Misery Mayhem and Revenge

This is a short story that popped into my head as I was writing my other story with Johnny Marconi's return. No Sex in this one, just a story about man that will not put with a cheating spouse and decisive revenge. Thanks to @OffRoadDiesel and ST for their review and edits.

Misery Mayhem and Revenge

(A story of Love, Cheating, and Revenge)

Dad gave me some words of wisdom when I started dating. He said, "Son, High-Valued men don't tolerate any kind of disrespect, manipulation, or lies from girls or women. Be true to yourself and always be a High-Valued man."

"Bad news, sweetheart. The merger meeting has just been moved up and I need to leave tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Sunday. I know how important this wedding is to you, especially because you're the Maid of Honor. You need to understand, I just got this promotion to CFO and I can't miss the meeting because there's too much riding on it for the company and our future. You'll have to go without me, I'm sorry."

"Are you serious? You know how long we've planned this, and now, at the last minute you're going to cancel? And I'll be there alone? Do you have any idea how embarrassing that will be for me? Isn't there anything you can do, can't someone else go in your place?"

"Vera, this deal is valued at over two billion dollars, and I'm the lead on this project. You know how hard we've worked on it over the last year and no, there is nobody else that can take my place. Too many people's jobs depend on our success. I'm sorry, I know this is difficult and I'll make it up to you with the bonus money we'll see from this deal. I know you're angry, but there's nothing I can do. I'll be back on Sunday."

To say she was pissed was an understatement. She stopped talking to me and told me to sleep in the guest room. No intimacy or sex before my trip. That wasn't normal. Her coldness and anger were also out of character. I tried to understand, but was unable to alleviate her anger, so I packed for my trip, and slept in the guest room that night.

I knew the wedding was important to her because of all the struggles her life-long friend, Carol, had gone through. Her ex-husband cheated on her during her life-threatening illness, and abandoned her because he couldn't watch her slow death — he took the cowards way out. It devastated Carol, and didn't help her situation.

But, after a miraculous recovery, Carol filed for divorce due to abandonment, and lived with depression for the next 5 years. All her friends and family were there for her and tried to cheer her up to no avail. Then, one day, she met a guy at the grocery store and her world flourished and she became her old self once again. Her friends and family's prayers were answered, and everyone wanted to celebrate the joyous occasion.

Brandon, her finance, loved her deeply and planned this amazing wedding. Vera was her best friend and the Maid of Honor. She was there for her friend the entire time. I knew this was important to Vera, and I hated having to cancel but there was nothing I could do. I knew that I would have to make it up to her, and somehow live with her anger.

Before leaving on my trip the next morning I tried to give Vera a kiss goodbye, but the door to our bedroom was locked, and she wasn't about to open it for me. I told her I loved her and I would call her when I landed in Germany. Without any reply I sadly walked to the waiting limo that drove me to the airport. I felt terrible and unhappy about her actions, and not understanding my situation. After nineteen years of marriage, I would have expected more tolerance and caring.

I called her before the flight, but her cell phone went right to voicemail. I left her a message apologizing once again, hoping for a reply. I sent another text before take-off, and another when I landed ten hours later. Still, no reply, no voice mails, no texts. I knew she was pissed and that I would have a great deal of apologizing to get back in her good graces.

With no other choice, I called our twin girls at college, and told them about my trip and how my work plans had changed, that their mom was angry with me, and not returning my calls. I asked them not to say anything, and just to check in on her to make sure she's OK, that I was worried about her, and that I would feel much better if they could let me know she's OK. They understood and told me they loved me. They've always been daddy's girls, and I loved them dearly.

Germany

When I got to the hotel, I called my CEO to get an update and to my horror, the meeting had just been canceled because the CEO of the other company had a death in his family and would have to reschedule. I immediately called the airlines and got a direct flight into Chicago O'Hare, which was only thirty minutes from the reception. Since the wedding reception started at 7PM, I figured I could get there by 9PM and be a good husband. I was sure that would make her happy.

After getting the rental car, the GPS gave me directions to the reception hall. It was a little after nine when I entered the reception, and the celebration was in full swing. The music was loud, everyone was dancing, and the liquor was freely flowing. There were lots of drunk people partying and enjoying the celebration. It was indeed a happy occasion, and I was happy I could attend and anxious to be with my wife.

There were over two-hundred people at the reception, and I couldn't see Vera when I came in. I walked over to the open bar and ordered a double bourbon, stepped to the side and scanned the crowd for my wife. I reflected on our past and how we got here. Vera was five years older than me and recently divorced when we met. Her ex-husband, Doctor Clayton Adams, was a medical resident at Mercy Hospital when they were divorced.

Doctor Clayton, what he liked to be called, was caught cheating with one of the nurses at the hospital. When Vera found out, she kicked him out, devastated by his betrayal. She wanted children and a happy life, but the asshole destroyed her dreams. She divorced him and was depressed and penniless after the divorce because Residents don't earn much money, and the divorce simply split their holdings. She turned to waitressing and was barely making ends meet. Because of this episode in her life, she knew first-hand how Carol felt.

When I met Vera, it was love at first sight. I fell head over heels for this lady. She may have been broken and depressed, but I knew she was a diamond in the rough. I saw her obvious beauty, but fell in love with her heart and her caring personality. I saved her from herself, turned her life around, and gave her 19 wonderful years filled with the love of our twin girls.

Vera loved my no-nonsense attitude when it came to relationships. We constantly discussed loyalty and commitment and this made her feel safe and secure. I made it clear that I was a loyal partner and would never put up with cheating in any way, and praised her for dumping her cheating husband, no matter how difficult it was. I explained that many people would put up with it to save a marriage or to remain secure financially and was proud of her strength to move on. That was the foundation of our marriage. Trust, loyalty, and commitment.

Until this damn wedding, I was living a wonderful life, completely fulfilled and in love. Vera looked great for 44, but I was five years younger and in great shape. In fact, at the age of 39, I was in the prime of my life. Due to my constant gym workouts and 5K runs, I was at peak performance. She had an amazing body and we were great in the sack. There was no issue with our age difference and we rarely discussed it over the years. We had raised two wonderful twin girls, Marsha and Carrie, who were now in college, four hours from home. They were happy and experiencing college life while getting ready for their future. We had a great family and a stable marriage, at least that was my belief until I saw my wife sitting alone with Clayton, her ex-husband. I knew Clayton was a friend of Carol, the bride, but I didn't expect him to be at the wedding, let alone being here single, without his wife.

Tired from the travel, and curious at what I was seeing I stood there and watched them sitting alone. I was shocked at how very friendly they were considering their history. I decided to watch for a few minutes to see exactly what they were doing. It didn't take long for my world to deteriorate.

I was about to approach them and break up their love fest, but before I could make my move she stood, took his hand, and led him onto the dance floor. She looked amazing in that tight-fitting ivory gown and my heart went out to her, praying for this to be nothing more than a dance.

Her forwardness shocked me as they danced to several slow songs. I nursed my drink and waited to see what happened next. I could tell that Vera had been drinking from the way she was flirting, which wasn't uncommon after several drinks. She always got horny and flirty with me, which was normal. What was not normal was her kissing another man that wasn't me, and doing it openly in front of her friends. Everyone knew she was married to me, and that pissed me off even more. I felt humiliated and angry as I watched my wife give her love away.

Still frozen in shock, my blood was now boiling as I watched him openly grabbing her ass and kissing her as she responded in kind. My anger grew and as I was about to approach them and break it up, when they walked her back to the table and sat off to the side. They started making out like a honeymoon couple, and I could clearly see his hands on her breasts, and her hand under the table. Just before I was about to confront them, I came to the realization that my marriage was over.

I remembered my father's words "High-Valued men don't tolerate disrespect," and I decided to act, but not in a violent way. I could have made a scene, disrupted the perfect wedding ceremony, stopped them and prevented it from going any further, but why? I thought, if she wants him, she can have him, she is no longer mine. With a strange calm I took out my phone, zoomed in and took several close-up photos, a short video, and then sent her a text message.

My Text: "Great news honey, the meeting was postponed and I'm back, but it looks like you're in good hands tonight. I'll be heading back home, and I assume you'll be spending the night with Doctor Clayton. Now I understand why you haven't been answering my calls or returning my text messages. Well, have fun and enjoy the death of our marriage. I'll be gone by the time you get home tomorrow.''

I hit send and watched calmly, wondering if she would pick up her phone and read the text. As I watched, I could see her phone light up with a notification of an incoming message. She saw it light up on the table and picked up the phone. She then started hitting some buttons obviously looking for the message. Vera seemed to have sobered up quickly as I saw the expression on her face become serious. As soon as I saw her reaction I headed out of the reception to my car. Vera must have panicked and saw me leaving, but I made it outside before she could reach me. As I opened my car door, I heard her scream out, "Tony, please wait."

With a cold stare I just shook my head, got in my car, and left the parking lot before she could reach me. My phone immediately started to ring, but I was in no condition to answer it, much less speak to her. If she wanted to be with her ex, then we were through. Hell, after what I just saw, we were done anyway. Twenty-two years after divorcing that cheating asshole, she jumps back into his arms the first chance she gets. Well, she'll have to explain things to the family and kids because this is all on her.

Dozens of frantic texts messages started arriving on my phone:

• Tony, please come back. Let me explain.

• I love you, please come back.

• Dammit Tony, it wasn't what it looked like. I love you.

But, after two days of 10-hour flights, two days of no return calls or texts, the cold shoulder, and watching her with Clayton, I was in no mood to listen to her apologies. In fact, I was as angry as I had ever been, and wanted nothing to do with her or her bullshit. After twenty phone calls and texts, I pulled over and sent one text message back to her. The text I sent read: FUCK YOU!

My work was going great, my kids were off to college which was already funded, and I had nothing tying me down. I was still young enough to make a new start. After four hours into my seven-hour drive back to Nashville, I pulled into a diner to get a bite to eat and take a short nap in the car before I continued my drive back home.

While eating my eggs and bacon, I decided to let the world know exactly how I felt. At the time, Facebook was the most popular social media site, where everyone visited and exchanged updates on their life. Between bites I changed my Facebook status from happily married to Single and Available. Then I posted two of the photos I took of Vera and Clayton in a deep kiss at the wedding. In the second photo you could clearly see his hand on her breast. Under the photo I explained that Vera was trading up, and getting back with her ex-husband, and that I was now back on the market. Yes, it was immature, but in my mind, it was the truth. I was moving on, without her.

The funny thing is that Clayton, her ex, was almost 50 years old, balding, overweight, and without trying to sound conceited, not an upgrade by any sense of the word. What the fuck was she thinking, throwing us away for some old worn-out dude that had already cheated on her? Maybe she wanted to be with a doctor, instead of an accountant. To be honest, it hurt.

In fact, it hurt a lot. I felt more pain at that moment than I could ever remember. I felt sad and angry, but it also made me laugh at the ridiculous situation. She was throwing her marriage of 19 years away for an old guy that cheated on her over 20 years ago. Fuck her, and fuck him. He can have her, they deserve each other. I wasn't the kind of guy that puts up with that type of disrespect. I'm sure there are lots of guys that would say, it was only a kiss and some touching, and that there is no reason to leave her. Sorry, but in my world either my woman is committed to me or she is free to be with someone else. We all live with our choices.

After the late breakfast and a two-hour nap in the car, I got back on the road, pulling into my driveway at 7 AM. When I turned on my phone, it started dinging with dozens of notifications. So many came in, that I didn't think they were ever going to stop. There had to be over a hundred messages from her, her parents, her sister and friends. Within five minutes after turning on the phone, it started ringing and I noticed it was Vera. I wondered if she got any sleep last night or if she spent it with Clayton. No matter, I just ignored her calls because I was past all that now and only focused on getting what I needed out of the house, and moving on.

I got along well with her family, and when they called me that morning, I took their call and I explained to her dad what had happened.

"James, I had no idea that she was unhappy with our marriage, but cheating was the death-blow to our happy life. The disrespect she displayed in front of the people we know was something I can't put up with. No, it was obvious that she still has feelings for the asshole, and now she can be with him. I intend to find a woman that will appreciate what I have to offer and stay faithful. James, I have no other choice. I'll be moving out today, and putting the house up for sale immediately. I'll be contacting an attorney tomorrow morning to file for divorce. She can live here until the house sells and I will treat her fairly in the divorce. Call me old-fashioned, but I will not live with a woman that wants to be with someone else. She's made her choice, but I don't believe she chose wisely this time."

James drove over an hour later and begged me to wait and talk to her before going nuclear. After asking me to give her a chance to explain, I told him to look at that photo again, and see how they were fondling each other openly at the wedding. There was no way I would put up with that, and doing it with her ex was just another slap in my face. Her dad was disappointed in her actions and my decision to act so swiftly and decisively.

When I entered our home, I felt myself tear up, realizing that our happy home was no longer a home, but the shell of our marriage. We spent the last 5 years turning our home into our perfect abode. At that time the mortgage rates were under 2.99 percent, and our home had doubled in value. Being the account, I decided to refinance the home at full value, and pulled almost $500,000 of equity out of the house. I immediately set up a $200,000 trust fund for each girl's college and a little extra to give them a good start in life. We took the other $100,000 and upgraded the house, making it a showcase that we greatly enjoyed and were proud of. The lower interest rate made the monthly payment only $1,700 per month higher than before we took out the equity. It was a no-brainer, and Vera went back to work as a receptionist, to make up the extra monthly payment.

I had a good salary, nothing crazy, but as the newly promoted CFO, I would be getting stock options the following year, which would become our retirement fund. Vera was never involved or interested in our finances as long as she got what she wanted, trusting my finance knowledge, and lived a comfortable life. I tried to explain the stock options several times, but I could see her eyes glaze over and never fully understood. Since it didn't matter, I just chucked to myself at her lack of interest. No big deal, I was happy for our future.

This merger, which apparently coincided with the end of my marriage, was going to get me a bonus in stock options in the 40,000-share range if successful. Of course, I would have to wait a number of years to execute the options, but the expectation that the stock would reach $100 per share, made me feel confident about the future.

Since the merger was on hold, the options would not become part of the divorce settlements. I was going to file for irreconcilable differences and just split our assets. That equated to about $50,000 in our savings account. We would split the sale of the house, but being fully leveraged meant that there would be little to split. At the age of 44, Vera would be walking away with her car and $25,000. Had she remained faithful, she would have lived a loving life with a secure future. Her world was about to be rocked because my anger and humiliation overrode any loving feelings and memories that were buried deep in my soul. All I wanted now was revenge, and for her to realize what she threw away.

Chapter 2: Vera's Nightmare

I haven't seen Clayton in twenty years and it brought back so many memories, both good and bad. He was a good husband, until he cheated on me and ended our marriage. We always had chemistry and great sex, but he was no comparison to Tony. My husband was much better looking, a great lover, and I love him dearly. But why am I sitting here with Clayton and letting him touch me and kiss me? I know it was wrong but I continued to flirt. I definitely had too much to drink, but Tony should have been here. God, I should know better and stop this, but it feels so good. For some reason, he still felt like a soulmate, and a little flirting wouldn't hurt anyone. Besides, Clayton is now divorced and Tony couldn't be bothered to change his trip to be here with me where he belongs. He knew how important this wedding was to me, so I think I'm owed a little fun.