All Comments on 'Two Sides of the Coin'

Reasonable. Good story. 4 to 5.

Much better story than we've been getting on Lit lately. Thanks.

been done before but enjoyed it. idk about it but i was thinking of phone gps or maybe alexa app/google app has an activity report as well. at any rate that MC needs to see a shrink me thinks lol. oh the ring app almost everyone has one of those by now. they seemed well off enough to have one of those things

Trust takes years to build but minutes to destroy. I'm glad they worked it out. They seem like a good couple.

Great story and glad it's fiction. Old Joe is about the dumbest fucker around. He never did trust her and never will.

But he made a hell of a fantasy! Well told.

Cheers

SAGE

Portrayed a real scenario many men will face in their marriages.

...of 17 plus loving years who has never given u any reason to be suspicious and your marriage was only saved by the alarm log...then the MC has bigger problems then this...this marriage isnt going to last..the wife will slways be on tenterhooks ..

It's hard to believe that after at least 15 years he still flies off the handle. I can see how he could think she was involved with the stripper, but her denial should have been taken more seriously.

I get his pain, I see where it's coming from, but this is to minor and he needed to grow up. He should be damn happy his wife understands where he is coming from, but he needs to man up and start acting like a husband.

Might not have been very erotic, but surely wasn’t cookie cutter LW.

I didn't have a scorecard, so I gave up.

Poor guy was destroyed by cheating once, and still has trust issues. It’s understandable that he would have trust issues. Luckily he has a good wife, and modern technology to get past his uncertainty about her story. Not an unreasonable reaction at all. Bh76 is getting better with every story he writes.

These husbands are complete jackasses, straight out of the caveman era and deserve the divorces coming their way. Does sex really solve every problem? There's a line between jumping to conclusions and simply not trusting your wife. Especially after having little or no conversation. These women all need new husbands. Awful.

I personally find that when the cheating is not with the main characters the story just feels less impactful to me. Somehow the drama just isn't there in the same way as when the main players carry on the dialog of the plot.

Otherwise a well written story.

Joe is an idiot. You don’t treat your spouse of 17 years like that with zero evidence.

Two guys have great wives and one has a problem to deal with. The reality is that husbands usually know something isn't right before it gets to the point they are banging strippers. Two husbands overreacted badly. They had wives that deserved trust and they should have been grateful, although the new rules are very much in order. One husband needs to consider whether a 20 second mistake deserves divorce? I wouldn't like it, and if it happened again there would be hell to pay, but I do know that people do stupid things when they drink. An adult wife learns to control her drinking and avoid that problem LIKE AN ADULT. Four out of six characters in this story behaved to varying degrees in an immature manner and two are adults.

Kinda ambivalent about this one. He really was an ass. No proof at all but his suspicion. I am surprised she would take him back

A fun and refreshing read. Thank you

Either that or Melissa needs to nope on outa there. The trust thing would have come up before in their marriage, too, considering that he totally called her a liar based on his gut. Heck, I was kinda hoping he'd come home to divorce papers on the table.

What an insecure wimpy narcissist Joe is can’t believe the wife would put up with kind of 19th century thinking. Guys can go to strip clubs that’s OK, guys can look at porn that’s OK, guys can can ogle and make lewd comments about women that’s OK, but let the wife even contemplate doing anything other than being a Victorian/Quaker type wife and he feels threatened and wines like a baby. Boy did she pick a loser.

Decent story

Minus two stars for signing off with a trite “life is good”

(It’s just unnecessary, douchey and so effing lame...)

I enjoyed it. Nice change of pace for LW of late.

As for those anons who seem to think every women is just a cheating whore and the husbands wimpy little dicks, even when the wives dont cheat...well there's a reason decent people hate misogynists and laugh at the pretend Alpha make posters, sitting in their sisters panties being all internet tough.

girls night out with single women is trouble.

Good story!

5

People who have had there hearts ripped from there chest by a cheater is always going to think it will happen again. They are just waiting for the hammer to drop the second time. Great story that I really enjoyed. Five stars from me.

Not all women will conform to norms of sisterhood. They have their own knowledge of right and wrong.

For Joe, his trust issue is understandable. But this incident might help him heal. Melissa demonstrates that some can be trusted and has integrity.

This is a true loving wives tale.

5*

Good story, he nearly wrecked everything.

Scores 5/5

Once cheated on and gun shy and over reactive....yes.

Cavemen and don’t deserve their wives......no

Sex had nothing to do with it....trust had everything to do with it.

But it is really nothing for you to get all upset with, going by your reaction I’m sure anyone you find that can put up with your reactions will be more than happy sitting in a chair by your bed. Just don’t act hurt when all the real men you meet want nothing to do with you.

You might also want to invest in rubber sheets. Your obviously a feminist and full of shit. The sheets will make it easier to clean up after yourself.

TO ANONYMOUS IDIOT WHO MADE THE CAVEMAN COMMENT

.

It's not being a caveman you stupid fucken retard. Hes a human being and all human beings have a outlook which is shaped by their experiences and their life history and education as well as the mental make up.

The husband had gotten burned very badly once before so of course he is going to react a certain way if he sees the same sort of thing happening again to him.

You may think the husband is overreacting and maybe he was. But it's not being a cave man. He is acting to his life experiences like all people do all around the world.

Anonymous Oh Hell No said it for me.

No way she should let him off that lightly. He has some serious issues and needs help in a big way.

The MC is lucky his wife is so understanding. Joe needs professional help with his trust issues. Had this been the usual LW story, Joe would have ended up tied to chair watching her fuck some stripper as punishment for his false accusations. Lol!

Melissa can do better and needs to realize now before it’s too late. Joe’s insecurity will always be a wall between and there will be no future for them. I can understand being cautious at first but that should be over and done by now. Joe’s character is simply too shallow and Melissa is too forgiving. She did the right thing and how is she being treated for that? Like a liar. Might as well have done the crime.

This one was too short to have as many characters so fully inter grated into the mix , it was confusing . I had to backtrack a couple of times to see who’s character I reading about at the moment ! If it wasn’t for the over abundance of characters the story would have been very good . I only gave it 3 stars as a result , but really had to struggle with myself as I wanted to give it 4 , but my meaner side won out ! Lol

Who hasn’t gone to the strippers? Men? Anyone? Anyone at all? Put your hand back down, you’ve all gone to the fucking strippers so don’t pull this holier than thou bullshit.

What the two husbands did was, in my opinion, a deal breaker. Without any evidence they abandoned their families, called their wives names, tested them line criminals and generally acted like a boss and not a husband. Their actions said they distrusted their wives and we’re ready to get a divorce, we’ll, the wives should have started divorce proceedings because they were lucky they had proof of their innocence. Without it, we’ll, you saw how the author treated them: like cheating pieces of shit.

The women should have divorced these two bastards.

Thanks for reading!

Joe came out exactly as intended. I’m tired of perfect guys who do no wrong. It’s boring. I wanted Joe to be someone who loves his wife but has inner demons to fight and they cause his problems.

If anything I possibly wrote the wife as too weak. I deleted a chunk where she kicked him out. His leaving felt more believable. I switched it with Melissa getting the whole story on Joe’s divorce. That was meant to ease her off being pissed at him for not believing her and for her to understand why he doesn’t. She was the stronger of the two characters by a long shot.

They lived happily ever after, as well.

Whackadoodle, get off your high horse. He was pissed about the male stripper because there was sexual activity and cheating involved. That isn't very surprising. I have been to Male strip clubs, female strip clubs, been to parties with strippers performing. Clubs try to maintain rules that may or may not be followed. The Male strip clubs are the worst when it comes to that. Private parties are even worse than that. Depending on the women there the stripper will fuck someone if he can, and make more money by charging if possible. I am not saying all are like that but most are. Women are more likely to put the peer pressure on as well to get everyone involved to spread out the shame even if there is no cheating involved (sleeping with a strippers is bad and good girls don't do that so if we are all guilty then we aren't guilty) Think I am lying? lol

So yeah, I can see why the husband would be a little upset but after 17 years she earned trust. He would be groveling for a bit were he my husband.

Felt real to me. I can see this taking place but as others pointed out I can't see her being so calm about not being trusted. The wife character is only worried about Joe leaving her and how the poor guy was cheated on before, wha-wha-wha. She doesn't for a second get angry at him for accusing her and actually taking off? She doesn't ask him to prove that when he is with the guys he isn't getting lap dances or screwing the dancer or hiring a hooker?

I guess it was always to be about Joe having trust issues but I think it would score higher if the wife actually filed on him and then they later work it out.

I liked the story a lot. If you've ever been burned, you know that afterwards the rule is trust but verify. Eventually, the trust gets easier and, yes, this guy took it to the nth degree after over 15 years together but the set-up was perfect. I think she should have called Joe after the stripper discovery and told him knowing all the facts and circumstances. That would have been the biggest verifier of trust. Yes, I know she was innocent but that would have negated all appearances of impropriety as she should have well known.

A really good story and definitely could happen in real life. If only they had a way to communicate with each other. Uh wait a minute why not call each other when plans change and say I am on my way home see you when you get home. After 17 years she would know how he would react to finding out about the stripper party. We all carry a phone with us why not use it? Just saying it would be cheap easy insurance against such an argument.

but the only asshole in this story was the husband. His inability to trust needed to be dealt with in counseling prior to getting married a second time. Would have like to see the wife with a little more backbone as I know i would have been pissed after being accused of cheating and lying when i was innocent

Whackadoodle, your opening comment is just plain disgusting

You might be right about going to see strippers. But guess what? It was before I was married. Not after I married. I have a tendency to see the whole picture here. I was abused as a child, my foster mothers walked around in front of me in bra and panties and topless at times. Guess what I knew-strippers and bodies nude before I was even 10. So yeah I can see both sides. It doesn't excuse the women for doing it in the first damn place. Just like with me-except I didn't know any better. Now thats a reason, huh? I just grew up with it all the time.

Joe seriously needs a shrink, then a couples shrink... I expected one of the boys to have snuck home, eavesdropped on mom & Aunt, got his favorite game controller, snuck out but overhearing Joe's rant became mom's savior - slamming some facts into Joe's paranoia.

/

4*, Hooyah....

This marriage is doomed if Joe doesn’t change. He is the problem. I get once burned and twice shy, but to go into complete distrust mode is a real problem.

I missed the part where Joe resolved that question. Was it for all four women or did Mel get a lap dance? Manhattan? Oh; never mind.

Well done.

A person who has been betrayed,

will have issues.

This story delt well with that.

A realistic and well written story.

Top ratings from me.

This a good story but the vision of Joe smoking a cigar almost leaves me with a one star rating since it sounds so much like a macho idiot. I gave it a 5 because he didn't destroy his marriage over suspicion.

Wow - you really are a ball-less wonder: You called the author of this story "a piece of shit", yet I noticed that you have not written ONE SINGLE STORY for criticism...(or AT ALL.) What a laughing-stock.

- You were pretty hard on an author, an actual WRITER (good, bad or otherwise) about what YOU didn't like in or about his story.

- Here's a thought - Grow some balls of your OWN and write one of your OWN stories, so YOU can learn what it feels like to be criticized by a ball-less panty-wearing sissy, who is an ass-licking cock-sucker like yourself! 'Till then you are lower than a dog-turd.

Good story. Trust issues are always hard on everyone. Thank you Bh76 I enjoyed your story.

@whackdoodle,

I have not read a single story anywhere ever that would make me call them a "piece of shit" or any other vile name. I may not care for a story but I am thankful for their stories and the entertainment they provide.

I believe that you mr. doodle are in need of professional help. I suggest you seek this help before someone has you committed'

I hope Joe knows he can not make any mistakes. She will be on his azz like white on rice!! Thanks for sharing.

Decent story. I liked this one. (thx)

About the plot itself:

Don't know too many married wives going to strippers. My wife let me when I had to entertain certain clients though so not a deal breaker for me either way. Not so much fun as people may think, more noise and booze than anything else.

The lack of trust is strange. You can be wary after the divorce but his reaction is a bit over the top if they are a loving couple with children. Him doubting her might come back to haunt him.

An interesting story ruined by the author's inability to quit telling the story. I was somewhat ambivalent about the story with the husband's trust issues resurfacing so deep into his marriage so I started to read the comments to try to get some other people's perspective. And there was the author still trying to tell the story. If it's not finished don't submit it.

I’m thinking Melissa needs to dump Joe. Too controlling. That will get worse not better. Good story!

Married people should not be seeing strippers!

If she wants to do the right thing, she would have told the son why he’s upset.

Even if I was considering coming back, her sneering would put me over the edge. She should be on her knees in broken glass level of contrition.

Alarm code was brilliant way to prove she went home. Of course, you don't know what happened prior to her leaving but at least there was no picture showing her being inappropriate.

Seeing strippers is one thing if they are on a stage and you are hands off. Some folks are insecure if the stripper is in better shape and wonder why their spouse doesn't;t look at them like that when they are naked. But a personal party or a show where the strippers go to table to table and lap dance our touching... that is a no no for a married man or woman.

Had their been no pictures of the sex act I wonder if Joe would have reacted like this?

Cigar smokers are all assholes, so who gives a fuck?

Second read. I wish I could give the story another 5*

Been going thru your stories -- solid stuff. This one another good read.

Good read, well done. 5 stars

Having that little faith and trust in your spouse 15/16 years in is a monstrous red flag that needing to be addressed more. He needed a bit more remorse .

Late 80's, small southern town(12K) beer joint(semi-dry county) that had live music twice a month. Owner started bringing in male strippers twice/year. He would run the afternoon guys out at 730; guys could come back after 1000.

What amazed me was that the women would come dressed to the nines, better than they would dress for their husbands on live band nights. One stripper night I left to hit some Mexican food and stopped by the interstate about a mile from the club for gas. A white stretch Lincoln pulled in. A big muscled up black guy and a shorter cut up blonde guy got out and headed to the restroom... HOLDING HANDS. They were the strippers, HAHAHAHA.

Good read.

You have a problem with endings. At some point it seems you got tired and don't bother to tie the loose ends.

Long-term fallout of affairs from long ago hits hard. Most men would not want their wives hanging around with male strippers and women who are fascinated by them.

STORY: "...And after everything was sorted out and the evil people locked away, the Prince married the Princess in a wonderful wedding. They had three children who grew up to jointly rule the kingdom in peace and harmony. And they all live happily ever after."

ANON: "Finish the damn story!"

1 star. Mountain of a molehill with a lot of perfunctory drivel on the first page and then 2-cent "drama" on the second page. Nothing, plot is as thick and strong as a toilet paper.

"Happy family", "wounded male with a thin skin", "lowing wife" and commonplace BS.

Dude, if this is the best you can do, stop writing and do something else you know.

Power of communication. Can easily say in hindsight she could have messaged her hun and said she was going home due to the stripper showing up

Joe started the story as an ass, and finished it as one as well. What a sorry excuse for a man.

Wife was an utter idiot. His reasoning was spot on.. she showed contempt for him and their marriage by going to the strip club on the sly....and even further contempt by attending the session with the male stripper at the friends house. Even though she and her friend did not consummate the physical act of betrayal...their knowing attendance blatantly showed their contempt. In that light the husband was psychologically and spiritually cuckolded. While there was no physical consummation, this utter idiot of a wife betrayed him in a public and blatant fashion. Faithful wives simply DO NOT attend wives out nights at strip clubs or with hired strippers.

BH76 has framed this story so that the wife has edged the husband. She played him like a fool... she went to the utter edge of infidelity and kept on that knife edge of betrayal for two weeks of acting out. The marriage is fundamentally broken when the wife blatantly acts out this level of contempt.

BH76 has a happy ever after denouement which frankly is not supported by the evidence in my opinion. She has shown blatant sociopathic tendencies by her actions. She holds her marriage in contempt by her actions, and is very sorry once the repercussions from her actions are made evident. At no point does anyone address the underlying selfish core of her actions that have really damaged her marriage. Nope she repents of being caught....and she has appologized....and everything is forgiven.... UNTIL the heat dies down, and she feels the need for a little excitement...and there is no obvious indication that she would be caught....She will again step out and maybe this time it will metastasize into full adultery.

Nope...fairy tale conclusion is not supported by the facts laid out by the author in the story 4 stars

Joe was an ass, no proof of anything and went over deep end. After soooo many years, come on. If you can't trust your next wife, maybe you shouldn't have got married. For a tough guy, he sure sounds insecurity. My first wife cheated on me, you don't see me not trusting. It's call trust and verify. If you can't prove anything then it's all about the trust.

Anonymous - Joe was an ass

He suffered from cheating the first time. When that seed is in your brain, you can't get rid of it. Suspicion is a virus which have no vaccine. You can control it. But it takes time to disappear. If your friend is suggesting for improper behaviour, my suggestion is to leave them, even they are siblings.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that Joe is an ass considering what he went through, but he does need to get a hold of himself. That was not conduct becoming of a Patriarch.

servant 111, try to comprehend what the words mean when you read. Joes wife didnt go to the strip club behind his back, she told him about it and asked permission. Joe researched the club and gave his ok. Is engelish not your native tongue?

Can't believe Joe was such a BIG ass. Melissa should of packed her and the kids bags and just left Joe. Maybe even see a divorce lawyer and start the process...

5* Realistic portrayal of a husband still suffering with trust issues. However, your punctuation needs work.

But not great

What about the bottle of wine Melissa and Jeri drank? That would prove they were there at home.

No other evidence in say the kitchen that the two women were at home? There would be other witnesses at Marci's party that would back up that they left. Not sure what Sonya was thinking. Joe was over the top. Has real trust issues. After the initial shock. my sympathy for Joe kept declining. Melissa is the real deal and I hope Joe makes it up to her. And btw regarding the stripper revues show, she told him if he said "no" she would not go. And she and Jeri did exactly the right thing leaving. The only thing they should have done is texted that they were going back home, as the night was a bust. Even if she had stupidly stayed as long as there was no evidence that she strayed, then divorce is an over-reaction. Innocent until proven guilty. Counseling, fine. But Joes's past has him haunted.

Joe was right to doubt his wife!!

Good and very clever twist. Realistic reactions from characters. The tale moved well and at a good pace.

A nice story about trust in marriage. Luckily they found a way to prove when the ladies got home.

It shouldn’t have taken that, but having been burned once made him uneasy.a solid 4.

Bill S.

While I empathize with Joe, why are so many commenters not questioning is "guilty until proven innocent" mindset. Wtf? I would relate more to Don. Blow fire at the start, then use rational thought to dissect the situation. Besides you could always get a PI to interview people at the party. A lot showed up at Marci's house. The wife was innocent. Joe majorly over-reacted. "No closer to a decision after 2 days". Dude has serious issues. I am reminded of all thr many LW stories where hubby is framed by a staged/drugged/forged video or photographs and the wife doesn't believe the husband and files for divorce/throws him out/has a revenge fuck (of course that last option is nuclear and wrong) and the same commenters rip into the wife for not believing the innocent husband. Huh?

Don seemed reasonable how he approached the situation. Joe was an asshole that needed total certainty to proceed. I know he got burned with his first wife but really? Worst case, go back home, and for a few months be vigilant, maybe hire a PI for a bit or get some recorders for her car, etc. If you find out that she is cheating, then an extra 3 or so months isn't worth sacrificing a good 17+ year marriage.

Joe is a first class arsehole.

Well written, especially capturing the unsettled feelings thanks to past injury. I especially liked that since it is almost standard for a LW story to use technology to catch the unfaithful wife, that in this case Joe finally uses technology to demonstrate Melissa's fidelity. She has a right to be pissed that he needed it, but it looks like they can work that out as leftover PTBD (Post Traumatic Betrayal Disorder)

I just wish you have come up with a better explanation than the alarm, it was awesome at the same and got 5stars

Really ? Only a 3, because of the ridiculous reaction of her husband. He had no proof whatsoever of infidelity on her part. Bad plot !

No 😊’s

This story addresses the conundrum of what do you do if you suspect infidelity but don't have concrete proof? Especially if there are children involved. Well I can speak from experience. My wife of 7 years (yeah, yeah the irony) exhibited all the behavior of adulterous spouses but I did not have concrete proof, even as we had a three year-old. She even tried to make-up from guilt after leaving her lover of 14 months, albeit that came out later. Bottom line, I spoke with the in-laws (including her sister who I was close to), and confronted her. That's it! Simply asked and stated irreconcilable difference for a classic divorce. Spouses are often too afraid to deal with it upfront because of the consequences. But I call it the 'band aid' approach: does it hurt less whether done quickly or slowly? Because not addressing the suspicions will kill a marriage. In our case, she did confess and we agreed to try to heal the rift because of a minor child. It was never the same after, and we did split when our daughter became 16. I still ask myself whether it was worth it? But I suspect there are many marriages where the parents are just 'fuck-buddies'. So sad. I've since been married to a loving woman for almost 20 years and had a blended household of teenagers who came out well indeed. My first wife wasn't happy with the divorce but went along because of our daughter and accepted her responsbility. Its all about how you address the roots of discontent, and it means no band-aid approaches.

Good story about spousal insecurity and judgement (poor and good). But the husbands were right to be disapproving of their wives' behavior. What so often happens at batchelorette (or frankly, batchelor) parties with strippers AND lots of alcohol? Alcohol consumption suppresses judgement badly. So the husbands were right to be concerned and the wives should have known better to put themselves in that situation given expressed concerns. The rest is the husbands starting to react in anger, but calming down to work it out with their wives before precipitous behavior. I like that portrayal here. Heavy drinking and wild-child behavior has ended more than one marriage. My wife was a wild-child and heavy drinker in college, but tamed it after we got together. Trusted associates confirmed that for me at the parties she attended to. I loved that and respected her immensely for it. I said so and she later said that appreciation made the difference to he. So we discussed that prior to marriage, and addressed the drinking by agreeing to chaperon each other at all parties and social events. But note, not professional ones. It worked well enough for 35 years so far. So in response to comments about the husbands' being too controlling, note the portrayal of the thoughtful wives respecting that. All about respect and demonstrating that in persona and social behavior. This story 'aces' this scenario. It's not about "proof", but the spousal thoughtful handling of valid concerns. Kudos to the author. Well done.

Think if the genders were swapped in this story. Many readers would be ripping on the wife for not trusting her husband and seeking possible divorce. Meanwhile Don acted correctly. But Joe was an insecure prick.

A different take on an old plot. Well done.

Interesting to note how many comments are anti Joe just coz he didn't have any proof of infidelity. In many stories where there is that proof the same old line comes out "How can I trust you? "

And we all cheer on the wronged husband and like sheep mindlessly agree with his sentiments and statement. "Without trust there is no marriage"

In this story Joe had no proof but he obviously had suspicions. He did not trust her enough to believe her and her friend.

So again is it wrong to say No trust, no marriage.

Femdom agitprop comedy of errors. Meh.

Joe was right to do what he did, and he got his proof!!! Don is just a future CUCK

Communication is key. If she sent a text that night saying they were going home because they were bringing strippers I'm sure that would have sufficed. If not we have video chat to show these things now. Just a quick bit of communication helps a lot in a relationship and with trust.

A story of a dumbass

"I'm sorry, Joe. You're on your own with this now. I'm going home and I'm gonna try to make it right with Jeri. I'm not letting her completely off the hook, I'm gonna set some ground rules and the girls' nights have to stop is number one—but I think we're being too unreasonable."

====> Don is the level headed adult. Joe without the alarm system might never get past it and seek divorce, if not right away, eventually. He is that Jung up on betrayal of his first wife.

Very well written. This is a very realistic look at trust and broken people who project their breakage onto others. I think that applies to many of the people who leave these wild and almost accusatory comments on LW stories.

5 stars. Loved it.

Honestly I was really impressed by Melissa. She is wifey material through and through. She let her husband know about the strip club and let him have the final say. And she left Maric's party the minute she knew a stripper would be there. Most women wouldn't see being drunk around naked men as a big deal. Also important is that she respected his wishes to stay away from Marci and Sonya. I'd expect the same behavior and respect from him if the situations were reversed.

But I can see why Joe would overreact the way he did. I think I would've too considering. Fuck Alex lol

Melissa? Or Katie? Eitherway, it's good that Joe knows what's up now