All Comments on '"For Better or Worse!"'

The word that best describes what I just read is one the most commonly used words... Bullshit. Everyone reacts differently but what you described started out making very belated sense and then you immediately took a hard left to stupid.

She SAYS she hadn't fucked him but what's the difference whether she had or hadn't? She knew she was married and, as a GOOD, ACTIVE IN CHURCH WIFE AND MOTHER, she knew Goddamned well that letting a man who's not her husband touch her in any sexual way is one of the 7 deadly sins.

He should have tracked them down and broken them up the day he first got wind of it and suspected what she was doing. When he FINALLY took action, walked into that Church and actually SAW what he SAW, she belonged in a dumpster, next to the wedding vows she'd discarded... not given a reprieve and a chance to cheat on him again two, four or nine years from now.

Great story. Keep writing. You have talent. Some people aren't satisfied unless hubby strangles the cheating wife. I find that repulsive. That said, divorce is A-OK with me, but everyone handles these situations differently, because no two people are alike--a good thing, if you ask me..

He suggested that his wife should date while staying at her parents’ house. The reason he did that was to test her response. If she adamantly stated no, then he knew there was a chance for their marriage. If she agreed to date then he would have presented her with divorce documents when she returned to her parents’ house after her first date!

Why would you write a story about such a pussy? Why do all of you authors think that all a woman has to do is flash her pussy or offer a blowjob and the man will cave?

Great story

We all make mistakes and you are a good man for giving the one you love another chance. It’s always a two way street. If a loved one stops giving attention to their significant other and sometimes we don’t realize that we are doing that, it can cause them to stray because they don’t feel the affection and love they need. Everyone needs to feel loved and needed. You did the right thing keeping your family together

You are a RAAC at any cost writer. You built him up as a mans man and then u tore him down. Changed from strong to less than strong, she was NEVER punished.

You ruined the tale. Oh well, your universe, but hey, you do know reality is never far away, don’t you????

"Sorry for interrupting"???? Really?

How about walking up to the slut and grabbing her pussy. Get a handful of mixed cum to spread on her face. So much for claiming nothing happened.

What a fucking Wuss!!!

work, wonderfull.

i can see a reconciliation here but there was no work done. just swept under the rug, makes me wonder if she realy goes to her mom's when she slips out, as u put it. ;)

i really enjoyed the story. Very well written, Joyce was an idiot who threw her marriage away for the kind attention of a womanizer. She fell right into his trap. She really blew it. Now she wants a second chance. He is a lot bigger man that i could be in the same situation. They should have divorced. He could have moved on and perhaps met a woman who he could trust. But the other lesson in this story is for the married man and woman to never forget their couplehood. They are a couple before they are parents, church members, workers in the community, etc. The need to go out often, even weekly, to keep that couplehood alive and nurture each other as pat of a real couple who love and care for each other. That is what keeps a marriage alive and going well. The couplehood came before all else. Many married couples get caught up in the mundane things in life. The schedule is all filled up, so busy with all these things. They lose signt of the fact that before all else was them as a couple. The easily drift apart and either can fall prey to someone that sees the opportunity and causes one of them to stray. It happens a lot. Maintaining your couplehood and nurturing it every day, every wee, and every year is the solution. Good story. Very thought provoking

Jed,

You are a great writer, even if you trend toward RAAC/Semi-Cuck stories!!! Joyce never paid for her betrayal...

....a lot! Good writer. Better message. Thank you for your effort! Five stars ⭐️ for this one.

She cheated, he was too understanding too nice with her. Was she punished, no not really she got off lightly

What if the shoe had of been on the other foot, what would she have done, been so nice and understanding. I don’t think so, not for one minute. Hypocrisy much?

You bet.

A wise man learns and adjust as the times of life requires change. I have a very trusting wife and easy to fool, but loving and kind. I feel like the guardian at the gate sometimes with sweet little lamb to protect.

You left him a wimpy cuckold. That's the takeaway from the story. She cheated and you let her off the hook. Made our poor cuck into a pussy.

it wasn't credible that he'd act like the typical weak, needy, cuckish husband and just walk away from Melrose and then do the faggotty "emotional" thing that is almost always written into these stories. It would have been more believable if he had punched Melrose out. Any normal husband would do that.

Good story. Ignore the comments from the bottom feeding trolls. They obviously lead miserable lives. God pity the wife if any of them are married.

Yeah, my ex was in the Catholic Church Choir. With some friends. Oh, and a guy that was a friend of ours she and another female friend invited bc he had a good voice. Well... Wifey got attached to him. We had been going to counseling for a year and one day she said "I just don't want to do this anymore" Told me to stay home that night instead of going out to meet another couple friends of ours. Choir guy was there too and she told him we were over and she thought he was the answer to her prayers.

Long story short. We split up, they started up. 1 week after she moved out they went out on a date WITH our 2 kids... 3 weeks later they told the Church choir they were a "couple"! Yeah, there were some awkward moments there I heard. Three months after they started up Choir Boy dumped her bc she was still married and she had ruined him... Did I forget to say he was still a VIRGIN at 39 and was waiting for Miss Perfect? Did I forget to say not only was he a social friend of ours and our other friends but I WORKED WITH HIM too? Yeah, fun times. The cause of all this? 15 years previously..... A few years into our marriage we were having some major issues, I wasn't being "heard" and respected. I got too close to a female friend. Yep, it was wrong. We didn't deal with it. Two years later our first kid showed up, and another 3 years later. Yes, I fucked up. But this is proof you either deal with things and forgive, or move on. You don't shove it down for 15 F'n years and then say "I can't forgive you". On a better note, I dated Wife # 2 for 5 years and she is Such an improvement! Ex jumped into a marriage right away with another guy.

Gotta watch out for those Choir Guys!

Realistic. And entertaining

A pussy too afraid to kick out a cheating whore!

I am so lucky that I come from a non-religious family. Her church schedule was hilarious, but we have friends that are just like that. Church is their life. Funny how there was no condemnation from the elders or clergy, but I suppose that might lead to less money in the coffer. So they will let that slide. Great story as usual. It's weird, I could almost feel his pain when he discovered them together. Should have beat his ass though.

Wives see their husbands every day, in every condition. They see them when they’re sick, they see them when they’re sick or pissed off or have fouled up the bathroom, or left a dirty plate on the counter rather than having rinsed it off.

When the new guy comes along, the wives see him decently dressed, see him on his best behavior, see him doing all of the nice things people do in public, the things her husband did before they married. If your wife was once able to fall for you when you were trying hard to win her, she’s just as able to fall for the next guy who does the same things. If half of married women cheat, the only surprise is that the percentage is that low, not that high . . . and the same holds true of married men.

This was a top notch story because it rings true.

Oh, and for those whose wives complain about them leaving the toilet seat up, do what I do: put the seat AND THE LID down. They can’t bitch about you not putting down the seat, but they still have to lift the lid. I just do it to keep the dog from drinking out of the toilet. 🤣

As much as I want to agree with your comment re the Trust thing I cannot. Sorry. Once gone it is gone. And often the emotions of love and respect too.

Love isn't grand. I like the story. AAA+++

So, what exactly did his wife do to strengthen their marriage? Other than letting a smooth talking dueche bag kiss her and feel her tits up. It's as much her responsibility to romance her husband and make him feel special as she expects from him. Never expect more from your spouse then what you're willing to do for them. The new affair partner always seems better than your current partner just because they're someone new to get know and because you're not with but a short time with each encounter but I'm sure they've got some annoying and disgusting quirks. You just haven't discovered them yet. It takes a lot more work to keep a long established relationship going and growing then it does to start a new one. If you expect a certain behavior from your spouse ask yourself are you doing it for them without them having to ask you for it. You get what you give.

Realistic. Pretty clean text, but not perfect. And: "Good ole Joyce, my ever-loving, every-loyal, always faithful wife and soul mate was destined to be hoist on her own petard." A petard is an explosive. The phrase is "hoist WITH his (her) own petard."

Good

Well done. I think for me the anger and betrayal didn’t quite hit the mark. You kind of glossed over her anguish in what she had done during the separation. One of the other commenters asked what she had done to square things(paraphrasing here). The treatment of the other wife confrontation was a bit underdone. Ok constructive criticism done, it was a good read, the character development worked for me. I will continue to read through your works. A 5 from me. Thanks for sharing your work.

"... hoist on her own petard." A common error in Lit stories. A petard was an explosive used for breeching a wall or locked door. She wouldn't be "hoist on" but rather "hoist by."

Not sure what country this is set in but if it's the US or the UK he couldn't get her to move out, nor, after 5 minutes with her parents' lawyer would she have agreed to it.

Just reread this, and it was as good reading it the second time as the first. Real, honest and totally believable. Thanks

4*

well done

Well told story on how a spouse can get lured in by a seducer, especially after years of marriage. 5 stars.

Melroses new church should have been warned.

I reread this story every so often. She was guilty, he seems to get all the blame. It is well written.

A pretty good well written story. With that in mind, there should have been a more confrontational scene at church with a pic or two, chasing the wife out with yelling, and a serious threat and/or a fist or kick to Melrose. Then telling the pastor about the predator and throwing out Melrose’s ass.

Telling his wife should include showing her the pic and Joyce stating exactly what Melrose did.

The new church should have been warned.

Dear ole husband came across as a bit wimpy, at least to my disappointment.

There were some holes in the story, such as did Joyce actually move back to her parents for how long and what occurred?

Yes I know it was a quickie story, but your writing is much appreciated.

SW

He knew but time in church and didn't run by??? Knew and when caught them got sick etc?? No no no no......

As the title said FOR WORSE OR BETTER? I think that's right.

well written. like all the thoughts, said or unsaid. Funny how the discovery was made by accident, as in "who's Viper"

This was one of the best written, true to life stories I have ever read on Literotica. Kudos to the author. The characters were very believable and sympathetic. I felt for the wife who likely did feel special. The boy friend did play her, but her husband handled the in-fidelity masterfully. No over reaction. He made the situation survivable for his children. I will be reading everything by carvohi that comes out. Excellent

He REALLY did need a picture!! An iPhone's resolution should be more than enough to convince a fair-minded observer that non-kosher behavior was occurring.

Good 0one.

A really good yarn which I read in one session. 5 stars and added to my favourites.

Knew and then when confirmed fell apart?!

Agree if in mind have already cheated.

Defended the seducer (as so many do?!)

No

Agree with last anon

I wish more stories about forgiveness and reconciliation were like this. It's a shame it doesn't have either of those tags though because this makes sure that the hole dug for the cheating spouse isn't so deep, that their actions aren't so awful, that any forgiveness or moving on should be impossible.

Not too bad. I see no issue with a reconciliation here. I think he reacted a bit better than most would.

Though, and this is generally the issue with seducers, hate to tell ya guys, no one, unless there is drink, depression, low selfesteem or drugs involved, gets seduced unless there is a part of them that has no problem with it happening. Every guy knows when a girl is trying to get him in bed and the same with women (They arent as dumb as the southern fried concucks think they are) And professional opinion is fairly close to that as well. And again the southern fried pathetic "alpha make concucks" like to think professionals are worthless, but they are on the money. Literally Cucks are more often Conservatives and BDSM are more likely to be Dems. Yeah we know, they hate the messenger.

An education in love, forgiveness, marital/family relations. Great story. LP

The husband admits he neglected his wife but yes it was her choice to cheat I read a quote once I don’t remember it exactly but it was along the lines of ‘if u don’t treat ure partner with life an respect someone is round the corner who will’ it’s such an honest statement an a lot of people take their partner for granted I’m not siding with the wife she was wrong but also living with a man like that would kill my spirit everything falls to her an no one appreciates it and wen she needs support he isn’t there

This shows what I have believed for along time.if a person is religious or churchy you can't trust them. Everyone I have come across that is churchy or religious is either a liar,a çheat, a thief or an adulterer. The people who believe in their mythicalmasterare theworst people you can ever come across. They spout goodness and light but are the worst people you wiener find.

4 star, good story, but a couple of key points need commenting on.

Firstly just letting the Melroses disappear wasn't good enough. Hub had worked out that he was a classic seducer and it was only fair to warn other churches what was coming their way. It wasn't as if hub was trying to keep Joyce's problem a secret. Everyone would have noticed he removed his wedding ring when she moved out to her parents.

Secondly at no time did he challenge this stalwart of the church as to just what she was doing playing away in church. Not only did she break her vows but she did it in church too! We never heard anything about how the church dealt with her about this event or if she confessed her sin. Apparently things went back to normal, except for her dropping some of her church workload. Methinks the vicar just might have given the congregation a heavy sermon on the 7th commandment at least.

This is one of less than a dozen lit stories that I think are in a class by themselves. This is how real people think and act. That being said, I wonder what Harry's line in the sand is. Essentially Joyce and dipwad had an emotional affair that morphed into some physical acts. If he had felt her up between her legs. Or she, his. If she had performed oral sex on him. If they had slept together one time. Or if they had a long term affair. What would have and should have been his reaction? How would the family have dealt with it? Would he still have forgiven her. Was it enough for her to go live with her parents? I don't know, but I'm glad it worked out.

Most husband's don't realize their beloved needs love. Words and actions are important. Pay attention to her, dish out frequent complements, divide household chores and kid duties. I bet 50% of divorces could be prevented if men paid more attention to their wives. And yes, I'm a dude, been married 32 years and going strong.

Amazing! An author who knows the difference between “importantly” and “important”! Bravo!

I think it's one of your best stories. Not overly long, just the right amount of betrayal for my taste and a reasonable handling and ending.

A good read. Pretty vanilla for this site. But I enjoyed it. Excellent writing.

A lot better than the first one I read BUT you seem to be a very forgiving woman for the cheating wives (jaybee186)

So, how come everyone dumps on the husband Harry about romancing his wife Joyce? When did relationships become a one-way street? What exactly was Joyce doing to keep romance alive in their marriage? I'm a firm believer that you get the love that you give. The biggest mistake I see Harry making is letting Joyce have her way all them time. Joyce just stopped respecting Harry because he always gave her her way.

Many women get themselves wrapped up into a victim mentality. A victim mentality is the opposite of making a choices. A victim believes that all of the choices were made for her, and a victim usually lives her problematic life enjoying it. Most women have crappy love lives and they want you to live it right there with them.

Seems like Joyce was bossy, demanding and insisted on controlling every aspect of their life while playing the good prim and proper christian church lady role. Except or the whole letting the first smooth talking lothario kiss her and feel her up in church...you know God's house. So, Joyce, you're the good christian woman...How do you think God feels about you for betraying your husband and your vows in his house??? Hypocrite much?

Also, I didn't see much change or work on Joyce's part to merit a reconciliation. She cut back her hours at work and church but her attitude toward Harry didn't improve much. All she gave him was plain old vanilla sex and only missionary position when they got back together. The only thing she learned was she played around and still got Harry to take her back. She won in the end and Harry got nothing out of it.

I think Harry should have used his rough hard hands that Joyce complained about and beat the living shit out of Melrose right there in the church when he caught him feeling his wife up. Joyce's mother told Harry that many people in church knew what was going on between Joyce and Melrose and gossiped about it. And yet, no one, not even his mother-n-law thought to tell Harry about his wife slutting around with another married man. If I was Harry, I would have asked Joyce's mother if she admonished her daughter about her unchristian behavior and did she tell her daughter to quit carrying on like a calloused ass'd strumpet.

no matter how you write it or explain it away or those readers who say " how nice to end with reconciliation" No way would or should a spouse accept their life partner to have an affair for months,even one time.. As long as people accept others doing wrong things without penalty it becomes a exceptable thing to do.

Entertaining. Good analysis of what happens to a marriage when "lusting in the heart" shows up.

Ed

I just do not get it. Why?

Why would he just take her back...just accept this affair she had? She's hardly even sorry she did it.

And the anon from 2 months ago? "This is how real people think and act."??

Really? You walk into the church like this guy. You are all keyed up because you are already pretty sure there is an affair happening. Adrenaline pumping. You've found them alone together at church. And you are pretty positive you are gonna catch them.

And you walk in on some asshole with his hands on your wife's tits? Her shirt and bra undone and open. If you walk in on them 10 minutes later...probably her skirt is off and his dick is out or in her. In the church?!

And you apologize? And then quietly back out and leave?

You think that's how real people react?

Yeah. Right. Sure they do. And then this guy just forgives and goes on a few weeks later like nothing happened.

I can tell you from personal experience. This is NOT how people react when the love of their life is caught in the act of cheating.

And her? This stupid bitch hardly sheds a tear of remorse. She's like "gee...he's such a nice guy with soft hands. You'd like him."

Cheaters either harden up, become mean and justify it and don't care if they get divorced. Become vindictive.

Or they are devastated and supremely sorry.

This dummy was just sort of indifferent in her being caught in an affair.

Hardly how real people act.

Thanks. good read. Not all stories are BTB but hopefully the snake got his.

I woulda done a number on that guys car in the parking lot if not his face as a symbol to the blue hairs that I wasn't a clueless ineffectual Cuck to be used and abused. Then it's to the dustbin with her, let her pious ass find out how good and caring the dating scene is while she threw away her family for "a good man" that "you'd really like" with "soft hands" gimme a freaking break

"We've come to realize marriage is a two way street;"

No, its till a one-way street marriage. Joyce is still running the relationship. There's no mutual reciprocity in the relationship. The husband has still not set any relationship boundaries or deal breakers in the relationship. People only give you what you expect out of them in a relationship. If you have no expectations then your receive nothing in the relationship.

"I decided to throw the trust thing out the window. "

Trust is one of the most important element in a relationship. Trust is important in any relationship, most especially in marriages. Without trust, a relationship wouldn’t survive or even last. It is the key to a healthy relationship, and without it, life becomes intolerable. When some proves to be untrustworthy and unreliable continuing to trust them is at your own peril. When cheating or infidelity happens trust is broken and destroyed. Trust is one of those intangible items that cannot be easily replace or repaired.

When trust is broken in a marriage, everything shatters. The love between the two of you, the comfort zone, the compatibility, the understanding, and a lot more disintegrates. Marriage and trust go hand in hand. When the trust is broken, nothing can be normal again. The old relationship is gone. If you want to stay together then you have to create a "relationship" establishing new relationship boundaries including what the deal breakers are. That involves a lot communications on the hard and difficult things. The new relationship has to be one built on mutual reciprocity. Reconciliation is a hard long road and a risky investment with no guarantees of success. Be sure you can afford the risk if it fails. Joyce never seemed to grasp the seriousness of what she did and for the longest time denied she did anything wrong. She certainly never suffered and real consequences and just expect life to go back to way it had been where everything in the relationship was in her favor. The husband let Joyce of way too easy and basically told her he couldn't live without her. Joyce took advantage of the husbands love for her and then expected forgiveness and reconciliation as her right. Telling her that means she's likely to exploit that fact again in the future. Personally, since she claims to be this seriously religious person I think she should of confessed her sins to the congregation since she was using God's house to conduct her affair and everyone knew what she was doing.

What is it with these authors and their wimpy male main characters? Doesn't anyone believe that a man deserves a little self respect anymore?

I don't mind a reconciliation, but the bullshit blame-spreading and the other "excuses" drop this to a 2

This was a down-to-earth, real-life story. One I believe has probably happened a million times if not more. It was well plotted and written so I gave it 5 stars. Well done!

no

she fucked him.

and the hubby is weak to keep the slut

Great enlightening story. Life is short, love is hard, sometimes you get to comfortable and things start slipping and you don’t even know it. Thanks for the last paragraph, I needed to be reminded. Very well written and thanks for writing this story.

I found the story good but had racist connotations a mexican with a with sports car a viper come on that is border line insulting. I am latin and drive a jaguar. That part was not needed

This is life guys. To anonymous who cried "racist" because one of the kids said that no Mexican would be driving a Viper, Not everyone, especially kids are going to always be pc. As a teacher in the inner city, I always give kids a break. To those who want to btb, lighten up. Most of you would either do the same thing or you would be single. People make mistakes. This is one of the best stories on lit.

[14.09.22]

Again a good look at real marriages and their trials and tribulations.

11/10!!!!!

Believable and well-paced story

Absolutely no reason to trust her.

You were lucky. By the time I figured it out the affair was over. What made it worse was it was a guy that I thought was my best friends. No longer. It was very bad at times but we are still together 20 some years later. Later when I was down sick thinking that I may not made it I actually thanked her for choosing me. She looked at me with a question in her look. I explained that I had heard that in a movie that I had watched. A husband and children were away for a couple days and it was the only time his wife cheated but some how he new but never said anything. The husband on his death bed thanked her for choosing him instead of the stranger. The wife cried and thanked him for forgiving her as she cried.

To the anonymous "You Were Lucky". The person immediately above. Your comment was terrific!

Every single character in this shitty story is a brain dead moron, but then they are a bunch of religious fanatic fucktards.

Stop promoting cheating whores, women need to start paying for their lying cheating ass's. They go through life with zero accountability for their actions. And stupid stories like this just promote their delusions. God this site needs some Male characters with more than 20% testosterone, I find it hard to believe these cuckold simps can even get it up.

I wonder if author actually has teenaged children. This is not how children, particularly boys, respond.

HAE… what could go wrong?! Again.

This was a good realistic story of a wife who almost fell. Fortunately the husband saw then before it got too far. Yes she wanted an escape form her life. She felt taken for granted and hemmed in. Of course what she did was inexcusable but not unforgivable. She was no naive. The asshole was a seducing, lying swine, who was working her slowly. While she was lusting in her heart, and actual sexual tryst would have dismantled her. So far she was lying to herself. Once asshole got in her pants, she would have been eviscerated. She slowly worked this out as her husband predicted how and at what pace things kept escalating. He knew: predator. She had no clue. She was falling into temptation not just because of the asshole but also because she was unhappy and took her life and husband and family for granted . She absolutely was prey. They got lucky. It was illuminating when she knew the asshole lied in front of his wife. Smart play MC. But then trust was hammered. She needs to both make changes and cut back but also atone. Took a couple of months to move back in. Longer time to heal. Husband realized she had no armor to this type of seduction. She probably slowed it up at first due to her faith. But she had no clue what was asshole's endgame. In the end hubby made some changes for time between them and more romance. Yes in theory she might cheat (again) but this was mostly in her head as a fantasy, escalating to physical indiscretions and finally making out. No doubt she was soon going to fall, and in the process wreck her life and marriage. But there was an intervention and it was halted. She had to work out what was really going on with some separation. She had to see what she would be losing. She saw through the wolf's disguise when they jointly talked to the asshole's wife. She realized she was at fault. She atoned and seeing the single scene she was mortified what might await her if she falls. They made changes and consciously decided to trust again. What is the worst that happens? She slips and slides again. He will be more vigilant. That is life. If she falls into another man's arms, then they divorce. Whynis it better to divorce now, when she was stopped in time? To love is to always open oneself to pain. How could a future infidelity be worse than what she already almost did? He is steeled for his response if she slides. Eventually trust prevailed and they worked it out. This stuff has certainly happened many times across the world. People adapt and survive. Yes they may have lost an innocence but neither takes the marriage for granted and she takes brief alone time at her parents when it all gets too much. She comes off as a control freak who was drowning. Kevin recognized her vulnerability and lack of armor and slowly was reeling her in. Thankfully he failed.

I was glad that the husband caught her before she went any further. I wasn't that lucky. Even though we are still together we will never forget what happened and we will never have what we once had. It's good but it could have been great!

Always a pleasure to read a story by Carvohi. Keep up the good work.

Making her move out was a good plot move, but letting her come back without some form of penance rings hollow.

She cheated. He found a way for her to redeem herself. Call me a sceptic but most of these “Christian Bible Thumper” get involved in this way…. I am amazed what hypocritical lives they devolve to. Story was very good but I wish the writer explored the Christ aspect …. I still remember that POS Jimmy Swaggart on TV crying”I have sinned. Disgusting and pass the charcoal lighter fluid.

Second time read, and I got more out of it than the first time. So well done.

.

5 *****

Your character, Joyce, reminds me of 'Church Lady' from SNL.

Involving the church activities should remind us that even church people misbehave.

I was impressed by how much his in-laws supported him. That's not always the case with their daughter.

You had good dialogue, also. It was easy to tell who was speaking. That's a difficult skill to master.

Nice job!

I don't mind a good reconciliation story, but this was neither. It was just a bad story about a guy with no self confidence who took back his cheating wife because he lacked the balls to be a man. Surrendering is not reconciliation.

I heard good things about this author, so I thought I would give this a try. With the exception of shining a light on the debauchery that goes on inside a church, I found it a little boring. Kinda like if Grandma in the Walton’s, was trying to write a porn....

Omg really, really, once a cheat always a cheat, the first phone call should of been to the pastor of the church, and told him what you just seen, that your wife and Mr DH was found in the church doing who knows what

Wife cheats? End it. Staying just means a slow and painful death. You’ll never be happy. You’ll never trust again.

This was a good foundation for a story, but I'm not sure why the church and the cheater didn't get the boom lowered on them! it feels like he our protagonist took the brunt of the damage and doubt upon himself!

A church is supposed to be a 'safe space' where people can temporarily let down their guard and share

worship time with other similar minded but imperfect people., and not be subject to predatory assholes

hiding under the veil of he church.

The pastor and other church members didn't do anything? If the mum already heard rumors, it means those cheating pairs had done often

Very nice story. Go figure - adults acting and conversing like adults. a nuanced view of marriage. Genuine pain, genuine complex emotions. No soap opera histrionics, no kidnappings, no beatings, no long techporn about video and secret recording devices, and no old army buddies ready to do illegal things. Just people dealing with human failings and frailties, trying to figure things out as they go. And well-written, too. Bravo!

It sounds like a real life one experienced. Thanks

Liked it.