All Comments on 'Suspicion Ch. 02'

Nobody should have to share something so personal as the sexual relationship between a husband and wife. If they choose to that is one thing but to be forcibly raped in such a manner would be unbearable. My only question would be how she could believe her husband could so belittle himself as to share her. She followed her own path without asking permission of her partner and must not complain when he doesn't follow her. This should apply for husbands as well as wives.

He is certainly destroyed forever as far as relationships with women go.

She may not have intended that, but it was likely to happen once she went that path.

Until I re-read it. Why did the husband have to suffer? He couldn't find love again in your mind?

I thought your ending was very good. Too bad the husband couldn't get over his wife's betrayal and find a new love of his own. Polyandry may be an option for some people; however, it should be agreed on before the fact by all parties and not as a result of an adulterous affair. Would the wife have wanted a child by her lover? If the lover had been a decent man, he would backed away and refused to destroy the wife's marriage. No, the husband did the right thing. I look forward to reading more of your stories.

Boyd

I know a person can really love two people. In real life a choice must be made. This normally leads to the choice of the strongest love. She made her choice of Karl. The husband did what anyone would do to a cheat who really didn’t love him the same anymore; she didn’t want to lose her children. She had no remorse only that she didn’t get everything she wanted.

There could never be reconciliation with her wanting both men. Very good job of sticking with your guns in this true to life type story. I cannot perceive how any other result could be possible with her still wanting Karl.

Like one commenter said, why would he not even be dating? He needs therapy.

Very good story and writing.

With respect

Im glad he stuck to his guns but who really wants to read about a good guy letting his life end over a stupid selfish bitch like this woman? So what if did love her? Wouldnt her behaviour and 'confession' be enough to kill that love? How could any guy with even a ounce of self-respect remain hung up on this woman after he read her letter?

Im sure it can happen irl but its overly depressing to read about in fiction imo. Why not have her win the lottery and have him be horribly disfigured and have his dick burned off in a fire?

You also made the wife too unsympathetic if you wanted an ambiguous ending. Instead of having me sorta glad that she got to be with her real love, you ruined any sympathetic feelings for her in her confession when she told him again that she would keep seeing Karl but she still wanted him to cancel the divorce. How selfish can she get? You should have had her leave mr. 2nd choice when Karl came back into her life if you wanted some moral ambiguity (or at least not have her want to stay with the husband and with Karl).

Its also hard to like Karl no matter what their back story was. Doesnt matter if they were soul-mates and destined to be together. If Karl was any kind of man he would have left her alone or told her that he couldnt be with her unless she left her husband.

Kind of makes you question their deep abiding love for each other that they were both willing to live with a few hours of illicit sex in a cheap motel a few times week.

Like I said, you did very well in making me hate the woman in this story. Lots of times I dont like characters or have much sympathy for them but I dont often hate them like this one. It just adds to my confusion as to why the husband wouldnt/couldnt move on though. Since you went out of your way to make her so easy to hate, why would this guy, who has more reason than anyone to loath the very thought of her, refuse to get on with his life?

Thanks for writing but please consider having the good guy get on with his life in your next story. Im not saying you have to make the cheater suffer or anything since I find it odd that so many authors have the cheating spouse broken up over the loss of their marriages when thats a bunch of crap (if they were worried about their partners or their marriages, they wouldnt have done it). Im not even saying that its not realistic for a spouse (doesnt matter if its a man or woman) to live in the past after the breakup of a marriage. Just saying that its pretty sad and pathetic behaviour for a fictional character Im expected to empathise with.

PS - I would have published her letter in the local papers and shouted her perfidy from the rooftops if it was me but maybe im just vindictive. I also would have tried my best to fuck over Karl. Seems that her sheer evilness outweighs any previous promises he made. Now Im just working myself up over nothing though so I gotta get out of here :) Again, nice job inducing anger in fictional characters.

PPS - your end blurb was both good (I agree with you that the remorseful spouse and stronger than ever marriage is overdone) and weird (how could anyone fault this guy for not taking her back?). Even the most screwy thinking of the love != sex crowd have got to agree that this woman is totally without merit as a partner. Its not the sex or even claiming to love two people that damn her either, its that she was unwilling to be upfront about anything and didnt seem to give a damn about anyone but herself. She didnt love her husband. She didnt love Karl. She didnt even love her own damn kids. She was willing to fuck over everyone just to satisfy her own desires. Pretty pathetic love if you ask me. Spoiled child who never grew up. The ex should go kick her dad's ass just for doing such a shitty job raising her.

yes he got a divorce,but it wasn't the end of the world.one woman cheats and he can go anymore.that bullshit men get divorce everyday so what,get your ass up and move on.she move on and had more babies,hubby till the loser and she wins,if he don't move on.it make the husband look like a wimp,i can't make it after the divorce.

there was no other possible ending for the marriage. she had always been in love with karl, more so than her husband. the speed by which she jumped into the affair showed who she loved the most.

even if he didn't divorce her, she would have eventually left him for karl. her actions and statements proved that.

karl is the real loser, he got a wife who has now proved she is willing to break her wedding vows. karl will have to be looking over her shoulder for as long as they are married.

i agree it is sad that her ex can't get over his love for her, but it happens in real life. a fan always.

Tar and feather Paul? Karl, maybe. You ended it the only way it could end. I'm afraid I don't understand her thinking. She wants to remain married to Paul and go fuck Karl whenever she felt like it?? NO WAY! She loves him more today than when they were first married? She must not have loved him very much at all then. Paul is obviously no2 so why pursue it.

Sad ending but she caused it.

Good One White One. No way should the husband have taken this evil whore back. Ho w about a story where the betrayed husband BEATS THE CRAP out of cheating whore wife and gets totally away with it? Now that would be good.

Average joe hit the nub of this story on the head when he said:

"If Karl was any kind of man he would have left her alone or told her that he couldn't be with her unless she left her husband."

She wanted her cake and eat it too - thanks for giving us a husband who was not ready to entertain her stupidity.

Karl and Kathy will have a great marriage, won't they? He knows she is capable of leaving a husband of 16 years on a whim, and she knows he is prepared to break up another marriage for a bit of sex. I suppose at least they both know they have married cheaters...

Of a selfish despicible person. Two actually, Karl can not have any decency or self-respect, to destroy a family and accept a cheap affair in place of 'true love'. I am not trying to deminish the fact that Kathy can care for two people. But, she actually wanted to betray both of them to have everything her own way.

Her letter gave him a slam dunk. He should have used it to destroy her career and take Karl to the cleaners financially. Maybe relenting slightly if they moved 2000 miles away and signed away all rights and visitations for the children.

He should have handed Evelyn the letter,(in case she hasn't read it already), and asked her if it would be ok if Todd found his high school sweetheart and spent a couple days a week with her, for the rest of their marriage. Then asked Todd the same thing. Ask them both if teaching all 5 children that affairs and betrayal of vows is good, as long as it fits your emotions as the right things to do?

Paul is right in divorcing her. But he let it destroy him by not finishing it, by getting her completely out of his life. And Karl???? He has to be totally stupid, ya ya love is blind, I know. He wanted to just screw her every so often while she stayed married to Paul, is that what he considered their love was worth? Can Karl really respect her or have faith in her?

OK... stepping off my soap box now... lol

Thanks for the story White

Gus

The story was very good and I liked it a lot. Kathy had to be short a marble or two to think that Paul would let her back into his life with her lover. I guess if Paul had a mistress and wanted to keep her in the family, Kathy would kick him out in the street. Paul should have never accepted the envlope with the letter let in it alone read it. Kathy wanted to have her lover's child no matter whom she was married to, and she did. If I were Paul, I would let it leak, not tracable to him, to her company and all of their friends. As far as being a politician, I am sure he could pull some strings that would have Kathy and her Husband either move out of town or down to their knew.

She proved that she is just another dumb slut thinking with her pussy rather than her brain. Evelyn and Tom should disown Kathy for her actions and ban her from visiting their home and seeing their children. I feel that Evelyn is partially to blame since she knewe something was going on before the shit hit the fan. Evelyn could have at least given Tom a hint at to what might be happening and let them work it out.

Kathy ruined a happy marriage and good family. She got what she deserved and I hope she dies a horrible, long and painful death.

Your story ended well enough, except Paul should have kicked Karl's ass.

In the end Paul's life did not turn out very well.

I would have let Karl wear the Horns at least after She married.

High Regards: Bill

...but I think you have to be completely out of your mind to think that people would want to "tar and feather Paul" for not taking her back. If she agreed to give up Karl, then maybe. But you present her and Karl so incredibly unsympathetically that any sane reader would have to say good riddance to her. Maybe you were looking for ambiguity where he would be torn over his decision, but the way you present the story, his decision is the only sensible one to make. For one thing, her actions show she loves Karl more than him, no matter what she might claim. There may be times for an open marriage, but this certainly isn't it!

I see comments about Paul's wimpiness and yet other comments rant because he didn't get on with his life. Stop and think about it: His wife professes her love verbally and yet her actions tell him his cock is worthless and he's a terrible lover, and all she wants from him is his paycheck while she fucks her lover. If he is a dutiful cuckhold maybe she'll give him a hand job once in awhile. His sister-in-law aids and abets this travesty. He's not buying it, but his real-life options are very limited. He makes the best of a bad situation for his kids sake and he's castigated because he doesn't "get on with his life." Why the hell would he want to take a chance on any woman? He's been all but castrated once by two women, he don't need another woman with a sharp knife in his life. Better he puts his efforts into his kids. To you ladies who may be a little hot about the forgoing; If his name had been Paulette and her husband had been doing this to her, her libido would also be in the toilet. This is a gender neutral situation. I think you ended the story the only way it could end. It's not happy, but this wasn't a fairy tale. Life sometimes sucks. Thank you for realizing it. Ronnie W.

Kathy had painted herself into a corner by her verbal confession from which there was no return so, for me, her letter was too long. I had accepted that she loved another and it just represented her own justification for breaking her vows, so pointless IMHO.

Intriguing, for I do often ask the question, “Can you love more than one?” I do believe that some people (especially women) can. However, I believe it proper to inform the “wronged spouse,” as to any affair since I also believe that loyalty, as well as trust, is an ingredient in true love.

My best regards

She quite clearly showed that she was willing to be divorced from Paul and lose custody of her children rather than give up Karl. Equally she wasn’t prepared to give up Karl for the sake of Paul. It’s obvious which man ranks as more important in her eyes.

Paul took the right decision.

The story was real. The only thing not real was that the kids didn't get more involved. I would doubt that they would not learn what happened after the split and make their mom pay. Keep the words coming.

Extremely well done - kudos to the author. He has penned a more than difficult situation for the husband and a very realistic ending. Paul really had no choice; not only was he faced with Kathy's infidelity, he was told that she intended to continue her affair. Imagine his choices; his decision was inevitable considering the need to preserve his self respect. A sad, well written story.

This story was extremely sad, but well written. It's not so much a cheating wife story but a classical tragedy. The idea of the first love coming back into someone's life has been done before (for example "Karen" by Blue88), but this was a very nice take on it.

Frankly, I couldn't imagine Paul taking Kathy back after reading that letter. Or even anybody not taking his side if he let them read the letter. If anything, it turns the knife even deeper. It's a very self serving letter. It shows that she cares more about herself than her husband or family. It's the type of letter that can turn love to hate pretty quick.

Maybe I'm a romantic, but I would have liked to see some type of healing for Paul over time. Kathy may be sad that she doesn't get to have her cake and eat it too, but you have her end up in a new marriage with her other love, but Paul ends up alone.

This story is complete as it is, but if you have any interest, there is a follow up that that begs to be written. A story about Paul's healing in the futire and even an exploration of whether Kathy made the right choice. She gave up a loving husband and father for a long lost love who she knows nothing about. Did she make the right choice in the end?

I'll look forward to more from you in the future.

I think you did an excellent job. You should do one more, where the first hubby and his ex bump into each other, He knows he still loves her but could not be a cuckold. However if he could sleep with her now, the other would be the cuckold. See how Karl would deal with that.

Although I am a romantic and like happy endings, I am enough of a realist to know that it don't happen all the time. This could have been a happy ending, but then it would have ruined the point you were trying to make. I myself don't think I could have lived in the realationship that she wanted either. Thanks for a great story, and await your next effort.

There was no other way this story could end no man could deal with a woman who was fucking, yes she my love him but she was fucking another man. I can't believe any man could handle a two man one woman life for very long. Sooner or later she would pick one over the other and since the image of KArl was so deep I believe she would eventually leave her husband for her lover. Sad story but a very god one. I enjoyed it but it was sad. I can't imagine how the husband felt when she gace birth to another baby with her new husband Karl. I think he was lucky tohave his two children or he might have killed himself. If any one was or should have suffered it was the woman. How cruel she was.

she just makes all women look selfish. He did the right thing she did not love her children enough to give up her lover.I hope Karl finds someone new and leaves her.

In real life Paul would have sued Karl and gotten the slut fired. He would also sever all relationship with the sister-in-law and than gotten on with his life. Don

Very well done.Its about time that an author had the guts to write a real life endings to a slut wife story.My only down side of this story is that the author made a Monk out of the husband and let the wife and her loveer off too easy.She ended up with a new husband and a child while he got to raise the kids by his self.All the background the wife wrote in the letter to her husband was just so much bull shit.He was better off without her.Good story,poor ending.In the end the man always gets the dirty end of it.

Hello Readers,

I must first thank everyone who took the time to write comments, both critical and those liking the story. Being this was my first submission, I am very pleased with this Literotica experience. It certainly is the encouragement I need to make future submissions.

If I may take a minute of your time, I would like to give you a little more information concerning my story, Suspicion. There were two grains of idea for the story planted over a number of years.

The first was an episode where a college buddy of mine had his wife run away with one of her ex-boy friends from high school. I don't think he really care that she left him, in fact he was probably relieved to get rid of her.

The other idea nugget came from a pop-song which came out in the 70’s. Torn Between Two Lovers sung by Mary MacGregor. For those of you who have never heard the song, it’s about a woman confessing to her "main lover" that she has been having an affair with another lover. After I had heard that song for the first time, I wondered if situations like that existed in real life.

Thus the story line for Suspicion was born.

I am most grateful for those readers who gave specific suggestions about how the story might have ended. Some readers even proposed alternative endings for the story. This made me very happy.

As I mentioned at the end of Chapter 2, the story could have a hundred different endings other than the one I wrote. And so it is with life. Each decision we make eliminates many other choices but at the same time the choice we make demands more decisions to be made.

In my character development, I wanted Paul to be our next door neighbor. A good guy. A good father and husband. He was not an ex-Navy SEAL or a man with a Dr. Jeckle / Mr. Hyde personality. Revenge against his ex-wife or her lover was not something he needed to do. (In spite of the fact that a large majority of readers thought he should execute some form of vengeance on the cheating couple.)

Why he did not pursue other females after the divorce? Some wounds are very hard to heal. Paul needed a woman to "love" him. Sex was secondary in his mind. It was hard for him to feel he could ever trust another woman to love him exclusively.

Now my biggest surprise in the comments from the readers. Everybody hated Kathy ! ! ! There must have been some flaw in the way I developed and presented her character. I did not want to portray Kathy as an "evil" person. Rather my idea of Kathy is a very confused female. The impact of Karl’s leaving for Germany during her most formative years of gender development caused Kathy’s sense of a loving relationship to be under-developed (for a lack of a better term).

An analogy which might fit Kathy’s state of mind (development) would be for you to pick up an engrossing novel, read several hundred pages only to find the last chapters have been ripped from the book and there is no way for you to find out the ending to the story. That was how Kathy’s first love interest ended. The last chapters were missing.

OK….I know she was still a cheating slut. She was a woman of free will. She knew what she was doing was wrong. But, could she really help herself? Even if she had never had a tryst with Karl, how would her marriage to Paul have played out in the future? Would she still have had that feeling that the "novel she was reading" in high school would still have the last chapters missing?

Hey, just a thought. Each of you have your own mental images of Paul, Kathy and Karl and that’s exactly the way it should be. I can only be grateful that a number of you found the story line interesting and in some ways it mirrored reality.

If you would like to explore the Paul and Kathy story with me in more depth, feel free to email me at whiteone_redone@yahoo.com. I will be more than happy to respond to you emails.

Thank you.

Friendship

Allen

What a sad ending to a good story. She has professed her love for her husband and says that it is stronger today than when they got married. That is hard to believe. She is unwilling to give up her long ago love to be with the man she says she now loves more than 16 years ago? Sounds fishy to me.

The divorce is right. The vindictive part of me says "KATHY SHOULDN'T BE HAPPY AND PAUL SHOULD FIND HAPPINESS." Your ending appears to be just the opposite of that. She and Karl married and now have a little baby which Pauls children adore. What a dagger to his already damaged heart. Damn it makes me sad just sitting here writing this.

The only way way for me to get closure to this tale is to imagine for myself that Kathy does in fact suffer a tremendous loss in her heart at what she did to Paul and that eventually Paul finds someone to make him happy. To leave it like this in my mind is unacceptable.

Thanks for your efforts. One thing I and most other readers are glad for is that you didn't have him accept Karl as a lover for his wife.

Charleybear

After I submitted my comment I read your response. It wasn't there when I started.

We all will hate Kathy no matter how you try to whitewash her reasons. She got counseling before per your story, she had either gotten over him or had quit the counseling too soon. IF she really loved Paul as much as she says, she should have gone back into counseling. At a minimum try it. But no, she jumped into an affair within a week. What is not to hate?

Charleybear

I am a romantic and enjoy happy endings, but in this case there was absolutely no choice on Tom's part. I can understand how a woman could have strong feelings for two individuals, but in real life, you have to make a choice. How she could choose her lover over her children and, according to her, a happy marriage is beyond my comprehension. Although, I was personally close to a situation where a wife left her husband and 4 children stationed overseas and returned to the States to be with her lover when he was rotated back to the States. Go figure. Why was Karl divorced from his first marriage? Could it be that he is not the perfect lover and husband material that she in her warped mind has made him out to be? I was disappointed with the emotional coldness or numbness that Tom displayed. When she refused to give up Karl, He should have followed through on his threat to sue Karl, report her to her company and sue Cablenex, because they allowed it to happen. Ignorance is no excuse. Due to his inaction, Karl suffered nothing and Kathy didn't suffer enough, because she evidently didn't value her marriage or her children very highly.

This was an excellent story and I cannot believe that anyone would hate Paul for his actions. In fact he did not attempt any revenge. I certainly would have done so. One of your readers suggested a chapter 3 (after several years) I would be very interested in such a chapter.

You did an excellent job. I'am very pleased that the small group of good writers got a new member and I'll look forward to your next "picture of real life".

Bavarian

P.S. In real life there is justice - sometimes, but sometimes there isn't.

Good story but the ending sucks. Sorry. I do find it curious that you found it suprising that the readers didnt like Kathy: The way she was written exposed her as a bitch and totally unlovable. If I was in that situation I would have gone after both her and the boyfriend. Torn between to Lovers was a reference I didnt count on as I had forgotten about that song. I liked the song but I didnt buy the premise. Then or in the story. I agree with Charleybear. Keep writing.

First class story,I wonder what some of the other people who commented would have done in his position.He did what any normal man would do.She seemed to really believe that she could have her cock and eat itWe have a new very good author on Lit.

I *sorta* enjoyed the story.

But I was at a total loss for why the husbands life had to basicly come to a stop after all the wife put him through as the innocent party out of all of this. The wife got away with living the best of both worlds for a while and even ended up the only happy one by the end of your story. And she was the one who was totally in the wrong.

I mean if you think about it:

-She found her ex-lover and resumed a "Sexual" relationship with him. And continued to pretend nothing was going on while around the husband.

-Her ex-lover didn't seem to care that he was the catalyst for destroying her current marriage. I'm sure that he would have felt differently if it was his wife doing that to him. This really made him feel like a "non-character" by his 3rd party actions.

-She enjoyed sex with both her husband and her lover uptil she was caught. And refused to give it up.

-She ended up married to her lover after the divorce and living "Happy ever after"

-Her family worked on the husband (now ex) to try and get him to allow her to have a lover and not divorce her. I remember a comment Evelyn made about not divorcing Kathy regardless of what she did "because she still loved Paul". And her asking him to read Kathy's letter, in which she asked him to understand she that she "needed" to keep her lover while staying married to him. That they could work something out.

-She continued a new life in a new marriage where she was able to start a new family. In essence giving her new husband something to anchor his life and love into and continue to make them both happier, "after" both of them destroyed a good man in the proccess of their selfishness.

-Her kids continued to loved her no questions asked and never seemed to worry about "Why" their parents were divorced. Nor why Daddy was so unhappy all the time. It was like they stopped caring.

And what did Paul get from this for daring to stay faithful to her? The gift of pining away for his now ex-wife, who is now happly married to the lover who broke up their marriage, to the exclusing of all other women from his life, so he can spend more time dwelling on the life he "Used" to have with her. The gift that keeps on giving.

Thats really the only thing that killed this story in my eyes. The wife ended up getting almost all of what she wanted in the end (and in some cases more), and the husband sits in a dark corner feeling sorry for himself that she's not around now. The innocent party get totally shafted and the guilty party gets to go on to a happier life. Like now her life is better because of what she did. The kids were "sorta" harmed at first, but you let them bounce back pretty quick in the story. The only one that was really harmed was Paul. And you devistated him in the story.

Once you dug this pit for the wife/ex-wife there was no way you could temper, change, or justify her behavior to the masses. We were going to hate her. But you let her have a really spectacular life out of it, and let the husband, who was the only faithful one, get nothing but totally screwed over and a world of heartache out of it by the end of the story.

Good first attempt, but that hurt it for me. You let the husband stand up for himself, but totally and completely screwed him over in the end. Almost like the moral of the story was "Shut up and let your wife have a lover if she wants one, else you'll die alone broken and by yourself".

-Risq

this is a very well written story. like others i agree there's no where to go but divorce. still something bothers me. what's wrong with this picture?

wife cheats. husband divorces her. wife marries lover and has a child with him while lives a miserable life. what did we learn from this? CHEATING PAYS?!

really?

I just enjoied your story. It's just like life itself, sometimes hard and sad, but unfair to people. In most cases of divorce I know, there is always one part suffering while the other gets the better results - and it nearly always leaves the children's needs unfulfilled.

Thanks for a reality story like it could happen in Europe... and greeting from Germany.

There is nothing wrong with your story. It happens from time to time. You should not apologize for writing as you want to write. The letter from Kathy to Paul is a valid approach. It would be interesting to read Karl's story. How did he feel about breaking up Kathy's marriage? What was his first marriage like? What were his reasons, from his persperctive, not Kathy's, for not renewing contact?

I find myself imagining a chance meeting between Paul and Karl several years down the rad where each sees the other at his best, perhaps some setting involving the children with Kathy there only initially to establish for Paul that the man is Karl.

Anyway, thanks for an intersting story.

The ending of the story was more than appropriate. This man invested 16 years of his life into one woman. He loved her, cherished her, and endured all the blood, sweat, and tears that come with extending his unabiding devotion to her. After 16 years of this he is confronted with the most complete and devestating betrayal of his life by her! This gashed him so deeply that his faith in GOD must have been sorely tested. Even if he fully accepts the loss of his wife, marriage, and the life he once had and puts it completely in the past do you honestly believe that he's going to be "rearing to go" to become involved with another woman? IF YOU READERS HAVE EVER TRULY LOVED SOMEONE THERE IS NO WAY YOU BOUNCE BACK ANYTIME SOON AFTER THAT! Remember, Kathy already bridged her future to a life with Karl by virtue of initiating and perpetuating the affair. The only reason she hadn't initiated a divorce action of her own was to bide her time getting her "ducks in a row" so that she'd have a stronger position to take the children when SHE determined the time was right to leave her husband for Karl. Kathy's letter explaing her actions to placate her husband was a last ditch desperate effort to keep him "on ice" long enough to come up with Plan B because once she was caught and the affair exposed the way it was she knew she stood to lose her job and reputation, inflict financial injury to Karl, and, most importantly, jeopardize her future with Karl. Love is good but...NO FINANCE...NO ROMANCE! All readers who've been astute enough to assert that sooner or later she would leave her husband are absolutely correct AND SO HE IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT IN THE ACTIONS HE'S TAKEN AND THE FEELINGS HE HARBORS! Kathy's husband let her off far too easily though, especially in light of what pain he could have suffered if her plans completed to fruition.

This being your first work all I can say is...BRAVO!!!! Well written, gripping, and emotional. While I agree with your ending to the story. I was also disturbed that Paul seemed to get the worse end of the deal. Kathy wanted her cake and eat it to. In the end without hearing more about her side she seemed to be living out her life while Paul was somewhat of a broken man. Very sad ending for me.

P.S. YES, we do tend to get cranky when we have to wait extended periods for the whole story to be posted!!!

Author, I am very pleased with your presence and indicated continuance in this theme of marital consequence.

A very provocative story of a man who didn't see or cause a "what goes around comes around" justice for her malicious infidelity, but instead went through a hollow life as it came around to him instead and incessantly by his own choice.

Most readers forgot that he deprived her of her children very purposely because of her moral deprivation but I believe also to punish her. When people can and do choose ashes they usually get the ashes they chose.

Now Constructively - most authors aren't just historians coldly citing what took place. It follows that the authors purpose in most cases is to tell a story that arouses interest and emotions, then perhaps also a point of view or a message. Sometimes a viewpoint leaks out as it is congruent to the story as in life so to speak. The message or viewpoint can be subtle or forceful to the writers whim or fit to the story.

This author chose to have certain things happen which weren't consistant with normalacy or prediction. This isn't wrong or right it just isn't a warm old shoe comfort wise.

She, a long loving compassionate wife and mother is also an intelligent facilitator of (coincidently)business contracts or subcontracts (you know like marital). So when she chooses to void a marital contract of some length it isn't as though she doesn't understand what she is doing. She didn't ammend it - she didn't cancel it before doing business elsewhere - she selfishly wanted a quiet non-documented ammendment from her husband who didn't sign up for less than what the original contract agreement set forth, but she failed to broach the need for contract modification - clearly a selfish oversight unheard of in business due to likely lawsuit for broach of contract.

Also she hasn't seemed irrational or bent to off the wall thoughts or so we believe but she feels he should willingly accept her infidelity as a cost of business for marital continuance and happiness? Cmon. While we can only see what has been shown - this is more than a 180 turn - a cake and eat it also. Her business accumen wouldn't accept it but does she feel a weak husband should?? Again cmon.

And yet by the writers after story comment he was surprised at our open hatred of her - huh???

A story doesn't need to have all the edges polished and understood but if you write to life and its complexities and she hasn't been commited then this was not a warranted or expected action. Nor was his to be a bitter hermit by choice except to punish himself in some way (for what).

Could each happen? Possible? Well, I guess so but in this context that must mean a point of view or message or we have a new writer who is in the learning curve and thats ok - in fact its very good in this theme. The learning curve clear signal was your surprise of her dispictable nature as you portrayed it. An editor probably would have said "hey what about-------?"

My point writer is that while you have choices, they are subjected to rational reason and reality checks as life normally deals it. In a short story your plot path is short but vivid. When it wanders a little it can be plausable with explanation. When it 180's - credibility suffers - in this case attitude towards the story and you fell down and in my mind for good reason which I feel you are seeing now. The ending you can and should live with as a bitter self chosen pill. Again I am not sure you foresaw reader emphathy for him dashed by his turning in and mostly down on life. It bought you some more ire didn't it.

I personaly like your clarity of his decision for divorce but while it can happen the ending was a downer after a downer. Is there no real reason for him to go on after the kids move away??? I don't think you meant that at all.

Author - I appreciate your talent, time and imagination and will watch you grow - and be entertained in the process.

With high Regard

Hi,

I also enjoyed the story and thought about it today. The part that felt slightly off is the ending. I agree that Paul would be very badly hurt by this affair. And I agree that he would spend quite a lot of time thinking and feeling his pain. But he is not finished in dealing with this issue. He is stuck--his inability to talk with his ex-wife (e.g., "You are dead to me now") leaves him unable to grow. Nothing in the story led me to believe that this would be his response--his permanent reponse, as the story appears to imply.

I sense there is another chapter or two in this--not because there has to be a reconciliation, far from it, but because it is rare for people to stay frozen like this. In some sense, I disagree with the claims of those who think the wife has gotten off "easy." She carries a tremendous burden of guilt that nothing can erase--in essence she has abandoned the man and children that she professes to love. In this mixed up situation, let us posit that she does indeed love her ex, as she claims. Her consciousness must be hideously split up and sectioned with a crazy quilt of emotions. The karmic debt that she must feel, sense, or work hard to deny must be doing interesting things to her psyche, especially given the fact that she sees her children (a living reminder of her ongoing betrayal) on a regular basis. I would love to be a fly on the wall when they meet, sometime down the road--they are linked by necessity as the mother and father of two children.

His refusal to get involved with anyone is perhaps an amazingly effective act of revenge. How much easier would her betrayal be to bear for her if she knew that he had found "happiness" with someone else. I can't help but feel that the pressure will continue to build in her head as time goes on. She has a child with another man--that is interesting--to forget, to assauge, to send a message...and I don't think it will work.

This story isn't over. I ask the author to seriously consider what the next part of the story looks like. Please. Pretty please? :)

His wife was a selfish whore, she wanted her cake and to eat it too. What a cold bitch. It is a shame he couldn't realize all women aren't complete shit like her and move on. I hope she and her family die painfully, slowly.

Semper Fi

I think that Paul did everything correctly in regards to Kathy. Things might have turned out differently if she had been willing to admit to a mistake. Since she did not I am of the opinion that she got off easy. When people decide to do things like this they should be prepared to pay the piper as the case may be. It seems to me that Kathy wanted to eat her cake and have it also. Well as we all know that is pretty much impossible.

It is now eight hours since I read your ending. I am no longer upset by it, but it took time to leave me. Just as that happened, eventually our husband will heal and there will be a future life with him finding some degree of happiness. We don't know what it is but we know it will happen. The human spirit rarely gives up totally and he was a strong man. Sometimes it does happen and that is tragic, but this guy won't be one of those.

To me his ex wife is still scum and I hope she thinks about what she lost every day of her life. Furthermore, I hope she gets to look on him during his healing time and see how her selfishness destroyed a good man.

Charleybear

Personally, I would like to see Paul recover and learn to love again. Investing 16 years into a marriage certainly would take a lot out of a person when it goes up in flames as quickly as it did; however, there is no poetic justice of him finding another woman to fill that void.

Kathy got her wish of having Karl back, so she's happy. But Paul's emptiness leaves the reader empty.

It's a good story, none the less. I just wish Paul could find a way to realize that there are more 'fish in the sea'.

than most of the other stories that have the treacherous wife sobbing and pleading to be given a second chance. It is sad, but virtually all studies done recently on cheating wives (MSNBC reported on several of them) clearly show that MOST wives who cheat feel no sense of guilt, and do not wish to save their marriages. The reality is that they almost all develop emotional attachments to the cowards (all cheaters are cowards) that they fuck around with, and they will shit on their husbands (ex-husbands) to the maximum degree possible. That is exactly what the piece of whore meat who was married to Paul did to him.

Feminism, and the secularist notion of "If it feels good, just do it" (sometimes called the new "NIKE" hedonism) have turned most American women into self-absorbed, narcissitic, pieces of used meat who have no capicity to really love anyone but themselves. Loyalty, honesty, faithfulness and unselfish love are words which American women simply do not understand, and in our currently approving society, they will always come out on top until the worm finally turns, and who knows when that will be?

This story depicts a case in point. Well written, especially for a first story, and it ends exactly how most cheating ends in real life. The only omission is that in real life, the studies of cheating show that the women who are so quick to marry their conspiring cowards almost all (about 80%) end up in divorcing him (usually for cheating) in pretty short order...but, some do not because they and their cowardly fuck buddies simply accept a life of cheating.

How nobel cheaters really are!

No cheers this time!

but well written, i enjoyed it.

Whiteone,

Well done. I was greatly saddened and bothered by this story which to my mind means it was well done. However, I would really like to see other installments of this story. I am not talking about them getting together, but how their lives continued and the burdens the decision his W made affected them from now on.

As it stands, it would see all is great with W, she married her lover, had his child, reconciled with the kids and moved on. Usually however these sorts of decisions have repercussions within the marriage (they are both adulterers) and even in the life of her sister and sister's H, NOT to mention the jilted H.

He did make the right decision of that there is no doubt, but did he ever recover from this decision? When the kids left for college were they scarred by her decisions, and did his life just end or come down to just work?

So many interesting questions, that perhaps some other writer could address, but I would think that since this is your baby, and a fine one at that, it would be really interesting to see where YOUR vision takes it.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more of your stories.

Your comment that you were surprised that many reacted negatively to Kathy was disingenous. You portrayed her as a deliberate 'eyes wide open' adulterous. She knew exactly what she was doing and guessed correctly how her husband would react. If you planned to develop sympathy for Kathy, you should have made part 2 "kathy's Story" or some such shit. Karl probably enjoyed the feeling of power Kathy helplessness gave him after the wreck he had made of his life. Did he screw his sister after he drove his mom crazy?

Great story. You let the characters live themselves instead of writing them.

I don't see Paul as bitter -- simply a man of integrity (wholeness), who understood that his love was complete for his wife. As such, there was no substitute. Sex was not an isolated event but a part of the whole relationship.

When she jettisoned thee relationship, he saw no need to fill in that gap. He was not bitter but principled. I know this is an erotic site but it is still true -- man can live without sex.

I liked your story, and your writing. Please do more.

I somewhat agree with some comments that there are more chapters. I am left believing that she is a very cold person. Don't get me wrong, I know for a fact people can love more than one person. However, we do not know if she doesn't care about the pain she caused someone she professed to love, or is equally suffering.

The story indicates that she doesn't care. She states she cares about losing him, and his love, but not about what she has done to him.

If your intent was to paint her that way, then you are done, and we can all look forward to your next story.

Thank you for a great read.

Story was well written and very sad. However, Paul should have moved on and found a trustworthy woman - they ARE out there (just as Risq noted in his comment).

As to the author's comment about Kathy and the readers hating her - many of us have been in somewhat simiilar situations and chose not to cheat and destroy a family. Many of us have been on the receiving side of such blatant selfishness and stupidity - what she did was stupid - what was to stop Paul from going nuts one night and blowing her and her lover's brains out?

I can't comment on why your other readers didn't like Kathy, But I can tell you why I find her very unlikable.

I can understand how running into a high school boyfriend could cause her unresolved feelings to resurface, But to cheat on her husband of 16 years whom she says she loves makes me wonder if she has an diffrent difinition of love then any I'm aware of.

She makes the choice to put a man she hasn't seen in 20 years or even had a letter from in 18 years ahead of her husband and two children. Even when it becomes clear that the the cost will be her family she tries to talk her husband whom she has hurt into letting her go on hurting him rather then ending it. In my eyes this gos beyond mere selfishness. They need to come up with a new word to describe the depth of her self absorption.

Then we come to Karl. I'd love to find out more about him. You really havn't given us much to go on. Only what Kathy thinks of him. It sure seems funny that he moved back to the same area she lived in and never thought to see what happened to her. And then he just happens to bid on a job that she will have to approve. Almost like winning the lottery. I wonder about his stated reason for not writing to her. Wouldn't it have been more thoughtful to write her and say why he wasn't going to write anymore rather then leaving her hanging. Dosn't sound like something I'd do to someone I cared about. Also I'd like to know more about his first marrage. Why did it fail?

He seemed to have no problem with what she was doing to her family. I think that if I really loved someone I wouldn't want her to destroy her family for me.

She's traded a marrage of 16 years and two children for a dream of a boy 20 years old. I think the man she ended up with may turn out to be a nightmare.

Metzov

I liked the fact that the unfaithful wife was booted out on her ear. She gave up all that was good in her life to regain a 16 year olds fantasy. Yes, she wound up marrying her lover having a child with him allowing her to start all over again.

Her ex-husband made the honorable(a word and concept almost forgotten today) decision to put his children first. He did all the right things by them. Yes, it was hard on him. The one thing the story didn't cover was when the children read the letter. I would have sat both kids down after the youngest graduated from high school and said' "kids as you are now adults I will tell you my side of what happened to your mother and I." At that point give them the letter to read and then tell his story to them. Let them understand what her betrayal did to him and them. He should discuss honesty and loyalty with them. Ask them what they would do or feel if it happened to them.

As the author only seems to take the story to the kids getting through high school and maybe college. Usually living well is the best revenge(I worked for me), but in this situation the author gave the cheaters the good life. Maybe after the kids find out about the real kind of person their mother was they have they will confront her and cut back relations with her.

After ten years perhaps Karl's ex-wife will return to the picture and upset the cheating wife's life. Let her find out that he cheated on his first wife, and abandoned her and kids. Let her life fall apart. Let justice fall on her!

If she loved both equally, did she love either enough? She apparently didn't love her husband enough to let go of her old boyfriend. Most married individuals would expect that of themselves as well as their spouse. They expect an exclusive commitment as promised in their marriage vows.

This is a real story where the consequences are what would happen in real life.

It is not a happy story and the ending is very sad, but I can see it happening in reality.

Extremely well written story, especially for an initial effort. However your bio indicates tha you dislike farout improbable stories and to me this story is highly improbable and pretty far-out.A woman who is a loving wife and mother of a loving family for 16 years, sees an old boyfriend she hasn't seen or heard from in almost 20 years and she immediately initiates a passionate resumption of the old love affair without any thought of her husband or chidren, then expects her husband to accept her affair while assuring him that she still loves him and the children.She has to be brain dead to expect any husband to accept such a situation.I don't despise her, I just question her sanity. If the husband wasn't so bitter and vidictive ,he might talk her into seeing a good psychiatrist. Well written but very sad and very unrealistic story. the Ct.Yankee

I found your story very real and the characters real. As the author you can end your story however it makes sense to you. Paul was a man of honor who fulfilled his role as a husband and father well.

Kathy, well, she was confused and disturbed and you did an excellent job of using her letter to explain her condition. Karl was truly her first love and Paul was her second. She states in her letter that she would never leave Paul for Karl and yet six months later she marries Karl.

The only part of the story I did not like was once again we have have a successful man who after his wife cheats and destroys his family is unable to have a loving relationship with another woman. Paul ends up pining away for her the rest of his life and she moves on to setup another family. Hey, but that's life.

I look forward to your next submission. Thanks again!

SleeplessinMD

Dear author,

I find it interesting that you wrote a good story, but yet it seems you don't really understand your own creation, judging from your comment that you're surprised everyone hates Kathy.

What's not to hate? If you were trying to present her as truly torn by her decision, you failed, because she seems to bounce back quickly and live a full and happy life with Karl. If she really loved Paul AND Karl, her relationship with Karl would have been fraught with problems and unhappiness, perhaps ultimately failing. Where is the guilt, the regret, the agony she suffers? We see almost none of that. She cries a few times, then apparently happily moves on to her new life. She carries on the affair fairly successfully and doesn't show signs of torment that any husband would be bound to pick up while it is happening. She has a totally unreasonable demand on her husband that she should have two husbands, and never seems to even begin to understand his side of things, how unreasonable that is, or how much she must have hurt him.

She doesn't come across as someone legitimately torn, she comes across a someone downright evil. Why? Because of the ease with which she switches husbands and suffers no apparent long term problems.

If you want to rectify that, you should follow up with a another chapter that looks at her life and the after effects of her decisions. I agree with others that this Karl is more than a little fishy. For someone living in Germany, it's an awfully amazing coincidence how he happens to come back as he did, when he did. It seems to me that he was unhappy being divorced and went to look up his old flame, but did it in a way to make it appear an accident.

Whether that's true or not, he showed no respect for Paul and Kathy's marriage whatsoever. Based on all that, it seems extremely improbable to me that the new marriage will last very long.

I think it would be good if you write a follow up story where we find out that Kathy is actually miserable in her new marriage. Maybe the only way she could ever be truly happy is if she were with both men at once, and that can never be. She belatedly realizes the enormity and selfishness of her actions, but she knows its too late for her to ever go back to Paul, because he's written her off completely. She realizes that Karl is not the man she thought he was, but actually has a heartless and cruel side (for instance, note the way he just cut off contact with her way back when without even a good-bye letter). However, he is all she has now, so she perserves with a miserable marriage, keeping up appearances with her children and Paul that she's happy when in fact she deeply regrets her decision and wishes she could go back in time and not make the same mistake.

Something like that would be nice to bring the story to an emotionally satisfying conclusion. It also would be realistic, because if she could hitch up with Karl that easily and relatively painlessly then the only explanation is that she never really did love Paul in the first place and her long marriage to him was a sham. And yet by all appearances she did have a great marriage with Paul, so something has to give to have realistic consequences for everyone all around. I think how you portray the effects on Paul is fine and believable (sad though it is), but the glimpse of Karl and Kathy happily together is not at all believable.

This story is typical misogynist fantasy. Woman is madonna or whore - and the man's possession. Reality: custody and divorce in the US is no longer fault based; the fact that wife was screwing around does not guarantee husband custody unless and until he can show it adversely affected the children

Throwing the wife out - hah! Like I said - this is fantasy. Unfortunately too many men think it is, or should, represent reality (would the author agree that the man should be kicked out and lose the kids over an affair? - doubt it)

This madonna or whore way of looking at women is particularly popular in the South Dakota legislature these days

except that he should have been fucking other women ...he didnt have to marry any ...but why not sex ...might be believable if he had sex ...but this way nope .... i hope his ex wife rots in hell

the right kind of ending for this story

where he didn't have a relationship after the divorce. I couldn't see this guy not finding a woman that really loved him. I didn't think he was unreasonable or unyeilding in his treatment of his wife. As a matter of fact, this is how I interpreted the letter:

Dear second best, long ago I had filet mignon. Then I lost it. I settled for ground beef. I even grew to like groud beef, but my heart was always commited to filet mignon. Then, one day, filet mignon was put back on the menu. I chose it over the ground beef. In my mind it was the same thing, but in my heart it was different.

Why couldn't you demean and humiliate yourself in front of your coworkers, friends and our family and let me fuck around with my old lover.He doesn't mean as much as you do, except I will treat him better. With one-eighth of my love, your wife.

I liked the story. I lked the ending. It seems that in your story, the only mature, caring, and loving person was the maligned husband. The wife made her choice, not once, but many times, in your story and finally she rubbed his nose in it with her request for them to "all live together". Being totally immature, basically selfish, and careless of the effects of her actions on others, she blythely proceeded to paint her husband as the villain and proceeded to ruin as many lives as she could while doing her own thing. I applaud the husband/hero. I applaud your tale about him, his discoveries, his actions, his decisions. A job well done.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

First, a well written if really sad story. I do agree with many who say that the wife Kathy could've been fleshed out more and that her actions were pushing credibility. I think to make things work, you just have to assume she is rather nuts, and sadly still hanging onto her first "teenage love". So, you could have fleshed that part out more I think. Even if as you say whiteone redone, she didn't develop completely from teen naivete, most people in the real word and fiction aren't going to like or give much quarter to that type of person.

Second, pertaining to HH Morant's mysogynist ramble (which screams misandrist to me ;) ), that person is right to a degree. One of my major quibbles with a lot of these stories, especially when it pertains to men wronged is, the portrayal of the divorce courts is not that of reality. The courts are not based on fault anymore (they should be HH, unless it is a mutual no-fault) and sadly it doesn't have much custody impact. Him kicking her out, while easily easily believable if it were a husband cheating, a woman would not have so hard a time fighting it.

He'd also need verifiable proof of her cheating which wasn't mentioned in the story really. I can forgive it to some extent, simply because of the threat he used (opening up the affair to lawsuit/public scrutiny) got her to back down. Sadly, alienation of affection is not law in most US states (not for a long time either). Oh, and yes HH Morant, if the sexes were reversed in this story and Paul was the cheater, I wouldn't be supporting of him getting anything but visitation for a long while. Simply because his sanity would be very suspect.

The Author's BIO says he is divorced --

Middle aged divorced male who enjoys reading and writing about Loving (cheating) Wives. No interest in far-out improbably stories....

Recall at the end of part 2 the Author's initial comment was that he thought many would NOT like Paul and would like --at least in some capacity Kathy. !!!

Well Now we know WHY the author is divorced!!!! Either the author is using reverse psych here or the author has serous problems with realty .

The author's comment in feedback section are revealing as they are moronic. The first problem is that the author portrays the Husband's immediate reaction was strong and decisive....... Toss her out and ask for and get a divorce. BUT once you have established THAT characteristic... for him to read that self serving letter .... how does he NOT strike back at her ? through work? through family? The wife never once says how sorry SHE is for causing HIS pain... just that she loves him more now than 16 years ago which is why she HAD to go fuck a high school sweetheart from 20 years ago.!!!

makes sense to me . NOT!

How does he accept her sister in law's complicity? why would the sister in law think the wife's letter change anything -- presumably she read it or knows what is in it. Again the conspiracy here against the husband is so large and so vast .... his refusal to strike back is TOTALLY unbelievable.

Contrary to what the idiot SLEEPLESS IN MD says the whole letter Idea was pathetic as it was stupid and UNBELIEVABLE. The author claims he is against or doesnt like unrealistic story lines.... OK. If that is true why does the author have Kathy's letter go into detail and sentance after sentance about helping Karl with studying and getting a 3.2 grade point average?

I mean who gives a god dam fuck about what THEY did in high school lunch room and study group and how is that relevant to this dilatation?

Let assume for second the Husband put up with this.... or lets say he had not found out when she did... Given what she did later... Married Karl moved to Germany fucked her OWN kids and had a another baby ... isn't it clear that at some point SHE would of filed for divorce and seek custody of the kids?

a poor story with an awful ending after a great start . You should sell this crap to LIFETIME

I liked the story very much but the ending showed a great inconsistency. The poor husband spends the rest of his life celibate while everyone else fulfills themselves. He is still a cuckhold at that point.

As the old adage goes, "The best revenge is to live well."

He did not live well and consequently for the rest of his life he has chipped away at his own quality of life as well as that of his children. Children aren't blind. They see their mother living and loving another man, having his children and enjoying life. Then, they return to their father and see a "stern" and obviously sad and unhappy man who hasn't dealt with life. This is not a good role model for them.

Poorly thought out.

To all the readers that assume Paul never dated or found someone else. While the authers words seem at first to say that if you reread them you'll see that he only talks about a little more then the first 2 years after the divorce. I could see him recovering after 3 or 5 years and starting a new life. I can also see Kathy relising that she didn't really know the man she threw her family away for and had made a huge misstake.

At least that's the way I finnish the story in my mind :)

Metzov

see the woman as a victim and what ever they do protect them.in this story the betrayal and disrespect the wife did to the husband the writer till let the wife have a good life.the hubby on the other hand live in hell and the writer feel that was good thing.first thing the husband should have done was call his wife job and told them what went down they fired her and broke the contract with boyfriend.why the husband make it good for the guy broke his marriage up and not tell her company.writer deep down got that wimp mind .women writers got more balls then the men writers.women writer know how to get revenge.good story,but the writers are weak in the punishment of whores.

I know everyone is entitled to believe what they want but...

Have you actually "read" the last couple of paragraphs? Here let me point a couple of things out if I could:

_____________________________________

Six months after the divorce, Kathy and Karl married. Over the next two years, they Kathy gave birth to a baby boy. They remained living in Gilmore. Kathy's close relationship with Jason and Christi continued over the years. Christi was especially thrilled when her mother gave birth to her new step brother. I never met with Kathy or her family after the divorce. In my mind, she died the day I made my fateful discovery.

I remained the stern and loving father who became totally involved with the children as they grew up. I refuse to go any dates with the numerous females who constantly tried to become involved with me. Kathy was the only woman I would ever love enough to want to be intimate with. In place of sex and female companionship, I focused my attention on the children, my job and I even became involved in local politics.

_____________________________________

Ok it says: "Over the next two years, they Kathy gave birth to a baby boy."

That's all it says for the two year period. Nothing more. Just that over that time they had a baby. The final paragraphs don't infer anything else other than to tell you how long it took before Kathy started being happy and moving on with her life

But if you read this: "Kathy's close relationship with Jason and Christi continued over the years."

That implies more than two years time. Otherwise you would normally say something like "Over the last couple of years Kathy's relationship with Jason and Christi contined to grow." But when you combine this paragraph:

"In my mind, she died the day I made my fateful discovery.

I remained the stern and loving father who became totally involved with the children as they grew up. I refuse to go any dates with the numerous females who constantly tried to become involved with me. Kathy was the only woman I would ever love enough to want to be intimate with."

That pretty much says that "I refused to go on any dates" or "totally involved with the children as they grew up" or even "Kathy was the only woman I would ever love enough to want to be intimate with" says that for "YEARS" he decided that he would never be with another women ever. And that he would pine away for Kathy till the day he died.

In those sections it doesn't imply that he only did this for a couple years then moved on, it implies that he gave up on women because he couldn't have Kathy. And thats what made him a sad individual plain and simple. There are women that would love to have a male that wants nothing but to look after them and for them to have someone to look after too as they go through life.

But the character of this story just gave up on life and refused to live when he couldn't have Kathy.

-Risq

Yes I've read both of those paragraphs more then once. I didn't say he could have gotten over it in two years. I said three to five years. The author said over the years not over the years after she had the baby. Why couldn't he have meant over the years after the divorce? The fact is it depends on when Paul made statment in the last two paragraphs. It seems to me it could have been made a few months after Kathy gave birth or it could have been made many years later. Then your interpretation would be right. But I think he would have had more to say about the kids if it was made much later then five years after the divorce. Jason was 13 when the story started. I would have looked for some mention of him leaving home or at least getting ready to.

I see nothing that indicates how long after the birth of the baby Paul makes his statment about his life. That lets me hope he'll heal and over come what Kathy did to him. If I can see a way for a happy ending for him I'll take it :)

Metzov

Seriously, I sympathize with the wife, but she should have faced the fact that she couldn't possibly have Karl without hurting Paul. The way things are protrayed, her attempt to have it both ways appears to have made it harder for her husband to move on.

No matter now much the wife claims she loves her husband more than life itself, she has confessed in writing that she loves Karl more.

Unless the husband agrees to take at least second fiddle in his wife's life he has absolutely NO choice but to dissolve the marriage. It was over when the woman told him unequivacably that her feelings for Karl were greater than for him.

What? Did I hear someone say she actually said she loved her husband more? NO, she stated that in words, but her actions were an emphatic vote for Karl over her marriage as was her admission Karl was more important to her than her marriage, she could NEVER give Karl up. Instead she was choosing to end her marriage instead. Her choice! How the woman could even imagine her husband would accede to such an arrangement is inconceivable to me.

the Troubador

Well, Paul could have become "the other man" and lived happily ever after.

The legal stuff is a little iffy. The baseless TRO should have landed Paul in some nasty trouble.

Paul kept the letter to let the kids read after they are older. What will they think of there mother after reading the letter and realize that there mother didn't think enough of them to even fight for them and that she gave them up to be with her new lover.

First, this was a very enjoyable story, even though I was uncomfortable with the ending. I hate to see the bad guys win. At part of me would have loved to see this Karl character have an “accident” after his marriage to Kathy.

There are several ideas in this story that I want to expound upon. For one, it bothers me that a man can inject himself in another man’s marriage and family and assume he can live happily ever after; that somehow an illicit love provides justification and an entitlement. It takes two to cheat and I prefer stories where both parties get their due.

The other issue is the idea that a sibling owes loyalty above honor. This is the same philosophy that says that a brother hides a murderer because he is his brother. For Evelyn not to have told her husband or brother-in-law of her sister’s actions made her culpable an accomplice; a pox on her house too.

Thanks for a thought provoking tale of marital betrayal.

the sister knows and backing her sister betrayal.by asking him to deal with katie the sister likes the ideal of the threesome.why writer want let hubby tell the company what happen.they fuck his life up,why protect her and her lover.

Shoulda kicked Karl's ass and the ex's.

The purpose of these public comments is to convey feedback hopefully constructive to improve your future renderings as erotic literature. As a reader I react as (1) a fan whether I like the story or not and (2) a critic of erotic writing. I have been reading erotic literature for more than 15+ years and I have seen it evolve from the old Usenet alt.sex.stories days.

For your first story you have been very successful with at least 130 public comments to this two part story. Part of the reason is the fact that the wife loves her cheating lover. Most stories in this category are stories about lust not love. After reading some of the public comments I would like to make the following points and to adjust my earlier comment.

First, the age of the children -Jason at 11 and Christi at 13 when this crisis hit supports Paul's decision not to get emotionally involved with another woman. Think about how many women who are left by their husband like Paul who devote themselves to their kids, work and community until the kids leave the home. In addition, you wrote the story from Paul's perspective perhaps 5-7 years after her betrayal. So Paul would be 45 - 47 years old at the time of this story (yes -he could be older but I am an optimist). This timeout from serious romantic affairs is hardly the end of the world for someone who wants to focus on raising his kids.

As to why most readers hated Kathy. I understand that you were trying to create a woman who had been emotionally damaged by non-closure with her first love. There was a similar story on this site where the wife had non-closure issues for her first high school love which led to an affair. However, in that story the wife got counseling and returned to her husband (and there was considerable development of the wife's character).

Kathy came off as a cold calculating bitch. The only time she expressed guilt was when she was caught. Fate brings Karl back into her life and she races to get him back. She buys Victoria's Secret clothing for Karl but it is the same old routine for Paul. She has a ~2 year courtship with Karl 18 years ago but she had 16 year marriage and 2 great kids with Paul. The letter provides the clues to explain her screwed up thinking but it does not excuse her behavior. It is pretty clear that she wanted Paul as a husband and father to her kids probably until the kids left the home.

The other curious thing is Karl's behavior. Kathy says in her letter "You are my husband and he could never be my husband. Those were my thoughts during those days of confusion and turmoil for me. Never, and I mean NEVER, did I ever consider leaving you for Karl". Yet they are married 6 months after the divorce and she has a child with him within 2 years. So either Kathy has a split personality living as two people or Karl was not neutral in this matter. What it an accident that Kathy was marked by such a love bite that it would be clearly visible to Paul? It was also pretty careless for her Victorica's Secret clothing to be left in her car.

Bottom Line: As far as Kathy is concerned -Good Riddance! You might consider a second separate story primarily about Kathy and Karl perhaps 10 years later.

Once again you wrote an excellent story!

SleeplessinMD

The story was very well written. I liked the characterizations and how they were continually developed. However, in watching the experiences of several friends who went through divorces, 90% of the time the wife gets the children, unless the husband can prove she is unfit. Adultery does not make her unfit--whether that is good or bad is another question.

JimDinMN

That was an excellent well-written story. It was sad that the screwed-up people screwed up other people's lives.

As answering a commenter's question why the court gave custody to the dad, it is because the mother did not fight it. He wants it, she does not want it, he gets it. She did not fight it to avoid a scandal.

great story but why should the husband suffer alone?

the lover never found anybody in 16 years, come on make him a wife beater or a cheater himself. The ex wife doesn't even know who he is. Let sis inform the ex husband that the ex wife is alone or in hospital with there children and her baby. Ruin the ex wifes fairytale life, come on justice is needed revenge is sweetest when you do nothing to get that person who tore your heart out back. They do it to themselves self destruction is common I have seen it and been involved in it. The best is when they come back and ask for help then you really win. please give this morral, kind, loving, responsible, giving man his reward. The grass very rarely is greener on the other side but you never realize this until you are over there and take a good hard look.

so I'm just now getting around to making a comment.

I agree with the majority of the readers... this was an excellent first effort. It was well written, had a nice easy flow, but most important, it made me think.

I do feel that a person can sincerely love more than one person at a time - I have never accepted that by some magic there can be one and only one love for each person. There are just too many millions of counter examples (this is not to say it can't happen; this is the fallacy of generalizations).

I understand Paul's feelings. I'm sure at some point he would move on... but I don't see him rushing.

I would have thought she would question why Karl would want to break up her home life (I know, in her letter she said it was her choice.. still, he agreed).

As I said, I can understand why she would want to keep both of her loves, especially wanting to keep her family intact. It was very naive of her to have any expectations of having both loves simultaneously. How would it work? In something like this the devil is in the details.

I would echo several comments: it would be interesting to see a follow-up story showing her feelings from a several years later perspective. I would suspect that her emotions would show that regaining Karl's love was somewhat of a pyrrhic victory (a victory gained but offset by staggering losses - like the Union winning the civil war).

I haven't read thecelt's story yet, but if neither you nor he address this situaltion from the perspective of time, I might want to give it a try.

A great first start and I hope you keep writing. I think you have a real talent to share. You have the art of bringing our realistic emotions.

Regards, DJ

in real life --- as opposed to the silver screen or on these pages --- as Allen Jackson's beautifully sorrowful songs says, this is really what happens.

some people get what they want; some don't; some must make hard, heart-wrenchng choices, to preserve their sanity; others,,, even others (like Kathy here) may not get all of what they want,,, a loving husband and a good lover, with both men consenting to her "dual life",,,

again, exceptionally tru story,,,,

a wife who betrayed him and wanted him to except her whoring.a mother who forgot she had kids.a woman who wanted to relive her past at all cost to her family.why would anyone shun paul for that.what they should shun paul for being to easy on the dumb whore.what happen at the end is she got what she wanted and writer make paul suffer .there are lonely women begging to be with someone nice and clean,the writer make paul to wimpy at the end.

This has to be the most, dull, depressing and contradictory story I've ever read on this site (and that's saying something). Your lead female was either deranged or thought her husband was (however, she may have been right there). So, what I read was while women can love more than one man at a time, a man loves only one woman, forever. Pure insanity.

A truely sad story but one well told. I hope you write some more, including your take on their lives years later.

I have no problem with how Paul handled himself after discovering the affair of his wife. That he did not even wish to see his wife again, much less listen to her rationalizations, seems to me to be perfectly understandable. Her betrayal of her love solely for him was more than enough to justify a divorce in every way possible, including never setting eyes on her again.

The story was very well written. The characters were well developed. And, unlike in "...JC", everone survived.

she got a 'new' husband. she still sees her kids, but doesnt have the daily responsibilty for them, and for that she has alot more time to fuck her new husband.

he on the other hand got eaten up by anger that he have forgotten how to live. he will probably die young and mesirable.

the best revenge would have been finding a younger woman, being happy, and just prospering.

nicely written

on here and perhaps the sadest story i have ever read in my life. God the pain thhis man felt I could feel. great job BTW. I think you might write one more chapter with his ex-wife findingout that her lover and now new husabnd is cheating on her. If I had the time I would write it for you with your approval. I just wnat to tell you that your story touched my heart and I was actuialy crying for this man before it eneded like it had to. I would only say it would be swell if she got what she desreved. I can't believ a woman would leave her kids for a lover a very old lover. But othe than that it was one great story

It was a well written story, but I would have at least sued him and probablly whipped my wife's lovers ass. What ever happened to personal responsibility. Marriage vows are unbreakable though a divorce is legally available. There are too many of us that work hard at honoring our spouses. I have no respect for adulterers and personally believe that they should all be lined up and shot.

For a fictional story, this is limp.

he was to easy on her.now he walking around like the man who shot somebody.he needs to get married or get another woman.

I like your story. Very interesting, it kept you on the edge of your seat. It was a little sad though, especially for Paul. Keep on writing.

what world of common sense did the writer come from.what man going to let his wife have a lover.his writer and the wife are crazy.the plot of the wife asking the hubby to accept the affair was crazy.so wife live happy why hubby suffers.any man who is a man out of ego is going look to fuck some woman to see is he still a man.it is a man thing.

Paul and Kathy NEEDED to be divorced. But Kathy could not have expected to have a truly happy relationship with Karl, either. I know, I know!! "Her high-school love, yaddy yaddy yadda!! The FACTS are: Kathy never came clean with Paul until after she had been separated from him that she had "found" and met with Karl. Had Kathy been thinking with her brains instead of with her "head"(yes, women do THAT too!) She would have realized that she needed to be open and honest with her husband about her Repressed Memories and emotions where Karl was concerned.

And Kathy should never have tried to "Protect" everyone in her family from her problems with her emotional difficulties where Karl was concerned. Kathy, dear readers needed psycho-therapy. Simple counseling would not have helped. Karl's actions in abandoning(YES! That is what he did to) Kathy harmed her more than he could ever know! KARL WAS AT FAULT FOR THIS ENTIRE MESS!

And then there is this: Karl KNEW that Kathy was married. And it was his CHOICE to initiate intimate contact with Kathy. I say this because he knew that there was a wedding ring on the finger, and three other lives in the balance. And Karl KNEW that it was his decision that caused all of Kathy's life situations to occur: her eventual involvement with Paul, and marriage and children.

Karl WAS NOT A MAN IN THIS DECISION OF HIS. HE COULD HAVE STOPPED THIS, BUT HE WAS TOO DAMNED SELFISH. AND SO WAS KATHY. And so was Paul.

Why didn't it become apparent to Paul from his wife's request he "make room in their relationship" for his wife's involvement with Karl, that his wife was sick? And she was!

She was psychologically harmed by the terrible breakup with Karl all those many years ago.

And Evelyn, had she understood the facts about her sister's relationship(and I am sure she knew the whole story!) should have pointed out to everyone(Paul and Kathy) that Karl was INCAPABLE OF MAKING A GOOD DECISION THAT WOULD BENEFIT ALL. He also was marked in his soul by what happened. He needed therapy most of all.Narrow shoulders.

In our rush to judgement, especially in our own lives, we must always remember these things: 1)Never try to "protect" anybody.2)The truth will always come out!3)Better by far to tell the truth as allowing ignorance is like lying.3)Show your Love for your family and spouse by being Honest and Open.4)NEVER, NEVER Judge anyone.Get Help!! Do NOT try to "Go It Alone"!! You can't!

Kathy's child will always know the truth, because children never can keep that kind of crap to themselves, and the waters will be poisoned for them all, especially by their dad, Paul. He will never be able to deal with the fact that his wife and Karl are together. And Karl will never be completely honest with Kathy. He never was, not by his actions. He was damaged by his experience, and Kathy needs to understand that also. This was a well-told stry of nonsense followed by bullshit, and finished by sadness.

BUT! It was Honest!!

wife give up family for ex boyfriend.wife want to live out unfullfill childhood cursh.wife marry the boyfriend.now you tell us husband home and lonely.good men are hard to fine and good women find them.so you tell us the whoreslut of a wife is having a good time and the hubby who is a good man is catching hell.stop what wrong with that story.that dumb as hell.

Well written but not a theme one could really like. She's a whore. She may be sick but she still had a mind that knows right from wrong, surely. Most people are also interested in someone else before their marriage with that relationship being in various stages. She knows that she is married and THAT should have controlled her life and actions. Merely meeting an old flame should never have shaken the marital bond. She's a slut. Not just because of what she did but her intentions of continuing it. That takes a real bitch. He should recognize that and get on with HIS life. Really a bad situation she set up.

Paul did the right thing if he did take her back they would think he was a jerk and he had no back bone i wouldnt tar and fether him i would shake his hand I think Paul should have gotten some revenge on lover boy though by getting Carl discredited and blackballed from the company so his company couldnt bid on any work and also he should file a lawsuit against the cablenex compant that she worked for for authorising them to sub contract him and his company .

Pat

Atlanta,Ga.