I Never Stopped Loving You

After a year ....

I read this again.
Good series. Good epilogue. Good Annie ending. 5*
No matter how you slice it, she was a self-centered bitch who wanted a servant / mind-reader for a husband since she was totally inept at spousal communication.

This last chapter portrayed Joe in a fashion that didn't match the original series. Still a great read.

Thx!

you made him the bad guy.

You are a real piece of work.

Consistent

Have to give you one thing, although I enjoy your writing you always end up making me hate your story. You always have to allow the women to excuse her actions, in this one you completely threw the blame on the husband when all it would have taken was the wife communicating, is he suppose to be a psychic mind reading signal knowing master? Yet it's all his fault, nice ending there(notice the sarcasm)

"Just As Much His Fault?!"

How is it his fault?

She never comes to him with any problems in their marriage.

She carries on a two-year affair, largely because he TRUSTS her enough not to suspect.

She sneaks away,tells him NOT to come after her.

She abandons their daughter, refuses a golden opportunity to make contact even after she sees with her own eyes how much it hurts her.

It is 110% HER fault, and my only regret is that she had a few years of happiness with Carlos!

His falt too, 50%. Not that much!

But she was leaving life and still he loved and still missed her. The book helped him and others, their was enough dirt in the wound. He knew he could still nit pick, it was over just forgive and forget and thank God for what he did, thats all folks....bill

Wow...

First of all, like you said: "Like Real Life". It's never as black and/or white as we'd like it to be. And EXCELLENT writing too. Really, really Great...

Second of all, are you critics so wrapped up in the story that you can't see another viewpoint? In this case a valid and potentially real viewpoint? Shit went down the way it did and it's fiction.

5*

sorry cannot comment at this time , story has left me unable to think straight.
deeply moving , thought provoking in the extreme . equisitely written.
none of these words come near to what i want to say.

i feel lost.

xxxhugsxxx

TwistedOliver.

Best ever

I have never responded to any writings before but your writing has made me stop and think of my relationship with those around me. Thanks

Really?

"ignoring me, menopause rampant hormones, and a brain tumor" How about I am a selfish bitch? You don't need to get fantastic with this stuff, just call it what it is - selfishness to the point of foolishness! Everyday their are men and women guilty of this committing adultery. Some when their wives get pregnant, some because their husband's are not getting them pregnant, some because their marriages have gone from cooperative to adversarial, some because the kids are grown and they don't care if they risk their marriage. The real reasons are enough. The outcome of cheating is what is interesting! 70% of marriages in which a spouse cheats end in divorce. When 75% of all second marriages fail, what do you think the odds are for adulterers? Even if they do not care about their spouses, you would think that they would understand that there is no future in cheating. While sex and romance is the basis for these stories, it is not very sexy or romantic to wind up alone, middle aged and broke do to cheating on you spouse. I personally have seen this outcome for both men and women foolish enough to cheat! Certainly there are some rare exceptions. There are some people who are able to latch on to a wealthy partner and hold on for dear life regardless of what that means in daily living. How many women have stuck themselves with a rich man only to find themselves as a sex vehicle and maid? How many men have to keep wife#2 happy at all costs or face living in the dog house or on skid row? All this while those that know them laugh at them behind their backs and use them as an example of stupidity and immorality! Sound romantic? Sound sexy? Maybe not after all - It is however very real!

Oh boy!

Sounds like something out of a daytime soap opera on TV.
And about as believable.
Two stars for the coherent writing.

Thanks….

Really nicely written and thought-provoking story. Very special with powerful impact.

the wife had to hurt him one last time

The tumor cured her; she wanted to be treated as the center of his universe, otherwise she would elope (some wife that); what about adult responsibilities? i am a feminist; but this woman is cruel, selfish, and knowing that she had lost out, she had to rub it in; suppose if she had not had tumor, would she have sent the dvd? No way; would she have apologized, no way. We all get maudlin when we are sick; she hurt his machismo, self-esteem, and treated him like mud, and she wants to come back after so many years, saying she would not have left if he fought for her; that is the mistake most women make; the first time you cheat and husband finds out, it is over period. There is no closure, ever. Fuck the husband; what about her daughter? Her only child. Were her whims and wanderlust so important than her child? You can forgive a bad wife but not a bad mother. No way. I don't know about hell; if the first wife goes to heaven because she changed and reformed and became 'ooh; i am sorry honey, i was such a bitch, you see i am dying with tumor, and i became oh so very good', i would rather go to hell; in the dvd she still sounds condescending, her apology was pathetic so much that it sounded like 'you see, i have tumor, i can't fuck, i am bored, instead of sitting around getting pampered by Carlos, i would fuck with your brains one more by sending a dvd'; he destroyed her three times, fuck, was that an apology? He was working his ass off to keep the family; how much energy does a man suppose to have, to provide for a family in bad economy, yet do overtime keep the wife happy with fine wining and dining? Please, for god's sake; for that girl, it was always her about her, had she had any sense of decency, she would have thought of putting herself in his shoes and re-thought what she was going to do? She did not. That shows her character. What if Joe had not had a good life and became successful writer; what if he had ended up as a drug addict, a drunkard, and killed himself; would she have come back to the grave and placed a flower on his tomb and wept? No way. She would not have bothered. For god's sake, we need to be honest and non-manipulative even with friends and coworkers and show them respect and decency; but to do what she did and yet rationalize it as not having enough attention is the sickest thing to do. Only god can forgive her; no human being will. It is only her tumor that made her do it. She sounded like, 'happy now, you no good average bastard, i am dying now for my sins, you see you were not giving attention, so i fucked someone and cucked you, but don't worry, 15 years later, i will get tumor, and come back for an apology and show you my scar, but till such time i will be busy fucking ramone, and now carlos, there you go, good boy, don't cry ok.'

I Still Feel The Same

She leaves HIM, TELLS him not to come after her, then blames him for not coming after her?!

She abandons her child, that did NOTHING to her.

She doesn't come home when her affair ends.

She refuses to even look at him when he comes to her, and she continues to ignore her daughter and grand daughter.

He may not be blameless, nobody in this life is, but her actions in response were so far in extreme as to make him nearly blameless.

And killing him off wasn't necessary!

I can't believe this crap.

Menopause, a tumor! Boredom? Damn you used just about every cheating wife excuse available. It's all bull of corse. Simply put she was selfish. And never told him there was a problem. Remember what she told him about her cheating. It was simply too easy to cheat on him because he loved and trusted her. Tumor my ass. I reject this ending. And I can hear that slow chorus of dead heros of bygone ages. Burn her, burn her, burn her. BURN HER.

Don't buy it!

This is just a woman's justification for cheating on a good man. He did nothing wrong.
She cheated, she up and left him and HER CHILDREN! Now she wants to blame him. It is not up to him to fight for her or chase after her when she cheats, nobody forced her. All her excuses come out of the basic cheaters' handbook. Again, he did nothing wrong.

She sounds like my ex...

Let's if I have this right:

Joe works his ass off to make a good life for the three of them.
Anne rebuffs his attempts to rekindle the fire.
Anne finds a "hobby" and a younger cock to play with.
Anne decides to disappear with the younger cock, takes half [or more] of their savings, etc, etc. and tells Joe not to try find her or contact her. Only contact is to be through her lawyer, and oh, please sign the divorce papers.

Joe continues with life and eventually finds success, wealth, happiness and love.

Then Anne learns she has terminal cancer and begs Joe to come see her, all the while blaming the whole thing on Joe.

What a selfish BITCH. Everything is about Anne. Poor, sick, old, tired, obese Anne. She abandons her husband and child, then at the end, she blames Joe because he didn't chase after her. Even when they did "meet," she wouldn't talk to Joe or even look at him.

The cunt deserves what she got. Good riddance.

now she has..............

In 500 Annie's she was a selfish self-centered bitch, now in this she has graduated to completely evil.
She couldn't resist twisting the knife in him one more time.

Additional Thought

"Well, there it was. I had been completely erased from my family. There was nothing left for me, nothing at all."

She erased HERSELF!

Why was A J crying? Because ANNIE refused to see her!

Annie is a real bitch

It was all about what she wanted no matter how much it hurt other people.'I'm dying. Come see me so I can explain why I was such a bitch.' He should have just ignored her request. Anything else gives credence to her actions. She needs to live the rest of her miserable life with what she did to her husband and daughter.

1 star

Fuck this shit. Fuck the pitiful excuses. Fuck having to fight for your spouse, for someone who promised you fidelity and affection. You never see women having to fight for their men, never have to make them stop falling with their dicks into other women's cunts. This is just retarded.

Annie was a cunt and she remained one to her death.

Joe did literally nothing wrong.

He moved on. That's all. He moved on and she was destroyed by her own actions and her selfish deeds. When something's not working in a marriage, you work it out, you communicate and either get past it or you don't and then you separate. You don't cheat. You don't betray your spouse and conceal your betrayal for two years, and then get to say "Oh why didn't you save me from myself?" later when it's all ashes.

I will never understand why people give so much sympathy for cheaters.

Thoughts

So it’s HIS fault that he can’t read her mind, that she didn’t tell him how she felt?

And that STILL doesn’t explain abandoning her daughter, and CERTAINLY by the time he spoke to her in Spain she knew that what she THOUGHT when she left him was wrong, and at the very least she could talk to AJ! Her pathetic excuse that she had “had been completely erased from [her] family” is ridiculous, what did she expect after so many years not communicating?

I’m sorry, any pain she felt was caused by her own actions, for her to even obliquely blame Joe just further shows how shallow and self-centered she is.

“I never stopped loving you, Joe.” – I find that incredibly hard to believe. If she had a scintilla of love for him she would have spoken to him in Spain.

I do NOT feel that his treatment of Annie was “shabby”! She got EXACTLY the treatment she deserved!

“the man I should have been” – Again, there was NOTHING wrong with the man that he was!

She still loved him “despite what happened”? That seems to imply that HE did something that should have caused her not to love him, and once again, I just don’t see it!

This loses a star for me (still a four!) because of the pile of shitty blame that is piled on Joe, when he was the INNOCENT victim of a selfish, if sick, woman, and also for killing him off.

Further Thought

I was looking at some other comments, and I had forgotten how she TOLD him NOT to come after her, and now she was BLAMING him for doing what she told him to do?

Oh, my!

Just finished reading your initial story about Annie and this one. I was deeply touched. Beautifully written with an incredibly perfect ending. My eyes were watery at so many stages - must have been hay fever. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Character Changes

Very well told tale, no doubt. If we had not read the original and had a pretty good understanding of the characters this denouement might have worked.. Unfortunately even using all the writer's formidable skills, we know them all too well. Author: You took the proverbial literary license and changed them so they fit another ending . You weren't true to the original at all. Shame.

geat story

Just finished the whole series and I loved it. Hope you're getting published somewhere.

Oops

My apologies after reading "500 Annies" I reasoned that there should have been a reply from Annie as to why she did what she did. Then I found her reply. Thank you again. Now I see her reasons...

WHEN YOU USE AFTER-THOUGHT AND SECOND GUESS

in a description of a failed marriage, messy and blames take over, TK U MLJ LV NV

Hormones, Tumor and Lonliness

I have heard all the excuses for why a person was too lazy and selfish to do the right thing. She is like many others who try to excuse, or justify their stupid, selfish and self destructive behavior. After listening to this shit for half a century, it is simply boring lies. If you are mentally healthy, this kind of one dimensional selfishness actually burns away any love you once had for these people. What you are left with is not anger or hate, it is simply indifference. You are not interested in them, or their boring lies. Life is too short to waste on fools. I was disappointed in this ending because once again, the selfish woman had played him for a fool and won.

Gave it a 5 for a great LW story

and to help offset the asshole of Lit's 1 vote. Dear annony you such an asshole!!!

Re-Reading

I'm sorry, but could only give this three stars, mainly due what others, including myself have said, that Joe was unfairly blamed here.

She complains about him not coming after her, when she TOLD him not to follow her, she blames him for not reading her mind when she refused to tell him what was wrong. She abandons her DAUGHTER, and refuses all attempts to re-connect.

Then you kill Joe off, when he deserved a long happy life with his loving family.

Betrayal

Why on earth would he go to Spain and "take her back" - she had already betrayed him, it was good riddance to bad rubbish. If the first he knew of issues was her notice that she'd betrayed him, it is complete BS that he would owe any form of apology.

Women get a lot of credit for their communication skills; I would tend to believe that they do pick up much more on non-verbal statements and love to infer. But, communication isn't just putting the message out there, it is having the intended recipient actually understand that message. Women tend to deal with us poor men as if we communicated on the same level they do, which ends up seeming as if we are expected to read their minds.

If Annie communicated her feelings to Joe before getting to the point where she could rationalize betraying and eventually abandoning their marriage, the Joe character as written would have gotten his head out of his ass and worked with her to find things to do together. Her piss-poor communication is what resulted in Annie's regrets.

many do think this way

There are many people who do think that everything they do, no matter what they do, someone else is to blame.
There are many who not only accept that way of thinking but encourage it.

Why would it surprise anyone that a spoiled woman like Annie is one of that kind of people?

Taking personal responsibility for your own actions is so 19th century. /end sarcasm

Too much rush to end

Sorry but I have to agree with many here, this ending was a bummer and you should have read what she wanted/did upon her separation. She is the one who decided to have an affair and leave because he was inattentive (in her opinion - giving her a warped justification for her actions). You need to reread what you wrote - the finality of her demand "to never seeking", "communicate only via her lawyer", "power of attorney", etc. etc. To dump this as his fault he did not chase her down after this and she never considered seeking any medical action to help justify her actions is a far stretch. At the end she was tumor impaired and lashing out from her guilt. I might have given her some leeway but to also do it to her daughter in the same manor - nope she was a spiteful revenging bitch, that finally tried to do the right thing at the very end to make HERSELF feel better.

Then you killed him off - well life is real but that act by you, degraded the whole story. You left him as the guilt one - that was wrong. It was like you rushed to get it over with and kill it dead. Plus you should have linked it to the whole multi-part story not an independent listing that few might find. Where your story is 5-star this conclusion is barely a 3-star, and all of them need basic grammar/spelling edits.

Is "reconcilliation" in anyone's vocabulary here?

Think about Joe's character for just a second. Throughout the whole series, has he ever made a harsh decision to intentionally harm another? Has he ever tried to ruin someone else's reputation and ultimately, their life?
(His book doesn't count as intentionally harming because he wasn't trying to put Annie 0 down. He was trying to teach people about love lesons.)
Joe is what is called "the nice guy", the one that apparently always finishes last. Well, in this story, he finishes leagues above everybody else. How does he succeed? By not rushing blindly into decisons that could negatively impact another (eg. writing a book about how women are heartless, callous, and cold just based on how Annie 0 ditched him).
All the people who have said that this story doesn't deserve 5 stars because it depicts Joe in the wrong...well...are wrong. Joe's character is soft and caring. He would not be the average-joe-that-is-not-an-average-joe if he had not gone to Spain to see Annie 0 before she died. If he had not gone, that would totally and completely contradict his caring, gentle, and forgiving nature. Like my title, reconcilliation should be in everyone's vocab because it is ultimately the most humane (and average joe-like) action in this kind of scenario.
The spelling errors can go to hell. Five stars.

Classy

You should be looking to publish the entire series as a straight book. I'm serious. At least as an expanded E book. This is not erotica. It is emotional romance and a love story at its heart. I wept for Annie #1.
5+ stars

JimC

My 2 cents

First, I agree this is a 5* story. But... for her to blame him for anything other than being nice enough to give her what she wanted is pure rubbish. He only gave her enough rope (which she insisted that she needed) to hang herself. If she really wanted to save her marriage she would have talked to him before she met her 'painter' fuck buddy. 'She didn't think he loved her anymore?' TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT! He had absolutely no part in her decision to fuck him over.

As far as going to SA to meet her, send a message back saying 'Sorry. There's no purpose in it. You made your choice to leave, refuse to talk to, and ignore me. Your life, as it is, is entirely what you have made. I have grieved for many years wondering what I had done wrong. I have come to the conclusion that it wasn't me. I have no desire to put myself through this all over again to give you some feeling of relief that you didn't fuck over several people when left. We came to you as recently as several years ago to try to make amends. Your choice was to ignore us and run away. I am now choosing to do the same. Don't contact me ever again. I have moved on and you are no part of what I have or want.'

Personal responsibility is the price you pay for the decisions you make.

you are amazing. I get to tears when I read your stories. you are the only one on lit that can evoke that kind of emotion in me . congrats you are the best!

Amazing

Without an introduction or prologue

a reader arriving at this story from a random link would be lost. A few words at the beginning alerting an otherwise unsuspecting reader that there are other stories about Annie and that knowing who she is would help understanding the context of this material.

Selfish, whiney Annie

It always surprises me that people think that a person that has their own viewpoint, no matter how messed up it is, is entitled to inflict it on others. The original Annie is a self centered and selfish fool who refuses to truly accept her own responsibility for the outcome of her life.

Here's a little example story. A woman goes to a local gas station and says "My car needs service.". The station changes the oil, rotates the tires, and washes the car. The woman comes back, unhappy. "You didn't do a very good job.". The station tops off her fluids, balances the tires, replaces the windshield wipers, and changes the air filter. The woman is still unhappy. They ask, "Lady, WHAT is the problem?". She yells, "The light in the glove box is burned out!!!". They fix it and she goes on her way but continually bad mouths the station for poor service. She feels perfectly justified in her actions but most people would think she is being ridiculous.

Annie 1 is being ridiculous. She took clear and definitive actions to cut herself off from her family. All her medical problems are a non issue because SHE never informed her family about them. Even when her family sought her out she rejects them. She heard they say a few "hurtful" words after all she done and she runs away again. After abandoning them she thought they weren't entitled to be upset with her and move on? SHE destroyed her relationship. If she really wanted to reconnect, she would have to work to rebuild it. SHE wouldn't make the effort because SHE was too upset, the poor dear.

Annie 1 is clearly focused on herself and her own needs and gratification. She completely unfairly blames Joe for her situation. Joe, being a sap and a generally good guy, lets her. Yuck. I don't have a problem with Joe visiting her and resolving things but his obvious and intense sense of guilt is completely misplaced and distasteful. It's like listening to an abused wife defend her husband, saying she made him hit her because she overcooked the rice.

DIsappointing ending to a good series.

Reading Yet Again!

Argh!! I know I am repeating what has been said several times, but I cannot believe that she is blaming him!

She leaves without speaking to him OR their daughter and granddaughter, tells him not to contact her, then blames him for not coming after her?

She THOUGHT he stopped loving her, so instead of talking to him, she takes a lover! "I gave you all kinds of signs" - What kind of signs? Did you leave cum-encrusted panties lying around? Did you make mysterious phone calls? You know, all the usual cheating wives signs!

Okay, she had a brain tumor and menopause, how does that explain not talking to him in Spain (oh, she was too shocked!), running away AGAIN, and not even looking at her daughter's pictures?!

No way I would go see her, give her a chance to lay another guilt trip, when she should be begging forgiveness until her last breath!

"You've just been reminded that you're human, and that we all make mistakes. In the end, it's just as much her fault as yours." - WTF? IT IS NOT HIS FAULT PERIOD! Not "just as much hers" it is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT hers. She NEVER said ONE SINGLE WORD about anything that was troubling her! The only thing he was guilty of was trusting her! If she had ever said anything to him he would have done ANYTHING to correct it, that was the kind of man he was, that's what made him so good at his job.

"the man I should have been" - Again WTF?!

I gave the original fives, this only got a one for two reasons: heaping so much blame on him, and killing him off.

He should have treated the DVD the way she treated AJ's photos: sent it back unopened, then live to a ripe old age!

The tone of her letter wasn't "Please come after me" it was more like

"I'm leaving you for my lover so don't follow me." It's one thing for her to leave her husband. But to then abandon her daughter? That's another thing entirely. And for her to then blame him for all of it is just wrong. She abandoned her family, not him.

this was not closure

Sorry...only 1 *..... and thats for making an attempt.
It takes two people, involved with each other, to make a marriage work.
All couples after some time drift a little. It doesnt have to be a bad thing. They get to find time to enjoy hobbies or simple pleasures that their partner may not enjoy so much.
They dont go out and have an affair for two years then up and abandon their marriage and family and file for divorce as a means of getting attention.
The tumour and hormone trouble is a fair point of reason for her 'out of the ordinary' behavior, but, once having being diagnosed and treated, how can she possibly be blaming all her woes on Joe.
She loved travel, exotic places, and allowed herself to be seduced by a 'sexy' latin male ..... everything else is bitterness as her dream lifestyle fell apart while her ex's life blossomed.

hella hate for annie 0

In truth I hate her too, but I'm not as mad as the other guys. I'm more mad that you killed joe off. Wtf maaaaaann?!?! He couldn't live till his mid 70s and just die in his sleep like the notebook or blackbook or whatever it's called? That's legit the only part that I teared up even a little. Ending is even more depressing for me than the beginning was infuriating.

typical cheater

Blamed him for her actions and of course he, because he's a saint accepted it. And of course killing Joe was just a petty act of meaness.

Guess he'll need to add another chapter to 500 Annies...

So she cheated for 2 years because he wasn't paying her enough attention? She looted the bank accounts, ran off with her young gold-digging gigolo, left a note saying, "Adios - don't come looking - even if you find me I won't bother to talk to you", and when it all fell apart, she reasoned her way into blaming the husband she deserted - and she blamed him for EVERYTHING. And of course it's all BS, but the husband falls for it because he's a pansy.

Annie could have at least called her daughter and son-in-law quite easily with no fear of talking to Joe - she obviously didn't care enough to bother. She could have done a lot of things, but she didn't, preferring that Joe lower himself to come beg - at least he didn't do that. She was also talking about how she was about ready to come home when the book came out; was about ready to talk to him when he found her painting, but turned to speak and he was gone (durn it, just missed him!), was about to visit with her daughter and grand daughter when she heard Maria speaking so instead she ran away again, blah, blah, blah. I was going to do this, I was going to do that, BUT.... Yeah, right.

She almost did a lot of stuff (according to her), but something (never her fault!) always prevented her from doing the right thing. I have no sympathy for Annie - none. She blindsided and deserted her family, sneaking away while her husband was at work, eventually found that she'd made a huge mistake, but then was too proud and arrogant to admit it and ask for forgiveness. That's her problem and she paid dearly. At the end of her life though, she still couldn't admit what she'd done - still blamed her husband. How sad.

Good story, but didn't care for the ending. Still a good read.

joe dies at the end...

I liked it all until you killed joe. Can't a good story just end with possibilities. Life has enough shit sandwiches in it already.
still 5 star story
jeff . Oklahoma

Anonymous +5

This type of commenter really loves to eat the hot cum out of his dominant wife after she has serviced her fifth gangbang lover. That is as close as he gets to her pussy but he is happy to worship her.

And this story only gets a 3 because the author killed Joe.

OH WOW WHAT A MORBID ENDING

I know we need Jerry Seinfeld to tell us his jokes! Thats worth a few laughs? She-it man! What a fucked up life Annie had, boy did you B.T.B. OVER AND OVER ! Anyway now it's time to say goodbye to all our family! (Mickey mouse club ending) story is great! Love you all! GREG. OH 100 % OF READING ENJOYMENT BYE.

No No No No

OMG only you could ruin and otherwise incredible story with this last chapter.
Why is Joe buying all the lies that she repeats from the cheater's handbook?
I thought you had written him as a kind of smart guy.
She is basically blaming him for allk the wrong thigns she chose and she did (ok no surprises here, cheaters do that all the time), but why on Earth is HE buying her shit! He should had left her die alone. The DVD was a proof that he was way better without her in his life all this time.

It's not credible that Maria would have subjected him to that horseshit, or that a supposedly intelligent person wouldn't see through an argument that sounds like it was thought up by a three year old.