All Comments on 'Was It All Worth It'

4. Decent, just didn't much care for how the entire family went against the MC and the fact he forgave them especially Katy too easily. She had turned his family against him and his mom died without reconciling. I don't think she was worthy of forgiveness, at least not at that point.

For this story despite the closing remark I don't really feel it was the "one time" cheating that sunk their marriage, it was the disrespect. I think the MC was a reasonable enough guy he could forgiven Katy for a one time mistake, a drunken fling or a player's seduction. But it didn't really come off like that, with her weeks of disrespect and her snubbing him on his birthday/Father's Day it felt like an affair that went to her head. She had stopped caring about his feelings until she thought there was a chance to lose him and even then cared more for herself. Instead of trying to allow him to deal with it on his own to heal, she started a campaign to ruin his relationships with his family.

Like an anon said a lot of marriages could have worked past this and I think if Katy hadn't continued to make all the wrong movies this marriage could have too. But she just kept pushing him until it all feel apart.

SignedBTW You forgot Clarke Gable -;his story was particularly poignant. I think he was trying to get killed in despair.

But he came through it.

This one was tough for me. I am a reconciliation guy. Not a Raac or a Cuck. It was obvious that Katy realized she messed up right away. She ran off to the beach because she was embarrassed and didn't know how to handle and then mishandled the divorce. I did read many comments and feel that only LPN was on the money. Most guys who were in a good marriage and that is what was described, would want to know why. They would need big time therapy. I wonder how Bill would have felt if there was no Missy. I am not condoning anything that Katy did. It took her a while, to learn how to behave and stop blaming Bill for everything. No mention of her parents at the funeral which was strange. Shame author had to kill of grandma to reconcile Bill with daughters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The funeral was for the Mom and the story, both ended before their time.

My make up is one and done. That said, in this story her actions spoke volumes as to how she was treating her husband. She was real bitch to him before and after she had her one fling and I feel that is what hacked him off just as much as her having poor sex with her conquest. She left out his Birthday and Fathers Days so she totally side lined him and on top of that seemed to take the daughters along with her. She basically divided the family and never really was sorry she did it. It's no wonder he divorced her. Had she shown remorse she may have been able to turn the marriage around. For me I would have had to divorce her and then remarry her making a new start to the marriage .

With the way the story was told I would not believe the one time only thing. Who gets all dressed all slutty for fun in the backseat except a teenager. Sure he was young, but she should have had higher expectations.

It's so strange how, generally speaking, when a man cheats he's "a pig". When a woman cheats she "made a mistake". It's absolutely amazing to me when a spouse (male or female) says something like, "It was only 1 time. It had nothing to do with love...I love you!! I fucked up and I know I've lost your trust right now, but I swear it will never happen again. I would never let it happen again!"

Well, isn't that what you promised your spouse at your wedding? You'll never be with another intimately. Emotional relationships are usually intimate as well..a form of cheating, in my opinion, but I digress. So, you've already made that promise once and you broke it why would any sane person believe that you wouldn't break it again? When you get married your relationship is at the highest point of a certain type of love. The relationship is usually a few years old...everything is awesome which is why you're getting married. So, you make that promise to be faithful forever. If you can't keep THAT promise, you're telling me you're going to keep the same promise even though you're X amount of years away from that blissful period of new love? If anything, you're more inclined to cheat as the years go by. Why do you think there is a term called the "honeymoon phase"?

Another way of looking at that often heard line, "It was only 1 time. It had nothing to do with love...I love you!! I fucked up and I know I've lost your trust right now, but I swear it will never happen again. I would never let it happen again!" You'd never let it happen again? Oh, so you're admitting that you DO have control over whether you completely betray, belittle, disrespect and shit all over your marriage by cheating...So, are you saying that you did all of that on purpose hoping to crush the husbands heart? That must be what you're saying since you know that you can promise it wouldn't happen again. You could only make that promise if you have control.

Sad. Yes she disrespected him before the adultery. But honestly if she had been really repentant and took responsibility, this could have been fixed, at least with some marriages. Of course the husband would have to stick around to at leastvtalk about it. But this was just sad because it didn't have to be this way. Both spouses did not handle this well so it was doomed. I know thr MC was the wronged party but he ghosted her and got upset when she enlisted others. But she should have stepped up her game. She was clearly feeling guilty. Then again maybe she knew thr husband was Old Testament and would never forgive. But then why risk the affair? Again sad.

Not died me, sorry

So, Bill traded in his adulterous, hag of an ex-wife for a newer, cuter, model. Sounds like a happy ending to me.

Bill the stupid cuck!!

Why hasn't Bill proposed to Missy yet!!!

This story is sooo good on many levels everyone should read it. There are no life promises that come worth birth. The inexplainable loss of a good job, the sudden death of a parent, a beloved sibling dying of a rare cancer at age four ... The strength a person gains through all these life experiences is what makes us what we are today. Readers who understand the message of the author will gain from it. Those who want to take it apart simply don't understand and get the benefit.

You wrote this story well, I enjoyed it. Kate's betrayal wasn't a one-time thing, there was flirting, planning and plotting, it was devious, and it took time. This wasn't a drunken mistake. It's hard to get over, even after years. Betrayal of the deepest sort, and everyone suffered.

In the real life world, few marriages end with the one timer indiscretion, especially with children involved.

bill

such a wimp why divorce katy if you want her to be part of the family .

kittycampbell sure they do ,i had four kids and divorce her ass for one time . once a cheater allways a cheater .

Perhaps because I can't in any way identify with any of the characters, I don't enjoy the husband getting shit upon by the wife and the whole family stories where he just takes it with never-ending patience and is a good guy to everyone, including the nasty scheming cheating ex who turned the family against him.

What nailed the coffin was her behaviour. She went to cheat on him despite knowing that he knew or at least must have suspected what she was up to. Totally respectles, what did she expect? Afterwards, she seemed to get angry so quickly instead of taking responsibility for her mistake and trying to make up for it. She seemed to think that all she had to do was put enough pressure on him to force him to forgive her.

Some aspects I find not so convincing: why did she cheat so obviously if she loved him that much? Why would everyone turn on him?

Once a cheater is NOT always a cheater. People make mistakes and then get their shit together all the time. And forgiveness is not a wimpy thing, it is borne of strength and character.

So Sad these women that think whether it is just once or not that they can throw away a good marriage without caring BUT expect the husband to forgive them The first time is the hardest BUT after that if they get away with it then they will keep doing it I hate cheaters

One and Done, Thats the way I believe.

ignore the idiots who claim "once a cheater, not always a cheater." Sheer rubbish. People are who they are and there is no question the wife in this story was a self-absorbed bitch whose only regret was getting caught. Turning everyone against him proved that beyond a doubt. He did the right thing getting away from her. Not sure I'd have had the patience with the moronic daughters but to each his own.

I think that the normal reaction by a wife caught cheating on Literotica, is to expect the husband to get over it. And the degree of pressure they put on him from family and friends, to just forgive and forget, is unbelievable. Although I believe a wife might ask for RAAC, I think that it is much more likely she will just take him to the cleaners in a divorce. After all, women cheat at about the same rate as men, but they institute 75-80% of the divorces. Once a woman crosses that line, it is highly unlikely she is going to beg her husband to take her back. I think a lot of stories compare how a woman would handle telling her husband about a minor fender bender, to sleeping with someone else. That is unrealistic. Although I did like the story and gave it a 5,

You set up dullard at hubby, make him so uncurious that he notices nothing around him, and that builds into a story? Not.

Good story, but for some reason felt kinda dry.

So 4 out 5, sorry.

it's not a good story!!!!!! Track! WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK!

I can't get over the number of times I used to go out and talk to older women, turns out 9 out of 10 had a pig of a husband and treated them badly, I had to give them some fun to cheer them up. God I was so gullible. Point is went too hard on youngster, would have been wife laying bait.

Where the hell do characters like his Mom, MIL, friends, poker partners all saying "get over it" come from? I thought I was reading a JPB or MM story and they would soon suggest he eat creampies!

Be cordial to Kate? After never reconciling with his Mother I wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire. Also left out was the daughters graduating so he could throw the bitch out and sell the house.

5 Stars on a great story . I also got the get over it from her family but not My family . My Family hated my ex now I know why . As for my ex daughter she is starting to think that it is OK to have more then one Boyfriend .

I've read this story several times. I find it written with a nice pace. The characters seem real, though the girls actions toward their father seem strange to me. The last line sums the MC's action perfectly "I can live with myself". That is the result any of us should strive to obtain. Thanks for the story. John

Read the story several times. Gues this is how it is in the real world.

There is something wrong with a man who throws away twenty years of marriage because of a sexual indiscretion.

Marital vows are to be held sacred, but nobody is perfect. Refusing to discuss the issue is the equivalent to burying your head in the sand. Generally women who engage in extramarital affairs have already developed an emotional relationship with her lover. If you have been married twenty years, your investment is too high to give up easily. Make her life miserable but don't run and sulk.

I could have accepted a reconciliation in this one up until the wife tried to destroy God relationship with the kids. That is unforgivable and showed he probably made three right call not forgiving her.

Well written. 2nd read and still enjoyable.

Wife proved she was never worth a second chance by the way she behaved before and after she was caught. Lying to her daughters to turn them against their Dad, begging his Mom and others to intercede on her behalf because it was only a one-time "mistake"... this is a horrible woman who values her well-being above ALL others.

.

One stupid comment was to NOT divorce, but to stay and "make her miserable". What kind of environment is that to raise two girls in? Obviously a comment written by a woman kicked to the curb by her husband and has somehow managed to blame him for everything. Delusional.

"I can live with myself." We always find a way to excuse our behavior. Just remember, "He who offers no forgiveness gets none."

One of the worst habits of LW authors is to have the wounded hubby refuse to talk to wifey. That usually goes on page after page, and for no reason except lack of imagination.

Reading again. Forty year old divorced men with jobs are a hot commodity

Damn good

I didn't understand one thing: Did the wife deliberately ignore Father's Day and her husband's birthday, or did she forget, plunged into guilt for cheating? Absolutely contradictory facts are stated by the author. Forgetfulness is excluded by her obsession with highlighting the dates of events in the calendar, and deliberate ignoring is refuted by the fact that she burst into tears violently, realizing that she had forgotten about her husband's double celebration. Unclear.

For all the "It was one time stories."

Ask the women/sisters/daughters this.

"So since you have had sex[age appropriate of course] did you just grab the guy, throw him down on the floor, rip his clothes off and fuck him right there?" "Of course not. There was flirting, teasing, light touching leading to hugs, kisses, intimate caresses, oral sex followed by actual intercourse." "This took days and planning to get to the sexual parts."

"Now when your mother claims it was only 'One time' are you and she saying the guy or your mom threw the other one on the floor or back seat of the car, ripped their clothes off and fucked them?" "WELL?"

@Anonymous2 months ago

*There is something wrong with a man who throws away twenty years of marriage because of a sexual indiscretion.* -- No, there's something wrong with anon who think that betraying a twenty-year marriage is just some kind of indiscretion.

*Marital vows are to be held sacred, but nobody is perfect.* -- No, if you haven't betrayed your marital vows, you have every right to consider yourself perfect.

*Refusing to discuss the issue is the equivalent to burying your head in the sand.* -- Yeah, when a whore instead of discussing issue decides to just stick someone else's cock in her vagina, then yes, it's someone's head in the ass, but not in the sand.

*Generally women who engage in extramarital affairs have already developed an emotional relationship with her lover.* -- Yes, and in the world of decent women, such cheap cunts are called married whores, regardless of their emotional state.

*If you have been married twenty years, your investment is too high to give up easily.* -- No, if twenty years' worth of investment hasn't been enough to make the stupid monkey stay loyal, there's no point in continuing to invest.

*Make her life miserable but don't run and sulk.* -- Why stay and try to make the pathetic whore's life even more miserable than it already is? It's quite obvious that the dumb cunt is the only one here who will sulk. Isn't it conceived?

*****

Well, @anoni, don't you feel like shit yet? LOL)))

*****

For autor -- Nice story, me like it realy. Take fives and thx.

Divorced Old Testament guy is somehow hot commodity and finds Missy. Katy was an execrable bitch after and during the divorce manipulating their daughters. And yes she skipped Father's Day + birthday because she was wracked with guilt and out of sorts. When he followed her, she was breaking it off. But how can he trust her. While it was a one time slip, she did a shitty job of apologizing or taking ownership of what she did, no atonement. She went scorched earth in divorce as if that woukd nake him stop. She wad not smart and a poor judge of human behavior.

So you can live with yourself. So can the devil. Rot in Hell.

All the requisite elements of the standard cheating wife story, including wife #2 with bigger breasts lined up before the divorce is final. The husband of course is a saint, but the rest of his family are clueless and think he’s just being stubborn. Of course none of them understand how hard it is to be a saint.

The poor put upon saint husband has to commit a crime to burn the bastard wife’s lover so the BTB crowd won’t call him a cuck and score the story low.

So much hate.

This was a good story , when a person has a set of values that they have grown up with it's impossible to ignore them . Imagine the anger , the betrayal and then being asked to ignore his values , fortunately or unfortunately I'm the same way . Without our values we have no basis of how to centre ourselves or how others perceive us . Anyway enough with the lecture a great story .

“ one and done = death penalty people are hard to take, even when they’re correctly the aggrieved party. This MC is way over the top and unsympathetic. Being rigid and inheilesing not matter what is not strength and principle as much as it is not necessarily principled; rather, it may simply mean weak and insecure. Yuk.

A must read story that shows life principles put into practice. Plot, characters, the realism. Unbeatable combination. 5+

The Hoary Cleric

This standard formula cheating wife story might have set the record for earliest introduction of the cheating whore wife’s replacement!

She makes her bed so she can lay on it.... Respect to the MC. Definitely a 5 star rating. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Loved it ,the wife deserved to be burned she threw away 20 years and blew up the family so much so that the mc’s mom died without the relationship being reconciled

5 out of 5

While I'm apt to say it's a 1-time thing, it might've been more. How she's dressed that Friday night, ignoring her husband on Saturday, for what? Perhaps she screwed the kid more than once but not admitting to it. Then there's once a cheater, always a cheater. And being a cheater leads to lying where they feel they can get away with it. Add to that, before anything, they had to meet a few times & have an emotional affair at least. They just didn't decide to jump in her car a do the deed.

>> Also, there's Father's Day/ birthday combo for him. How can she forget? Any excuse is just BS.

>> The daughters are another thing. They believe their mother's lies? They're approaching college age, & not a child. They didn't think to reach out to their father somehow? He's only been texting them. That they didn't do so's unconscionable to me. At 1st, their sore/ angry at the divorce. But after some time, like the excuses for cheating, there are none.

>> That he kept on, despite the silent treatment to text his daughters, is foolish. Yes, for a while, do so; but there's a limit to one side texting & being met with silence.

>> That he took his ex, during the services for his mom then during the meal, was 1st class to me. I think she realized what she gave up for that alledged 1 time sex. Story doesn't say about his & Mia's marriage; one can read that it did happen.

>> Overall, that Katy not only had sex with the kid & gave poor excuses, she also poisoned her daughters & mother, & she died before they could have any chance of getting their relationship back. Even tho he met & evidently falling for Missy, this story's actually a tragedy of sorts, emotions running amock. Well written & played out. 5 stars Bob

Daughters too old to be given pass.!!!

Both? Forgetting father's day?!

Too Old to disrespect him that much during the divorce and after?

Know too many people give their children passes and look at society we have today. Lazy, self centered etc

Will wake up call before end?!

Cynical double it

FAther did not try to reconcile with Mother Broke her heart Just the same as murdered her He deserves no forgiveness as he will rot in hell

Almost too over-the-top in his immediate shut-down of Katy. He was unwilling to listen. It's like he never truly loved his wife . . . or maybe that for him all love was based upon genital ownership, and nothing more. Normally I would have taken his side, but there was such arrogant self-righteous indignation on his part. It left me equating him to those who do those honor killings or stonings used in some regions. It sort of makes him look worse than the supposed 'transgressor'. I actually hope Missy cheats on him a lot, and doesn't tell him until he's on his death bed or something.

Whatever his future may hold, the tale certainly kept my interest . . . good story!

Sorry c24J…. Your comment is ridiculous. Once and done. Why listen to a cheating slut? Why bother? Could he believe anything she said was the truth? What could she say that justified her cheating? What counts is actions, not words. Words can and are lies. Would she have listened if it was the dad that cheated? Just once. Nope. Faithfulness ins’t about ‘genital ownership”. It’s about trust and keeping one’s word, one’s promise and vows. She broker he vows. Why should he be bound to keep his?

@anon - that man-hating idiot c24j leaves comments on other stories criticizing them for not kissing the cheating cunt's ass and used up cunt enough.

Loved it cheating wife got what she deserve

I think we all agree that c24J, is really a woman. She always saying let the woman have her fun, just clean her up after. Every act of cheating is a hard line in the sand the utter contempt shown by expecting forgiveness is the issue

"I'm so sorry," - Sorry is for when you make a mistake, she deliberately blew off his birthday AND Father's Day.

~~~

"Can you forgive her? I mean, it's just forgetting a day." - She didn't forget, she knew EXACTLY what she was doing. It was "just" his birthday OR Father's Day, it was both, and this was despite her precious calendar!

~~~

Could she have forgotten Father's Day? She didn't call her father either, but how the fuck do you do that, especially someone so meticulous about dates? Maybe she's too involved with her affair!

~~~

"There is no innocent explanation for sitting in the back of the parking lot after work with a man in her car." - In a vacuum, there MIGHT be, but not with everything else that's going on. You're husband has just accused you of cheating, and you sit in your car with a strange man, probably your lover?

~~~

As has been said, it's not just that Friday night fucking, it was the seduction leading up to it. Assuming he was the instigator, she should have shut him down. If SHE was, that's worse, IMHO. She didn't even have the tact to hide her infidelity, it was painfully obvious what was going on when she left that night.

~~~

"My daughters told me I needed to stay with the family because they would be scarred for life by our divorce." - They're not already "scarred for life" by their mother's cheating?

~~~

"They only had sex one time in the backseat of his car" - She got all dolled up to be fucked in the backseat of his car? LOL!

~~~

If he wasn't a dud, would she be looking to reconcile? "it was to tell him privately to never speak to her again." - There was no place in the store to talk privately?

~~~

"There's no telling what nonsense she's put into their heads." - What? They know exactly what's going on, I believe they knew about their mother's bad attitude before the cheating, they know she cheated, they were there when she blew off Father's Day and his birthday, what could she possibly say to counteract that?

Quit reading as he blamed wife for turning mom, daughter's,etc against him. They were Old enough to make own decisions. He should have just went on with life and left them to reconcile or not.

She did what she wanted to do and now he did what he wanted to do. The often stated expectation that a cheated upon spouse must forgive the cheater for whatever imagined reason is pure bull. Marriage is a contract and if one of the parties breaks the terms the remedies are either to renegotiate, continue on with the existing terms presuming no further breaches occur, or abrogate the contract entirely. The injured party is fully entitled to pursue what ever course they choose and need not ever justify the choice to anyone.

F Katy, f the daughter and f his mom. As despicable people. Daughters especially

I really do LOVE the humour in these tales, whether intended or not! A few of the Aussie contingent like Vandemonium, & his Lady-friend feature a joke in the tail, but many more do so presumably accidentally, and some of them amuse me greatly, whilst I can still appreciate the story for what it is, good or bad!

Like here with: "and her toes were painted hot pink matching her fingernails" Is this a U.S. custom, to paint the WHOLE toe red, or Pink, rather than just the toenail as English Ladies do?

R.S.

Meh! 2 stars

To the anon that quit reading because he blamed the wife for turning others against him, well, that's because she did. The daughters literally explained it and it's possible that his mom found out the truth and was trying to apologize before her heart attack. It was solely Katy's fault for that and he moved on, they came back to reconcile after they heard it all. Now the daughters are more aware that one time is not an excuse because of what happened. Which one time is only understandable if it was accidental or unintentional by that I mean if she was drugged or something, but this was deliberate, hence the trust is gone. You don't get to have your cake and eat it.

It feels unreasonable to be portrayed as the 'bad one'

In a divorce when you stand up for your principles. Does time heal all wounds?

That’s a real story, you didn’t help the hurt on her in an unrealistic way, very good.

Going out dressed up in front of him sort of said it all.

The dress up night. Forgetting his birthday and father's day. Cheating with the Dweeb. How can anyone expect a RECON? Going brain dead is no excuse to take a cheater back. Also It is not hard to read her as a selfish bitch...Make her St Joan of Arc and scatter the ashes.

It doesn't make you a bad guy just a bit of a dick. People do make mistakes, it's hard being married for 20 years, and it's more than true that if you loved her you'd have put up more of a fight.

/

Ironically for LW, the MC should thank his lucky stars that he lived in a no fault state, because otherwise he'd have never been able to divorce her, if she didn't cheat again.

Interestingly the open casket schtick sounds Irish/Catholic who also don't believe in running away from marriage.

What sort of prick gets bothered by a fake celebration day. Father's day is a gay assed fabrication. I swear you Americans are just sad cucks.

The forgetting of the birthday is another matter, but tbh after 20 years it's just a waste of money, as you already have everything you need and can afford to buy anything else.

He wasn't a dud, she tried to make him feel better by saying that. She wouldn't have avoided him all weekend for a dud, if that were the case she would've tried to make up for going out that Friday night.

From all the comments it seams the only person it like the MC was the fictional Missy. No hero in this story. Didn’t the writer get taught that someone had to be likable in the story or you get nothing but ones in your ratings?

Some times the comments are better than the story, oops, sorry hard working authors.

Re Anon's comment about Joan of Arc.

Mr Anon goes into great details about how bad and guilty naughty wifey is, then uses an innocent victim of political intrigue, rape and murder to try and disparage Katy even more. Hilarious.

Benny Hill couldn't have written a better script.

I agree with the Anon, that getting dressed up in front of him and going out, was total disrespect.

But I digress. Let’s talk about the differences, between mom’s and dad’s. A good mom tries to be a role model for her daughters. But what mom’s want out of the relationship, is for the daughter to love them. This usually means the daughter(s) can pretty much get away with whatever they want. This does not teach or reinforce the life lessons they need, to succeed. Dad’s are all about teaching those life lesson’s. They realize this will cause conflict some times. They also realize that this might cause some resentment. But men realize their role isn’t to be friends with their kids, it is to guide them through life. Women want to be friends with the daughters. This causes the mother to take it personally, when the daughter wants to grow apart during her teenage years. If the wife has done her job during pre- teen years, the two of them will eventually find their way back to a strong relationship. The combination of the wife’s nurturing, and the husbands guidance will have a positive effect, if they work as a team. Recently, I saw a to tic video, where a new college graduate was complaint, about having to work 40 hours a week. She says the job intrudes into her personal time. This is what you can expect to be the norm, moving forward. The advent of single parent families, robs the sons and daughters, of male influence in a meaningful way. Last on the story-I gave it a 5, but I do have several comments. #1. I doubt the man’s mother would not have been in his corner. After all, women want to be liked by their sons and daughters. I see this angle portrayed a lot, and I don’t buy it. #2. Although it would have hurt to have the daughters reject him, I don’t think he would have debased himself, by leaving messages on their phones every night. When wifey confronted him about him funding the girls college, I would have called and left them a message, to contact him for a meeting. At that point, they would have been made aware how childish and hurtful their actions were. And that would have put the ball in their court. I also would have expected them to get jobs, and contribute towards it. Anything else, would have just reinforced their sense of entitlement, and set them up to fail.

Oh my God!

Some anony decides that the thing to attack is Father's Day?!?!? What the actual fuck?

Just for your info, bozo, Father's Day isn't just an American invention, as is celebrated in other countries as well. Where are you? Still living behind the Berlin Wall? Did your socialist leaders succeed in drumming out any respect you have for family?

Commercialism aside, the concept is just a day chosen to recognise and honour a parent, just like Mother's Day.

There doesn't have to be a single gift. All it takes is for a family to let their father know that they appreciate the work that he's done for their own good.

What's wrong with it? Only a Grinch could hold it against a society that has decided to give back this little bit of love and appreciation.

And how the hell does Father's Day make Americans (of which I am not one) gay assed cucks?

You don't like Father's Day. You don't care to celebrate birthdays. It sounds like your life is totally devoid of any meaningful relationships. Any warmth.

Let me help you. Look up "Sarco Pod". They promise to make your last day on Earth an adventure. It will give you something to look forward to.

One more thing on Father's Day... it also teaches kids to think about what their father means to them, and helps them think about what their father does for them. Why don't you just die your hair blue and chop bits off.

@truthandjustice99, is your name meant to be parody?

Okay....here's the deal. About halfway through the 2nd page, the emotional direction driving this story becomes like a flickering light between, "Is he being reasonable or is he being unreasonable?"

At that point I felt our main character had committed himself to crashing the marriage without a second thought. 😕

Didn't feel prudent. The response to shutdown everything was strictly an emotional response. 🤷‍♂️

Hmmmmm. His lack of forgiveness and totally avoiding all communication with his one time cheating wife was nearly unforgivable. This characters actions only underscored his stubbornness and lack of maturity.

Missing the birthday/Father’s day celebration was so out of character for everyone concerned as to not be believable. Everyone makes mistakes, but his vitriol toward her was way over the top. Believe it or not, I liked Katy’s character better than her husbands. The story was too long with no memorable actors.

Only a 2 with no smiles.

Forgiveness only works if Both Husband and Wife are honest. I tried that and she ended the marriage by bringing another man into our bed 3 years later. Should have divorced her first time.

.

Read some comments. Seems a lot of folks feel he should have forgiven her. NO--NO--NO!!! Once a cheater, ALWAYS a cheater. There is no going back. I lived through it once, learned a lesson and moved on. Now happily married for 37 years to a fantastic lady.

One mistake in 20 years deserves a try at reconciliation if there is true remorse by the mistake maker

I find it kinda sad that so many people are so quick to judge people. I believe her when she says she was breaking up with the guy when the MC found her in the car, but would she have been without the FD, BD drama or if the guy had been a good fuck? Maybe, maybe not but the fact speak for themselves she cheated and then treated him like shit because of it! Will she cheat again? Again maybe, maybe not. I happen to think that she did love her husband and wouldn't have but here's the thing once she cheated the decision is out of her hands and what she wants just doesn't matter anymore. It became 100% about what he needed to do so that he can live a life at peace and that is the only thing that should matter going forward. Whatever the MC needed to do to find that peace if I was a friend of his I would have supported. I think that he handled the situation pretty well, yeah sure he got angry and lashed out who wouldn't he just had his life ripped apart! But he stood by to support his kids no matter what even though they abandoned him. He stepped up for his ex at the funeral even though that could not have been easy for him, but it was the right thing to do for both his ex and his mother. Not an easy situation and I think he did nthe best he could do with it. Thanks for the story!

Rather full of LW cliches:

The husband is a rigid, moralistic, self-pitying, unforgiving asshole.

He shuts down all communication with the soon-to-be-ex-wife.

He immediately gets an unearned relationship with a beautiful younger woman.

His daughters fall in love her, too.

His life is so much better post-divorce.

Very Hallmark romantic movie.

A little originality and creativity would make this a far better story.

He did the right thing, as painful as it is. She cheated, she risked it all, she lost. And the manner was quite disrespectful as well. Turning family against him was only further proof of her terrible character. I hope it was worth it. It's such a shame people do stupid shit and throw away a happy life for such trivial and often unsatisfying reasons. Sucks to be them. Maybe if this knowledge was more widespread, it would happen less.

I’m shocked at some of the comments if he took her back he would of been berated for being a cuckold an he didn’t an still berated the only thing I disagree with is saying his ex wife can’t move on

Contrary to what a (probably woman) anon said, there are SOOOOOO many women out there looking for a good guy there is NO reason WHATSOEVER to put up with a cheating, disrespectful slut of a wife.

I tried the forgiveness thing once long ago. All it got me was cheated on again. I learned women:

1) don't respect you if they cheat and if you take them back then they also see you as weak and beneath them.

2) A woman can love you (in her mind) and still cheat on you, but a woman that's IN LOVE with you, doesn't cheat.

The husband is a whiney bitch! He seemed more concerned about his birthday and father's day than his wife fucking around. His revenge on the predator was lame. The kid didn't even know who did it or why. Hardly revenge.

I can't understand why in some very similar stories I get mad because the husband won't forgive the cheating wife and in others like this one, I am pulling to the new live interest the be the one who save the betrayed husband.

I like this story.

Why is it when the wife cheats, all the friends and parents gather to tell you it was a one time thing and “man up” and let it go yet when the guy cheats it looks like the Frankenstein movie when the entire town shows up with pitchforks and torches while yelling for his balls to be chopped off.

Women can give a thousand reasons why when they cheated it was logical and not their fault. They didn’t feel sexy, menopause, a younger guy thought they were hot, she deserves it for all the years she gave up taking care of everyone else and one of my personal favorites…it isn’t my fault because he seduced me. Women can enter a bar and shoot down 50 guys while destroying and self esteem or self worth without giving it a thought but when someone decides to seduce her, she is powerless. Great story from the viewpoint of someone sticking to their values no matter how many people came at him. It was also completely passed over how his wife was turning everyone against him with manipulation and straight up lies. He should have hit her with that after his daughters told him but once again, it wasn’t her fault.

Sorry but while in many cases, a single one time fling (when in fact it was longer) in 20 years of merit might (stress might) warrant some sort of attempt to reconcile (depends on their marriage, their history, where they are in life, the circumstances, etc.), here Katy obliterated that by how she truend the family on him. It was the single worst thing to do and shows she was NOT repentant, only remorseful that she got caught. That just shows her refusal to own what she did. If the other person divorces you for your cheating and you seek revenge, then you are not penitent, and do not deserve reconciliation. Period.

To many anon below saying he should have forgiven her, absolutely not! As the author said where do we draw the line? One? Two? Four?. And she was not repentant at all, she was sorry she was caught. She did absolutely nothing to get a second chance, and worst used the children against him. I see a reconciliation when it's deserved but not here.

This is a great story, one of the best in my opinion. It was sad, balanced, and hopeful all at once.

Second read! Still awesome.