Now It Ends

"Can we talk about last night Alex?" She asked meekly.

"What's there to talk about, you made yourself perfectly clear last night, I either live with it or else right?"

She looked at me for a few seconds with what looked like regret in her face. It did not last for long as she inhaled deeply, cleared her throat and continued,

"You're a great husband and you've denied me nothing so please don't deny me this Alex."

She was almost pleading in the way she always does to get what she wants.

"If I'm so great why cheat on me? Why make a fool of me?" I asked honestly.

She became flustered and just shrugged me off. She had no answer, she was just selfish and I was growing tired of it. I couldn't do any more to make her happy. The hours I put in to pay the bills and give her everything she wants and I get nothing but disrespect and ridicule. I drive a 12 year old Range Rover so she can drive one less than 2 years old.

"Look Alex. I have needs and you just cannot fulfil them. So you either deal with it like I know you're going to or you lose me to a younger man."

"You mean Henry Walker. You might as well use his name Holly, everyone knows he's screwing you," I interjected.

"Ok yes, Henry and I are lovers. He is effectively your boss Alex and he'll one day take over the company from his uncle," She said bluntly. "So he gives me what I need now in bed and if you do not buck up and accept the arrangement then I'll leave you and he'll give me everything else I want and need."

I said nothing as usual. I just got up from my seat and walked into my study. I really wanted to punch something or someone but instead I slumped into my office chair and screamed into my hands. The tears came and I wished to be anywhere else but here right now. I found a tissue and wiped my eyes as the phone began to ring. I picked it up the phone and heard a strange voice on the other end. It was Rachel. We spoke for about an hour and when I put the phone down everything else was gone from my mind and I had a huge smile on my face.

Rachel was delighted that I had decided to look into my father and had so much to tell me. She spoke at 100 mph and I struggled to take in everything she said. I found out that my mum had indeed kicked my father out of the house, so she lied to me all my childhood. He sadly died in 1983 when I was just 11. He had died of alcohol poisoning and his mother, my grandmother, always blamed my mum for his character and state of mind after he left us. Rachel told me he longed to be back in my life but was prevented from doing so. We arranged to meet at the weekend at her home in Cambridge. I was excited and I knew the break would do me good.

The rest of the week dragged on. Things at home were the same and at worked I was being constantly laughed at behind my back. Henry and his pals thought it would be funny to hang a pair of knickers on my office door. I looked at Olivia and she said nothing. Inside the underwear was a post-it note that said 'Please return to your wife' I was broken. I sat at my desk and cried that day too. I wanted to blame everyone except myself. I would be glad when Saturday arrived. I told Holly I was going to see a friend in London and she didn't really care what I was up to. I guessed she would be screwing around on me so being away made that easier for her.

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The drive up to Cambridge was stressful. The M25 was a nightmare as usual and I eventually found Rachel's house an hour after I was expected. It did not seem to bother her as I was greeted with the best hug I had received in years. I was introduced to her husband Greg and their two young children Grace and William.

With the formalities over with we got down to talk about my father and my new family. Rachel had such a warm selfless personality and she and Greg talked over each other and finished each other's sentences. I guess they were both eager to share the story of our family.

During my time there we were joined by David and Lucy Price. He was my cousin also and brother of Rachel. We got on really well and he added what he knew about my father and the family. After lunch we went on a little trip where I was given time to think. When we returned David and I spoke about our jobs and our family life. He could tell things were not good and for some reason I confided in both my new cousins. They simply told me not to stand for it and that they would support me if I needed anything. I was so grateful.

I left Cambridge with a new look on things. I had been told so many lies and had been treated so badly throughout my life that knowing I had a whole different family who within a day had shown me more kindness and honesty than most people I had known all my life gave me hope. I needed to sort my life out and get back to being happy. Not just for me but for my girls, my friends and my new family.

When I returned home it was gone 8pm and Holly was just getting ready to go out somewhere.

"Where are you going Holly?" I asked.

"Out with my friends."

"Do you mean Henry or Max?" I snapped back.

She looked at me somewhat taken aback at how I knew the name of her second paramour. I gave her a knowing look.

"Please, not all this again Alex," She begged seemingly indifferent to my feelings.

"Please Holly I'm asking you to stop this and be my wife."

"Stop being silly Alex, I am your wife and always will be. Don't deny me my pleasures and I'll make life easy on you. I'll be back by midnight."

She had completely ignored my wishes and continued to threaten me. She walked towards me with her arms open wide so I turned my back on her. She said nothing of my blatant snub and just collected her Prada handbag and headed for the door.

"Again Holly, as your husband I'm asking you not to do this," My voice now getting sterner.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me as though asking herself who was this guy and who does he think he is talking to ME like that. It lasted only a second again before she burst out laughing,

"What are you going to do Alex, leave me? You'll never have the balls to do that, we both know you'll always be here for me."

I was crestfallen, I dropped my head as her words reverberated through my head 'For me, no balls, deny me my pleasures' I always knew she was a spoilt brat, her parents had seen to that, I knew I treated her like a queen whereas I was the work horse. I knew she was selfish but always believed she loved me more than anything. I knew I was a fool and I knew I had been for way too long. That had to end and I needed to make plans to make it so.

I wasted no time in getting things rolling. In fact I started while she was out getting screwed by Henry or Max. Maybe they were doing her together. That is probably what she meant by getting her pleasures, having her cake and eating it. I provide all the safety, security and material goods and two young assholes get to fuck her anyway they wanted to. My thoughts were making me angry and I was beginning to lose focus. I needed to find a way to destroy the last vestiges of affection I had left for her and I think I found a way.

I found the box I was looking for and the specific picture within that box. It was the only one I had of my mum and sisters. I did not think it would work but I cut a picture I had of Holly's face and pasted it next to them. I had no love left for them and adding Holly's smirking face to the picture might just do the trick. I placed it on the desk next to the monitor in my study.

At around 12:45am I was finishing up. I had pretty much worked out what I was going to do in the short term. I had an idea of when I would leave but it could be a few weeks yet. I had the time because it was not like Holly was expecting me to go. It might not work and I would definitely require help to pull it off but I had convinced myself by this time that I would go through with it.

I heard someone stumbling through the door and as I got up to look out of the window I saw Henry Walker's car pull away. I heard her climb the stairs so I quickly wiped my history. In future I would have to use incognito mode. I waited until she went into our bedroom before going down the stairs to make myself a coffee. I sat on the sofa and pondered my future away from here and to be honest without my daughters being here I knew it wouldn't be too bad. I thought I would try and move closer to them.

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Monday morning and I walked into work clear that I would not be lifting a finger anymore. Jack Walker could sack me for all I care. I walked to my office oblivious to any of the snickering or comments being made about me. I will bring these bastards down and I knew then that my anger would somehow get me through all this. I managed to arrange a meeting with the bank for 1pm and took the time before to work out my finances in preparation. It was going to be a long shot but if it worked and the right people helped me then I would come out of this pretty unscathed.

The meeting went as planned and I was able to close out my savings account and remove my name from our joint account. I had an ISA with a few grand in it so I closed that out for cash and stuffed it in my wallet. On the way back to the office I stopped at a PCWorld and purchased two digital voice recorders, a 500GB USB 3.0 tough drive and a new PC hard drive.

Once back in the office I sat down and started to see if I could open up the companies private customer files. I had seen them briefly before in Jack's office so I knew they existed but I needed his password. It took me no more than an hour to crack it. Ironically his wife's name was the username and the password was both his name and his 6 digit birthday, jack240656. I had what I needed.

I attached the drive to my computer and downloaded all the files to it. 10 minutes later I did the same with all my new plans and drawings for the energy efficient hydraulic pump system I had been working on which would keep this company ahead of the game. We built pumps for air conditioning units, heavy machinery and even for the diary sector. I wiped my entire PC history including all the plans and all my work. I then shut it down and removed the hard drive and replaced it with the new one. I put everything into my bag and then re-installed Windows.

I spent the rest of the day looking up our competitors on my phone. I checked into Monster to look for engineering jobs in the South London/Surrey area and then left for the day.

That night after another silent dinner I headed for my study. I found that one of our main competitors who had struggled during the financial downturn was looking for a Mechanical Engineer who could assist in basic design and shop floor management. It wasn't entirely what I wanted but damn near close. They were offering a salary £10k lower than my current salary so I fired off an email and included my CV.

I decided to sleep in our marital bed that night just to keep up appearances with Holly. However I made sure I was asleep when she walked in. I felt her rub up against me and I felt sick and as bad as that was it actually pleased me to react in such a way. I was becoming repulsed by her and this would help me in the long run.

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The following day I received a call from a very surprised sounding Robert Williams from Sutton Hydraulics. We spoke briefly and he couldn't believe I would consider quitting Walker Engineering for his smaller company. He near on offered me the job on the spot but I insisted on an interview the next day. He agreed. Another vital cog had been fitted and the wheels were beginning to turn pretty fast.

I had plenty of time on my hands so I started to research flats in the area. I didn't need a house and although the options were not particularly great I did manage to find one really nice flat to rent. It was £1200 per month with 2 bedrooms and it would be perfect for me. The flat was situated 15 minutes from the girls and 5 minutes from work. I arranged for a viewing the next day after the interview with Robert Williams was finished. Next I spoke to Jack and told him I had to go and see my daughters at Kingston the next day to sign some papers, he just brushed me off and said go.

That night I called my best friend Toby Brown. We had known each other since sixth-form. We both got in at Kingston but he studied Finance and Mathematics. He was now a big time banking analyst in the city and lived with his wife and children in a nice house in Twickenham. Best of all he and his wife loathed Holly, which meant we rarely socialised with each other as couples. Holly was jealous of Sarah because she was an ambitious web developer and married to a rich banker. I guess even with everything I gave her I still did not measure up. I arranged to meet Toby the next evening after my interview and flat viewing. He knew I had something playing on mind but I told him I would tell all when we met.

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On the drive up I thought about many things. Today would be important not only for my plan in the short term but also for my future. I had no idea at this point how the girls would react. Prior to recent revelations I was planning to retire at 55. I had thought about investing in a retirement villa in Italy or somewhere. My mortgage would be paid off when I hit 50 and the extra 5 years of work would give us a nice little fund without having to rely on the pension pot.

My new job was located 20 minutes from the girls flat. It was a quick meeting and the flat was perfect so I had plenty of time before I had to meet Toby so I grabbed some lunch for me and the girls and made my way to their flat. They lived together and I paid half the rent. As I approached the building I didn't know what I was going to say to them. I didn't know how often they spoke to their mum but I knew I didn't want to keep anything from them. When they saw me they ran down and grabbed me as I was just getting through the door. My smile could have been seen from space. I missed them both so much.

"Daddy, Daddy." They yelled laughing like they were still toddlers.

They took me inside and I set out the lunch I had picked up on the way. We sat and ate as they updated me on their lives and their school work. I was so proud of my two girls. Sophie was already two years into a Pharmacology degree and Ava was studying Nursing. Two careers made for loving and caring people. I could see Rachel in them and I spoke at length about our new family and promised them we would all meet soon. When we finished lunch I took a sip of my coffee and paused for thought, they knew something was going on.

"What is it dad, spit it out," Sophie said.

"Well you know your mum has been cheating on me right?" I said.

They both looked at each other before retuning their gaze towards me and nodding in unison.

"Well I've had enough and I've decided I'm going to leave her," I blurted out to universal smiles.

"Good," Ava said.

"About time dad," Sophie added.

"Are you not angry or anything girls?" I asked timidly.

"No dad, for as long as I can remember she's been a bitch to you," Sophie growled.

I thought about admonishing her for disrespecting her mother but thought better of it. In fact I thought 'well done Sophie'. I was also again ashamed because they had obviously seen it growing up. I hoped they wouldn't follow in their mother's footprints where men are concerned. I hope I hadn't damaged them in some way because I was too weak and pathetic. I also hoped I had their respect.

"What are you going to do dad?" Ava asked.

I told them I had a new job and that I would be moving closer to them. They were delighted but also surprised that I had actually decided to get away from their cheating mum and had plans in place when I did. I got two big and loving hugs for it. I told them I would be doing everything possible to protect my financial future without going into too much into detail.

As I got up to leave they told me that they would support me no matter what and although they loved their mother she was second to me and always had been. I left their flat full of happiness and now I was ready for the next stage of my plan. This was the most important part.

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Toby and Sarah met a few years after he left university. They are two of the nicest people I know and I would be relying on that benevolence tonight. I was warmly welcomed as usual but what I would be asking of them played on my mind and they both knew I wasn't myself. They wanted to know straight away what was going on, so I told them. No point in beating around the bush.

I told them everything that had been going on and the first part of my plans. They were more surprised that I was fighting back than by Holly's infidelity, to them that was pretty much par for the course in their eyes.

"So why leave her now Alex?" Sarah asked handing me another cup of tea. I refused anything stronger as I needed to drive home tonight.

"I always thought she had cheated on me but couldn't prove it. Now she has admitted to it everything just came to a head. I have also discovered something that has triggered something within me to say enough is enough."

I told them all about the meeting with my cousins and the truth about my dad being kicked out of the house by my mum and how my sisters took her side.

"My dad was just like me, or shall I say I was like him. But this time my girls are on my side."

"So it was that discovery that triggered you into finally standing up for yourself?" Toby asked. Concern etched on his face.

"No. I was taken to my father's grave. I was hesitant at first but I managed to lay some flowers and say a few words. It was then I looked at the etching on the stone that left me shocked. It was then I knew I had to leave," I explained.

"What was it Alex?" They said in unison.

"It had an image of a rose and below that it said in loving memory. It had the date of his birth and below that it said the age he was when he died."

There was a period of silence before I spoke again.

"He died at the age of 44. The age I am now."

Both Toby and Sarah recoiled slightly at this news and I knew then they understood.

"There have been times when I could have reached for the drink like he did or did myself in like my grandmother believed he did. I had a choice, be like him or fight back," I said clearly, "I decided I wasn't going to kill myself trying to be the perfect husband anymore and being abused and ridiculed in the process."

I felt weaker at that point than I had in weeks. Admitting to my friends how low I had been was harder than I imagined. Toby shook me out of my mood,

"What do you need from us Alex?"

"Please say no if it's too much but I have a plan to protect myself and..."

"Screw the bitch over!?" Sarah interjected. I smiled and nodded. I guess Sarah did have a tough side to her character.

"When I thought she was having an affair in 2008 I opened a separate savings account and put all my bonuses and any spare cash into it. It was also with a stroke of luck that the only way we could get a mortgage for the amount we needed was if I applied in my name only. Holly had no real work history so it was just easier for me to apply alone."

I knew if anyone was capable of following my train of thought it would be Toby.

"My savings with interest is now worth £60800. I've £120k left on my mortgage, but a house down the street from me sold for over half a million. Toby I need you with your contacts to get me a short term loan for the other £60k. I want to pay off my mortgage before I divorce her, when I divorce her."