by Longhorn__07
Just Out Of Curiosity
I read several pages of the newest comments then did the same with the earliest. What an eye opening experience! The change from civility to outright rudeness mirrors real life all the way from personal interactions to the disgusting state of politics today. No small wonder why so many fine Authors have left or are posting else where. My thanks to those who have the fortitude to continue past the ones who should have been taught better manners. Signed: BTW
He's not a man. When your boss tells you that you have to go to counseling or you don't get the promotion, a man would tell his boss to go fuck himself. In today's world, you can't even ask if you're married or if you're partner is of the same sex. A good lawyer would have a field day with this situation.
No story heading to a happy ending without lydia’s character involvement. She also added comic relief throughout. Yes it was a long one but never boring. Maybe an alternate title…”Granny Knows Best” ?
18 pages and you RAAC them???? No way his attorney allows the Company to intervene in the marriage. Can you say "lawsuit"? He needed and deserved a divorce. No way he stays married. Awful ending.
Good story, but sooo long had to take a few days to read hard to maintain interest in some places liked the outcome
Great job, well written. You did a wonderful job with the grandmother and the therapist.
I struggled the initial interactions with the parents, especially the dad, but overall, great story.
Thank you.
People are people with frailties and those show up in different ways. Barbaras failures are believable. Steves reactions were a bit less believable, especially as he drug things out so long. The counseler is very professional and Lydia reminds me of an arctypical Texas grandma. Well done! The detractors always want the cheater drawn and quartered or burned at the stake. I don't think they have any concept that their little self-righteous indignation has a foundation only in sand where their own feet of clay are mired. No one is without sin and when one partner cheats, the other partner is very seldom not complicit in some way.
honestly I liked this story, though it seems a lot of people disagree with me, that's okay
everyone is different and we're all bound to like different things, it's something that makes us human, thank you author for this story
Great story, though the length tested my patience. Are you a psychologist?
This score is boosted. No way this story score this high. Just wasted my time reading 18 pages of mental torture porn.
Have to say I enjoyed the story. Just because someone doesn't like how it turns out, doesn't mean it's a bad story. I prefer to enjoy and then put myself in the protagonist's case. That would be Steve here. So,
1. Barbara is what I call a serial justifier. She can justify her actions as "not meaning anything." Pretty substantial flaw in her nature and, if I were Steve, I wouldn't expect that to ever change.
2. I'm not an employment law expert but I'm fairly certain what his employer did had to be shady, at the very least. Regardless, I, as Steve, wouldn't have put up with it. I would've called my lawyer that very day and then taken them to court.
3. Then, after 2), I would've gone to the next group counseling session and demanded the counselor admit they had made no progress toward my goals as stated in the first session. That, and the fact that Barbara continued to lie, had made every one of these sessions a waste. Since the employer is no longer holding the axe over my head, I would then tell the counselor I was finished with the sessions and that he needed to convince the lying, cheating bitch that it was over.
Whew! Still really liked the story.
I love reading the romantic apologist comments, they always call the negative commenter trolls.
Almost all disliking comments focus only on their dislike of the story, rarely putting down those who likes the story. The troll exposer otherwise will bother themselves in calling other commenter as trolls, straw manning them with their irrelevant writing ability, while at the same time gave no indication on why they like the story. They just throw "WELL DONE!!" after a ranting insults and praising an author's writing ability.
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This story as some have already commented is a blatant RAAC and a successful attempt at turning a strong devoted man into a WACC.
Husband was a devoted husband with an unrealistically stupid adulterous wife. He wants a divorce, wife wants to reconcile. And as the readers figured out easily, he is the victim not the adulterer.
For them to reconcile, the offender which is the wife was supposed to pay the cost whatever the husband thinks the value should be. Yet somehow, the husband is the one burdened with the cost to the detriment of his own mental well-being. He have to go to counselling that will make him accept his cheating wife even before his cheating wife realize that she is an adulterous idiot. Shouldn't they fix the obvious problem first, which is obviously a stupid unrepentant wife.
The in-laws which includes Lydia didn't even bothered with the self-destructive younger sister of wife until after she self-destructs, just so the wife can reconcile with the husband.
Everyone is conspiring against the husband, and sometimes to the point of illegal intrusion. How can any employer blackmailing an employer with their promotion just to get them to do something in their private life.
And that omni-grandma manipulating things. She's not being kind and loving when she tries to bring them back together, she's just being selfish. Why not spend all that resource to truly pound into her family members on how to be responsible human being.
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If you think is a wholesome story with a feel-good ending, go ahead and enjoy. But to me, this is a story of a group of selfish self-preserving people mind-breaking an honest man type of porn. A healthy person broken mentally and now with risk of HIV. So much to like.
A very long story but a very good story. Not saying it was right for him to take her back after all that but its understandable he did, good reconciliation should take time and effort and occasionally the question whether it was right to do. The grandma was definitely my favorite character.
There are so many fucking assholes who do nothing but comment negatively, sophomorically, thoughtlessly. He wrote 18 chapters. Well thought out, strong character development, not repetitive. It was interesting and captivating. It must have taken considerable effort. Yet all the fuckwads trolls with stupid simplistic rants. I’m surprised these douche bags can read at all, let alone a work this lengthy. We all know they certainly can’t write. To the author- WELL DONE!! To the trolls- FUCK YOU!!
18 pages that end with taking the cheating cunt back. The shithead author couldve at least gone through with the divorce after an 18page story of cheating scum that needed her teeth kicked down her throat.
lol 18 pages too long. and wth was this "A policewoman walking into the café thought they were a brother and sister having to say goodbye for a time. It was kind of touching." just popped in there out of no where lol man that was weird
Romantic bullshit. Reconciliation is forced by the extreme and the victimized husband pays all of the cost. Everyone that matters is against the husband. Whoever commented that this is a realistic portrayal must not be talking about real world.
Holy crap monkies! 18 pages? And he stayed married to the slut? Not "No". But "HELL NO"!
The best part of the story is the excellent character development. Nice job. 5
Second time I've read this story. I quickly perused the comments to see how many trolls have run this story down. Quite a few asshole comments by sad sick trolls. Fortunately the author won't see some of the later ones as they haven't published anything in a couple of years.
My first thoughts on the story were how the author has written Barbara's character. She comes across as a very immature, naïve little girl. She really hasn't grown up and become an adult. Her attitude is one of complete innocence. Although she came close to physically cheating she really didn't understand what the consequences were for her actions and she really couldn't process why Steve was so upset with her. She knew she had done wrong but like any child was almost incapable of accepting the blame for it.
I'm glad the story ended on a happy note and Steve and Barbara reconciled. Barbara just needed to grow and mature and she would no doubt be a good wife.
Unfokkenbelievable end to this story - steve manipulated to take back bitch Barbara by trash Lydia.....1 star for this story
Stopped at the end of page 7 kind of knowing where this would be heading I went to the last page and it confirmed my thinking. No way in hell would i reconcile.
I'm really torn on this one. I smelled the RAAC coming early in a story that was about 40% longer than it needed to be, but I still kept reading. When she let "Jimmie" insult her husband and laughed about it in a public place, that *should* have been the end of it, especially when she didn't even show any remorse over it until like a year later. Maybe there exists some universe where she'll actually stay loyal to him once he stops watching every step she makes. At the same time, the trust and that "shine" she once had in his eyes is gone, forever. He just has to pretend like it can't happen again and cross his fingers. He'd be better off with a woman that never broke his heart.
Terrific story. A big change from the usual BTB ending. The author decided to save the marriage this time. G’ma Lydia was a lot of fun.
The way the company forces him into counseling borders on human rights violation and gross disrespect for discrimination laws.
The way the counselor ignores his remark about contemplating suicide is malpractice and most likely would (in the real world) lead to legal action.
Keeping the husband in a depressed stat of mind after becoming aware of suicidal tendencies and manipulating him appears to be well over the morally acceptable line.
If the author wants the reader to feel that this husband can only be reconciled with his wife through sheer abuse of authority and unethical manipulation by a professional counselors then I can only say good job.
Very good story, I got even more out of it the second time around. The vengeful stories are fun sometimes but this one was very good showing how the couple somehow, with help, worked thru the reasons for the adultery on both their parts, Youth and inexperience has a lot to do with not understanding feelings in yourself and in others. Not sure how important sex is in a marriage as there are so many other things going, But it all seems to boil down to communicating with your partner. No hints, no innuendo, just put it out there say what you mean and mean what you say. Be honest with yourself and your partner. Keep writn'
Wonderful! Amongst the best. It’s refreshing to read a tale that ends in redemption as opposed to vengeance or sadness. The story was written so plausibly, it felt like real life. I LOVE Lydia. Grandma had her hooks into everything. Everyone should have someone in their life like her.
It was a great story - until you allowed Steve to be played by Lydia and Barbara. Lydia overstepped the mark and his employers also did by agreeing to that conspiracy. He is an ass for taking her back - she'll play away again, after the baby is born. And then she will REALLY cripple him!
The author sells this reconciliation well. I particularly liked the author's development of "Lydia".
hard read , and slow to the point of boring . The first years of marriage are some of the best/ and his where filled with crap. To not start from scratch with some thing fresh and new without baggage would have been the logical way to progress / use the lemon law principle , it is well applied to our life scenario. with the carriage that this women carries and that special centrism she exabits ( she will be there again post pardum & and every other excuse to exploit the female issue of dominance.)
The nasty comments have been here since the beginning - Just Ask Bob! I will agree they seem to be, perhaps more people are unable to deal with their own lives so they feel better venting at others - I don't know. I read stories because I've always loved to, not to look for real or imagined faults to pick at. I thank all writers for their efforts, our lives would be less with out them !
somewhere east of Omaha
Read again. Well written story about a spineless pussy and his cheating wife.
You’re a very good writer but this story dragged a bit too much; actually not a bit but totally. It became a drag to read for I kept wandering what obstacle or speed bump she was going to throw before him. I have never seen a character on this website so indecisive like him He makes procrastination look like an event to look forward to. I was rooting for him to kick her out of his life seeing that she was already out of his house but you kept on throwing a buoy to keep them afloat. It could have been 50 pages shorter! This story actually ended when he put her out and filed for divorce! But then … YOUR story … YOUR decision!
I have to comment on the comments over the years. Early on they were generally positive and the only real concerns were about the length. Over the last couple of years they have become frequently more caustic, misogynistic and hateful. The BTB crowd has taken over this site and category. I would be willing to bet that the score early on was a lot higher than it is now. A word to the wise writer: stay away from this category unless the wife gets completely taken down. Not worth the vile comments that you’ll have to put up with.
This is the first story of yours that I found and read Longhorn. I couldn't help but notice that you have a very good average score for your stories. I will agree with the masses that this was very well written if a big long. I am not typically a fan of reconciliation stories but I do like well written ones. I won't go as far as to call this a RAAC as you did you best to destroy the relationship by having the betrayed husband use and abuse her drug addicted 18 year old sister. That was a truly garbage move by a horrible human being. I'll just use and abuse her BEFORE I out her to her parents and use her to put the final nail in my marriage's coffin. Infidelity amongst family members is almost sure fire destruction of that family. But you did play it off well with the deep depression and suicidal ideation. The miscarriage just felt a bit off. That kind of thing just does not stay hidden so it threw a curve ball into the narrative. Also, while it is almost spot on that the wife cannot identify the why she chose to cheat in an otherwise fairly normal marriage you left a huge empty spot in the story by her never being able to adequately explain how she allowed it to happen. But again, I will give it to you that it feels authentic. I think this is why the vast majority of reconciliations fail, the wife can never adequately explain how she gave herself permission to commit this heinous betrayal. And most husbands are unwilling to just "get over" their wife's completely selfish decision to cheat without any adequate justification. I can't give it a 5 though because there were just a few too many little bits of story that could not be put together.
Overall it was a really good read and very well written. I will definitely check out the rest of your work.
Very well written, but totally unbelievable! (I.'m not a big fan of RAAC stories in general.) But I'd like to point out
something different from most comments. First, the big factual error. The miscarriage - since she didn't have any idea she was pregnant it must have been in the first month. By the end of 5 weeks the embryo is about a 1/4 of an inch long, Many (most?) women have miscarriages without even knowing it. Not hospital stay of over week. (Also, how did she pay for it without any noticing it.
Second, all of the attention is focused on the affair with Rafe. I contend the problems with Jimmie were much worse. It was in public, they mocked the husband and and still did it after the scene and she then supported Jimmie. Divorce right then!
So in the end hes better with a cheating bitch then without? That makes no sense! Only a beta simp with no confidence would consider going back to that mutt. Moral of this story is, this is what no balls looks like.
NEVER be afraid to be a MAN and move on.
I read it twice now. I am at a loss as to why they never discussed the miscarriage in greater detail. Why did she not call her husband? Why was the only one she confided in a stranger and how she took to that stranger to the point of the affair? She talked about how she let Jimmie get to her and how she felt with Rafe but the idea of how she met Rafe and took it farther all was because of her crying about the miscarriage .
Now that she is pregnant will he think of that and maybe they discuss it or will it drive them apart?
I could not reconcile if I was him until I had my answer.
With her history, where is her terror of another lost baby. That is a real part of what happens next. We know that well.
Great story- wasn't sure I would like it, and it took a while to read, but it was worth it. Sometimes you need to suck it up, and decide "Are you better with her, or without her?" 6 stars; the Bear can't count, and it took a while to read, but the Bear approves. Seems like college educated people have these problems; Average working stiffs don't. Not all the times, but most.
The BEAR
So he threatens to divore the whore if she ever disrespects him to the level of mocking him ever again - but he perfectly fine with being a cuck staying with the cheating whore?
Since it is apparently a job requirement to be a spineless cuck married to a slut, does he at least get to fuck the other executives wives?
EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN......................
But completely undone by the psychobabble thrown in to justify the wife being a cheating, disrespectful skank.
18 pages for a RAAC, wife is a selfish bitch that does not respect her husband and he stays after all that.
The main character is a wimp that keeps caving to everyone in his life. He would have been better off committing suicide in one of the counseling sessions right after her lawyer got the first continuance in the divorce.
Not surprised a t’sip made the main character a simp.
t’sip, t’sip don’t be blue
Tinker Bell was a fairy too
Absolutely loved this story, another gem by Longhorn_07... Has been by 3rd time reading this tale, definitely 1 of my all-time favorites...
What a great story of the relationship struggles, another gem by Longhorn_07....
Love your writing,
Far too long.An average story that could have been told in hundreds of fewer words.
Unfortunately, I was right, he caved... She'll behave for a while, then do it again.
Wonderful story and not that far-fetched. When a marriage is let slide and not worked on,things like this can very well happen. Glad they made it and hope they fill their home with love and children. THAT truly makes a family. EXCELLENT WORK!!
Paused at page six. So far I like this M. C. guy, but I'm afraid I've caught some hints of a RAAC coming. We'll see. Mostly too long to suit me, but I knew that before I started, so no deduction for that. Being that there are 12 pages left, kind of hard not to think that he's going to cave & then get burnt by her again. Ok, back to the story...
Nice story. I like a good story about reconciliation that feels earned and the characters certainly did earn it. It was hard work, painful, and took awhile rather then some overnight thing and I quite appreciated it. A long story but an engaging one. 5 stars.
It was a good story even the second time around. A cheating wife or husband is reprehensible and show s a weakness of character and a complete lack of consideration of the consequences of cheating as shown in this story. The complete lack of respect the wife showed for husband early on was obvious. Later with the counseling and psyco therapy the wife's complete turn around was a bit much. Of course her complete understanding and rationalization of the his little romp with the sister was also a bit of a stretch but her turnaround explained that also.
Of course a little sex also helps cloud the mind of all of males but not that much. Nony was also a good character appearing to know more how to help her granddaughter than the counselor.
All in all a good story for us LW fans. I kind of like the scorched earth ones where the cheater really deserves the worst the hubby can dish out. keep writing
I very good story, well written. The only thing that caused me to give it four stars rather than five was the length. It did become repetitious a number of times. Rather than being 18 pages long, I feel it could have been edited down to between 12 and 14.
The Irony is that once Steve cheated with Kim, everything got better for them, so in a sense Kim's drugs and porn, saved their marriage.
And a pointless, unbelievable raac. Steve started out as a man of strength and integrity. The writer turned him into a spineless wimp. Absolutley disgusting.
I saw how long this story was, and avoided it for a while. I finally decided to sit down, and tackle it, I really enjoyed myself. It was nice reading a LW story that wasn’t a btb. You put a lot of thought in this redemption of a married couple, Thank you for thinking outside the box. KS
started out good, seemed to write with actual knowledge of the pain of being cheated on and an understanding of what that truly means. Then you turned it into a reconcilliation story, you try so hard and use every cheap trick in the book, getting us to feel bad for the cheater and making steve do something bad in return. All that is sabatoged by your good writing in the beginning, because you can't properly turn it around and erase the your own character's actions despite how hard you try. The reconcilliation is forced and unrealistic to the point of feeling like two completely different stories. I'm sure it's a great read for closeted cucks and starry-eyed romantics but it starts to shoot itself in the foot, and everywhere else, at about the mid point.
Good story, though it definitely could use a lot of trimming. Barb deserves the lion's share of the blame, but Steve allowed that side of her to develop without giving her a reality check till it bit him in the ass, so he's got to carry that as well. Plus, his actions afterwards were pretty despicable, desperate as they may have been. Still, can see how a reconciliation is justified.
I have just finished reading this story for the second time. It is long and drawn out, but what things in life aren't. I gave it 5 stars when I read it the first time and I'd do it again if I could. Thank you for a great story!
Disrespect and cheating? Like it was brought up cheating could be a death sentence to the family. Forgive and forget? Never happen. But it was a good story and it was fiction and the author's creation. Entertaining and frustrating at the same time but a happy ending and that's all that counts. Good Job
Steve is just a pussy waiting for Barbara to cheat again. This time there's going to be a child involved. That's all this story is.
Very interesting and enjoyable story despite some grammatical mistakes in dialogue,
and some psychological theories difficult to follow and digest. This sometimes due to bad grammar, and sometimes just due to a flaw or two in the description. In any event it was good and enjoyable. I found myself really rooting for Steve & Barbara to get back together and re-capture the magic...I know, I'm a just a romantic at heart. I do get upset with so many cheating stories where there is tremendous rigidity and they don't reconcile. All that said, please remember that I really liked he story, but my biggest criticism is it was too long. There was a great deal of repetition to the point of where a few times I wanted to yell....alright already, we get it. You don't have to keep on repeating it ad infinitum. I'm a retired (successful) journalist/writer. I know that this could have been an even better story had it been cut by at least one third. But, again, all in all, I liked it very much.
What an interesting tale of deceit, discovery, forgiveness and the rediscovery of each others love of the other. The author did a wonderful job of keeping the story flowing (even though it was a long read). The story never lost its focus of the message of what cheating can do to the other spouse, all of the repercussions, heart aches and the story of how hard it was to come back from that marital disaster. Well done and I love how it ended. 5 stars
this story needs an "interracial" tag added please .
i dropped the story once i hit the interracial part .
like most people , the interracial bit ruins a story for me.
its not hot or sexy , at all .
RAAC usually causes me to automatically deduct three stars from a rating .
But you managed to shoehorn interracial in there as well .
1*
thedayafter, sure it would
Tell you what, let a bunch of us fuck your wife and you can get together with your grandmother in law to get over the fact that we'll be fucking your wife from now on
It was a long read, with many unrealistic and stupid concepts.. Painfully unrealistic and very perverted expectations, obviously kimmy was severely abused as a child. Probably by her father. Barbara was and is a nightmare. In reality there would be no reconsiliation, no way would any man want back into that marriage, as Barbara is a nasty bitch.
Who in the hell would have anything to do with some worthless piece of shit who's trying to manipulate them? There are billions of people who aren't in the bottom 5% of the lowlifes of humanity, and of course anyone in their right mind would choose to associate with those folks instead, given how simple and straightforward making such a choice is. Of course, it's possible that this is a fantasy by and for that bottom 5%, and fundamentally about a fantasy world in which every worthwhile person they know wouldn't hold them in contempt.
All it adds up to is that tough guy Steve is a wimpy cuckold. That's the bottom line! She is a serial cheater and will do it again. So Steve might as well put on a dress, suck her lover hard, and clean the cum up after they're done. He's that much of a pussy! I wish I could give negative stars.
Manipulated back into a shitty marriage by a granny. Where did his proudness and common sense go to? Very soon the guy will be a cuck again. Very sad for him.
Quite realistic, the gradual realization of the gravity of her actions which were indeed a case of infidelity. Nony's intervention which brought about her awakening was, invaluable and timely. In fact Nony did more to drive home Barb's infidelity, than the Counselor did! Very well written. so 5*s.
Stupid cuck! She basically cheated on him 3, maybe 4 times and he buys her bullshit? He may as well start sucking her next boyfriends dick because she'll have another one. The author has ruined this whole story. 1 star!
Brilliant story absolutely loved it especially as it had a happy ending. Barbara was so obviously immature, almost child like, in her outlook when she cheated on Steve.
I can see this happening in a real life situation. The counselling and the therapy worked for them. Wouldn't it be great to have a grandmother like Lydia.
5 star story kept me reading until the end.
Good story. I read it all in one sitting; couldn't put it down. It portrayed a realistic situation. Not everything is black and white. There's a huge grey area and forgiving does not necessarily make one a cuckold. Five well earned stars.
With my wife after I found out and I was about to divorce her with out me confronting her she stopped the affair or fling with the SNAKE. I brought it up and she confessed. I was really pissed and it really ate at me but I dicided I wasn't going to let someone ruin my life. I told her so and that I would not tolerate it ever again. That has been 20 some years ago and every now and then something still brings it back. Not always but sometimes I will tell her about it. There were times I would have dreams that I would be pissed enough that I would tell her what happened in my dreams. To my knowledge she has never cheated again. I asked why she cheated and she said that she really didn't know and that it wasn't even enjoyable. The pour guy had a heart attack later. During a talk later she said she thought that his performance was probably a warning sign of heart issues. Back on the reason for cheating she was from a family of 8 and there has been 16 marriages in the family for some reason I think it might be genic.
Well that was a disappointment. Here I thought he’d dump her and find someone else. I don’t mind the length of the story but man was the story a let down. 2 stars at best.
On my 2nd read, this quaint-but-LONG story, fell from my original 5* to 2*.
/
Why? It was the intrusion of his CFO into his private life and being blackmailed into counseling to obtain an already earned promotion (what is next Steve must have children to keep his promotion). This single act by his employer leaped well over the line - I'd have resigned on the spot (let Lydia smoke that one). Obvious Steve had a good reputation in the local construction community so getting a new job would not be much of a challenge. Since Steve was getting a divorce he could pick up his anchor and move to the next job - actually if it was me, I would have looked to leave the area seeking a transfer or new job to minimize the horse crap of his EX's family.
/
After this manipulation the story just became another RAAC making Steve a near-cuck.
/
*2, Hooyah
I gave it 4 stars but it deserves 5. It was a thought provoking read and had me so emotionally invested that I couldnt give that extra star for one reason only. The idea of the husband who wants a divorce but was held ransom by his job for advancement and mandated counseling. Then forced to sit through weeks of emotional trauma while this woman lied an cajoled him, then found herself and works through her issues. All at the expense of this man’s mental and emotional sanity, The fact that he had to sit through counselors and adulteress and her family members all working in tandem to either mentally brainwash him into there line of thinking or sleep with him, with no agency on his part or proper recourse is disheartening. Being force to either abandon his career and unable to move on till he became unhinged enough to have unprotected sex with a risk of life ending STD to get himself out of an untenable situation.
I guess this is more about my own internal angst and not the quality of your writing skills, but I am happy for reading this as it was so thought provoking.
Cripes, at the end ?,,,never mind it never ended. On page 1,239 granny throws out the butt plug. Babs say "thanks, now I can shove all of the 12" strap-on into Steve".
Seriously, the best part of whatever this is/was the comments section. Man, I thought Rodney Dangerfield could keep the audience rolling on the floor with laughter.
Gave 5 stars for the writing and huge effort taken to complete the story.
My only complaint is it was a bit long. I think all the points and emotion shown could have been put across in fewer pages. Still a great story though.
one of the best stories i have read in a while. great store line , charters and detail. keep writing
I gave a 5* although the story's 18-page length almost kept me finishing. I still am unclear why the wife acted as she did and never talked about the miscarriage when it happened. But, there was a lot of good writing and deep analysis which made this a much better story than many found in LW.