All Comments on 'Two Christmases'

Very nice tale . . . Maybe there wasn't actual redemption, but there was closure and growth on almost all character's parts.

By the end, I was drowning in the flood of emotions from this story. This wasn’t really where I expected to be at story’s end at all. Well done! To err is human; to forgive is divine.

⭐⭐ I don't know. Seemed like swallowing a cinder block.

5* , wow, a fantastic read, emotional and heartfelt ending. Did I say 5*!

Great story and very moving. 5 Stars

My tears are still falling - this story was amazing and the emotions peaked to match with Dan Fogelberg's holiday song 'Same Old Lang Syne'. For those who don't know the song, it's really NOT Christmas music but it is 'this story'. Few people fully survive what happened to this man and, while the hardcore BTB lovers will hate the ending, it's the only ending that could leave him 'reconciled' and truly ready to live out his life ' content! Twenty stars if we could raise the scale - my favorite story from this entire site.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ well written sad tale.

nah

Pretty good.

He was an asshole

Well done. Very emotional.

Great story! Her musician asshole should be shown some sort of punishment-revenge!

Excellent story and a real tear-jerker. I'd rather read stories with some sort of reconcillation that one's where one partner ends up in hell.

I felt quite frustrated with her continuing to put off telling him what he wanted to know. I didn't like her. Who would walk out, never to return, when she had a baby daughter? Forget the hurt she visited on him -what damage could she have caused such a young person? Coming back was more about her than them. I gave 4 stars for a well written story.

I gave you 4 stars for a good story. He never got redemption and never could but at least he understood that the bitch did not have a great life either. it was a little scanty on the details of her getting the money , but that would have bogged down the money. The musician simply used her as his personal sex toy. of course she'd selected her path in life.

I'm confused about Ic69hunter's comment he was an asshole. Was Mark supposed to forgive the bitch who just walked away from him 24 years before? Just because she was dying? Not in my book. He went far out on a limb and he did that for his daughter in my eyes. It just turned out he did not despise his ex as much as he had. Forgiveness is one thing. That is acceptance. It does not have to include even liking what the person did.

Wonderfully woven story.

Wow that was a powerful story with lots of emotion. A very sad story but very well written. The MC certainly had more than his fair share raw deals not to mention all the discussions behind his back with his ex wife. I’m not sure I would have dealt with it as well as he did. 5🌟

Sad, very well written, incredible story. Five from me.

well written.Could not stop until finnished.

A fine explanation of the American disease of ‘Closure’ and the BS you have to go through in a misguided attempt to get it.

Sad it’s that fucking “Forgiveness bug”! I wish he had done what any self respecting man would do, tell the daughter to take the cheating bitch away and hope the pain was unbearable till she died.

One of those unnecessary stories we get, I read the first page (most) then the last half page! All I could take.

I can’t explain it, but this one really hit me in the feels. Such a well written piece. It’s said that time heals all wounds. This is why the story works so well in my opinion. Over the years, enough scar tissue had built up as to allow Ivy’s return - however briefly- into Mark’s life. It allowed for closure and forgiveness to find Mark. It allowed Ivy to unburden herself, seek forgiveness, to make amends with her daughter, and to end her life’s course in the arms of the only man she ever truly loved. 5/5 Well Done! BRB

I skimmed most of it, too hard to get into.

Great story, tugged at the heart strings. He was a much bigger person than I would have been. I guess he learned that her life stunk after she left him, that still would not heal the betrayal.

After all this.... The wife decides to torture her husband from the grave. One more time and forever.

The worst thing about the story is that the daughter is acting just like the lying cheating cunt whore mother.

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As usual, the husband gets fucked over once again. for doing nothing wrong. Even worse is that his own daughter is now working with the woman who caused her father the most pain anybody can ever go through in a marriage. and the daughter doesn't give a shit. Like her mother, the daughter thinks that what she wants is what's important and that nobody else's perspective or feelings or values have Any value.

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I think perhaps the most offensive Evil rant from this twisted psychologically is this....

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"She paused to let her words sink in. "At the same time, Claire's father is alone, still fighting a terrible loss. In between the bucket list activities, I need to unburden myself of my greatest sins, and since you're the person I committed most of them against, you also need to hear what I have to say. That's what I've been talking to our daughter about. I'm also quite sure your wife knew about it and would approve."

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FIRST.... Can someone explain Why doesn't the wife have the right to unburden herself on the man she fucked over and screwed and nearly crushed to death?

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So now he's second wife, who of course is dead from cancer was also in on this conspiracy to fuck over the husband again?

nice sad story.. you are a talented writer

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Winner

5!

Haha, things to rely on: the sun will rise in the east, water is wet, and lc69hunter will blame the man.

Well done. 5*

CWG, this was simply your best story…and you’ve had several good ones.

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In the end, Ivy was still a twat…but she did, at some level, concede to herself that she was a messed up person, and her actions to connect with the daughter she abandoned, and then her ex, seemed to be motivated by sincere remorse and a desire to atone in some manner. As the MC said at the end: “I'd never be completely sure if that was her plan, or if her true intent was to make amends by helping me past Carrissa's death. Either way, it worked.”

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5 easy to give *****

I'm a sucker for consequence stories and for characters that are not all that is pure and holy. I like the people a little bit grey with a halo that is slightly wonky from life. A great story with human characters that was a pleasure to read. Thank you for sharing.

Best thing she did was die. Too bad it took so long. He was an idiot to be with her in the first place. He should dump her cash in her casket and have it all incinerated. Otherwise, he is still her bitch.

Well done

Forgiveness is overrated.

Living a happy and full life, not being consumed by bitterness or revenge and living with enough joy and positive relationships to feel “good” - these things should not hinge on the attainment of one valiant act of forgiveness. You can be happy and you can carry on with life without forgiving those who have hurt you. In fact, that heartbreak and anger can be used as a catalyst to drive you to do more good in life for yourself and others. The ability to have the life we want, at the level of positivity we desire, despite our past hurts, is a goal worthy of itself.

Forgiveness culture implies that betrayers and abusers can expect to be forgiven — they can hurt and harm and rage — and should their targets decline to forgive, they can rest smug in the assurance that the refusal reflects a flaw in their victims, not in themselves.

Pseudo-spirituality has made forgiveness a marker of personal virtue. If you perceive an assault on yourself and your body as too wrong to forgive, then the forgiveness culture perceives you are being small-minded and lacking in virtue. This attitude ignores that the choice not to forgive can come from a place of strength. It can represent a legitimate response to an offender’s bad, hurtful actions and place in society. Demanding that survivors of personal trauma forgive their abusers denies us agency in choosing how to heal and move forward in life.

It’s not our job to make people who hurt us, betrayed us, abused us and treated us shitty to feel better about themselves. If they want forgiveness so much, go see a f'ing priest.

Couldn't finish page 2.

Thank you, CWG! A kind of LW tale with a heavy dose of heartwarming redemption (not a RAAC, people.)

I'm not convinced of Ivy's sincerity. I see it more as "sincerity" borne of an existential crisis that she will not survive.

Either way, I wish I could write as well as you. 5 stars.

5***** 4 u!

There was a lot of emotion written onto every page. Very well done. 5*.

What he should have done was tell his daughter and his ex to hit the fucking road. Then told his daughter that she won't get back in his life until and unless she never has anything to do with Ivy again.. Period. This author took a 5 star story and completely ruined it. Too bad I am stuck with 1 star because it doesn't deserve that.

I can see how some think he should have simply said "no" from the outset... but then there would be no story. While Ivy was a conceited bitch, I think the interaction between the two was written realistically and, like it or not, he benefited. After all, you don't forgive someone for their sake, you do it for your own. Really well done, don't let the BTB crowd bring you down. The score will be dragged down by shallow fools who can't write for themselves. In my book, it gets full marks (5 stars). Thanks!

Parts of the plot lines were a little too twisted for me to make the leap, but the tears I shed at the end says - Well done! 4.8*

Complicated and nuanced - very nicely done!

A five-star effort. Well-done.

Hooked

What a touching story. Thank you. 5*

Excellent five-star story.

We should forgive for our own benefit!

5

Not for me. I never would have given her a second of my time regardless of what my daughter asked or said.

That's an honest story about growth and redemption, but it was painful, too. Well written.

Mark was too forgiving IMO. The only good thing his first wife did was to let him keep his daughter. The daughter too was a piece of work, shoving the faithless Ivy back into her grieving and unwilling father’s life.

I've lost two wives myself; one of which was on Valentine's Day (imagine that, lol). Don't know whether to say thank you or FU for dredging up those memories I had tucked away so nicely like old clothes in a cedar chest up in the attic. I am still curious, what ever happened to Frey? You can't do another story just on him and a part two might close some lose ends, but leaving it like it is can finish the story too. Thanks for the entertainment.

And yet, we still don't know why she did what she did.

I think this was thoughtfully written. Unfortunately, though, I don’t understand I. I don’t understand what Ivy was trying to do. I seemed that perhaps he was better as a result of her brief return into his life, but I don’t understand what he took away from their last days together either. Probably just my being dense, but I wish I knew what I am missing.

Sorry, 2.5 stars. I added an extra star and a half for quality writing - despite uninspired and uninspiring topic, I couldn't predict exactly where the story would go, so that kind of skill of a writer earned an extra star. However, it'd still a 1-star story underneath for a couple of reasons. First, the *supposed* point was for him to come out of his mourning for his real wife, and the ending shows that he didn't. Starting 2 foundations was nice and awesome but didn't resolve HIS problem as stated. Second, him giving in to her selfish asks was weak, illogical and useless. Neither he (nor even his daughter) benefitted from it in any way. Third, the underhanded way his daughter manipulated him at the behest of the bitch was NOT something he deserved, and made her far more demeaned and unattractive as a person to me. And the fact that she's reconciled with the fucking cheater implies poor Richard her current husband is in for a major future heartbreak. Lastly, he didn't get any sort of closure. I suppose finding out her life was a rich and comfortable waste and not as awesome as he imagined was helpful to an extent, but not worth it - by that time she was basically out of his mind in the first place.

@anon - cash is cash and fungible. Incinerating it is the STUPIDEST thing anyone can possibly do. I mean, pretending to do so to piss someone off - THAT, I can get behind. But in this specific case, what you advocated for was for people who genuinely needed help, to NOT get that help, for a useless empty gesture. That's just evil, not simply dumb.

The bitch burned herself, but also tried to make amends for her despicable behavior. I know from personal experience how hard letting go of the past and hatred is, but it can sometimes be worth it.

"Please, Mark," she said softly but with urgency. "I don't want anything except to cuddle. It's our last night and I want to fall asleep next to you - just one more time." -–—

NO. Yeah, not gonna happen! The last woman to share his bed was Carrissa. Had that been me she would be SOL in the sleeping with me. She removed herself from Mark and gave herself to Frye and his friends who used her in obscene and vulgar ways. Now she wants to defile Carrissa's place and memory in Mark's bed and head? Push out the good memories of Carrissa's last night in bed with Mark with her own tainted body? What a tool!

Very good story, almost complete. Now, about that Lucas Frye fellow and his 'friends'.........

Anybody that pays $150 for lunch deserves to wear it.

I hate to say it but I kind of agree with harry in virginia. I don't understand why the wife thinks she has the right to unburden herself by talking about her sins and doing so with her husband around, which is just going to cause in more pain.

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If the goal to unburden yourself and seek forgiveness is real then why is she going out of a way to cause her husband more pain?

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It's also kind of shocking that nobody else has picked up on the extremely hurtful sbeaky disloyalb almostc subversive activities of the daughter. Given all that happened in the story, she seems to be completely non. Concerned about her father's reactions and his emotional state.

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Buehler? Bueller?

F* that bitch. But great well written story. Thank you.

"And never again, will I have a mother to counsel me." - So what has Ivy done to fill that role? Doesn't seem like it'd be a big loss.

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"He'd dumped her more times than I could keep track of," - Why do they always cheat with the guys that dumped them?

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"But I never possessed the courage to tell you 'why,' and that much I can settle. " - The "why" is simple, she's a selfish bitch.

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"I also never knew exactly how much anger you had toward her." - How could she not? How much anger would she feel if it happened to her?

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["Oh," she left it there and seemed to contemplate.] - What, is she unhappy that Claire wasn't crushed by her leaving?

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Call me mean, but after taking off over 20 years ago, and no contact until she was dying, I wouldn't show her anywhere NEAR the consideration that he is, certainly wouldn't go on a cruise with her. Let Claire and Richard take her.

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"I want to fall asleep next to you" - Who the fuck cares what she wants?

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"Not rich, Mark. Just well off." - $2.5 million is rich.

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"We were the only attendees" - Claire's husband wasn't there?

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@Ic69hunter, HE was an asshole? He was a saint!

'closure' is an invention of tv and psych interests.

Good story.

No way should he spend time with her. Sorry you are nothing in my life. Would be annoyed at daughter too. She ignored you your entire life. When she is at end she needs you. Sorry, but no. No reconciliation nor communication, he had a wife and daughter had a mother.

Liked the story a lot, but kid of felt bad for Brady. He gets mentioned four times on the first page with last saying he is London. Next time he is mentioned by name is at the end of the story that he came back to the US,

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LOL. Hopefully, the poor guy doesn't read this story or Mark is going to have another kid's relationship on the edge. 😋

Cookingwithexpiredoil, this sucked.

So, how’d she get the money?

On one hand....good closure. On the other hand he already HAD closure. He knew that his ex was an immature and selfish woman who abandoned her family. Story done. However, adding in what their daughter did and her actions...? Well, like mother like daughter the way that Cooking with gas wrote this tale he gave the whole Nature vs. Nurture debate an interesting twist.

Even though his daughter knew what she was doing talking to her birth parent and NOT letting her dad know was wrong, yet she did it anyway. Then hid it from him for months. Now morally, she knows not to do that. Yet she did it anyway? Is that because her birth parent passed on some of her traits to her daughter? Are traits like that genetic? Or did she learn that?

Who knows?

I am sure that her Mother and Father who actually RAISED her might have some comments for her actions. The fact that her mother told her to tell her dad and she didn't is a big strike against her. Honestly, I see this as an open and shut story. He never should have allowed his ex back into his life because after reading this tale she did not do a darn thing except make the last days knowing her miserable. I am surprised he agreed to it.

The major problem I see is his daughter acting too much like her egg donor. Definitely have a good long talk with Richard about things to look out for. Also get a postnup since she likes keeping dark secrets to herself.

Well written as always. Crazy choices made by the MC, a fantastic read that makes the reader think. Thank you very much for writing it.

Sincerely,

Payenbrant

Easy *5 from me. That one got me in the feels.

Kind of Hall Markish, don't you think? Ivy running off with a rock star, becoming the band's whore, descending into drugs and alcohol and sex, jet setting about the world on tours and with other celebrities: that's sounds real. Ivy realizing her mistake, getting rich, getting cleaned up, living in guilt and regret, making amends with her abandoned daughter and ex husband: that's Hall Mark. And Hall Mark is OK, but its chintzy and shallow and phony. Oh, they set up foundations and made the world a better place: definitely Hall Mark, and very improbable. Besides, 2.5 million? Its not enough. With the investment interest and some small capital appreciation there would be enough to pay for an office, web site, and Brady's salary, but hardly much left over to do anyone much good. And that's not Hall Mark, but pretty common. Another fake "non profit" skimming past the tax laws and keeping just enough money flowing to pay the owners and make it look like a true charity is operating. It snot.

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In the end Ivy is just a dead drug whore who hoped she could make her last actions more virtuous and wholesome then her early life actions. Redemption? Sure, why not? If it wasn't for the money what would have been her last actions with her daughter and ex cuck husband? Asking them to come to her trailer and empty the ash trays and keep the neighbors from looting her beer fridge and her air fryer? That would have been reality. The sumptuous cruise and fancy hotel and dinning, all Hall Mark. Oh, the pissed bed is Hall Mark too. Reality is she dies in her own shit. When the muscles relax they ALL relax.

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But its the Christmas season, so we can tolerate some Hall Mark. Merry Christmas.

My grandfather was violent alcoholic who beat and raped his wife and children. When my oldest uncle was seventeen, he beat his father so badly that blood splattered the walls. He then fled into the night, hiding from police until he met a recruiter and joined the military to avoid prosecution.

Years later, my grandfather entered Alcoholics Anonymous. That organization recommends alcoholics make amends for their last actions as well as ask for forgiveness. When he met with my uncle, my uncle told him that he would never forgive him and hoped he burned in hell.

My uncle is the gentlest, kindest man I know. He is a model for steady, patient manliness. He raised five children, was a faithful husband for over forty years until the death of my aunt from cancer. He built his house by hand and loved to hike and horseride deep into back country and high mountain valleys to hunt and fish. He was a man of many talents, one was the ability to be unforgiving. That is a manly talent we should all cultivate. I wish the main character held to the manly virtue of unforgiveness. It gives a man peace, joy, and true happiness. You should try it

Nope. Would never happen. I'd tell my daughter to forget about it and the cheating slut to hurry up and die so I could celebrate it. Some things can never be forgiven. 1*

A fitting story for the songwriter from Colorado.

I love my children but if they tried to meddle in the way the daughter did here, I would tell them to fuck off.

As for the story, Ivy was a thoroughly unsympathetic character right to the very end. I kept waiting for some revelation, something more than what happened. Maybe that was the author's intent, but the story seems remarkably barren of any feeling except distaste for Ivy. I didn't score this because I hate to ding authors whose stories I generally like, but if I was scoring, this would be 1*. This is a story that was better off untold.

The anonymous rant about forgiveness shows a clear misunderstanding of the concept,

Also, so of you are some bitter and miserable fucks

I think @Harryin Va nailed it.

To me, the reason this is a bad, bad take has little to do with forgiveness. Wife leaves him, he moves on. He's moved on and had a second wife, a good marriage. There's no reason for him to put himself in a position where he inevitably relives the pain of his earlier time, nor any reason for him to spend any more time or effort on the someone who has proven herself to be someone he won't ever like.

I don't have a problem with the daughter forming a relationship with her birth mother and don't have much problem with her not telling her father she'd done so, but consider it horrid and mean for her to actively contribute to torturing her father by making him relive the pain of the past.

Initially I assumed that Ivy would either miraculously recover, or (which is more in line with her nature) "her whole illness was a ruse, a way to jump on a long-gone train.

Sorry Boyd Percy but I'm not wired that way. I got badly fucked over by a woman I was involved with nearly 20 years ago and I'm no closer to forgiving her now than I was then. Once someone betrays me, that's their lot. That doesn't mean I haven't moved on or that there is nothing good about my life, it just means that I don't believe that someone inherently bad enough to cause another such pain so deliberately deserves any kind of redemption and I can't understand the notion that forgiving someone for that level of emotional brutality makes everything hunky dory again.

I got so carried away with my rant about forgiveness that I clean forgot to say anything about the story!

It was beautifully written as is always the where CWG is concerned, an emotional rollercoaster and gripping to the end. I felt that Ivy came off better than she deserved to in the end considering her inherent indifference to other peoples feelings but that's just me and it didn't detract in any way from a lovely story. I gave it five just for the quality of the writing

I think the concept was pretty good, but the story left me wanting a bit more. Ivy talked about the infatuation and paying, but it felt more like Mark just struggling internally. I didn’t feel as though he grew from the experience. I think a talk with Clare or a deeper conversation with Ivy would have made the story a bit better.

Ugh! Are you f'ing kidding? As soon as he said he'd meet her, I skipped to the end. I can understand getting past a one time lapse of judgment- maybe, maybe, very, very maybe. . But someone plain sticking it to you? Bottom line: You can forgive your rapist without having to have lunch with him. In the end, he gave the witch a hall pass, is nothing short of betrayed by his daughter and betrays- pisses on, really- the memory of his dead wife. UGH!!

It’s very heartfelt, this story of sought redemption.

It’s written in a fine style, and has an excellent pace.

It may be the mood I’m in, but I found the resolution distasteful. You, cookingwithgas, deserve kudos, despite my temporary mood. Well done.

I’ll reread this and vote later.

Manipulating to the end with no redeeming qualities. The daughter is lucky her father didn't cut her off completely.

No fucking way would I have tolerated that.

Two stars.

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Ivy was gone. No regrets or apologies or closure needed twenty years later. Just stay gone.

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If you owned a ranch and abandoned it cause some body stole all your cattle then a prolong drought killed the all grazing lands, you don't go back 20 years later to examine the dilapidated and fallen buildings and fencing because someone else thinks you need to go back there and close some gates.

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Dying or not, I would not even entertain the notion of spending time with Ivy. If my daughter wants to have a relationship with her biological mom and get some answers that is cool...but leave me out it.

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If dude is lonely, there is a billions of other women on the planet not his ex wife.

@sbrooks103x - you asked '"He'd dumped her more times than I could keep track of," - Why do they always cheat with the guys that dumped them?'

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The answer is because that's how female psychology works. They want men who are unattainable and who are attractive to other women (there's a bunch of youtube videos explaining it in detail, including studies proving both these points. And they want "bad boys" who have what's called "Dark triad" psychological traits.

Oh, and to @sbrooks103x and others who can't understand why "Ic69hunter" called MC an asshole - it's because that commenter hates men and loves cheaters, and has a history of that.

Excellent story. It’s sad that some people don’t become aware of their impact on others, until they face death. I realized long ago that the pain of terminal illness, is the price a person pays to say whatever they need to say, and set affairs straight. Survivors live their lives remembering the person and his pain, as payment for the opportunity to say the things they should have said all along.

I'm not sure what the point of this story was. Yes it was a cheating wife and Karma got her in the end. I guess the point we all get is the assholes and bitches of the world don't understand how their action affect other people, either that or they just don't care. I think thae latter is more true. Selfish people describes cheaters of both sexes and I'm much more colorful wordes that do also. The hubris of sum people is amazing. These stories talk about the man's pride and ego being hurt. I was hurt over forty years ago, pride nor ego was at the route of it. You know what it was? My very soul, it was like a part of me was ripped away. I wasn't blaming anyone then but today I'm angry, but what can you do? Stay angry on go on living.

Isn't the best description, depressing is probably a better description. All anon's are bitching about it. Oh well it is a well written story as are all your stories. It does however fell unfinished, a shame the husband was a wimp he should have gone after the former boyfriend and made sure he wasn't a success. Have a great holiday season.

She could die alone.

I enjoyed the story. Thanks for sharing it.

As the story portrayed she - she wasn’t looking for redemption or forgiveness. I don’t believe there was a way for her previous family to give her that. Too much time had passed and her daughter really never nor would she know her as her mother. The Ex had moved on and yes there will always be the hurt from her leaving.

I believe she was just looking to end her life a little better than it was. This was in the family’s power to give. Thank you for your story. It is now one of my favorites.

Nice sad story!

If BTB is too much... (if not let's play with it more...), I think the musician lover needs a bit of that medicine too...

Geez, good thing we have @inka2222 to explain “women psychology” to us. Makes me wonder how I’ve managed to stay married to my wife for 35 years when I possess none of the “dark triad” characteristics. little help here professor @inka?

"Ivy had, in her final days and hours, embraced the concept of selflessly caring for others."

Would be nice if the author had posted that story instead of this one.

Or was there a chapter or two left out?

Well written.

Nice.

It was enjoyable to read about the selfish slut living a lifetime of misery and pain after her betrayal. Obviously she deserved all of it.

Unfortunately, him forgiving her for walking out on him and their baby daughter, before Ivy did one single thing to atone for being such a bitch ruined the story.

A sad but well written story. I love it when a writer writes something different than I expect and makes me a little emotional. 5 stars from Xluckylee