On Reflection

wasted chances

poor judgment was exercised by her, in all ways. the compounding of the silliness. there was the opening to try and salvage something when she opened herself with her silliness. nothing like any opening wasted, if only to be told that it was no longer possible. that weight of her actions left he final mark. and her future, too much directed by the past. sometimes speaking up ?

Don't do it Wendy...

Don't give up. You haven't lost 'til he marries her. Fight for him. Fight for your family. He doesn't love Cindy. He loves you. You made a mistake, sure. Several of them. But you didn't do it out of malice. Pull yourself together and get going. Never give up and never give in....

I always love it when the slut gets in her end.

Her lack of faith in her husband and her willingness to trust another MORE than her husband tells me she had to respect for her man. She got what she deserved and that is the way the story should end.

Well written and well done.....

If presented with photographic evidence of your husband's affair I think any woman would react in a similar fashion. And well Brad manipulated her good. She's not a "slut wife" she just reacted to the evidence at hand and that evidence ended up being faulty.

Hope Wendy doesn't give up. Bill wouldn't have done all the gestures he has if he didn't at least think about the possibility.

Good story..... forget the obvious flaws

Even though I liked this story very much, it's hard to ignore the false premise that it's based on. That false premise is that chemical analysis of the photos would have proved them fake. Who did Bill have for a lawyer, Ned in the first reader?

Although your theme, female infidelity, remains the same, this was another very interesting variation on that theme.

Painful to be sure -

Even worse is that the villain succeeded -

This would have been one of the time when I would have found a way for Bill to work a but harder to understand her choices.

Nothing in the story suggested that she WANTED to believe Brad just that she accepted the evidence from a friend and the advice - she was not even stupid or gullible most people would have accepted what was offered the way it came to her.

A better lawyer, a more sophisticated woman with knowledge of photo editing possibilities, a less trusting woman, lot's of what if';s could have saved her but she was neither evil nor grossly wrong - just simply wrong.

THE MIRROR OF REFLECTION

finally shines on the truth. TK U MLJ LV NV

Sequel?

A follow up would be cool.

Dear Mr Celt

I've read your stories with great admiration and the theme is clear.

You are really one of the "burn the bitch" crew, just more polite.

I love this story : )

I've been with my husband for 10 years been married for 4 years, I trust my husband with my life. If I was in this woman situation I wouldn't have been so easily convinced, first off: I'm wondering why she didn't ask herself why would brad go through all this trouble? What would brad have to accomplish by paying a private eye out of his own pockets to follow her husband? Why was brad so insistent that she file a restraining order barring him from his home & sons? Why was it so easy for her to believe this asshole that she barely knew than her husband of 15 years? It's simple; She didn't have any faith nor trust in her husband! If she had faith & trusted her husband she would've told him about the report brad presented her with & listened with an open heart as well as mind. This was a man she's known for 15 years had two kids by him so she should've known if he was telling the truth or not; I would think by them being together so long that she would know her own husband better than he knew himself. She threw her family away because deep down she wanted to believe that her husband had cheated on her; even if in fact he had; why didn't she try to save the relationship? I don't condone infidelity , I think there's only two ways to handle a situation regarding a straying spouse, divorce or counseling, there is no third option ; such as revenge fucks... But I also feel counseling due to adultery will not succeed if you are dealing with a habitual cheater, there's really no other option for a serial cheater other than divorce no matter how long you've been married. I'd feel bad for the wife in this story except I really can't understand why she chose to believe brad instead of her own husband? I'd never believe my husband of cheatin on me , not unless I see it with my own eyes but I'd certainly will not be taking anyones word for it.. Men as well as women are predators, bitches are like sharks, if they want your husband they will lie, steal, cheat, manipulate & scheme to get their prize, I don't leave my husband alone with no bitch not because I don't trust him but because I don't trust the sharks. Men are exactly the same, they prey on the weak, in this wife's case she failed to heave the husbands warning regarding this shark. What sort of sick individual would tear a family apart all for some pussy, but you have to think if their marriage was strong he never would've had room to tear down their marriage brick by brick, she allowed him this power. He might've been a shark but she was just a stupid bitch that didn't believe her husband & at the end got exactly what she deserves: a life without her one true love/father of her kids/ her best friend/ her other half...

I'm sorry

I usually don't comment twice unless of typo's or I forgot to add something-- but I feel I must in this case -- I was reading the comments regarding the husband not fighting for his marriage & not getting the pictures proven as fakes... Ok ! Why the fuck should he have to go through all that shit?! His word of innocence should've been enough for this brain dead wife! He shouldn't have to fight for his marriage, besides how the fuck was he going to be able to achieve this when she had a fucking restraining order against him & her requesting that he not show up at her home while she's there?! Explain that geniuses ! I don't like that the husband is being blamed for something he had no control over , he wasn't the one who filed for divorce, & very easily chosed to believe a jackass over her own fucking husband! So again why the fuck would he A: want to stay married to a bitch that refused to believe & have trust /faith in him? B: why would he fight for a marriage that really wasn't much of a marriage from the beginning if it was so easy for this moronic wife to trust & believe this jackass over her husband of 15 years that she easily dropped her panties for the same asshole who showed her "pictures" of her husbands "infidelity"? Didn't it ever occur to her that maybe just maybe that brad wanted in her panties I mean how stupid could this chic be? He's the one who lead her to filing for a divorce/restraining order , so why didn't it occur to the idiot that brad had an agenda? So no I don't blame the husband for not getting those pictures authenticated, what good would that have done? The point is she didn't trust him! All the other shit that she pulled afterward were just confirmation of her total lack of brain matter. You shouldnt have to fight for your marriage if it's strong & what good would that have done if you're the only one fighting?! It's idiotic placing blame on the husband when he didn't do a damn thing wrong. Fuck her! She's the one that cheated on him... I would've been disappointed if he took her back... He did good, he moved the fuck on... I don't know any man who'd stay married to a complete idiot such as this dummy... She shouldn't even be allowed to procreate... No he shouldn't stay married just for his kids, what would he be teaching his kids by staying married to someone who obviously didn't love, trust, cherished & respect her husband ? Marriage is built on trust, love, faith & communication this bitch demolished these important components that makes a marriage, so I'm not really comprehending the comments of the husband not fighting more for this tragic false duplication of a marriage? Just as those pictures were fakes so was the marriage.

kind of illogical

first, let me say that i love most if not all your stories, however in some of them and especially this one you kind of bypass logic probably for the sake of the story and where you want it to go, i understand that but the lack of logic makes it less interesting for me in a way. now regarding this story, as part of any divorce proceedings, the accusing party should deliver any incriminating evidences to the accused, so, the husband certainly had or could have asked for the PI report that proved him cheating, and when he has it in his hands he could have easily proved that it was false one way or the other, even if his wife believed it and moved on he still could have proved his innocence, just like the masterpiece "dig to graves". again, let me say that i always enjoy your writings and thanks for sharing.

Insufficient!! She is still benefitting from a favorable

settlement based on fake evidence!! They need to go back to court and revisit alimony and the other terms - she no longer has the moral high ground...

5*

I usually hate the stories from cheater's perspective. But I liked this one...(I guess rather than call her a cheater,she deserve to be called a fool)

Damn

Although an excellent tale the revenge and retribution doesn't feel the same. The wife wasn't a slut or a whore. She was a stupid gullible bitch who believed the lies of a jealous co-worker of her faithful, loving husband. She never cared to hear the husband's side and went on to screw around with the asshole liar. She blew it and her life now, or lack of life reflects that. Money doesn't matter in this case. She fucked up and she'll pay the price forever, the loss of the love of her life.

Having re-read this story and several of the comments,...

... it is pretty clear to me why Wendy took Brad's word over Bill's. Despite her protestations that he didn't measure up, she believed Brad simply because that is what she wanted to believe. Believing Brad fit her agenda, plain and simple. She clearly betrayed her marriage vows by starting her affair with Brad before her divorce was final which made her everything that she accused Bill of and more. The saving grace for the story was the fact that Bill, in the end, saw her for exactly what she was. Great, great story.

interesting variation on the genre

thecelt, I wanted to say how immersed I became in this story. Part of it is from incidents in my life and that of people I have know. Part of it the death of Brad (accidental? intentional by Bill or some 3rd party not introduced in the story?), what the character Wendy said about Brad.

"......Brad destroyed me and my marriage, but not the man he hated and envied. Brad lost his life without knowing he had failed......."

This is similar to my experience with people I have known who committed or attempted suicide. My hypothesis is, at least in some cases, suicide is an act of hate and revenge, NOT fear or hopelessness or pain. The suicide wishes to harm someone else and leave them suffering and unable to retaliate. That the persons who actually wind up suffering afterwards are innocent, collateral victims of that act of hate.

The person intended as the original target may not have even noticed the suicide's death or suffered more then momentary sorrow for the dead. Irony indeed!

As for revisiting the divorce settlement. The Court system is flooded with cases and they have no time or patience to hear all the prattle about he said/she said. What women haters are too twisted in their narcissism, this is the most succinct description of a divorce settlement:

"This family has one loaf of bread to be eaten by father, mother, and three children. Divide the loaf, half to father, half to mother who then has to divide it four ways to share with the children.

These are growing hungry children being made to go hungry so Daddy gets a ‘fair’ share. So the court decides that the loaf of bread will be divided five ways, Now Daddy is crying that the court is being unfair to him.

The court retorts to Daddy, so you would have YOUR children go hungry so you can fill up your fat gut? You are willing to throw the family YOU created, the children YOU fathered onto public welfare to burden taxpayers so you can eat to YOUR content?"

Loved it

Five stars. Beautifully written and emotionally authentic.

Sad story

The wife supposedly loves her husband, and yet she gets angry and defensive when he tells her to be cautious around a man that she well knows is her husband's main rival for status and position at their company? What sort of emotional makeup or vulnerability would cause that? Common sense should have told her that it was against her own economic interests to do anything that would likely give the rival any sort of workplace advantage over her husband, so why would she do what she did? That's the great unanswered question here for me. I suppose there are wives who would do that to a husband they hate, but that isn't the situation. This woman's behavior is very strange, but that, of course, is what makes the story so interesting. Well done!

Unthinking wife

Here we have a woman who condemns her husband without examining the evidence and the condemns his accuser with no more than a telephone call from a stranger. She even gives that stranger $1000 when it is pretty obvious that he isn't going to destroy his business by admitting that he fabricated evidence.

To my mind it is equally probable that Bill cheated and then killed Brad. Harold could have just called her up on the off chance that she'd pay as she did or Bill could have put him up to it.

I really don't think that she should be allowed out without a keeper.

She constantly blames Brad

But it takes 2 to tango, as they say. Why did she let him into her life in the first place? Especially after her husband warned her? Why was she leading him on and flirting with him at parties? Brad wouldn't have done what he did, unless he was given some indication that she would believe him over her husband.
On the flip side, I DO feel sorry for her! There are not many people that wouldn't believe a lie when presented with pictures! We are all taught to believe what our eyes tell us, so it's hard not to believe the lie, when we see something to the contrary! She was every bit the innocent victim of Brad as her husband was.
From Bill's point of view, I couldn't go back to her afterwards either. I would forgive her, but when something is that badly broken, sometimes it can't be repaired. The original magic would be lost. I wouldn't be angry at her, it wasn't really her fault, but it just would never be as it was before. When you break that beautiful vase, you can glue it back together, but those cracks will always be there, and your eye can't help but be drawn to them!
Sad story, where BOTH are victims.

She got what she deserved

And she sure as hell didn't love Bill! The hole in this plot is the ridiculous notion that Brad would ever be invited to Bill's parties. If he was, then Bill was an idiot, and never would have beaten Brad at anything.

Re:krosis666

i cannot agree with your opinion that wendy is Innocent!, the old adage is "believe nothing of what you hear, & only half of what you see" if people in todays world have become so lazy & jaded that what ever evidence presented "hey,if its looks good...?then it must be true!" & fail to see the importance of verification & scrutiny then the punishment has fit the crime, wendy's crime was failure to value the 15 years of trust & love they had built (maybe she had reasons to not be inclined to trust & love bill),

the ol'sayin "Trust but verify" many think it was said by Reagan, well it was repeated by him over & over, but rarely people know the history behind it, wiki tells us that suzanne massie fed this golden broth to the faltering symbol of american pride, the saying has old roots deep in the centuries of blood lust that plagued the russian empire to the formation of USSR. доверяй, но проверяй

doveryay, no proveryay (trust, but verify).

hence, wendy commited a crime, bill paid the price by killing his love for wendy, jase & jenny were victims when wendy acted like a child. when she learnt of the truth, not of her own volition but circumstanstially, she had already seen that the love in bill's eyes no longer existed for her. bill saw the truth finally if 15 years of effort was all washed with a lie, how could they ever share the strength to hold on to each other in the future?... bill's love for his children was rewarded with his wound finally to be mended by cindy.
& now wendy's punishment begins, she will for the rest of her life know that she willingly destroyed her marriage, she will forever more see only happiness & love in bill's eyes & her children but not for her, for her there will only be pity.


Alas many such situations arise in real life commonly the roles are usually reversed

many times people want to spy on their spouse & find the truth, & the truth either way is hurtful when it comes out. its better to walk away from a marriage with no love & trust than to have our cake & eat it too.
nobody will ever admit to you but there are tests which can determine if a person could ever be considered trustworthy or faithful, but the reality is those tests can't guarantee the results

so boys & girls remember TRUST, BUT VERIFY!

Second time through...

Yes, I believe reconciliation could have been a very viable option. She was manipulated and emotionally taken advantage. But, after everything she unwittingly put him through, it is also very authentic that he fell out of love. Once you get the love squeezed out of you like that it is very hard to bring it back. He was able to forgive her, but not fall back in love. Of course, I'm not sure why she didn't put on the full court press to get him back. I almost think if she did, he might have taken her back. She acted much the same way she had when Bill began criticizing Brad - she didn't take his side. She didn't ever fight for her marriage.

*****

The one aspect I see missing form many commentors, an official report from a licensed investigative agency with details and photos that match a timeline is difficult to disbelieve. Most would go with the evidence.

Good tale.

Legal corrections

One loose thread is that she did not attempt to see the judge to correct the basis of the divorce. She accused adultery and judge accepted falsified info into evidence to support that finding. Further, the PI can have all the tapes he wants, he prepared information, report and photo, that he knew would be used as evidence in court. His license and bonding are gone! His ability to testify or provide work usable for clients is shot. I know it is minor, but her desire to make him whole that should have been addressed. Husband has MAJOR defamation suit agains PI.

Could have been in consequence series.

I enjoyed this but it got me seriously worked up!

What a stupid cunt!!!

I'm surprised Bill couldn't expose the false report himself being that he was into investigation as well as Brad and apparently better at it.

great read 5*

a raac could have worked if only to piss on brads (why are they always called brad) grave.