All Comments on 'It Was Something in Her Voice'

ehh....the the conclusion happened at the beginning o the story..the rest was the

gingerbread...Greg was a " a contract is a contract" guy...even though he wanted

to leave his business in his relative youth, he never really retired...

I think they mended fences and lived happy ever after. Humans sin. Real forgiveness starts within.

Well that was a bit of an ordeal!! . . .

Well written, flows well, decent use of language, etc, but a tortuously ponderous and agonising in-depth psycho-analysis, or perhaps the over analysed self-loathing, whinging, whining and self-criticism disguised as bemoaning the fickles of fête?

Very disappointing ending. Half of the story was devoted to portraying Greg as the consummate businessman. The broken contract story at the beginning with Leslie Goodman and C&G closely parallels what happened with his wife. In that story Greg the businessman came to the fore and renegotiated a contract to the advantage of companies.

It's not unreasonable for the reader to expect a renegotiation of the marriage contract with mutual benefit to Greg and Susan. However, the author disappoints; leaving us with two broken people at the end with seemingly distanced children.

As an aside, I wonder what the purpose of the twice mentioned "43 Manvers Street" charity was. It added nothing to the story except to make Greg seem heartless.

"I thought I was too important a client to you for you just to throw it all away over being a few days late with our payment." - Nine WEEKS isn't "a few days," and they were taking advantage of their friendship and importance as a client.

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"We're basically at a halt without your guys." - I'm confused as to the timing, they just had the meeting where they were going to tell the guys on Thursday not to go to C&G on Monday, and the guys have already been pu;;ed?

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"What do you think people will say when they realise that you've moved out?" - They'll think that she's a cheating slut, and they'll be right!

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"You are still a married man, and how could you do that to Mummy?" - Is she forgetting that "Mummy" is a married woman and what she sis to "Daddy?"

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"Don't split up the family over this, please." - First of all, what else would you split up over? Second, it'll only split up the family if the kids choose sides.

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"Maybe, if she could really convince him that she regretted it," - I'm sure she regrets it, that doesn't make it forgivable.

Well done except for the very end. The "lonely old man" bit is mawkish and utterly implausible. Still, 5

A really poor ending!!

Really enjoyed the story until I got too the end. It really SUCKED!!!!! So many unanswered questions. Definitely no closure for anyone on the story, as well as the reader.

I'm actually quite puzzled how the ending is so bad. I don't mean just the plot itself, even the way it's written comes off so clunky, with Greg having to give a very unnatural-sounding exposition as a closer so the reader has no doubt that his life sucks. All the stuff after he leaves Susan feels like rambling filler, honestly. Should've just ended it at that point.

Enjoyed the beginning but seemed to kind of go down hill after he met Mary. Its a pity that the ex still thinks what she did was a minor mistake because she thought he was cheating and felt neglected. I think she needs therapy to get her head on straight because she is acting like the victim in the story when she's not. Maybe another chapter will tie up loose ends but overall the story can end it right where it did. Ultimately I think he is waiting for her to own up to it for him to come back, because he probably realizes what I said above about her playing the victim and her not realizing what she did was more than just a mistake.

The lonely old man bit is all too true. Its reality.

Sometimes there isn't any closure. Real life isn't a Hollywood ending. she cheats, he leaves, kids convince him to talk to her, he goes to talk, and she tells him the reason she cheated was because he cheated on her, and when he hears the rest of her story, he straightens her out, then points out it's all in her head, it's not what happened, it's what she wanted to believe to justifying cheating. I should be fairly right with This analogy? I think our writer was SPOT ON! Good job. Keep writing

XYZ

Greg was being a stupid, butt hurt male. And now he has to live with it. I have no sympathy for him

How can a man be so stupid and hard headed? With his decisions, he doesn't deserve to live happily ever after. He ended up with what he deserved.

For a long time I had a figure on my work desk. It said "Work hard, be honest, loving and faithful and you'll get your just reward." And there was a man above that saying and he had a huge screw going all the way through him. When your spouse cheats on you and you've been faithful you're screwed no matter what the outcome.

How can a woman be so stupid and uncommunicative. Believing that he cheated all those years and never discussing it. Anyone that stupid should be locked up for their own safety.

https://www.grammar.com/maybe_vs._may_be

You know she did throw all those years away, and her family.

It would take a saint of a husband to forgive the cold blooded betrayal, the intentional murder of the marriage, the indifference of the effect on the children, that it took to heat over, and over, and over, and over again.

All too true to life. Well written.

Husband lost his wife years before with his selfishness never listening to her Still didn't understand to the end

She cheated in the end but the marriage was lost long ago He is too stupid to recognize his failings so deserves the misery both of them are in The fact he can jet around kinding skanks to bed is meaningless His hope she would grovel before him to get him back is a fantasy

The ending was the result of a lazy writer.

Well written even though I hated ending. 4 stars

A story with no closure, like life. A bitter man, a wife who settled for sloppy second (she thinks).

Self respect and esteem among men is an ever dwindling commodity. Everyone in real life and this story, seem to value ito very lowly. So many people here basically told the mc to abandon his self esteem. Why is that. Why does everyone say he tossed the marriage. In truth,, she abandoned the marriage, and did not want to face the penalty.

Modern males self respect as at an all time low, the white male is at the root of all of societies ills. Cuckolding is a classic example. Men are told accept it, the level of that activity is skyrocketing, but men are told to accept, adjust and avoid jealousy. Very weak ending here.

Very sad. There were no winners.

What I hate about this author other than his obvious cuckoldary fetish is he makes it sound as if taking an affair and just sucking it up like it's a moral imperative that men put up with unlimited amounts of shit is really really annoying.

So all you men out there no matter what the world your work your family your wife no matter what shit you have to go through each and everyday remember this WERE MEN THAT MEANS DOORMATS FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

How would you describe this story morose, depressing, realistic or just outright miserable? Getting a divorce is one thing giving up on living is another. This guy has an Oceans worth of issues personal value is one thing self respect etc but his whole black and white it's not in the contract is just bullshit. Anyway I'm sure he'll kill himself he has too much self respect to just drift away into oblivion.

An extended non-ending. In other words, a waste of time.

waste of reading time except for Susan thinking he cheated during their 25 yr. marriage. Odd that her choice of man was just average

Yea well she should have confronted him about her doubts and not went off and fucked another. She got what she deserved.

You had 4 stars until the end

One star lost due to no ending

One star lost because you made into a Martyr

I have a few comments. As always I love Gary's writing. This is not the first time I read this story. I read some of the comments who were very disappointed with the ending. The ending was realistic. This isn't Hollywood where there is a happy ending for one or both of the main characters.

Now two comments about the story. Susan, regretted hurting Greg, but if she were truly remorseful than she would have taken more responsibility for destroying their marriage. She never admitted that, at least to Greg she didn't. She became depressed because of what happened as a result of her cheating, mostly Greg's actions but not of her actions. She needed to see a therapist for her affair.

My second comment is that when Greg heard her lame excuse about Susan always suspecting Greg of cheating, and she never said anything to him, he should have realized that she suffered from an inferiority complex and forced her to get help. If he did love her as he proclaimed than even though she cheated on him, she needed her strong partner to help her. That, was a weakness in Greg's character, his inability to psychoanalyze his wife. She was a sad character and he didn't help. Maybe he even caused her illness with his type A personality. Great Story Gary. Sad story but that is life.

Great story shit ending

I agree. Great story with a shitty ending.

"At the time, I really did wonder if I should forgive her that stupid affair. But then she told me that she thought that I'd been an adulterer, having I don't know how many affairs, for the whole of our married life. I found that insulting, very insulting, it seemed to make our whole marriage a sham. But it also showed that she had no self-respect if she thought she was putting up with that for years. How could I love and respect someone who doesn't respect themselves?"

=== this broke any chance at reconciliation for Greg. But it also should have made it clear that his wife needed help. Therapy. Something. Instead for a man who once loved his wife, he just left her, knowing that she was crushed, and having self esteem issues throughout their marriage if she was so insecure she was convinced he was cheating. Worse because she has had these doubts for so long, she believes she should be forgiven m, if not reconciled. I don't begrudge Greg wanting a divorce. No one should. But he gave no thought to how Susan wad falling into the abyss. She needed help. He could have persuaded the kids to force her to go to therapy. He certainly did on thr settlement. He could have gone with her to counseling during the divorce with full intent to divorce but get her to open up. I stead she chose the bottle and is dying slowly. And because he never forgave her (forgiveness doesn't mean he has to be with her), he has no closure and keeps thinking about his loss. He felt proud of himself telling Susan that he was making a happy life for himself. We see at the end by his own admission it is all bullshit. Don't get me wrong she tossed away 25 years of marriage for 2 week as of sex, 4 times with some average Joe (David Shiner). She did it because she was tempted, upset at her husband for (apparently) putting of his retirement (as she wanted more time with him ecause she lived her husband), had been the dutiful wife for years while her husband work a little and hard to make a better life for their family, BUT the wesge issue is she thought he was unfaithful. That is why she felt bad about the divorce and him finding out (which she did NOT hide well and confessed when confronted) but when push came to shove, she felt resentment that she strays with one guy for two weeks (physically) and now is burned. The point is not that she is a bad, narcissistic person, she has low self esteem and was stoic about suffering in a marriage, where she was convinced Greg cheated. Since it was patently false, her reasoning was baseless and Greg was ultra insulted. If she had NOT disclosed that in their talks (or maybe done it only within marriage counseling), he probably would have reconciled. I get that he is upset that she hung onto a .arrange with someone that she was convinced was a philanderer. That hurts bigger on some ways than that she fucked around after 25 years. But it is anathema to Greg because he is opposite of that. She philanders once and he is going automatically for a divorce. Regardless, my quibble is that for someone who loved her so greatly for 25 years, yes divorce her ass, but help her to get therapy (at least via the kids), get to AA (when it got bad at thr party), and forgive her. She is fucked up and yes he can feel things are irretrievably broken, but she didn't stab him in the back because she hated him, grew tired of him, or took him for granted. She had mental health issues with insecurity and paranoia and some depression that she gutted out that she thought she gets to play too. You can't even call it a revenge affair, but she thought going on and off for 20 years (though she did think recently in July, right before she saw David Shiner, so yeah that is a bit of revenge). Sure it is totally wrong but that is what she believed. She did not communicate all those years and just bire what she thought was her burden. To have that unravel and realize he never did cheat and what she had destroyed, basically challenges her sanity and for a woman already with low self worth, made her despise herself completely. Yo be honest Greg was a jerk at the engagement party. He is the only one who could have motivated her to save herself via counseling and therapy, etc. He didn't and she is going to fade away to nothing, and he could have helped to prevent that. And meanwhile he is miserable. Old Testament doesn't always work. Divorce sure. But cutting off all communication when he knows how fucked up her reasoning was and that she had a mental health issue that was avalanche during and after the divorce, including testimony from his kids, nah that's not cool. It wouldn't cost him much to help her (including using the kids) so she doesn’t fall apart. It isn't just money, he had that it in spades. It is empathy and compassion. He talked of divorcing and then maybe reconciling or having some relationship. He heard her reason and didn't think from her perspective, and all the paint she mistakenly felt all those years, and instead of seeing it as a mental health problem, he just ditched any contact, seeking to live his new life. Well fuck. She gave you two kids, 25 years of marriage, waited dutifully and despite hearing she us eroding and knowing the twisted, mistaken logic that she based her short fling on, he cuts all ties. Yeah he missed the New Testament. And yes again divorce her ass. But get her some help and forgive her over time. He had the fate of her life in his hands. They could have at least been cordial. She hurt him bad, because her reasoning was flawed. Unlike many cheating wives on this site, adultery is NOT a mistake but a terrible choice for betrayal. She actually made a mistake (albeit a big one) based on 20 years of paranoia, misunderstanding, and shame. She probably forgave the non existent philandering because of her religious values and her love of her husband and family. Maybe also her upbringing. If they had some fights early in their marriage about fidelity or flirting or perceived absences, they would have survived. If she had more self esteem she would have communicated with him, getting upset snd they would have hashed it out. He misunderstood. It wasn't that she didn't cherish their marriage, she finally snapped, being human, and dealing under terrible misunderstandings, she made a terrible mistake. Rarely is adultery a mistake on the cheating spouse's part. Here it was. Imagine for example, that he really was a philanderer all those years. Would the readers still want to burn Susan? You would instead think whatnis wrong with her? Why did she not fight? Or divorce? Or confront? Mental health problem, yes? Well she believed it, got bad intelligence from other parties, and did not confront, argue, fight, or divorce. So yeah she is mentally ill in a way that is sad and not offensive like narcissism or disturbing like a sociopath. And he didn't lift a finger when he knew she was tumbling into the abyss. Old Testament strokes again and neither are happy.

I read stuff like this and I just go onto one of my MMORPG games and blow stuff up and feel better.

Just a tad bit boring and nothing in depth nor a finish.

Just like real life, not all yarns should have a ‘happy ever after’ ending. If I was Greg sitting in my lonely luxury apartment I’d be thinking “what was the point of 25 years of hard work and avoiding carnal temptation. What good did it do me?”. I liked this yarn. 5 stars and thanks for sharing.

Disappointing ending.

The story could continue by them agreeing to have counselling together and or therapy to deal with the wife's failure to deal with her suspicions regarding his infidelity even after he explained her mistaken beliefs. He needs to deal with his rigidity regarding her one failure. At the heart of the breakdown of their relationship is a failure by both of them to communicate at the level needed for healing to occur. Otherwise she is heading for self destruction due to alcohol abuse and he is heading towards depression.

I speak as a therapist of 25 years.

The story is well written but needs editing. I agree with but won't repeat the other insightful comments that have been made.

Femdom agitprop. Poor bored, cheating wife divorced by inflexible, male ego. She never forgave him for his imaginary transgressions. Why can’t we all just forgive?!

So they're both miserable, what's the point?

Sorry, but I didn’t like your ending. Two lost and lonely souls just continuing on that way. Although I’m a BTB story lover, I found myself wanting them to somehow get back together and be happy. No closure here.

Greg was a thoroughly unlikeable character, single minded to the point of obsession Susan is better off without his self righteous judgmental nonsense.

Needed a real ending

Well regardless of some of Greg's antics, Susan blew up the marriage. He is right, that for her yo think he was cheating for 20 years and to.never confront him and just "accept it" and then seek for her own fling on the side, is a real dagger to the marriage. Sad but true. Greg may be unlikable but Susan has mental.issues and she committed marital suicide.

I did like your story and I think Greg was correct in his decision. Sure he is lonely and in need of companionship , however listening to the cheater sure continues her selfish and excuse ridden life. Who justifies an affair by using a you also fallacy? Why a self serving cheat…. By her comments she didn’t have 25 years of common happiness but instead a faux pity situation that could have been resolved with good communications. Maybe Greg was a bit of a hard ass, however she spent every conversation deflecting and making false accusations .Not even close to trying to fight for her marriage. Greg will be ok in the end. Her truly is reaping the dregs of her cheating…

I do not relish spending my time, especially at 81, reading a very sad story that has such a drizzling sad ending. No hope given to sad old men therein. Waste of my time.

What a stupid Stubborn old man, he could have taken Susan back as a fuck buddy and travel mate. But no he's left Lonely Because Of his pride What a real dumbass. Hoped his 2 kids stopped taking to him to..

And another well written story that was going well and then just fell off a cliff.

So he travels and gets laid every time and does what he wants and has his children... why so sad and lonely? Go ahead and as others said keep Susan around for a fuck buddy (use a condom).

Why not finish it properly? It’s a good story right up until it falls off a cliff.

Better honorable and lonely than a cuckold

Great story with a poor end.

Needs a follow on.

Isn’t it better to forgive and forget than to be lonely and full of sanctimonious bullshit ? Yeah she done him wrong and she’s paying dearly for it , too dearly . He’s also paying for his hard edge and self righteousness. He knows his wife would at least be alleviated and even thrilled to be a part of his life again . Wouldn’t he significantly enjoy his golden years more with a partner whom he’d spent so many beautiful cherished moments with in their past together ? Don’t be such a hard ass , forgive her and build the relationship back up , at least to a semblance of what it once was . Isn’t it better to have joy interspersed with pain than to have only pain and loneliness ?

Hope the kids experience what happened to the father in the fictional future

Greg not only did the right thing, the children should be ashamed of their attitude toward the divorce. It's also annoying that the the author tries to promote cucking-out by writing that Greg is lonely. IRL, someone like Greg would have his.pick of attractive intelligent women.

has shitty kids. I hope life deals them the same hand.

A man like the MC wouldn't end up feeling sorry for himself as you portray him. He is decisive enough to take action and better his situation. It's like there is a shortage of women ...

Will there be another Part of this Story? If not the Ending of this one stunk!

Didn't like the ending. Too much self pity all around. She clearly never trusted him and justified her actions based on nothing. He can't trust her. But all this self pity BS. Is he better with or without her?

Yikes - somebody quickly recommend a story with a happy ending!

Greg’s a bitch

1 star - wow - this story was a total waste of time.

I am adding this writer to my reject file.

I hope the writer gets control of his emotions and tries to write more uplifting stories than this kind of crap.

Hope his son gets cheated on in the fictional world then can reflect on his last statement to his dad at the end there

So she justifies her affair by suggesting he’d had numerous affairs over the years. When that doesn’t work, she thinks he’s being unreasonable for not taking her back. Typical woman. Me, me, me, blah, blah, blah.

A conclusion to this story would have been a must, imho. But after 17 years, I guess we'll never see any.

A very disagreeable main character.

It would have been better had the wife gone on to enjoy life without him.

Some times forgiveness is best. Be flexible, and be kind

At least he did not end up as a cuckold

I was relieved to see the aggrieved husband dump the cheating wife.

Stupid ending ruins story. Had to have been written by a cheater bitter at not being forgiven. The husband was cheated on without ever being questioned by his manure smelling wife. He makes every sacrifice and is given a lonely abandoned end to his life because he won’t fall on his sword and accept a non authentic apology from his cheating wife (ex) and reconcile for her multiple infidelities. WOW, whe urinated in this author’s cornflakes?

The mistake Greg makes is applying his business practices to his marriage. It makes him intractable. He was never open to reconciling with Susan. His pride and ego won't allow it. He gets to keep his ego-driven pride and teach Susan a hard lesson. But in the end, all Greg has to show for his efforts is two broken, sorrow-filled lives. Neither will prosper. It appears Greg's love for Susan is as conditional as he claims her love for him is.

2nd reading. First time, I gave it a 4*. But now I realized the moral of the story : if you remove empathy and compassion from the equation, you only get logic and logic fails miserably when emotions are involved.

5* this time around.

What price is too great for one's honor and self-respect?

This Greg is a rigid, self-righteous, unempathic horse’s ass. He is unjustifiably proud and lets his ego rule everything. He is incapable of talking and understanding any point of view but his own narcisstic position. The author has done a great job of illustrating how self-defeating and soul-killing such a narcissistic style is. Well done.

To chilleywilley, that makes no sense why the cheater should have a better life, they ruined the MC by not even talking to him about his supposed affairs that never happened to justify her affair. And forgiveness, if it was a one-time drunken mistake, maybe, but she plotted the affair, that's a malicious act that doesn't deserve forgiveness, when you plot to cheat, you don't deserve forgiveness from the spouse that you betrayed. It was her lack of communication that ruined the marriage, when he found out of hers, he confronted her, when she assumed his, she did nothing, communication is a two way street and yeah, sometimes it's hard to love again after you spent so long with someone, but they chose to betray you, they didn't do it against their will. and to the Anonymous, Susan let her ego rule everything, you claim he is incapable of talking, he definitely talked when the affair was found out. She didn't do that for her own narcissism to cheat, making up affairs that never happened.

The ending is all wrong. This Greg was finding girlfriends easily and travelling the world having casual sex. Just because the first few relationships out of the gate don't go the distance he's gonna proclaim the whole thing a failure? Better to be with a faithless wife who's not even sorry about her little dalliance? Nah man, stay the course.

Wow, well written,story moved on at a perfect pace. Sad that is my story now. I am the cheating spouse. My wife asked me to either go to counseling or divorce because I am the cheater. I chose divorce. I still love her and I am lonely and miserable. Pride is my downfall.

generally liked it a lot as it was heading towards a resolution... then it stopped. :(

Fascinating, how often the cheating woman describes her “Adultery” as making a mistake!

I read somewhere in one of these stories “A mistake is picking up a pepperoni pizza when you are asked to get a five cheese!” Adultery is a deliberate action taken knowing the result regardless of the possible consequences.

I guess with so much rage, rigidity, religious-based moralism and just plain refusal to understand the other side’s point of view going on in the world today, I find myself fed up in so many ways. Greg in this story was clearly hurt and Susan was clearly wrong BUT I am a firm believer in “You don’t get rid of good”. NO ONE is all good or all bad, but Greg rigidly sticks to his own point of view that Susan is now so bad that he can’t get back with her even with a lot of work. I call bullshit on that, because true love includes understanding and forgiveness, and Greg demonstrates neither, preferring to wallow in his pathetic self-pity. Sorry but Greg is wrong here. Susan was not arrogant, she did not throw it in his face, she was not hateful; she is clearly genuinely remorseful and open to doing the hard work necessary to improve herself and be a far better wife. She is not a bitch and did not deserve to be treated as one.

A short fling is devastating enough. Especially after so many years. But thr fact she stewed, thinking he had cheated for the better part of 20 years is crazy. No confrontation. No discussion. Until she herself had cheated and blew up their marriage. The fact that she had so little respect for herself and her marriage and just let her hsuband cheat on her (in her mind, though false) means she didn't love or know the real person that her husband was. Her jealousy and paranoia had eroded their marriage for years. Then finally when she thought he had cheated again recently and that he was balking on a (partial) retirement, she fell in with the asshole ... four times. That is a bitter pill to swallow.

I moved my rating from 2 to 1. I really didnt like your mc, he was self riteous and inconsiderate. He had been having an affair with his business for years putting it ahead of his family. He had no right to be high and mighty. It was an unpleasant read but I guess that was what you were trying for as there were several times in the script when you could have changed direction.

Greg is one cold hearted bastard. His wife was convinced he had cheated on occasion and even though she was wrong old Greg decides she has low swlf esteem and no self repect. Of course he can't abide anyone with no self respect. I feel for the wife having to put up with such a rigid ass for so many years. Even as she's slowly wasting away and dying he remains an asshole. I give it a 2 because of the story, not the writing.

Seriously 🤯🧠🧟‍♂️🤬🤬🤬🤮

Well, that was a BTB type of story, you made it a bit different from normal by how he ended up.

Pretty sad ending for a man of principles but someone who can't or won't bend enough to see the good times in his marriage is worth salvaging. At least to try. I don't think life is that black and white. More like so many shades of gray. Maybe the author should do a follow up story along those lines.

Greg is kinda an asshole with a stick up his ass and his wife is a coward afraid to talk to her husband not very likeable people at all, hard to figure out who is the protagonists. Yet you managed to make me care about them and wish it had ended better, damn that's some feat of writing 5 stars

I can fully understand Greg's actions and agree with them. The problem is, should he have left work? He did so for his wife, but his wife stabbed him in the heart so he could not fall back going to work. He really needed something part time, as in going to work, feeling useful, talk to people. His wife should have asked him and explained to him those things that made her uneasy in the situations she described to him. Who would want a wife that had sex because it just happened? I do not feel she had much respect for her marriage the whole time they were married and she goes to church. It proves she has no spiritual values as well. So all round she is a bit of a pathetic person. What did the Shulamite maiden say (if I remember correctly) when she kept getting proposals from others. She said "I am a wall" and saved herself from falling. Greg's wife feels sorry for herself but I feel she has not identified her act as a heinous act and until she does she is wallowing in self pity.

Its often hard to find the right balance between an emotional and an analitical decision. And if we go to any of either extremes we'll not only hurt other but ourselves too. Its a good short story.

Reminds me of what a phycologist. Said to me once "Is your life better off with her or without her and like a fool I did the same thing Greg did Now we both end up sad and alone (jaybee186)

should be a 1 because "I hate it", for it is too true to life.

to be fair it id at least a 4.8

Honestly, this is probably how most "BTB" stories would end if there was a modicum of realism in them.

As someone has already said, you not only hit the nail on the head of the real consequences of infidelity and the reaction of btb at all cost, you hit it with a sledgehammer. Even if you had tried to turn it into a RAAC it would still end up like a mouthful of sawdust. Best avoid infidelity "IF" you truly love someone!!!

Great read thanks. {even if you have now fully retired}

If you can’t FINISH THE DAMN STORY then DOŃ’T POST IT.!!!!

The entire story was very good right to the last word. The problem, though is that it ended and left all readers stranded. Why write 5 pages describing the husband as a self righteous twin to his wife. They both did stupid things, her her affair,, him his ego. There were two significant directions to go. First :Talk it out and achieve the retirement you've always wanted with the partner you've always loved. Second stop manipulating your wife to say what you want her to say to specifically leave her with no avenue to take but the one you fabricated which led to her and along and miserable. She cheated by you manipulated the events so you stayed the aloof super CEO. Now you have no company, no wife to share the most important time of you lives together. Sir you killed your marriage, your wife hit a bump in the road, you crashed the relationship in to a wall you personally built.

Greg was a hard ass. And that worked well in his business. Not so much in his private life. This story points out how even people who have lived together for such a long time can fail to understand each other. Mainly that seems as if it was Susan's fault, since she didn't speak up when she believed Greg was cheating. If she had, all of this sadness could have been avoided. Probably....

I feel like i wasted a load of time reading a story that turned out pointless. For me their was no balance, it was a good candidate for some level of reconciliation and if not why bother going 5 pages.

She should've screamed at him you fucking dumb shit we need counseling because I am saying one thing and you are hearing something completely different. We are obviously miscommunicating and apparently have been for quite some time. You could've let me know you were making progress at work to give me some hope that we would finally be together because you had worked so long and yet you were stuck I was depressed stupid…

But he gave all that up because he stupid pride.

A mistake is forgetting to buy milk on the way home from work. She committed adultery with premeditation.

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He was, frankly, too kind. Her disrespect was astounding. Both cheating, and believing him to be a cheater, showed utter contempt. Je should have burned her badly, in however you want to parse that phrase.

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As for moving on in relationships, there’s LOTS of women, including young pretty ones, who would be thrilled to have a successful man who has integrity. What others call being a hardass, many view as stability, and character.

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He would have been married again within a year to a VERY intelligent and good looking woman under 35, and starting a new family with at least 3 more children.

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ZK