The Letter Pt. 02

Chapter 2

Anna lived alone. Her husband had walked out on her years ago, and she had never divorced him. She never wanted him to be free of her. She was a beautiful woman and had her choice of male suitors.

Anna has chosen two men as her lovers, and she shares her time with them equally. Both of them are highly successful men who vie for her full-time affections. Liam, a young bachelor who made money in investment banking, and Watson, a distinguished older gentleman. He is a highly successful banker and the CEO of a large regional bank, a widower with three beautiful daughters. They are all married and good friends with Marcy.

As we went inside, I saw Maryland, Marcy's sister, was waiting for us. I wondered what they had to do with this debacle I was dealing with.

"Anna, what is going on? Maryland, why are you here?" I asked.

They looked at each other, and Anna said, "We know what happened, and we want to talk with you about it before you make a rash decision about the future of your marriage and your future life."

"I don't think it is any of your business," I said.

"Sit down, Eric, and listen!" Anna said, "What we say may not change anything, but we want to make our plea anyway."

"OK, I have lost everything already, so what do I have to lose listening to you?" I asked.

Maryland brought me a beer and the two of them coffee. She was the first to speak.

"Eric, twenty-three years ago, I was eighteen years old and just learning about sex. What I knew about it made me want to learn more. During this time, Marcy was dating you and a few other guys. One of those was Larry. I had a mad crush on Larry and asked Marcy to ask him to teach me about how to have sex. She had moved past him, and you two were exclusive at the time. Marcy asked Larry, and he agreed, but on one condition. Marcy had to continue to sleep with him.

Marcy didn't like that arrangement, but we both thought it would be over in a short time, and since you weren't married yet, it would be okay. Marcy wanted to tell you about it, but Mom told her not to, or you would probably leave her. We decided to keep it a secret.

Over the next year, Larry and I were lovers, and he was also Marcy's lover. Larry was an incredible lover and an excellent sex teacher. He taught me everything. Marcy and I loved fucking Larry and shared notes on his performance.

Meanwhile, you two were dating, and a year later, you married. Marcy had been fucking Larry a couple of times a month all the time, but she broke off with Larry when you were engaged and focused on you only. Marcy loved you only, never Larry.

Larry and I became a lot more involved. We were having sex three or four times a week. Mom caught us a few times, and Larry tried to seduce Mom, too, but that never happened.

Once I was off to college, I missed Larry. He was such an incredible lover; none of the college guys could fuck like him. I spoke with Marcy about him, and she advised me to leave him and find a guy at college. I tried, but I could not get him out of my mind.

Summer came, and I started to fuck Larry again. He had broken up with the girl he was dating and stopped at the house. I was horny all the time then, so that night when Mom went on a date, Larry fucked me so good. I could not resist him, so we started fucking again. He was incredible, and I just loved fucking him.

Marcy heard from Mom that I was back with Larry, and she was upset. She had me ask him to dinner and then came over to talk to him, asking him to leave me alone. I knew she was right, but there was just something about him that I could not resist.

When Marcy asked Larry to leave me alone, he just smiled but said it was up to me, knowing I loved fucking him. She almost begged him, but he said the only way was for Marcy to date him one last time. Marcy told him no, and Larry said he and I would still be fucking then. That made me happy, but it pissed off Mom and Marcy."

I stopped Maryland. "I am still confused about how this matters." I got up and got another beer.

Anna piped in, "Listen, Eric, none of this might make sense, but it all contributes to what has happened."

Maryland began again...

"Marcy finally agreed to go out with him again if it meant he would leave me alone. That was the last time I went out with Larry.

You were out of town a week later; Marcy went out with Larry. Unfortunately, that night marked the beginning of what has happened over the past twenty years. So, this is all my fault." Maryland began to cry.

I stood and began to pace. I was pissed off now. "You both knew we were married, and Marcy cheated on me with this man, with your approval. How could you endorse that?" I barked, stopping and looking down at them. I was so mad I was shaking.

"HOW COULD YOU?" I yelled, slumping into a chair and crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had to get away and think. I walked out the patio door to the backyard. I paced around the pool, doing many laps, maybe twenty-five or more; I didn't count. What I could not understand was how Anna and Maryland allowed Marcy to continue this charade while my wife was cheating on me and our family for our whole marriage for over twenty years.

An even more critical question was, what was the reasoning? Did he have some lousy evidence on one or all of them? Maybe he had some magical powers, or an evil spell had been cast on them. That made as good a sense as anything because nothing made any logical sense.

As I calmed down, I sat on a lounger and thought about my life with Marcy. It was wonderful. Never in all our years together had I had any thoughts that Marcy could, would, or was cheating on me. She was always a loving wife, mother, and the perfect companion.

The Marcy I knew as my wife and mother of our children was not the same woman who had conducted a twenty-plus-year affair. That was a completely different woman.

I wondered if an emotional or mental condition contributed to her ability to be both women, with each woman living separately in the moments she played her two roles. That was the only real explanation that made sense to me, and it may be the only one I can live with.

Now, I had cooled down to my usual pragmatic self and had questions to ask, so I returned inside.

Mother and daughter sat beside each other on the sofa, not knowing what to expect when I entered the room. I put them at ease by saying, "I am okay now, but I have questions."

"I cannot understand how Marcy could be two separate women. One my loving wife and mother and one our children and the other a slut that carried on this cheating charade for our whole lives together. I do not see how that was possible without her having your help?" I stared at them, knowing they had enabled Marcy all these years.

I looked at both, trying to detect any reaction, but they only looked at one another, and then Anna spoke.

"In the first year, Marcy never saw Larry. She was your wife, and he never even came up in conversation. There was no contact. Then she saw him at a conference, and it all started again. There was something between them that was like magnetism. I knew something was different after that, but I didn't know what. Larry's name still never came up, but I sensed something was wrong. Then, one time, a few months later, when you were out of town, Marcy canceled a card game we had once a month. Marcy had never done that before and had never missed a game. I called her later that night, but she didn't answer her phone or respond to a text I sent. That bothered me. It was unlike Marcy, so I knew something was happening, but didn't know what. I feared that she was seeing someone.

That night, I decided to go to your house early in the morning. So, I was at your house, sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee, when Marcy came home at 6:00 a. m. I had parked down the street, so she did not see my car. She was shocked when she came in and saw me sitting there with a furious look on my face.

It staggered her, and she shrieked, 'Mom, what are you doing here?' She looked disheveled, and I knew she had been out fucking all night. There was no doubt about it.

I was very direct. "No, Marcy, you don't get to ask questions. I do! Where the hell have you been, Marcy? Who did you fuck all night long? I know it was not your husband. Eric is out of town, so who was it?" I was almost screaming at her.

Marcy was stunned, collapsed onto a chair, and began to sob. I let her cry for a while, then stopped her. 'Marcy, stop crying and tell me everything,' I demanded.

Marcy confessed all about Larry and how they had reconnected at the conference, and the flame was ignited again. She couldn't explain why she continued to see him sporadically. Marcy knew it was wrong, but they could not stop for some reason. At that point, they had only met twice since the conference. It was when you were away, spread over three months apart.

I begged Marcy to stop, and she assured me she wanted to and would do her best to stop. I never asked her about it again. I thought she had stopped. From everything I could see, you all seemed very happy. Then the babies came, so I was sure it was over with Larry. Now, we know that was not the case. I was just as shocked as you when Marcy told me what had happened and what she had been doing for over twenty years.

Eric, there has never been anyone else. Marcy has only been with Larry and you. That is not very comforting, but you need to know that."

Anna finished, and I looked at Maryland. Anna looked at her, too.

"Maryland, do you have anything to add?" I asked.

"Yes, unfortunately, I do, or maybe it is good what I will say," Maryland said as she stood and walked across the room to the bookshelf. She took down a book and removed something from it.

Eric, about two years ago in May, you were on an extended business trip to the UK for two weeks. Midway through the first week, Marcy called me and asked me to come for dinner. It had been a while since we did that, so she had sent the kids off to sleep over with friends so we could have time together. I thought it was special. Then, after dinner, that all changed when Marcy unloaded on me, telling me that she had been cheating with Larry for the past eighteen-plus years. No word in the dictionary can summarize my feelings at that exact moment.

Eric, my emotions went completely out of control. Anger, jealousy, fear, more anger, hatred, disgust, and a great deal of sadness for you and the kids. I showed no reaction. I remember holding a cup of coffee as tightly as I could. My hands squeezed the cup so hard, imagining they were around Marcy's neck. It took everything in me to stop me from jumping up and strangling her at that moment. That day, my love for my sister slipped away and still has not fully returned."

Maryland sat silent as tears began running down her cheeks. Anna leaned over and held her. Jesus, what a fucking mess Marcy and Larry had created.

I waited, then asked, "Maryland, you didn't tell your Mom?"

"No, Marcy told me she was done with Larry after their last time together and would never see him again. I wasn't sure that would be true, but I took her word. Your marriage was strong, and you had survived all those years without Marcy being caught. It was wrong, but there was no way I could ever tell anyone what had happened, knowing that what was happening at this minute would happen. I just put it in a compartment in my brain and vowed never to bring it out again. But today came, and I have told you everything I know," she said.

I saw the envelope in Maryland's hand. "What is that envelope?" I asked.

Maryland looked at me and Anna. She looked down at the envelope. She opened it and took out the pages. "Like I said before, this is all my fault, and this is proof. This letter was written by Marcy the day she told me about Larry. I was supposed to mail it, but I never did. At first, it got mixed in with some papers, and I thought I lost it. A few months passed, and I found it, but never mailed it. If I had, the affair would have ended then." Maryland handed me the letter. It was several pages handwritten. I read it twice.

I won't bore you with the details, but it was the last letter Marcy planned to write. The keywords were:

"Larry,

Our time over these many years has been special, but it has strained my marriage daily. I feel guilty and know that what we have done is wrong, and I am a terrible woman for cheating on my husband. This is my final letter, marking the end of our time together. I love only Eric and have never loved you. I love fucking you, but that is not true love. So please do not contact me again; I will do the same. It has been fun.

Your friend

Marcy."

Anna sat back and looked at Maryland. "How could you? You should have mailed the letter, and this would have all ended. What were you thinking? Or you weren't thinking at all? Why didn't you mail it? Does Marcy know you didn't mail it?" Anna was livid, barking out her questions at Maryland!

Maryland cowered away, not having an answer to any of Anna's questions. She finally ran from the room, screaming, "No, she doesn't. I am so sorry!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anna asked me, "Eric, what will you do?" As if there was an easy answer. Honestly, I had no idea.

The letter shed a slightly different light on the matter, but it had taken Marcy almost eighteen years to come to her senses and try to end the affair. What happened with the letter was out of her control, but she saw Larry again after the letter was supposed to be sent. They still met again and were fucking for a while. She had even written more letters in the past several months. What did they say? God, what a fucking mess.

I heard a cell phone ringing. I looked at Maryland. She looked at the phone and turned it face down, ignoring the call. Maryland looked at me. "Marcy!"

Then Anna's phone rang several times. She did not answer. She looked at the phone, then at Maryland and me. "Marcy!"

I stood and walked to the sliding door, looking outside for several minutes. I turned and said, "I don't know, but I need to be away from Marcy and talk to a professional about how to deal with this. Currently, I am completely lost as to how to proceed. I know that every man I know would tell me to divorce her, most women, too. But I love Marcy. She has been everything to me every day of our life together. I have thought back over the years and can never remember one time when she ever denied me anything or displayed anything but pure love for me and our kids. I am at a complete loss as to how she was able to do this for all these years without ever giving me the slightest hint of what she was doing. The two of you knew way more than me. If anything, I should be angry with both of you for not telling me. I understand why you didn't, but you should have told me so I could have stopped it years ago." I stated.

Anna spoke, "I am sorry. If I had known they were still seeing each other after we first talked about it, I would have stopped them myself; I am so sorry."

"Well, there is only one person to blame, Marcy. If she had not cheated, none of this would have ever happened, and no one would have been harmed. Now, a lot of people are harmed, and all are innocent people." I said in a disgusted tone.

A sat silently for a few minutes, then spoke. "Anna, thank you and Maryland for telling me everything you know. It has been helpful. It does not make what I must do any easier, but I understand better now. As I mentioned, I need to consult a professional to help me sort through all this. Then, I will discuss it with Marcy and see what happens.

I have to go now. Tell Marcy I don't hate her, and hopefully, this will all work out."

I hugged Anna, and she kissed me on the cheek. "You are a sweet boy, and I am sorry this has happened."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I left Anna's house for a quiet place to think. I went to the library, which is always a peaceful place. There, I could sit and think and also use the internet. I logged on to Google and searched for counselors and lawyers. I found several of each and wrote them down. I had to decide what to do. I could go home and give Marcy the silent treatment, or I could go to a hotel. I chose the hotel, leaving Marcy to sweat and wonder where I was and what I would do now that I knew about her cheating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went to the Holiday Inn Express and booked a room for three days. I sat in my room and began trying to figure out what I was going to do. I contacted the counselors first to see how fast I could get an appointment. I could see Dr. Athena Grace in the late afternoon the next day, so I made the appointment. I reviewed the websites of the three lawyers and found one that I like, Edwin Ramos, Esq. He had a small practice focused on divorce, and his reviews indicated that he prioritized the interests of the injured party and was quite successful. I called and made an appointment for the following day.

I took out a pad and began a list of questions for Dr. Grace and Edwin. Then, I wrote a list of the pros and cons of my marriage to Marcy. It turned out to be completely one-sided, with all positives and only two negatives. They were, one... she cheated on me for over twenty years, and two... I didn't understand how she could love me all that time, so she must not have.

As I sat drinking a soda, my phone buzzed. I looked at it and saw a text from Sharon. I opened it. It was a voice message.

Sharon's voice text: "Eric, I hope you are doing OK. Marcy is not doing well. She is distraught, and I am afraid for her well-being. I have been with her the whole time, and she is nearly despondent. What are you going to do? Marcy needs to talk with you as soon as you can bear to be around her. I know this situation is horrible, but she is desperate to talk with you. Please, please talk with her, if only to say you do not hate her or something that will tide her over until you figure out what you will do."

The message disturbed me. I was no longer raging mad. I didn't understand Marcy and how she had done what she did, but I do not hate her. Quite the contrary, I love Marcy as much as I did before all this came to light. I was still bewildered and unsure of what to do. I thought for a few minutes and decided to call Sharon.

The phone rang several times, then, "Oh, thank God, Eric, you called. Marcy is completely devastated. I am very concerned about her. She is in a terrible place, and I am worried. I called her mother, and she is coming over soon. Will you please talk to her for even a minute? At least give her some hope, even if there isn't any. Marcy needs that right now."

When Sharon stopped talking, I said, "Hi Sharon, I am worried about Marcy as well. I do not know what I will do yet, but I understand she needs to hear my voice. But I cannot offer her much reassurance. Put her on the phone, but stay with her. This will be short and may not help much," I said.

I was nervous about the next few minutes. I heard rustling... then... "Hello, Eric, is it you?" came across in a soft, anxious voice.

I paused and said nothing.

"Eric," Marcy asked, even softer.

"Yes, it's me," I said.

"Oh God, Eric, I am so sorry, I am... I love you so much. Please come home and let me try to explain. It may mean nothing, but I must explain it as best as I can. Please come home. I love you!" Marcy's words spilled out over the phone in desperation, almost panic!

I paused again, then said, "Marcy, I need a little more time, probably another day or two. I still love you, but I need to be alone right now. I hope you understand. I will be home in three days, and then we can talk. Can you hold it together until then? Anna will be there soon, and she will help you. I have to go. I love you."

I hung up before Marcy could answer. My heart was pounding. Hearing Marcy's voice was very confusing. I felt sorrow and concern, but no hate or even anger. The love of my life was in severe pain. It was all her own doing, so I felt no responsibility for any of this. I realized we were both victims of this debacle, and if we were to survive, Marcy had to find a way to forgive herself, and I had to forgive her as well.

Then there was Larry's death. What did that mean in all of this? What was Marcy feeling about that? What was he to her? A lover or a love are two different things. I needed to read at least some letters to understand their relationship. I had to go to Houston and meet Samantha Stewart.

I called Sharon. "Hi, do you have the letter? I need Larry's wife's phone number."

"Oh God, you are going to call her?" Sharon gasped.

"Yes, I need to talk with her. Give me her number, but do not tell Marcy," I said.

I wrote down the number and looked at her name and the number. It was flaring at me off the page. What would I say to her? We were both victims. Samantha had reached out to me, so I owed her a response.

I punched the number into my phone. I looked at it, took a deep breath, and pressed the screen. The phone rang. Five or six rings, then, "Hello?"

"Oh, hi, is this Samantha?" I asked.

"Yes, who are you?" She asked.

"This is Eric Williams," I said.

There was a moment of silence, then... "Oh, hello, sorry, I am a little surprised."

"I understand, and I am sorry we must meet under these circumstances. I need to thank you for the letter. I was quite shocked as you were. I had no idea, as you stated, but you didn't either." I stopped and took a breath.

There was a long pause, and I heard Samantha crying softly.

"Samantha, I am sorry to have upset you again after all you have been through. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband and the shock this all has been on top of that." I stopped again. I had said enough.

"Eric, I am sorry. I wasn't expecting to hear from you, or maybe I was, but your call took me by surprise. I should have expected you to call after I sent the letter, " she said.

"Yes, I understand, and I don't want to make this any worse. Thank you for telling me about Marcy and Larry. It has been devastating for me as well. I'm struggling with what to do, and I need your help. I need to see the other letters, but not the pictures. Are you willing to send them to me overnight today? If you want them back, I will return them as soon as I have made copies." I stated.

There was silence.

"Yes, I will do that for you. I know this is harder on you because you have to make a decision I did not have to make. So, if the letters will help, yes, I can send them today." Samantha said.

"Samantha, thank you. I am unsure what to do, but I must read the letters. That may help me decide. This is a wild situation that, in a thousand years, I never expected to have to deal with. I can say that over our entire marriage, Marcy has never given me any reason to think she was being unfaithful to me, not one. She has been a model wife and mother. That is the shocking aspect of this entire matter. How could she do this for twenty-plus years and never falter?" I asked.

"I know, it was the same here. Nothing could have ever convinced me that Larry was having an affair. He was also a model husband and father. It is all so weird, almost surreal," Samantha said.

"Yes, it is all very bizarre," I said.

"I have a FedEx number I can text you that you can use," I told her.

"Oh, that would be good, thanks. I will send them today." Samantha said.

We said goodbye, and I hung up.

My text: "Thanks for doing this. Here is my FedEx number. I will talk with you in a few days."

I sat back, wondering what the letters would disclose tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At home...

I was starting to panic! Eric had left and was gone overnight, and I had no idea where he was. He would not answer my calls or texts. That concerned me greatly.

I had no idea how to explain or even talk about my affair with Larry. There was no logical explanation. Even if there were, no man would ever accept an answer saying that I did not love the man. Yet, I fucked him four or five times a year for several days each time, for over twenty years. That did not make sense, and no other explanation made sense either.

As I reflected on the past twenty years, I realized I didn't understand how I had allowed this to continue. I attempted to end things with a letter mailed to Larry two years ago. However, Larry never acknowledged the letter, so I let things continue as they were. My resolve to end our affair was not very strong.

I also thought about how the whole thing got started. How I stuck up for my little sister, being afraid of Larry and how he might ruin Maryland's life. Well, look at me now. Larry and I have destroyed my life, and oh my God, he is dead. His poor wife and children, losing her husband and their dad, and finding the letters about our affair. I feel terrible about that, but now I have a huge problem and no idea how to solve it.

Larry was a demanding man. Yes, I guess he was a bully with all of us, including Mom. Mom and Maryland knew what was happening and why it had started, and allowed me to continue even after I begged Maryland for help. Then I gave her the letter asking her to mail it to Larry, ending the affair and any other threats.

Oh yes, 'The Letter'? What happened to it? Larry never responded to it, which was highly unusual. I can't remember one letter that Larry didn't respond to, except for that one and the few I wrote over the past several months that he couldn't respond to; he was dead by then.

So, what happened to the letter I gave to Maryland to mail? I picked up my phone and called Maryland. The phone rang and rang, but Maryland didn't answer.

I called Mom's cell. It rang several times, but she did not answer either.

That was odd. Were they avoiding me?

I had to talk with someone. They were the only ones who might understand, so it had to be them.

I went to clean up and dress. I left for Mom's house, leaving a note: "Eric, I am at my Mom's house. Please come or call me. Please," I pleaded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat in McCloud's Irish Pub. My pint was almost empty. I ordered a second one and started watching a soccer game on TV. United was winning, but I didn't care. It was just a distraction, helping me kill off a few hours.

The barman came over with my dinner, bangers with mash and peas. It's not my favorite, but it would fill me up and keep me from getting drunk. I couldn't do that, or I might do something stupid, and I couldn't do that either. Things were fucked up bad enough.

I finished my dinner and had another pint. As I sat there, I made my decision. Regardless of what the letters said, I was not divorcing Marcy. She will have a lot of work to do to earn back my trust, and there will be some consequences.

I took a bar napkin and started to write. After thirty minutes and a fourth pint, it was time to leave. I gathered the pile of napkins, stuffed them in my pocket, and paid my bill.

I went to the hotel and collapsed on the bed. I lay there and cried, thinking about what a sham my marriage seemed to be. I could not understand how my wife could have been such a cheating slut. Fucking another man four or five times a year for twenty years. How could that happen? I never suspected anything was going on. That was a question I had to try to answer in some way.

I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and needed to sleep. I took a shower and was turning off my phone when I saw I had two text messages: one from Marcy and one from Anna. I didn't read either and turned off my phone. I lay down, and surprisingly, the room went dark quickly. Either I died at that moment or went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nearly 8:30 p. m. when I pulled into my mother's driveway. The lights were on, and I saw the TV on in the living room. I had a key, so I went to the back door and let myself in.

"Hello, who's there?" came the call from Maryland.

I walked through the kitchen and down the hall to the living room. I turned the corner, and they both gasped, "Damn, you Marcy, you scared the life out of me," my Mom said.

I stood there looking at the two of them, almost huddling together. I guess I scared them.

"Well, if either of you had answered my phone or text messages, you would have known I was coming here. But you ignored me and didn't listen. Thank you so much for your support!" I said with a great deal of sarcasm in my voice.

They looked at each other, then at me. They had sheepish looks on their faces.

I went back down the hall to the kitchen and got a beer. I walked back and sat down across from the two of them. I didn't mince my words. "Maryland, do you remember the night when I cried and I told you about Larry and my marriage-long affair? I pleaded for your help, desperate to stop the affair. You asked how you could help, and I gave you a letter to mail to Larry telling him it was over and not to contact me anymore. Surely you remember that night and the letter you mailed for me?" I said with sarcasm.

I looked at the two of them as they looked at each other. I knew it and saw it on their faces; they both knew it. Neither of them was looking at me. I went for it, screaming at them, "God Damnit, Maryland, you did mail the letter, did you?"

I sat back and watched Maryland squirm. I knew now for sure she had never mailed my affair-ending letter. I was growing angry now. None of this would be happening now if she had just sent the damn letter.

I stood up and walked two feet, stopping in front of her. I looked down at her; I was so mad I was shaking. Maryland did not look at me. I looked at my Mom, and she, too, was looking away. I took a deep breath as my anger grew, and then I let go, screaming at them both. "God Damn you, Maryland, I helped save you from Larry, and look where that has gotten me. You couldn't even help me and send the fucking letter for me, and now I am having to fight for my marriage! God Damn you! And you... Mom. You knew Maryland never mailed my letter and never told me. Well, God Damn you too, Mom!"

I turned away from both of them; I started to cry and slumped into a chair, dropping my head into my hands. I knew that my married life was over, and I had lost my husband and family. What should I do now? My body was shaking, and I sobbed uncontrollably. Then I heard my Mom moving and felt her arms wrap around me. "Shhh, now, baby, it will be okay," she whispered.

I pushed Mom away. "No, Mom, it's not going to be OK. I fucked up so badly, and you guys didn't stop me when I couldn't stop myself. Eric will never keep me now. He will divorce me, and then what? I will have no life left!" I looked at Mom and then at Maryland, who was crying, sitting on the sofa. "Fuck, I can't stay here. Neither of you is any help at all!" I said as I stood and ran toward the front door.

I drove aimlessly away, not knowing where to go or what to do. My life is over. "God," I scream, "Help me, please!" I quickly pulled into the parking lot, stopped, laid my head against my arms on the steering wheel, and sobbed.

Finally, I drove home, not knowing if Eric would ever return. Maybe he would like to have the pleasure of seeing my life destroyed when I was served the divorce papers.

I pulled into the garage and saw that Eric was not home. My greatest fears were coming true. I sat in my car, almost afraid to go inside. Where else could I go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awoke at almost 6:30 a. m. As I lay there, I knew I needed to get moving so I could be home to meet the FedEx driver before he handed the package to Marcy. Believe it or not, I wanted to see Marcy this morning. I know that may sound strange, considering what Marcy has done. But after my brain had run over this situation ten thousand or more times, I was no longer angry about what Marcy had done. I am sure that sounds irrational, but it is really not.

Follow me now. In all the years Marcy and I have been together, even when she was having an affair with Larry, there has never been a minute when I doubted the sincerity of her love for me and our family. She had never denied me anything, never missed a birthday, Christmas, or any significant event in our children's lives. She never feigned illness, pain, or anything, and never denied me sex, not once. You can say that it does not excuse her for what she did, and it doesn't, but it does show that her love for me and the family cannot be questioned. Logic suggests that if there had been a loving relationship with Larry, it would have been impossible for it to have continued for twenty years without tearing our family apart. So, I believe there was no love between them, and it was purely sex.

Although I do not know this exactly, Marcy's reunions with Larry were always orchestrated to occur when we were apart for some natural reason, whether due to business travel or a weekend away when I was golfing or fishing. In any case, she was never absent, making me wonder where she was.

The result of this whole mess had come down to my loss of trust in my wife and my male ego being destroyed. I am having to deal with Marcy wanting to have sex with another man badly enough to conceal it from me for over twenty years. The question is, would I ever be able to look into her eyes when we were fucking and not wonder if she was thinking of Larry and not me? I am not sure how I could live with that. On the other hand, I have lived with it for twenty years, but didn't know about it. Now that I know about it, it's in my head, not Marcy's. I would be the one creating the doubt.

I wanted revenge when I first read the letter, but as I thought about this whole mess, I realized it would serve no purpose. It would only allow me to puff out my chest and beat on it like Tarzan, as King of my domain. Demanding an answer, Marcy could not provide, 'How could you violate my kingdom?' Ultimately, it would cause more damage than the betrayal had done.

We both needed counseling, both individually and as a couple, to understand how to cope with Marcy's betrayal and move forward together. Marcy has to know how devastating this has been for me, and I will need to make it clear to her that if anything ever happens like this again, I will leave her in the dust! Many of you will say I should do that now, but no, I cannot. To me, that would be more devastating than what Marcy has done.

I rolled out of bed, picked up my phone, and looked at the tracking data on Samantha's package. It was out for delivery and was guaranteed to arrive before 10:00 a. m. I needed to get moving. I knew Marcy would be too shaken up to go to work today.

I showered, made coffee, and dressed. I decided not to tell Marcy I was coming home. I would show up without warning. I packed up and left the hotel by 7:30 a. m.

I felt pretty good about having a clear direction now. I needed to let Marcy settle her issues with what she had done. I was going to read every letter she had written to Larry, and unless my mind and feelings changed, it would just be sour entertainment for me and pure torture for Marcy. She would know that I would read all the intimate thoughts Marcy had shared with Larry and most of what he had written to her. I am sure this would be as devastating to her as it was for me to read the first letter. Then, there were the pictures that might also come in the package. I'm not sure if I can look at them. I may use them as a bit of torture for Marcy, not letting her see them, or maybe I will make her look at them with me. That would be sinister, wouldn't it? Marcy certainly does not want me to see them in bed, sucking and fucking or doing whatever they did together.

I turned down our street and into the driveway, opening the garage. Marcy was home, as I expected. As I stepped out and shut the truck door, the kitchen door opened, and Marcy appeared. My God, she looked horrible. Her face was a mess, and her hair was in need of brushing. It had been a very rough night for her, I imagine.

Marcy said nothing as I walked to her. She was crying silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. At the top of the stairs, I put down my bag and took her in my arms. I looked into her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Stop crying, baby, things are going to be OK!" I picked up my bag, and we walked through the mud room into the kitchen. "I am hungry, are you?"

"Yes, I will make you anything you want," Marcy said with excitement and a smile.

"Waffles and bacon would be good. Make that for us," I said. I kissed Marcy again and left the room with my bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I made the waffle mix, the doorbell rang. My heart skipped a couple of beats. Who could that be? What if it were a lawyer with the dreaded papers? No, it couldn't be.

"I'll get it," Eric yelled. I heard him open the door, but heard no words. The door closed, and Eric entered the kitchen with a small FedEx box and sat on a stool by the island. He pulled the rip cord, opening the box. He pulled out two brown envelopes. I gasped, "Oh no!"

Eric looked at me. "No, it's not what you think, but it might be even worse!" He pushed the envelopes to the side and said, "We will discuss what is in the envelopes later

"Finish the waffles and bacon, and then we will eat." He put out the plates and silverware and poured a glass of milk for himself and OJ for me.

The first waffles finished cooking, and we sat down to eat while the second ones cooked. There was not much conversation. We both wanted to know what was in the envelopes. I had a sinking feeling that I knew, and I wasn't happy. It had to be the letters and maybe the pictures. If that were the case, I would surely die after Eric saw the pictures and read the letters.

We finished the waffles and bacon, cleaned up the plates and the table. Eric made us coffee, and he sat down at the table with the two envelopes. "Marci, sit down, please." He said.

I sat down, as nervous as a cat. I watched Eric open the thicker envelope and dump its contents on the table. Out spilled many smaller envelopes and three thumb drives; I gasped, "Oh No!!"

Eric looked at me. His look had changed. Then he asked, "What's the matter, Marci? Don't you want to walk down memory lane with me? I am sure you would like to see you and Larry back a few years when you were younger and you fucked like animals. You must have had a wonderful time fucking him."

Oh My God!!! Eric instantly became a cynical man, nasty and sarcastic. He was ready to lower the boom on me. I was so fucked.

Eric lined up the envelopes. It looked like there was one for every year. Larry had taken pictures of us together, both in and out of bed. He told me he had destroyed them, but he had not, and now they were ready to ruin my life if I had not already done that.

What scared me most were the three thumb drives. I recall times over the past several years when Larry would record our afternoons in bed. The last was last year, a wild day, and it would be very incriminating. It was the first time I gave Larry my ass. This was very bad. I had always told Eric that my ass was his and his alone, but now he would see that I had lied and would know he was not the only man to take my ass. Larry had it too.

Without a word, Eric went to his office and brought back his laptop. Oh no... he was going to make us watch the videos with him. I can't do that. I just can't!

"Eric, what are you going to do?" I begged with fear in my voice.

Eric said nothing. He opened the laptop and pushed the thumb drive into the port. He looked at me, "So, Marci, you have two options. One... You can watch these videos with me. We will look at the pictures and read all the letters you wrote to each other. Two... You can leave the table now, begin packing your things, and move out pending our divorce."

If you choose option two, I will be sad and disappointed to lose you. I still love you, even after you have cheated on me for over twenty years. You betrayed me, sucking and fucking another man thousands of times over our entire marriage, and probably have serviced him more than you serviced me, your loving husband.

"What is your decision?" I asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh God, I was shocked. There it was: divorce or undergoing massive humiliation and subjecting my loving husband to twenty years of my cheating words, pictures, and videos one-on-one. I would have to relive everything I had written to Larry and hear every word Larry had written to me as it was read aloud by my husband. Then even worse, I would have to sit beside my husband and watch Larry and me fucking and performing every kind of sex act. We did everything we wanted to experience, including things I had never done with Eric. All of this as I sat beside Eric as he saw, heard, and read it all.

Knowing that on one or more of the videos and written in some of the letters, I had indeed said the words 'I love you'! On video, it was in the heat of the moment, and I did not mean it. The way it sounded when being read from written words was more complicated to explain. Eric would know I had to have loved Larry at some level for the affair to have lasted as long as it did. Telling another man that you loved them was the ultimate betrayal by me to my husband. How could Eric ever tolerate what I had done and said?

I thought about what I should do. Tears began running down my cheeks. This was the most critical decision I had ever made in my life. It would decide my whole future, as well as that of my family and Eric. He had put this on me as he should. I was the one who had decided to cheat for twenty years. I never worried about the ramifications because I never expected to be discovered, so there would be none. I was so foolish and completely selfish; so was Larry. What do I do now?

Eric sat calmly, not moving, sipping his coffee, and waiting for my answer. I was in a place I never thought I would be. I was about to commit marital suicide, or maybe I did that many years ago. My heart was broken by what I had done to my husband, the love of my life, though he probably doesn't think that is true now. Then there are my children. I cannot leave them or try to take them from Eric. I knew I did not deserve them and should let them go, leave them to have a happy life without me, but could that happen? They all needed me, and I needed them even more now.

I swallowed hard and looked at Eric. I wasn't sure how to begin. I opened my mouth, and words tumbled out.

"Eric, I do not know what to say. I do not want a divorce, but I do not want to relive my twenty-year-long affair either. I feel sure that once you view the videos and pictures and then we read the letters, you will want to divorce me anyway, so I am going to be kicked out either way. I will not put you through the agony you will experience when you see and hear the affair. I guess the best way I can be fair to you and the family is for me to leave now, taking the pictures, videos, and letters with me, so you will never be able to see my cheating in action.

Eric, this is not what I want, but you have given me no choice. I will be going now to pack my things. Can you please call a hotel and make me a reservation?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked at Marcy, seeing pain on her face. It shocked me that she would not try to save our marriage. Her face contorted, and Marcy began to cry softly. She was totally defeated. I thought about Marcy's decision and realized she was not giving up. She felt she had no chance of surviving, and she did not want to humiliate me any further by reliving her affair. The two choices I had given her put Marcy in an unwinnable position.

My heart sank. I did not want to divorce Marcy, but I could not just let her go, relieving her of the responsibility for her actions over the past 20 years. Marcy had told me I needed not to worry about her cheating again. Her lover was dead, and she was now free from the hold Larry held over her. After I learned the whole story from Anne and Maryland of the tangled web that the entire family had been involved in with Larry, I felt sure Marci would never cheat on me again.

But what retribution could be bestowed on Marci that was strong enough to punish her for cheating on me over our whole marriage? I had no idea! Divorce was the only thing that seemed right. Yet, as I thought about it, what purpose would that serve? It would destroy our once-happy family, which had a chance to be happy again once we got through this mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I know many of you reading this are screaming at me, 'Burn the Bitch! She cheated on you for over twenty years! She will do it again! She doesn't love you! She is just saying that now to try to save your marriage.

It's easy for you all to sit out there reading my story. Your emotions are not all tangled up inside, and you don't have my kids to think of. I love that woman and have loved her every minute for the twenty years she cheated on me. As I have said before, there was never a time when she did or didn't do something that gave me any pause to think that she was cheating on me.

So yes, I am hurt and angry at her for being weak and stupid. And you all may be right, and I should dump her, take my kids, and build another life. But I do not want to do that. I want my family back with no cheating happening. Fucking Larry is dead!! So, the subject of her cheating is no longer a threat. He is a small pile of ashes in a cardboard box or an urn somewhere, never to be seen or heard from again: so good riddance, Larry, you fucking dead asshole.

People, I appreciate your concerns, but it's my life, and I'm happy to take her back and watch her closely. She never lied to me about anything, though omission was a deceit. I will suffer through my humiliation over Marci's cheating and letting another man, not me put his cock into her body thousands of times. I will never let her forget what she has done, and she will owe me dearly for the rest of her life. That is how it will be. So, people, this is how it all ends...!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marci stood and moved toward the door. She was softly crying as she stepped into the hallway. I called out, "Marci, come back and sit down."

Marci turned and looked at me. "Why, Eric, you don't want me anymore? I am a cheater and not worthy to be your wife and the mother of your children. I should go pack and leave." She turned and continued down the hall. I let her go.

I sat thinking. I had no plans. I only wanted our beautiful life back. A sudden thought entered my head. I looked through the envelopes and found the last three letters Marci had mailed Larry, which he had never read.

I opened the one written almost four months ago.

Dear Larry,

It has been several months since we last communicated or saw each other. I hope you are doing well.

As this time passed, I thought for many hours about what we had done together over the past twenty years. Wow, has it been that long?

Our relationship is very different. We do not love each other, but we have a definite connection. Our times together are akin to a men's golf outing several times a year, but we do not play golf. We fuck each other for two days, making holes in one many times. That's a strange analogy, but that's how I see it.

We have never really been lovers. At least, I have never seen us that way. We have always been fuck buddies satisfying a wanton need we each have. It all started with you and your demands on my family. I tried to end it years ago, but had to save my sister from you again, and twenty years later, here we are. I tried to stop this a few years ago, but you never responded to the letter that ended our relationship; you ignored me. I wanted to end this. The strain on me was too much, and I knew what we were doing was wrong and could destroy my life. You clearly didn't see it that way and ignored my desire to stop.

You contacted me a few months later, as if nothing had happened, and, like a fool, I met with you again. It continued until today. Well, as of today, Larry, it is over now. I will not meet with or contact you again, but as we agreed years ago, you must accept my request to end and respond to me, conforming to our agreement.

Please be prompt; I am waiting for your response.

Marci

I reread the letter. Marci had made it clear she wanted to quit a few months ago, but Larry had already passed away, so he never saw this letter. I quickly opened the second letter, which Marci had written a few weeks later. As I read the letter, I could hear the desperation in Marci's words: she had not heard from Larry and needed his confirmation that their relationship was over. They needed to talk again to work out several issues, and then they would never communicate or see each other again. There was a plea from her for him to respond immediately.

I opened the third letter. Marci was miffed with Larry, so it was two sentences.

Larry, I don't know why you're ignoring me, but we're finished. Whether you write back or not, I will never see you again. I wish you a happy life. Marci

I thought about these three letters. What did they tell me? After reading each of them several times, it was clear that their relationship was friendly fire, with a lot of lust fueling it, but no love, just sex. They liked fucking each other, and their sexual exploits were to Marci like an outing, not a passionate love affair. They were 'Sport Fucking,' with no emotions except the moans, gasps, and orgasms as they serviced each other to their delight.

I am sure the other letters were probably juicier and may have been more romantic, but that did not matter to me now. I knew that after all the years, Marci had never denied me sex, loved me, and the family unconditionally. She had her weekend flings three or four times a year, which never impacted our lives. The affair was over in Marci's mind when she wrote the letter three years ago, but she did not follow through until she finally ended it four months ago, not knowing Larry had died.

After finishing reading the three letters a couple of times, I knew Marci loved me and that I could not let her leave. We had a lot of work to do, but she must remain my wife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I quickly went to our bedroom to stop Marci from packing and leaving. I could not let her give up on us, thinking I had given up because I could not imagine living without Marci. And what would the kids do?

As I reached the door, I heard Marci sobbing. I looked in the room; Marci was on the bed, all balled up, shaking, and sobbing loudly.

I stood watching her, knowing the guilt she felt was creating terrible emotional pain. She thought she had destroyed our family and that I did not love her anymore. I would throw her out, divorce her, and her life would be over.

Yes, she had done a horrible thing, living a double life our entire marriage. But not once in all those years has she ever let her affair affect any part of our lives, until now, when she was found out. If the affair had ended as Marci wanted three years ago, I would have never been the wiser, and our life would have gone on like it had every day for twenty years.

So, allowing my ego and Marci's guilt to take over and destroy our life together, which had never been affected one bit, makes no sense.

Once again, I can hear the gnashing of teeth as you tighten your fists and scream at the device you are reading this on. You probably want to reach into the screen and shake me... and ask, "What the hell are you doing... BURN THE BITCH!"

Well, I can't... SO LOVE WINS!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilog...

Marci and I made love all the rest of that day and the next. I was beginning my quest to catch up on the sucks and fucks Marci owed me from the last twenty years. I figured if we fucked once a day and she sucked me at least once a day, it would take a couple of years to break even. Being a little caddie, I made up a tick sheet hanging on the linen closet door to keep track of our progress. Each one hundred acts was rewarded by a love weekend away and some serious ass fucking for three days.

Marci and I went to couples and individual counseling. I let her pick out the therapist. It helped Marci more than it helped me. Her guilt was consuming her.

My love carried me through, and I was able to overcome my ego since Larry was no longer a threat. He was FUCKING DEAD!

Our kids never knew any of this, nor did anyone else, except for Anna and Maryland, who were sworn to complete silence. As far as the world would ever know, we were just a happy couple, Marci and Eric, with two great kids living the dream.

Yep, that was it, just living the dream! And it was a damn wonderful dream at that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been eight months now, and life is good. We still go to counseling separately, and I don't talk about Marci and me much anymore. Things are almost perfect. I no longer think of Larry and the affair. It is nearly like it never happened, except when I entered a tick mark on the sheet with a smile.

I do keep Dr. Andrews up to date on our scorecard. We started calculating that Marci and blown Larry at least a thousand times and fucked him probably fifty percent more times, so Marci owed me one thousand blow jobs and at least fifteen hundred fucks, of which twenty-five percent were ass fuckings. We are on an excellent pace to satisfy the count in about another year. If we didn't have the kids around, we could probably knock it out in another six or seven months. As you all know, those little trolls get in the way!

So, there you have it. You may disagree with how I handled things, but our lives have moved on, and we're much happier than ever.

I hope you are as happy as we are.

Copyright © 2025 MaxxNRachelWrenn

All rights reserved. No part of this story can be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the author. All characters are fictitious, and any similarity to actual people, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental unless otherwise stated.

This story contains mature material, strong language, and sexual situations intended for mature readers.

All characters depicted in this story participating in any sex act are of legal age, over 18 years old.