February Sucks - She had to Step In

Dee ran from the house, crying; never seeing her again would be too soon.

I didn't leave the house on Sunday, and only heard from Jane. She asked how things had been, and I said, "Jim is divorcing me.". I heard a gasp, and the muffled words, "I'm sorry," then, she hung up.

On Monday, I took time off work and went to see an attorney. She reviewed the paperwork and took a full statement on what had happened. She reviewed what we had and gave me her assessment of the situation.

"In a nutshell, Linda, I don't see that there are many options. You can fight the divorce. The two options are-- nit-pick every detail to try and create so much time and cost that he gives up, or go for counselling. Nit-picking is very good at racking up costs and it legally stops a remarkable number of divorces. But I have never seen a couple get back together by that method.

"Counselling can work, but I have only seen it work in one very specific set of circumstances when infidelity was involved. That was when a husband was out of town and slept with his PA. They were drunk and he confessed, and was contrite from the second he did it. I will tell you now, what happened with you was so public, the counsellor will side with your husband, and if he says there is no way he can forgive you, it will end immediately.

"To be honest, I think working to agree to terms in the best interests of the children is your best option."

The short synopsis was devastating but, regrettably, exactly what I had expected.

A month later, I was sitting in a conference room in some nondescript office building with my attorney, waiting for Jim and his attorney to arrive. All the terms had been agreed on, and all we had to do was sign. It was agreed to sign in the presence of each other.

I felt terrible and I had hardly made an effort. Sure, I could have got my hair done, worn one of his favourite dresses, but what was the point? He didn't love who I had become. He came into the room looking fit and well. They sat at the table as well, and my attorney started.

"Good afternoon, everyone. We know why we are here and there will be no histrionics. Jim, Linda has asked if she can have one minute of your time after she signs. She does not mind if everyone is here or not, she just needs to close this chapter in her life."

Jim looked at me, cleared his throat and for the first time, I noticed he was very emotional, as well. Then, he quietly said, "Go ahead."

I picked up the pen. "Jim, I am sorry for what I did. There is no excuse. I destroyed our marriage and I hope someday you will forgive me enough to allow you to at least ease the pain I have burdened you with. Maybe someday in the future, we will be able to be friends again."

My eyes dropped to the page, which had a big yellow sticky that read, 'Linda sign here.'

The tears were streaming down my face as I signed the four sets of documents in the same place. Then handed them to my attorney to hand to Jim.

Jim had lost most of his resolve by then and was visibly crying. He signed the documents as well, then added, "Linda, it will take a while, but the pain will ease, then I will be able to forgive you. I hope we can be cordial when we see each other at family events, but I fear we will never be friends again."

Neither of us could stay in the room, and we both bolted out different doors. Our divorce was final in ninety days

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That brings me back to where we started.

Terry's husband had cheated on her while they were on a cruise last summer. Her divorce was only finalised this week and we were having a 'party'. Two sad old women, who had nobody but each other.

As I was sipping my drink, I saw Marc LaValliere sweep into the club with his usual entourage of fellow players and assorted hangers on. I looked around the room and saw people point or nod in his direction, obviously impressed with his wealth and status.

It was then, I noticed Dee, preening herself like a peacock, at a table near the dance floor. I recognised most of my former friends and their husbands also looking around to see LaValliere. They had a new couple with them. They were a few years younger than the others, and clearly in love. She was very pretty and he was clearly devoted to her. She looked over at LaValliere, spoke something to Dee, then returned to the conversation with her husband.

I decided to keep scanning the room to see what was happening. The entourage all sat, but LaValliere stood, scanning the room, like he was a predator searching for his next meal. It was then I recognised what he was doing. He was not looking for a woman who was preening for him, he was looking for one who wasn't. This was the chase, to get one that didn't want him. God, this guy was a narcissist.

It was then he spotted the woman sitting, in what would have been my seat all those months ago, and, with a purpose rarely seen in a nightclub, he marched over to the table and stood behind her.

I could see him reach his hand out; she looked up at him, but didn't move. I had reached my hand out, but this time, LaValliere reached down and took her left hand, which she had rested on the chair back when she had turned around to look at him. She didn't offer any resistance, and he pulled her onto the dance floor. I also noticed the change in the band's tempo. As soon as he hit the floor, the band slowed the number they were playing.

I leaned over to the bartender, and asked, "Does the band always temper their music to suit LaValliere?"

"Oh yes," replied the bartender, "he is an investor in this place, and he knows the band well. I think they have signals worked out, and if you notice, the music doesn't stop, it just slows down and down. That gives him time to slowly pull his partner in closer while he quietly seduces her. He's very good at it, and they play support perfectly."

I turned and watched. I could see what had happened to me happening to her. It got even worse when the husband, then-visibly agitated, got up to go find her. Dee practically ran around the table to stop him. She did everything to distract him, pushing him into his seat. The other husbands were also involved, asking questions and keeping him from doing the one thing he knew he must, to get her away from LaValliere. I thought back to my own seduction, did Dee and the others do that to Jim? They must have done it, and I could see why this made my personal situation worse. It looked planned.

After about fifteen minutes, LaValliere brought the wife back. She was very red-faced and clearly uncomfortable. He had worked a bit of his magic, but I was pleased she had not bought it. She also grabbed onto her husband and he put his arm around her shoulders. She then started packing the few things she had, and put a shawl, which had been on the back of her husband's chair, around her shoulders. The couple were clearly planning on leaving.

At that point, Dee stood up and, even though I was across the room from her, I could hear the words with chilling clarity from my sub-conscience. "I need to go to the ladies' room. Linda, will you come with me." I then watched her take the woman by the hand and frog march her to the ladies' room at the back of the club.

As Dee was walking, LaValliere started in the direction of the fire-exit doors, which were right beside the ladies' room. The very same doors that I let bang behind me as I left with the asshole. The sound of them slamming had marked the death knell for my marriage. I was damned if I was going to let Dee destroy another marriage.

Before my mind was even in gear, I was off my stool and heading to the ladies' room. When I arrived, I saw LaValliere standing by the fire-exit doors and Dee was just dragging the woman into the restroom I entered behind them, but neither saw me come in.

I heard Dee talking, almost admonishing the woman, "My god, Kim." So her name was Kim. "He's a god. Just imagine what the sex would be like. It would be a memory to take to your grave."

With that, Kim spoke up for herself, but you could hear her voice, shaking. "I don't want to do it. My husband and my kids would be devastated, and I won't break up my family."

"Nonsense," snapped Dee, "Paul," obviously the husband was named Paul, "will be ecstatic for you. He's famous; it would be one day out of time, a hall pass, and he will be able to tell his friends his wife was with Marc LaValliere. He won't divorce you, he will worship you."

I had heard enough. I stomped around the corner to where they both stood. Dee had taken Kim by the hand and was obviously ready to lead her out to give to LaValliere, when I got in the way.

I said, "Hallo Dee, selling more of your bullshit and lies?" I then turned my attention directly to Kim. "Don't listen to a word of it. Your instincts are right. Two and a half years ago, I was standing in exactly the same place you are. She told me my then-husband, Jim, would accept it. He might even be impressed with it. I can tell you he wasn't, and I am now a divorced, single mum of two children under ten. It destroyed my life, and do you want to know what is worse? I can see the look on my husband's face the next day; I will see it for the rest of my life. I can see every wrinkle of pain etched around his beautiful eyes, but the sex, it has gone. It was neither amazing nor unforgettable."

Dee tried to rally. "Your husband was just a little man with a fragile ego. If you had done what I said on that Saturday afternoon, your marriage would have been intact and the only memory would have been of mind-blowing sex with a famous footballer."

I laughed, I couldn't help it. "Sorry, Dee, he was not a small man with a fragile ego. He was a great man with a well-developed sense of self-respect. I was the small, weak individual that thought being a slut for a narcissist was acceptable. It wasn't.

"Kim, please walk out that door. Go and take Paul's hand and take him home. Fuck him so hard he can't walk tomorrow, and as you do it, apologize for dancing too close to that dickhead earlier. Don't let Paul get up until your pussy is so full of his cum it will leak for a week, and if you need birth control, tell him you don't want it tonight, that you're his fertile woman, make sure he knows it. And by the way, Kim, take a piece of advice from me, never be friends with this one. She wants to turn you into a slut for her own excitement."

I stopped Dee from leaving the restroom, as Kim ran out the door. I followed twenty seconds later, as she ran past LaValliere who then tried to follow her to her table. When she reached her table, she grabbed Paul by the hand and her shawl, and the two of them were headed for the door before anything else happened.

Dee came and stood beside me. "Well, you ruined her night."

I smiled a dead smile, and said to Dee, "No, I made her realise her marriage is for life and she needs to look after it."

I walked back to my seat and Terry looked at me. The question was on her face, and I replied, "Just doing something that I wish someone had done for me."

We slowly finished our drinks and we went outside. I hailed an Uber on my app and went home to my cold, dark house, and cried.

My children, Jim and his new girlfriend are at Disney World. Right now, they would be in bed in their big family room, and she would be grinding herself on his wonderful cock trying to make him moan so loud, he would wake the kids. (Well that was a game I loved to play with Jim.) That's where my place was; now, I'm alone, and cold. Tonight, I have made it a bit better. I can't save every wife from that asshole, but I won tonight and I might make that a regular Friday night place because everyone I save helps fix my soul just a little bit.

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