Another Love - Final Justice

This is a resubmission as the original was fraudulently reported as not having RichardGerald's blessing to publish an alternate ending. Please join me thanking the person who keeps reporting my stories, the attention gets me extra readers. Also join me in wishing the site administrators would check some of these malicious claims before acting. Finally, rest assured, these bullying tactics will never drive me off this site.

In July and August 2016, Richardgerald published a trilogy called "ANOTHER LOVE". Readers scored Part 1 well as it describes a good, strong man finding out his wife cheated on him over a number of years. Part 2 was, in my opinion, excessively lambasted, as it gave his wife's side of the story of an unjustifiable second love and also implicated one of their children in a cover-up. Part 3 saw the author crucified. In many people's eyes readers were robbed of justice when our hero turned from a strong character to weak.

Undoubtedly a talented writer, I think RG overestimated the sophistication of the readership who didn't see Karen's regret at having hurt her husband as adequate punishment even with Rob being recompensed with an MFF threesome. In RG's own words to me, "No one got the story".

I was one of those that was left screaming for justice to be done, so I contemplated a sequel. However, I like a large element of originality in my stories and I couldn't think of anything original to punish those that deserved it, and there were no shortage of those. Karen, the wife, unrepentant to the end. She deceived her husband for over twenty years and even used his children to perpetuate the deception, which, in turn, damaged their relationship with their father. Avril, the lover's wife, and her extended family, who condoned the affair. Of course, the main perpetrator was the lover, but he died before the start of the story.

Then I read some of the comments on Chapter 3. One anonymous commenter couldn't see how the lover could be punished as he was dead, and wrote the line, "You can't fight a ghost."

Those words stuck with me. I agreed with the commenter. And then it hit me; maybe you can't fight a ghost, but you can destroy one.

From that premise, I started writing. As you would expect from me, everyone that deserves it is subject to appropriate, and, I hope, original justice. Until recently RG denied me permission to publish this sequel and I respected that. Recently, he changed his mind for which I thank him. Initially, he wanted me to be gentle on Karen but, for me, she's just too evil for that. As I said to him, you created the monster, now it has to be destroyed. Having said that, this sequel treats Karen as a relatively minor character, as RG intended.

The sequel starts after the end of Chapter 2. For full effect, I suggest reading the original Chapters 1 and 2 first, so you can get as offended as I was. I hope the unusual choice of main characters in this story works.

A hearty thanks to all those that reviewed this story and, as usual, it is far better because I have the best editor on the site in CreativityTakesCourage. Maybe you could thank her and do yourself a favour by reading her excellent works.

Please don't disappoint me and yourself by saying Rob's nature changes between RG's version and mine. In RG's three chapters, Rob's character changed completely. I chose the uncompromising Rob of chapter 1.

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Kevin McDonald stood impatiently at the arrivals concourse at Chicago's O'Hare airport waiting for his little brother to arrive from LA. During a scan of the faces of the incoming passengers he caught sight of his reflection in a pane of glass and realised that he looked as haggard as he felt. He'd only managed about four hours sleep in the two nights since the email had arrived from his father. The email that proved the estrangement he'd felt for years toward, not only his father, but his little brother, was based on a lie. The feelings of guilt, remorse, and a terrible sadness for the lost years that could never be retrieved, was eating him alive.

An hour after reading the email, he was still staring at the screen, contemplating ringing Oscar, when the former rang him for the first time in over two years. When the younger brother heard how devastated the elder was, he'd rung off, organised leave and an airline ticket as quickly as he could. Now, here he was, thirty-six hours later striding out of the gate lounge area.

The brothers hugged awkwardly, then went to Kevin's car. They were quiet on the drive back to Kevin's place. Both men were hoping like hell their estrangement would end, but neither knew exactly how to start the conversation. Subliminally, they both feared their emotional divide was too entrenched and would never be breached. Neither gave thought to how their difficulty in discussing their emotions mirrored that of their father.

It wasn't until Oscar was settled in the spare bedroom that they quit stalling and got down to business.

"What happened with Mom in LA, Oscar?"

"Well, her visit was going normally until she got this phone call from some woman called Avril."

"Wow. Avril. There's a name from the past."

"The past?"

"Yeah. Don't you remember her?"

"No. Who is she?"

"Are you sure you don't remember? Small, Eurasian woman." At Oscar's shake of the head, Kevin continued, filling in the information. "Up until you were about eight or nine, I suppose, we used to occasionally go and see a guy called Phillipe, Mom's boyfriend, and sometimes there was a woman there called Avril. Sometimes she would look after us while Mom went into a bedroom with Phillipe."

"I remember Phillipe, of course, but not the woman."

"Well, Avril was Phillipe's wife."

"Actually, now you come to remind me, I vaguely remember her. Hang on, weren't Mom and Phillipe in the bedroom having sex?"

"Yes, they were. Phillipe and Avril had an open marriage."

Both men paused to contemplate their own thoughts on such an arrangement. They both started to feel uncomfortable as those thoughts led toward the reason for their estrangement from each other.

Memories mixed with new information and in a moment of clarity Kevin now knew why the children's visits to Phillipe's had stopped after one such trip. Oscar had asked some innocent but difficult questions as they drove home. Their mother had given some vague replies and then stressed the importance of not mentioning the visit to their father. Her words echoed in his head, "Your father is a proud man, he doesn't like to be reminded, so you must remember to never mention Phillipe and Avril's names."

Anger at the memory of his mother's selfish lies festered in his gut. To distract himself, Kevin asked a question.

"What happened when Avril rang Mom in LA?"

"Well, Mom got real upset, then tried to ring Dad. After that, she talked to you and I tried to ring Dad but he didn't answer. You tried too. Right?"

At Kevin's nod, Oscar continued. "I didn't get to talk to her before she left. She spent the night crying in the bedroom. After she left, I thought it was strange that she was acting like Dad didn't know about Phillipe. I mean, that's the one thing I do remember. She always said Dad knew."

Silence descended again. They both knew this was the moment they became brothers again or remained strangers. Oscar broke the silence in a soft voice.

"Why did you lie to me, Kevin?"

There it was. The crux of the matter. The main reason sleep had eluded Kevin for days. Once again he replayed their conversation of four years ago in his mind.

It took place just before Oscar left for LA, when he'd had what he'd described as a crisis of respect. The disturbing memories of his mother's trips to see her boyfriend didn't sit at all well with his respect for his father, a clearly intelligent and capable man. One who'd always acted honourably as far as Oscar could tell. Confused about his conflicted feelings, he'd gone to the one person who he thought would understand; his brother. He'd asked Kevin what the story was.

Kevin had told him why he shouldn't confront his father. His father knew about their Mom and Phillipe but had insisted it was never talked about. It was a matter of pride. Oscar was old enough to see that point, but still wanted to confront his father. Kevin empathised with his little brother fully. They both had the same dilemma. How could their father expect his sons to respect him when he let his wife sleep with other men? That was the reason Rob and his eldest son were already estranged. Afterwards, Kevin made Oscar promise not to raise the issue with their dad, it was the start of the serious estrangement between Rob and his second son. For both, what began as a wedge became what seemed an insurmountable chasm.

"Please believe me, Bro, I didn't lie to you intentionally. Mom told me all along that Dad knew about Phillipe but insisted no one must ever mention it. She lied to me, Oscar. I am guilty of repeating her lie. I'm sorry, but it wasn't until his email arrived two days ago that I realised that it was all bull."

Kevin averted his eyes, so Oscar wouldn't see his tears. Oscar reached down to his carry bag and got out his laptop, mainly so he had an excuse to look away. He fired it up and pulled the email to the screen. He knew it by heart already but read aloud anyway.

My Dear Sons,

Please forgive me for writing the following in an email rather than speaking to you directly, but I am too emotional to control my thoughts and words.

I recently discovered your mother had an affair with another man for years. Apparently, it started over a year before I went to Kuwait and lasted for years after I returned. It only stopped with his recent death

. She confessed that her lover lived with you the whole time I was away. She told me that she even took you both to see him after I returned.

Before you panic and think I bear you any ill will, hear me out. She explained that she always told you not to mention anything about it and I can understand why you kept her confidence. She put you in the position of keeping her secret or destroying our family. If for no other reason, that is why I am divorcing the evil bitch. I know it is unlike me to use language like that but knowing what I now know I can't see her actions as anything short of evil. Monstrous, even.

I bear neither of you any ill will for choosing our family unity. I now realise that the reason you drifted away from me was the conflict you must have felt over this dilemma. I was proud of you the days you were born and still maintain that pride now you are men.

Back to your mother's confession. I got so wild listening to her. It was obvious she felt no regret or remorse for her affair. She even seemed proud of the power and strength of the love she felt for this French Canadian prick. She tried to rationalise the start of the affair as needing someone to look after her and you two when I went off to war. I shot that particular delusion down when I pointed out that the affair started a year before Saddam Husucks even invaded Kuwait. That was the only thing I confronted her about that night, though, as I was too wild to talk most of the time.

We spoke again the following day, when I'd calmed down a little. I tried to make her feel some guilt for what she'd done but failed in all cases except one. I pointed out that other military wives didn't cope with the danger their husbands were in by having an affair, even soldiers closer to the action than I was.

I pointed out how devastated I would have been to find out when I was over there and the added danger that would have put me in. Or, if I'd found out upon my return from the Gulf when I was suffering from PTSD. That knowledge would have finished me off, for sure. It pains me to have to tell you both that she just looked at me blankly.

I pointed out that all of the rationales Phil-Du-Sleazy-Asshole used to get her into bed were just part of a clever seduction. I don't know why I wasted my breath. I sincerely hope you never find out, first-hand, how humiliating it feels to know that while you're away from home, some other guy is in your bed. It's devastating. For the record, it feels like he has taken all your power away from you and stripped you of your manhood. It's far worse than a bullet or being blown up. Its galling to know he must have been laughing his socks off at me the entire time.

I was getting wild again because she refused to show any remorse except that I'd found out. I made a hasty, but correct decision and told her that the main reason I was divorcing her was that she'd driven you away from me. It is not my intention to burden you boys or make you feel guilty but I must put to paper the truth. The distance between us has always been a source of pain and sadness for me, as well as a frustration. No matter what I did or said it was always there. I will never forgive her for being the cause of that.

When I told her that, I could see she'd never seen it in that light and I thought I'd finally gotten through to her. She rallied though. You won't believe it, but she actually said that her love for Phillipe Du Cuckoo actually justified how she'd deceived you. There was a look in her eye, though, that told me she was having conscience problems.

I left again. I couldn't look at her. That was last night. I'm guessing your mother has been too embarrassed to contact either of you.

I have to go now as I have an appointment to keep. Whatever your role in this, I will always love you. Please forgive me for being so naïve about your mother, which put you in an impossible position. My only excuse is love does that to you. You trust and believe and think the best until something happens to make that impossible.

Please don't try to contact me for a few days. I have things to sort out. After I've finished, I would love to hug you both.

Your loving father.

Both men now had tears streaming unashamedly down their cheeks. It was minutes before Kevin could speak in a voice that didn't quaver.

"We have to tell him as soon as possible. After all these years he deserves the truth. He has to know that the reason we pulled away from him wasn't because we were keeping a secret but that we couldn't handle him allowing Mom to have a lover. We have to tell him it was because she lied to us."

"I agree. There's something else we can do as well."

"What's that?"

"Well, the poor guy's confidence must be shot to hell. Finding out your wife screwed another guy for years must have hit him where it hurts most. I had a girlfriend cheat on me last year and it was real bad."

"But... but..."

"What?"

"But Mom said you were gay."

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Yeah, she said you had a live-in boyfriend called Mark."

"The fucking bitch. She thinks I'm gay because of Mark? Because I have a male housemate? Christ, it's LA. Doesn't she know how high the rents are? And, so what if I have some gay friends? That doesn't make me gay. It makes me non-fucking-judgemental or inclusive or whatever the fuck they call it when you don't give a fucking shit about someone's sexuality. This is all because I never introduced any of my girlfriends to her whenever she fucking visited."

A stunned silence descended. Finally, Kevin, who had never heard Oscar use the work 'fuck' so much in one conversation before, found his voice again.

"It didn't sound like you, when Mom told me. You were always after some girl in high school but Mom sounded so certain. And, you know, there's nothing wrong with being gay." At Oscar's opening his mouth to possibly rant some more, Kevin quickly continued. "Now, what can we do about Dad's confidence?"

"I was thinking. Dad has no confidence because Phillipe stole it. He used the term 'stripped of his manhood.' We just have to figure out a way of destroying Phillipe. It will be our gift to Dad. Our apology, if you like, for how we treated him."

"But Phillipe is dead."

"Not a problem. We just have to destroy his ghost."

"How the hell do you destroy a ghost?"

"That, brother, is what we have to figure out."

They withdrew into their own heads again. Kevin finally broke the silence.

"There's something else we have to decide, as well."

"What's that?"

"We have to decide if we forgive Mom."

"Are you serious? The bitch lied to us, disrespected Dad, and drove a wedge between us and him, as well as you and me. Now she's going around telling people I'm gay. I can't speak for you, but I'm not feeling all that forgiving right now."

"Some people might say that love forgives all sins. She told me all along that she loved both Dad and Phillipe."

"Fuck that, Bro. There's a name for married women that sleep with other men. That word is always 'slut'."

Knowing their brotherly love was secure, Oscar and Kevin composed a joint email to their father setting the record straight and begging his forgiveness, even though it had already been given. Kevin then dragged out a case of beer and they drank the lot.

As the night dragged on, the plans got progressively more evil. The final one, they thought, would destroy many memories, reputations, and one life. They were wrong. It would destroy at least two, but they couldn't foresee that. In their drunken stupor, they thought it was the perfect gift for the great man that was their father. At 3a.m., Kevin went online to book seats on a plane home the next afternoon.

In the cold light of the next day, they realised the plan was a little extreme and toned it down as the plane flew at 30,000 feet.

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At the same time his sons were resting their throbbing heads on plane cushions, Rob was sitting waiting in a hotel in Mount Royal, Montreal. Absolutely frustrated at not being able to get his wife to see she'd done anything wrong; he was looking here for answers.

"No," he thought. "I don't want answers. I just want to spread my pain around. I'm the only one that's done nothing wrong. So why am I the only one hurting?"

Time to redress that balance. He had a plan.

On arrival yesterday, he'd gone to see Avril at her home. During a very uncomfortable conversation, he'd gathered that although she regretted that her friend Karen had seen fit to hide her affair with Phillipe from him, she saw nothing she'd personally done as being wrong.

Rob didn't buy it. Karen and Avril had been friends for twenty years. Was she really saying that not once in all that time was his reaction to Karen's relationship with Phillipe discussed? That was either a lie or absolute negligence on Avril's part.

They'd parted with Avril feeling guilty enough that she'd agreed to ask some of her family members over so Rob could meet them. He asked for as many of them as Avril could muster, especially the ones who'd been there that Christmas in 1990. He was now waiting for word that the conspirators were gathered.

The phone call came at a little after one in the afternoon; the clan was gathered. Avril's mother and two daughters were there, as was Phillipe Du Monte's aging mother and various relatives; fifteen in all.

Rob pulled out his map and rehearsed again the shortest route to the border. He then drove to the house he'd come to call "Cuckoo Manor." Composing himself in his car, he reviewed his goals. Okay; goal, singular. His one and only aim was to make as many people as possible realise exactly how he felt. He was determined to be heard. His reconnaissance of yesterday had shown him exactly how to do that. He grinned and opened the car door.

Avril let him in the front door and took him into the parlour, the same room they'd spoken in the previous day. Rob strode in and made a beeline for the huge mantelpiece above the open fire, the one holding the brass urn that contained the ashes of his nemesis.