All Comments on 'The Silver Medalist'

Maybe ignorance is bliss, after all!

5

Heartbreaking but brill. I think Anna is a bit delusional - she's in love with an ideal, a mirage. Living day to day with Brad would likely shatter that, or at least take the patina off her idyllic image. But the MC DID THE RIGHT THING. He tried being selfless whilst holding on to the love, but chose to put himself first. And that's all we can do - we only have so much in the tank.

What a great read.

Sad. But a great read, nonetheless.

Very emotive.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Beautiful story.

It needs a second part.

Please do write how the two came together again.

You wrote a great story as you didn't show them having sex.

Not badly written, but I have trouble with the premise. It is the height of egotism to believe that someone who is not 100% in love with you and is in fact in love with someone else, will eventually come to place you 1st in their heart. Preposterous. What's more disturbing? Is that your character never seem to care what a divorce would do to his relatively young children. He made a choice, and the choice was not ideal.He should live with the consequences.If he wanted to divorce his wife, he should have waited until the children were grown.

Myopia is the perfect descriptive! For both of them! Neither deserves demonization or sanctification, but what a frustrating couple of characters they are. Chase, for waiting so long, and after two kids, to get a clue. And Anna for her own self indulgence to the detriment of Patty and Beth, never mind Chase. What an unnecessary calamity for those girls!

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I’m pleased to read a new story. Beautifully rendered characters, and impeccable writing. It’s always a pleasure to read your work. Thank you.

A story of 2 people a little? A lot? Stupid......

It's especially sad for the children in the middle.

I don't believe her character. Her utter devotion to this guy is totally unrealistic, after so long. But a good story. D

Realistic, but sad and unenjoyable. Not poorly written, but not something I wanted or needed to read.

Hella emotive story, dude. That was... beyond things. Thank you. Randi.

Twin infatuations. But Chase finally did come to his senses. He should have walked away when he first became aware she "loved" two men, but better late than never. This is why guys need other guy friends, to pound some sense into them, because some women are spoiled and crazy.

"She had been born with a face that would let her get her way" - Bob Seger

His mistake was not eliminating her from being a possible partner the minute she relegated him to friend zone status. The fact that she knew he pined over her gave her a plan B when her plan A fell through. This was always going to be the outcome.

Another great, emotional story. You're writing is among the best! Thanks for sharing!

A well writen but a sad tale of love and heartbreak.

Thanks.

Anna believes that it is Chase's ego that prevents them from a happy marriage. She is a narcissist, unable to accept any thing that conflicts with her construct of reality. Sad. Well written. 5

This is nothing new. All women settle for the highest status man they can get

That’s why you have such a high divorce rate amount college educated women.

80% of divorces are asked for by college educated women that marry in 30s. Because they think they settled. Now they are not happy at that moment do they take kids and divorce

Guess what within 6 months they said they wish they hadn’t divorced the guy

They all think they’re 10. So they swipe right on dating apps for only 10% of men

Those guys will duck them won’t marry them. In their minds they settle.

Emotional cheating, sad story though!

Original and really excellent; should be rated higher; 5* from me.

Well written and original, 5 🌟

Thanks for writing

One of the best stories I have read in LW. The writing was excellent, the story was truly unique and dramatic, and the conversations were deep and not repetitive. Wish I could give more than 5*,

This might be your best yet, and that is saying something. Anna should have wised up and recognized that her odd of ever landing Brad are about the same as my ever snagging Scarlett Johansson. Even ignoring that Bard seems happily married, he just wasn't into her even in college. Brad was never, ever, anything more than a fantasy and yet Anna would throw Chase's heart and soul into a wood chipper without hesitation, pain to him be damned, if she thought it would give her a shot with said fantasy. Chase got wise too late, though better late than never.

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You, NoTalentHack, CookingWithGas, ThatNewGuy and a few other new authors are a making a hell of a mark on this site.

First Five Star rating I have given in a while. Excellent story. Something new! Thanks.

Apart from really emphasizing that the heart wants what the heart wants and not paying attention to what that means, I really liked the way Chase handled this. He has a good friend in Todd! I appreciate your thoughtful and low histrionic path to resolution. The kids are an after-thought though and it will be a lot harder than the way you describe it—divorce without any prior issues available to the daughters to process in an apparently “fairy tale” relationship that they could see with their own eyes; so the shock of that will take some time to play itself out in their psyches.

Apart from that hint of impatience in your storytelling, I really liked it. Loved the distinction you drew between being second in a sport and in marriage. One might wonder how some might answer you who think that marriage is a heavy contact sport!

Agreed. Really well written, truly original, and neither of the main characters was truly contemptible, although I don't like Anne too much (She basically used the guy, but she was for most part honest about that, so she's still not a bad person unlike most LW wife characters). 5 stars. I was tempted to give 4 for lack of happy ending for main character but what the hell, the story was great enough I'll skip that rule of mine.

Refreshing! A great story which has all necessary to make it a 5*. I did love reading it and almost dissapointed to have only 3 pages. Thank you.

Great story. A lot of irony in it.

Chase is right that he deserves to be first in his wife's heart but, he throws away a great marriage and a pretty much perfect family life because of something that never ends up happening and that Anna was up front about before she accepted his proposal.

Anna throws away a great marriage and perfect family life by pining away for a fairytale she was never going to have. As a previous commenter stated, Brad never showed any interest in her other than being friendly. Even if his wife died from her cancer Anna was never going to have him.

Sad that they had built a great life together that should have made them both happy until death do us part and yet their willful blindness to obvious facts causes them to lose it all.

Beautifully written. 5⭐ indeed.

Great story. We’ve all made poor life choices, but Chase had the self-awareness and courage to undo his mistake.

Anna is a silly little girl. Unfortunately, the world is full of them and their childish fantasies, and the real world will slap them around for their foolishness. 5*

In spite of what our culture tells us, love is NOT a virus that you catch and either can’t get over or do get over. Love is an act of will. The wife was correct in this story - she chose to love her husband and her family. The husband is a complete idiot.

I could have told Chase his plan wouldn’t work. Perfectly told with believable characters. 5*

This story moves into an area that terrifies honest and committed spouses: is their significant other 100% into them or not? Personally, I think that most women hold on to pieces of first loves or crushes more than men and this story addresses this in its own way. If Brad had ever wanted to have an affair, Chase would have been history. The medal analogy is perfect in that in most races anyone can sometimes pull off a win, but in his wife’s mindset she is committed to Team Brad, who might as well be the Yankees with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Chase will never win as he is the perennial second division team. Great story.

Well written story, I find myself unsympathetic to Chase having decided to accept Anna despite what she honestly told him, then blew up what seemed a pretty good marriage and worse again broke a family up over his too late realisation that Anna had been open to change, yet Anna did more or less nothing wrong.

A very sad outcome both for Anna & the kids. I am a great believer that a couple without kids are free to do as they will either together or seperately but when you bring kids into this world, unless the relationship is toxic and bad for the kids, you owe them a happy family or as happy as it can be.

Chase turned out to be a prick, badly letting down his kids, his own ego making him chose to react to his own bad decision 10 years previously, rather than think of their interests.

All that said, a good read, thank you.

It was well written, and I enjoyed reading it, but somehow at the end, I feel somehow empty. Like there is something missing. Still a five-star story.

Very good story! Congratulations! 5 stars from here ;)

I disagree wtih gatorhermit. the choice the wife made was to hold a torch for a married man, not her husband. She was honest about her feelings and that counts for something. But it was a mistake to marry someone you feel is second best to another.

It'd be one thing, gator, if she felt that way at the time of the marriage and her feelings morphed into something the husband could feel good about. But they didn't. Moreover, she kept the secret relationship with Brad and was there at a moment's notice to "help him through a difficult time..."

The wife is not an honest person. So why should the husband not seek someone who will be?

Very fine story. Well written, and thoughtful.

He was absolutely right. He WAS a fool to marry her. It took the poor bastard awhile to figure it out, but when he did, he knew the right response. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

4* Chase should have met with Brad and Mandy. He could have told them of his collapsing marriage to Anna. I am sure that Brad and Mandy would have had strong words with Anna and broken all contact with her. That may have shocked Anna into reality.

good read but the MC is a dick

$* Chase should have met with Brad and Mandy, revealed Anna's true intent and feelings, and why there is a divorce coming. I am sure that Brad and Mandy would have been shocked and told Anna to get lost. Maybe then, Anna would have come to her senses.

Excellent premise. Excellent story

Hooked

Damn. So, if Mandy had carked it, Anna would have dumped Chase in a New York Minute? 5* story of love and betrayal.

Well done!!!!

I gave this five stars because it was a well written story.

However, it was like having a wisdom tooth pulled. So there was another guy tripped her fantasy trigger….so what…most woman have a dream guy and guess what! It ain’t the guy they are married too!

Shit! Most guys have a fantasy they darn’t let their spouse know about!

Rhett, you are a gifted writer, but this story is pure fantasy. It could be subtitled How to Dramatize an Emotional Hangnail. The fact you were able to treat it seriously is a tribute to your expressive skills.

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But apparently you've posted it in the Divorce Central forum of Literotica, so the fact that this tale that has two formerly responsible adults destroying their home over a minor emotional imbalance is receiving approbation is a sad commentary on parental irresponsibility.

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The fact is that almost EVERY marriage relationship is imbalanced emotionally. One person chased the other until the chasee acknowledged being caught. Sometimes the Chaser finds a way to invert the relationship so that both carry the emotional burden. (I did.) Good luck doing that with a Psych major. The solution to the problem that both characters danced around multiple times in this story (and they had to, otherwise there would be no drama to tell about) is the wedding vows: they were willing to discuss their past, they discussed their present, but neither was willing to discuss their future in the context of forsaking all others. Anna was not willing to promise so, neither was Chase willing to ask her. It was a glaring absence in their arguments.

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IMHO, that's why the vows exist: in the old days, a wife needed financial security. Under modern marital law, a man needs emotional security, because a woman is free to trade up at any time if she has the skills and opportunity to manage it.. The vows are no longer binding, but their expression demonstrates an intent to follow thru. I'm sure Anna didn't express any asterisks when she took her vows in the sight of God and man. So Chase is not doing her a favor by not revealing why he gave up his family, destroyed his credibility as a dad and adopted a bronze medal life: he was protecting his own reputation as a putz, because she may never have elected to trade up. He'll never know.

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In the end, Chase did blow up their marriage over the delivery of a casserole to a needy family. Every man who comes to Literotica daily--or some more graphic porn site--is doing the exact same thing that Anna did: conveying to your spouse that your fantasy sex partner (whom you will never actually f*ck) is just a little bit better than your spouse...but that little bit is enough to make them infinitely more desirable. As our spouses accept their inferiority to our fantasy lover, so should Chase. Or keep on fighting for superiority.

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We all knew breast cancer was terrible, but this is the first time I've ever heard or read about cancer destroying a marriage of friends so far out on the periphery that they weren't even invited to the wedding. The cancer couple survived and thrived; the peripheral friends crumbled under self-induced stress.

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A fascinating tale, Rhett, and worthy of analysis from multiple perspectives that broaden all of us. Thanks for posting.

Well done. Thanks for sharing.

Well done at 5*****! Did anyone not see that he was committing a desperate mistake when he agreed to marry her knowing he was 2nd best? And did anyone not see her as a very selfish woman? It was a well-written story about a doomed couple.

Wonderful story about human frailties. He was hoping to make her see that his love was infinite and hers was, at best, "second class". I think she will get what she deserves hopefully always pining after someone who makes her second place. I found her truthful but also narcissistic and selfish. Obviously Chase made a mistake but did have 2 daughters from it.

Extremely well done. All five stars turned golden. @Just_Words, we had the exact same reaction to his accepting her declaration that she loved Brad more.

People should never enter a marriage thinking they should or can change their spouse. I have seen a few examples and they are not pretty.

Excellent 5* effort! I agree with MattBlackUK, Hooked 1957, and several others. There's a lot the author didn't say or spell out, which is another thing that made the story so good. IMHO, Chase didn't blow up his family and marriage over a casserole delivered to friends in need. He corrected his biggest life mistake because his friend Todd helped pull his head out of his a$$. Ten years of deceit. That's what he corrected. The casserole was just the final straw.

He could never know if she'd been with Brad over the years. That would also be true for the future. He'd never know the level of intimacy they'd shared, if any. All he knew for sure was that Brad supposedly loved Mandy. He had no roadmap, other than Anna's honesty. Since she admitted her shortcomings to Chase, the author did a wise thing in not forcing blame on her. The blame was on Chase for blindly pushing the rock uphill for so long. He created his own world of false security until he didn't.

I liked the silver metal analogy to Anna. It tied the title and plot together and was the flashpoint that gave the reader their best clues as to 'why' Chase did what he did. Other commenters are definitely correct in saying each relationship has one person that chases or even loves more than the other. There is an imbalance in every relationship, even with soul mates. The author brilliantly put that imbalance on the table, with a spotlight shining on it, up front for Chase and all the readers to see.

So entertaining and well-written.

Great story...she was the true fool!

Well I read a lot of the comments, and most think this was a great story. It was well written. Butt your MC was the biggest fool I've read about in a long time. I've known a lot of men over my 67 years. I've never met any man who have married her after her telling she loved someone else more. The theme of the story was a crock of bull, a waste of my time.

Excellent story RTB! Thought provoking. I really liked that you didn’t take the easy way out and make it a formula story. I think both realized they never should have married in the first place.

Interesting! Superbly written, as usual with you.

I gotta say, I was kinda waiting for a third act, where she realizes she's gutted by the loss of her husband, and she comes to realize etc etc etc. But maybe Brad's wife would have to die first, and she hooks up, and realizes he's not all that, etc. But then why would our hero take her back in that scenario??

Interesting!

Thanks for writing a new one. I always appreciate your stuff.

Very nicely done!

Loved this one!

Sad that he waged ten years, but he has two beautiful children from a broken home. This whole story seemed a little pointless.

Well written but sad. Anna in the end had to be something of a cold hearted bitch. Yes she told him the truth but she also counted on the fact he loved her so much he would go along with it. A warm hearted woman would not have married Chase, she would have either tried to figure out how to exorcise Brad or would have told Chase it would never work. He was foolish, but she basically used him,figured plan B was fine for her without asking if it was good for him.

Sorry, but I never have bought the bs that someone finds the one &that is it..What it is is the person selfishly refuses to let the 'true live go', she keeps that alive..it is very much like the person whose spouse dies and they remarry, and the new spouse is compared to the old one, the dead spouse is always no 1..it doesn't work. You can cherish a first love, remember them fondly, but you have to move on.

Excellent tale told well with great emotional depth...not always easy with the LW genre

chump loves whore

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whore loves another

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whore tells chump he is a chump

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chumps gotta chump

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chump finally leaves whore

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but even in divorce her protects her secret love

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that makes the chump an emotional cuck

and a piece of shit liar who lies to everyone in his life to protect a whore that never loved him

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The fact that even in the end his sacrifices bit of his life for her happiness means he deserved everything he suffered because even now he is still shoveling all her shit

So many years as an orbiter? The one they love can sometimes see reasons for settling, but do they ever actually respect somebody from their taxi squad?

Good story, well written. For every story like this one there twenty that end with "If you'd just told me about him before we married I never would have married you." Good look at this other ending. Anna was well portrayed as a solid person.

Don't feel sorry for him at all. He is the dumbass that married her.

So who the hell wants to read such a depressing story????

Great tale.

5 stars

Outstanding! Thanks for the story! 5*

You need to write a sequel . A happy ending for chase

Dumb choices in ending.

Anna wasn't giving you 100%, so stop giving Anna more that you need to. She would either step up or understand that is all she deserves. Secondly Look for some one who would be that person. I would take a lot of searching and conversations to find what you need. Anna isn't being there for you, so just pull back and take care of yourself until you find what you need.

What a wimp should never had married the dumb bitch.

Reason # 548 on why it's never a good idea to be a simp...

God, Anna is such a loser. I'm sorry, but if you can't get over a past love (especially one you never even had a relationship with!), then something's wrong with you. People who lose their spouse deal with past love better than Anna does. She should not even be seriously dating until after she gets therapy to deal with her issue. She probably won't though cause she doesn't seem to recognize that she has a problem.

Of course, Chase isn't helping things. She told him straight up that she wasn't going to value him as a spouse should. Chase thinking he can change her is just stupid. Unfortunately there are other men like Chase in the world, or just guys with low self-esteem that will accept Anna's bullshit. I couldn't do that. I don't care how lonely I am, I'm not getting married to someone who isn't fully committed to me.

As usual, great story. Sad and realistic take on people, something that almost no LW author can do, preferring cuck or btb stories

Nice sad story.

Quite realistic, the character were.

Yes, I do agree with MC -- all that happened to him was his fault, only his.

Pursuing Anna was a total mistake -- but seeing reality he somehow

denied two young girls of a good complete family atmosphere.

This story is a good lesson to would-be beta males who gets friend-zoned.

Thanks rhetthebrat.

Nicely done. Most people don't realise that they may be in this position in their marriage...TC Ireland

Has to be one of the most stupid men who ever walked the planet. Why on earth would you marry this woman who has no deep love for you. Then have kids with her when you know good and well she'd slut for Brad in a heartbeat? She was a heartless bitch to marry him, knowing she'd leave him and her two kids in about one second if Brad asked her. Just beyond stupid.

wow!!!

Long winded build up to a blah rushed ending.

Fantastic story. Wonderfully realized characters and strong themes throughout.

She told him from the beginning that Brad was and would always be her #1

Interesting story. Anna is one retarded bitch though and I would love to read about her getting a nice wake up call.

Bonjour tristesse.

Well done.

MLJ

5 star writing, but I felt it just whimpered out. I'm not one of those "finish the damn story" people, but it just doesn't feel done. You spend a lotta words discussing what the kids want for dinner, but gloss over an entire divorce in a single paragraph with nary a descriptive word. It needed another page with angst-filled discussions and emotional repercussions. You finally snap Chase out of his delusions, but we never get to see Anna face up to the ramifications of her juvenile crush and selfish heart. I might be one to lobby for a sequel, maybe from Anna's perspective. But still a solid piece. 4*

She was honest with him on day one. Most women would NEVER tell their spouse they had settled for their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th choice, but it happens every day. She hid the Facebook thing, probably from guilt, and she had to know the casserole was too much. A card in the mail, maybe, but a home visit? She was out of line and he read it for what it was - her attempt to put herself in front of Brad, like a reminder. He very much shares the blame because he refused to believe her and she had every right to assume he'd accepted second place in her heart. He HOPED to over come that, but she was honest about it. The kids are the biggest losers, as usual.

Wonderful read, and written so very well.

Loved this story! Sad? Certainly, but it tells of a difficult lesson that we all need to keep in mind. “The heart wants what the heart wants!” That’s a concept that is unexplainable to many, but so very true! A very well written emotional story that earns an easy 5*! Thanks for writing!

Nice little story. The Nordic Skiing angle was interesting.

That was really good.

Needs a part 2

What a fine story

This story reminds me of the time when I was in love with, and a lover to a married woman.

She said early on, that she would never leave her husband, but love is blind and deaf, so I tried to make her realize, that I was the better choice.

That never happened...

Your rankings are going to suffer because you caused your audience to feel uncomfortable with the story, which was your point. I would also recommend a beta reader to help clean up some of the issues within the story before it goes to a wider audience.

That is one great story!

Makes me daydream how I would have reacted.

Please keep writing!

A great story!

But to put things in a different light, would she accept coming in second to Brads wife Mandy? And are they better off? Is Anna? She traded an uncompromising love for lust and does she still hold out for Brad?

Honestly, to be married to someone for that long with an unrequited love for another….she’s delusional.

I have never accepted this view of love - a kind of disease that you get with no hope of changing it. Love is a constantly changing thing. As you work at it, it deepens and becomes greater.

5-stars. I think we all think we are at best, the second-best choice. Everyone, unless their complete asses, will judge themselves much harsher than everyone else does and when it is confirmed, like this was by her actions it can eviscerate and hurt more than can be tolerated by most. He tried his best to reach for the gold. Did he give up too soon, don't know. Everyone knows their limits and that's a choice that everyone needs to make on their own.

5 stars because he finally figured it out. I think this stuff happens a lot more than people want to admit. Powerful observations

Anna has serious mental issues. Chase should have never married her much less have kids with her. I feel sorry for the kids in this sorry situation with two messed up parents.

This guy showed himself as a narcissistic childish idiot that played with a marriage like it was a sport game, bringing an awful and painful outcome for all his family, himself, the wife and their children. The wife in this tale was honest since from the start, so she is not to blame very much (maybe a little). This guy is not marriage material, better for him, and other possible partners, to live alone with his medals. Anyway, for this so different and well balanced tale in LW category, it's 5* !

Good story! Excellent writing! He made an error based on hope, and recovered well when he saw all hope was lost. A 5 star production.

Great story, and so well thought out and written. But, I have to agree with 'BrookeTabby', who said "If he wanted to divorce his wife, he should have waited until the children were grown." People are human, and humans fall into love and out of love. Anna THINKS she is always going to be in love with Brad, that's just silly. Methinks she doesn't know her own mind, and if she really got together with Brad, she would wish she was back with Chase. And of course, with such a family and two such little girls, and without a clear break point like actual cheating, they should come first. Divorce is a waste in this situation.

Very good story. Of course, the “plot hole” is why would he marry a woman who was up front about loving another guy more than he, and why did it take him so long to internalize that?

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Gratified that you let Mandy live, so that Anna DID NOT get Brad. BTW — loved the analogy regarding marriage being a movie and not a photo.

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5 *****