All Comments on 'Hero's Lament Ch. 02'

The ex wife conducted herself with grace and dignity once the affair was revealed, ironically after she had resolved to end it. She was kind and cooperative when dealing with the dreaded demise of her marriage and devoted herself to caring for her children to the best of her ability. She deserved better than to spend the rest of her days in unrequited longing for her ex husband. His cowardice toward any exploration of continuing the marriage showed he was not a particularly good man, but instead was a petty soul who all too easily saw himself as a victim. LTW was in thrall to the heartless, reactive mind which lurks within us all when he decided to reward the indignant, angry victim and punish the woman who accepted responsibility for her actions. I wonder if authors ever feel guilt when they mistreat their characters.

Honestly, it was kind of shit. At the end of the story, Nancy was way more sympathetic than Tyler or Susan. It shouldn't be that way if you are going to do a BTB - we should be hating on Nancy, but she was so broken and hopeless that it's like kicking a puppy. It doesn't feel good to see a puppy get kicked. You needed to make her either more villainous or give her a halfway decent ending so it doesn't just seem cruel.

This is a heart wrenching saga!

Very well written!

A well written story I liked it BUT I am so glad the cheating bitch got what she deserved (NOTHING) (jaybee186)

That was a crappy ending, sure Nancy make a terrible mistake but should have had a chance at redemption and have a happy life in the end, she paid for her mistake, and should have been able to get a good life after Tyler and Abby got married and moved on with their life.

I see a lot of ppl saying the end was too sad but I liked it. Nancy's fate was cruel, and I do feel very sorry for her, but it was forged by her own hand. She gets to be in the comfort of her own home all day, carefree, with minimal responsibilities (until the kids get home) and she calls that boredom smh. Sounds like she had the perfect life. I would love to have that free time to just cool out, do what I want to do, relax, read some books, burn down a joint, etc. lol

Excellent. 5*

actions have consequences,when you forget that sometimes you get bitch slapped .

I liked it, never having read it before. I took a point off for the sad ending. I’m not a RAAC person but l thought Nancy needed another chance. C’est le Vie!

This is the only place where women who love their men unconditionally, have long affairs then regrets after. I’m pretty sure that people with long term affairs do not hide away forever after being caught.

Otherwise another great tale that was well written and thought provoking. Many emotional moments

Very well written; happy for husband, very sad for wife. This is in its way an ultimate BTB. He doesn't do anything harsh directly to his ex-wife, yet her life is ruined. Not saying that the husband did anything wrong; he didn't, but the wife cheated and his meeting, falling in love with and marrying another woman destroys her. 5*****

Too sad and maudlin. No love for Nancy? All this pain because Nancy was bored? Why couldn't she have eventually found someone to love her? It's a good story, but the ending is too sad.

Only too late do they realize...

Excellent read on one of the many sad and final outcomes of infidelity. REM

Really enjoyed that. Well plotted…well written.

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Nancy was a tragic figure. So stupid.

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4 strong ****

Thanks for your writing.

I'm glad my suspicion that there would be reconciliation was wrong

You reap what you sow, I can't feel sorry for her. Some mistakes in life can be rectified, however infidelity isn't one of them. Good story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It isn't often I feel bad for the cheating ex in any story. The author did a great job of showing Nancy as massively regretful of her mistake and the total cost. It's sad she didn't move on and find someone new, would have eased my pain for the children. Guilt is an evil monster when so recklessly foisted on one's self. Great story until the end. Very sad.

I really disliked the end!

Where is the healing and growth that even Nancy deserved? It totally spoiled a good story for me.

the last few paras killed any good feeling i had for the story... Susan was genuinely remorseful. the author just ended up kicking a sick puppy!

Kinda felt bad for Nancy, but that's what can happen when you fool around. Good story.

How tradgic for her. She got bored and lonely.. Why didn't she talk it over with her husband. She absolutely saw this guy coming yet behaved likeca High School Girl.

Sadly she threw it all away for the thrill. She didn't even get a good lay out of it.

She needs some HYPER serious and intense therapy. Despite what she did I feel sorry for her. That said Tyler made the right call. Aftee an ongoing romp that his wife made I would never be able to trust her again Never.

Great ideas. Great characterisations.

I agree with the person below, why leave these female characters miserable? It's cringeworthy - just keep it short if you have nothing good for them at the end, otherwise make it so that they changed and improved and found somebody complementary, as people do.

There are a lot of hateful men on this site, no reason that the cheater shouldn't be able to learn from their mistake and become a better person. Felt sad for Nancy and Susan, both of them are going to live miserable lives.

A man that sticks to his guns... If the ex had cheated just once I can see a RAAC, but not after all that. Glad she is in a misery of her own making.

Hi, I really enjoy your work. You’re one of the few authors that consistently gets 4 or 5 stars from me. I’ve noticed one thing though. The first part of your stories are error free for the most part but as you get further along in your longer stories the errors get more common. It feels like you’re in the groove and rather intense and just miss them. I hope you don’t mind, I just wanted to point it out and not criticize. I truly appreciate and enjoy your work. Thank you, an old curmudgeon.

Although a somewhat sad story, I like your writing. I've read most of your short stories, and am on to the longer ones. All are very good. Please keep up the good work

Kind of harsh to be honest....I'm not a liberal. But I like a little more fairness and to be perfectly honest I wouldn't mind an occasional story about eventual forgiveness and happiness for all at the end.

I liked it.

A solid, good, realistic plot.

I would've liked our guy

to face his pain sooner,

but some people need help to do that.

I say challenge your pain.

Don't embrace it.

A female comedy singer said it best;

"I can get over him, if I can get under you".

Anyway, good job LTW!

Top ratings from me.

i liked this story very much, in my opinion, most of the time the cheaters always suffer even when they start a new life after all the drama in their life, i think it is the way it is ,like boomerang

Why is vengeance, cruelty, hate and sadism at the center of so many stories? Is that the American way, choosing the least charitable interpretation whenever people make mistakes and turn out to be human? Ever considered how much privilige men actually enjoy in our world wide web of patriarchy? Show some generosity for Christ's sake..

Ugh, the whole "cheater must suffer forever" thing is so tired. Try writing a story where they both can move on instead of these ridiculous stories where the man is so virtuous and wonderful and has no faults.

And by extension me by giving one of your main characters the last name of 'Cermak'. Only a long time resident of the Chicago area would ever think of that.

If I wasn't already in Abbie's corner you had me when she named several of her favorite actors. I'm going to guess that in a story about heroes it wasn't an accident the first one she named, Jimmy Stewart, really was one, flying and leading bombing missions over Germany. He certainly wasn't the only one from WWII; Clark Gable, David Niven, Mel Brooks, Jason Robards, Paul Newman, Kirk Douglas and certainly not least the always classy Audrey Hepburn come to mind.

I had a few moments expecting to find out that the hit and run driver was going to turn out to be Kevin in a drunken rage trying to kill Susan. In another story Susan's "maniacal laugh" near the end would worry me that she had tipped over the edge. I did wonder about the future of the 19 year old driver who caused the accident. And yes, I did spot where Chris's named was swapped. It happens to the best like LTW and Q no matter the editor. A story this good proves justice can be served well in a civilized manner. *****'s Signed: BTW

“ Chris' prophecy that she'd someday find someone else to love never did come to pass. She lived for her kids and wanted nothing more for herself than to watch them grow and prosper. In her own mind, she had it all and lost it. She never forgave herself.”

And all the children got pink eye,

And all their Harry Potter books were burned..,.

One of the saddest LW stories I have read. No, not one of, it is the saddest. But we’ll done. Still cannot rate it as one of my favorites; by the time you are in your very old 70’s you have had more then enough sadness.

In my opinion Anonymous of March 9, 2021 is an RAAC lover who believes it is always best to reconcile regardless of who the people are, what their needs are and what the circumstances are.

There is no indication of him ignoring the children's needs. He got along with their mother and didn't have the children living in a household without respect or love. It seems incredible to me that anyone can call the cheated upon spouse a self-righteous prick for not reconciling with the cheater-and start take pot shots at the author for not writing an ending where the unhappy husband sucks it up and lives an unhappy life in a misguided and inevitably ill-fated attempt to make the children's lives better. If the husband doesn't feel the love and can't live pain-free, it will show and the children will suffer for it.

And the cheating slut died as a miserable, lonely, dried up old hag!!! Love it!!!

1) With anonymous from 3/9/21 - i disagree with you on staying for the kids. (If that's what you're trying to say.) It's better to cut it off than stay in a marriage just for the kids. I've been there as I had parents that didn't trust each other. There's no way that mistrust doesn't bleed out onto the kids. That mistrust slowly turns into dislike then hate. No matter how much the parents try to hide it from the kids. My parents finally divorced when divorce was still frowned upon. Socially, I went to being from the 'wrong side of the tracks' and lost my so-called friends because my parents divorced. However, I didn't dread going home and having to walk on eggshells. Kids are a lot more perceptive than adults give them credit for.

2) As for Nitpic's comment, you're wrong on your assessment of her not cheating because she was at home and not at work. Cheating is a character flaw. If a person cheats in one circumstance, they'll cheat in another if they think they will not get caught. It's never a mistake and I'm tired of writers penning it as a mistake and other people feeling sorry for them. (In stories and in real life.) On top of the cheating, most writers have the cheaters going bareback risking STD's to pass on to the ones that they supposedly love - which could cost lives now a days. Yes, everyone is human, but cheating is never forgivable. Leave the relationship if you're not happy.

Well written fodder for the BTB crowd. Tyler may have been a 'hero' but he was also a

self-righteous prick who never even tried to put his children's needs before his own hurt and anger or make an effort to understand why his wife did what she did.

Nancy's lifetime of misery and regret was a pathetic sop to misogynists everywhere. Laptopwriter has all the skills necessary to produce a decent yarn, but two dimensional characters in a black and white world don't do it for me. People are complex and reality is grey.

Disagree with a lot of the comments.If he hadn't played lord and master and let Nancy get a job,the cheating wouldn't have happened.

I would like a bit more retribution on Kevin and less on Nancy who obviously was played by an asshole.

Did I read over how long the affair lasted?

Nancy must be dying for the next Apple. Such a bitch

Damn, almost felt a bit sorry for Nancy after that. She lost enough, being miserable her whole life seems a bit much. Shame when people can't move on.

Glad the cheating slut lived ALONE for the rest of her life!!! Glad he found a HOT red head to marry!!!

i see you could have gone either way with this story. it's a good morality play and I am ambivalent about it. thanks in any case.

5 starrs

As always. It could have gone either way with getting back together or not and I'd have been happy. It's obvious to Nancy now knows she should have told Tyler about Kevin's visits in the beginning and that would have prevented anything happening. But then again where would this story have gone? Signed: BTW

I really liked this story in this one I was really glad it didn't end with they married and a few years later the ex got a good job and met a good man and married him and they lived happily ever after. Sometimes people just have to live with the mistakes they made and the hurt they caused others.

I always wonder why the bias is so strong. Another story the wife gets away pretty unscathed. Here the cheating wife gets the f you at the end.

The first paragraph of the epilogue was great. If it ended there it would be one of my favorites. Stop just after they are married and leave it. Who cares how she ended up? Nobody is blameless in divorce. Both sides contributed to it. Yes there are definitely way more responsible, but it truly takes two. Communication was lacking on both sides. No way she just let it happen as meek mouse. If they talked it would be a record short story.

Also Sue as the puppet master was a bit heavy handed. I'd love her saying instead karma's a bitch. She saved his girl. No way she wanted bad for him after her own ex. Up until then I had a lot of respect for her. Still she only push Abby, and that still was a good.

Affairs that are not malicious.

They are demeaning to the partner you agreed to be exclusive too.They include lies and disrespect by their existence.

I agree with the previous posts, I felt a bit sorry for Nancy, and in fact wouldn't have minded if they had tried again.

However I didn't like that she was so quick to let Kevin in again after she chased him away the first time. By the way he spoke and the way he acted it was very obvious that he was a real dick.

..however, one cannot help but feel sorry for foolish Nancy! One could have accepted an RAAC, especially since Nancy was so contrite and desperately in love with her husband throughout. Whatever was she thinking, allowing a scumbag like Kevin to have his way with her. Would have liked to see asswipe Kevin get his comeuppance! Five stars.

Not bad at all. I normally don't feel bad for the cheaters but this time I actually did for the wife. Hell, I felt bad for all of them except the dickhead guy.

That still doesn't mean I would have forgiven, forgotten, and reconciled.

I'm an ass so I probably would have banged her a couple of times a month at least, just for my own satisfaction and strung her along for a little more payback pain.

I would like to have seen the D-Bag have gotten a bit more Justice metered out on him.

brought up so many memories... some good, some bad. But hey, l'm going to go buy some Jimmy Stewart movies

Dude, you call women a bunch of names, but if women are that bad imagine what men are. Let's look at stats. More than ninety percent of inmates are men. Men cheat at nearly twice the rate of women cheating. I'm not saying women are all sugar and spice, but fuck dude, get a little perspective.

If you've had three women you've married and they've fucked you over you have to put it on yourself. Either you pick up the worst kind of women OR you have to look at the kind of person you are that they want to hurt. Som self reflection may not be a bad idea.

I don't like the ending for Nancy. There was no malice in what she did. I would have been fine if Tyler and her got back together; however, it was ok with him not being able to get back together with her as well (I most likely wouldn't have been able to either). BUT to peg her with a miserable occupation and not finding someone for herself is unnecessary. I say that because this is a story that you want redemption for Tyler, but Nancy paid her price and she needed a better future as well.

It's interesting though. The cheaters you fucked over fine, but you gave redemption to Tyler, but not to Susan. Not enough caring for a female character cheated?

Women are deceitful whores at heart. They'll give up their pussy to any swinging dick to get fucked but when they recognize a good guy... someone of real worth... they hold out on him and play hard to get. So, in actuality, they start their relationship with a fucking lie. Her good guy victim thinks he's getting a good girl when, in fact, he's getting a whore who's whipped her panties off in a roomful of dicks, when she was just looking to get fucked.

In this story, Abby is proof and a perfect example of what I'm saying. The key phrase is the last sentence in the below quote from the story.

((( Now that he knew how she felt about him she was really praying he wouldn't proposition her right away. During lunch there were no dirty jokes, off color innuendos, or risqué double-entendres. He was a gentleman; so different than what she'd gotten used to over the last couple of years.

THIS TIME she wanted a little romance, maybe a couple candle-lit dinners and a walk in the moonlight BEFORE jumping into the sack. ))) What a fucking bargain.

Women are so fucking stupid. They do EVERYTHING bass-ackwards. Wellll... maybe not because, when you get right down to it, they're whores at heart. While their experience and skill levels vary, they're definitely deceitful, manipulative whores.

I still gave the story 5 stars. wtf... why not? I've already married and divorced three whores. All three of them were 'good girls'. Yeahhh, riiiight.

He couldn't trust Nancy again for very clear and obvious reasons. If you can't trust someone then there should not be a marriage. Period. End of sentence.

And Nancy clearly didn't love him like she claimed, otherwise she wouldn't have deliberately cheated.

While not your best, still five stars.

But I know it's one of many that you could have written. It feels a bit rushed, too.

I absolutely loved the "wind shear" line. One of the funniest I've read in a while. ;-)

Thanks for writing and sharing here. Keep 'em coming!

I'm really glad for the kids, I came from a disfunctual family my mom was married 4 times before I was 8. So I know the heartbreak they can feel. I have read most of your stories and feel they are some of the best here (next to tex tall tails). keep up the good work.A87C

Why are so many picking on Tyler? There's no telling how people will react in cases like this. Some will reconcile, some won't care, some will stay together and suffer through years of painful mediocrity. Tyler is one of those guys that can't get past it and let's face it: Nancy had the affair, she should have paid attention to what she was risking. This is how stories end up in real life. I was happy for Tyler - and the kids. Lets not forget that Tyler was suffering too, but no longer.

Sue did come across as very bitter, but she had reason. Her husband was a crude sumbitch that deserved the beating he got from Tyler. Her plan to make sure Tyler wouldn't be tempted to reconcile with Nancy was thin at best, but it worked. Nancy earned the divorce - now, she'll have to earn her happiness. And, oh yeah, it's just a story. Thanks Laptop. 5 stars.

I think you do a much better job of conveying the gamut of emotional drama surrounding infidelity than most other loving wives writers and the quality of your writing is exceptionally high. In this story specifically, your phrase "drop by drop, her eyes leaked regret" was classic. Thanks for a very good read.

With the exception of I wish she could have met someone also. I think it would have made the story more complete. She messed up but the price paid was total destruction of a life. Nice story, excellent story. Five starts with all your writing.

Kevin takes quite a few shots in the comments. Here's a guy who loves his wife with everything he has. He believes he has perfect marriage and two wonderful kids. Saves life of neighbor he never really liked. Then one sunny morning working around yard with wife he hears that neighbor crudely talking to wife about being healthy enough to go back to screwing everyday while spouses are at work.

Wife's reason for cheating-she was bored-got off being naughty and knowing she wouldn't get caught. Planned on reminiscing in the future about her dirty secret and smiling to herself.

Truth is if lover had waited until weekday to propose starting back up, they would never have been caught. She even admits she did not really like character of her lover.

She had numerous other options to fill up days-go to gym-volunteer for few hours-take a morning class at local college.

Admittedly, I felt her remorse, her anguish, how truly penitent she was.

Other than the author, no one punished her forever, her husband ended up being pleasant, she had great relationship with children. She could have found someone if she wanted

Reality is often sad and lonely. Oh the consequences of decisions we make while thinking no one will be hurt. Truth be told at story's end I admired her decision to be happy to live only for her children.

Well done story, you could feel the pain and heartache..... Fitting end to this story.....

I go back to my favorites. To be accurate, this is not a favorite story, but LTW is definitely a favorite author. So, I came back to it.

Enjoyed it again.

LTW certainly demonstrates the gap between the best and the rest.

So many did not like the ending. Too damn bad. Write your own stories. He had every reason to divorce. She repeatedly submitted sexually to an asshole. She craved being taken. She thought she'd go insane when he disappeared for awhile. Her character was the one who changed The thrill was in being bad, with the possibility of being caught.Leopards don't change their spots, but her character did a 180. The author changed her into a different person. If you play, you pay. That possibility of being caught, turned out to be, in actuality, a bummer.

Sad.

She cheated, she was punished, forever?

The children were so very much punished also. That was the worse part of the story.

Just a sad story.

Great writing though.

Danger nailed it.

If ever there was a story where reconciliation was proper, it is this one.

No need to give Nancy a life sentence for her mistake (and I do not use that lightly. But the way the author wrote it, it was set up as just that, a mistake)

Things happened way to fast for any type of mourning or such of the marriage. And it certainly did not need to be so long. Especially the way it ended.

She fucked a guy cause she was bored. He had no tact. He was discusting, at best. She still fucked him. Over and over. Then, she realizes what she's done. Sorry folks. I'd have divorced her also. No second thoughts. She could have moved on, she CHOSE not to. .

After their visit, Sue sat back and savored what her friend said about her former neighbor. She poured a glass of her favorite wine and held it up as if proposing a toast. With no one around to hear but herself, she gleefully spoke aloud, "God, how I love it when a plan comes together," then broke out in hysterical laughter.

so whats was her plan ??? you trow a it in and never explain its just an open qeustion then isnt awsered you should of left it out or explain it but as it stand now i am just wondering what she had planned

liked the story but the end was abrupt and you did not explain the comment wich is a litle frustrating

Five stars. Sad ending for the ex.

I hated the ending. I actually had a strong dislike for sue bitter ass. Bitter bitch...Her husband was a fucking pig, if she still wanted to be with him she could have, it was her choice to divorce him. As a HUGE BTB fan, this wasn't even a BTB it was just sad. Why was the remorseful wife sentenced to a life of loneliness? I've read stories where the wives were 100 times worse than Nancy, and they were given a second chance, (even though the whores should've been shot) this wife was remorseful, heartbroken,distraught and devasted over tearing her family apart, I think the husband was an ass, him immediately heading straight to a divorce attorney with no thought of at least trying to see if it can work. He didn't give the divorce more thought. I hated that they didn't get back together. She was one wife I wouldn't mind giving a second chance. One damn story I hope for reconciliation ends up being the opposite... You suck writer...

Sorry, good writing but a downer of a story. Did the wife have to suffer and live alone? This wasn't a BTB story but I still feel sorry for the wife. As for being equally culpable, Kevin was the real snake and worked on her; I'd assign her about 25% of the blame. The reality is that focused seduction with lots of motive and opportunity does work a good amount of the time. None of us are saints- funny, there are soooo many husbands in LV stories that have perfect fidelity. Who would have thunk it?

Nice time reading this story laptopwriter. 3*s overall.

Not much emotional connection to characters in this chapter. I mean, I was really happy for the guy moving on but not much about the kids or ex-wife. There should have been more conflict. Maybe from her reconciliation delusion. Some additional drama, somewhere lol!!

Finally, maybe 13 pages was the better story. You can post it in novels. Or maybe include a warning about length. I suspect some good writing was lost in breaking the story into 2 parts.

Thank you for the story.

AMerryman

Well that was disappointing. And I usually love your stories. But this just deflated like a leaky balloon.

The entire chapter 2 could have been written as an epilogue with three sentences:

"In the end, Tyler never did reconcile with Nancy. He moved on and found a beautiful and wonderful woman with whom he fell in love and married. Nancy, however, spent the remainder of her life alone, mourning for the lost life she used to have."

Kevin and his paranoia and gun? Pffft.

Dramatic tension? Nope. And the manufactured car accident just so Tyler can meet the new woman in his life, doesn't count.

It's simply post divorce Tyler. Sorry, it just didn't do anything for me.

Two other things: One, everything moved way too fast IMO. The divorce, the new girlfriend and remarriage. Just too fast. Second, Nancy was completely unsympathetic, but somewhat realistic in her view on her lost marriage. She never cared for Tyler or his pain. There was no empathy. It was all about her pain and her lost marriage and her loneliness. There are a number of cheating spouses, whom after discovery act just like Nancy. They focus inward and never on the betrayed spouse. Of course, it's that selfishness that enabled them to cheat to begin with.

Love your writing talent - just thought you could have done so much more with this story.

But how about some Erotica? And some fiction? This felt too much like real life. You could have clipped this story out of the headlines of a large cities Newspaper. Again, a well written story but it wasn't fun or entertaining to read. Just plain frustrating.

The wife is so hot that she had a predator going after her, but she couldn't find someone after her divorce. She was loose enough to break her marriage vow, but couldn't stop pining for her ex whom she supposedly love. This smells too much of a fantasy. Also, it's usually not the wife who cheats out of boredom, but the husband. The biggest problem I have is how fast the husband is able to find a new love. I real life, if a guy chooses to divorce his wife after two kids and having to pay alimony and child support, the only way he gets to have sex again is if pays for it with money.

. . . the story was mildly entertaining, although I find your style of writing in this story a bit stiff and unemotional. I do enjoy most of your efforts. There seemed to be so many different and more interesting directions that your story could have taken, but you didn't seem to take advantage of them. Of course, it was extremely sad from Nancy's perspective, and I think that Tyler was incredibly insensitive and unforgiving - irrationally so. And finally, the ending seemed very rushed - as if the author wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. A bit disappointing overall. I gave you 3*.

Like many of the readers, I had to stand back for a couple of days before commenting. The story - well written and compelling. The backstory, in this case, less so. Is Nancy the only bad guy? Let's see: Tyler insists that Nancy has to be there for the children every day - so no job (even volunteering [she did try]), literally no one else in the neighborhood, and what was her comment "... how many times can you clean a house...". Towards the end Tyler has one moment to take on a fair share of blame and justifies to himself something like , "... she probably would had cheated at work as well.." That is pure BS. Sure she was weak, but as a recently retired person who now has lost a good bit of the day-to-day social interaction I was used to, I can understand the bouts of loneliness and depression that Nancy is dealing with on a day/month/yearly basis. Particularly when Tyler comments that Nancy can stay in the house but will have to "get off her lazy ass and get a job..." it is another example of him not taking responsibility for his role in this mess. In this particular story I would have preferred that Tyler and Nancy get back together, together they find some type of childcare to cover the kids. Nancy works and goes to school. Let them meet as equals and see where it falls out. Susan can continue to hate or ignore Nancy as she pleases:however, Nancy was the one that realized the house needed to be secured and clothes, phone, purse,etc. needed to be gotten to Susan. Whether is was guilt/shame/sense of right doesn't really matter. When it came time to take action she did so.

I like this author's style and topics excepting the issues with this particular story.

Nancy was too accepting of everything - from the affair to the divorce. Tyler was a self absorbed dick. I agree with him leaving her but it was all about him, even the kids.

And once again the guy so quickly finds a younger. better looking and/or richer replacement and falls in lust, sorry I mean love. And of course the ex can't because she has to look after the kids.

She was taken by a predator and realized her mistake - her husband was was too ridged and wreaked havoc on the family instead of showing compassion. His insecurities were too deep seated and were off the mark - too bad but the outcome was too sad!

it worked well.

Had to step back a day before I replied. Agree with some that the ending (epilogue) seemed kinda rushed. Sad that Nancy wasn't able to move on to some degree. One thing I noticed that as been mentioned by other commenters... Nancy was lazy... lazy isn't probably the most accurate but more ... responsive.

It didn't seem like she initiated... well anything! She always seened to be letting things come to her. The POS next door pursued her, she did nothing; when her affair was discovered, she did nothing; when her husband pursued a divorce, she did nothing; when he was trying to break his moving out to his children, she did nothing.

Sooo... after the divorce? She did nothing. People like that tend to end up in very one-sided relationships.

Again thank you for the interesting story!

Divorce is painful. Involving children makes the hurt even stronger. This is a well written story depicting the troubles and emotions of broken relationships. We can be both happy for the new couple and sad for those left alone. The real standouts in this saga are Chris and LeAnn.

this was doubleplus good. thank you!

Because of the kids, Tyler and Abby will be having regular contacts with Nancy for years to come. The way they have been portrayed, sooner or later one or both of them will realize how unhappy Nancy is with the life she's living and will join the kids in trying to encourage her to stop beating herself up and give herself a chance at living again. If for no other reason than for the kids.

A sad tale, probably more realistic as a warning against cheating than if it was a violent BTB tale.

she is stupid, and lazy. Its also the reason she never reconciled with Tyler. Kevin was an easy uncomplicated fling, and she focused on the low probability of getting caught, rather than the severity of the consequences. Most of the people doing long prison time thought they would get away with it too. Then, rather than work on Tyler's residual love by engaging him with her remorse and determination, she just mopes and waits for Tyler to come back. She'll spend the rest of her life doing that, waiting for Abby to die, or cheat. Nancy was too lazy and complacent to assert her needs while she was married, too lazy and complacent to resist opening her legs for a complete and utter asshole, and too lazy and complacent to fight for her marriage.

When Abby wanted Tyler she took risks and asserted her desires. When Tyler realized his hesitation was going to cost him a new life with Abby he stepped up and asserted his desires. Nancy just didn't have the character to resist Tyler's dominance, Kevin's seduction, and a remaining life of remorse and regret.

Well told, and very sad. Thanks for your time and talent.

I know many didn't quite like the way it ended, but in reality very feasible. It isn't very often in these stories that the wife is portrayed as remorseful to the extend this one was. She was reminded daily of the cost of infidelity. Good read. Well done.(signed ML)

P.S. It's refreshing to see a public feedback without mud slinging. Actually very thoughtful comments. Commendable behavior. There is hope.

Oh really. If you kill my child with your car, strict justice demands I kill your child with my car. I thought we'd moved on. Silly me.

As I said in one of my comments, I'm not sure if it was here or in Ch. 1, it's not that he wouldn't allow her to work, just that he wanted her home by the time the kids got home from school, and despite her protestations, there ARE jobs with "mothers' hours out there. For that matter, we'll never know if he could have been talked into a child care situation if she found the right job,

I disagree with you on two points regarding the ending. I don't think that "things went faster than a speeding bullet". True, a lot of narrative was taken up with Tyler and Abby's courtship, but we are told that things took place over a few months, and after telling Nancy in September that they were getting married,it didn't take place till the following June.

And I don't understand your criticism of Susan. Yes she had an "agenda" of her own, i.e. keep Tyler from reconciling with Nancy, but that wasn't going to happen anyway. And "willing to destroy everyone else's lives". Whose lives is she destroying? Certainly not Tyler and Abby's. She DOES like them, and now they are very happy together!

It seems there is this never ending desire to punish those who make mistakes for the rest of their lives. Most often than not, people don't go the rest of their lives not finding another mate. In most cases people do learn to get past their mistakes and move on and find happiness.

I believe that the man sets the tone/climate for the home being that he is the leader of his household. The husband screwed up when he neglected her needs to work outside the home and only concentrated on what made him happy. So to me he is no hero. By no means is the wife off the hook, but the husband aided or "set the tone" in the family's downfall.

If I was Nancy, I would have felt bad for making the wrong decision in hurting the marriage, but would have probably wanted to move on from him anyway.

Some praise Susan for saving her enemies child. She DOES deserve praise, but let's not forget that it was also Tyler's child, or for that matter ANYBODY'S child. Now,if she risked her life to save Nancy we're talking real heroism!

As for Nancy's unhappy ending, that's pretty much all on her. With the POSSIBLE exception of Susan's sabotaging any potential reconciliation (that WASN'T going to happen anyway!), nobody went out of their way to make her life miserable. Tyler helped her with her education and babysat while she worked her night job. She CHOSE to hold on to her slim hopes for Tyler instead of getting out and looking for someone new.

I think you got people where they lived. The realism was better than Law & Order. Nice, neat, and tidy? Nope. Just like real life. Flawed heroes? Yup. "Cheaters are inherently evil blah blah..." Whateverman.

Real life? People are interesting; and this story was very.

Once again, I am writing these as I go, so somethings may change!

I hope Tyler hooks up with Susan! She wanted kids, that way she could at least have step-children!

"'Now you know how it feels,' she joked" - Shouldn't HE be saying that to HER?

"Damn it, that's not right. He should pay for what he did." - Yeah, just like cheating wives should, and usually don't, at least here in the LW universe!

I know Susan hates her, but she DID save her daughter's life, so why didn't Nancy visit, even if just to bring LeAnn up?

"That doesn't mean you can't pursue him though. Like I said, he's one of the good guys." - Okay, I guess not Susan!

"She could hold out and do her penance for as long as it took, but she needed to believe in the dream" - That's foolish! It's okay to HOPE for it, but meanwhile she has to move on with her life in case it doesn't happen.

"It was just as she thought. He still wasn't over his ex-wife, not by a long shot" - God, PLEASE don't have this be a reconciliation!

"you talked pretty highly of her, saying what a good mother she was" - Yes, what a good MOTHER she was, that doesn't mean she didn't suck as a wife!

"he wasn't sure himself if he was ready" - It doesn't have to be a "relationship" right away! Go out on a few dates and see what happens.

"I love her and we're going to be married." - Wow, not even an "It's serious" first!

While I feel a LITTLE sorry for Nancy, she brought it on herself, and wasted a lot of time spinning her wheels waiting for Tyler to come back instead of moving on with her life.