All Comments on 'The Goodbye Ch. 02'

On why you can't write. The story sucked, though. Too bad you didn't pass that course on "creative" writing, or high school, or grade school. Get a different hobby.

the same husband whom took care of her when she got sick and helped her recover walked away from him then (if I followed the story correctly) cheated on him....

How the fuck is that NOT evil?

is hard to please!

A lot of truth in there. Essentially it's about good people doing bad things. Doesn't make them evil. Just makes them human.

Forgive? Don't forgive? That's up to you. But if they show remorse, contrition, then at least forgive them, for your own sake.

I really liked the first story, this basically felt like the author caved into the comments on that piece. There's an old saying (maybe a song lyric?) that says you can't please everyone so just please yourself. I believe in this case Wieliczka fell into the trap of trying to please some of the other authors who commented on the first story !

The thing that I loved about the first story wasn't the monetary hijinks or revenge, it was the very plotline itself. The fact that the husband had nursed his wife through a life threatening bout with cancer, then when it comes time to reciprocate, she jumps ship with another man. To me, this is the ULTIMATE INFIDELITY !!!!

Now to the point Wieliczka makes in the pretext of this story about Grammar, I could not agree more ! Yes I have read great stories with many noticeable mistakes in grammar and sentence structure, but I'm smart enough to read between the lines and am able to follow along just fine , as I'll bet 99% of other readers are as well ! The only thing that bothers me is when names get misused , but again, if your actually paying attention, you usually know what was supposed to be there. As to counter this point, I have read really God awful works that were Grammatically spot on, but offered me zero, zilch, nada in the way of entertainment ! So where exactly in the grand scheme of things does a few errors in syntax fall in my opinion , just like a spit in the ocean !

What I truly think is the people who constantly bitch and moan about this are only trying to somehow project their " wisdom" for all to see, so what !!! You want to impress people who read in this category, just write a great LW storyline. So in the words of Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that .

3*'s

Cpprcrk

I remember Jack La Lanne talking about the need to invest in your body. Sure you can get by in everyday life without daily exercise or sensible diet and accruing credit in your corporeal well being. But when surprise stress, illness and or accident happens , you are bankrupt . The mother's faithless actions at extremely crucial time wete serious a strain in different regard. Should she be forgiven ?

To me. that depends on her sacrifices made to family as whole before abject desertion of her husband. Dead is dead. What has she done before and what can she contribute going forward. The author made his decision. I won't pretend to know her better then he does. Definitely not a five star story but within striking distance in terms of non-erotic.

Blatant genre misplace misplacement, but well worthy of reading and consideration. I thank wieliczka for sharing.

First of all I am sick of the "no bad people, just bad acts" crap. There are in fact "good" people and "bad" people in this world. Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler were "bad" people and no one would dispute that. There are many more bad people out there. To clarify, it is not a moral judgement to define "bad", it is simply this: when a person says a series bad things, and/or does a series bad things to the point where they have caused tremendous pain and suffering - they are a bad person. Bad for others to associate with. We are in defined by our decisions. The choices that we pick from what we have in front of us. The decisions a person makes describes who they are in their mind. So, there are in fact bad people, and thankfully there are good people.

Secondly, what is forgiveness? It is simply not requiring payment on a debt. It is not necessarily a continued relationship with the debtor. So, what can a broken down old whore do to repay a debt to her children and dead husband? A: Not much if anything at all. The best thing for the kids to do is to forgive her. That does not mean that they should associate with her ever again. Remember, she is a bad person and it is foolish to allow bad people into your thinking, conversation and presence - they are a bad influence and drain on your existence. If these young people have the responsibility of raising children, they have to protect their families from bad people, including their whore mother.

If there mother is truly repentant, then she would understand the above paragraphs. She would make her life an example to others and work to do what she could for others rather than to take from them what they have. If she sits there in self pity and does nothing, than that reflects that she has not repented. That is on her.

Okay, I haven’t actually read the story yet, but I have to comment on the CREATIVE writing comment. In MY mind creative writing involves characters, situations and plotting, NOT English usage except as it may apply to a CHARACTER’S language usage. The narrative should still use proper English.

As another reader noted, creative writing was never intended to be bad use of the English language. You either misunderstood your teacher or he/she was a wacko.

In the period that you note as your education, both my mother and wife were English teachers (both head of the English department in large high schools), and there were many wacko teachers that "went rogue" with the perceived freedom of creative writing. Our daughter had to change schools to get out from under one of those teachers. That teacher was soon after terminated and discredited for her "damage" to many young minds. She tried to write a column for the local newspapers and was so bad that the paper let her go. Her children were "genius" level in her mind so she pushed them through school early and sent them off to Big Ten universities a couple of years before their peers. Both failed in college and failed in life. The teacher's husband finally tired of her "creative" ways and left her -- after 30 years of marriage. She is still around, is miserable, and are her ex and her children.

I may sound bitter, but I had a teacher like that who gave me my only B in high school so I was not validictorian (I was late in turning in a paper, the day my father died) and prevented me from getting into the school of my choice (very selective Engineering School).

I like your writing and your choice to be creative with the English Language is certainly OK.

Keep writing

Thank you.

This was a very difficult task to perform...The task of writing what happened next...Where is the meaning of "pay back" if the cheater had someone to look after her/him? she never lost the house, never had financial difficulties, because the brother in law took care of her since the death of her husband...OK, she had some worries about losing the house, nothing more...Her true punishment was that she lost the love and respect of her children...And changing that would say to them that be bad pays off...what kind of lesson is that for young people? what lesson would this woman teach to her grand kids? The man telling this part of the story, at least didn't have children, so his bad attitudes stayed and died with him...his punishment would be lonely until he died...so, as @sugna said in his comment, being only human, can't be an excuse for bad attitudes...2*

I wish I hadn't read this chapter....liked Ch 01 and its ending...karma is a bitch.

I think it comes down to what you believe in. From reading your comment i would assume that you view the world in black and white; clear cases of good and bad. im one of those people who dont believe in another human having the right to judge me as good or bad. For instance i could get arrested for selling drugs and the judge could hand me a 20 year sentence bc i broke the law and am thus a "bad" person. However if that was the environment i grew up in and lacked the support that many have, is it fair to judge me by the same standards as those who had it different? No action is unforgiveable it just depends on your capicity for forgiveness.

The first - BTB, short, sweet, satisfying ...

... but ultimately selfish - as pointed out by the second chapter. Amazing how perspective deepens and shifts when one must consider the bigger picture, the children, their lives, etc.

Lesson(s) learned: Contemplate the bigger picture rather than simply our selfish desire for revenge. It should lead to better writing. That said, please keep the just d's a comin'.

Got 1/2 page in and bailed out. Not so good.

Their father is dead. He is beyond her reach to make him suffer. Their mother will live with the guilt and humiliation for the rest of her life. If the kids want her back in their lives, kinda, why not? Their mother can never make it up to their father, but she can spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to their children. Why not let her, try. She will be in mental and emotional purgatory until she dies. She will not have any social life with men if she wants to keep her children around her. They will be constantly watching and judging her, and she will always wonder if they have really forgiven her. Her best bet is to hang in there until the children cannot deny that she has done what she can to atone for her abandonment, then she needs to get Larry's pill mixture and follow him. He's waiting to hear her apology, and bestow his forgiveness.

Is that enough compassion for you?

You can forgive but sometimes you just can't forget. Cheating is something that hurts with mental, physical and emotional feelings. It's hard when you have the why ? In your head.

Wieliczka - this was a well written story , on a difficult theme , and I admired your

attempt . Readers will have their own views on the characters .

The great classical musician , Haydn , wrote an oratorio named ' The Seasons ' .

The opening movement is entitled ' Chaos' . But the musical construction is anything

but chaotic .

You have gift for writing ; craft produces art . Keep writing .

But extremely well done analysis of what can happen. It is the old story of the seven blind men and the elephant, except I never understood why they wanted to know what an elephant looked like. Here it is obvious that the one who left can not be hurt any more and cared for his wife, even.....

I think differently and look at the world through the eyes of as many people as possible. I always have and hopefully, always will. The world is not one way, it can be seen in so many different ways. I personally don't care much if my story gets great ratings, loads of readership.... But it is these comments. People who think and reason impress me. I may not agree, but that is good too. Thank you all for your comments.

I think Ed did not honor the wises of his dead friend Larry by paying money back to the Catherine, while Larry may have wanted the kids to forgive their mother I think he wanted the ex to suffer alot. How a husband like Jack can abandon his sick wife is beyond me, when some one you love is sick I feel sick and lust goes on holiday. Lots of loser in this story. TK

That I never have to deal with watching the woman I love slowly die. I cannot imagine how I would feel. So I can have some sympathy for the wife running from the pain. I am not approving of it, just accepting that it was a sad possibility.

I think how she reacts afterward does matter. Remorse at having been too weak to support her husband as he had supported her would go a long way toward gaining my forgiveness. The cases were slightly different though. She always stood a chance of recovery while he stood by her. She seems to have done the same until they lost all hope. Doesn't make it right but it does mean that the certainty of his passing did add to her situation.

I did feel that this continuation fell flat. Other than the confession, there was really nothing to show why the wife might be forgiven. Was she even sorry? The uncle says she felt guilt but we never see it.

On the topic of creative writing I have a different view. I think that the quality of the grammar is really part of the story. Third person accounts are really just reports of imagined events and should usually have grammar that reflects this. Dialog and monologue should reflect how the person actually would speak. First person stories feel more like a personal monologue and can shift more toward an informal spoken voice. If the character would have said "ain't" while speaking, there ain't no dang'ed good reason to avoid it in the exposition. Just me two cents. But spelling mistakes and homonym errors are still not acceptable.

Thanks for the story.

This completely ignores Larry standing by her while Catherine fought cancer.

So he wasn't a saint?

At least he kept up his side of 'in sickness and in health'.

This story had no sexual tension, or any tension, at all & probably should have been in the non-erotic category. I believe in characters getting what they deserve. She didn't. It is, of course, your story so you can jerk the characters in whatever direction you wish.

Is less sleep inducing.

What is life without forgiveness. EVERYBODY makes mistakes. We are only human. Once an individual makes a mistake, that individual should admit the mistake and try not to make the same mistake again if possible. Part of recovering from a mistake is forgiveness from those who have been wronged.

She didn't deserve the forgiveness. He was there for her and she abandoned and cheated on him. It doesn't balance.

Black and white? No, I see the world in browns and sepia, there are varying degrees of shitty people. As to whether I can judge and determine whether a person is bad or not the answer is Abso-fucking-lutely! You see, all people are born with the same capacity to do bad things. What separates us and defines us are our choices. Using the cop-out that it was a hard life that made me do it is silly! Many people face hard lives and do not turn into criminals, cheaters, or shit of any kind. If you think that these people are weak and cannot control themselves, okay I will accept that but so what? Does that make them less shitty? Does that make their crimes okay? Does that make the good people to have in your life? Ans: Abso-fucking-lutely NOT! You see, we can and should "judge" others - it is called wisdom. We can not judge what is in their hearts, but we can judge their words and their actions. We can determine that they are "bad people" - bad for other people to have in their lives! If their bad decision making brings pain down on others, they are bad people to be around. That is common sense and not really debatable. The liberal. politically correct fools of this world would have you think that we must all tolerate and eventually accept all forms of deviant behavior. That is as ignorant as it is silly as it is destructive! Employ common sense, acquire wisdom, be discriminating as to how you live and who you associate with if you want to have a pleasant if not happy stay in this life!

He was dying and she became a slut. Pure and simple. She could have gone to her children for support. She could have gone to their friends for support. But, no. She went to a stranger for cock. Not acceptable under any circumstances. This story should have stopped at the first chapter. This chapter is only here to provide an excuse for her slutting around. This was a good solid 0*, but 1* is as close as I could get.

My first marriage ended when my wife could not tolerate my one-night drunken moment of unfaithfulness with an apartment neighbor. I remarried and forgave my second wife for countless indiscretions on her part before she ran off and never came back again. My third wife had even less tolerance than my first wife. I say the wife did her cheating willingly with premeditated malice toward her dying husband. She deserves no more compassion than what her children are willing to give. You should never try writing sequels.

The one among you that can take his or herself by the hair and lift yourself off the ground is the only one that doesn't deserve forgiveness..because that one must be perfect.

I agree with your last statement, while I sat by my wife's bed during her last few days there was NO sexual lust anywhere around. My "lust" was wishing it was not her last days with me. It has been 31 months since I said "good bye", and I am still not looking for a replacement (there just is not one). Good writing author.

I have lost partners for cheating but tried to see the good in them. I was STUPID if I had been doing the cheating they would have burned me. September 1st will be 36 years and I do not stray and neither does she or ever has.

Ron/cowboyridecc@yahoo.com

I've read a few comments and I think some of you miss the point. The author isnt saying what she did was okay at all, or that there weren't a billion different ways to handle it. Instead he was saying at the end of the day you can hate someone for something bad they did (while it wasnt tech 1 thing since done repeatedly it's one reaction to situation) or rise above and forgive and move one. Recall this is almost the exact defination what christian forgiveness/grace is. Plus I think that kind of hate tends to wear on your soul, something he didnt want happening to the kids.

First, When a person betrays their family, they choose to marginalize themselves. That is, they move from the center of the family circle to the edge of it where they can form a bond with another person. At the end of the day, it is clear that the cheater is looking for another opportunity in life and it is clear that family that she promised to serve can not rely on her anymore. It is also clear that she did not love or respect them enough to let them know what her intentions were BEFORE she left them hanging. Call her weak, call her selfish - it doesn't matter. She tried to have her cake and eat it too and as she betrayed her family.

Second, just because someone hurts you that doesn't mean that you have to hold a grudge or hurt them back. It does mean that you cannot trust them. It does mean that you should not invest much of your time, energy, thoughts, or feelings in them - that would be foolish. They have already proven their character. They will fail you when the going gets tough.

Revenge? Not worth it most of the time, too much energy spent on negativity. Holding a grudge, never worth it. Work through your feeling about the situation. Make a judgement as to the future of your relationship or lack of relationship with the offender and stick to it.

In this case the kids were talking to a cowardly shithead with no spine. He as much as admitted that. His admission does not make him any better but it should let the kids know that he and their mother are simply not worth the effort of holding a grudge. Forgiveness is really for the forgiver, not the forgiven.

a flying fuck about Uncle Jack? Nobody. Why didn't you tell this story from Catherine's perspective? It's the only way it would have been even remotely interesting.

i honestly can't think of a worse thing you could do to a spouse than abandon them and betray them in their dying days. That is phenomenal cruelty.

will do the correct thing when the time is right, if at all possible. TK U MLJ LV NV

there's no closure really for any of the character; but then life is an ongoing thing; great story; powerful writer.

The first chapter of this story was slightly interesting. The second chapter was a big waste of time. Split the difference, 2 stars.

I'm glad that there was a call to forgiveness. Honestly this needed a bit more exposition, and the first chapter some more to it, because I was slightly confused as fuck. Anyways, hate comes with it's own consequences. If Larry would have been as vindictive as to want his wife to off herself or be in perpetual misery, or for his children to lose a parent, it would make his character less respectable.

Just a bunch of crap excusing her behavior. The whore forgot in sickness and health, forsaking all others till death do us part. This part was a wast of time and not needed.

I agree totally with the previous comment. This was just making excuses for the cheater and what was sickening to read was how the blame was being replaced on to the person who was dying and who was betrayed in the worst way possible ⭐️,

The author should have quit while he was ahead. This second chapter was, in my opinion, neither needed nor wanted. 1*.

when one of the kids looks at this cheating piece of shit, they'll remember their father dying alone. Abandoned by the whore. How the hell do you get the reality of the situation out of your head long enough to even consider forgiving someone who not only abandoned their father, but them as well. No.. Let's bring this into the realm of the real world and say that the bitch died alone, consumed with guilt. Now that's a decent ending to a story detailing the worst betrayal imaginable.

Although i don't agree with forgiving her but i have to say i enjoyed reading it ,thank you.

Didn't need part two. It was fine at the end of part one. We never hear from Catherine. We never hear her reasons or expanation. Ultimately, no one cares about the bitch.

This chapter really didn't add much to the story.

But I decided rather than write the story of her downward spirl I would write the story of a guy who held a meeting that she happened to be at and never have her speak for the entierty of it

and that's because i didn't know her.

this story was dealing with the brother, and the author fleshed him out to be weak and struggling with the 'yo-yo' effect of recovery and the hurt of cancer coming back. his wife was also undergoing bad mood shifts. it was all laid out nicely.

but we know nothing about the wife and husband this story is about. well, what little we do know is that the husband was FAR NICER to be around than terry. we know that his cancer took him by the horns and didn't let go, no 'yo-yo' emotions.

so this wasn't an apples to apples comparison. you'v painted the ex-wife Catherine as a shitty shitty person. she's not weak. she wasn't struggling with drugs, gambling, or some other addiction. she was in a great relationship, even while her partner was dying, and she still left him. so i think she was evil. you didn't give us much else to work with. i can't give her the same empathy that i can give the main character of this story. he was weak, his wife was weak, and they were falling apart. but last chapter, we saw a loving husband get pissed on by his wife. there was no weakness there. she deserved to be burned. and i doubt she felt guilty about it. she couldn't even be there for her husband, that wasn't abusive, while he lay there dying. she may feel guilty after being burned.

why should her children forgive her? they are adults now, and trying to make their own families. do they want someone like her in their lives now? she didn't leave her abusive husband, his drunk driving saved those kids. her husband made it easy for her to stay by his side in his final moments, and she couldn't even do that. why fight for a woman that never would fight for you?

why is it when Dad cheats no one is on his side "EVER", he's hated till death. He has to move and have other kids and a new wife. That's if he's cheated or if he doesn't forgive mom for being a slut. And everyone could know including his parents and kids. But when mom cheats there's some kind of excuse. This whole chapter was just a form of justification. He died with just his friends there, I can understand him blocking the whore from coming. But the kids had no excuse.

I went through my wife dying due to cancer. It was a very difficult 3 years and I was her caregiver, before she passed at the age of 48. That being said, although it was physically and emotionally draining I NEVER CHEATED ON HER! I did the best I could for her. Was I perfect? No, but I did try my best every day, even though some times I did fail. What angers me even now were she told me some pretty big lies during our courtship and marriage, and that has jaded me some for future relationships. Yes we are human and make mistakes, but some mistakes are unforgivable. I have unfortunately know about a couple of cases of elder abuse where a child stole their parents retirement funds, and basically through them out on the street. In both cases other relatives stepped up to help them, but what they did was both criminal and morally wrong. I sincerely hope that Karma does punish these people and makes examples of them (They need a serious does from Dr. A - saddletramp's the cheating zone). Abandoning a loved one when they are dying and having an affair at that time may qualify for the family to abandon them. In this case they may have fixed/helped with the financial situation, but where is the story and justification for the children to forgive their mother emotionally? What remorse (if any) did she have, and what steps did she take? She has to look in a mirror everyday and face what she did, but does she care? Too much you left out and didn't touch.

I hate stories that basically repeat the 1st chapter. I really wanted to hear from the wife-- not uncle jack. I also don't like the backstabbing whore ex wife. A marriage is for better or for worse, sickness and in health. For her to basically abandon him in his time of need is unforgivable. She was a selfish self absorbed slut. Did she think her husband's health declining was easy on him? Did she think he too wasn't scared? Did she think he wasn't going to miss his kids and his wife of 30yrs? This lady made it all about her. I would think if your spouse is dying you'd want to spend every second with them. She not only abandoned him but she started banging some douche. I felt like she was just ready for him to die so she can collect all the money and fuck whoever she wants. I didn't care for part 2. They say the ex wife is sorry and blah blah blah.. how do I know that? Should she be left homeless? No. Should she get everything absolutely fucking not!. You don't reward bad behavior.

The "kids" are all late 20's. They have all the pertinent information about the cheating whore who abandoned their father/stepfather and they can make their own choices. I 'd bet that Larry would have had the same opinion. The crybaby uncle should have trusted his nephews and niece to make choices like adults. The unfaithful bitch abandoned Larry after he'd nursed her faithfully through her illness. The kids should rightly wonder under what set of circumstances she'd drop them.

Sad, sad story.

Like Diecast said, it was a sad story. I read it a little more carefully this time, and I can see the author's point.

I'm bending those who love in their hour of need when death is near is a moral crime beyond forgiveness.

I knew of this unfortunately 1st hand.

Approximately 8 years ago I had been thrown by my horse and mounted up in critical condition in the hospital.

The entries were so severe that I was not expected to live.

My best friend,A critical care anesthesiologist, called my Son to come to my bedside as I would not survive another 2 days in his judgment.

My son refused stating a heavy college class schedule.

He never called.

He never spoke of the issue to me at all.

I survived the injury and when you later confronted him.

Is excuse? He told me this: " I'm sorry dad I was a coward I just couldn't be there and watch you die."

What grieves me most about this is not that he wasn't there but I found out my son as a moral coward. I was always there for him in his life and at near the end of mine he abandoned me.

That crushed me then and to this day I'm still crushed.

So what that woman did to her husband is far worse would happen to me and is beyond moral redemption or forgiveness.

A very strange and different story. I don't think that it is a story that anyone could "love". There is too much disrespect and adultery to like the story or the characters. But it is all a part of being human. Nothing is ever easy or pleasant when it comes to losing a parent or a spouse.

Well. That totally sucked. Gave you a 5 on the first one, a 1 on this. So overall, a 3. Just a word of advice. Quit, while you are ahead....

3 stars. This was hard for me to read. My wife of 28 years, mother of all 9 of my children; took 6 long, painful years to die. By the end, I bathed her, spoonfed her, wiped her her ass, etc. It hurt! I did lift the bottle more than I ever have, to this very day. BUT, I never distanced myself, I never cheated on her. It's been 8 years since she died; I'm crying writing this. The VA had me on suicide watch for over a year. They say I suffered more PTSD from her death on top of PTSD from my service. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS STORY!!! Maybe that's my fault...

We must forgive Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Churchill et al. "They all were human and weak."

Not even talking about the affair. It's the abandonment that's unforgivable. It angers me that these fictional children forgave their mother for that crap.

Sorry, but 1 star. You took your own amazing BTB, and completely and utterly ruined it.

I'm not even talking about the kids. I can MAYBE buy that he wanted the kids to reconcile with their mother for their sake. But to give the betraying bitch back her money so she could be in the house and not lose it, is totally, utterly defeating the whole point of original revenge. She used him all his life and when he needed her she stabbed him in the back and spat on him.

I want revenge, just kidding, lets set up a plan to reverse everything and implicate several friends in felonies that will garner them 15 years in prison

You finished it well... 5 for this part, too.

EastCoaster

This all starts almost a year after Larry's death. So what does the comment about not losing both parents at the same time mean? That bitch had abandoned the family at keast a year previous and they've now had a further year to appreciate not having such a selfish, evil bitch in their and their children's lives. Best to keep it that way.

In those situations it isn't so much that she had an affair. Her husband was a declining invalid. But it wasn't dementia. The emotional abandonment was sick. Showing up two nights a week? Wtf? She only saw the asshole lover like once a week at the hotel regularly. So what about the rest of the time? She abandoned the rest of her family too. What she did was WAY worse than their uncle. Yeah he cheated and sought comfort elsewhere but he didn't cut off his wife until he started drinking near the end. His dying wife knew and understood because though she lashed out at this at times like a shrew because of her own fear and anger at her death sentence and the emotional roller coaster, he didn't abandon her. Their weaknesses were totally different. He found comfort in a terrible storm with his wife wasting away. She did also but abandoned everyone. She was clueless about all the financial shenanigans. And he had stayed with her when she was fighting cancer. So no. Not comparable. Now fine you can lighten the unbelievably thorough BTB of the first chapter, but reconciliation? Nice ideal and for saints. But for the kids, not happening except maybe with time. Carol woukd have a monstrous hill to climb. Good luck.

Good writing, but the plot had holes. MC must not be intending on specific wishes in his will, after which some unnamed executor can unwind after.

I think the author took what was a good story in the first chapter, and ruined it in chapter 2. It’s bad enough that his wife abandoned him after he got sick, but when you consider how he nursed her to health when she went through a similar situation, she deserved no pity. As far as the court reversing the money being taken back and given to the bitch, someone should need to contest it. Otherwise, the court will not care.

Nah, sorry, not buying it.

He supported her when she was ill, nursed her back to health and she just went out and got her bells rung when it would've been her time to stand up for him as well as to be available for the kids. Even dying he was the one responsible for the finances, he organized everything including the wake. She didn't give a damn.

Why should he want the kids to have a relationship with such a cold-hearted wanne-be-wife? There is nothing to be gained for them but heartache and further betrayel.

Under the given circumstances the wish for reconciliation between the kids and the "mother" is just not conclusive.

Good first chapter, wasted 2nd one imho.

This story had to take some serious shifts to make Catherine sympathetic. I think there is an avenue to take to having her have contact with the family but you didn't pursue that..we got Jack's sob story about his weakness.

But in order for both to happen, unpleasant characteristics were introduced for the I'll people to pseudo justify the cheating. Framing it as a retreat or solace from their DYING PARTNERS being MEAN TO THEM.

And the two situations weren't that similar. His wife was tough but had a rapid onset illness. The Main character of chapter 1? Slow death but no mental capacity reduction. Catherine in Ch 1 bears zero resemblance to the remorse and guilt filled Jack - she didn't even try.

So, no, this chapter feels like an attempt to "both sides" things. And feels dissatisfying as a result as it isn't even from the wife's perspective. We don't see her actual inner thoughts, her narrative or her supposed regrets... if she has any. And I doubt she really does beyond the social shame, given her characterisation in chapter 1.

This was a poor story. Self serving MC dialogue. Asking the kids to forgive his ex-wife? He burns her to the ground then asks everyone to give her ansolution

BS!

I don't buy the "emotionally can't cope" cop out. Tragic situations call for each of us to set our fears and personal issues aside for a greater good. It's hard, painful, but what one is morally bound to do. Courage is not about heroes. It's about everyday people who, while scared to death, saddle up and go anyway. Anything less is cowardice. Period.

Running away in combat can get you shot out of hand. Emotional fear and pain demand you set that aside so that another can be given an end where they are loved and not alone. That SHE did that dames her for eternity.

Should have quit while you were ahead.

RaaC s u x!!!