All Comments on 'The Fourth Man Ch. 03'

I gave all 3 chapters only 1 star each. While the writing was ok - the author needs to learn when to use “she” and “her” and “I” and “me” properly, just as an example - the whole premise was stupid. Of course sex with another woman is cheating! Just as sex with another man, if Ken had done it, is cheating.

Totally absurd and incredible! For the first time I gave only one star. 3 chapters for the story of a lying bitch with a revelation that is only one for the most innocent? Who are you kidding?

Excellent!! I was afraid of the potential for an alternate ending!!

I think you made the right choice!!

Ken is a pushover, sure he bitch and moan, but he still takes Jen back after she willingly and intently deceives him, cheats on him, lie to him ?? How the hell can he keep his self respect and dignity after he takes her back after all that? If she can do all that and get away with it, what else can/will she do?

Very well written! Thank you so much! Now I'm in the process of reading all of your stories and it seems to me that I've yet to find one not to like and I'm sure it won't happen because you are a very talented writer and keep making us happy with your stories.

writer took the bullshit way out on this one. She lied by deceit (she misrepresented) to take the trip. She lied by deceit by stating she did not cheat ( stating essentially that it wasn't a male interaction) Any sexual interaction with another person not the spouse is cheating. If this would have been a male bonding with another male do you think she would have accepted this carte blanche? "NO" She continued to misrepresent and played the female card the whole way through this story. Typical female nazi writer. Well she was just ignorant can't hold that against her? Really????????? Why at 8 years into a relationship you are happy with does one go off the rocker and participate in a homosexual weekend just to see what they might have missed 8+ years ago? seriously??????

Excellent suspense involving some depply flawed characters. Appreciate the detail that is essential to weaving the tale. Five resounding stars - as usual.

I know that I have said in earlier parts that you repeat a lot of it, as a story I liked it and thought you put it together well, liked the characters, and felt they were quite real

You are asking the reader to over look the facts:

Strike 1. Jennifer gave her body and her affection to a person other than her husband. Does not matter what the sex of the of the person was.

Strike 2. She knew that her act would hurt her husband but to gratify her own lust she took the chance anyway.

Strike 3. She used the "do you trust me ploy" to make him feel guilty enough to let go.

Three strikes and your out.

RedRachel is correct in what she said, but I think everyone missed the one thing that was never brought out in this series. I kept waiting for Jen to say it, but she never really touched on it, exactly. SHE WAS EMBARRASSED! That was the big sticking point, in my opinion. Yes, she crushed him with her way of saying it, and it would have been really a great story if he had told her he didn't trust her. But he was too nice a guy. He wouldn't do that. So the heartache commenced. She paid for her deceit. And the end result, after a lot of angst, and pain, was a strong loving marriage. The Bear loves happy endings. I just wish some people weren't so stupid and took so long to get there. 5 stars, the Bear liked it. Sad, but I liked it. Thank you for writing. More, please.

The BEAR

Do you trust me? I mean really trust me? Good, now that you trust me, I’m going to walk all over you with betrayal of that trust and then cry until you take me back. Bullshit. While any betrayal is horrible, this goes way beyond that.

Good story. I felt that the way Jennifer was seduced was really authentic - people don't realize how easy it is to get into someones head if you find out their weakness and then pressure them and give them justifications. I know people don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. No one is incorruptible, all it takes is the right set of circumstances.

Great story

Cheating is cheating; the gender of whom you cheat with is irrelevant; the betrayal of trust is gender-neutral. I feel like Ken got shoehorned into staying because of the baby. I wonder if he would have if that wasn't an issue. Jen is a victim in all this as well but at the end of the day she still made the choice to cheat. And the whole "do you trust me" bullshit on top of it... I'm not sure I could have taken her back. It seems to have worked out in the end, but if he had dropped her like many would have, would his (or her) life have been better in the end? Makes you wonder...

Also, the answer to the question, "do you trust me?", should always be, "no", or at the very least, "not entirely." The simple reason is that there are no guarantees in life and humans are always subject to unpredictable behaviour. You can never fully know someone sadly thus trusting someone completely is asking for it, sooner or later. Now in his case, it should have been obvious there was something going on there, but of course, it was sidestepped for the purposes of the story. Not entirely plausible but hey, it's a LW tale so you learn to deal with that.

She lied … period .. bye bye .. snuff said!

Male or Female, it's still cheating. You can't whitewash that fact.

Some relevant feed back in the comments section. When Jen sked him "Do you trust me", she lied through her teeth. She gave smoke and mirror answers. Ken was not a big enough lateral thinker, if he was, he would have said something like "If going you go with any person, its still adultery" it may have made her think. When I read the first part I immediately thought of female because only male was being bandied about. As I said in part one, this is not about trust it is about honesty. Honesty trumps trust. Jen is a lying adulteress and I feel the author put Jen being pregnant in to stir the story up. Had she not been an expectant mother she would have been divorced and I would say rightly so. Her actions were blatant, she was married the other woman was married, if just one would have looked back and analysed the situation, along with the Kens extreme reluctance one of them would have said no. Jen nuked their marriage.

We;; done and nicely told story. Thanks

Far too long for what it was.

Laptopwriter you get a deserved 5 for writing on this one.

It was to conservative in parts for myself but who am I; divorced and remarried 5 years later. My first wife had issues. I was inexperienced and didn't take timely and appropriate action. I also developed a inappropriate attitude toward marriage.

Now I'm married to a hard nose like myself and It takes most of my and her management skills to not fight a lot and her breast cancer and Leukemia has not helped.

Oh: she is in total remission, now without meds. gets checked up every 4 months.

I still say she lied to him and was deceitful. Man or women it was still adultery, but she thought it was not cheating. Yet another delusional person. She did not think she harmed him that much. She's a raving looney. He said no and it blew up in her face and she still could not see it. I also feel even in the counselling sessions I feel she did not full realises what she had done. She she did not end up pregnant I wonder how it would have gone.

5 Stars on a story that makes you wonder . What would you do if it was you ?

Strange. Too much angst and anger. Lies by omission. Is trust and faith the same? Finally forgiveness (turning the other cheek?) and resignation (for the sake of the child/family?).

Lastly happily ever after...(in Atlanta?)

I admit it. I’ve been troped. It was a great twist I didn’t see coming, even though I should have. But, by the same token, I was disappointed that they were able to reconcile because of the nature of the twist. No,spoiler.

Well written as usual. Ending and epilogue a bit abrupt compared to the story. A few loose ends.

So, did Tara ever get her new phone from Ken and Jack?

Was Monique bisexual?

Did Tara ever get remarried?

I thought it was well written. I really don't like multiple stories but you got me hooked and I read all three. I liked the way you tied up the story. Not all infidelity needs to in a BTB ending.

Curious what happened to Laura here. Yeah Jen abused her husband's trust, cheated on him with a lesbian weekend affair due to her intense fantasies for Laura and her being hotly pursued, and lied by omission, but ... Laura was a predator. Full stop.

So how the heck does Laura get her husband to accept what she did or forgive her? That seems like a bridge too far. Is Laura ever mentioned in any of the author's other stories? Just curious.

Laura has real mental issues driven by her restrained bisexuality and her hunger for a lesbian encounter. It is good she confessed but did she come fully clean as the aggressor not taking no for an answer on multiple occasions, hotly pursuing the vulnerable Jen by exploiting her fantasies, and manipulating the admittedly naive Jen about how sleeping with a woman is not cheating?

Jen made a terrible choice and it was touch and go on reconciliation and maybe doesn't happen without the pregnancy deus ex machina. But where does that leave Laura the predator who confesses to her hsuband and father of three children? Imagine what that guy would feel like if he got the full story.

Circumstances can affect forgiveness and reconciliation (not for all people), but think what are the circumstances for Laura's husband? Guessing that is a real sh$t burger to swallow.

Well written as always.

“So, Jen, if you and Laura will reenact your fantasy and let me watch and participate, I’ll forgive you.”

Ha-ha-ha! Applause! In fact, Ken allowed himself to be trampled on. I wouldn't be surprised if Jennifer, looking down, timidly and cautiously suggested to her husband to make Lara the godmother of their children. With the same phrase, like; "It will be better for all of us. Do you dare not trust me again? You're starting to bother me again. We should turn to good old Dr. Holstrom again. It seems to me that you again need to adjust your worldview a little in accordance with my wishes."

Excuse my "French language". This is a very good and unusual story... Starting with the name itself. "The fourth man" - which, in fact, turned out to be a woman Tara? Seriously! Then I'll mention one more little nuance. Exactly... Why was Ken, having completely lost confidence in his wife, so easily able to believe in the fact that she got pregnant from him? Unthinkable... The most incredible conjectures come to my mind - starting from some hermaphroditism of Laura (for example, she could have a very large clitoris - which turned out to be not a fully formed mini-penis, but complete with small and workable testicles that produce sperm), and the bisexual hurried to comfort her completely broken girlfriend in in bed, after her meeting with Ken.. And ending the flight of my imagination, for example, on the visit of Laura's husband, who could visit the devastated Jennifer and taking advantage of her vulnerability and insanity, decided in one fell swoop to take revenge on his wife, well, fucked his lesbian partner of his cunning and lustful wife.. I sincerely hope that my "gloomy prophecies" will be misplaced...

What I find a little unconvincing about this story is why Laura was so insistent and desperate to tempt and seduce Jennifer? See for yourself - one woman who leads a heterosexual lifestyle and is happy in her marriage, nevertheless, by all means, suddenly decides to seduce another heterosexual girlfriend from childhood and behaves like an experienced predator. And all this is just because of unrealized children's lesbian fantasies? It's kind of weird... I'm not talking about the degree of remorse of both ladies afterwards...

So in the end Ken is a dumbass that stays trapped in a marriage with an untrustworthy wife because of her pregnancy.

The cliche ending ruins all of it. Ken should have hit her with divorce or he gets to have a weekend of sex with another woman as a requirement of staying married.

So, as it turned out, what "innocent and childish" dreams did the little girl have? Wow, Sherlock! I immediately realized that something was wrong with her weekends.. Well, at least not a "Unicorn" with a penis on her forehead and between her legs, and not a "Peppa Pig" - with her characteristic face...

I liked it

A load of shit. Anyone who pulls what she did deserves to be alone.

Five stars

The difference with Laura is that she's confessing to her husband, and didn't deceive him.

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Cheap shot with the pregnancy. Just as she was afraid that her pregnancy would pressure him to take her back, it had the same affect to the story.

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It still comes down to, "Do you really trust me?" as she plans to betray his trust.

Excellent! My son likes happy endings and so do I.

Great story!!!! 5 stars!

Btw, I would have expected a BTB ending without out of question.... Too much pain and lack of lust just for her own selfish interests... Definitely BTB for her!

I mostly enjoy your tales. However, not one of these in this series met my expectations. That could be because you have set such a high bar for a good read in a tale.

These however to me did not meet that level.

Keep Writing

JH4Fun

Overall, a good story, that could have been told more succinctly. I have to admit one little item really rankled me. Ken saying he married the "most wonderful woman in the world" upon deciding he wanted to reconcile was such a load of crap. I was in that situation where my wife cheated, and decided to forgive her and stay together (yup, we have kids), but the polish was off the apple. I knew from that point that no matter what she said, I was not the most important man in the world, or she wouldn't have done it. I still loved her, and wasn't bitter w/ her about things, didn't even try and lock her down,..which would have been a good idea b/c 10 years later I found out she had been w/ a succession of men, and the one I found out about was one of many. She is a good mom, and not a horrible person, she was just a lousy wife. So, nope, you don't come out of a situation like this thinking the sun shines out of your wife's ass, even if you do agree to reconcile.

"Honey, I am going away next weekend. I won't tell you where I am going, who I may see, or what I am going to do. You need to trust me." she says. "If you can't tell me who, where or what you are planning to do, don't bother coming back if you leave. I trust you, just not that much." he says. 10 stars for a "gripping drama" that held my attention. Much better than most stories. Thanks, for all the effort put into this. Buster2U

I read the complete series.

When men or women practice to deceive good things do not happen.

I'm a male and my EX deceived me many ways before the divorce which in turn caused my deceitfulness due to my weakness.

It has been forty years since that divorce. I am still in discovery of very hateful events

that are and were major marriage changing ones. Events that people are now telling me that happened. For myself this is a very good story. How can one find the fault in someone else's decisions and life.

Way too much betrayal and scheming for her to be ever trusted again. Sorry, but I marked you down due to my disappointment.

I typically enjoy your efforts, but not this time. Not all well developed, and it does not flow. Too many reaches in the story (of all the women in the country, Laura shows up? Of all the cell phones, Tara's malfunctions, and after a call to Ken? Etc.) The plot is an interesting turn on an old trope (wife leaves for a weekend) but the telling lacked. Close to a waste of my time, but I will go with three stars.

JPB

He should have asked her who the father was. Who is to say she only cheated the once.. Onceyou start to lie how can you be yrusted.

Babies: the weapon of cheating women to get whatever they want without any consequences.

I would have to ask Jennifer how she would react if Ken met an old classmate he had fantasized about during his senior of High School and his old dream date asked him to spend the weekend or just one night with her. I doubt if she would think it reasonable for him to have his old fantasy become a reality. Take her back? The unexpected pregnancy would give him a strong reason to forgive her foolishness but he would always remember her deceit.

Jen was taking a trip for a fantasy yet that fantasy occurred because of an “accidental” meeting with Laura. If that meeting had not occurred, what had Jen planned for her trip? I can’t get by this discrepancy in the last phases of the story.

"Honey, I'm going to do whatever I want, including cheating on you and you have to accept it." Then later, "I'm so sorry I hurt you, but it's still all about me, you have to forgive and take me back!" Finally, "I'm pregnant with your child so that is my ace in the hole, to retain my power over you and yes, now that I know I'm in charge I'll probably fuck around on you again since you have no spine." I have no clue why authors think pulling the "kid card" should change everything. Ken's biggest mistake was not just telling her, "If you go on a weekend and don't tell me why you're doing, don't bother coming back." This should have been a one page story where he dumped her cheating skank ass immediately. The ending was worse than the beginning. Terrible!

Another good read

Should have burned both the bitches!

It's a shame that a writer of your talent, with such good storytelling, description and dialogue, as well as a superb ability to create stories and develop them so effectively, screw up like this with such a disastrous ending. In a few paragraphs you have destroyed the whole plot so well spun. a real shame

Hate it, hate it, hate it. Such disrespect, no concern for him at all. And what did she lose out of all of it? A couple of weeks of sadness? How could he *ever* trust her again?

The ending did not feel earned at all, and honestly, as Jack had said, he should've questioned whether or not it was even his.

I am a little dumb founded that this ended up being a reconciliation story when the premeditated betrayal certainly did not warrant it but I guess that why the pregnancy was thrown in, to make it a little more plausible but no, not in my opinion anyway⭐️⭐️

Given the circumstances, the lies and lack of respect, I don't think a RAAC was appropriate. No matter how you tried to dress it up in the end, trusting her again would have been impossible and who among us wants to live his life with that kind of mistrust?

lo encontré realista dentro de todo....

eso si, una mas y estas fuera.... sea lo que sea que la contraparte haga

The story doesn't make any sense to me.

Marriage is not just about love and sex, it's about respect and trust, too.

It's just like a building which needs those four piller to stand still. If, by any chance, any piller bent or destroyed, the building is likely to be crashed.

After spending 8 years together, if she didn't knew him better, she'd never know. And I think she got pregnant on purpose.

Stoooopid.

For all the convoluted rabbit trails of irrelevancy; the core of this tortuous mess is her premeditated betrayal of her husband and her marriage. Further she lied and obscured her disposable actions. This is NOT the actions of a true love but lust She coldly used him as a walking tool, a thing, to gratify her sexual compulsion. This sociopathic amoral behavior shows clearly that she deludes both her husband and herself. She has objectified him. Her actions show that the whole relationship is a vain vapor… not a real marriage. She, for all her tears and pandemonium cannot be trusted not to betray him in the future. The RAAC is utterly spurious.

2 stars. Frankly I am profoundly disappointed that such an important experienced author would pen such drivel.

The only bad thing the wife did that I can see, is she didn't include her husband in on a little threesome activity after lezzing out a bit. This dude has a frail ego for sure. He should have turned her refound interest in the ladies to his advantage. Instead he moaned like a little bitch the entire time

This is so ridiculous. Why is it suddenly like everyone is treating it like it’s not as big of a deal since she cheated with a woman? Give me a break.

Well written technically, but to paint him as a man who accepted her attitude and then accepted her lack of fidelity is both a stretch of suspension of the believable, and an insult. 5 stars for written ability, two stars for content.

couldnt resist the urge to destroy the story huh... was going good then BAM yeah lets just make it worth a shit at the end

What an awful ending to a potentially good story. Not sure why you chose to write Ken as such a complete wimp? He should have never agreed to the weekend, then he should have D’d her for going anyway and refusing to tell him what was going on and for not granting him the same level of trust she demanded from him. No … divorce was the only acceptable ending for her ongoing betrayals. 1*

Rereading and your story was as good this time as the first. Looking forward to a new one from you. Thanks for sharing your stories.

Sorry but 2 stars. Well written but the emotional damage she did is beyond recovery even with a child involved.

Once again the Cheating female gets away unscathed. And, what happens the next time she craves a little taste of "kitty"? She will just refine and improve her cheating ways.

What a load of crap

Just an average story. Three stars ⭐️ for this one.

Maybe Ken should pull the same bullshit on her that she pulled on him, the old "do you trust me" and leave for a weekend on her. And even if he didn't go out and screw some strange, he should get some perfume and lightly daub it on his soiled clothes and maybe jack off in his underwear to simulate sex with someone. She definitely needs a lesson taught to her. If it were me, there would have been no reconciliation at all. So what it was another woman she was with, it's still sex and I wouldn't doubt there was a vibe or 2, so there is penetration too. 1 star series, because I think Ken is just a cuck and she's a liar and a slut.

1 star - way too much psycobabble

In a real situation the husband would never ever trust a woman like that again - the relationship would be over.

Poor Ken married to a woman that would ask "do you trust me" because I'm going away for a weekend, not telling you where, with who, whether you like it or not. Knowing full well she had already made plans to meet and cheat. Of course, throwing in the pregnancy at the end makes the reality of what likely would have happened change to a happy ever after ending. But, if you love someone so much you stay. They again if you love someone that much you leave.

Another excellent story from one of the better writers here. The motive for the wife's deception still bothers me though. Naivete as the counselor suggested? I would have had serious doubts about accepting the explanation from the wife. Sounded very contrived to justify her deception to fulfill a longtime fantasy. As one other commenter pointed out, the logical question is how many other fantasies would or did she have that needed to be scratched if the right circumstances occurred? It's not just outrage at her deliberate deception but her lack of judgement. It makes that character a potential loose cannon. I was an attorney practicing an area of law that required unassailable integrity for almost 30 years before serous cancer forced retirement. My wife cheated with a junior associate which potentially threatened relations with some very sensitive clients. Her only defense was that it happened, she was sorry, and naive about the potential consequences. But I didn't buy it and divorced her. It's all about trusting the marital partner's judgement, and if one is not honest about personal weaknesses with the spouse, it can break a marriage in consequence. So I am skeptical of the ending here. Anyway, still a good story. Regards, Formerly Betrayed in Barrington

I love the foreshadowing of having his friend say the fourth man is a woman when Tara first appears. I feel so stupid for not picking up on that immediately - I never have been good at figuring out mystery novels either, lol.

I love your work!

He never asked the first question she needed to answer, what other fantasies do you want to fulfill? And with whom are you planning on fulfilling?

No marriage can recover from such a deception. She was completely deluded and a liar. Why would you raise a child with someone so idiotic? Stop writing semi-cuck bullshit.

Well, fact or fiction, sex or no sex, anything you write i will happily read. You are that good

The ending is as if the husband fucks his wife and when they have had a great time she goes and says to him 'darling, I have to confess to you that I am an alien and I come from Jupiter' WTF!!!! He has neither head nor tail!

There are some points that are contradictory.

Can a marriage survive when there has been a premeditated deception of this magnitude? If it survives it means the marriage is shit.

As for the husband, he is an idiot. Throughout the story his personality and integrity are maintained. And then, as if by magic, he gives in and forgives her... with all the respect in the world, what a bunch of crap!

As for the wife, damn it, I wouldn't want to have a wife like that. I would rather be single!

Bringing children in is delicate, but I have always believed that children are sacred, and forcing them to live in a home where this kind of thing happens... parents are role models... draw your own conclusions!

Nor have I understood that, whether they are parents, friends, bosses, they always have such a decisive role in the decisions that a COUPLE (two people) must make. That proves the weakness of the character. That type of character has always displeased me.

If you want a harmonious and happy life, move your ass! But if you want a life of shit, then go with the flow and live life according to what others think. Yes, you have no right to complain. You are the asshole and therefore you deserve it.

In my case I have never liked cheaters. I hate lies. You cannot build on those pillars.

And one more fact. I marvel at the style and elegance that the author has. One of the best I've read. Good style, good progression, good dialogue, incredible rhythm, with sense... it's a 10 out of 10. The only negative thing is to apologize for what's wrong. Bad is bad, period. If you have cancer what do you do? You wouldn't completely remove it and go on with your life.

I repeat what is wrong, is wrong. Excusing it is making what is wrong worse.

Here is the problem I have with the often used trope of "mistake" by many authors here. Laptopwriter masterfully uses it to great effect, and it makes the reconciliation believable. But most of the time it is not. "Mistake" implies a considered choice or a matter of judgement and is reinforced by the use of deceit. That is very hard to forgive because the spouse can never know whether the same considerations will weigh in again. Mistakes usually mean a physical "ooops", done, and learn from it, but infidelity isn't the same, in that it implies trust, as in "who has my back". You have to trust them to learn from a more fundamental error of judgement, and it's just not the same. I was married to a wonderful woman for almost a decade before finding out that she had 'girlfriends' through-out college and in her early employment before we met, but never told me about it until she was caught-out by the wife of close colleague who saw her workplace lesbian affair. I could never get past the fundamental duplicity even though she tried hard, and we divorced amicably 18 months later. We drifted away subsequently and I found a more trustworthy wife who was both not bisexual and delightfully kinky. But most of all HONEST. I hope this author keeps writing because he/she harbors the makings of a good novelist.

Divorce. No trust possible, what if he had said I'm going away, don't you trust me it's not another women and then gone off and got pooches by a bro crush from college.

I disagree with the previous comments, I think this is a very logical and right conclusion. Yes, she made a foolish mistake, but is it so terrible that they shouldn't try to save a good relationship?

Do I get the impression that the commentators would have been a lot more forgiving if the man has strayed?

Okay... The whole story about trying to guess what she did, was really nice... It kept me locked in the story. Sometimes, I thought "she cheated for sure". And then, when she said she did not cheated with another man, I thought " wtf? Then what did she do?" But then, when it got uncover that she really did cheat on him, not with a man, but a woman... Thats when I knew I would have file for divorce without a second thought... Not because it was with woman... But because she looked in his eye and said she didnt cheate on him... The disrespect of "do you trust me?" Really? Do I have to trust you so you could cheat on me? Really? This end is garbage.... Only this emotional guys will let her disrespect him so much as she did....

Ken's sudden turn toward reconciliation is fairly inexplicable given the plot presented by the author. There is nothing inherently wrong with the MC deciding to reconcile with his adulterous wife, but there should have been an understandable path of events, thoughts and emotions which lead to that outcome. The author took the liberty of three chapters to present this story. With that much investment by both him and his readers, a more cognitively satisfying conclusion was not too much to ask and was a betrayal not to provide.

Manipulated man, by wife, best friend etc. Caved under relenless pressure. Easily this writer worst work. The amount of disrespect, and deceit was mindboggling and he just goes with the flow. Welcome to the modern man, where in eveybody is totally ok with cucking and infidelity by females.

Now I remember why I stopped reading your stories. The woman never faces any punishment for what she does in any of them unless the woman is a completely unrepentant caricature of a human.

In reality something like this would either destroy a relationship or change it into something else entirely. It would never stay the same like you indicate here. I could easily see a man exerting near total control and then dominating his wife sexually. I could see domestic violence as a result of something like this. I could see divorce from this. I could see a revenge cheating scenario from this. What I cannot see is some faggot just accepting it and then acting like nothing ever happened at the end. You chose the least realistic option for the conclusion, it’s less realistic that a BTB revenge story, it’s simply that bad.

This is how I can tell you’re a female author. You really don’t understand the male psyche at all and how men react to these situations.

As soon as Jen was pregnant I saw the RAAC on strong. I was sort of hoping Ken would dump Jen (she is a CHEATER) and pick up Tara (hot golf partner), plus a ready made family he wanted. But the pregnancy tied Ken's hands.

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Even for a RAAC the story just was too long, it rambled too much for me.

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3.9*, hooyah

""I slept with his wife," mumbled Laura in a voice indicative of her shame.

"Wha...what? What do mean you slept with...with whose wife?"

"With Ken's wife, Jennifer."

With all the avoid by Jen that she didn't have sex with a man you had to seen this coming a mile away.

Cheating is cheating whether its with someone of the opposite sex or same sex. Plan this was a planned encounter to cheat with lying and deception. Kens a total wimp reconciling with her when she paid no serious consequences for her cheating. This just tell Jen that she can do it again with out consequence. What is it with these writer that don't believe in holding women accountable for their bad behavior and bad decisions. They all inflected with White Knight syndrome?

White knight syndrome is a term used to describe someone who feels compelled to “rescue” people in intimate relationships, often at the expense of their own needs. Such behaviors stem from a mindset that perceives the other sex as weak, dependent, absolved of all responsibility for their outcomes, and thinks that she will dedicate herself to loving him because of his help.

They may be overly empathic to the point of denial about the fact that their partners have any self-control over their behavior. They may be more prone to making excuses for their partners, believing they “can’t help it” and help to “hide” their destructive behavior from the world, shielding them from consequences or accountability

This makes The White Knight's grasp of women’s agency very confusing. On the one hand, women are higher beings, deserving of greater reverence than men; on the other, women need a man—him—to protect them and provide for them. Women, in his mind, are paradoxically able to do anything a man can do, plus in heels, yet at the same time are also delicate flowers continually in need of saving.

More than a confused view of agency, the fundamental mindset of a white knight extends into a kind of functional gyneolatry, where he does not actually conceive of women as sinners at all. Men are pigs with base appetites; women are angels with a natural bent toward virtue. Men are grunts, made for labor and hardship; women are finer creatures. The natural inference here is that men are therefore essentially designed to minister to women’s whims, which leads to a kind of willing servitude; a desire to save her from whatever situation she is in, regardless of how ridiculous. His implicit mentality is that, whatever her plight, it must have been caused by other men—and because of the collectivist mindset that goes along with his feminization, this makes her problem vicariously his fault.

Enjoyed the story but was a bit disappointed that Ken never asked his wife if the fantasy of being with Laura was all that she expected. Nothing at all was brought up about that important point.

I guessed it was with another women very early on when she kept saying not having a relationship with a guy instead of saying I am not having a relationship or seeing someone. Saying 'guy' meant she could cover it being a female and that in itself is lying as is saying do you trust me. Saying that is a lie in itself. So basically she was asking for a double negative, as it were, saying 'do/if you trust me' and 'I am not seeing a guy'. She is bonkers and is untrustworthy at times.

I really enjoyed the story, definitely 5* effort. I do prefer reconciliation when it makes sense. But there is no way back from what the wife did in this case. The cheating I might be able to get past. But the way she did it by pulling out the “do you really trust me” card, killed any hope of that. The pregnancy wouldn’t have changed it either. It was too stone cold.

"why did you ask for your husband's trust then break it?" - Yes, that's still the biggie.

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"I did it that way because I couldn't lie to you." - But she DID lie to him. A lie of omission, not commission, but a lie nonetheless.

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"Whereas by simply asking me to trust her...yeah, she would have definitely felt that was the safer way to go." - I don't really see that as safer. Asking for his trust, then betraying that trust, is at LEAST as bad as being caught in a lie.

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Would have been better without the pregnancy. While it was useful as a test of her honesty, it was a potential complicating factor in a potential divorce.

I don't understand this story nor do I likke it! Laptopwriter seems to appreciate in most of his other stories that he is writing morality plays. The Loving Wife in this effort cheated......full stop. Whether hetero or homosexual, sexual activity is cheating. Even she knew it. The keystone phrase "Honey, do you trust me; I mean really trust me?" confirms that otherwise she would tell him what she was going to do. She cheated therefore she should be punished. Instead we have an unlikely reconciliation. I believe Laptopwriter just painted himself into a narrative corner because of a preconceived, desired conclusion and therefore ended the story unsatisfactorily. I greatly enjoy most of this author's other stories. So I would love to hear from him what the basis for his conclusion is.

And just as an aside I loathe the tired trope of "I couldn't help myself.......I had to do it." No one is hornier than I am; I am no smarter or moral than anyone yet somehow I have managed to NEVER stray in in 35 years of marriage. Not because I didn't want to but because it is WRONG. Let's give our characters some agency and dare I say morality. I know people stray in real life but the old "I couldn't help myself" reasoning is simply just rationalisation. I guess I believe most people cheat though either mental illness (including drug/alcohol use) or weakness of character. Call me Old Testament if you like but that is how I feel.

Anyway this story set me off a bit as I rarely comment so it did at least provoke a reaction. It hit me a lot like all the February Sucks stories. I don't want to accept a world where people act so deceitfully and cravenly. Laptopwriter you can and SHOULD do better.

Excellent tale. LP

After reading the first part, I believed that you had set up a fascinating premise. I also believed that I would be in for a disappointment. That what she did would not live up to the premise, or worse we would never find out what she did. Your story was satisfying. Nice job with a difficult task.

Couple of items come to mind. I liked the story because it was developed and told well. I hate Jen character because she is the epitome of illogical conclusions. She used the one phrase that down through history was a snake trap “trust me". Keep both hands over your butt hole when some uses this... Next, she goes ballistic when she hears Tara is going on the golf trip. Goose and gander or in this case goose and goose. By the way no warning lights when the name Tara is mentioned. Nothing in her pea brain ties Laura and her actions, that are on her mind constantly to Tara her sister. I mean this isn't a happenstance dalliance. Her brother dating Laura should mean she knew Laura’s family. The kid was the main and probably the only reason he took the cheater back. that and the fact that most men can forgive a woman-on-woman liaison.

Couple of items come to mind. I liked the story because it was developed and told well. I hate Jen character because she is the epitome of illogical conclusions. She used the one phrase that down through history was a snake trap “trust me". Keep both hands over your butt hole when some uses this... Next, she goes ballistic when she hears Tara is going on the golf trip. Goose and gander or in this case goose and goose. By the way no warning lights when the name Tara is mentioned. Nothing in her pea brain ties Laura and her actions, that are on her mind constantly to Tara her sister. I mean this isn't a happenstance dalliance. Her brother dating Laura should mean she knew Laura’s family. The kid was the main and probably the only reason he took the cheater back. that and the fact that most men can forgive a woman-on-woman liaison.

It is different if it is a woman. Ken seems too overwrought, and his focus on Jen's saying "trust me" is silly.

A on e-off should be forgiven unless indicative of other issues

It fails because you really didn't offer a reason for reconciliation. Capitulation is surrender. You can dress it up in love talk but ultimately she was treacherous. Women / Man. Doesn't matter. She robbed intimacy from the marriage and gave it to another. That a flesh penis was not involved is entirely irrelevant.