All Comments on 'End Around'

Loved it! It sounds funny for the Queen of the LW genre to say it's been a while since you wrote a LW story. Every time one of your acolytes posts here, there's a little bit of Randi as well. That's a good thing. Well done - 5*!

I was recently talking to a couple other writers about taking a common LW theme and making it your own. It takes a great writer with a wonderful imagination to take a common plot trigger such as, "I want to open our marriage," and use it to write an original, compelling, and wonderful story. BlackRandI1958 had done a wonderful job. Thank you for a great read. 5 big stars.

Thank you for not inundating us with unneeded backstory. Sometimes it is necessary, often times it's just filler. The dialogue told us everything we needed to know about the characters right from the top; they were consistent and believable, making it easy to stay in the moment. Thanks again for a very good read!

Loved Barnes reaction to her bullshit. Can't see any circumstance where he let's Collins back into his life in any way, shape or form. By bringing her into the family home, Nita was essentially doing the same thing she'd done to Barnes. Making a life decision without any input on his part.

very nice you are a fine writer and I thank you for sharing your gift and enjoy your stories

This author is one of the best this site has to offer and provided another entertaining story regardless of its similarity to many other stories. I was however surprised and somewhat disappointed with her methodology as it followed along all too familiar lines. I was expecting such an accomplished writer to produce an unexpected twist but it followed the well-trod path of its predecessors.

When long term relationships are destroyed by selfishness of one spouse, I do like a forgiveness of the injured spouse to the one doing the wrong and maybe getting back together.

Awesome. I love those LW/romance hybrid stories. This is how an LW story should be done.

5 stars, all the way. Your romances after a break-up are always great! Whether, like this one, a new romance or like, You Can Go Home Again, a reconciliation.

I got to thinking with your concept of end run - there has to be the antithesis of this story. A husband, burned out and boring, whose idea of exercise is channel surfing - a wife who tells him they have become old and boring before their time - yet he refuses to do anything about it. This leads to her finding romance because he has none left in him. I am going to play with that and see if I can tell the story; but it would seem to be a woman's story to tell.

Thanks for all your work here. I'll stop here, I'm Not 1 to Say (more).

I hope Randi isn’t disappointed that I think her story is (only) enjoyable. Every single word is enjoyable.

5 enjoyable *’s from me.

July will make 20yros I've been with my man. the last time I went on a date was with my hubby(than boyfriend) I don't think I'd want to go back to kissing a bunch of frogs before finding my prince charming...I don't understand this wife's thinking. She obviously forgot what it was like in the dating scene, she already had her prince charming..I agreed with Barnes interpretation, she just wanted to fuck other men🤷🏽‍♀️.. They weren't even separated long and she already fucked 2 guys😂😂😂.... Even after knowing what all she will lose.. her itchy twat overpowered all of that.. honestly, like he said she didn't just come up with this open marriage stuff, she had to have been thinking about it for awhile.. it makes me wonder if she's cheated before? 🤔... she wanted to fuck other men but have him as her backup plan in case the dating scene isn't what she remembered.. nowadays men aren't trying to date/get married. They're just trying to get in your pants... my first proposal was at 16, men wanted to get married, have kids by one woman back then.. this is 2022. Barnes was also right when he said she didn't want sex with him. She didn't come straight out and say it but he's 100% right.. who decides after being married for years, have two kids they now want to fuck others? She felt entitled. She really believed he will wait at home for her while she dates and fuck others. She'll have strange men to drill her holes and treat her like a slut and Barnes to pamper and continue to love her.. I also don't believe she believed he would be dating also. Women like this usually don't. She probably thought he'd allow HER to date while he sit at home. I say this because after so many years of being with someone you know them. You know how they think, what they believe in and things they won't do. So she would know Barnes takes his vows seriously, and fucking others would bring immediate divorce. she's delusional.. I'm glad he disabused her of her delusions immediately.. I was a little confused by his daughter taking her mom's side. I get it she don't want her parents divorced but she really should've been having her patience talk with her slut mother🤭... I thought Collin wanted to date others, why isn't she going out dating others? I guess it only seemed like fun when she she was still married to him.. I guess disrespecting and cuckolding him was really the fun part huh?.. she enjoyed the rush of lying, disrespecting and putting the hornes on him.. once he said no and divorced her.. suddenly dating others and wanting to feel dicks...... ahem, excuse me "young" again didn't seem like so much fun😭😭😭😭..

Thank u for the hard work on this story. I have come to really enjoy most of ur work. Always entertaining with happy endings.

Lovely story . I know it may be pedantic but could you make a small fix "who worshipped at her alter." I think this should read "who worshipped at her altar."

I really enjoyed this as it's a sweeter story than some of your others.

A fine writer telling an excellent story.

Great read. I especially liked the way you let two people move on as she burned herself. 5*

Randi, thanks for an excellent story. I liked how Barnes dealt with Collins with excellent insight and cold, hard honesty, but was disappointed that she still couldn’t see the light until it was far too late.

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The recovery story was sweet and enjoyable, but Collins coming for Christmas at the end left a bad taste about one thing that I suspect may have been your intent.

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She apologizes to Barnes for the pain she caused him but then basically begs for him to forgive her even though she admits to not deserving it. If she’d truly learned her lesson, she would have done a sincere apology and then let him have the opportunity to make the choice of whether to forgive her if forgiveness was in his heart rather than putting him on the spot about it. By making it about what she needed, you did a good job of showing that she hadn’t changed nearly as much as she wanted him to believe. When he grants her request, she takes the inch he gave and then goes for the mile, too, asking, “Can we be friends?” This shows once again it’s still all about her and her needs rather than proving herself worthy of being his friend again. His “We’ll see” and the rest of his response was well played, proving he knew her well and that he wasn’t letting his guard down completely.

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Well done, 5*

Thanks for the story. Some complain that this situation has been written about several times. I don't care. If it is well done and has smart dialogue, I find it enjoyable. I would have liked a little more from the wife at the end showing that she realizes what she did.

You should ditch your mentor. Real life is EX's for a reason . Real men , not hdk , never want to see or talk to their ex's. More so when they cheating skanks !

Very well written and entertaining story. Thank you. Methinks your mentor has been inserting a line or two again, doesn't matter really it's great work anyway. 5*

Randi warned upfront "If you read my stories, you know everything is a hybrid romance." Which is precisely why I love her writing so much. Thank you for another gem.

Well done. This story really works well. Those who want those burn the bitch endings are really sad humans. 5stars.

Another solid 5 from BR58. Have you tried selling your stuff? You really should.

carolinadreamer

Very entertaining story, and quite believable.

One of the best I have ever read on this site.

@Burner70. Suck my dick. Instead of ditching HDK, how about I ditch your bitch ass? Don’t be coming on my stories and thinking you can diss my hommies. I’ll leave both this comment and your shit up long enough everyone can see what you about, then I’ll throw your ass out with the rest of the garbage.

@Burner70. Real men come to realize they must make peace with their estranged or ex-wife for the sake of the rest of the family. And they also realize they are just as susceptible to self delusional thinking as their ex. It takes work and eternal vigilance to maintain clear thinking.

Nicely done.

Lovely tale. Not exactly sure why both Nita and Pia speak like Starfire from Teen Titans, but I had a great time reading. 5 Stars, and you’ve earned a new reader. Great job, Randi.

Well, it's Randi, smoothly touching each of the well-trod bases. I think this managed to cover most of the standard LW tropes, and did so in style. Masterfully done, but who would expect anything else? I don't remember whose story it was, but I remember one that followed a similar plotline, where the wife cheats, the parents divorce, the dad moves down to Mexico, then one daughter joins him, then another, he meets and marries a beautiful and wealthy lady, and then the ex-wife moves down and they all peacefully co-exist in the same town. It's probably not BR58, but it could have been, I suppose. Anyway, if anyone knows, please weigh in. Meanwhile, without breaking any new ground, it's nevertheless an easy 5 for one of the greats, as well as the one person on the site who can play every position. Elston Howard as a baseball analogy. And I'm now going to trawl through the comments. Ah yes, "hybrid romance" - damn straight that's a good reason to love her writing! Don't know why the diss against HDK. Anyone who can use all those Beatle song titles deserves honor. 012say has an interesting story idea he got from this. Hope he can pull it off. Meanwhile, I've said this before, say it again. Interesting how the best writers (BR58 herself, stev2244, laptopwriter, LPN, Hooked, to name a few) consistently offer positive comments. Guess it takes one to know one. Fire!

QuickMagazine

Another version of a story that's been told quite often in LW. That certainly isn't a knock on the story, despite what critics say. We see versions of it so often, because people like it, and how the husband/family handles the situation. I found it to be quite enjoyable, though I have to admit that I've never encountered someone in real life that used the word 'yeet'. Perhaps I'm just too old, and my youngest relatives are too young. At least they stopped doing that stupid Floss dance... Thanks for the story! And keep sticking up for your friends!

5*

Not sure what some people expect. This is a lovely story. In life people love each other and sometimes they deeply hurt each other. I think the fact that Barnes could find a new life with what he wanted and find love again is beautiful. Some stories here end in revenge. Maybe that balances things for some people, I prefer to see the recovery. Understanding and remorse if possible too. I have been witness to the end of so many divorces. I see the lasting devastation of cheating so often. Healing is so much harder than rage. Thank you for another beautiful story Blackrandi1958

While the ending might unsettle some i found it well played. "Real Men" will do what's best for their kids his stance on her requests will go a long way to repairing his daughters relationship with their mother. Enjoyed the story randi. Burn the people who cant give constructive criticism or valid points to their arguments. If they don't like your work they can go other places or stop reading there is no reason for you to put up with toxicity in any form when you are letting us read your works for free.

Very good story, thank for writing

I probably shouldn't do this but hold my beer y'all. @Burner70, I assumed that since this commenter.....yes I should have know about assuming....anyway, I assumed that he or she must have a solid foundation of principals with regards to ex-wives in their stories. Imagine my shock when nary a single tale could be found. Well I have no stories either so I guess we're even on that score. Except I'm not the one disrespecting the talented authors who so graciously share the fruits of their labors with us all here on Lit.

Barnes acceptance of Collins being at Christmas dinner was out of love for Nita. I found it quite touching and assume...here we go again...that was Randi's intention. Once again well done and thank you Randi

I thought this was going to go in another direction. Barnes and Collins were two very unique characters given their life positions and discussions. I thought this wold revolve around them more. It turned out to be another "divorced guy meets and marries better" story.

Still well written as are all blackrandl tales.

You do know how to write them, don't you? I loved it. Thank you.

Hey, guess what? I stumbled onto BR's "Insurrection," that was the similar storyline I was typing about yesterday.

QuickMagazine

@Astronomaly: Thank you for your kind words. Starfire is an alien, and obviously, English is not her first language. Does that help? I am a native French speaker. English is my second language and Spanish my third.

If you have conversations with educated and articulate persons for whom English is not their first language, unless they have been around English speakers for years, as I have, they speak a little oddly. We tend to avoid contractions, because we're not entirely sure how to use them, we have large vocabularies, but there are gaps and we don't know some words native speakers know, so we're always a little unsure. Therefore, we tend to speak formally, use third person oddly, use infinitives rather than participles and gerunds in odd places. That's how Nita and Pia would speak, authentically.

Sure, she uses odd names and her characters speak in strange tongues, but Randi is merely introducing us to the future. Times change and most of us old bastards try to resist it. Randi is the future while many of us who have been here a few years are the past. We can celebrate the past, but wemust look forward to the future. This story was very well written and a lot of fun to read. Randi brings a fresh outlook, new jargon, and an interesting cast of characters to LW. Randi makes this site far better than it would be without her. She is the best. There can be only one...Randi.

Really enjoyed the story unfolding with a good all round ending. However, I half expected Collins to tell them she was moving down to help Beck run the lodge after developing a reputation as a slut back home. And Nita proudly announced to Barnes her Christmas pregnancy.

The father daughter relationship was heartwarming. I understand the pain children undergo when they are forced to choose. I think the wife just threw away a fulfilling life for nothing. What for? She just withered away.

I felt a great sense of loss. The happy ending did little to counter measure it.

Well, duh. I feel kinda stupid. 3 days ago I noted that the plotline of this 5-star story resembled one I'd read before, but couldn't remember the name or author. In doing that spin thing, "Insurrection" by BR58 herself came up, and turns out that's the one. And since directly to the right of the Comments section, under "similar stories" you can see "Insurrection"...meanwhile, I've got to comment on a comment the author herself posted yesterday. English is your second language? Never would have guessed. Of course, same could be said about stev2244 and the late Joesephus. All I can say is...wow.

QuickMagazine

Great story well written, not sure about the shortcut language but an excellent tale. Look forward to further adventures

Very good read, thanks for the feel good at the end...!

My only complaint, actually it's a complaint I have with many of BR's stories, is the free usage of things like Snapchat and modern slang in the vernacular of people in their 40's & 50's. Twenty years from now that would make sense, but that is currently a generation that does not 'Snap' or even know what that means. Obviously there are exceptions but BR writes her older generation characters like they are in their teens or twenties and it's pretty jarring and confusing at times. Especially when they are portrayed as supposedly 'old fasioned'.

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Other than that, another solid story from one of the best on this site.

This one of the stories that I enjoy re-reading from time to time. That also allows me to give it another 5* of I wait long enough between reads. I can always rely upon getting a good story from blackrandl1958 and a few other authors on this site.

Randi has written some very original stories. Bubbles in the Grass, Solace, Hybrid, First Estate come to mind. This is more like a cover, to me. Like a really great musician covering a classic hit. Randi took a theme that has been written many times in loving wives and covered it. The thing is, if I'm a musician, I'm not sure I want Randi covering my song, because it's going to become HER song when she does. No one is going to remember I did it first. Same thing with a story. Her talent is so big no one is going to remember that other people did a "Honey, I think we should date other people" story. This was a masterpiece.

A very nice, feel-good story. Well done, but I felt that in the end, Collins crashed the party. An apology doesn’t come with demands or conditions. She made a good impression on Nita, but clearly had expectations of Barnes. Her appearance happened too quickly.

Re: @Anonymous, maybe people in their 70s+ don’t know Snap. I’m in my late 50s, my wife mid 50s, our friends are primarily close in age. All who aren’t hermits, who want contact with kids and grandkids, know social media. I gave my mom an iPhone, she uses instagram and Snapchat to keep in touch with her grandkids. Mom is approaching 80. So it’s an unfair criticism of our esteemed author.

Davey the Dogue de Bordeaux Brought back memories of our Dogue de Bordeaux. He was a slobberer and shed hair like no body’s business. He weighed 74Kg’s (163 pounds) so was a big fella and was the same as the dog described here - loved a pat and cuddle and loved to be with people. We lost him 12 months ago 6 weeks shy of his 8th birthday. It was a sad, sad day and i still miss him and loook for him when i go out into the back yard.

Great story as usual.

Excellent story, dialogue. Little Pia is the Star. Wish you had put English translations with some of the Spanish words.

Enjoyable story. I especially appreciated the respect granted the reader by the not fully-translated Spanish comments.

I liked it but was disappointed towards the end when they allowed Collins to their christmas lunch.

A very interesting tale of break-up of marriage and rebuilding lives. I appreciated how this avoided any BTB traps; the husband simply realized that his wife was restless in the marriage. That was how she felt and, as he said, one cannot argue feelings. An open-marriage was not acceptable to him, so they divorced. / While all that was included was good, for me, the was a shortcoming in the weak development of Collins, the first wife. Given the intelligence and communication skills of this family, I did not really believe a lady of her sophistication would actually pull the ole I'm-going-on-a-date-tonight-with-another-guy routine! And once she did, her life fell apart! But there is no serious exploration of anything with her. Not her dating. Not her work. Even her troubled relationships with her daughters are only explored briefly thru them, not her. Yet, in brief, we know she must be a smart, beautiful, charming person. In this telling, though, it is as if, once she violates the man's moral code, she is erased from the tale! We just are told that she is unhappy--with a dearth of details. She is effectively rendered to be no longer of any consequence. That is, not until end, when Nita, wife #2, is accepting and accommodating of her! [Perhaps the author feared the BTB crowd would harangue if Collins got more storytime; but I wish she had gotten more time. Because she has had time to get herself more sorted as well. There is no elaboration of such, however.

Wow, something for everybody - betrayal, stupidity, heartbreak, a stunner and her stunning daughter, and most importantly, a dog.

He had no option than to ditch her especially after she banged a few persons without informing him. What did she expect. All a bit sugary at the end and I knew the ex-wife would turn up.

This is a great story. Easy to see why you're a legend. It deserves a much higher score. I guess you have some haters. One of the best on the site.

Excellent story. I see this as a two mountains separated by a valley. You live on top of the world until a big rock fractures away and rolls down to the bottom of the valley and you find yourself at the bottom of the valley until you start climbing back up the mountain on the opposite side.

6*

BJ

I'm a hardcore BTB fan

I would've been happy if the MC never forgave Collins, but the author did an excellent job and wrote a very good story

I have to give you a five. That said, once a car is washed, there's no good reason to slung mud upon it to show what a great wax job you did. It's showing off, and was uncalled for. He should have put his ph on the counter, and said, "We'll see what New Years has to bring, perhaps better,"and walked out.

Nicely done.

5* Very good but not yet great. Not enough detail about Collins and the ending felt abrupt. Just think there should have been more about Collins and her relationship with her daughters in the end.

mfj

She didn't appreciate what she had until she threw it away.

At least she wasn't like some other LW's and years later still bitter that he filed for divorce.

She wanted freedom to explore, with him at home as security. If she met someone who really tripped her trigger, then after lying to him for a while more, she would have left him.

If you think about it Collins was right! He did need to experience another woman. She just blew how to get him there

Why do I get the feeling that Collins is down there to stay? I just know she will get a job near them. Why did she have to come at that time of the year with so short a notice? Ahhh, she was lonely, well she made herself lonely. As the daughter said, she would get over it and she did but at the cost we read about. The thing is I well know men and women can get like this so there is no doubt this is a very real situation, where later some realise their failures, others will not take on board what they have done and will always blame the other spouse.

I almost feel like an old-style phonograph, with the nedfle stuck, repeating "5,,,5,,,5,,,5,,," !

But a 5 it is.

EastCoaster

Second reading and still excellent. Easy 5*

BJ

Brilliant.

As ever I love your stories. One minor quibble one worships at an Altar not an Alter.

I think there is story waiting to be written from Collins POV of how she comes to realise how much she fucked up and how she goes about her recovery.

My wife divorced me in 1975 after 13 years but has become a very bitter woman.

2 years ago I found a wonderful new love with a much younger woman and at 83 I am the happiest I have been for many years.

Amazing things can happen in real life and not just in literotica stories!

I did like this but it spoils my take on most of these with one or the other having lots of money

An excellent story. Not all of us who have divorced have landed on our feet the way he did. He had money and met money and was very fortunate, tanks to our author! Divorce is one of those almost predictable crisisies mny of us will face in this day and age. My divorce went smoothly with no animosity but the loss of family was almost more than I could stand. I was fortunate and a year or two later found a good woman with four kids. It wasn't easy but it lasted 40 years until she passed and the kids are still mine,

I still cannot understand how a woman can just up & announce to her husband that she wants to sleep around as her mind is totally made up.

To get that far into cheating without taking to her husband before it ever went that far. It is fiction though.

I’ wonder why in these stories let’s never the husband who comes to that decision.

Think about that.

Bill S.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters, it ended really in a weird way with that strange sort of “détente” between Barnes and Collins. I think part of that was not really knowing what Collins situation was after 2 years, since the story was focused on Barnes. Obviously she must have been emotionally crushed seeing both daughters follow Dad to Mexico. And then learning that Barnes traded up…way up….as a direct consequence of her being a narcissistic slut.

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Just one of your best, Randi. Thanks.

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5 *****

We get the misguided motives of self'centered Collins for wanting an open marriage due to her perceived (albeit short term) dissatisfaction with her life. Of course her 'solution' is reprehensible to the MC and their daughters. But other than that we know virtually nothing about her. And she only shows up at the end to be forgiven. The MC and his two daughters seemed rational and concerned and principled and supportive of one another. Collins disrupted her entire family because she was afraid of getting old. Ironically if she hadn't screwed the two guys after the filing, she might (I stress "might") have had a chance, though doubtful because her mindset all wrong (maybe temporary insanity plea?). She did not factor into her husband's intransigence and got herself backed into a corner with only divorce as the viable option. I think her conversations after that first night are what really sunk her. She was not sorry at all until the last page. Now she is lonely and what started as depression and anxiety over aging, has left her with no husband, an unfulfilled dating scene, an ex who has a new family, and a tenuous (though slowly rebuilding) relationship with her two daughters. Unlike a lot of LW wives, I don't see her as evil or rotten. More like a mix of self-centered, delusional, and misguided. Instead of communicating earlier about her issues, she ambushed him about going out. She probably thought she was doing the right thing so as not to go behind his back. At least she had the sense to cancel. Unfortunately her followup conversations were the nails in the coffin of their marriage. Once he filed, the arrow was flying towards its target. Her sleeping with two guys after the filing then burt the coffin. No chance. Sad that she lost her sense of things and made a huge mistake. Getting her own perspective might have been interesting. Like was she seduced? Did someone help prep her what to say? What exactly haunches planed and when did it start? Most importantly, how did she delude herself that her husband would accept it.

Bill S: the aren't many stories of a man doing what the wife did because this is loving wives :)

Randi great story as always. Someone else mentioned it and i agree... begs for a follow up from wifes point of view.

I like the way you end the story, people move on and can be happy. 5

Enjoyed this story. It had good development and I felt the ending was a good outcome. Thanks for your writing.

Pretty good as I have come to expect from this author. I felt the Christmas reconciliation of Collins and Barnes with the new family happened very fast, and considering the lack of trust that started everything out I did not feel convinced that Collins was any more trustworthy, and might only cause trouble and heartache in other ways. Also not sure about Nita and why she so quickly reached out to the previous spouse. Maybe another page of development and resolution wouldnt hurt. Also I like Pia a lot, I wish she were my daughter, and Beck too.

One of your best I just wish (i know it is fiction) but so many of these women seem to think because we love and care for them They can do all kinds of shit and we are supposed to forgive them and accept it NOT HAPPENING I hate cheaters (jaybee186)

Daddy’s, daughters, & dogs…

Perfect recipe for a perfect score!!

Very well written story. Barnes did well to let Collins back into his life though. She was a dopey bitxh.

I love the conversational style this author writes in. It evokes a lot of emotions. Great story.

I enjoyed reading this story again. You are a very talented writer and thanks for sharing.

I'VE ONLY READ THIS 6 TIMES. CAPTIVATING PRINCESS AND 160 LB PUPPY. LOVE IT!!!

Great Writing THANKYOU.

Great story. The driving events in the story made the end clear early, but the tale was refreshing. Why do some people simply NOT see what they have, and expect it to stay when they abuse the trust to the point of irreparable damage?

Enjoyable - full of forgiveness, love and acceptance - as well as acceptance of the longterm consequences of decisions. Thank you for an honest look at life.

No sense in not letting it go at some point even if she did the i;m sorry once she was finally F###ed out

The lowest circle of Dante’s hell was reserved for those who betray the trust of others. Even in ancient times they knew perfidy when they saw it. Cheats need to look to God for forgiveness, I’m afraid that is beyond my ability.

great story

Buena la historia, al final se van cerrando las heridas, solo queda un final en suspenso sobre la relación de Collins con el resto de la familia, se queda en el lugar?, se va de rgreso?, si la permanente cercanía con Barnes puede con el tiempo desestabilizar lo?, Barnes aun la encuentra atractiva, en fin, podría dar lugar a un epílogo.

Sorry hard to keep my attention.

Way to long

I like burn the bitch stories. Hey wait when did the bitch get burned. Well she lost her husband, one daughter, then the other. Along the way each one told her to get her head out of her ass. You hear something often enough you will begin to believe it. I guess she did. Then got help.

Yes she was burned she lost everything and had to overcome to get it back and then she didn't know what she was getting into when she took her leap of hope, not faith. She was dam lucky.

A travel agency? In this day and age

I love the way you set a story. Good characters building and just enough spicy emotional feelings.

Five bright stars from me.

Red8_2Play

Just as long as she goes back to America................ That or Russia, that's a nice long way.

In most of the stories I have read when someone proposes they go down on one knee. Is this an American thing as personally I have never seen it in Britain that I recall or even Europe that I know of? Sorry seems daft to me.

Collins was a head case. If she had backed off and stopped trying to recruit him to her side and begged off with temporary insanity and "transitioning" and getting therapy/ counseling, she might (stress the word might) have had a chance. But not only does she keep with hee crappy dogma, she screws two guys on dates in two months while trying to reconcile? Way to go genius? This is after she promised she would give up her illicit desire for extramarital dating and sex. This is after rhe onslaught from Silvia and Beck trying to talk her out if it. So poof, she burned her marriage. And then all the delay tactics (btw if he did counseling wouldn't he be done with all this crap much sooner, what is rhe huge deal?) and she gives up after what amounts to a year, while almost certainly she had been still dating and sampling strange while fighting the divorce. That reasoning paints her as borderline insane. At least she finally apologizes for being such a selfish bitch that blew up their marriage at the end of the story, probably after some course of much needed therapy, but it took how long? Years?

Blindsided is not a good way be asked to open your marriage. I'm glad he worked through it and found his happiness. A very well thought out and written story. I definitely look forward to reading more of your work. I appreciate your and your Muse's imagination and abilities to bring it to your story. Thank you for sharing your vision and talents.

The only thing that could have made the story better is if Collins moved in with them....NOT! If Barns would not have forgiven her, it would probably have made things bad between him and the rest of the family. But just because he forgives her doesn't mean he should make her a part of his now happy life. She was a bitch and deserves her lumps. If she's still so hot, let her go find a fuck buddy somewhere else. I also think Silvia was being selfish at the start and didn't want her own little world turned upside down, but that's what infidelity and cheating does.

It was a really lovely story and played out like a Hallmark movie. Collins has a mental disorder. Best part was the MC moved on lived a much better life.

An excellent story showing that when faced with disrespect and disloyalty, the best that a man can do is take what he needs, keep what he can and walk away.