All Comments on 'Rue the Day'

seems like he's a pussy after all.

When she realizes her cheating has cost her her husband's love, why stay married? She's young enough to find another man that will love her. Same is true for him. Living the way they do is just a miserable existence. After 6 months she should have filed for a divorce, taken her half of everything and moved in with her sister until she could get settled and move on with her life. Nobody is stupid enough to stay in a marriage where the mental abuse is so great. They call it "stress" for a reason. After all those years there wouldn't be any of her heart left to "break a little". That's why she should have divorced him.

2 stars

He told her, then he showed her. She did indeed "The the Day". People who call cheating "flings" have no concept of the damage they are doing with their innocent fun. Kurt made sure that Deb and John did.

An ordinary story with ordinary characters told extraordinarily well. No exotic acts of retribution or explosive encounters - just ordinary conversations and actions. That it was told from her point of view made it more poignant because it served to fully illustrated her change in perception about the meaning and impact of her affair from a harmless pecadillo to a reality altering act of betrayal. ‘It was only sex’ carries a whole new meaningful for her now - touché!. Deftly executed. Thank you.

I was expecting Kurt to have a few revenge affairs, so that the cheating wife would feel all his pain after she arbitrarily decided to open up their marriage... but this ending was just weird.

"Kurt and I still love each other."

"he isn't making love to me"

So his revenge is to basically fuck her like a whore for the rest of their lives? Still together 8 years later, but no kids, and she's basically just a fuck buddy. That's just depressing and punishes both of them for her being a cheating slut.

Like 99% of reconciliation stories, this just didn't work. Kurt should have got a divorce and started a new relationship that wasn't tainted by betrayal. She ruined their marriage with her affair and permanently destroyed any intimacy in their sex life.

Ouch. That ending. Great stuff. I'll never understand the "be vanilla in the bedroom with your husband so he won't think you're a slut and then be a slut with another man" mentality. It doesn't make you a slut to be naughty with your husband. That's the opposite of being a slut. The cheating is what made her a slut. That point of view makes about as much sense as not eating food out of your own refrigerator because you don't want to be considered a thief...and then going to a grocery store and shoplifting.

Anyway, nice work, and a well done ending. Thanks for the story.

Cog

Perfect example of a true reconciliation.

5-stars & Favorite

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know she brought it on herself. It's still very touching.

Now THAT is a story, loved it, drama, suspense and even sex. People who don't think it maatters when they cheat on their spouse should read this like a college textbook!

And this is the best outcome anyone can expect! All those silly reconcilliation stories are pipe dreams. This is the real life story, especially when a woman cheats on her husband! I can't estimate the response when a husband cheats, I am a mere man!

Great Job 5***** Thank You.

I don't care about her pain.

She made her bed.

I cared about him.

Until he decided his house was more important

than his mental health.

Now there's nothing to care about.

No ratings from me.

Seems like a lame incel fantasy, but you used speelchuck.

I would have preferred a full reconciliation but you took it someplace different. I still gave it a 5.

Not sure how Kurt keeps up the “it’s only sex” routine after eight years unless he hates his wife as much as he loves her, but it’s an interesting plot device. He acts for all the world like he’s forgiven her, but there’s something there that says, deep down, that he hadn’t. After eight years, he’s still punishing her.

interesting i enjoyed it ty for the read. the only thing i can comment on is that the wife would have made the divorce work by giving him want he want which is his full 401k and the house. but i mean who knows i can see it both ways maybe something flipped in her head and made her stay in a marriage like that. god knows there are worse marriages out there.

but again here's another story where the lovers wife is stronger on the the wife's husband. Because at least she had the balls to dump his ass. You have no kids and apparently you didn't talk to the right lawyer.

The last two sentences are THE essence of this story.

She should leave him and hope that he dies of horrible death.

Why?

Because long time ago man said to the crowd trying to stone a sinner:

"You whit no SIN can throw the first stone", and everyone left.

At first, his anger was justified, but as the time went by, it become STUPID.

Best thing that could happened to him would be to fall from his high horse and break his moronic neck.

PS: to ragnarok... even that has survivors.

Possibly the weirdest RAAC story I've read on here. Having sex with the woman he loves but not making love to her. The idea is pretty absurd.

One of the best stories told from the cheaters perspective. It brushed the surface like a fine paintbrush. It told the story without great minutiae. The story succeeded in leaving the reader wanting more. What was Kurt's perspective. Why did she not divorce him and take half and move on? She never got what she wanted, which is what she previously had. Neither did Kurt. They both lost time and had no children. In punishing her, he punished himself as well. Is the manifesto and moral to this story to think of the consequences before you act? It has been my experience in life that those who cheat can never be honest with themselves and comprehend the extent of the damage they caused.

Takes in all the pain, emotion and consequences of cheating. 5*

But a fair bit of truth involved.

...that someone challenged this, 'I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to him', LW convention. It's a male fantasy.

She cheated, the sex was much more adventurous than with her husband and she loved it. He takes revenge against her lover and economically against her. He hands her the club by telling her he can't afford divorce and then he pursues months of emotional revenge. She reaches the point where she thinks the marriage is over.

So why didn't she hit him with the divorce threat? "Call off the passive aggression and help me get this marriage back on track or else..." Given where the relationship eventually finished up (badly maimed) she would have done far better to start a clean slate with someone else (totally loving and preferably more sexually adventurous) and so would he. There are lots of other attractive people out there-as he found out.

They may say they love each other, but both know the truth. She destroyed the love, and now he's just the guard that has condemned himself to a truly loveless marriage. Well written, but nothing here to really like or hate. Life goes on. I would give it a 3.5, so I give it a 4.

this is a very truthful story of how a couple responds to infidelity, i know because i have been in this condition for 20 years

Deserves a 5 for plot creativity.

well he was honest, she did rue the day, 8 years seems a long time to put up with this way of life, BUT ,, she did the crime so she has to do the time, how many women would put up with this ? ,, but i think hes right, if the shoe was on the other foot she would drop him like a stone, so no divorce, well thought out story , very well written, possibly one of the best, deserves more than 5 stars. thanks for sharing,,

He undervalued his happiness over a few dollars.

That was a great story! I like that while they stayed together...the cheating forever affected their relationship...seems very real to me. This is one of the best LW stories I have read in a while (and I do read them all) 5*. Thanks for the story and please keep writing...I look forward to your next.

"Buckeye Fan"

If I was the wife, I’d have divorced his ass in a heart beat. Tell him to grow a pair! Either file for divorce or work on repairing the marriage. He acted like a child. Wonder what the little boy’s reaction would have been if she filed?

Excellent work. 5*

I felt the emotions of the characters and enjoyed the read.

Thanks

It's weird that nobody here, especially Deborah, ever suggested couple therapy. Instead of genuinely trying to fix their marriage, those two decided to live the rest of their lives in it, even though it's obviously broken.

Wanna know something else I kinda surprised about? That Deborah didn't spring a baby after they started hooking up again. Seriously, ending up pregnant you have probably forced Kurt to truly try to forgive her - he wouldn't be able to look at sex between them as 'no big deal' if it produces an offspring.

I was waiting for Deborah to truly go all out to try to save her marriage, like changing job, demanding counselling or something, but it never happened. 'Guess this was too much effort.

'Guess 75% of a working marriage ain't bad at all. If you can make it work, good for you.

I agree with the other comments that state the relationship should result in counseling or just end. It is very unrealistic that Deborah could be expect to be tortured for 8 years and live with it. Fix it or divorce and get on with your lives.

The reason her love life was lack luster with her husband is that SHE REFUSED to do the things she enjoyed becuase she didnt want him to think less of her

I'm guessing you are a chick

Only women are insane/stupid enough to think its a mans fault the sex sucks becuase she pretends the sex is great and refuses to ask for more/better

...gone through the divorce. The house increased in value 3 times what he paid. They could each take their half and start fresh. Their is no reason for forgiveness to her after a lengthy affair. He got some revenge on the boyfriend, and should have burned the whore as well. But......RAAC! Anyway, I thought your writing and storytelling ability were very good. Thanx!

Loklie

Everything we do in a relationship changes us permanently. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better, sometimes the change doesn't matter. But once we've done it, it's changed us.

I thought Ragnarok's story was a sensitive exploration of that situation, especially since it was a male author taking a female first-person voice in the narration.

Whether one partner's adultery brings positive or negative change is entirely dependent on both partners' beliefs about sex in marriage. Unfortunately, Western society imposes the belief that adulterous sex is always infidelity/cheating.

Western Society says it's not allowed to be "it was only sex" if one partner is married to somebody else, but it can be a most enjoyable activity if they're both single. (That singles are permitted to enjoy it is a fairly recent social change. They weren't allowed to enjoy it either until contraception became more reliable.)

Not only that, but as Ragnarok's story depicts so well, the guilt society imposes on us can mean that when it becomes "it was only sex" within marriage, it becomes anything but enjoyable emotionally, no matter how good it has been physically.

Lue

Ps: Neatly done, Mr Ragnarok. You have navigated the space between the BTB and RAAC mobs and alienated neither. Congratulations.

@johntcooksey - Yes, I was going to say something similar, how the cheater's refrain of "it was just sex" has been turned back on her.

@Anonymous Re: "Ouch" - Yes, I never got that attitude about being more adventurous with the lover than with the husband.

@Anonymous Re: "It's About Time..." - Good point, yes, she should have threatened him with the divorce he didn't want to get him to get with the program. I guess her love was too strong (despite the cheating!), that she was afraid that he'd call her bluff.

Except the reality of the gender unfairness in open relationships. Had the genders been reversed, it might happen this way.

Sadly had to give this a 1 star. If that was someone I knew I'd of been kicking his ass every opportunity I had till either shit or got off the pot. Yes she cheated on him but he is literally torturing her for a 6 week mistake, fine I could sort of understand if he'd done all that for a few months but to carry on for Soo long just shows he thinks more of her as his property than a human being.

Please write a second part but fix it one way or the other not leaving it like she's left in her own private hell.

She screwed up her marriage for "just sex". She saved her marriage, but now all she gets is "just sex". Fitting justice, and she truly rues the day she cheated. Excellent story. 5*s

I thought this was very well done and I can see it. She said at the outset that her affair was only sex, well, she has damaged her marriage to the extent that if the sex meant nothing than the obverse of the coin is that their love also meant equally nothing. He found out that he can't afford to leave, she can barely afford to hold on on her own, so now 8 years on they are around the half century mark and they are both tied into this love affair that has lost its value, the love means nothing, the sex is just sex and their relationship is on an unwinding spiral. Sad and worse, but well written and believable.

This woman was tortured for far too long. Honestly, she should have walked away after a while.

I don't care if they didn't reconcile. I just wonder why he would torture himself by staying with a woman who betrayed him and who he no longer fully loves. He's having sex without love? Isn't that like eating food without being able to taste it. Yeah, it keeps you alive but your life lacks flavor. Other stories have followed a similar path while the guy got his financial ducks in a row before bailing out. That is somewhat understandable but even then, why torture yourself?

all day and watched the comments. Why didn't Debra just file, Why didn't Kurt finish it off. Well the answer was right there when he said, "We are not getting a divorce! I was told by the lawyer that you would get half of everything; my 401K, our savings, and the house. We'd have to sell the house and split the proceeds. That ain't happening, after all the shit I've done to this house I'm not selling it just to give you half!"

Followed by, "This is how it is going to be. We will be cohabitating. I will continue to pay the mortgage and the necessary household bills. You will have to pay for everything else!"

Her only thoughts after this was, I was feeling the financial pinch by now; car payment, insurance payment, cell phone, and cable. It made me appreciate all that Kurt had been paying for. I started wondering what I had spent all my money on before.

Yes he was in a loveless loving marriage but he was making her pay in ways she had never dreamed of. One asks why stayed in a marriage like that, because he didn't want to lose his money and she couldn't afford to get one. Nuf said.

What a depressing life for them after the "day".

I did enjoy the story Mr. Ragnarock1!

I wasn't quite sure about how he met with a lawyer on Saturday and by sunday decided on the plan.

But Kurt shoulda made her lick his lovers pussy juice from his dick to earn her way back!! ( heh heh heh ... evil laugh )

If they couldn’t reconcile,,she should have filled for divorce. I’m sure she learned her lesson. But he never committed again.

If he's doing it to punish her, after 8 years, then it's stupid. He's being punished as much as her.

However, if he still loves her, but something in him has changed where he isn't capable of being completely vulnerable with her any more, then it is what it is. They can get counseling . Or they need to consciously decide if it's enough. It sounds like it is for both of them, and better than a large majority of marriages probably.

Yawn, blah, blah, blah, I skipped through this even though it was only 3 pages, so much unnecessary blabbering. Yes she cheated but why the fuck would she stay? 1*

Whatever.

It's even part of the story... if she'd busted him cheating, his ass would have been on the sidewalk that night. Such a two-faced, one-sided, hypocritical stance you hold. I bet you'd do the same.

You may call him a little boy, but the result of her betrayal revealed her for what she was... a cheap, duplicitous slut. That's the truth of it, and now everybody knows it, and it's how he sees her too. Why divorce and let himself get screwed again? Fuck that. Make a companion of her, live civilly, and get a free fuck devoid of all strings. On top of that, make her perform for him... the veneer of reliability stripped away, use her like a piece of meat. She's the one who cheapened what was meant to be private, sacrosanct and special, she threw it away. She said "it meant nothing".

Funny that you call him a little boy, because I wouldn't be surprised if you were male, and yet the first thing you do is identify as the wife. I may be wrong, but who cares?

Male or female, your take on what's wrong, what's right and what passes for your morals should make anybody run for the hills, screaming... any potential partner could probably win money, betting that you would not have their backs for long, if ever.

Good luck in your twilight years.

And if you threatened me with divorce, that's the point where scorched earth would cut an ugly path through your life. Threaten me, maybe you won't like the consequences.

Its common in cultures with arranged marriages to have loveless, or at least romantic-less, marriages. I’d say today it’s mostly Asian, but a fair number of European high society fall in here. In France and Italy it’s still common for the man to get his fucking on the outside of his marriage. Then he may go home to a “loving” wife that he may, or may not, have sex (or make love) with occasionally.

They may be very fond of each other, but they don’t have (maybe never had) the burning “in love” feeling in their relationship. They may love each other as strong as (and maybe like) brother and sister. Usually what holds them together are the kids; everything for the kids.

If they’re rich? The have affairs or mistresses on the side for that romance and sex. If they’re not rich the man fucks his wife, and the wife may or may not participate in the fucking. And that’s what I see here; husband loves wife, but is not in love with her, but occasionally he fucks her for the sex.

[Now, I have to say I just wrote this off-the-cuff, and have not given it a thorough think-through. So please excuse any holes is the thesis, but I thought this was an avenue to think about this “husband fucking wife without love” problem some seem to have.]

Cheating spouses don't seem to understand the emotional destruction they wreak when they commit adultery. When an adulterer -- either man or woman -- says, "It was only sex", or "It was only a fling", is really saying, "There is something missing in our relationship that I needed to find in someone else's bed".

Having experienced what Kurt has experienced in this story, I know that something dies when a marriage partner finds out about his partner's infidelity. He might still love his wife. He might stay married to his wife. And he might still enjoying having sex with her (rather than someone else because he takes his mariage vows seriously). But he is no longer making love to her. It's just sex.

The only question I have to ask is why he didn't throw her out of their bedroom and make her sleep in the guest room? He's paying the mortgage. And he's the one who has done all the work on the house. Besides, she was the one who fucked up.

Why do these shit stories appear on an erotic website.

This story should have been in non erotic.

Just another hack.

Big man, stupid wife bullshit revenge crap.

Just not as much as I used to.

There has always been a lot of comments on these stories that support a guy who had always been faithful, once betrayed, to finally go out and get his own. Turn the tables and see how she likes it! Right? Right. She don't like it, and why would she??! She is very understanding, in a belief that he "never would have cheated" if she hadn't done it first. Others talk about the power and influence of guilt, but rarely talk about the destructive nature of abuse of its power.

He had been tomcatting around far too long. While reading, I had an idea that may be the neighbor chick gave him a STD, and he decided that yes he was always correct about the dangers of extra-marital, and needed the time to get cleared from being infectious. Well that didn't happen. A lot of emotional cruelty, without enough (or really any) justification beyond the initial outrage. So the story progresses further to make the reader question why should she put up with it and stay?

The thing about the ending, though. I get the sense that he realized he had too much invested to not make the best of it with her. Yes the marriage was damaged permanently, but he prolly told HIMSELF he still loved her. At the end, when she looks in his eyes, for me, I feel she is actually beginning to realize that SHE has lost some of HER love for him. She always told HERSELF that she loved him completely, even during the cheating. But it took this long for her to realize that he was right. Since she didn't love him enough to avoid adultery, it meant that she didn't love him ENOUGH-period. Later on, after opening up the marriage, he doesn't love her ENOUGH either. But getting back to the scene. The final role reversal is that he THINKS he does, but she realizes he doesn't, instead of how at the beginning, She THINKS She does, but he realizes she didn't.

May be therapy WOULD help these two. But a real good decision NOT to complicate this further by adding children to the mix.

A good think piece. Thank you very much. Fine job! Hope to read more soon!

You have a different sort of person to do what Kurt did hear. I am sure that I could

not fail to fall in love with someone who has exciting (and exclusive) sex with me.

Therein lies the rub.

Very clever plot and very well written.

After six months why stay in that marriage, take him to cleaners .

A rare delight written from the cheater's POV but lacking any excuses, just the pain caused by her actions.

What a dick. She should dump him and enjoy some real sex fucking around.

Sometimes, couples will go for extended periods with little or no sex for physical or other reasons.

We often hear statement's like that here on LW . And I guess it must probably be used a lot out there in the real world too .

Beats the hell out of me why any cheater would utter these words to their spouse when caught .

Clearly , by those actions and words, you are saying to your partner loud and clear that you find aspects of your relationship boring or unfulfilling , so you need another body to fill that void .

Why or how anybody can reconcile with that in any way is beyond me .

Good read , though not great .... 4 *

Classic little LW's reconciliation drama. I love a good reconciliation story, but this thing wasn't a one time slip. Personally, I don't think they could have made it without professional help from a therapist.

Even as sincere as she was, I think he would be living with doubts and trust issues as long as they were married.

That's doesn't sound like much of a marriage.

5*. Don't need to say anything else.

Hooked

That’s pretty eF-en insightful. Kinda difficult to follow, but it’s kind of a convoluted set of emotions and thoughts you’re trying to describe.

Bravo. I’m giving your comments 5-stars.

It seems convenient and practical but lacks any soul. Not to say there is not love but it lacks life force that could lead to happiness. A sad tale and probably a very common one too.

The problem with many of the btb stories is that love doesn't turn off and on like a switch. There are many variables that must be considered after mistakes made by partners. (finances, children, feelings, circumstances, family) While many/most people don't have affairs within marriage, everyone makes mistakes and deserve to be evaluated as a whole, not just due to one instance. 5 stars

If she filed on the grounds of irreconcilable differences she's still going to get a divorce whether he wants one or not, it just takes the time for the court-mandated counselling/therapy to tell them what they already know: that they're over, this whole relationship has just degenerated into masochistic self-flagellation on her part, it's going nowhere, because it's already dead, it just hasn't stopped squirming yet. Call time on this train wreck, file, and let the court settle the property split.

I don't myself understand how you can separate love and physical expression of love in the sex act

But after reading comments here and in other stories it seems some people can

Well written she could leave and or divorce anytime but stays

Retribution or love that refuses to let go

I assume there are no children, or none that were mentioned. Kurt should have filed to end the pain and misery both were experiencing. Deborah, on the other hand didn't seem to understand the depth of pain she put Kurt through. Just a fling huh! That's not a woman with remorse, but a woman who doesn't want to loose her standard of living. Also, the fact that she was more concerned with John's children than her own marriage is telling.

Reading the last paragraph is clear to me that they should have divorced and each started over by moving on.

How did it taste in your mouth when you write this?

This was a well written piece. Kurt had balls of steel, the wife received a life time of payback. With a court set to take away everything from him, his resolution to say married but do as he pleased works, besides, she could file if she can't handle the ride.

Puke? No sir, No way. I guess that you are entitled to an opinion, but I would challenge you to justify it. 5*s.

You were trying to make a cheater into a sympathetic figure? Dumbass is fucking up his life too.

That really was an excellent story that captured so many of the consequences of cheating. You kill what you don't nurture.

Also, thank you for being the first author here that I've read who knows the difference between "to" and "and" as in "I'll try to do it" instead of "I'll try and do it".

Time Line - "Now, its been over 6 months since that terrible day." - NOW, you even go to present tense, then in the Epilogue, it's been eight years.

"It's Only Sex" - Of course it's only sex! If it was more, then you should be getting a divorce to be with your lover. Just what do people think "forsaking all others" means? The apologists don't seem to understand that it's NOT really the sex, but the cheating. The old rule still applies: If you wouldn't do it in front of your spouse, you shouldn't do it behind their back.

definitely shows the impact of her affair. I agree with what he did as why lose everything because she was at fault? He lucked out in a way as he gets sex and she didn't divorce him. Had she not made those promises after getting caught he still would have lost half.

Why should she go through with this crap? Yes, she committed adultery. Yes, he has every right to be angry. Yes, he can get a divorce. But what he does is simply characterless. Why she participates in this nonsense is incomprehensible to me. She should get divorced from this idiot.

Is she a masochist?

Reread o move on to the next two chapters. Enjoyed it again. She's definitely sorry now.

I'm not sure I would ever even sleep with the slut. I would definitely never eat her ass!!! She should have been punished much more than mentally. Glad her lover lost his ass in divorce...

why is there an epilogue

...because she didn't want to end the marriage.

Not all affairs are because the cheater does not love the other partner any more.

Some people stay in a sexless marriage for the rest of their lives, because they still love the partner, even without an element of infidelity in the equation.

If she didn't still need him, and love him, it would have ended in divorce. As simple as that.

It's her own fault anyway.

She cheated and ruined the marriage, but that is strong punishment. She fully deserved whatever she got, and he definitely made her sorry about the affair. Love his celebration of John's upcoming divorce.

Good thing , no 'divorce', which never settled any thing.

But what about Kurt and Pauline, is it only 'chat' or 'cheat'

Deb's claim is also to be taken with 'pinch of salt' , as once tasted 'blood' remain thirsty.

Great going although

Stunningly subtle touch on the view of the fallen woman, who pines for the old days before her infidelity. Not many of today's women would hang in there for this treatment, but she clearly had high character and loved her husband, but made a bad mistake. Anxious to read Chapt 2 and 3 to see how this develops. The story seems complete now, so....

Rereading this, as it is an excellent story on the cost of the wife's " innocent little fling". Call it what it really is. A devastating betrayal that she will pay for for the rest of her life.

Now she understands it wasn't just a fling, she was cheating before that first drink. All of the guys she screwed in college, things she did with John that she refused her husband because she didn't want him to think of her as a slut, how did that work out for her? Cheating, fucking another man for six weeks is not a mistake, it was deliberately planned betrayal. Rather expensive no matter how you add it up. Signed: BTW

Too bad she didn't realize how much her "little fling" would hurt both of them.

I absolutely love these stories they are every bit a turn on as reading about the sex act in all it's forms.

I would have given 5 stars if Kurt had insisted on using a condom once they started having sex again.

My Daughter was 16 when I got My Divorce .. For 2 years plus some College I had to Pay Child Support .. For 4 Years I had to Make house payments . Plus keep everyone on My Insurance .. When My Daughter turned 21 the house was sold . Divided 50 - 50 . Yes I ate Tuna Sandwiches a lot . I Never went anywhere .. But Now I Have a great wife and a son who is 2 years old . I am Very Lucky

Good start to the story thanks.

Very well written, and it is a wonderfully sad story. I am, I admit it. I prefer reconcile stories, and this is a close and clever one, but it is very sad..

Sad

Why did she never suggest counseling?

Kurt go after Pauline, she has two kids that need a father - trade houses. Kurt's life went to shit and remained shit for +8 yrs.; either forgive & forget or move on. But suffer her betrayal for life is just stupid masochism - a waste of life. you can't or won't trust her then leaver her.

/

Did Kurt resume the marriage vacations/life or did he go off on his own vacations?

/

2nd read and it's still a lame 3*, Hooyah

Nah... if he wasn't going to divorce me and I had that kind of remorse, I would have divorced him after 2 or 3 months of that. He would have lost his precious house in a 50/50 split regardless and I'd cry myself healed with a good bit of time and distance. My next husband would have a wiser wife.

A 28 year old wife married for 10 years makes an 18 year old bride. 2 separate relationships after high school, not even considering the run up to this marriage means she graduated at or before 14.

Trivial and impertinent to the story perhaps but then you continue reading how dont you not keeping looking for errors rather than trying to enjoy the story?

What is sad about this story is that they haven't talked. Neither of them has suggested a marriage counsellor despite the fact that they obviously love each other. Also the author hasn't explored why she cheated in the first place. It wasn't a one off fling therefore she must have been unhappy in the marriage despite her claim that she loved her husband.

She was 28 when they married, and 38 at the time of the story.

He's just a Cuckold...