All Comments on 'Equation'

Great Story!

Brilliant story, great pacing and loved every word of it.

the only complain I have is that the author didn't spend enough time torturing Laura, for us masochistic audience who like those sort of things, that is....

other than that, it's really a perfect little story about math (although to be believable, the "conjecture" needed to have been expounded more than a few linguistic words, as was done), about card playing and memory work and tricks at the casino, and loss and found and redemption....

I thought I paid close attention to every description; but apparently I didn't remember reading about Reed's parents and how they decided to NOT support him, not to believe his innocence but, preferring instead, to more or less be on the side of Laura and the school and the crazy accusers... but that's a very small thing.... as the angle on his parents was NOT essential to the thrust of the story like Ben and his wife, the loving couple who treated Reed like their own son, someone they never had, but would have been great... as parents...

How have I missed reading this wonderful story. my loss until now. THANK YOU

A wonderful story - your story touched my soul. -thanks again

What a read. Loved it.

Many thanks for sharing

Gripping scenario, but the moment of loss focused so much on the professional that the end of the marriage felt sort of secondary.

Would have liked this to be twice as long, so it could have treated key moments as something other than a list of events.

One of the best I've read.

Thank you

One of the best I've read! One can surely relate to the emotions! Thanks you for sharing!

I am looking forward to reading more...thanks for sharing.

You penned one very good 5* story. Kudos. Very entertaining. Love and trust found, lost and found again.

With a few plot twists along the way. Just shows that very smart people can find a way to survive when forced out of their comfort zone. Hoping for an expanded epilogue that details the misery he heaps upon his antagonists. Plus would love to hear of his success either as a poker player or educator.

The ending was fine as written, but..........

In the end things kind of work out. What punishment is due Jason who is just an evil man that manages to get away with it? He is fired? That's enough? He has not only destroyed Reeds life but also Ben's reputation and the lives of all the women he abused, the integrity of the university. Jason should be publically, torturously destroyed. And that would be insufficient.

Laura, another weak minded woman, She KNOWS what Jason is like and still takes his side, lies to support him, destroys Ben, ... She doesn't care who or what is destroyed to get revenge. This is not an educated woman but a vengeful harpy. Reed is well rid of her and she deserves her fate.

My dislike is the complete destruction of Reed's life. I guess with Jason, the Dean, and Laura working together it was possible. But such a plan holding together through scrutiny is unlikely. It's good that Reed won in the end but unsatisfying. The destruction was total, more time should have been spent on the redemption, Jason and the Dean arrested, Laura unable to find work in academia, etc.

But VERY good!

Good for the most part but ending needed more bang. Jason, the Dean and ex-wife were between them guilty of lying under oath, fraud and blackmail. No fucking way would those scumbags just get fired and be allowed to slink away. Lawyers would be lining up to represent Reed in suing all 3 back to the stone age for the damage they inflicted on his name and reputation.

Very enjoyable. And what a twat that first wife turned out to be in this story.

You forgot the very lucrative lawsuits against all of the bad guys, including the college.

I'm so locked in on this story type, where the marriage is lost not because of straying but through deception and a lack of faith. Having the person who should most trust you walk away, and having them end up both sharing their love with and improving the life of the person who set out to ruin you, is the most provocative setup I can imagine. Thus far, it's proved to be outside my skill set.

I'm envious. Congrats.

# 5

Brilliant, well researched story with a big heart. 5*

Nothing more

in need of editing and proofreading.

Although it would have been satisfying at the end to see more retribution for the Dean, Jason, and Laura -- it wasn't needed. The author got his point across. A 5 star story! Thanks for writing and I am looking forward to your next submission.

Comprehensive but concise.

A tear-jerker in its way but a more than satisfactory ending.

I didn't need details of what happened to all the assholes.

The dialogue with Laura really settled everything, the way he defended Kaye.

5 (2nd one today) and more kudos.

Thank You

Now that's a story THANK YOU FOR BEING on this site. I got to read a lw story and don't fell the need to wash out my mouth from disgust.dagoatmandavid said and tks.

My only issue is Laura, how she immediately left her husband of 5 years and believed a man she KNEW to be petty, vindictive, a skirt chaser and was probably fucking his female students. How she then turned against Ben is equally preposterous and then to walk up to the man she knowingly slandered and divorced without even a chance to defend himself is lunacy. It doesn't fit with her character....or the notion that he would adopt his accusers child as his own.

Seriously? Was Laura secretly retarded? Please write this story again from her perspective!!!!!

Still, 5/5

Fantabulous! Loved it! Do it again, Irish. If I got that wrong, I apologize. Cheers!

Beautiful story about trust . How much you give someone and when to stop!

Very original plot melding academia and card playing .

Today we had a cornucopia of riches ! Oshaw-Equation and TheUnoriginalist completing his trilogy ! Holy Cow as Harry would've said .

AMerryMan

A great story you tell here. I really enjoyd reading it. Definately a 5. Thank you

THe last paragraph made it all worthwhile --I just wish everone could be as fortunate as I am--

WELL DONE !

Thanks,

Sam

Except the lawsuits...For all the years he would have been tenured department chairman, plus damages. The slander and libel about Ben plagiarizing Jason's work, plus damages. Getting back all of the alimony Ben was forced to pay, along with 20% of Laura's assets, plus damages. Public apologies from Laura, the university, etc. I wonder why the police never got involved...with national exposure, there would have been some ambitious asshole in the DA's office filing charges...would they have found out the fraud much sooner?

Very Good Story...keep them coming with the high quality as this story!

Five Stars*****

Good 5* for him not being a pussy and not being a dope.

...as for Laura...good riddance to bad rubbish !!

The 'fit-up' showed how much she valued and loved her husband - NOT !!

Engrossing story - well written - Thank You.

let me post a second set of thoughts on it....

people read stories for different reasons. writers write stories for different reasons.

some stories tell how ugly the world and people are; some describe purportedly incredible sex, especially when you exchange bodily fluids with total strangers and as many as possible.

other stories tell about uplifting events and processes and situations, even if the stories are set in depressing circumstances. in such stories, the FOCUS is on the uplifting spirit of those involved.

this was one of those stories.

even though we are fully aware of the deep pain and the deep sorrow out hero goes through, as he sees this whole life LITERALLY crushing around him ---- due to, as he himself admit, a convergence of events (circumstances and people, including a woman he loved completely) that worked out to be *better* than even he himself thought possible (against him: the guy's a mathematicians, so he is able to estimate the probability of such things, and this was why the story was great: it's NOT just that he suffered from a horrible wife and a horrible and law-breaking Dean and a horrible and law-breaking mathematician colleague, ALL very believable, due to the nature of such a competitive world) --- what makes THIS STORY GREAT, a contrast to a contemporaneously more popular story by another (who also commented favorably on THIS STORY), was that THIS STORY channel its energy in a totally non-depressing, uplifting manner.

again, WE THE AUDIENCE are privy to the HERO'S inner turmoil (all the way up until he found something worthy of his time, AS A TEACHER: that that's the casino's little daughter)...

we know he was, for sometime, suicidally depressed (who won't?, if we were in the same exact set of circumstances?)... and yet, he's able to turn his love of education, love of math and numbers, his purported photographic memory, his love of teaching, and his love of life (yes, even as his whole world crumbled around him, even as he fucked prostitutes hard, in Vegas motels, after winning some card games.... something he knows he's LIKELY GETTING IN TROUBLE (because he knows, at best, he could end up being banned from casinos, or, at worst, buried in some desert hole somewhere outside of Vegas)... among other problems outside of Las Vegas he was stupidly, unwittingly found himself in....

through all these things... we KNOW THE GUY was thinking about mathematics, even when he's playing cards for money to pay the rent, to buy food, so he'd have the energy to fuck prostitutes, whom he generously "tipped"... after all, life sucks and there's no point to hold on to lots of cash, or anything valuable...

Anyway, I burst out laughing out loud, when our hero said he solved the HODGED CONJECTURE in his head ---- as the card playing bully opposite of him was trying to mess up his concentration (of course, that idiot didn't know that our hero was really totally spaced-out, doing complex, pure mathematics in his head.... solving a problem that, IN REAL LIFE, is one of the Clay Mathematics Institute's 6 or 7 mathematical problems they're willing to pay $1M to anyone who could solve ---- and turned to the poker audience (broadcasted life on ESPN to the whole nation):

"THE CONJECTURE"!

Of course, THAT outburst angered the card playing bully. The idiot thought our hero was trying to distract him, in order to win the rich poker game. But we know, as we are in our hero's head ---- privy to his thinking, all the time, as the present events were transpiring ---- that winning the poker and, thus, the rich price, WAS NOT what he's thinking about, at that point.

As he himself said, even a second place was find with him at this point, since he's likely to win cool $1M from the Clay Mathematics Institute anyway, in addition to ever-lasting fame in the mathematics world, for having solved an incredibly complex mathematical conjecture....

POINT HERE IS:

this "hero" channels his pain, sorrow, energy, anger, losses, etc. in a positive way. unlike the HUSBAND in the other said story who said, to both us the audience and his cheating wife: I MAY NOT BE MOTHER TERESA, but I'm prepared and I'm willing and able to suffer, quietly, like this, for years and years and years... until the kids are grown and gone on to their own lives... and THEN we will divorce.... because divorcing right now would damage them and they are too precious to be damaged.... just because YOU, WIFE, can't keep your legs closed...

I mean, WHO COULD READ PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES of two people who think Freudian bullshit is really deep... two people who're willing and able to spend not just hours but YEARS AND YEARS talking pseudo masochism to each other, like that?

wife: I know I hurt you deep, dear beloved... believe me, I know.. and I can't do any thing about it!"

tears rolling and rolling and rolling, from both man and woman.

husband: It's okay, honey... sorry, I didn't mean "honey" in a serious way, at least not as BEFORE.... I know you KNOW you've fucked up and are hurting just as much as I do, if not more. And chances are, you feel WORSE than I, since YOU KNOW you're the cause of all this pain and YOU ALSO KNOW you have ruined our family, in addition to knowing how you've hurt me, so very very deeply...

but, y'know what? there's NOTHING either one of us could do about it.... all we could do is just put one foot ahead of the other and slowly move forward... and wait until our little children are grown and are on their own, THEN WE CAN GO OUR separate ways... but NOT before that, 'cu that'd ruin them, psychologically... anyway, dear *beloved,* before THAT happens, which wont happen for YEARS AND YEARS.... you and I must do our best to PRETEND we love each other, or at least, that we respect each other, again, for our children's well being....

I mean, seriously, what kind of a MOOD a reader has to be in, in order to want to read dozens of long Lit pages about characters like that, TALKING totally surreally LIKE THAT?

It's not only incredibly stupid, it's also depressing and boring. Unless a reader, of course, enjoys being mired in a depressing, non-uplifting, surreal, SELF-INFLICTED, self-induced psychological pain, FOR YEARS AND YEARS and YEARS.... as a result of one spouse, or the other, having fucked around... having ruined a good family and a good marriage...*thinking* to themselves, "Wow, this is seriously deep stuff! I gotta pay close attention to these two characters!"

Her reaction to the testimony against Reed is not enought to explain how she ended up with Jason, given that she was never even slightly attracted to him. This is not an impossible to overcome hole in the plot, but it does raise a nagging question. Otherwise I found it to be very well done. I had Paul Magriel, "X22", for a couple of semesters of advanced calculus and a doctoral level course in probability back when he taught at NJIT, and I found the "math and Vegas" elements of your plot quite believable.

This was a great story! Wow... I didn't want it to end. Too bad 5 stars is the maximum score.

Every so often a really good story comes along and that is why I come back to lit. There have been several good one's lately and that makes putting up with the garbage on here o.k. Keep writing.

Just one word BRILLIANT + BRILLIANT + BRILLIANT

I have to agree with the comment that it's one thing for Laura to believe the accusations, but to go with Jason?! The guy she thought was creepy? And I can get that she wanted to get James, but to smear Ben in the process? She is really lower than pond scum.

As James implied, if it had been Kaye there when the accusations were made she would have stood by him, called the bitches the lying cunts they were.

The crimes here committed By laura are soooo vile so extreme so over the top... that at the the story reed;s reaction are waaaaaaaaaaaay too timid.

why not oh I dunno say SPIT in her face.....?

she doesnt give reed 1 second to defend himself

then MANUFACTURES a massive lie that destroyed him professionally for DECADES

then fucks Jason and marries him?

and has HIS kid..?

Then there are the parents.. His own parents dont even think it possible he MIGHT be telling the truth??.

and the THIRD... the conspiracy... any private detective with 1 week of time could of blown this whole thing out of the water.

truly a stupid story

I really couldn't see the wife leaving and then betraying him so quickly. She seemed to have more character than that. Then she took up with a man she felt was a jerk. Then she threw herself at a man shown on TV to have a woman he would fight and die for. Laura was all over the place in this story. More consistency with her character would have helped the story, in my humble opinion. Still, it was pretty well written and a feel good effort and certainly among the best we have seen in here in some time. Thanks so much for the hard work and for entertaining us readers with a very enjoyable story. Be proud!.

The one problem is laura, why she was so.willing to do what she did to Reed.I could see her questioning reed doing something,but to believe it enough to ruin him?lie about him plagiarizing his work?doesnt add up. Jason and the dean would go to jail,they wete guilty of blackmail and the kind of harassment they did could be criminal as well.The university would be liable for 10s of millions of dollars as well,it would be a shitstorm they couldn't defend....

Again the one missing piece is Laura,she,is a phd yet seems to have the iq of a wombat....she knows jason is jealous,she knows he is a dick,she had to have heard rumors about jason,yet she jumps into his arms and bed?something is missing,something that could make her go off the deep end and not even allow the guy the abilty to defend himself.And oh,yeah,i suspect irl any lawyer worth his salt would have detectives,investigating the accusers,it wouldn't have been that easy.

Still,a tremendous story,I give it a 5

In 99 out of 100 of these types of stories where the protagonist hits the wall, the reader can ususally imagine a path back to redemption. This time I could not figure any avenue available. Great story, very well written. I will have to go back and read your other stories.

With so much garbage being posted in this category anymore its truly a delight to read a well written story. Thanks keep the coming.

Liked the story, but the holes in his destruction big enough to drive holes in. He plagiarized the work of someone ridiculed for his critique of it? Couldn't have asked a few questions to show Jason knew nothing? Could not have had Teri testify that the TV show was his (and what happened to the show without his imput)? Laura goes to Jason when she hated him? And why participate in the animosity against Ben?

enjoyed it. very much. Thanks!

I liked the story, but I have to agree with some of the commenters about the wife. Her character was the only one that didn't fit. She seemed like a good person. I know she was hurt by what the protagonist was accused of, but to turn her into such a vile human was a complete 180 from the person who the author built her to be. She teamed up with a guy that she hated, lied about her husband to ruin his career and promote the asshole that she hated, marry him, and have a kid with him. While I could buy her doing the first two out of extreme hurt and anger, the second two were completely out of character with her. I know I am going against the grain on this, but I can't give this story a 5. It was well written though, and I can't wait to see what else we get from this author.

Thanks for a wonderful story. I'm looking forward to your next submission.

While I don't wish to encroach on the authors patch after reading the many comments on Laura's "over the top" reaction to the allegations against her husband I do want to present a possible explanation.

Laura is confronted by the dean and her soon to be husband with the evidence of his swapping grades for sex. The three girls are paraded in front of her with tearful confessions.

In many other stories on this site these three confessions alone would be enough to hang a cheater particularly if it was a wife. How many stories with high praise are punctuated with lines like? I didn't want to talk to her because there can be no excuse for what she had done.

And really what is the problem with a few plot holes. My enjoyment of this story really came from the way the author placed you inside exotic places. Whether it be the dusty halls of Academia or the bright lights of Las Vegas, you were there with the hero every step of the way.

5 pages of hate and pain + a fantasy denouement do not = loving wife.

... but a truly interesting story, nonetheless. 5 stars and, trust me, I don't give that kind of rating very often.

thoroughly enjoyed it.

The bit about Laura marrying Jason after how she initially felt about him is a bit unlikely though. And did Jason and the Dean suddenly become monogamous after Jason and Laura married?

Nitpicking. Very good story, one of the best I've read in a long time

I can see you really enjoyed writing this one. Since that is the incentive for doing it then it served its purpose. Any story is by definition a fantasy so it seems odd when people start criticising the level of fantasy . I enjoyed it if you are going to write a story about a guy winning at cards why not make him the best card player in the world and let him fly around by lear jet. 5*

I am sure 99 of 100 people would have seen an atty and initiated a law suit against the college for wrong-full termination or something like that and it would have come out. Of course then there wouldn't have been a story.

My complements to the author for his wonderful stories. Lauren turned into a real shrew. Asking forgiveness after destroying him and how did such a sexual scandal go unnoticed for so long.

This was a FIRST PERSON perspective.

Our hero DID NOT KNOW why she did what she did (until the last paragraph or so of the story). Nor was he obsessed over it. Unlike some other stories and characters we know.... he DID NOT spend MANY, MANY YEARS having nightly deep conversations with the cheater.

Our hero, instead, focused a lot of of his energy on learning how to play cards, after he lost his job and decided to hike across America... He was a mathematician. He's into order, patterns, numbers, probability, NOT pseudo psychological analysis, even when he's playing cards for a living...

He spent no more than a few words on Laura at the beginning and then a few more words on her, towards the very end .... She's about to be terminated from (and likely sued by) the University, along with her husband the young-women-molester and the Dean.

What is the USE, or relevancy, of "finding out" "why she did what she did," after all these years?

Now, again, if he were obsessed with his ex for 5 years ---- like some spouse are, in OTHER STORIES HERE ---- then, yes, trying to "find out why she did this to me.... because my life won't be complete if I don't find out why she did what she did..." would make sense.

And, yes, NOT FINDING OUT and/OR NOT TELLING US the audience, "why" she did what she did ...WOULD BE A HOLE IN THE STORY....

As it is, there is NO HOLE or character inconsistency.

Okay, so she didn't like the rapist and Dean, when she was first hired. She APPARENTLY changed her mind AND LIKED THEM enough to conspire against our hero....

We don't need 50 pages of psycho babble over people making u-turns on their views and decisions on things. Especially over people whose lives we don't care very much for, for many years...

Besides, Laura did explain ---- in the last few seconds she met him, as he's about to board the private jet to the university that treated him shabbily ----- "why" SHE DID WHAT SHE DID...

He looked at her like she's a retard and, after a few words, walked away unceremoniously...

Nice job. One of those stories I just couldn't put down. My only complaint is that I seriously cannot believe that Laura would have actually come back to reconcile their relationship. With the lies and ignoring communications I just don't see how even the most smug person could have the balls to do that. Of course I would have never seen her take up with asshole in the first place. I think you changed her personality to suit the story as you needed it. Since she wasn't a dominant character it really ends up being an insignificant and minor annoyance.

but come on, no where near "Rendering Boilerplate". That said, it was very good and probably a 5 for me if it had come out in a normal week without the strong competition.

Didnt emotionally connect for me, The trumped up college tribunal just didnt have the emotional weight for me that gets a 5. I am still not sure why Laura testified against him-why would she believe the accuser(s)? How invested was she in the marriage, if she could turn tables so quickly?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Patillie out

after being given false data, makes it hard to decipher the truth. TK U MLJ LV NV

The story was crafted so well that I actually felt sorry for poor James. From his happy live working as a professor with a beautiful wife he adored.

Then to read as his world as we know it started to fall apart conducted by his nemesis.

I think for me the biggest betrayal was of course Laura !

Great story

I remember praising one of HDK's stories. In it, the wife said she was in Philly, while he is watching her across the dining room with a friend.

Not one of us had an issue with him jumping to conclusions about her infidelity. I certainly didn't.

THREE CRYING WOMEN swearing up and down about her husband somehow isn't sufficient evidence for 'reasonable' people? Maybe they have a few physical details that Feder passed along to the women from what he saw in the locker room or at a pool. It would certainly make me question quite a bit. This is bolstered by the fact that the hero's only rebuttal is 'I didn't do it!' He was hardly eloquent or passionate in his defense.

I don't think this is such a HUGE plot hole when viewed in this light.

As far as the destruction of the hero...there are two ways to approach these betrayals in writing. We've seen both on display this week. In 'The Boilerplate Rendering' the 'betrayal' was displayed by introspective writing of the man's emotional outlook. From the outside, he had a beautiful wife, loving kids, a good job. His life looked good. INSIDE, he was a nuclear plain of glass.

This author tends to prefer external destruction. Job, family, reputation, money...all gone. It's his thing. Matt Moreau has the same hang up though the external degradation is generally the fault of the shattered male (I can't use the word 'man' for Matt's characters) destroying his own life.

oshaw likes them bitches to burn the man before they get burned in turn. Which is fine. A matter of taste. I like both.

FD is correct that sworn testimony by three girls would fry the good professor. Glad to see all the good folks win in the end. Well done.

Like the feel of the Characters you gave them life and the story life.

Continue writing like this and Maybe try something Longer.

FD45 comparing apples to elephants. The wife in the story you mentioned lied to her husband and he knew it as he saw the shit with his own eyes. All Laura went on in this tale was the word of 3 people she didn't know.

The sworn testimony by three girls would be bad, very bad for most couples to face for sure but it's heresay not evidence and sure as he'll not proof. But to never give your spouse a single chance to defend themselves or even to call him a cheating bustard or ask the big question even if you believed the acquisition, why they did it?

Reed did more than just cry he didn't do it.....

"I do not know why these individuals came forth today to tell all the lies and disparagements cast against me today. I categorically deny every allegation levied against me and ask that an investigation be conducted to ascertain why these slanderous statements were made. I also request that this hearing be put on hold until the results of that investigation are made known.c"

Seriously, what the fuck was he mentioned to do in such a situation? Challenge them to a duel at dawn!

Basically a morality play of good versus evil. Well written and quite an enjoyable read. I liked that the ex-wife was shot down in the end. When good turns evil they get treated thusly. Then the good lived happily ever after. Way to go.

Five stars

Despite a few plot holes, nice, original, well-written story with a positive ending. Thanks for writing.

A=Award

B=Balance

C=Covet

D=Deter

E=Equation

F= Anticiapation?????

This is not hearsay. Hearsay is 'Jenny told me that Mr. Reed was making her have sex with him for good grades'. No direct witness

This is "Mr. Reed made ME have sex with HIM." Which comes down to 'he said/she said'. SHE WAS SUPPOSEDLY INVOLVED.

One person is lying. Whom? I agree wife should have given him a chance to speak, but then we couldn't have the emotional destruction of the man scene which is mandatory in the story.

In WAY TOO MANY of these stories, the man sees evidence of something and he bolts. HE NEVER GIVES HIS WIFE A SAY. The author writes "What is she going to say, she accidently fell on his cock?" and we the readers buy this.

ON NOT LETTING HIM TALK, I think she is behaving about as well as many of the Running Men in these stories (some of them are DRIVING men...just saying).

So on that, I can't ding her much. A cruddy thing to do, but understandable.

On LYING and taking up with his enemy, that point remains valid. I can see spite like that. And again, in several stories, we hear about the wife screwing around and what does hubby do five paragraphs later? He is boinking someone else! Didn't 'get her side of the story'. Didn't 'let the investigation run it's course'. Thecelt's story 'Coming Full Circle' IIRC, had that happen. The only difference was he KNEW she was cheating, not having three separate corroborators of his infidelity.

So, if you want to judge her, fine. Works for me. But you need to judge these men the exact same way.

This ruins the fantasy.

A perfect little story. Five stars. Your best yet.

Universities are not run that way... but it is a fantasy and the author has the right to do anything he wants.. And if I enjoy it, fine!

Personally I would say that Laura never loved him, she was hunting for the best position and when she saw he was going down, she got her jawful of him!

Very nicely put together.

The wife so easily abandoning him and then making the accusation seems a bit if a weak point in the story. Not that her actions are outside the realm of possibility, just that her behavior was not adequately addressed in her closing comments. I would have liked a more reasonable explanation. Perhaps, that the rival mathematician has immediately got to work on her, filling her head with more lies, etc. etc. that would have filled this very small hole in an otherwise brilliant story.

FD45 again you compare two very different scenarios.

Not giving a spouse a chance to explain an accusation on something your told they did is totally different to not listening to a spouse's explanation after seeing them cheating with your own eyes, which is what happens in the stories you used as an example.

Maybe you can't ding her acts of spite, but considering she not only destroyed her husbands reputation but also those of a man who treated her like a daughter. Nor did she even bother to turn up for his funeral or even speak to his widow. What kind of fucking animal does shit like that!

You can really see a woman hooking up with a man she knows is a scumbag and creeps her out and has had it in for her husband and friends since day one? Then she marries the dickhead and has a kid with him? No woman is that stupid, never mind one who has a phd.

Your comment about Reed getting it on with the hooker "five paragraphs later" is again taken out of context as a year or two have passed in the timeline of the story by then.

God knows, anyone who reads any of your comments know you always take the part of the cheater but when you have fudge the facts so much, its kinda pathetic.

After all his pain and losing his career to a crime he never committed, I can see the wife deserting him. But they should all pay after the press found out the truth.he was due back past salaries and money for pain and suffering . Laura should have also been sued for her lies and taking his money and business from the show they put together . And she wanted forgiveness, maybe even some prosecution for fraud,

I liked the story, good.

In that HDK story, the wife was HAVING DINNER. Hubby didn't 'know' she was screwing. It was a jumped conclusion...which happened to be correct for the story. He never gave her any defense. Jounar was fine with this.

In 'Coming Full Circle" the Hubby there (NOT REED) was grudge fucking another woman within hours of catching his wife. Had he allowed her any defense? Was it an attempt to hurt her? No and probably. Other husbands in other stories have done the same: rushing off to screw someone else quickly, frequently someone the wife dislikes. Did Jounar comment then negatively? No

My comparison of facts is just fine, thank you very much.

And I never excused her lying or betraying the men on their work. Keep your fact straight.

If someone as guilty appearing as Reed should be allowed a defense, why not a cheating wife?

Well this is a fiver!

Great story; it'll rank in the top for a long time, a real Hall of Fame story. And I'm jealous as hell!

According to scores this is the best story this week. But in reading it I can think of 2 that were better written and better plot wise. This was good, much better than the cuck Shit that seems to permeate this hub, but its a travesty to see it scored better than boilerplate or unvailed. I didn't give this a five,, it didn't earn a five. If 4.8 were possible I'd give it that.

So what I have to say is just my personal view of it. The characters were very much stereotypes, Kindly fatherly figure, idiot overbearing rival, stupid wife fucking his rival, quintessential nice guy, so much so that he was a childlike patsy, who rescues a virtuous fallen woman. Naturally he is such a nice guy, and she is so thankful she can't help but marry him out of profound gratitude for what he is.. Everybody and every thing followed the morality play.

So if you wanted to write a sentimental, "oh how sweet!" story, the audience reaction to your story shows it is a very good story.

But if one wanted something more realistic and nuanced, an Elmore Leonard type story full of characters with good and bad in them, this is not such a story.

.

I have to agree with snakes454. This was a good story, but Boilerplate Rendering and Unvailed were as or more deserving of a similar score. I don't want to take anything away from this author and this story. But I am surprised that this story scored so much higher than those two.

These three stories set the bar kind of high. I look at other new stories and I am not as excited while reading them as I would have been had it not been for these three stories coming back to back like they did. Another author who suffered is Xleglover. Usually his stories have a lot of comments from people either loving or hating them. I noticed that his latest story "Consequences" had less emotional comments than it normally generates.

These three stories have done what few other stories have. It has united cucks, reconciliation, and BTB fans. On average, these stories were so greatly appreciated that other stories pale in comparison.

Literotica needs to start spreading out the good ones and not have them come at us back to back like that. It is unfair to the stories that are mere mortals.

I always thought YOU had a brain.... Your assertion here is bullshit.:

..... This is bolstered by the fact that the hero's only rebuttal is 'I didn't do it!' He was hardly eloquent or passionate in his defense...."

ok it would HELP if you actually read the story. Reed demand a full legal investigation. That is alot more then saying I did not do it.

"I do not know why these individuals came forth today to tell all the lies and disparagements cast against me today. I categorically deny every allegation levied against me and ask that an investigation be conducted to ascertain why these slanderous statements were made. I also request that this hearing be put on hold until the results of that investigation are made known."...

But even FD45 you forgot this KEY point. Before THAT hearing / investigation could be conducted a NEW charge was made against Reed" plagiarizing .. and that charge came from the wife !!!!

When THAT charge was made.. the 1st investigation was made pointless. The wife did so Intentionally. In other words the wife did not WANT to get to the truth.

It was 2 weeks later the divorce papers were filed. The wife went to WAR and walked away essentially Scott free

also your choices of stories to compare this one against was bad to. In Full Circle, not only did she get caught. She had a history of cheating. Look at "No One Won" by Slirpuff. he was guilty of cheating. He tried to talk to his wife, she burned him at the stake and it turned out she was a whore from the start. Look at " Making Amends" by headhunter. Here's another where the wife got revenge on the word of his so called friends, she fucks them all and some how its his fault. I agree with Harry and jounar on this one.

The story is good and I gave 5*****. However I think 4.64-4.69 would be the exact place for it, so it will not be there because for my voting too.

For me, this is the ONLY ONE valid criticism.

I thought the same thing, too, although I decided not to bring it up, since, ONE, I enjoyed this story like I've not enjoyed any other story here in Lit for many months and, TWO, my focus was on the guy's attempts to make use of his mathematical ability --- and prodigious memory work --- to "make an honest living" playing cards, for the first time in his life, in Las Vegas.

I don't play cards, so, not unlike this guy, I didn't know the differences between Poker and Blackjack games, in terms of their rules, that is...

So, like him, I too learned something here (via Kaye, the "alley cat".... aka the exquisitely beautiful woman our hero had been sneaking glances at for months, when he was playing Blackjack and contemplating, correctly, WHEN exactly that he was about to be told he's no longer welcome)! LOL

Much improved over your last few. Again I would prefer more development of the ex and her actions, but better. The development of the second relationship was vastly improved. My only real complaint is that Federer got off way too lightly.

overall, kudos

As Hue and Harry have mentioned the wife did participate in burning the protag down. She knew the ideas wern't Jason's. She knew what a piece of shit Jason was, and yet she chose to back his play and help burn Reed and Ben. OK fine...dandy she's a cunt first class. No argument here.

The plagiarism charges would be easy enough to disprove, when Jason would not be able to further the work, not to mention the fact that he'd already came out trying to slander the work in the first place. I put that behind me though and read on.

What threw me out of the story was 1, the ex whore's flippant attitude...OK we fucked you over. I married the fuck that I helped fuck you over, but I think you'll really like the fuck's kid. Even though I thought you were a lecherous borderline pedophile.

2, Then we get all this talk of Kaye being so beautiful, but when the ex whore shows up she is suddenly an alley cat? Kaye should have kicked him in the nuts.

This was a very good story, sandwiched in between two totally illogical events. I can ignore that and give you 5, but only because 4.5 isn't a score here. Thanks for sharing this with us.

for sharing. We need more stories like this around here. Stories about fantastic events and extraordinary people. Sure a little over the top, but not like the crazy fantasies some submit, such as men watching their women pull gang bangs while having the erection of their lives! Never the less, this was a good story, thank you.

This was a lovely story.

I do not understand many readers at all. Why do many readers think only BTB that, when the betrayed husband kills, sells her cheating wife.

I absolutely loved this. Five full stars and a place of honor in my favorite stories. Well done.

Yes a BTB and she did burn for her failures - all of them - and she earned them - all of them -

He was a good and terribly lucky man, not the gambling luck - the people luck he met Ben and Teri and Kaye and Judy with those four royals in hearts he made a royal flush when he rose to be the Ace.

Thanks again - really nicely done -

Loved it! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Story--great! Editing & proofreading--not so great. Still worth 5*

... You let the Laura, the DISGUSTING, WHORE & CUNT, off way to easy!!!!!

- and -

... Reed should have sued University & Board of Trustees into complete capitulation including a full & public "Mea Culpa"!!!!

- and -

... of course, Laura, the DISGUSTING, WHORE & CUNT, lives a long, miserable life as a three hole SLUT ... shunned by women & used as a cum dump by men before dying by her own hand!!!

... AND James is found dead from either suffocation or blood loss in a rundown Vegas trailer park (turns out "someone" in the "gaming" business tazzered him, tied him to a chair and removed his cock & balls with a butter knife. They were found halfway down his throat)!!

So, all in all, a nice read ... A "4" !!!

And the revenge was totally adequate for normal readers.

Ignore the pathetic white trash loser who never gets enough punishment for women. It's because he can't forgive them for laughing at him.

Thanks for sharing.

Point 1) She jumped to a conclusion that he was guilty. While this is, in my opinion, a CRUDDY thing to do, it was an understandable thing to do. Remember, it wasn't JASON who made this accusation, it was THE GIRLS, supported covertly by the Dean. Laura believed the girls, not Jason.

Point 2) needs a quote. I will trim it.

**

I went home and started trying to track down Laura. Every possible contact I had denied knowing where she was. ***Weeks passed by*** and still I had not heard from her.

Snip

Soon I heard that the university had expedited their hearing and promoted Jason Feder to Ben's position. He called me into his office for a meeting and made me wait for two hours before seeing me. I could tell he was enjoying putting me in my place. He wasted no time in telling me that I had been accused of plagiarizing someone's work. When I asked who was accusing me he grinned and told me my wife, Laura had brought the charge.

**

So this wasn't Laura 'suddenly and immediately' turned against her husband. It was a SLOW process of her being mad and bitter and being cozened, seduced and turned against her 'loser' husband who 'raped' some girls.

BUT...and please note this once again. I NEVER said she should be let off the hook for THIS point. It WAS a horrible betrayal.

If she had just left him, I would have understood. My comments about equity are entirely based on her choice of abandoning the husband. There are two dozen stories on this thread where the man makes a decision based on weaker evidence than this and bolts like lightning. We forgive him THAT sin.

She went further...and she went to the dark side.

I like to read a story where the 'Fall Guy'' proves all said against him/her is False.

...and you did it in Spades !! Congratulations !!

This one fights hard to be your best story yet...?

Thanks for an excellent read oshaw ! (Keep writing)

I didn't comment last read an oversight, even while you got my 5 on all entries..kudos your a fine story teller

You spin a good yarn. I have only one complaint, if it can be seen as that. At the end of your stories, things all seem to get tied up too quickly. I would like a little more information and detail when your heroes and heroines are rewarded. Past that - good job and please keep posting stories.

Will the next story be alphabetical also?

Yes your observation was good. His next story was Fortune.