All Comments on 'Revenge with Estrogen'

A different story that I enjoyed. 5 stars

why couldn't she just tell her husband about her boss? forced tension i guess

Very nice. 5* indeed.

I like Karen. A formidable woman. I want her on my team! A compelling anecdote illustrating the resolve and fortitude of a proud and self assured woman. Thanks. A great Monday morning pick-me-up.

Bang!

5

That was an interesting story. Pleased the protagonist waited and didn't confront his wife based on his suspicions. They wouldn't have ended well for anyone. 5*.

Nice twist.

Good story , thank you

Cool, I like this story.

No reason not to share any of this with her husband. Shrew wife with no sex for three weeks with no explanation, not in my house.

BrentJW: you wouldn't have married her in the first place and that's why the MC is not named BrentJW ;-)

Nice peep over the pail of human nature.

The world needs more wives like Karen. Enjoyed the story.

I have to admit that I am with those who wonder why the husband does not confront his wife the night he followed her. Why not say: “I followed you and saw you watching a couple at The Hideaway. So, what is up?” It is a simple question and if their marriage is sound, it gets a sensible reply. So why endure three weeks of OCD fueled rage that is partially coming his way for, um, not a good reason?

Creative story but I do not understand why wife did not talk to her husband from outset. Secrecy is not good between spouses, and author does not explain.

Author ignores that there are laws on the books that any lawyer could have probably utilized in this situation.

As we’ve come to expect…another top effort. 5* from me. Thank you, Sir.

Fresh theme to a worn genre, and much appreciated. There were a couple plot gaps at the end, but not major misses, despite a rushed ending. First gap was there’s no scenario in today’s business world where Paul isn’t fired. As for Carol, she would have been offered a settlement for harassment and then moved to another department. 4.6*

Thought-provoking and well-written, as usual. Intentionally or not, it raises a good point--we often focus on fidelity as the key factor in a relationship, to the exclusion of all others. Karen is snotty, secretive, condescending, dismissive, and spends the better part of a month making the main character's life miserable because of something that isn't his fault. When he calls her out for going to the cheater bar, she pulls the three name trick. There's a lot of disrespect here and, unfortunately, not a lot of love on display.

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I think it's very telling that you throw in the line "I was practicing fatalistic spousal detachment." It's a good way of describing how some people emotionally separate from the circumstances around them in order to make it through an ordeal. Basically, it describes every visit I've ever had to the dentist's office. What it doesn't describe is a strong, promising marriage--especially when the detachment has to continue for a few weeks.

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I can't imagine that this situation will improve when kids are added to the picture. I envision 18 years of fuel being added to the fire of secrecy, silent anger, etc.

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Bottom line, it's great that the MC doesn't have a cheating wife, but--based on this story--I'm not sure he's bound for a happy life.

I always enjoy a new look at familiar topics, well done.

Great story, 5 stars, the Bear approves. Mrs. Bear thought the lady was first class. She said that men could learn a lot, if they listened. But she did say she was a bit hard on her husband. I'll have to check out some of your other offerings. Thanks.

The BEAR

I normally don't like single page stories but this is done well and feels complete. I gave it 5 stars.

That’s a very nicely constructed short story.

A wife secure in her marriage confides in her spouse, but she chose to feeeze him out. He had every justification to be suspicious. Lots of unexplained late nights, unexplained disappearances, lousy attitude… Considering that they were in family planning years, 3 weeks is a ridiculously long time with no sex. He was a lot more patient than most. That woman OWES him!

Interesting comments.

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First of all, I'd ask those wondering why the husband didn't immediately confront his wife to understand that a work of fiction is based on a plot where certain assumptions are made. Part of a short story for both the writer and the reader is understanding that there will be things that must be accepted at face value--or "assumed" to be normal, correct, and germane to the plot. Otherwise, the story must be lengthened to include more story elements that introduce character, mindset, attitude, beliefs, and other facets that allow the reader to accept rather than assume. Doing this often waters down the story as it's written here, drawing it out to the point where the plot, action, and conflict have introduced MORE elements that must be explained to the satisfaction of the reader. This is how bloated, overwritten, and cluttered stories occur. Look at some of the 50,000- to 300,000-word stories on this site: many have a plot as simple as this one that makes perfect sense, but nobody cares to invest the time to read. (I found one at 138 pages!)

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Finally, as a writer, we create characters that are often flawed, conflicted, or awful people--that allows us to take the character on a journey, which is the essence of all fiction--where they evolve, change, and either grow or fail. They will do things that don't make sense to you or don't act as you think they should. That's what happens when me, you, and that guy over there write a story with the same idea or theme--every story will be different. People in real life and in fiction are never congruent, and I will offer that in this category of Literotica, too many writers create too many "perfect" characters. I'll raise my hand as a guilty party on that one.

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This writer is rare: he's a master storyteller and he writes well. He also spins the usual LW themes a bit differently, which is fresh, fresh, fresh! I spent five minutes enjoying this tale, and while I had the same questions that you all did, it was a joy to read. It's his story, and I let him tell it his way. 5++++++

No excuse for being such a bitch for three weeks and refusing to talk to him. At the end, it mentions how she treats coworkers with respect, not so much the husband. Why did she shut out and abuse her life partner for so long?

Wife is bitch.

No matter if she cheats or not .

Why would someone have to walk on the egg shells around that kind of the wife .

Two stars.

Very well done.

Ed

You did good!!

It's all very confusing. What does the wife's promotion or her concern about her promotion have to do with how she's talking to and interacting with her husband for several weeks? There doesn't seem to be any connection. Does the wife view her husband as the enemy? It appears that she does. And what does this have to do with estrogen?

Refreshing, and well written as always. 5*

Cookingwithgas

A wife that did not cheat. Fantastic story 5 stars.

Ok, so she's not a cheat but she still needs an attitude adjustment. I'd never take out any work related problems on my wife and I sure as hell wouldn't tolerate her doing the same to me, especially for the amount of time that this MC's wife pursues her vendetta.

That said, it was a good read and a satisfying outcome.

Well done, nice to see the good guys... and gals.... win out.

5 stars - thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you.

Nice story with a happy ending, I like those. Just a note, « Jacob » became « Paul » there at the end but that did not take anything away from the story.

Sorry, me again, the name was Paul Jacob…..my bad

Good story.

Nice to read of a loyal wife.

Thanks Just_Words.

Great an actual loving wife.

Very effective story in relatively few words. Can't do much better than that.

She will be a horrible mother. She was upset about a work problem and treated her husband like shit. She will do the same with her kids and that can lead to future problems with her kids.

Great little story!

Like some others... like the twist at the end! 5

Nice story. Thanks!

You were trying to hard to make it look like she was a cheating wife that when the reveal happened, I didn't really care. Good for a short story, but Average overall.

Why would Karen keep this from her husband and treat him like shit? Yes, she was angry and frustrated, but why bring it home? This doesn't seem like a loving relationship. 3

well told i gave it a five

Nice twist. Still don't like the wife. With that kind of personality there is either a divorce in the future or early death for her husband.

3 stars for a no cheating, unloving wives tale.

I do not understand how or even why a person would hold that kind of information inside, while expecting their spouse to just put up with their bad mood for weeks. Not very realistic for a long term relationship to survive many of those.

Good story but in my house with my wife she would be telling me all kinds of stuff right from day one. When she gets pissed, for any reason, it all comes out.

I like your short stories, always an unexpected twist.

Good story, nice twist, well written. At first I thought this was going to be “we need to talk”, story!

Thanks for writing, 5⭐️

While this story relies on the "All's well that ends well" philosophy, the truth is that there is much more to being an honorable wife (or husband) than not cheating. She was not an honorable wife.

"I've been a real bitch, haven't I?" - No, you've been a total fucking CUNT bitch!

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"Where did you go?" - Even though he knows, he should ask her where did SHE go, see if he gets an honest answer.

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@Gumperschickal, yes, I was thinking the same thing.

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@MattblackUK, given her actions, she'd have no right to be upset if he expressed his concerns.

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@BrentJW, I basically agree with you, but as Gumper said, it was done to create tension.

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@FireFox59 Re: "The world needs more wives like Karen." - Um, no. In the real world, there would have been a massive blow-out, even before she went to the Hideaway.

Yeah, Henry is gonna be a daddy !!! LOL

Captcha

Well, I was going to say that 3 weeks of an unearned cold and silent treatment from the wife was inexcusable, but then it hit me- that's normal husband/wife relationship stuff. Vintage 'Just words' story telling, thankfully not as dark as his recent ones. Real slices of real life. Thanks.

The wife not sharing what was going on and acting like a total bitch with no explanation until three weeks later left a huge hole in this story that made this story way below the quality you are capable of.

Its understandable she was upset about another woman getting her promotion, by fucking the boss which she would not do to get the job. And rightly so. But for her to have a shitty atttitude to her hubby who had done no wrong and also keep him in iceland in bed. Shows a totally uncaring bitch who, even had the hide to have a go at him because he thought she may have, by her own actions, be possibly cheating. She is certainly not a good wife, but thinks she is and he should know she would never cheat. What bullshit, with all the feminism crap and selfserving women around today who think their entitlement is way above what is realistic. Why no matter how he loved her and felt she wouldnt cheat. Her own actions caused it. So get real bitch and try to appologise. Dont get upset if he maybe gets annoyed.

Very nice, but I would have liked it a lot better if you could have come up with a rationale for Karen not telling her husband what she was up to....

I simply don’t understand the fives. The wife is unhappy with something at work and takes it out on her hapless husband by being a cold hearted bitch. And readers think she’s admirable because she’s not a cheater? I just don’t get it.

Here's where having a friend in HR or a web search would serve the writer of one of these stories. The moment she informed Henry, he was obligated by Federal laws and statutes to investigate. Even an "off the record" or a "you didn't hear this from me," or a, "this is just an FYI conversation in case something happens," conversation, any HR personnel or other supervisory employee MUST report. Not only are there laws and statutes requiring a "safe, non-hostile workplace," there are company policies based on both regulatory and corporate requirements. When a company is sued for sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual quid pro quo, or a hostile work environment and it actually goes to trial (98% of the time, it doesn't), companies carry a liability policy to cover awards over X-amount. X is that cost that the company is prepared to pay out of their pocket. Depending on the size of the company, it can range from as low as $50K for a small business to several million for a large corporation. As part of the insurer's due diligence and to satisfy regulatory requirements, company employees are required to attend annual anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training. Most readers have done this training.

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On the technical writing side. Note how often you use the word "head/heading" to describe leaving, departing, journeying, or going. That's colloquial, which becomes habitual and takes on a quality similar to the "disk fragmentation" of good writing. Rewrite those phrases and see how much better they sound. Use these small opportunities to "show" versus "tell." Look at the second sentence in the story, replacing "head" with something more descriptive like: '....then began my journey home through the cold twilight as the mercury accelerated its fall.' The change makes the third sentence better, too. It removes that other bane of good writing, 'was,' which is always less preferable than a good transitive verb. You're one of the best writers on this site, and tweaking the small things makes you even better. One of my old city editors (back in the fishwrap days) told me that when a writer stops looking at his own writing with a critical eye, they start becoming like everyone else. Put another way, writers are like sharks: if you stop moving forward, you'll sink.

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I love your stories because you do not overwrite, which plagues 90% of the writing on this site. Kudos for leaving out the obligatory 10K word backstory about how the couple met, fell in love, went on their first 17 dates, etc. Also, your dialogue is authentic. MC didn't have to come back on his wife with witty repartee or say/do something to punish her after the fact. No, he dealt with it situationally. You write outside the LW "standard," and that's precisely why your work stands out. I mean, 1,600+ plus followers! Thanks for keeping this category real, fresh, and full of hope that someone here can actually freakin' write!

Migod. A fresh take! On Loving Wives no less!

BRAVO!

Dumb story

The poor husband is nervously waiting to hear about his wife and her job, but she only tells him that 'We will talk later'.

Thoroughly enjoyable, nicely constructed , we had an idea where this was going but you kept us wondering.

Les

If they have a relationship that is strong and healthy enough to justify being pleased that she is pregnant, why would the wife have been silent and hostile to her husband for three weeks because of a problem at work? The possibility she might not receive a promotion to which she felt entitled is not even close to a valid reason for the manner in which she treated her spouse over an extended time frame. Why did the husband believe it was his duty to accept such horrid treatment for so long without repeated and escalating protest?

The author is far too quick to absolve the wife of the possibility of marital infidelity. Traditional marital vows make a sacred promise of fidelity in ways far more varied and subtle than simply extramarital sexual activity. The wife obviously failed to honor and cherish her husband and failed to forsake all others in favor of her spouse. This couple is not nearly prepared for the vissisitudes of parenthood. They should run, not walk, to a family therapist. They have much work to do in preparation for the upcoming birth.

Well written, as usual. I’m bothered Karen froze him out when she was stressed - even when he directly asked what was bothering her. It felt rather dismissive, as if he was incapable of understanding her problem. He seemed so used to being abused that he feared confrontation and let things play out. That would have guaranteed disaster if she was working up to actually stepping out on him. Glad it worked out.

Nice story for once. Ta.

I really like stories where people choose to do the RIGHT thing. I’m lucky to have had two strong right/wrong models. 5*

I liked the story and wont dissect it like some others have except to say, that it must have been a long three weeks.

Good turn in the road! Pregnancy hormones can be a real “ bitch “

Thus endith the lesson.

Nicely done for a different Loving wives story!

I don't usually give 5's but this story got one. An interesting take on infidelity (and a good wife)!

Waste of time

Its OK, I guess. Some men really are sheep, and there are types of women who prefer that. Who cares if it all works for them? But does this really belong in the Loving Wives category? Its completely Non-erotic, and there was no adultery or cheating. In fact the only drama created was because the husband was too timid and lacked the confidence to confront his wife about her aberrant behavior. Well, the little bunny got what he married so he deserves whatever he gets. I'm good with happily ever after. And like she's going to tell him when its not? He's welcome to his Bliss.

I just just cut and paste my previous twenty comments on your stories and save time. Another great story, this one pretty unique for a LW story. J_W never leaves me disappointed in a story. One more *5.

Nice story. It's good to see a nice story about an honest wife who loves her husband. Good stuff, Maynard. Thanks for posting. 5 stars.

@sbrooks103xabout 10 hours ago

"I've been a real bitch, haven't I?" - No, you've been a total fucking CUNT bitch! = Talking to fictional characters? You need help.

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"Where did you go?" - Even though he knows, he should ask her where did SHE go, see if he gets an honest answer. = That might have been how it went if you had written the story.

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@MattblackUK, given her actions, she'd have no right to be upset if he expressed his concerns.= So only YOUR opinion counts!

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@FireFox59 Re: "The world needs more wives like Karen." - Um, no. In the real world, there would have been a massive blow-out, even before she went to the Hideaway. = So YOU THINK YOU are the only one allowed to have an opinion!

A good twist to "we have to talk" stories.

Nil stars, pointless story

Nice twist and actually a loving wife story nice.

The wife gets a gold star for not cheating.

But that doesn't alter the fact that she was a raging bitch to her husband, taking out all her work stress and frustration on him, instead of telling him what was really worrying her.

Women like that make shit wives, and they are why I'd strongly recommend any man to stay far the F away from career women.

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What made this story even more nauseating was the weak beta husband, who just silently endured all her bullshit and never confronted her on it. Then by the ending, apparently he's the one in the wrong for not trusting her not to cheat... after she shoves a million red flags in his face. Meh.

@Anonymous wrote: ***I simply don’t understand the fives. The wife is unhappy with something at work and takes it out on her hapless husband by being a cold hearted bitch. And readers think she’s admirable because she’s not a cheater? I just don’t get it.***

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You don't "get it" that the criteria for everyone else on the planet isn't the same as yours? From the remarks prefacing your wonderment, I presume you judge everyone else's perception based on yours? Fiction is full of bad people who do bad things often for no reason at all. Look at the title, read some of the author's other works, and read the exchange between Karen and MC where she admits she was wrong. Much of the reading requires you to set aside your implicit bias (which we all have) and discern what the characters are saying and meaning. Typical LW writing creates lazy readers...like you... because too much of the plot, the interaction, the theme, and the conclusion are spoon-fed or dribbled out of a spill-proof sippy cup. Too many characters deliver these blistering I win/You lose manifestos. This writer works in shades of grey, which may be too subtle for you.

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Just thought I'd clarify.

Thank you, Einzelkampfer. I'll admit I am surprised by the anger directed at the wife. To my thinking, she was just having a bad day, or several bad days, and we all have them. She wasn't especially nasty to her husband so much as distracted and upset, or that's what I intended. I never considered that she needed any real forgiveness.

It was very believable and was pretty original. This could have been an even longer and more involved story if you had wanted to.

I like everything about the story except the appalling title. You lose one star for that misogynistic turd.

It great job.

A nice twist and a loving wife genre. Even if the title is somewhat misleading 😊

I see some bitching about the title of this. OK, I get it - but this was, after all, a story with deliberate misdirection. 5 *s from me.

Nice.

A fine little story.

4 out of 5 from me.

The problem with the wife is that in these stories, the wife being distant/bitchy is the sign that shes cheating, you use that to add tension to the story, so when the reveal is she wasn't cheating theres a sense of relief. so that leaves us to ask why? why was she hiding it from the husband? the only reason i can come to is that shes keeping it a secret because the story needs her to for it to work. you haven't offered any in story reason for it so we just have to believe that she just doesn't want to tell him cause fuck him i guess. i could understand a day or two to wrap her head around it but why keep treating your husband poorly for 3 weeks with no explanation?

I can't see a loving wife keeping all this from her husband while completely shutting him out... I also can't see a husband being such a wimp and jellyfish that he a cannot talk to his wife and if she continued to shut him down demand to know what is going on and why she is shutting him out when he did nothing to deserve that type of behavior...I can also see this dysfunctional, disrespectful, and wimpish behavior going on for decades to come.

I love the stories that urinate off the he-man women haters that skulk around here,

Good story!

Seems like he could have just pressed a few of the wife's buttons and avoided a lot of anxt.

Nice one

Powersworder makes a valid point further down in that the MC as in so many of JW's stories mistakes allowing his wife to trample all over him for a calm, mature, non controlling response to his wife's unacceptable behaviour. I'm not suggesting that a JW MC should take a baseball bat to his wife or sell her to a Mexican whorehouse, just let her know in no uncertain terms that he won't be spoken to or treated that way. The "Yes honey, I'll do the dishes for you" response quite frankly gives me the shits!

Great story as usual, but I don't know if I'd want a wife that didn't communicate or share her life with me. A partner isn't supposed to go cold and check out of the relationship while disrespecting their partner, ignoring them and picking fights. I'd prefer a girl who shares with me so we can go at problems together. I'd never want a woman who puts her career above her love.

Well written but husband was too calm and too complacent not to challenge her earlier.

I like the stories where they DON'T cheat :) She's one of the rare wives that aren't susceptible to the obvious advances of the douchebag womanizers and is loyal to her husband to a fault. Admittedly she could have behaved a bit better and communicated more but nobody's perfect. Lesson learnt I hope.

Some comments were that hubby waited a long time to confront his wife about the 3 week freeze out over something that was life or death only to her. I submit that with her attitude that this was the absolute norm for this highly dysfunctional woman. The shocker isn't that he put up with it for 3 weeks is that he put up with it for however long they were married. A wife with this attitude is like a dog that frequently bites, a mule that kicks repeatedly and a horse that will throw you when you get relaxed on him. The thing is that there are too many good acting associations to put up with misbehavior. She needs to go to the sale like a bad horse.

Well it just seems like she wears the pants in that relationship...He's a closet beta...She likes to leave him out of the loop.