All Comments on 'Forgiveness'

Although I rated the story at 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐, I am puzzled at Rob's indecisive attitude. I'm not sure what kind of VP he would make. He may have waited until the divorce was granted but he jumped onto the available variety pretty hard and quick.

Tessa hit the nail on the head in the end. Rob never did really understand the meaning of forgiveness. Maybe he will someday understand exactly what Tessa was saying.

Forgiveness is not reconciliation. Forgiveness is required for reconciliation to be meaningful. Personally there was some gray area here. Tessa did not get the explicit permission and that was a mistake for sure. But the MC was all over Sarah building up to it. Backing iff.and cooling down was his choice his problem is seeing his wife with Carl. He couldn't get past that imagery. That being said, what she did was not true deceit. Now some could.not get past the misinterpreted swap and personally I think swapping is stupid as it effectively opens the marriage and skyrockets the chances of divorce. But Tessa was more a mistake than a malicious choice. Sure she was overly eager which blinded her to the lack of clear permission but still thr MC is not blameless here. 4 stars.

Bah Viking, we need more Drama, more BTB, and less RAACs lol

Bah. Humbug. You're just a cuckophobic communist from Billings, Montana. She only did it once, and there were some mitigating circumstances. Now you listen to me, Cageytee: RAACs. RAACs. We need more RAACs. I have spoken.

Why would Rob be confused? Otherwise, good story.

Assnomeous here, bad grammar , fiction, etc

Comments better than submission,

LOVE slap-hapy-papy #9

Was well written but the husband was going to screw the other wife couldn't forgive his wife was a total jerk himself.

Did not like the MC. He was all over Sarah that night, so it was easy for Tessa to think he was okay with it. At no point did he assume culpability. A predator took advantage of her.

Yes, she fell for it, but her regret was apparent. I never felt like he truly loved her, as he claimed. He was cold and showed no compassion for her. The ending was an example

of that. "But I have forgiven you, Tessa. I remember only a faint sadness and I am no longer angry and I no longer want to hurt you. "I really do want nothing but happiness for you."

Yeah right😟

Weak ending

Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing. He has no real feelings for Tessa anymore. She felt entitled and got some strange on the side. Swapping is not a good idea. Destabilizes a marriage.

I forgive cageytee for the unfortunate choices made while constructing the plot of this submission. They reflect a lack of genuine understanding of the subject matter which the story purports to explore. The author's lack of self awareness is awkward and unfortunate.

Swapping is the first step to divorce. Even if they stay together it won't be the same.

Wishy washy non ending..pity

The title of this story, and its final comment, appear to be the author’s attempt to consider what forgiveness is all about. The story itself, it seems to me, is just a prop for that effort. If this is correct, no comment from me on the story itself, is important. The only important topic is…What is forgiveness? I believe forgiveness is an important topic to consider. My thoughts on that follow, and are only meant to stir up your thoughts and consideration.

For me that thoughtful effort has led me through my long life of (so far) 87 years, and I have no god-like conclusions to offer. I do wish I had had the maturity to consider the thoughts and questions below in my 20s. It would have saved me a lot of pain and suffering if I had done so.

So then, considering forgiveness:

To understand forgiveness you have to study what judgement is.

Some thoughts:

• Rules or vows, whether broken or not, are the basis of, and the justification for judgement.

• Forgiveness can only be given, if rules or vows are broken, and a negative judgement is made.

• Without negative judgement, forgiveness is unnecessary.

• Without negative judgement, forgiveness does not exist!

• Interestingly, forgiveness is just positive judgement, it is not a separate issue from it.

Considering the effect that negative judgement has on all relationships, shouldn’t we be questioning the automatic assumption that judgement is a god-given “Right.” That the role of judgement is a good thing? Shouldn’t we be asking; “Do we actually have the “Right” to judge others?”

Shouldn’t we be studying whether any rules at all, should be part of any relationship? And if rules are believed to be necessary, what do those rules really mean, why are they being made, and what are the consequences of having them?

There is a lot to consider about forgiveness. I cheer on your thoughts and considerations. Express your thoughts and teach me what I never learned. It is never to late to learn.

Merlin

Good story but I kind of wished for a different ending

Unbelievably good and yet so short and easy to read! For size with impact though 15 years old it is one of the best! If you rea it, read the comments, too, at least those 15 ears old. Your will have the time! Some of them are as good as the story itself.

The Hoary Cleric

Many people have the mistaken idea that forgiveness is the same as reconciliation. This is far from the truth. Forgiveness and reconciliation are two very separate actions. Nobody is entitled to either. While forgiveness is possible it doe not mean that if you are forgiven that reconciliation will occur. Some relationships are so irrevocably broken that the continuation of the relationship is not viable and not warranted nor deserved. That's why they call them relationship deal breakers.

Well written.

Maybe, a sequel would be nice.

After 5 years, what happens

1 star - it was a really bad idea

BS, predictable drivel. Moreover obviously the plot is forced in the very beginning.

This is a classic example of mediocre writing. Characters are two-dimensional cartoon types, behaviors are hysterical and I don't mean in a good way. There is even a silly level of "I forgive you and I wish the best for you" hypocrisy in the end. Truly lousy stuff, phew.

He didn’t forgive tessa regardless wot he said, he said he didn’t want to hurt her but gave her false hope with the date he could of said over the phone he forgave her he wanted to twist the knife, which is fine but ffs be honest. an Sarah’s behaviour is awful lusting after her friends husband lurking in the background waiting for the marriage to end

Cheating is about entitlement. The story tells us that Tessa had a really good life with Rob. Rob was successful in his career and made more than enough money that Tessa didn't have to work and Ron lovingly gifted her with that option life. Tessa even admits that their sex life was good and she enjoyed how Rob made love to her and made her feel love and secure. In spite of all these great hings Tessa had going for her she felt entitled to more including enjoying some strange dick on the side with Carl.

After her cheating was discovered, Tessa continued to demonstrate her entitlement as she expected forgiveness AND reconciliation from Rob as well. Rob made it clear before he found out about Tessa's cheating that infidelity, ie cheating was a relationship deal breaker for him. She had to know what his reaction would be but arrogantly assumed that she could have her cake and eat it too and that Rob had to forgive her and take her back. Unfortunately, Tessa had already opened the barn door and had taken a day of riding Carl's dick to her hearts content. Not a mistake, but a premeditated decision to cheat on Rob as she valued the ego stroking from the illicit sex with Carl than she did with how Rob would feel about her cheating on him.

Nobody is entitled to reconciliation. Also, reconciliation does nothing to solve a cheater's sense of entitlement because reconciliation does not level any type of meaningful consequences. Just because she didn't want the consequences of Rob divorcing her does not mean she didn't deserve it. It wasn't up to Tessa to decide what Rob would tolerate or not tolerate in a relationship. That's entirely up to Rob.

All things being equal, people’s past actions are often a good predictor of their future behavior. The consistency of a person’s behavior over time is the result of personality and motivational factors that are common to the situations in which the behavior occurs. Tessa obviously has different personal beliefs about infidelity in a relationship that are the opposite polar direction of Rob's beliefs. At no time in the story do we get any indication that she's actually in agreement with Rob's beliefs and stance and at no time does she express to Rob she has changed her convictions about infidelity. She's just so desperate for Ron to take her back she just naively tells him it will never happen again when there's no positive indication that she's changed.

In the end, Tessa gets forgiveness but its not what she wanted. Forgiveness does not imply that you are or ever will be OK with what a person has done to you in the past. Tessa wanted reconciliation but didn't get that from Rob. Rob had learned to unburden himself of the pain and hurt Tessa had inflected upon him. Ultimately Rob decided that in spite of their past together and any residual feelings he had for Tessa that they were no longer suited to be together as life partners and was moving on in his life. Hopefully, Tessa learns from her past and moves on as well.

Too nice to Tessa, she didn’t feel remorse until she realized how badly she had messed up.

Just his pride that stopped him reconciling with Tessa. She made a huge mistake and would have made the most dedicated and attentive wife had he forgiven her and taken her back. He never saw Tessa's cheating he had no visual imagery of her with another man to contend with. It should have been relatively easy for him to take her back.

Great story, Just wish it continued. 5*

with respect

DG Hear

Forgiveness = reconciliation in my mind. Instead he just keeps torturing Tess.. Kinda sick. Sarah was the one lusting after a married man...... 2/5

Iameasel, l think you are right about Legio Patria Nostra ( a French Foreign Legion motto).

He has some weird ideas.

4/5

Would love a sequel.

He should have left her alone. He gets her hopes up then smashes them. Not cool. She can't move forward if he is still in touch with her parents and asks her to lunch.

Im guessing Legio is just a a cuck troll that lives in mommies basement. And judging by so many of his posts, I nailed it fully.

Too bad Tessa didnt realize forgiveness in no way means it fixes everything that was broken. You read lots of posts by these manly men that say its all just bruised ego et al, yet they themselves would curl up in a ball and cry all day, even the idiots that wish a cucks life for themselves.'

I enjoyed it. It had a good deal of realism to it.

People cheat because they feel entitled to cheat. That’s it. That’s the simple plain unadulterated answer to the painful question of WHY? People cheat because they give themselves permission to cheat. Cheating is not just a bad mistake or series of shitty decisions. Its a major lack of character, values and integrity. So, while you may love the person you have to ask yourself.... What are your values, what you will tolerate, and what is acceptable and unacceptable to YOU. While you may love the person who cheated and betrayed you are they really a person that's suitable to be your life partner if they lack the values, integrity and character that you find essential to your life.

Yeah, Rob was way too fragile, especially to be in such a tough business. Talk about send the wrong message to your spose.

I expect that he will end up with Momma Kardashian and be the next guy to 'come out' as another of that evil family's emasculated males!

Lmao, all people are flawed, and people’s big deal breaker with this fictional character was that he has high standards of himself and others, and gives all of himself to the point that it left him emotionally fragile? You people wouldn’t be worth the ink on your marriage certificates

5 stars! Tessa deserves to be forgiven, but doesn't deserve to be married to someone she so easily betrayed.

Forgive., but never FORGET!!

Those who claim Rob didn't forgive don't understand the difference between being forgiven and being someone one would want to be married to. The point of the writer's story is that those are not the same thing-and that point is correct.

Telling someone 'I forgive you, but I can never forget what you did' is really just you saying 'I can never forgive you for what you did', and Rob, clutching his precious integrity to his chest like his favorite blue blanket and letting Sarah go because he's still too full of his sanctimonious self-image and unforgiving anger to see that, no matter how much he lies to Tessa about forgiving her, has got and always will have his head shoved up his own ass. There's only room for one head up there, so he's in for a long and lonely life.

Sarah is the only likeable character in this story and for some reason the author chooses to let the sanctimonious Rob treat her badly. Her only crime was choosing poorly when she decided to marry. At least Rob showed her his true colors before she wasted too much time on him.

Having earned every bit of his dissatisfaction and unhappiness, Rob will end up rich, angry and very much alone. It is not surprising Tessa cheated on him. He definitely was not worth the effort fidelity requires.

Foregiveness means Rob forgives Tessa for betraying him and fucking Carl but it does not mean that he will get back together with Tessa ever. I loved the story and gave it 5 stars. Tessa was selfish when she decided to go and fuck Carl. She thought it was a foregone conclusion that Rob would fuck Sarah so there was no risk. The sex was not good and Tessa realized that it was a mistake. She hoped that the marriage would survive the mistake. It did not. She threw away the opportunity to live into retirement with a wonderful man for a couple of tumbles in the sack with a lover who really was not a very good lover at all. I loved how the consequences of the fling came across in the story. It is never just sex. People say that but it is not true. Fucking another man or woman outside your marriage is never just sex. Loved the story!!!!

Because if he did he would see Bubba's ugly face having sex with him and Bubba was UGLY.

Sarah eventually married a nice guy from Flint Michigan and had an enjoyable life with him. I paid for the wedding as I thought the world of Sarah and the new man in her life.

Tessa tried for many years to get me to take her back but I constantly refused.

I eventually married a Hollywood starlet who was 10 years younger than me and we had 3 children. She never once regretted her giving up her acting career.

Life is good.

For the LA dating scene? You have got to be kidding! You left her in fucking Flint, the armpit of Michigan? First GM screws the whole city, then the city fathers try to poison everyone with contaminating the water supply. She realizes how selfish Carl was after you give her a month of caring and love and then you dump her back in fucking Flint? Just what kind of asshole does that? Pretty good story until that, the rest of the pro's and con's have been discussed so I'll leave them to the ones who have already commented. One other thought, at least you could have let her move with her family to San Antonio. Signed: BTW

After working through this mind boggling situation, a one time act of infidelity, Rob finally was so happy he wanted to express it to Tess.

But they both had different definitions of the word forgiveness means. What 'forgiveness' meant for Rob was the final act after the divorce for them to both move on. That Tess should seriously be happy and find someone else. That Rob was okay now.

For Tess, even with the divorce finalized, she held on to the fantasy Rob would one day take her back. That was what forgiveness meant for her.

Most men in traditional marriages are hard wired when it comes thier wives mouth, pussy, and ass. And one slip like in this story generally is enough for many men not to desire their wife like that ever again.

Had a good story until the last third of this chapter. You make main character strong then you make him wishy-washy. Why would he start something with Sarah only to hurt her in the end? That makes him like his ex wife. Why does he communicate so much with his ex-wife? Makes no sense, just like your ending. Too bad you did have a good story going there for awhile.

I get it. Forgiveness doesn't mean trust again. If you feel that faithfulness is not something a person can give, then you don't trust them again. You can forgive like you forgive a wild animal for being wild, but you don't forget the are wild. Well told!

No score from me. To bad you didn’t finish the story!

Not a bad story at all. Ending was a little soft, but it's your story and you wrote it your way. I just don't like cheaters getting off easy.

... but then I'm coming to expect that from this author. This is the fifth story I've read from them and the fifth lousy ending in a row. They seem to get these good concepts for stories but then don't know what to do with them or how to resolve the conflicts in a satisfying way. It's unfortunate.

Regardless, as far as the final question about forgiveness, it's the one thing Tessa was right about in the story. Rob is clearly mistaking apathy for forgiveness. Forgiveness is a choice, an emotional action if you will. It's completely different from apathy, which is a lack of concern about the issue. Rob has moved on, he no longer loves her, and no longer gives a shit about her feelings on the matter. While that's his prerogative, it's not the same as him actually forgiving her the way he thinks it is.

Honestly, I think him purposely making a trip all the way from L.A. to Atlanta to take Tessa out to lunch just to loftily announce that he's forgiven her and she can move on with his blessings makes him out to be a sanctimonious, self-centered, arrogant prick. One could argue that Tessa's betrayal made him become that, but it still doesn't really excuse him. In my opinion this was a flaw in the author's writing because it made my opinion flip and made me sympathetic towards Tessa. Despite the overwhelming attitude of the BTB crowd here in LW, I'm a firm believer in being the better man / woman. If Rob couldn't understand that going across the country to take his ex out for lunch, raising her hopes immeasurably, only to condescendingly inform her that he's fine and she can get on with life with his best wishes, wasn't a good thing, then he's far from the great guy all these people think he is. While that may be a realistic thing, it does NOT make for a good story. Now I pretty much dislike everyone except poor Sarah, who just wanted a little romance in her life.

So, no, Rob didn't forgive Tessa. He just doesn't give a shit about her anymore and that whole bullshit line about wanting nothing but happiness for her is just that, bullshit. He simply doesn't care. It's lip service, as someone mentioned in a different context earlier. He probably wants nothing but happiness for his mail man, too. It's meaningless and it was thoughtlessly cruel for him to tell Tessa in the way he did. A two minute phone call would have done just as well.

Not a good story. In spite of the realism of the way the characters behaved there was nothing of redeeming or uplifting quality in this. Other than the aforementioned Sarah, pretty much all the characters were unlikable and my sympathies were mostly felt for Tessa, who did the most harm yet suffered the most as well. Very unfortunate.

The first type is lip service. You tell the person you forgive them, but you know that every time they make a slight misstep that you wii be thinking they are doing it again. The second type is much harder to do and seldom occurs. It can only occur when a person truly asks for forgiveness and you truly give it, never to think about it again. Never to hold it over them, never to doubt them. Very hard to do. In this story I'm not sure if his forgiveness even made it to the first type.

In this instance, forgiveness means shit!

He got forgiveness right. Rob isn't carrying the anger and hurt anymore. It doesn't make trust magically reappear. It doesn't turn Tessa back into the woman Rob thought she was, the woman he fell in love with. He found out she wasn't who he thought, for whatever reason, and so he wouldn't feel the same about her even if he could learn to trust her again.

Maybe Rob doesn't end up together with Sarah, or anyone, but it'd be nice to get a glimpse into where he end up romantically. Second and beyond marriages are much more likely to blow up, but maybe he finds a companion who's compatible?

Only to muck up the ending...you portrayed Tessa as an ass, which she was. But to end the story in such a asinine way sucked. Not committing to Sarah, fine. He should play the field for quite awhile, he's still young, rich and good looking. But I read stories for happy endings not this real life bullshit. 4****, because of the stupid ending.

The only worse ending would be if he got back with Tessa.

When you lose the one you love to another, all endings are bad.

But thats how life goes sometimes..........

Well written story up until the.end. Why so gentle with Tessa, as she destroyed the marriage by herself. She only felt remorse when she felt she was losing everything. She was a total fraud until the.end.

Rob’s a sanctimonious prick. Tessa will do better.

The ending scenes were in the wrong order. He should have seen Tessa, told her he forgave her, because he'd moved on and didn't love her anymore so her betrayal no longer hurt. Then he should have seen Sarah, made love with her and rocked her world... then they get together permanently.

This ending left everything up in the air and felt anticlimactic.

A pretty good story, but a fucked up ending.

Good story, but a terrible ending and because of the ending I will give it a generous 2

When she has been found out and is trying to get back with her husband she complains the sex was lousy however at the start of the story she is so excited she comes immediately and again soon after no mention of lousy sex then more like she wanted more. Obviously as time went on she became desperate trying to downgrade her behaviour she commited adultery end of. Good story though would like the ending expanded to what happened next it is a bit open ended

The last line is a perfect setup for lots of twisted panties. It's a great ending. Everything is wrapped up enough...like, the next chapter would be romance for him, or a non-erotic revenge for her.

In this case, it would be unwise to give her anything above and beyond what's required by the court. She seems very unwilling to accept consequences for being wrong, and I'd bet the next chapter would be her attempting revenge. Don't give potential enemies more weapons than required by international treaty....or divorce court.

back into your life. It means that you let go of all the anger and hatred you have towards that person and try to understand why they did what they did.

All the good elements of a LW's classic story. Heartbreak Hotel stuff. Both loose. His hurt pride and her stupid selfish act of a one time betrayal destroys a once happy couple. *****

A pretty good story most of the way through, but then you had that pissy little ending.

I’m not necessarily in the BTB camp or the RAAC croud, but either way I like a strong ending. This story didn’t have that, it had an ending that just kind of fizzled.

Did you get the RAAC crowd upset!

Man not trying to save his marriage after single mistake

He simply loved himself the most

Did you leave Sarah out in the dark? No ending to Sarah and Rob or was Sarah going back to Michigan her ending?

Both Tessa and Rob stepped over the line in their marriage. They didn't respect each other by their actions. Rob participated in "some mild groping and kissing" with Sarah. He is a complete ass. He says he is a one woman man that takes his vows seriously, I don't think so. Tessa obviously got signals from him that the behavior was fine. Neither character has clean hands but Rob is the bigger asshole because he thinks he is righteous and he is nothing but a self-serving hypocrite. When you start playing the grab ass game with someone other than your spouse anything can happen and usually does.

Very good author whose stories deserve a much higher rating than listed. Not BTB type of stories, but they have terrible emotional and financial consequences for the cheating spouse.

He will now die a lonely old man. true he has forgiven her, but he can't truly let her go.

"Rob, I'm sorry for what I did. It was selfish of me to want to satisfy my curiosity that way and I sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I assumed you and Sarah were probably up to the same thing. I should have known better! I am asking you to give me the chance to earn your forgiveness. I love you Rob and I've too late realized how much."

She showed how she felt about her relationship with her husband by her cheating. She did NOT love her husband. She was willing to risk hurting him by dishonoring herself and her marriage to alleviate boredom. When she was caught, it wasn't losing Rob that was the problem, it was losing her marriage that was a problem. Most of the time the husband is the breadwinner as he was in this case. That means he was her meal ticket. She, and many women like her depend on their husbands income and willingness to share it with them. Men share their income with their wives because they trust them to be loyal and to only have sex with their husband. Investing in a marriage is all about investing in your genetic future - children. If you can't trust your wife not to fuck other men and possibly get pregnant, you can't be married to them.

It just amazes me how cheaters always seem to come to the realization that they truly do love their spouse & that they are so sorry for cheating on them. But only after they have been caught, if they are not caught then they always seem to continue the affair indefinitely either with the same individual or with someone new. It just amazes me while ever they get away with the cheating, they never seem to realize how much they love their spouse & their certainly not sorry enough to stop without being caught!!! Good story 5*****

He did forgive her.

He just couldn't be married to her anymore.

the present status quo will be intact. TK U MLJ LV NV

For all you creampie-slurping morons out there:

FORGIVENESS DOES NOT MEAN RECONCILIATION!!!

You cheated, you are history!

I read this one again and also read a comment about grace. There was no mention of God in this story. No mention of Christ. Forgiveness only means not holding a grudge and seeking repayment for a debt. If you want to bring up grace then you need to understand the concepts. Seven times seventy, is the number of times the faithful are to forgive a person for their wrongs/debts. There is no instruction to the faithful about bestowing "grace" on a cheater, because only God has the ability to wipe the slate clean. The concept of a human being bestowing grace is really a self righteous notion that a person has the power of God. That in itself is as ridiculous as it is blasphemous. Many of the "Loving Wives" stories that contain forgiveness are really fantasies of self righteous men who need to feel as if they have the power of God. That is why the RAAC stories are so vile and sickening. Forget about the cuckoldry, or the low self esteem, thinking you can act as God is disgusting and ignorant. Leave the dead to the dead.

A cheater is a person that is so far off the path of good judgement, wise decision making, and understanding the laws of God and nature that they are completely lost. No person can save them, they need true Grace to be saved. Staying married to such a person is foolish if you want to grow in life, be happy and have a family.

The RAAC crowd assume there can be no forgiveness unless there is reconciliation. Just shows how wedded to their fairy tale endings they are.

A very sad story and a very good illustration how lack of communication brings about horrible life choices, Yes, Tessa made a very stupid mistake but Rob did also. While he repeatedly told her how much her actions hurt him, he basically refused to dialog with her in therapy. Only be doing that could he have hoped to discover the deep core issues that were at play in his choices to divorce her. Further that refusal to really get at his core issues also robbed Tessa of opportunities to hold him gently and lovingly as he examined and looked at himself. Even at the end it was clear that both Rob and Tessa still loved each other deeply. How very, very sad.

I agree with Tessa's last remark to Rob, In spite of his words, he hadn't forgiven her at all. But her comments also brought a thin layer of hope. By making that comment she was standing up for herself and not let Rob's abusive withholding of forgiveness go unchallenged.

So the story asks what does forgiveness mean. Perhaps more to the point, who is forgiveness for? Forgiveness is first and foremost primarily for the person doing the forgiving. It isn't for the person receiving it even though when done authentically and sincerely, the recipient is often transformed.

Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation as some idiots appear to believe. This story is excellant.

I liked this. You are very good writer. But this would have been better if you brought in the concepts of grace and mercy. You had only mercy, but you ignored grace. Josephus was a master at this. Don't misunderstand me, I love your work, and this is very good. It just could be better.

While you are dying you can forgive someone for shooting you, but you are still going to die and they are still going to be guilty of murder. Forgiveness doesn't change the facts. It doesn't mean justice will not be served. It only means that they guilty do not have to fear revenge. In many cases, justice is far better than revenge, because it is a punishment that the criminal brings on themselves.

The story isn't about cheating, or reconciliation, or what-happens-next. It recounts two people reaching a final dead end in their relationship because they don't understand one of the fundamental concepts: forgiveness.

As the last paragraph shows, Rob thinks he's forgiven Tessa when he stops hurting, mostly. Tessa thinks forgiveness means the relationship is back to where it was before. They're both tragically wrong.

Forgiveness is a decision to forego revenge, punishment, quid pro quo, or compensation, for a wrong. It releases both wrongdoer and wronged from the deed, and allows them to move forward if they wish to and can. It's a starting point.

Rob has not forgiven Tessa: he continues to punish her by denying her the release of telling her story. Tessa's inevitably futile offers and efforts to make up for what she did stand in the way of forgiveness, which doesn't demand make-up.

I wish someone were there to help these two pretty-good but imperfect people forward.

weak, weak, weak premise. it was basically a misunderstanding, he just had to say no when she asked about swapping, end of story.

He's already told her about 20 times that they aren't getting back together. Why does he feel the need to rub it in her face? What did he gain by going to Atlanta? And leaving him there, talking to Tessa seems an odd ending. Is he going to spend years playing the field? Has he forgotten Sarah? Where the heck is FTDS when you need him? No stars for an unfinished piece of garbage.

he couldn't, not wouldn't, get over the fact that his wife fucked another man have such a loose definition of that sort of thing that I wouldn't feel comfortable being in any type of relationship, be it business or personal, with any of you. Someone with principles and morals doesn't see things as shades of grey but more black and white. Something is either right or wrong depending on the views of the individual being impacted by that thing, not someone on the outside looking in. Your lack of respect for someone like that means little or nothing to them. Or probably anyone else either. Story wasn't meant to be likable and whether Rob was likeable or not is open to interpretation. The fact that after being married as long as they had she didn't know him at all was a pretty telling part of her persona. She was majorly self centered and thought that what she wanted was what everyone wanted. She didn't give the part of herself to her spouse, that part that makes them part of a single team or dare I say, makes them a single entity. Now, no one has to be a carbon copy of their spouse but they need to know each other and be "devoted" to each other and their marriage. As for him not being willing to fight for his wife, he shouldn't have to fight for her by himself. Her job as part of the marriage is to not put herself into situations where she has to be "fought" for. The only way that he should have to protect his marriage is if she can't do her part. She is the guardian of her half of the wedding "contract" and yes marriage is very much like a business merger. If she refuses to do her part, he is fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

That being said, this author had a gift and I am grateful for his sharing it with me. He knew what he wanted to portray in his story and he did so very well. Hard not to get caught up in the story and take sides. Rob lost more by far than Tessa did because he had no say in what she did to destroy their marriage and she had every thing to do with what led up to and finally destroyed what was probably a good marriage. Someone who can coldly do what she did for her own selfish wants with no thought to what it might do to her husband and their marriage couldn't have loved him as much as he loved her. Period. So, hate the story, hate the husband and enjoy your lives poor little annonys, have your Mom get you a hot pocket and some hot chocolate, must be cold in the basement. Sleep tight little annonys and rest so you can kick ass on Literotica comments again tomorrow. Mommy's little bad ass.

. . but not a very likable one. Tessa suffered from a very common type of boredom and sadly made a very bad mistake, which she amplified (at least to Rob) by saying

it meant nothing. Carl was little more than a cartoon stereotype, but that fit the story well enough.

Rob was a principled guy but wasn't quite human enough. He was one of those people who does everything right, but you just don't like him anyway.

There are a number of definitions and synonyms for "Forgiveness". Some, like

"Pardon" and "clemency" may have legal implications, or aspects, involving excusing a wrong, or mercy or absolution for the wrongdoer. A commonplace definition is -- to stop being angry at someone for the wrong they've done you.

The last one seems the shallowest to me. It has a "well, enough time has gone by that I'm not really pissed anymore" feeling to it. That's what Rob gave to Tessa, and in a way it was cruel of him to say it; because he knew that the only forgiveness that meant anything to her was for him to give her another chance.

This was a well-written, focused and intelligent exploration of the topic, ending the only way it could. Two people whose fundamental values conflict so much could not go on as a real partnership.

This one has me conflicted. The wife is a bit stupid and very selfish. She never really apologizes. But the husband just gives up. It seems like he really didn't love her all that much. He treats their marriage more like a business contract. I never did feel much sympathy for him. And what was with all the filler with Sarah?

Even so, I do like your stories very much. This one just feels unfinished and jumbled.

Well written story but Rob is a wimp. Too weak to look at whether she was a slut and would cheat again, or she made a mistake (okay, acted like a slut) but was worth a second chance. The last meeting to say he forgave her was over-the-top.

Really? Those commenters that said that need to learn to read. The story was very well written, very well told, but the idea that he should forgive the wife is laughable. She cheated on him. She didn't listen to him when she suggested fucking the other guy. She just went with the fact that she wanted to. Then when caught, same old shit. Only sex, bad sex. Didn't mean anything to her, didn't love Karl, only Rob. Bound to be a way the earn his trust, etc, etc. Then cost him a fortune and a ton of pain by slowing down the divorce, even though he was trying to be fair. Not a sign of love, not reaching out for trust. More selfishness, more manipulation, more bullshit.

That said, was very well written. Brought the reader right into the story. We could almost feel Rob's pain and anger. Could almost feel the lack of respect for him and her marriage vows, her selfishness. Well done.

This is the kind of story that leaves us with a bitter flavour in the mouth...But it's a good story...

A quality tale. Five stars.

She only wanted to be forgiven for her own sake, to try to get her husband back. She didn't care about forgiveness for his sake. She was not worried about his suffering only her own. That is the problem with the relationship and why it was doomed. She is a very selfish person. Not too smart either. These traits had combined to make her a poor choice for a wife and a terrible choice for the future mother of your children. Rob had a problem bigger than a one time fling: she was unfit to be a spouse. Rob realized that and acted wisely. Anger and pain are indicators that you have a problem that you must solve. Once Rob solved the problem the symptoms started to fade. Forgiving her put the whole thing to rest. Forgiveness is great for releasing pain and anger, but it doesn't change the equation.

Great story. I would have liked it better if he had ended up getting back with her, but it was still a good story. I liked the way that the author made her human and not some narcissistic sex robot with no feelings. Her mistake was simply that....a mistake. She wanted to test the waters but had no intention of having an affair. She felt that her husband was going to do the same thing so she saw an opportunity to go for it. Her only real bad decision was that she ASSUMED. I think that her assumption was more based on the "easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" line of thought. If she really wanted to do an even swap that was good for the BOTH of them, she would have talked to him first and they would have communicated their fears and excitements. From communicating with Swingerjoe, I understand that people who do swapping and open marriages have extensive communication before doing so. That is the only way to keep your marriage in tact. To just do it in anticipation that the other person has or will do it is selfish. That is why he left her.

I do like the exploration into forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean that we can go back to the way it was before. Forgiveness is just a way of letting go of the hurtful thing that exists between two people. "Forgive and forget" does not mean reconciliation. It can end that way, but that is not always the case. It simply means that whatever wrong that was done is in the past and will never be revisited again. It doesn't mean we go back. By the time the person is forgiven and the event is moved past, you may be two different people with two different paths in life. Once you get to the "forget" portion of forgiveness, you realize that the event that hurt you so badly doesn't even enter your mind anymore. It will be a distant memory, like your mom spanking you when you were younger.

It turns out the cost of forgiveness is not cheap. For her it is insurmountable. He forgives, but he does not forget.

Damn

@user10 you are wrong - forgive and forget are not synonymous. He lifted the burden of guilt and shame from her for her actions but did not erase the memory

Perhaps it would have ended better if he had hated her. I cant understand how a man who knew how to show his wife he loved her could be so cruel and hurt her so badly. He was obviously only in love with his male ego and pride. If he genuinely loved her as much as he tried to demonstrate by all his loving actions, he would have given her the second chance she so desperately wanted.

to forgive is to grant pardon without harboring resentment. it implies forgetting the transgression. i could parse the definition if you like, but ultimately the forgiving party behaves as if the offender never transgressed in the first place.

Is it just me or are all the characters n this sordid tale just a wee bit spineless?

The ending reminds me of half baked soap where the writer leaves everyone with a "huh?!?".

The philosophy of Rob seems to be under scrutiny as far as his view of forgiveness. Tess made a horrible misguided decision without collaboration or consent of her spouse to break the boundaries of their relationship and their marriage. It is without a doubt the core issue of this story. It is not the sex outside the marriage but the lack of trust and communication, which Tess took it on her own authority without consultation. Perhaps, they may have gone down that road to swap or other things but it wasn't discussed as a viable option in the marriage. The consequences endured by Tess were in large measure harsh and rigid. She may have fairest better had she discussed this with her spouse beforehand rather than finding out from Carl in his wreckless abandon outburst at his unannounced visit with Tess. Tess should've confronted Carl at the hotel notifying him that she no longer wanted this to happen. Carl was a buffoon to add to her betrayal. Tess couldn't put the Genie back into the bottle. Rob could've been more compassionate to Tess but he chose not to go there. The story was well written but I found it repulsive.