Change of Rules Pt. 02

CHANGE OF RULES - Part Two

By Hotprof1973

First off, thanks to rnebular for once again taking the time to edit and give suggestions to improve this story. When I initially wrote which is now "Part One" to this story, I thought it was over. In my mind, a line was crossed that my main character could not get past, so end of marriage. I've mentioned before, like real life, in my stories that line varies from character to character. It's based on how I view the character, not my own personal morals about marriage. Since publishing "Change of Rules," I was surprised to have received so many requests to turn this into a reconciliation story. I even received two requests by writers to write the follow-up themselves after I already had the first draft of this done. I politely requested they wait for my own sequel. The last time I caved to multiple requests to continue a story, the awful sequel to "Happy Anniversary in Vegas" happened (my only story that I feel is scored higher than it deserves). I sincerely hope this is a big step-up. Those who thought Morgan got off way too easily in Part One, a warning: you're really going to not like this one. Hopefully, all the people who requested this sequel by both comments and private DM's will. All sexually active characters in this story are 18 years old or older.

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Alvin walked into the pub and saw his friend's eyes light up as he approached him. Mark's arms went wide and though Alvin wasn't normally much of a hugger -- especially with his male friends -- he put his arms around his old friend and accepted the big hug.

"Al, shit man, so good to see you," Mark said releasing the older man, "It's been a while."

Alvin couldn't help but smile back as he shook his head. "Come on, not that long."

"Over six months since you transferred jobs and left town while remaining completely off the radar." Mark gestured back to the table where he had a pitcher of beer waiting. "I get you staying off social media, but you could email or text."

"Really? I thought that's how I told you that I needed to return to town overnight to clear up some final stuff for work."

Alvin rolled his eyes, though he knew exactly what Mark meant. He'd hardly contacted Mark, Grant or any of his other friends since he left town. Alvin didn't really want to think about it, but that also meant it'd been eight, almost nine months since he walked out on Morgan after that last argument.

Mark also rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Forget about it. I imagine you've been busy -- new city, new single-ish life. Hopefully you're happy, meeting new people -- by that I mean women willing to spread their legs for your sorry ass."

"Of course," Alvin lied with a forced smile. "Hardly getting any sleep every weekend."

Mark looked at him and frowned. "I know Grant went to visit you a few months ago to drop off some things. I also suspect you haven't been trying to 'hook up' like he suggested and that's why you only told me that you were coming here."

Alvin scowled. "What the fuck does Grant know? He's not married -- you are. You get it. Fine, I'll tell you what I told him. After what happened, I'm really not ready for the whole dating thing. Plus, I'm aware of how I stack up physically compared to these other guys going after random one-nighters. I wouldn't exactly be getting what I was used to, so why bother?"

"You mean as good looking as Morgan?" Mark said and sighed. "Can I just say, without you getting all defensive, how things turned out really surprised me? Out of the three, you have to admit Morgan's indiscretions were a six out of ten at the most, while the other two were at least nine, maybe ten. Yet, you two were the only ones who didn't try to work things out. I've seen the other two couples lately, things still look a little awkward, but I can tell you all four look a hell of a lot happier than you and Morgan do."

"Well, maybe the other husbands are desperate idiots? Or didn't catch chlamydia from their wife not having sex?" Alvin used finger quotes for the last three words.

"You're not still on about that?" Mark shook his head. "All of three of them have come completely clean, and confirm Morgan didn't get fucked -- whether she got cold feet at the last minute or never was going to is the only real debate. I thought your doctor confirmed it easily could've been transmitted through oral sex?"

"Why the fuck are we even talking about this? It doesn't matter," Alvin snapped and was almost ready to stand and go back to his hotel room. The whole experience with an STD was still a sore topic for him and, in his mind, evidence of yet another lie from his estranged wife. The burning started a couple of days after he already fully moved out of the house while Morgan was at work. After the test confirmed what Alvin was afraid of, the doctor did say there was a chance it could be from oral sex, but most common way chlamydia would be spread was vaginal sex. Alvin already decided Morgan told one lie too many to remain with her, so he didn't see the use piling on that he caught her telling yet another one. However, he was getting tired of his friends trying to convince him that Morgan didn't 'act that bad' when the evidence was clearly stacked against her. Besides, it was her dishonesty more than straying that had driven him away.

"As your friend, please just hear me out. Afterwards, you can go back to being alone and miserable." Mark said holding out his hand. "Look, technically you are still married."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Alvin said coldly pouring himself a glass of beer from the pitcher. "I almost forgot that colossal waste of time having her served for divorce, only to have the judge insist on some sessions of counseling first, which we both agreed through our lawyers that we didn't want."

"No, you didn't want counseling," Mark countered gesturing with his finger, "Betty still talks with Morgan occasionally and she definitely wanted counseling, but told her lawyer not to fight it because she knew you didn't want it."

Betty was Mark's wife and while she wasn't one of Morgan's close friends, they'd done enough stuff together as couples that the two did socialize from time to time without their husbands.

"Furthermore," Mark continued, "since you basically abandoned her while still married, she legally didn't owe you anything. I know she gave you money from the sale of the house, which I remember that you guys bought with her uncle's inheritance."

"Yeah, Morgan sent me about half the value, so what. After so long, she can file for abandonment and would've had to do that anyway," Alvin argued, "She was just getting it over and done with so she could move on."

"Or trying to make it easier for you to move on because she feels like complete shit for what she did," Mark said with a shrug. "As you said, I get it better than Grant. If I learned Betty got drunk and partied naked in a hotel room with her friends and some random guys, I'd lose it too. I honestly can't say whether I'd stay married to her after that. However, after all our years together, I wouldn't have made the final decision to end it without trying immediately after learning what she did. How you just left her high and dry, you should appreciate she isn't bitter and was actually nice to you."

Alvin rolled his eyes. "She was 'nice to me'? Please... We were together for a long time, and I know her and her needs. She did that to move on so she can fuck guys guilt free. I'm sure Morgan isn't the 'play the field' type, but you can't tell me after all this time she isn't dating anyone right now. Or at the least has a friend with benefits. Kevin won't really talk about his mother, but I'm sure he knows."

"Fine, let's use Kevin as an example," Mark said taking a big sip of his beer, "What did you say was the reason you left his mother?"

Alvin shrugged. "Not the whole truth. I'm not that big of an asshole. A son should still have respect for his mother. I just said we are having personal problems and I can no longer be with her."

"In other words, code for 'she cheated on me.' Shit, your kid's pretty damn smart. Well, I know when he came home for Christmas, Morgan fully confessed what she did and took full blame for the separation. I also know she didn't once mention the payback you got from Kirsty." Mark gestured with his hands. "Kev came in here with some girl and it was hard to not eavesdrop. He's angry and disappointed, but still loves her and thinks you're this saint that would never stray. Thank Morgan for that."

"Well, that Kirsty thing wasn't totally my fault and never would've happened if she didn't cheat first." Alvin finished his beer and shrugged. "That doesn't excuse what she did, and how she disrespected me by lying. And I'm not just thinking of selfish reasons. If I can't trust her, I'd be seeing potential affairs all over the place, and would react on them. I just know, I'd be a pretty shitty husband always suspecting something is happening, so it's for the best for her as well. Can we please drop it -- I didn't ask you out to blab about my failed marriage."

For the next three hours, Alvin and Mark drank as they caught up on things. There was a lot of laughing -- especially with each insulting the other's favorite NFL team. Once drunk, Alvin nearly broke down, as hanging out with Mark reminded him just how lonely his life was now. If he ever did go out in his new city, Timmins, it was usually alone as his older co-workers were all married and the single ones were really younger and made him feel old. Both made offers to do things with him, but it felt more like pity than comradeship. He missed his friends, but he'd needed to move to get away: too many people knew both him and Morgan and too many memories.

"Look, I have to at least fake not being hung over tomorrow at nine," Alvin said slurring his words slightly, "I better cab it back to the hotel."

"So, you just here for the one night?" Mark said.

Alvin nodded. "Yeah, going over some things with the prick they replaced me with. It was painful doing it over video, so I'm showing him in person. It should only be until early afternoon and then I'm driving back."

"Ah, I should be flattered you're spending your only night in my company and not some twenty-year-old vixen with daddy issues and loose morals?"

Alvin laughed on his way out the door. "Night, Mark. I assume your sorry ass is still working in the same building, maybe we can do lunch?"

The next morning went as good as Alvin could imagine, though his hangover didn't help his patience explaining things to his replacement. Shortly before lunch Bob, his former supervisor, pulled him aside. Alvin had him to thank for finding him a new position out of town so quickly when Alvin realized he couldn't remain in the same city as Morgan.

"So, things any better personally?" Bob asked with a concerned look.

Alvin shrugged. "Still separated and neither of us have made any attempts to contact the other, so I think damn good."

Bob frowned. "I'm sorry, that doesn't sound better. I don't think there's any chance to convince you to come back permanently?"

Alvin shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think so."

Bob sighed. "Well, that's too bad because that ass is making a mess. I think I'm going to have to let him go, but the Welsh project still needs to be outlined and delegated. To help out an old friend, we might need you to come back in a month -- only for a week. I'm sure Quinton won't mind."

Alvin sighed. Returning to town for a day wasn't a big deal. Because it was the same company, his new supervisor Quinton had no problems with this trip. However a week could put him behind in his current position. "I'll discuss it with Quinton when I get back Bob, no promises."

Alvin was leaving the building when Mark surprised him from behind, pulling out a letter envelope out of his pocket. He worked on the ground floor of the same building as Alvin used to work.

"Hey, I thought you said you wanted to do lunch?"

Alvin shook his head. "Actually, we finished early so I'm just going to gas up and grab something for the road."

"Well it's good that I caught you before you left. I nearly forgot about this."

Alvin took the envelope from Mark's hand. It felt like there was about ten or more pages inside it. "What's this?"

"Don't get all upset. Morgan asked me to give it to you before you left town. She was going to mail it, but none of us know your new mailing address. Morgan's not trying to trick you or get you back. She's still been acting like the same ol' Morgan since you left her -- just a little sadder. I'm sure it's part of her 'helping you to move on' thing." Mark sighed. "Look, I didn't want to say anything yesterday because you seemed a little triggered by everything. I know full well she's not dating or even really going out socially with anyone. Definitely doesn't seem to be looking for someone new. When Morgan hangs with Betty, it's either at our place or her new apartment. However, I'm sure you could tell from the lawyer's meetings that she's given up any hope of you ever forgiving her. My advice is just read whatever this is -- I doubt it will kill you."

Alvin rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. However, I wouldn't put much stock in what she's been telling Betty about her dating. I can't see her bragging about her sex life to the wife of her ex-husband's best friend. Like I said last night, I know Morgan. She's the type that would want companionship -- for emotional and physical needs."

"I heard it from other people, not Betty. Most of her conversations with my wife are reminiscing about things the four of us have done together, and how she feels she completely fucked her life up. Oh, and asking if we know how you're doing." Mark pointed at the envelope. "You say you're not an asshole, prove it. Take the twenty or whatever minutes it'll take to go over what the woman that I know you were heads over heels in love with for over twenty years wrote. I can tell you one thing, from how she was when she gave the letter to Betty, that was not something easy for her to do."

Alvin shoved it in his computer bag, with full intention of throwing it out, just to end the conversation with Mark and get on his way. After a quick meal, he was back on the road listening to a few audio books, which was part of his daily routine -- doing anything that distracted him from thinking about his estranged wife.

Alvin returned to Timmins and his new life, which involved immersing himself in work and trying to be comfortable living alone. He also talked to Kevin at least three times a week -- no mention of Morgan was ever made. One night at home, roughly a month after his trip to his old town, Alvin was looking for a printed quote from a contractor and found the Morgan's letter that Mark gave him.

He stared at it for a minute debating on ripping it up. Finally, Alvin thought, fuck it, and opened the envelope to look at it while eating his supper. It was about ten or so standard letter pages typed out like a huge to-do list. Alvin started to read:

Alvin,

I don't know if you will read this or not, but I literally have nothing to lose. You left me, not just for cheating on you, but for the lies. Lies that I definitely regret almost as much as my actions. You also claimed that the reason you could no longer remain married to me is that you could always tell when I was lying, and now I've learned to do it so convincingly, there could no longer be trust.

I told you I lied to spare your feelings and you said I lied to myself. The truth is we were both partial right. I admit, fear of losing you was a part of my motivation, but I truly did want to prevent you from being hurt. As misguided as it was, that included my reaction to Kirsty. You were right; the door was wide-open to come clean and I acted in an inexcusable way just to keep that lie going. Yes, it hurt tremendously knowing what you did with my ex-friend, but I felt horrible knowing I did even worse that night. The anger I felt towards myself I directed right at you, like how selfish I was being. Keeping it together was hard and I was actually crying in the bathroom when Lana told me Roger knew what really happened. Seeing the look on your face when I knew you found out the truth nearly killed me, it hurt my heart so badly.

I guess first and fore most, I want to apologize for hurting you for both my actions and my lies. I also want to apologize for other lies I've told in the past that you were not aware of:

- After our first time having sex, I told you it was incredible and the best experience of my life and was glad that I waited until I was eighteen. It was uncomfortable and I felt more discomfort than pleasure because my vagina was barely wet. I had no clue how the mechanics of sex worked and just assumed that's how it was and accepted it. The only positive was you seemed to really enjoy it -- and I already knew I had strong feelings for you at that point -- so I said what I thought you wanted to hear from my limited experience seeing sex in movies.

- When we first moved in together, and you spent all afternoon cooking that casserole for me. I told you how good it tasted. I pretended to eat half of it, but really threw all but my first bite out, and my errand after supper was actually to grab some junk food because I was hungry.

Alvin's eyes were wide as he read example after example of lies Morgan told him over the years. Some were little white lies, while others were bigger -- like what her family really thought of him or times where other men aggressively hit on Morgan. There were a couple that he knew about -- like her hating his cooking -- but mostly he didn't have a clue. There was definitely a theme in almost every lie, it was either to spare his feelings or so he wouldn't get upset and do or say something stupid. At the end of the long list, Morgan ended with:

As you can see, over all our years together, I have had a lot of practice lying to you convincingly with the right motivation. Not hurting or losing you was the biggest motivation of all, and I am sorry for not giving you the benefit of the doubt of handling that truth as well as all the falsehoods listed here. I guess, I wasn't always the honest woman that you thought me to be and feel rather ashamed of that fact.

If I am to continue my blunt honesty, I've never desired another man sexually as much as I've desired you. The only way that boy was fucking me that night was getting me drunk enough that I would pass out -- which nearly happened. Even though the end result would've been the same, I still thank God that didn't happen. Having sex with him would have made me hate myself even more than I do now.

Al, I still love you and would have gladly done anything for a chance to get you back. However, I know that's not possible. It's clear that I no longer deserve to be your wife and will instead tell you I do not consider us married anymore. I haven't since the day you moved out. Please be free to do whatever or whoever makes you happy without any guilt. I want happiness for you more than I want it for myself. In another three months, I can file for abandonment, but hope you will stop hating me enough to attend our son's college graduation in three years, or his wedding, or the birth of our grandchildren.

Love Morgan.

Alvin put the papers back in the envelope not really knowing what to think. It turned out that he couldn't read his wife as well as he thought. He had no clue why she'd think confessing all that would help anything? It was true, because of Kevin, they would have to civil in the same room together, but how was that list supposed to help?