All Comments on 'Divide and Conquer'

...as another author notes, "consequences are a bitch." I thought we were heading for another RAAC ending - didn't see this one coming. Well done!

A story with a ending that makes me proud!!!!

This was so very well done! Thank you,F.M.!

Always a pleasure when I see your byline. Another fine story.

You set up the story as a RAAC, but the twist at the end was a great twist/touch.

Nicely done, thanks for your post!

Thank you for the read

but I do love it when a plan comes together

Fucking Brilliant, 5 stars.

That was cold. So well-written and interesting. The divide and conquor strategy seemed solid, if he could let it go and forgive without the admission; reminded me of other stories such as Ohio's Visiting Richard Gronier. But, it seemed a tough strategy to follow from the very first time he saw the video and heard the audio-the loving nature of the tryst seemed too much. The minimal guilt she seemed to experience was disconcerting. Her persistence in continuing what had been only a short affair was maddening. Her emotional response to ending it was even more troubling. Each little thing just seemed to nag at me and make me think the author's strategy was just not worth the trouble. Then the pay-off. Well done!

mazing

Why would any hubbie be soooo stupid as to waste all that time, effort and cash trying to prove a point to or with respect to a wife who is so without conscience or honor that she would cheat on him with the neighbor in the first place? And she was sooo shallow he could win his own wife back, if he wanted to, with a couple of foot rubs and dinners? Didn't she promise him her life to begin with? And what about the neighbor guy?? What devilishly diabolical tricks or pranks did he play on him to make him realize how he actually might have damaged his marriage?? LOL , that was sarcasm by the way. I kept waiting for something of value to happen but in 3 pages...0. This documents a really ridiculous effort?? She might feel bad for all of a day or 2. And then right back to the other guy, or someone else?? A sideshow of STUPIDITY! EMPTY! You might as well write a story about him performing The Mikado or Shakespeare before a couple of pigs. Sorry but this is a miss.

Enjoyed the story. Look forward to more.

What a wicked twist. You know for a second, I honestly thought that they'd reconcile. Great story. Now, I'm ready for more Miz Sarah.

Not very often you get a good read anymore just look at the junk that was posted on this date a bunch of losers.

Thanks for sharing.

Wonderful plot and story execution. Nice ending.

Great use of words; great editing. Attains the level of literature. Most unusual for this site.

Not what I expected at all. Very well done. Really enjoyed the plot development and writing style. Looking forward to the next one.

kicked with class .mark should have had serious nut and dick problems (i.e.) missing "No one dishonors me with impunity."

no way in hell!

My mainest' complaint is that this would have been so sublime to wait to release this story on January 20th - Poe's birthday. That would have entailed me waiting over 6 months to read this , however . A sacrifice alas to much to make. I'd sooner award the five stars now then later. Kudos!

Good job, I was really worried you were turning this into just another married gay guy allowing his wife to solicit lovers so he can queer himself out by proxy. You really had me going. Thanks

I was reading and enjoying the story until I got to the sentence: "I was gonna do a divide and conquer plane: divide the lovers and conquer her heart again"!

I mean, what the fuck, stupidmotherfucker!

Well written and crafted to surprise both his wife and the readers. The inclusion of more dialogue might ha ve enhanced the story for me- but I enjoyed the story just as it is. Thank you.

I have to admit, when I read that he wanted to conquer her heart I feared a reconciliation was afoot. I read on and was pleased that Mack prevented Mark from dipping his wick again. Then whilst enjoying that tid bit, he delivers the coup de gras. Awesome!! You earned six stars but I can only deliver 5.

The author cheated... and I am a little disappointed that nobody else caught this... But then again most folks ARE idiots. The entire PREMISE of the story is the husband's plan to separate the two lovers " DIVIDE and CONQUER" then "win" his wife back to save the marriage.

For the author to suddenly change and announce that the Husband has no intention of saving the marriage (SORCHED EARTH) and that has been planning the divorce action from the beginning.... is a massive deceit on the part of the author. Up to that point there had been no expression or far from the husband that he had changed his mind and was to go " Throw the Bitch to the Curb".

KEY POINT : It is not the ending which is the issue... it is HOW the husband came to this major change in his attentions and his perspective in the last three paragraphs of story without the author telling us this was going on.

Indeed throughout the story every single attempt by the husband to bring about a change in the wife perspective so that she might end the affair FAILED.. Yet in every case...up until the end.. the wife gleefully and intentionally went out of her way to try and meet with the other guy and fuck him.

Yet her actions did not trigger any sort of response within the husband where saw that his plan was NOT working ... where the reader could see that he decided the wife was not worth the effort.

Suddenly in the last two with three paragraphs before the end of the story... We see a totally different man with a totally different set of the intentions.

A stupid cheap story that was a waste of time

Walk softly and carry a big stick, or your lawyers pen.

He didn't take her back. Now she is the loser as well.

This was superbly done. Extremely well thought out, with a believability factor of 100%. Just an excellent piece of work all around.

Harry,

The author did not change anything. The "hero" did exactly what he set out to do "divide and conquer" YOU ASSUMED that meant he wanted her back. What he wanted was to end the affair, have her fall in love with him again so that his "conquer" would have the most devastating affect.

Nicely done FM and well written.

He DID win her back, and for a reason.

He wanted to toss her aside, and have her know the why behind it.

Now she knows what she lost.

How is that a difficult concept to grasp?

from one of my favorite authors.by the way I knew that H In VA was ignorant and illiterate,but now I can add stupid to his other"honours".

First Pleasure = Nice Twist

Second Pleasure = you pissed off Harry

Nicely Done

Thanks for sharing.

Important note for writers looking to improve (not hacks looking to submit unedited stupid shit): Leave a hint/clue in Act I about the "surprise" in Act III because if you don't, the reader will reject it. Don't come out of left field or else intelligent readers feel cheated. Otherwise a good story.

FM,

Touché'. 1% disloyalty is no different than 100% disloyalty, with a twist of irony...

Certainly knows what she had now that it is gone.

Thanks for sharing your great story on Lit.

x

This guy an immatured cuck ,couldn't even know his own age:over 18 is the code for all cuckold storytellers-

"No one dishonors me with impunity." Perfect last sentence.

...and to be honest, so did I. I didn't see the burn coming. So I went back and read the key parts. After confirming the affair, the hubby struggled mightily with thoughts of revenge, of weepy pleas for his wife's return, etc. He never states that his Divide and Conquor strategy is being pursued to restore or preserve the marriage. Not once.

This is the key piece:

"Finally, I came to a conclusion. I not only knew what I wanted to accomplish, but I had a pretty well developed plan for achieving my goals. My campaign would involve two separate courses of action that would take place simultaneously. I thought of them as divide and conquer: divide the two lovers and conquer her heart again."

The conquering of her heart was not his goal, it was part of his plan.

Hiding the ball isn't the same as lying to the reader.

My only criticism with the story is that, as one other commentor pointed out, a foot rub and a couple of nice dinners doesn't really make a woman fall in love with you again, does it? Maybe that needed to be played up a bit. Also, I would have liked for him to have really poisoned the relationship between the wife and asshole. As it stands, after the nuclear fallout, what stands in the way of a renewed liasson between the two?

harry is right. the mouth-breathers can pretzel themselves (his "goals" were his goals? really?) but at the end of the day a story gets upvoted for divorce and downvoted if they stay together. logical consistency doesn't matter. now i gotta shower after agreeing with harry

at first I THOUGHT about what you were doing, why is he romancing a cheating spouse.but knowing your work i started to see that he was going to get even with ann for her infidelity especialy after seeing her continue those liasons. so he got his revenge and she wound up with nothing. what did she think 2+2=4 AFTER the work to break up her affair she should have fiqured out he was on to her. I still donot know her reasoning for cheating on him, where did she think this was going to end up with her neighbor no less. a man with a wife and kids..that part does not work for me.

In the war and love there is not any rule, so a betrayed spouse is got free ticket for any trick, not only the cheater spouse............except for 1-20 years prison steps.

Here the betrayed husband did surprising last trick, which was hid from everybody the wife and the readers of this story.

I think the twist WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO SURPRISING FOR US READERS if according of Peter Falk (COLOMBO) kind movie method we can see the husband total brain/mind/POV/intention/aim/purpose..............................

I am sorry : ..............according to Peter Falk (Colombo) .............

You really had me going there. I kept shouting to my neighbors that she is not worth it! Then you blew us out of the water and BTTap is correct, you did not cheat on us.

Harry must really hate us the way he chews on the good writers to convince them that it is not worth publishing here....

this pitch was telegraphed from the set....there has only been one story so pathetic that it ended the way this seemed headed. And that author shot himself at the request of his characters.

this pitch was telegraphed from the set....there has only been one story so pathetic that it ended the way this seemed headed. And that author shot himself at the request of his characters.

This story is addressed to a discrete audience and the author deserves credit for expertly pandering to them. Nevertheless, a more apt title for this piece would be "Shell Game." The "rubes" are easily conned but savvy readers are not naive enough to overlook the obvious logic inconsistency.

only that something isnt lost. TK U MLJ LV NV

My critic is the lack of epiloge. I am curious of this soon to be divorced pair's future.

FM writes generaly GOOD epiloges to his story, I do not understand the lack of it here. For example to sell the common house decreases the likelihood of restarting the divorced wife's affair with her neighbor.

When I read this story, I never once considered that the husband was seriously seeking a reconciliation. However, rereading the pertinent sections, I can see nothing written except his desires for photographic documentation to warrent that assumption.

Can't have the big surprise come from the guy whose inner monologue we as readers have been privy to the entire story. That will only fool the simplest of readers who are incapable of critical thought. Rational deductive reasoners suffer cognitive dissonance. Few, if any, spelling or grammar errors so 4*.

why would a wife be true to a man who never takes her out, pampers her, helps her wash the dishes, gives her flowers or even sleeps with her? the poor girl must have been flabbergasted when he suddenly started to notice her.

My comment on this story has to do with the last line. "No one dishonors me with impunity." This is a common misnomer, she can't dishonor him. Honor is an internal psychological trait. She can dishonor her self(first person), she can dishonor his wife and she can dishonor their marriage(third person). His honor is intact and unassailable by her actions. She did however dishonor herself with impunity. I gave this *****.

That presumes that the wife already always wears sexy lingerie for him, frequently gives him unsolicited sex, makes those mind numbingly tedious but delicious dishes that he craves with thirty seven steps to their production...

What? She doesn't or she does only rarely for a special occasion?

Funny how life gets in the way of romance for BOTH genders....

But you raise an intriguing point.

You did a very nice job with this story. Personally, as others have pointed out, it would be nice to have had an epilogue. Normally you tidy up nice but this left me wanting more because of how you portrayed her emotions. To see her squirm in a divorce and him finding a TLW would have and still could be sweet.

I would have enjoyed to see Bobbi's and Miriam's and the families overall reactions too. That would make an excellent 2nd chapter.

Thank you!

M1

Usually F.M. 's narrator's are warm & cuddly fellows who are grief stricken by their significant others' carnal duplicity. This guy was DIFFERENT . He went full on ' Sun Tzu Art of War ' on the cheaters with minimal warm up.

Should the reader sympathize with him ? To me , that's a bit iffy. One thing for sure - anyone who trifles with someone who puts the deed to Poe's words with such alacrity & deliberation is doing so at high quotient of risqué risk!

Great revenge. I've read some of the comments and I think I can allay all fears and questions about this great tale.

Divide and Conquer.

The husbands goal was to stop the affair by any means necessary which frustrated Ann the slut. While doing so he pampered her like he never did before, making her not miss her rendezvous with Mark the crumb.

Being successful now the best part of his plan came into play. His love was lost when he discovered she was unfaithful but he gave the illusion of a more intense love which fooled her to the point of breaking up with her lover.

With that deed accomplished he destroyed her as she destroyed him, making her feel what it was like to feel betrayed.

ergo

Divide the couple

Conquer the love

Then destroy her with hate (Which is what his love became)

Got it?

Good!

Although she was determined to have sex with Mark even with all of the nice things Mack had done for her.

I was hoping that she would have felt some remorse for cheating on Mack after the sex she had with him in the guest bedroom, and would have rejected any further tryst with Mark.

It would have been nice to have read the circumstances that allowed her and Mark to have started the affair in the fist place. That was one of the things that kept running through my mind as I was reading the story, but I guess it would have been difulcult to do without changing the point of view.

A well written and edited story.

Thanks for the read.

A dinner out, a homecooked meal, a foot rub, a flower delivery and a night of intimacy, and the wife goes from a barely minimally-guilty cheater and liar to a loving wife who breaks it off with loverboy and is thereafter broken up by her hubby's divorce announcement. Her surprise at his renewed interest in her is made clear enough. Not excusing the cheating, but seems like hubby might have saved himself from a whole lot of heartache if he paid just a little attention to keeping his wife's love in the first place.

A marriage requires two people working together for it to succeed. In this story we are never told why she strayed only that she strayed. I have always found it funny that people expect the cheated to fight for their marriage. What about the cheater shouldn't they fight? This is a weak justification for which can not be justified. Her actions based on what the author had written are unjustifiable. You may think this is woman bashing. It is not, males tend to be harsher to male cheater than female ones. Just read these stories and see how most revenge(BTB) stories have violence against the male antagonist. Your actions are your own and the consequences of them are also your own.

1. Communication in a marriage. To tell him the problem.

2. If the communication does not help there is a freedom law (for some years in Ireland as well) to start divorce.

3. However many cheating spouses (males and females) want to sit on 2 horsebacks (the majority). The meal tickets or the tidy house (depend on gender)..................

4. I think in the case of the majority, the divorce would be good solution for both spouses instead of long term betrayal, because the BETRAYED SPOUSE WOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME TO FIND SECOND CHANCE (second chance: newer girlfriend, boyfriend, newer mate, newer wfe, husband). Sometime the second (third) chance will be the true. I think (except for spouses with deep depression illness) the true betrayal of the cheating is not the affair itself, BUT THE WASTE OF TIME, WHICH WENT TO THE TRASH LIVING TOGETHER WITH THE CHEATER SPOUSE INSTEAD TO LOOK FOR THE SECOND CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW Humiliation, STD and bastards can colore the picture..........

I love the rather formal writing. I love the plot twist at the end. Like O. Henry.

This is very good story-telling, Francis. Please pay little attention to the haters and the disbelievers - I have lived 64 years, and I have seen things come to pass in real life, that you can not make up. Everybody has! I mean, The Rolling Stones came to Clemson! (Maybe you had to be in school there in the '60's to grok the irony).

Anyway, I really appreciate your stories. They entertain me, do not offend me, and they are free! Thank You very much.

his buggered cornhole reamed, he smoked a fat cock, betrayed!

Another classic expertly told. My but you've got the commentariat in an uproar. As I read the story it was clear that his plan was to win her back (and denying Brad) - he never said anything about keeping the bitch. The end came exactly right on time - the divorce papers were ready and when that perfect moment of "catch and release" was reached - BAM!

Nice.

My favorit story in LW hub is Vulcez " How Are You". I have been reading several times. That story is the 150% example a succesful seconde chance..........I am not able to stop reread and it is not boring to me at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wife abandon her husband, there was divorce and everybody became happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This story is throwing some people because the protagonist is developed as a sober, thoughtful, logical planner who suddenly behaves out of character. This doesn't surprise the emotion-driven readers because his actions mirror their own and readers tend to see themselves in that role.

Deliberative readers identified with the protagonist up until the point he acted out of character. That sudden, unexplained jolt causes them discomfort in the story because it directly conflicts with his earlier actions. Good story, but fatally flawed.

Of course, you will get detractors who will not like the fact the you have deliberately tried to lead the reader up the garden path. There are some who will read the first page and think they know what is going to happen and then be annoyed to find out that they were wrong. To my mind it is the plot twists like this that make it worth reading to the end.

I understand trying to show the wife what she was going to miss, but if the husband simply turned on the charm when he found out about the affair, I would expect the wife to see the change and suspect something. It also begs the question of: Why wasn't he doing this all along?

It seems that if he was charming her all along, the wife would have not reason to stray. People rarely look at themselfs as the problem, but more of the victim. The husband certanly did this.

Well written, as usual with an FM tale, and I liked the twist to it, I too, thought he was trying to reconcile. The ending does make sense, though, because if you read the story he would be devastated, not that his wife was just having sex, but the intimate language she was using in her communications with Mark, that would tell him a lot more. You could potentially forgive someone where it was just raw sex, where it was the thrill, whatever, but this seemed like she was emotionally involved and that to me is what would cause him to do what he did.

As far as this potentially being his fault, that maybe if he had done all those things she wouldn't have cheated, that is potentially part of the answer, but we don't know, we have no way of knowing how he was with her before all this happened. I tend to agree that when women cheat they often do so because intimacy is missing or they feel neglected, but we don't know what happened in that case. The other factor in these, of course, is did she ever talk to him about how she was feeling? Did she make an attempt to fix what she wasn't happy with, or did she just fall into the other guys arms?

And before making the protagonist the bad guy, remember that his wife was screwing around with a married man, with people that they were friends with, she wasn't only just ruining her relationship, she was ruining another one as well, and knowingly was doing it, she apparently never thought of that. I think hubby, too, also saw that his wife didn't have a lot of guilt when it was over, she seemed pretty cold.

More importantly, she didn't see the reality of Mark, which is interesting. From the story, it sounds like Mark was horn dogging her, that the feelings she thought they had was him trying to get laid. Her husband isn't romantic? Geez, lover boy springs for a cut rate motel near the airport, how romantic! Did Mark ever buy her flowers, give her champagne, take her to dinner? Nope, he rents a cheap hotel room and bangs her. He gets pissed at her because her tire is flat, he gets mad, not that he can't be with the woman he loves, but can't get laid with the things hubby does. Basically she thinks he is her lover, but in reality he is just a horny guy looking to cheat on his wife but Ann couldn't see it. I am not sure at the end if Ann really realized this, if she realized she had thrown away her marriage for some guy to get laid.

It would be interesting to have an epilog of what happens. I disagree with some commenters, both Ann and Mark are going to face the consequences. Her coworkers are going to know what a piece of shit she is, because they saw the way hubby was with her, her sister is going to be outraged, and what of Mark? His wife is going to drop the boom on him as well.......and would Ann and Mark end up together? I doubt it, Anne would find pretty quickly he had just been looking for sex, and I suspect Mark would be pissed at her for breaking up his marriage and ruining his reputation.

Okay Frances, you have written a lot of things, how bout Miz Sarah makes an appearance once again? I like all your stories, but Miz Sarah is the tops:)

of course, people don't care as long as there's no reconciliation but author's attempt to get cute irritates everyone who wants coherence in their story. can't trick canny readers with an illogical bait and switch. this dog don't hunt.

There are Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mind Control, Novels & Novellas, & other such genres that would absorb mystery better. <p>

In LW, premises --- however twisted, mysterious, or evil, from ONE CHARACTER TO ANOTHER within the story --- should NOT be mysterious or 180-turns for the READER. <p>

In Mystery, the AUTHOR (who may or may not also be included with the main character) and the AUDIENCE are playing cat-and-mouse games: there are mazes the author/main character leads the readers through, and see if the reader's able to find the way out, find the treasure, find the murderer, what-not. <p>

In Lit's LW, there norm is the READER and MAIN CHARACTER are (or should be) on the same page; the game is between the main character & the reader, ON THE ONE HAND.... versus..... the cheater (whether they are the husband or wife), on the other.... One of the main purposes in LW, for LW, is to have the READER feel the pain, agony, bliss, tragedy, and ultimately resoslute decision-making mind-set of the protagonist, as to what he or she would do, to make sure a certain sensible, or vengeful, outcome is reached. So that BOTH reader and the "hero"/protagonist can go away feeling like they have, after all the pains, accomplished something...<p>

Again, LW is not the genre to spring (up)on *surprises" on BOTH the cheater AND reader at the end, haphazardly, uncharacteristically. The reader is NOT the bad guy here; it is the cheater. The reader, again, IS WITH the wronged party in LW. If the husband in THIS STORY, for example, would have simply said: "

"And while I will be more loving and caring than ever.... as if to truly win her back, by driving a wedge between her and her lover.... my ultimate aim is to hurt her more than she'd ever know... and that is accomplished when she truly falls for my extra loving & attention & such and quits her lover... THEN AND ONLY THEN that she finds out how hurtful it is to hurt someone who HAD LOVED HER hearly all the years they're together," blah, blah, blah.... <p>

THAT would have done the trick; most readers would have looked at the story favorably, regardless of the various literary contraptions the AUTHOR/main character used to try to go abotu achieving such a feat, to demoralize and defeat the cheater. But not this ta-dah-I-fooled-you-didn't-I-dear-reader? crap...

At first, I thought that the husband wanted to get his marriage/wife back based upon his statements which made him a willing fool/cuckold. Then the confession at the end spoiled the emotional revenge since she now knows her husband sabotaged her appointments with her lover. After she quits crying she will try to salvage her relationship with her lover since she has no one else. In effect, the husband will be back to square one as if he had just divorced minus the mind games. He sunk down to their level of lying and deception. So what did the husband gain other than playing out a childish act. If he was going to play this game he should have had the detective report delivered after they broke up and then he would proceed with the divorce. Since she would not know about his sabotage actions she would believe that she lost two men in this short period of time. She would feel stupid losing her good husband for a loser lover. Perhaps years later the husband can reveal his actions after she had spent several years alone.

"I can't believe you'd do such a cruel thing now. Didn't all that mean anything?" Isn't adultery the cruellest thing one spouse can do to another? Divorce is the only answer to adultery. Just sayin'. Good story Frances. 5*

HIV made a very valid point. We are not just treated to what the hero says and does, but also what he is thinking. Somehow he concealed his thoughts from those of us reading them. That is not easy. Remember Ray in Ghost Busters? It was different, but as Old Hidecki (?) pointed out, wasn't it a lot of effort when the end product was divorce anyway? It was a very good story, but the author did betray his readers a bit. I have been accused of the same a few times and now understand from whence the accusation comes. Red herrings are for the readers, but a mental red herring so those following his thoughts are misled? That's a hard sell.

The Poe was great fore shadowing for the twist at the end. I agreed with your story pay for play and you took it to a new level. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

This seems like a lot of effort for petty revenge on a cheating whore wife. It is sort of silly, unrealistic, and a lot of involved work for a small payoff. At least the husband dumps the bitch in the end. But so what? Gee, he showed that dude who was nailing his wife...it will probably take her five minutes to get the next one. And his victory was fully of silly shit that, if it wins over a woman, you don't want that bitch anyway. Then it was written like a bad mystery, all sterile with no real emotion. I guess it was OK for the doofs but really not that good.

I must admit that I was getting a little nervous about this being the biggest wimp story which I'd ever read but that strong ending was terrific. That's the kind of ending missing from so many stories on this website. Classic, dude.

I pulled a coin from behind my nephew's ear. He was fooled, but then again he is 4, not 40. FM betrayed his readers either knowing the ruse would fool the simpletons or perhaps he changed his mind writing the last paragraphs and failed to amend the earlier part of the story. Fodder for four year olds and fools, snipe hunt for the clever.

There was a certain symmetry here when the husband remarks that he took from his wife what she had taken from him.

This story was made the more poignant when the husband describes his errant spouse. Her affair was an emotional affair, not so much a physical one. Whereas, the neighbor indicates it was likely physical to him. The husband also states that the wife was a romantic, the type of romantic that finds love in illicit relationships.

It seems odd that so many affairs in reality are described in this manner, and yet too many stories on this site have the women as cock-driven morons. It’s refreshing to read a story where the fundamentals of the affair are so realistic.

However, I still would have liked to know more of the aftermath.

All authors have a specific style and after reading FMs previous work I was expecting a twist at the end and for HDK to complain about it is laughable. I like HDKs work very much and I think it is because there is some twist in his stories to keep the reader guessing and interested.

I suppose GKN or whoever is so impatient they want to know the ending at the beginning, what's the point of reading a story?

or at least understanding and definition. Francis has writing skill and maybe he'll learn from this. what he wanted to do is known as "the unreliable narrator" which has the main character speaking to another party and misleading them, and by extension, the reader. At the end he reveals his deception and the antagonist or other party is surprised and so is the reader. So how did he fuck it up?

As HDK and others who have knowledge of their craft have pointed out, Francis put the readers in the mind of the main character. So instead of hearing him lie to others, he is lying to the reader. In good writing this is unforgivable and any editor or critic would blast him for it. Francis has talent and hopefully learns from this mistake. I liked the story but it failed miserably in this regard.

Fabulously written story. I thought for sure he would confront at the end but take her back. The ending was powerful and in keeping with his analytical nature. Well done.

Here is a story with a twist ending, won't sit well with the woman-haters but a damn good example of how to let the reader get the wrong idea before springing the twist ending. http://www.literotica.com/s/it-meant-nothin

LOL when you mentioned Poe on the first page I wondered just a tiny bit not really it was more like a subconscious thing but at the end it all came together BAM!

(Edgar Allan Poe) < clue

Francis Macomber, you've actually fooled me. When I read that he was actually going for reconciliation, I almost didn't read on. Imagine my surprise at the twist ending.

As others have pointed out, why reveal that Mack was the one who sabotaged their secret dates, so soon? On the one hand, they're right, Ann COULD go right back to what she was doing with Mark.

On the other hand, neither Ann nor Mark are living a cozy life at the moment. Ann's sister now knows (and by extension, her family too). I'll assume Bobbi, Mark's wife, will want to divorce him learning of the affair. Not exactly the nice romantic setting for an illicit tryst for both cheaters.

As for Mark....Simply telling Bobbi doesn't seem THAT big of a revenge. Then again, she might make Mark's life a living hell, who knows.

As for AS, I'll echo FD45's comment. Why wasn't Ann dressing up for Mack? Why didn't she wear special lingerie for him, or give him surprise sex? By that reasoning, Mack has an excellent reason to cheat, because why should he be true to a woman who never does that for him?

You really should stop being so misandrist and condoning of cheating women, AS.

In all, I found it an entertaining story.

First, the most important thing is this was a fabulous story! I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you for sharing this with the rest of us.

To the rest of you, get a grip. This is FrancisMacomber's story to tell. You want a different story or ending, WRITE YOUR OWN DAMNED STORY!!! How, and maybe more importantly, why are you questioning character's motives? This is fiction people! Lighten up!!

Well done! Nice twist.

and a great story - loved it - u get a 5 and i am going to read the rest of your stuff.

Jerry in Washington state, USA - I didn't agree with Mack's decision early in the story to reconcile with his cheating wife, but I had enjoyed several other stories by you, so you had earned my attention to the end of the story. I did note the reference to Edgar Allan Poe and thought the events of his story "The Cask of Amontillado" was more in the line of revenge I would personally want to pursue. So it was a neat surprise that Mack did not plan to reconcile and got what revenge he could without ending up in jail himself. I thought Mack's various ways to mess up their fuck dates were well done. I'm currently re-reading stories by fave authors, so I will be re-reading your stories soon. I'm sure I'll enjoy this story the second time around, but knowing the surprise ending will spoil the story for me some. Thanks for a good read!

You did it with style and finesse - well done and well written.

Thanks for the story - that didn't descend into the usual hateful mediocrity of most...

typical francisMcomber story with a great twist. Hubby keeps his poise & dignity. I rate this a five.

I don't know how the hell I missed this one. But I found it. A great read and a super comment magnet. Wow. 72 in just 2 days. And Harry he was not trying to min her back he was just showing her what she was about to lose. Thank you Mr. Macomber for the great read. Yours are always good. Jim

That should have been "win her" not "min her". I are an engineer.

I read 3/4 of this story think - wow - an emotionally mature response to a devastating situation.

IMO, few of the LW haters have actually been in a long-term relationship, because if they were they would realize there are ups and downs and compromises that one tells oneself that one would never be willing to make until confronted with the ugly truth.

But a lifetime investment has its weak and strong points. The whole relationship does not revolve around the husband's dick. Egos sometimes take a beating in order to come out the other end of a problem with the proper result.

The abrupt turn around in this story just didn't ring true. The husband did many right things to correct things, and then slashes and burns the relationship.

The result appealed to a certain class of Lit readers (you know who you are) but anyone who has actually been in a long-term relationship understands that this was biting off his nose to spite his face.

The only part that rang true was when he said that he didn't love her any longer. If that is the case, bag the relationship if it can't be rejuvenated.

But this revenge stuff? Please grow up.

i do not agree with your comments - he would have been a fool to keep her - she did not quit the fucking around by herself, he forced it. but since you are a writer and not just a commentor i linked over to you and saw how much you have written yourself. your comments were well written and your stories get good, make that excellent, marks - so while i dont agree with you here i intend to read your works, all of them.

thebullet probably has it right, this story appeals to guys who haven't been in LTR. The reason it didn't ring true lies in the fact that the author let the readers hear the husband's thoughts but then act opposite. Without explanation (insanity, etc), such divergences don't ring true.

I see this story has divided readers, and almost everything that can be said has been; but I'll try to shed my own light on it. The story is well written and creative -- until the last few paragraphs. The subject of the story is more worried about his pride than about love; makes me wonder if he really loved her after all. Mature, loving people work out their problems and are not motivated by revenge. Revenge is something you get against the playground or workplace bully -- not against someone you've been married to for 18 years and ostensibly love.

This story has an outstanding pair, where the husband behaved in same mood with the wife. The Author is beermaker and his story is "Dawn: The Cheating Slut Wife".

In that story the husband waited longer time with his revenge (excellent, fantastic, super and WITHOUT VIOLANCE) until the exact time and his children (not biological) took part in the fantastic, hyper, super revenge scen..............................We have to learn the emotional gale with violance couses only long term prison (with some exception), but the slow water can wash away shore revenge earns more money deposite more emotional pluss for a second chance marriage with the right woman and for the next common children.............

BTW In the war and in the love there is not any rule so a betrayed spouse could use the lack of rule as lie emotions are.....................

BTW beermaker who was an good Author, some stupid feedback corresponders were chased from Literotica. His heritage is 4 excellent revenge stories in LW.

I am sorry because exactly: BTW beermaker who was an good Author, some stupid feedback corresponders chased from Literotica. His heritage is 4 excellent revenge stories in LW.(I am angry against those corresponders who chased away beermaker from Lit..)

Divide (separate, split apart) and Conquer (triumph over, master), not Rescue and Reconcile. Try this - sit yourself on a bar stool next to the teller of this tale - you might already know that he and his wife are divorced. Maybe you've heard that she cheated - and so you ask, "What happened, how'd you find out...tell me?"

Result - a story, well told.