All Comments on 'Ch. 6, A Beginning'

You tell a powerful story. It was hard to read, due to all the raw emotion and pain, but it was worth the ride for me. BTB is relatively easy to write. A story with believable redemption and reconciliation is much, much harder to pull off. For me, at least, you succeeded. My only gripe is your posting this in 6 parts. I, personally found it disruptive to have to wait a day before reading each successive part. The story is much better appreciated when read in one sitting, IMHO. You write very well. Thanks for posting this. 5* from me.

Congratulations. Everything has been checked, everything on the list has been verified.

Personally, it felt like a recipe.

All the ingredients are there, now it's just a question of preparation.

1 the lover's suicide

2 wife's depression

3 wife gets smart and raises IQ to 65.

4 physical and psychological abuse as punishment

5 in the end, we finally think of the well-being of the children

It's good captain! Everything's ready for the RAAC.

But hush, Cook!

We can even make them believe it's a reconciliation.

Wow, quite the rollercoaster. Very intense, emotional story about imperfect people. 5* from me.

Stop at the belt. Not my cup of tea. No score

This was a powerful story about flawed people, and aren't we all? It was well written and a rather emotional journey. Nicely done.

Not quite a ‘Happy Ever After’. More a realization that the battle is over, a new day is dawning, and it’s time to tend to the wounded, make peace with adversaries, and celebrate survival.

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That John (and Marge) forgave Laura is not an indictment of his weakness (as Laura pondered in the coffee shop), but a display of his strength of character.

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The observations of their waitress, while seemingly a misreading of John’s and Laura’s affection, actually intuited the very real renaissance of their relationship.

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Interjecting Paster Neuman in the final scenes, and noting the congregants varied reactions to his perceived and real theatrics makes for a strong final commentary on both the potential for good and the widespread distrust of religion.

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Bravo. A compelling and heartrending emotional and intellectual powerhouse. Thank you very much.

Great story, and I loved it all!! Of course, being the pervert I am, a scene where he tortured her tits would have been nice too!!!! Great job!!!!

Hmmm - will we get to hear about Stacy and Harold, next?

This was a fantastic story of falling and forgiveness. Thank you, HJ!

This chapter posted on Easter Sunday. When is forgiveness, peace and love ever more meaningful?

Great story. Thank you!

Ha, the entire time I've been wondering how they would get back together, and I figured that it was going to be a new direction. Well, yeah, it's still a new direction for Laura and John, but... I didn't see "this" coming. It's not lost on me that the reconcile is on Easter! So yeah, 6 stars from me for the great story and great timing - even though I can only record 5.

That was wonderful. Thank you.

Forgiveness is as powerful as it is hard.

They’ll be ok.

I know.

Happy Easter

5*****

A powerful and emotional ending to a moving, and very real story of two flawed people. This was a reconciliation of sorts, but as the title suggests, really only a “beginning.” As another reader noted, the waitress got it right. She saw John and Linda as a couple on their first date just getting to know each other. I saw the baby steps, the repeated mutual confessions and forgiveness, but most important the willingness, despite the fear on both of their parts, to move into unknown and frightening territory, hopefully together. Bringing Pastor Neuman into the story at the end, especially the church scene, really seemed to cement and support in public what he saw John, Linda, and Marge trying to work through. The author is to be congratulated for a very realistic, mature, and thoughtful story.

That was an intensely emotional story. It was one of those stories that I had great difficulty in putting down. Each chapter was well written, and tugged at my heart. Thanks very much for that great contribution.

Thoughtful, nuanced, and clever. It’s stories like this that keep me coming back to LW after so much disappointment.

Started strong, but I’m glad it’s over. The last 2 chapters ruined an otherwise good story. 2*

Ahhh, strap that slut to a a bondage ross then hubby and the good widow can spank her ass then use her good and hard. She can clean hubbys splooge outta her pussy for using Georhe without permission

Convoluted with a non ending,

A truly stunning, true-to-life 5* story. The reconciliation worked and was clearly a work in progress.

It was well written but I ultimately didn’t like it. John will be eating a shit sandwich for as long as he is with Laura. Laura offered nothing in the way of atonement. Even accepting her punishment was done for purely selfish reasons. To have her faith central to the story and no atonement for her adultery means that she was not offered forgiveness, she was granted grace; something she was unworthy of, but granted nonetheless. But John will have to pay the price for that grace every day of his life by eating that shit sandwich.

5 stars.

Why should I choose to read something when I cried a bucket full reading this? No idea.

That hurt, that damned hurt when you know you're not the favourite toy anymore.

It is still all industrially fucked up, but sometimes that is the best you can have.

Honestly...

I am so relieved the series is finally over.

The dialogues berween John and Laura was quite torturous to read that I felt a certain urge to stop reading though I forced myself to finish reading and was quite relieved to finally see the word "End.".

My gut feeling was right all along.

It's RAAC.

Thanks @H. Jekyll for sharing this well-written story and finally ending it.

5s all the way through for me, even for the "painful" chapter.

Let he that is without sin cast the first stone?

That religious crap killed it for me.

Deep down I bet he wishes he’d let the divorce go through taking into account the BS that followed.

An intense roller coaster ride throughout a well written story.

Thank you for sharing. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

And in the end, he doesn't even get to fuck Marge. The story already cratered in the last chapter. Why continue it? This was unnecessary.

I was surprised that I found the ending so satisfying. It felt real. 5 stars; that was an accomplishment.

In total agreement with Harddaysknight. So consider this a repeat of that comment. And a sincere thank you to the author for not stopping at chapter 5.

@Hardaysknight if your inane comments were twice as worthwhile as you think they are, they would still only be half as clever as you think. Please go whittle a stick. To Jekyll well done on.a difficult story

I understand that the author has complete control over the plot and, perhaps, this detail gave the necessary degree of tension and drama, but... But, fucking shit, why did the adulterer George dive into the grave so quickly and unexpectedly? I would really like to see his mental anguish, remorse, perhaps an apology and get an idea of his true attitude towards Laura, their affair...

Well done (again)!

I am deeply impressed how many different angles of view you depict in your story.

You did a wonderful showing human faults and virtues and then finished it with with a realistic reconciliation at a very high cost. For all involved.

Do we need another abbreviation for this? RAHC?

A wolf in sheep's clothing, that's what this was; a modern day biblical story disguised as a porn yarn, using the aged old bones of the fallen woman motif and the social bomb it sets off in her circle and community. Everything from a man struggling to keep his inner demon in check to being abandoned and ostracized by all but a few are subtly laid out right in front and not realized until the last paragraph. Well done.

What I came away with from this series was a deep understanding about how utterly devastating infidelity can be on so many people. And how PERMANENTLY damaged such a selfish act can leave those most affected.

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All of the characters in this story were changed for the worse. Several profoundly. At the end of the day I don’t understand why or how John and Laura stayed together. Especially from his POV. What is the “value added” of remaining tied to that bitch after all of that? Why relive her cheating highlights in his mind over and over? He really needs to get away. IMHO.

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The overall series was a solid 5, even as the last 2 chapters…especially the one with all tne physical abuse….were not as strong. This ending was OK….while it did reinforce the permanence of the damage inflicted by Laura on everyone, it also consigned all of the affected to having to be reminded of it all going forward. In some ways, I’m with Stacy…..shove Lara out of your life and do something else that doesn’t involve her.

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4 ****

Wow. Simply masterful storytelling. From the dark into the light. Thanks again.

Thank you, H. Jekyll, for a great story. It deserves a much better rating in my opinion.

Just a lot of hollow words and excuses to forgive her? Not likely in this day and age.

Strong ending, I liked it, forgiveness and redemption are needed by us all.

Brilliant and profound. Something meaningful on this site so typically inundated with tired angry tropes.

6 months affair? No forgiving that. She does not respect him and never will

The so called Pastor should go back to Bible School. Jesus did NOT forgive the woman taken in adultery. He told her to “go thy way, and sin no more”. He told her to start the repentance process. She was to go away, she didn’t get to keep her husband that she had betrayed. She was also to stop having sexual relations with anyone, since she was no longer married. Perhaps sometime later, after she had truly repented, she would be forgiven. But not that day. Any time Jesus forgave someone, He specifically said: “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” He didn’t say that to the adulterous woman!

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Christians who misuse that passage of Scripture minimize the vast difficulty in repenting of adultery, and receiving forgiveness.

/

ZK

So John settles for the devil that he knows. He seems to be more afraid of the unknown than of a future that he knows will be problematic at best. At least it's not a full blown RAAC. The bit about the server was probably the most original element in this chapter. A very well written account of a tragic affair that concludes with profuse mouthings of forgiveness that both parties must realize are not completely true. 5 stars.

You should warn people at the start when you are writing a cuck story!

I so enjoyed this story. It is one of your best for sure.

It gets 5/5 and into my favourites

The scorpion warned the frog, and he didn't listen, either. Ouch. Oh, well, 4 outta six is still 66.6667%.

Well, I still do not understand Laura at all. I wish there could have been some kind of character examination or dissection.

She really doesn't make sense unless she is some kind of simpleton that should never be without her babysitter.

This was well written however and I appreciate the entertainment.

I don't know quite why this story is so moving, but it is. 5*****

Brilliant. The whole story but especially this last part has a feel like Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg Ohio. All the secrets as well as public woes and scandals in a small town, here a small city and congregation. The characters who appear briefly have their own secrets, joyful and sad. You really have the beginning of a story cycle here.

I couldn't agree less with Mattblackuk's assessment that this story is true to life. In my life, if my wife had pulled some disrespectful bullshit like this she would never have been allowed back into my home let alone my heart or my bed. And the author even took the absolute horseshit path of John taking some responsibility for Laura being a cheating slut. Utter rubbish.

I thought this was only going to be a 5 part story? Please add some realism and have John loudly, publicly disavow this slut and move on with his life. No man wants to start and end his day looking at his "wife" and think of some other guy assfucking her after she's sucked his dick, things she'd never do with her own husband. Noooo, a man is not going to live his entire life that way. The story seems to indicate that John and Laura are young. Those images are going to be seared into his mind, playing on loop for decades.

I hate to say this due to the resistance of males to utter accolades to others , especially in a public setting , but this was superbly written and held my interest throughout . Even considering the voluminous amounts of dialog , which usually becomes mundane and bores me to no end , this story in its entirety , kept my interest . Fun and witty humor at times and yet passionately dramatic at others . Like a bi-polar Shakespearean play . 5 ‘oh Romeo’s’ from this reader!

A good story. The thing about apologies and forgiveness, it only means what time reveals. Sincere at the moment given, but temptation and human weakness tend to erode the most sincere intentions. So the chapter is over, but the story will continue until they are dead. And anyone can guess what that might be like. She won't get caught a second time, and there are two possible reasons for that.

The divide between the two camps of RAAC and BTB seems even further apart than ever, one says too much the other says not enough, I say thanks to HJ await your next offering. Not to dark is you are taking requests :-) 2M

RAAC, of course. What else to expect from this author?

Can you do it. Can you write Laura's version of this story. Why she did it? Her lover killing himself. John's version was one of the more thought provoking stories written on this site related to the pain, suffering, cost and thoughts related to cheating. Just a thought.

At the outset of Chapter 1, the author stated, “I will submit all five chapters within a single week,” which I misunderstood to mean there were only five chapters, and wrote concluding comments after Ch. 5.

Having read Ch. 6, the series could have ended at Ch. 5. Forgiveness is a good plotline, particularly on Easter Sunday, but did not add any drama or new insight.

Author stressed that we were on a third Laura. I am unconvinced with that sort of change in a person’s personality. We are seeing different personality characteristics of the same Laura. The current Laura is the sweet thing he married, but who had no occasion to cheat; and who then for personal gratification chose to cheat over a period of six months when the opportunity presented itself, and stopped only because she was caught. The “new” Laura is simply the old Laura who now recognizes that she has to pay penance for her sins to not lose her family. Laura was forced to reluctantly face George’s wife because Laura still lacks the remorse of someone who truly understood the evil she had created, and who should have wanted to fall before the widow to apologize.

Laura will likely never cheat again, not because she did not enjoy the experience or is undisposed to act on those desires, but because the risk of being caught outweighs the pleasure. Still, there is much personal and societal benefit to reconciliation.

Man, you're getting a lot of undeserved criticism for this one. People do bad things, people can sometimes forgive, life moves on. This was a really good story. Not really fun to read, but I kind of feel like I did after I saw the Deer Hunter - glad I saw it, but wouldn't want to do it again.

I couldn’t agree more with shoprat. Some readers expect perfection in the characters, and will not accept a relationship that is not perfect. I don’t know where they got their life experience, but people are invariably flawed and can make dreadful mistakes. Compromise is what make relationships in the real world work, unless it is a master/slave relationship. Marriages are always a matter of compromise, and both parties learn soon enough that they cannot get everything they want if the marriage is to survive. Some readers create the perfect marriage in their mind and so expect brutal and unforgiving punishment or revenge in the stories they read. Anything less than that they perceive as unacceptable “weakness.” Stories vary widely in how they interpret human relationships and it seems that those that hew more closely to real life (viz. more compromise) come under the harshest criticism, as if the author does not have the right to create his/her own “reality,” but must adhere to some kind of absolutist standard imagined by some readers. “RAAC” seems to be a pejorative that ignores that there are always costs in a relationship. If the parties think the costs to preserve or build a new relationship are acceptable, no matter how high, then who can judge them? In these stories, it all comes down to how deftly the author has drawn his/her characters and how consistent their thoughts and actions are with their character, as drawn by the author. The author sets the standard. The dramatic and emotional impact is greatest when they step outside of their character, and how they deal with it, as drawn by the author. It seems that with LW fiction, a lot of readers don’t hesitate to criticize the author for not adhering to their own imagined standards and for not writing the story as they would desire.

Feels a bit contrived. The damage done between this couple is major and not something you easy forgive or ever forget. Seems too far fetched for them to stay together.

Brilliantly written. I thought your use of italics text to show what the characters were thinking was particularly effective. I also appreciated that you broke this up into shorter chapters making it easier to read and reflect on. Your story fully captured the pain that betrayal by a spouse can inflict. Thank you!!

Ambul is spot on. Kudos on writing a hard fought reconciliation. Never mind the juvenile sensibilities of the hardcore BTB crowd spouting off looking to burn it all down. Well done.

Yes, a good story. Not a very pleasant read, it was actually heart breaking. I did like the ending. Day by day. I hope they make it.

When we forgive those who have done us wrong, we reap the benefits. We shouldn't question anyone's sincerity. We need to examine ourselves first!

5

First of all you are an incredible writer, but the story matters. You made Laura's crime so bad that this story should have ended with part 4 with her leaving. A epilog could have wrapped up everything after that. Not every story has to be a BTB or a RAAC. Read Olympusmons90's Doctors without Borders. The wife has a longterm affair like Laura and is married to her childhood sweetheart; the only man that she has ever loved. In that story the realization that the marriage cannot be saved happens and the get divorced and move on with their lives. A sad story, but not a BTB. For a reconciliation done well read Slirpuff's Room with a View who has an emotional affair with another man (still cheating). The main character faces the anger and betrayal and by the end I actually cheered when they reconciled. You have so many awesome parts in your 6 chapter story: his reaction to her offering him a blowjob, Laura's speech at the therapist in chapter 4, the visit to church in chapter 6.

You can use the bible and quote the parable about whoever is without sin may cast the first stone at the adulterer and the command to offer forgiveness to all that hurt you to justify reconciliation in any instance. However forgiveness doesn't cause you to forget and there is still the issue of trust which you totally ignore.

This story is like Laura is an axe murderer who kills all of her husband's friends and family. The police finally catch up with her and kill her partner George. Her husband visits her in prison where she continues to claim that she loves him. While awaiting trail she finds religion. The judge hears that she loves her husband and Jesus so she is a changed woman and dismisses all her charges. She is released, reconciles with her husband and lives happily ever after. That is what this story felt like. Instead of feeling happy for them you just say what the fuck?

A previous review said that they didn't like each chapter being released separately. Normally I would agree, but I never would have read past chapter 4 if it all had been released at once.

TLDR: 5 stars for writing ability, but the story matters and it gets 1 star. Because I believe that you can write great stories I will look forward to your future submissions.

… are those who can’t summon the strength to forgive.

Forgiveness isn’t for the benefit of the offender. Forgiveness is for the one who was sinned upon, because without it, they will never heal. They will always have that raw, open wound in their soul, one that keeps them from ever moving on and becoming whole.

Seems there’s a whole lot of people on this site who never want to heal. They claim they can’t, but the truth is they really don’t, because they love being wounded.

@Someoneother You sure talk a good story but you should take some of your own advice and try craft something better than the drivel you have written so far. Otherwise leave the better authors to do their thing without inserting your dime's worth of critical review.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are two very different things. Forgiveness on this case is for the husband to get closure and heal. Reconciliation is granting grace to Laura so she can be with John again. The latter is entirely NOT warranted in this story as her betrayal is far to epic. John can forgive Laura, but has no basis to stay married to Laura, despite all thr therapy sessions. What she did was so extreme, it was equivalent of torturing and murdering their marriage because when it came to her newfound sexuality, she became essnetially psychotic. It isn't even just what she didnwith George, it was what she would not do with John. What husband is stupid enough to not get seriously paranoid or cautious when they have no intimacy for an extended period of time barring pregnancy or health problems. Agree it should have ended with an epilog after Chapter 4. Just move on. I like a reconciliation as much as the next guy, but this was decidedly gross given her massive betrayal. Long term mulitmonth affairs are almost invariably the death if a marriage. But her actions given what she did NOT do for her husband make her adultery even worse. Their marriage by the end of chapter 4 was like a horse with a broken leg. Just put a bullet it in the marriage and move on. With her newfound sexuality, she will sadly (almost certainly) self destruct afte the divorce, as her new sexuality takes control of her life and runs her into oblivion. Sad, but most likely outcome. She is beyond damaged goods.

Lots of talk about forgiveness here. Yes it is important to forgive so you can release the anger that comes with being cheated on. Forgiving is one thing, but forgetting will be almost impossible based on what she did. It will be unlikely that he will ever be able to trust her again and it's impossible to have a healthy relationship without trust. He should have walked away at the end of chapter 4.

Ruttweiler summed it up pretty well...a weak man can't summon the strength to forgive. As Jesus hung on that cross, He said "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." Part of the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" The last chapter has to be 5 stars.

Very powerful story, couldn’t put it down, I read all six chapters straight through. Thank you for your time and effort. KS

IMHO the first 3 chapters, 4 stars. Ch. 4 , 3 stars, ch. 5, 2 stars and ch. 6 ,1 star.

It's interesting how most of the comments follow the usual LW pattern: Don't like reconciliation, low rating; reconciliation ok, higher rating. Many readers forget: the story is the author's story. You don't need to agree with his "philosophy" to rate his story. We all should rate a story on its own merits: Did the author tell a compelling story? Did he write well, without too many unforced errors? Did his characters develop? Did he keep your attention through to the end?

H. Jekyl certainly succeeded in this story. It's certainly not my story, and I won't rate it that way. I give Mr. Jekyl 5 stars for the compelling, entertaining story he wrote.

I saw another chapter had been added after the 5th chapter that I thought killed the story. I had enough interest in the original premise to see what it was about, but enough distaste from the last chapter to only give it a quick read, only skimmed it. I didn't rate the story, b/c I skimmed most of it. However, the writer is reponsible for taking an awesome start to a story, and interesting characters, and turning it into something I had to force myself to skim through for a sense of completion. This is a skilled writer that just didn't deliver a satisfying conclusion. And I don't mean that the story was wrong b/c it was a (maybe) reconciliation, but rather, as portrayed, the characters don't seem to have much reason for reconciling, aside from shared kids. A good reconciliation story paints a picture of the reasons for the reconciliation. This story still mostly had me feeling the wife was mostly portrayed as being sorry she was caught (and the consequences of being caught), not sorry about what she did.

Good story; also about the only way I would take her back

By far the best posting in LW for quite some time. Introspective and intelligent with real angst, grief and true emotion. This deserves a wider audience than it will likely get. Can’t wait for your next effort.

I’ve known a few pastors like like Preacher Neuman. They can be very effective. After the beginning of this story, the last thing I expected was a RAAC. Still an excellent story.

Maybe some people can get by cheating but having grown up during the period after wII Ijust never saw it. I did see the families destroyed. Once a cheater alway one.

Well done.

Second time through to examine Laura more closely.

She seemed to just have been a truly rotten person at the point of her affair.

Someone that was simply a disgusting and unforgivable backstabber.

She served some penance but it's interesting to speculate if she will ever have a chance to redeem herself.

Laura is a deranged sociopath who enjoys the situation when it is about her. Pastor Neuman and the psychotherapist are parasites, as usual.

Damn, this was a whirlwind, of emotion pain and despair. Very well written. I enjoy stories that explore emotion and reaction to different situations and events. The part of the counselor or therapist it wqs a bit weird for me, she didnt seem very good and felt that she was a little over the place, but meh, I get the story is not about that. For a short time I almost, almost stop reading when things got cruel, I really tought he was gone through the rabbit hole, but Im glad I kept reading, is not that I wanted a happy ending, but I do like conclusions one way or another, and I bought the reconciliation, I think it was well done and had a good arc.(Even if it was a bit short). Even if Marge and George dont really show up a lot in the story is interesting to me how you portrayed very differently the reactions amd actions on the fout people involved. Marge seem a bit resigned and even a little relieved ( I dont mean happy) John and Laura stepped on the edge and look down the abyss in different ways. And managed to come back even if as different people. George just got pulled down by the dark void of it. Very good story. 5/5

An’t say it better than @legacybad. Great story and actually I was looking for a last chapter with redemption and reconciliation. Thank you for hard work