of this, what Initially was revenge, you so clearly enjoyed the sex, the letting yourself be that slut, that whore, that woman who cuckolded me." I looked at her. "The sex I might be able to live with after a while, maybe a long while. That you enjoyed it so much, burns"

She didn't have an answer for that. She just cried. It was true. And I think she knew it as well.

A short while later we got up and walked around the lake. The girls enjoyed seeing the frogs and tadpoles and minnows. And the birds. When we got back to the car it was time to load up and go. The girls fell asleep almost instantly. They were sad when we dropped Sue off. But they fell asleep again right after. It had been a very quiet ride from the lake home.

Sunday was a new routine. Laundry, shopping for groceries, getting stuff ready for a week that would be busy. We settled into a bit of a routine. Sue and I texted, and we called a bit more frequently, so she could talk to the girls, and we could talk after. It struck me as odd that we could relax on the phone, and talk for hours, but in person sometimes the emotional edge was just too raw.

Wednesday I got a call from my realtor. We hadn't listed the cabin yet. We had only done a little work on pricing it. He had a person from out of state. This was exactly what they wanted. They were making an offer on the property of several thousand above what it was going to be listed for. The offer meant that the house could almost be paid off. The offer had a deadline of Sunday noon. They also wanted the cabin empty by June 1st.

I told him that I would need to talk to Sue, and get back to him by Friday at the latest.

I called her Wednesday night. I was surprised when her mom answered and said Sue had gone out with some friends. She would have her call when she returned.

I felt the anger rise up in me. How dare she go and hang out and have fun while I was still trapped. I wondered if she was fucking one of the friends. I wondered if she would tell me if she was. My mind raced. I hated how my thoughts raced. I called Jan.

Ten minutes later she was at the house. We sat on the front step. It was a nice evening. I told her how my mind went to all the wrong conclusions. Every one of them was not likely to happen or be happening. But I kept thinking that I was being betrayed again.

"Chase, what do you think Sue would think if she found out that the hooker she saw you with was now part owner of the company you used to own? How would she feel if your confidant now was that same person who slut shamed her? What if when you needed to calm yourself down instead of calling her, you called me.?" She looked at me. "You need to be honest with her, to get the honesty you want. She may not be able to give you what you want, but unless you are honest with her, there is no future. Trust will always be broken."

Why the hell was everyone so smart? And I was so dumb. She left a short time later. She was going to enjoy the walk.

It was after 11 when Sue called. "Hi Chase, sorry, I wound up meeting a few of my old classmates that I hadn't seen in years. We went out to go catch up. Sorry to call so late, but we lost track of time catching up."

I tried to play it cool. "That's OK, I just called because we got an offer on the cabin. I wanted to talk it over with you. The offer would give us enough to almost pay off the house."

"Chase, you love that cabin, you spent so much time and effort to make it perfect. Why would you sell it?" She asked

"We still owe money on it. We owe money on the house too. You aren't working, you quit. I am no longer the owner of the company, I am earning a paycheck, but I can't work 60 hours a week, I can barely manage 30 hours. I have kids. This makes it so I can afford to live."

"That's not..." she started to say, but then stopped mid sentence.

I could tell she was upset. "What is it Sue?"

"You sold the company away, you're selling the cabin away. Everything we had is up for sale." She said, "I don't want that. I want to go back."

"We can't go back, Sue. If I keep the company and we divorce everyone working there loses their jobs, their careers. By selling it to them, we get the equity. The cabin is just financing. I can't afford two mortgages. I love the place, but we can't afford to keep it."

"It just feels like all of the things we worked for are going away. Are we done? Is that all? We divide everything and have no more together?" She asked.

"I don't know the future Sue. I get angry with you over stupid shit now. I was angry when I heard you went out. I had to call Jan to talk to someone." I told her

"Who is Jan?" She asked

"Do you remember the first weekend you went with Darren?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said.

"Do you remember the girl you accused of being a cheap hooker?" I heard the air rush out of Sue as a gasp. "She helped me then, she has continued to help me. She even works at the company now because when Jillian's Dad had his heart attack I was desperate."

"Are you fucking her?" She said with a definite edge in her voice.

"I don't know if it's really your business but no. We are friends who talk. She is the one who told me I needed to be honest with you. If you found out we were friends later, any trust we built would be broken again."

"How do you know she isn't taking you for a ride? Setting you up against me so she can take you away. Have you kissed her?" She asked.

"Yes, once, when she was happy she got into a class she wanted," I replied. "So have you fucked anyone? Have you kissed anyone?" I shot back.

"No, I haven't, really. I oh, I um kissed one of my high school boyfriends. But it was nothing." She replied.

"Really, nothing?" I spat into the phone. "You go out with friends and kiss one of your old boyfriends?"

"It wasn't like that. I'm not going to fuck him. He was nice, it was a kiss like old friends." She argued.

"We have some trust issues, Sue. I don't trust you. And I don't think you trust me. I like you! Hell, I still love you. But every time I have to trust you right now I don't. And I don't think you trust me either."

She sobbed into the phone. "It was only a kiss like we give our friends Chase. It didn't mean any more than that. You need to believe me"

"How long do you think I was fucking Emily?" I asked her.

"A few months maybe" she answered, "I don't know. You were attached at the hip for the whole summer. Why, what does she have to do with this"

I could feel the hostility between us.

"The one night. That was it. Just once. I never even thought I would ever or could ever fuck her until it happened." I said. "I have told you that so many times. I think I fucked her because I was so surprised that she was even interested in a washed up husband who couldn't keep his wife happy"

The line was silent..

"We have some trust issues to work out Sue" I said. "and we need to decide on the cabin."

"I guess we have to sell it. But if the money from it goes to the house, who owns the house? You get everything then. That's not fair either!" Sue stated.

"I told you if we divorce the house is yours. I would still hold the property that the business uses, but that has little value now, but over time will gain value. Just as the house does for you."

"But you are in the house now. I am living with my parents."

"Sue, you chose to go until you figured stuff out. I wasn't going to move the kids and me somewhere else and I can't afford while the house sat waiting for you to come live there. Hell I didn't even know you'd gone until, I talked with my mom 4 days later."

"You what? I sent a text" she said astonished.

"When I heard you being fucked by that asshole and cumming over the phone I threw it. It stayed at the office. I thought I shattered it, but I just broke the screen so bad it was hard to see. I sold the business, talked to the realtor, made arrangements with the lawyer and left. I did stay to confront the asshole one more time, but even then he wouldn't settle a score like a man."

I did leave a little bit out. I didn't fill her in on the details of my encounter with Darren and their driver that occurred after our fight.

"If your mother wouldn't have tried to call, the kids would have been abandoned at the daycare." I said.

I had a nagging thought about that. Something that didn't fit together. How had her parents and my parents put stuff together to get the kids. I wondered if there was part of the story she wasn't telling me.

"It's late, we are getting worked up over this stuff. One step at a time. I'll sell the cabin. It's a great deal. After that's all settled then we can take our next steps." I said

"Ok" she agreed, "good night Chase. I love you!"

"I love you too. I'll call tomorrow. Maybe if you'd like, you could take the girls for the weekend."

"I'd like that, talk to you then" she hung up.

I was trashed. The energy and the toll this was taking was never ending it seemed.

Bed and sleep followed quickly.

The weekend was a new level of loneliness. I drove the girls out on Friday. I had nothing to occupy my time until Sunday night when Sue was bringing them home. It was a cool rainy weekend. I thought about going to the cabin, but the deal hadn't closed.

I binge watched Netflix shows and ate crappy food all weekend.

Sunday around 7 Sue pulled in. The kids were yelling and carrying on. I got two massive hugs. Sue gave me a peck on the cheek and a soft hug.

"Would you be ok if I went and got some clothes? I didn't have much with my parents. " she asked.

"Go ahead," I said. I got the girls into the bathtub and washed their hair. When they were done in the tub it was PJ's and getting ready for bed.

Amanda insisted on reading to both Sue and I, and then they fell asleep.

Sue had a suitcase by the door of clothes. I asked her if she wanted to go talk and have tea or coffee.

"Coffee if you're ok with that. Tea and I'd fall asleep on the way back " she replied. She sat on the couch.

"How did the weekend go?" I asked.

"Good, Friday was just getting settled, Saturday we went to the park. Then we went for ice cream with friends. Saturday evening we watched kids movies until way past their bedtime. Today was nice. My mom made pancakes for breakfast for us. And then we went and cleaned up the spare bedroom. Mom and Dad thought it would be easy to turn it into a room for the girls when they come over."

"Sounds like fun"

"What about you? How was your weekend?" I saw her eyes searching me for clues.

"I needed a weekend to relax and chill. I never left the house." I saw her reaction. It looked like she was happy and disappointed at the same time.

"You should have gone out with friends," she said. Sounds a bit concerning.

"Jimmy has a new temporary squeeze. And the rest of our friends would involve a lot of painful catching up. This was nice." I countered

"I have to tell you something, '' she said after a moment. "Brian, from my old class, is looking for a part time receptionist. He offered me the job.'' she was watching me like a hawk. I realized I tensed up. She did too. "I wanted to talk to you because I need something, but he is an old boyfriend. I don't want that to get in the way of anything you and I getting back..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

"So you've been talking to your old boyfriend, how much does he know about us?" I asked

"He knows I screwed up. He knows I did a lot of harmful things. But most importantly he knows I want you back." She said,

"Maybe it's just me, but I always hoped the person you would confide in would be me." I got up, and went back to the kitchen. "You do what you need to. If I remember you always said he was a nice guy." I poured myself a bit more coffee.

I came back and sat down. She was searching me with her eyes, trying to read me.

"I need the money. My psychiatrist is expensive. And I need to do something. I'm doing better, but I need to take some steps on my own." She said,

"Sue, take the position. Just make sure he doesn't take advantage of you being vulnerable." I told her.

"Thank you."

"So how long have you been seeing a psychiatrist?" I asked.

"My mom set me up to talk when I arrived. She thinks I had a nervous breakdown. My psychiatrist thinks I was having another type of anxiety disorder. She also thinks I likely have had numerous bouts of depression going back to high-school even." She told me.

"Anything I can do?" I asked

"Take me back, wave a wand and make this past year go away so we could do it over. That would be a good start" she said, half laughing.

I pretended to look for a wand, "sorry I think I must have lost that wand. I'll try to find it"