All Comments on 'Indulgences'

Brilliant concept.

Very Good story. I don't completely agree with your solution though. I would have a post-nuptial - not as punishing as she proposed. I would insist on couples counseling, and I'd insist that both of us would have to take a polygraph (lie detector) test on our fidelity, at the request of the other spouse 1/year. If you failed one, a second and maybe a third would be taken to try to determine the truth. 2 or 3 failed polygraphs showing infidelity and divorce using the post-nuptial takes place. As you stated, she cheated once and felt horrible for it; but the problem was the lying afterwards. Can they repair this relationship - probably, and I think it is right in this case. The question is how to fix the relationship, or build a new and stronger relationship so this doesn't happen again. One thing you failed to mention is their ages; which considering no mention of kids or grand kids - I'd assume they are in their 20's or 30's. Chances are their families - i.e. parents and maybe siblings would be involved.

5 * It is a good, happy story. In this day and age of anger, hate and other Godless emotions, this is a story to admire. Cheating is bad, terrible. But human charity has bounds only restrained by one's own contrivances. I would like to see more of this type of authoring. Thanks.

Great read.

You have a really convoluted way of thinking, NTH.

Well done.

Interesting. You always find a way to gleam the cube..:

5 stars

Thought provoking

I loved it

The BTB gang will hate it

Ignore them.

very well written. again I'm impress with NoTalentHack outstanding writing skills.

but I didn't like the story. I felt the wife was very smart lady and a master manipulator.

in the 1st page we get the misdirection that nothing will change his resolve about divorce.

less than 30 minutes later he forgave her rug-swept everything even shredded the post nuptial agreement without making the wife do anything to show to earn his trust. bravo for girl power!

/

NTH talented enough to camouflaged this cuck story to read like a romantic non-cuck reconciliation tale. nice effort writer. i hate cuck stories.

Trust, but verify.

Good one. Very enjoyable...Shel is convincing. Lovely idea, borrowing trust. Thought provoking.

Good story!

5

Never keep a cheating spouse, especially one that continues to lie and try to cover it up when caught.

Has she found a way to reestablish trust? That seems to be the major sticking point in so many LW stories. It there's a follow-on to this story, it will be interesting to see if he really makes a serious attempt to trust her and she really lives up to his risk. Another fascinating look into a fraught situation in a shaken marriage by a talented writer.

I was really going to give it a 5 stars but the last two paragraphs ruined it.

Shredding contracts???

Complete 180 degree turnaround.

Nonsense and in total contradiction with the whole story.

And it's really too bad because I really liked the argument of the wife on forgiveness, reparation, and the future consequences imposed.

As with any type of commitment or contract, I am very much in favor of drastic consequences for "fraudulent" termination.

Personally, I would have preferred an epilogue where a few years later, he announces to his wife to modify the contract so that he too is bound by the same consequences as her. Equal treatment.

Announcing that they were once again equal partners.

Big swing and a miss

In before the frothing masses! You're gonna get roasted so hard for this one, but I liked it a lot. You always find a fresh angle on an old problem!

Nope.

Reconciliations are always a terrible idea. If the wife cheats, the husband will never be able to get over it. Offers of money don't really mean anything, because he's a young guy, and can easily earn more over his career.

She can never unfuck herself, and will always remain tainted goods.

-

He was right at the start. He'll never be able to trust her again, so why go through all the emotional pain of a reconciliation, when he can just move on and replace her. There are quite literally millions of very attractive single women out there, so choosing to stay with a woman that wiped her ass on their wedding vows is the height of stupidity.

If a wife cheats on you, the response should always be the same: Dump her, and replace her with a younger woman. Don't stay friends. Never look back.

Why?

Because deep inside, she'll lose respect for him for forgiving her. By brushing aside all the consequences she should've suffered, instead of being grateful, she'll instinctively be thinking that she got away with it... and will get away with it again next time.

Simps repeatedly forgiving sluts just end up raising her bastard kids.

Don't ever be that guy, he's a pitiful loser, just like the husband in this story.

Ending was rushed…so half the marking

Crappola

I liked this. A reconciliation that works. Not an affair - a stupid mistake. The issue was the lies and, honestly, when we're ashamed and guilty we make poor decisions to minimise and hope the problem goes away.

If it'd been an affair and THEN lies... dead in the water.

I can see these two making it. Bumps in the road, hard work, but making it.

The second truly excellent recon. story I've read today. At this rate I'm going to have a very happy new year! NoTalentHack has demonstrated again that his monicker is a misnomer. 5 stars!

I'm not sure trust was rebuilt, as the tagline says. His giving of grace only opened the door to that possibility. Grace is setting aside accountability for one's sins. In the classic religious sense, our accountability was NOT erased, it was paid by God through Jesus. As pointed out, Shelley cannot truly earn forgiveness in any manner. No cost she could pay could make things right. In this case, Troy will have to pay some of the cost by bearing some doubt about his marriage for some time. On the other hand, hopefully, he will have a good marriage with a woman he loves. Over time, trust could be reestablished.

Generally, I like to see the guilty pay the cost, especially when it is clear they deserve it and continue to be untrustworthy. In this case, his solution "feels" OK for him and them.

I also like the use of "grace" in the resolution. In most of these situations, where deserved, it is the only true way to move forward.

He was right in his early statement: If she has truly learned her lesson, then she’ll do better in her next marriage. She doesn’t get to keep this one.

ZK

I liked it, except it ended very quickly...one minute he's waffling, next, off to the bedroom.

Well written but just do the divorce, date other women to torment her, then see if you want to rebuild in a year.

NTH playing with an idea is fun to experience. I’m sure you’ll catch grief for this well-written, tightly plotted and quite original story (a tea party on the front lawn?!?), but I enjoy simply watching your mind at work…exploring. It’s also amazing to me the level of character development you’re able to pack into such a short tale. If you produced one of these stories every month or so, I’d be happy. That you seem to effortlessly toss them out is a real testament to your talent.

He went in going hard, but gave it up right away. Poor boy. But maybe it isn't so bad to be pussy whipped. D

I know that you'll get a hard time from the hardcore BTB fans, but reconciliation was the only logical outcome to this story. I enjoyed the discussion of indulgences, the acts of contrition, and the understanding of how money was the main way that one can make amends in today's culture. I gave it 5 stars and found it a nice way to start the new year.

A very nice and heartwarming story.

I liked how you used an aspect of the wife's core personality to construct your story. Having the husband reminisce about his wife's thought patterns and conversational style and then using same to force the husband to understand what was truly happening was truly lovely. You won't get the score you deserve here.

One of the better reconciliation stories on this site. You've hit the ground running with your stories that are rich with dialog. Unfortunately, too many commenters will call it a cuckold story and give it one star. Maybe they'll go back and read it again and rate it for the distress that the wife felt and how her actions led him back to their house and their bed!

I liked it. Even though I am not usually a RAAC fan this one felt right.

Much better than the previous three or four. Nice to see you're back on track.

I liked the concept wife proposed, but husband’s response wasn’t believable. He went from 100% divorce to moving back together on a pure hunch. And now he doesn’t get a favorable result if she cheats again and he has to divorce her again. He should have at least kept the second agreement as an insurance policy.

Great up until the shredder. Completely undermines the rest of the story. He goes from not trusting her to completely trusting her over the span of a conversation? Ludicrous.

Again, excellent writing. Strong dialogue, great individualization of characters and a fresh approach to a trope.

Really good. A short treatise on the proposition that if the remorse is both genuine and complete, a reconciliation from adultery is possible.

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I think you made the case. Shelly succeeded because Troy DID love her completely, and he allowed himself the grace of forgiveness in response to true remorse. Yes…everyone could not do that. But Troy could…and this marriage has a real second chance because of his love and her genuine remorse.

.

5 *****

Great scene to start a new year.

Nah... I think forgiveness can happen given the right situation. This just felt like a manipulation.

Long winded but a different approach to resolution.

Please write a follow up where he repeatedly cheats on her after the fact. Let's see if she trusts him.

You are going to get savaged over this one. But it is yet another brilliantly written piece. 5 stars.

Brace yourself writer. You will have so much incoming from this story. But its the age old question, "Will I be better with her or wthout her?" You have certainly made the wife contrite, you have tried to make her apologetic and the wife probably is sorry. But my gut instinct is go the route of trust but verify. I would question everything she did everywhere where she went question who she met I would probably make her life hell. If she could agree to this if she could really live in this condition and not question it? Then maybe after an un specified time would I take her back. Not very "PC" and not very "WOKE" but cheating requires consequences. Without consequences nothing would change.

This was a good story but he should absolutely sign the post nupe. Then on an epilog after the 1st year so you could have him shred it as a symbol of them moving forward

Not my favorite NTH story, but as per usual, very well written. A plot that's been done before, but done better here. The wife's case is presented a little too mechanically and this one doesn't reach NTH's normal level of emotion, but still a great read. Best author of the genre here.

Should have taken the 1st envelope. Take al of its provisions and if she was so committed to getting back with him,let her try while he enjoyed the spoils and committed himself to fucking as many eligible women as possible until he found one he could trust then marry her.

Not a lot to say but I liked 5*

Hmm. Another writer with potential going the wimp route. Sad to see

You have quickly become one of the best authors on this site. This one felt off. The MC was too quick to fall into bed with his wife. Very good build up, but the payoff wasn’t there.

cucks get one star

next time use the cuck tag for your cuck stories

Very creative, and fantastic development of the wife's character in a very brief story. 5 Nevertheless, you know nothing other than malicious myths about the medieval Church. The Inquisition wasn't what you think it was (What you are parroting is recycled Protestant propaganda, and there is plenty of serious scholarship on that by specialists). For good measure, Europeans at the time of Columbus didn't believe the earth is flat. That was made up by Washington Irving in his largely fanciful "history" of Columbus' voyages and has been repeated endlessly by soi disant "intellectuals" such as Daniel Boorstein and Bertrand Russell. The same is true of the story about the "persecution" of Galileo. As a final word, I am NOT Catholic.

Still, the story is very well done and grossly under scored.

Your name is misleading. There is definitely some talent in there.

I normally hate RAAC stories but this one was very well done. In this story the setups were much different though. This was a one off where the wife had an argument and was not thinking clearly through the anger. Once the act was done, she was wracked by guilt and had remorse. For 6 months she suffered in silence until she was given up by the coworker who gave her the advice to take it to the grave. Then she went through another 6 months of hell as the divorce was being finalized. The final solution was one hell of a gamble and it checked a lot of boxes. Was she a cheater? Yes. Did she learn her lesson? Yes. Will it ever happen again under any circumstance now that she fully understands the consequences? No. Trust was broken but she forged a new foundation upon which a new relationship could be built upon. The old relationship was dead, a new relationship could rise from the ruins.

Please keep them coming!

bravo

This is a great story..it has all the makings of a true life situation...it deserves to continue, and show what such a decision on the husband's part might produce...heaven or hell. Perhaps you can think on both scenarios. 5 Stars!

I'm in the rec camp here. I think it fits in this particular situation. Well-written.

You are on a roll

People make mistakes and sometimes deserve a second chance but one can't be too careful

Thanks for writing

Lost a star with the RAAC. He should have taken the Post-Nup, AND taken advantage of the hall pass!

Very original story. I loved it.

Another cuck. Waste of space and air

I don't, as a rule like a RAAC, or just plain Reconciliation stories, BUT, this is a great one and the only outcome for one so dedicated to preserving their marriage.

5***** and more is it were possible.

Nice little flash, but yeah I think I woulda gone the post-nup route instead of the shredder. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Lol *

Definitely one of the better RAAC's on this site especially since the adulterous one did all the " above all " in the situation. A very good story with just the right amount of humility and forgiveness. 5 stars!

Meh, one of your poorer submissions

Good choice if hez going to give it a go, that severe a postnup would be nothing but an anchor to reconciling. Marriage isnt a business, except for some of the super rich blue bloods. Wouldn’t want to be joined to any of those folks, no money and lifestyle ia worth your soul, assuming of course we all have one

In the end...forgiving is the hardest of things. Great story and perfect start to a new year. May we all get the forgiveness we don't deserve in this new year.

This story does a good job of raising a lot of the conundrums of a spouse who cheats.

She was angry, drunk, out of town and some sleaze said enough of the right things to convince her to do something she hadn't ever considered and under normal circumstances wouldn't do. In the comments on a lot of other stories I see a lot of people saying if it was only once and she was drunk them it's forgivable. We'll, this story has that.

Then there's the fact that she didn't confess and he had to find out from someone else. While honesty is always the best policy I've seen the argument convincingly made that if it was a one time bad mistake and the person knows they will never ever do it again then a confession only benefits the cheater by allowing them to get the guilt off their chest. In this case, the husband, was going happily along with his life ignorant of his wife's one time slip up.

Continuing to lie after he confronted her was had. But, her point of she didn't have a back up plan and wasn't prepared to quickly shift mental gears. A lot of people don't perform well under pressure and end up doing and saying things they wish they could take back. So, she was human and made another mistake that seriously compounded her earlier mistakes.

One of the biggest things I see that really argues in her favor is that she's truly remorseful and repentant. She's now able and willing to take full ownership of her actions. She's already been taking steps to address her issues in order to minimize the likelihood of repeating her mistakes.

The only part I found less than believable was that within minutes of making up his mind to give them a second chance Troy is talking about going into the house and having make up sex. I get that she's beautiful and he's gone 6 months without but, considering that mere minutes earlier he was still convinced she was beyond redemption and the divorce was going to happen... Shifting gears like that would give you mental and emotional whiplash.

All in all a very well presented and realistic look at two flawed people who still love each other and want to find a way to make their marriage work.

Uhhh, oh. The paperwork is going into the shredder. Now the LW Screaming Meemies, whose moral stridency makes Wahabbism look like a California Pop-up Church, will flip their pointy little lids. For me, you've once again proven to be a superior writing intellect. This was another realistic and well-written story. Again, five seems such a pedestrian number, but it's all that's allowed.

A good story. The one thing I found thin was the ending. I could see him not signing anything, but at this point even with everything she was willing to sacrifice I can't see him willing to tear it all up and totally forgive her, that would take more time ( and a longer story). Well written as always, it just ended too soon.

A hundred interesting connections and allusions (mass production of bandages in WWI/modern feminism is classic) in this story, as always. But THIS was the Money Shot! [Maybe one even the Borgias wouldn't sell me an indulgence for]. Your writing tweaks brain parts not often tweaked in these stories. You're the William F. Buckley of the erotique! 5+++++/5!

A hundred interesting connections and allusions (mass production of bandages in WWI/modern feminism is classic) in this story, as always. But THIS was the Money Shot! [Maybe one even the Borgias wouldn't sell me an indulgence for]. Your writing tweaks brain parts not often tweaked in these stories. You're the William F. Buckley of the erotique! 5+++++/5!

That was brilliant. She literally found the ONLY way past the impasse.

THANK YOU for sharing your amazing talent for storytelling with us.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5⭐️

I liked it alot for some strange reason.

Well that was impressive. Well done.

I'm going back and forth on this one. Maybe... maybe not. Part of me says get the hell away from her and stay away. She cheated and lied and now claims sorrow, emotional distress and turning over a new leaf... It could work out. Worth the risk? Not convinced.

Already one of my favorite authors here... Happy New Year!

5 stars - just for the idea.

However, this is a fairy tale, like all the other thousands of stories on this website.

There are close to 40K stories including the word DIVORCE somewhere in the text.

I am a septuagenarian married to the same woman for more than 1/2 century and I believe that society needs to rethink the whole idea of marriage, because what is happening right now is not working.

You are becoming one of my favorite authors. I didn’t like your first story but since then you’ve blown me away. I’m glad you stuck with it and very much appreciate your sharing with us. Thank you,

An old curmudgeon

Huh! I never in my life consciously equated church indulgences with money awards in civil court! Thank you very much for that, Shelley. She’s a brilliant girl - Troy needs to hang on to her. Much more attractive on her feet than on the ground prostrating herself and groveling - not a flattering look, but I think the ecclesiasts would expect prostration and indulgences to go hand also. A fun bit of theological rhetoric, with the all important happy ending. Left me smiling. Thanks very much.

Great story. I have no problems with the reconciliation. The husband can eventually forgive because that's a voluntary thing, but he won't be able to forget. To have a great memory is desirable, but that memory can prove to be a double-edged sword.

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She's obviously sorry about what happened and she's willing to do anything to "fix" it. He still loves her and gave her a second chance... but I would have signed the post-nup, just in case, because he'll never forget. Never underestimate peace-of-mind, no matter how small.

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Again, great story. Thanks for posting. 5 stars.

What a pussy.

Interesting take. You are anything but boring.

Hooked

Ok, i think, maybe, i can understand both characteres, almost every reader on LT are huge fans of BTB, but in this particular tale the wife shows real sorrow and real sadnes plus the expirience looks like something sad y unsatisfactory for her, and it´s one time, one stupid mistage, propably this one of few LW who deserve one final chance, but this is just my opinion.

Incredible story.

Cute -- 5* from me.

By being willing to offer him all that, she already regained his trust. An interesting story. 5*.

Cute. The Bear approves. Know that you're going to hear it from the nit-picking righteous assholes out there, calling him a wuss, cuck, jerk, etc., etc. But 5 stars tell me he loves her, and it sounds like he has better odds than in Vegas. Go get her, tiger. Good luck! Like I've said, I L-O-V-E happy endings.

The BEAR

He should have signed the second agreement. He may regret that down the road when they have another argument. Because you can guarantee that a married couple will have a few nasty arguments over the life of a marriage, and she is already a cheater…..

Interesting concept and I believe it may be an original idea. Hope it works out for them

I would however sign the Post Nup.

Definitely not "No Talent".

MC rolled over too easy, imho - but, I loved the story!

Just another worthless reconciliation. Not worth 1 star.

Lol *

Really like this one, I'm more towards RAAC than BTB, within reason, so a pretty clever story

He still can't trust her. He's going to be her jailer until he can learn to trust her? What nonsense.

Nice to start the year with forgiveness

I like it! I would consider one change that would address (have some chance of solving a problem) her repeated insisting on her denial! And that is .”Sweetie, tell me the truth of three lies you have kept secret from me! Best if you chose lies that you can provide evidence they are lies!”

Divorce is a great way to end a toxic relationship, but it is a stupid way to punish someone you still love. If she's worth the risk, then its worth a try. Of course he's really really stupid to tear up the post-nup agreement, not because he may need it, but because the woman he still loves needs it. She obviously has self respect and dignity, and she needs to feel she's earned his trust, and respect. He is co-opting all her hard work, research, and legal expense to turn her penance and restitution into his grand gesture of forgiveness and indulgence. That's kind of selfish of him, and short sighted. If he has no intention of enforcing the document then what is the harm in allowing her to live under the sword of Damocles that she imposed on herself. She feels like shit already, and he still loves her, let her make the grand gesture; it sure isn't fake.

The grand finale fuck fest is kind of cheap and smarmy. She already gave her pussy away in an act of anger and revenge, why let her immediately employ it again as a bargaining chip for reconciliation? But still a very well done and plausible story of betrayal and reconciliation. Well, except we don't really know if she cheats again or not, do we? Kids, illnesses, middle age, financial problems? Yeah, in the sequel the dumb shit should be kicking himself for tearing up the post-nup. Still, thanks for the effort.