My Wife's Best Friend

As for Josie, I asked her out for Friday night. "Just dinner," I assured her, "But I'm going to make a statement of my own. I won't tell her it's you, and it's just dinner..."

"That's fine, Chris. As I said, now that she's dropped the bomb, I know a lot of women are going to be there for support."

"I've asked Angela about her lawyer. I've set up an appointment already."

"Are you going to discuss a divorce immediately or..."

"I want to protect the girls. As far as I'm concerned, our marriage is pretty much done. What I'm going to see is if I can get some kind of post-nup or financial agreement set up. The one thing that does concern me is her falling pregnant. I won't be having sex with her any longer so if it happens, it won't be mine, and I won't be on the hook for raising it."

We talked for another couple of minutes before I hung up and focused on my job. Now that Erica had finally confronted me, I felt a sense of relief. No more secrets. No more lies. Whether she'd been fucking the guy or not already didn't matter though given the tension, she'd either been doing something with him or he'd simply been working on her for weeks until she finally agreed.

My appointment with the lawyer was somewhat predictable. She laid out the requirements for divorce in Australia which most adults knew, simply because the divorce rate verged on the ridiculous. Little wonder so many young people avoided getting married in the first place. When it came to a post-nup or Binding Financial Agreement, I discussed with her the reasons for it, and she assured me it wouldn't take more than a day to put something together. Whether Erica would sign it or not wouldn't really matter in the end. When she asked about the dissolution of our marriage, I told her that I would go for full custody and listed the reasons why.

"Document everything," she practically ordered me to do, "Mothers don't automatically get full custody any longer. If you can prove she's an absent mother, and that you are the main caregiver, courts will look very favourably on giving you full custody at a push, but joint custody is the preference nowadays. Things are better for fathers than they were twenty or thirty years ago, at least."

Arriving home at the usual time, Mum kissed my cheek after I'd dumped my things, my two girls requiring my immediate attention as I sat with them at the table. They happily ate their dinner before Mum disappeared, taking the girls for a bath and getting them into their pyjamas. I read them a book before I gave each of them a kiss and a cuddle. Asking after their mother, I explained as simply as possible that she was working hard. The fact they were already beginning to understand she was never home...

Erica realised that I wasn't going to sleep with her when she arrived home to find me in the guest bedroom. I'd already moved some of my things into it. There were no locks on the door, so she just opened it and stared at me as I relaxed back on the bed with a book.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"If you think I'm going to remain sleeping next to you after what you asked last night, you're stupider than I thought. The only way I'm returning to the master bedroom is that you drop this idea entirely and we go to marriage counselling. In fact, I'll go further and pretty much demand you find another job because I certainly won't trust you working there any longer."

She made to step in, and I glared at her. She stepped back into the doorway. "Chris, why can't you see the benefits of this?"

"I see absolutely no benefit in my wife being a whore. But you do you, Erica. You've made it perfectly obvious that my opinion means precisely fuck all to you. You've made a unilateral decision that will completely change this marriage and family, and it's obvious you give less than a fuck. I have no doubt the worthless cunt you work with has been in your ear for months now. It would explain your behaviour."

"But my behaviour hasn't changed. I'll never deny you anything as your wife."

"You will be intimate with another man. You will be having sex with another man, and I have no doubt whatsoever you'll end up fucking others. The fact you just think I'd willingly accept this when you should know me better than anyone speaks volumes. I'm going to put this simply, Erica. Fuck off and leave me alone."

I heard her choke back a sob, so I stood up and she looked hopeful that I'd give her a hug. I grabbed the doorknob and quietly closed the door in her face.

I gave her the silent treatment on Tuesday though she was home a little earlier this time, at least in time to see our girls before they were to sleep. I otherwise ignored her, watching some television before heading to bed at my usual time. She knocked on the door though didn't open it as I just told her to go away.

She arrived home on Wednesday evening to find me waiting at the kitchen table. Without a word, she grabbed a drink from the fridge and sat opposite me.

"I've given my opinion about this and it's obvious you don't really care what I think," I told her, "That being the case," I slid the paperwork towards here, "This isn't the United States so I can't immediately serve you with divorce papers." She gasped at the use of that word. "Instead, this is a Binding Financial Agreement. A post-nup, if you will. It will explain how things are going to work. A couple of other things to note. One. If you invite any of your lovers to our home, I will not be held responsible for what greeting they will receive. Two. Our sex life is over. I have no interest in being intimate with you any longer. If you can prove you haven't slept with another man and undergo an STD test, we will attend counselling and our sex life might resume in the future. Three. If you fall pregnant, it won't be mine and you will be on your own. If you fall pregnant, you can go live with your parents as I will not be helping raise your bastard."

Her lower lip trembled as I think she was finally seeing the gravity of the situation. "You've obviously noticed that I've moved into the guest bedroom. I'm now calling that my bedroom. I have notified my lawyer of the date on which I moved into that room. As far as I'm concerned, we now co-parent our children and contribute equally to the running of this household. Other than that, well... I'm willing to discuss your stupid idea, but the moment you fuck another man, and trust me on this, I'm going to know, that'll put the final nail into the coffin that is this marriage."

She sipped at her drink, and I knew she was gathering her thoughts. She lowered the glass and there was renewed steel in her gaze. It was at that moment that I knew it was over. "This is going to happen, Chris," she stated bluntly, "I've worked too damned hard to give up now."

"Well, if you want to be a whore, go and be one. But I certainly want nothing to do with you going forward. We're done here, and quite frankly, we're done as a couple. We'll figure things out in twelve months' time."

"You're serious, aren't you? You just won't accept this for me?"

"Because a marriage is about you and me, not just you, Erica. You didn't ask about this, you just told me it was going to happen. Well, fuck you very much." I stood up and glared at her. "I'll keep my wedding ring on my finger until I receive the Divorce Order. Whether I end up fucking another woman, well, I guess it's just a case of wait and see. Thing is, I still take the vows I stated seriously that I probably will wait until the divorce is finalised. Even then, I'll be polite enough not to bring them home. My warning to you remains. I see a strange man in this house at any time going forward, I will drag them out of here only after I've beat the shit out of them first. Don't care how big, mean and ugly they might be, I'm a very angry man right now."

"I love you, Chris," she whispered, not missing the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks.

"Funny fucking way of showing you love me," I retorted.

I was busy getting ready on Friday night when I heard her arrive home at a somewhat reasonable hour. I heard her call out for me and the girls. I walked out of my bedroom and saw her in the kitchen looking in the fridge. Turning to look at me, she briefly smiled before she likely realised that I was dressed up to go out and she had no idea as to why.

"Where are the girls?"

"With my parents."

"And why are you dressed up?"

"I'm going out tonight."

I won't lie. I enjoyed seeing her face fall as she immediately understood that I was going out, dressed to impress, and she wasn't invited. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going out for dinner. Then I might go enjoy a drink or two. You're free to do whatever you want."

"I was hoping..." She paused as she met my eyes. She was no doubt getting used to me already looking at her in a certain way. "Never mind," she whispered.

Dinner was with Josie. Nothing untoward happened that would have resulted in me not passing the 'wife test'. We did talk about what I'd been confronted with on Sunday, Josie giving her forthright opinion about matters more than once. She was saddened to hear that I was already contemplating divorce. I told her that I still had hope that she wouldn't do anything, but the moment she told me that she'd fucked him, that would be it. Our marriage would be over.

"Do you think she's already done it?" Josie asked me later when sharing a drink at a nearby pub.

"I honestly don't know. Part of me thinks not because I genuinely think she'd tell me about it. Not to rub it in or anything. There'd be no real point in lying now because I've already put my line in the sand. I've already taken steps towards divorce. I'm literally just counting down each day going forward until the day I can have her served."

"No way back?"

I sipped at my beer and gave the very simple question some thought. I eventually shook my head. "To be honest, I think her job is now more important than our marriage. I can't pinpoint where things changed, but it's going to take a lot of work on her behalf to have me even contemplating changing my mind."

I spent the weekend focusing on the girls. I made sure I didn't ignore Erica, and she was as involved with them as she always was during the weekend, but when it came to our personal relationship, I just ignored her. Didn't hug her. Didn't kiss her. Didn't hold her hand. I was polite enough regarding certain things, but the love I felt for her was slowly fading. I did still love her and would until the moment she did end up fucking the other guy, but I didn't live in hope.

Amusingly, she did knock on my door on Sunday night after we'd put the girls to bed. She undid the tie doing up her robe to expose her naked body. She was still as sexy as ever in my eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to fuck your wife?" she asked rather bluntly.

"Have you fucked him yet?" I asked.

"Not yet."

I'm only a man. I did believe her in the moment, and I figured fucking her was better than using my hand. So... I fucked her. There was no love involved, at least from my side. She moaned that she loved me while I was pounding her. I ignored the statement. I was polite enough to make her cum, at least. I was an equal opportunities lover.

It was the last time we would be intimate as husband and wife.

She'd let me know that her new hours would be longer, and it was up to me to explain it to the girls. To my slight surprise, they were already used to not seeing their mother, so they were not particularly upset. Now that I knew the score, my focus returned at work, I was happy to come home to my girls each evening and my mother was happy to help out with starting dinner for me, allowing me to take over so she could head off home. I wasn't a complete arse in that I made sure I kept something for Erica.

She came in rather late on Thursday evening. The girls had been in bed for a couple of hours. I was sitting back just watching some television when she walked in the front door. Dumping her handbag on one of the armchairs, she sat down in the other. Clearing her throat, I muted the television and glanced her way.

"I fucked him after work," she stated rather simply, "It was our first time."

"Fair enough. Congratulations," I replied and returned my attention to the television, unmuting it and ignoring her.

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked.

"I told you the score, Erica. You've now gone and done what you said. I will now do what I need to do. Just so you're aware, our marriage is now over. I said I won't tolerate your infidelity. But I won't be leaving this house. I won't be leaving the kids. If you want to live that life, you can fuck off and deal with the consequences."

I heard her sigh before she walked into the kitchen. The microwave switched on and I heard it ding a few minutes later. She must have eaten at the table before she walked back in, standing a couple of paces away.

"You're not thinking of the positives to this arrangement, Chris," she said, "And I still love you. I'll never stop."

"There are no positives. You're my wife. You don't go out and fuck other men. You gave vows in front of friends and family regarding that matter. We have discussed fidelity before. I'm honestly sick of talking about it now. You've now admitted to fucking another man. So that's it. Done. Over. You can't unring a bell." I lifted my head to meet her eyes. "Go to bed or something. I honestly don't want to look at you and certainly don't want to spend any private time I might have with you."

I heard her start to cry as she walked away to the master bedroom.

*****

Six months later...

Pulling into the driveway, I was a little surprised that my mother's car wasn't parked on the road or in the other spot on the driveway. Getting out of my car, I walked to the screen door and opened that to reveal a note had been posted on the front door. It was in the writing of my mother, letting me know that she'd taken the girls to her place for the night and that I should look around the house when I headed inside.

"Why didn't she just call me?" I asked myself as I opened the front door and walked inside.

Dumping my bag on the couch, I glanced around and didn't really see anything. It was only when walking into the kitchen that I noticed the small envelope on the table with my name on it. Resting on the envelope were two rings that I recognised immediately. I almost smirked as I was wondering when she was just going to up and leave.

I pocketed the rings and sat down with the letter in hand. Part of me didn't really want to bother reading it. It was probably just going to be a long justification of everything she'd been doing yet claiming that she still loved me. I'll be honest, I'd long fallen out of love with her. The only times we interacted were in front of the girls, and given she was home late nearly every night and had started disappearing on trips, I felt more and more like a single father.

Taking a deep breath, I figured I might as well read it. Our marriage had been dead for six months anyway. This would probably be our first step towards closure.

Dear Chris,

The past six months have been the worst of my life. The man I love, my husband, I have watched him fall out of love with me. Even six months later and looking back, I still believe I've done the right thing for myself and my marriage, but I am upset that what happened has led to this position.

Safe to say, I feel that I can no longer remain in the house. Even though we are now living separate lives, I feel that continuing is untenable. Therefore, I have taken the decision to remove myself from the house. It will be the best thing for you and the girls considering that you have been providing more of the caregiving and emotional labour when it comes to our children.

Enclosed in the envelope is a card where I will now be living. It is an apartment only a short walk from the office. No, I am not living with my boss or any other man. However, as I'm writing this note, I am now resigned to the fact that our marriage is over, and I guess I will now just continue what I've been doing but no longer concern myself with what you might think about it.

Despite saying that, I do still love you. I have since almost the first day we met, and I'll continue to love you for a long while yet. Part of me does understand your reaction to everything, and knowing you no longer love me in return does break my heart. To be honest, I thought you would have accepted this for me, that your love for me would have overcome anything. I have been proven wrong.

I will come back to the house on the weekend and talk to the girls. I have removed most items that I want to take, and as the apartment is furnished, I don't need any of the big items. I have taken some pictures with me that I want to hang up on the wall. I found the picture from our wedding that you took down. That will take pride of place on my wall.

Given that it's now been about seven months since you moved out of our bedroom and started the timer, I will wait another five months before I receive paperwork regarding our divorce. I'm sorry it's come to that. I don't want to divorce you, but I know there is now likely to be nothing I can do. I know counselling won't change anything now. You were adamant in your position and have followed through with it.

I'll miss the girls and I'm going to miss you. I've missed you in bed with me for the last half a year. I've definitely missed the intimacy. I just wish you could have seen my viewpoint. I just wish you could have seen the advantages of what I proposed.

I will miss you fiercely, Chris, and no matter what you might think about me, I'm still in love with you. I will call the girls tomorrow night and will come to see them this weekend to explain why I've felt the need to move.

Your darling wife,

Erica

I sighed as I placed the letter down, shaking my head at the fact that she still refused to take any real responsibility for what happened. She was still living in la-la land about the whole arrangement. Granted, while I might not have slept with anyone else as I still took my vows seriously, I had been on several dates. Josie kept me company at least once a week. I never brought her back to the house, just in case Erica turned up and started asking questions. Angela bluntly told me that the day after my divorce was confirmed that she wanted me to fuck her. And at least half a dozen girls in the office had figured out that my marriage was over and were now showing plenty of interest.

After I called Mum to speak to the girls, I talked with her briefly about the note. She was aware of everything that had been happening. I was no longer upset or even angry about the situation. I knew how it was going to end, I was just being patient.

The next call I made was to Josie. Letting her know that Erica had left, Josie told me that she'd be at the house as soon as possible. Within half an hour, she was knocking at my front door, opening it to see her standing there looking adorably awkward as always. I gently pulled her inside, shut the door, and then gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry, Chris," she whispered, "She's just a damned idiot."

"I'm not sorry she's moved out. At least some of the awkwardness will now be gone."

After pouring her a glass of wine and grabbing a beer for myself, we sat together on the couch as I gave her the letter to read. She read it through at least twice before placing it down on the coffee table, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Safe to say that she's delusional. She has been since she first mentioned it to me," Josie said, "Do you know that we haven't heard from her in a couple of months now?"