Regret

The author did himself no favors here. This was an ill conceived submission. The unacknowledged selfishness of the wife permeates and poisons all three variations. It is telling that her granting the husband his freedom was not one of the options.

It was pretty good. I don't normally like alternate endings, but I liked the contrasts here. I do agree with some of the others - you obviously cannot sweep an affair under the rug and as much as people in LW like to pay out counseling as some sort of hellscape scenario that tries to blame the betrayed partner for the actions of the cheating partner, the truth is it's not like that and it does work and it does help.

4 stars. Yes some alternate ending but not a lot of depth. Her lack of confession is a big deal. Only the third scenario had them talk out what happened. The other two had zero chance with just trying to bury it. But most of the dialog occurs off page, as the reader sees little to none at various points. Trust is broken. Repairing it to even a patch job is really hard work.

I think a lot of guys (with kids) would try with a one time, impulsive excursion, provided they learn some of the details and maybe get a polygraph for the wife. But without confession or special circumstances the second option #2 with divorce is the most likely endgame.

Option #3 seems more appropriate if she either confessed and really owned what she did and they went to counseling or she had at most one night with Jim and regretted so deeply that she did NOT pursue more activities. Remember it is the shared intimacy that is a big deal. The first night she was drinking and letting her hair down and the asshole puruaed her relentlessly. She may not even know the full circumstances as to what Jim did. But the second time and the "quickie" is execrable. Her guilt only hit her on the plane ride home.

Doubt she would do it again but still without limiting the betrayal to a one night stand after drinking and dancing and/or confession, option #3 looks like a pipe dream.

5, however, no exploration of her reasons/reasoning, no real issue with the possibility of stds, no exploration of the effect on the children, etc etc. We as people so often make poor decisions without looking forward, the pebble in the pool effect, the waves just keep widening reaching parts unforeseen and unknown.

She regretted what she did and felt remorseful for what she did whilst away. Her trip home was full of fear and worry about what she'd done etc. Unfortunately she didn't think of those things when 1. Dancing with Jim 2. Deciding to fuck him 3. Carrying on fucking him for three further days 4. Nor when she got home and realised her trusting husband didn't suspect 5. Nor in the time after the affair until the email arrived.

In other words I'll fuck myself stupid with another bloke without a thought for my husband and children. I'll lie and deceive him and keep doing it because I want to keep my relationship going until the next time if there is a next time. But when I'm caught its a mistake and I'm very sorry. Yes she was regretful but for me her regrets were losing what she was happy to pretend weren't there when she had her 3 day fantasy fuck fest. Sorry what she did was not a mistake it was a betrayal of her children and husband because she could do it and it made her feel good about herself.

The multiple endings didn't work for me either. Normally I really enjoy your work but this one not so. It didn't work and the plot idea was poor. Having read a lot of your stories and enjoyed nearly everyone so far this one just felt well below average. BardnotBard

Life is an obstacle course and a race we all have to participate in. Sometimes when we get tired we stumble and fall, some of us do that alone but some of us have support and sometimes we forget to recognise that and try to survive on our own. But when your support take your hand and lift you up, regardless of your shortcomings, is when life really starts. If one cannot forgive how can you then expect any forgiveness yourself. Do not miss understand me, blatant cuckoldry I hate with a passion and will chance stories of this genre immediately. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said it best "Kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of that is the beginning of wisdom." Sorry! English is not my first, second, third or fourth language, so I hope I made any sense. Thank you for your writing, keep at it you are really good.

I like in this one that the wife actually gave a shit after the fact, rather than only paying lip service. She genuinely regretted her actions and repented, and I believe her. Still don't know what I would do in a similar situation.

@angelrider I do agree with you that if they both commit, they could have a truly excellent marriage. Not as good as it potentially could have been before her failure, but an excellent marriage. They've already suffered a "heart attack" and the heart muscle is already damaged. They do have the capability for many years of post heart attack living.

If I were the husband, I would always have the thought in the back of my head. "She did it once already out of nowhere, how do I know she won't do it again." It would be hard to let my heart trust again.

I read options 1 and part of 2. Lazy writing. There are thousands of stories here. We don’t need three more paint by number additions. Commit to one story and make it great!

I liked this better than when I first read it. #3 for sure.

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I never understood the, "I no longer felt attractive" crap. Who cares? You're happily married, with a good family and a partner who loves you. What does it matter if the rest of the world thinks you're a troll? For that matter, in this story, she apparently WAS attractive, either that or Jim wasn't fussy! So that should have been enough. On that same theme, women in these stories seem to think that if guys want to fuck her that she must be attractive. Unless she's a troll, a woman doesn't need to be attractive, she just needs to be available.

There is another option, the relationship gets better than ever. It's not because of the infidelity. It's because of the work that must happen afterwards to make sure it never occurs again.

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to get your life back. Think about it this way. Let's say you go through life really loose with promises and obligations. You skate buy. You meet someone you truly love but your behavior is so normalized that mistakes are bound to happen because you never learned how to change.

Then one day you screw up spectacularly and can't believe how much you hurt someone you truly love. You knew it would hurt if caught but you've never been in this situation before. You feel so horrified by your actions and so guilty for the terrible pain causes that you finally realize you have to change. You set about doing anything and everything possible.

Over time your spouse realizes that you are still there but going beyond anything they could imagine you were capable.

Do you really not think the relationship would be better than ever? Maybe its not as common as misery but I have seen it with my own two eyes. And no, it's not me.