An adult stories – Putting It All On the Line by Topspot101,Topspot101 This is a “Honey we need to talk” story arc, but I have written in a totally different way to the way I normally write. Normally, I write in the first person; this time, I have tried to write in the third person. I have also split it up into acts, as I have written it to flow like a play with the different characters in the Acts.
For a change, I have not given you an evil cow for a mother-in-law. I needed another villain. I have written the “other man” into this story, so we can identity his motivation. The key point is the wife is not as stupid as you might think, she just has a perception of her husband and she tests her own assumptions to destruction. It amazes me in real life some people cannot see past their own assumptions until it is too late. This story is about that process of misjudging someone and refusing to accept you might be wrong.
Once again, thank you to my editor kenjisato. The help he gives is invaluable. As a note directly to Kenjisato I have changed the Epilogue to the story your edited. I didn’t like my ending when I wrote it and I think I have improved on it.
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Act 1 — The Ambush
John Dundee sat at the kitchen table, his heart racing. His wife of three years had just told him she had a business meeting with one of the suppliers on Friday night. The timing had raised every alarm bell in his head. Not Friday afternoon, but Friday night, after business hours. Two questions raised the decibels of those alarms from loud to screaming– “Where is the meeting taking place, and who will be at it?”
His wife, Beth, tried to look him in the eye, but couldn’t quite do it. “Oh, it will be at Harvey’s on Main Street and it will just be Martin Harris and me.”
John took a very large drink of his then cold coffee and stared at his wife. She was definitely uncomfortable with the exchange, and he was not going to make her feel any better.
He raised his voice slightly and responded, “You mean Harvey’s Restaurant, which is right beside the Holiday Inn? Don’t treat me like a fool, Beth, this is a dinner date and if it goes well, you are both planning on it being a lot more.”
By then, Beth’s head had fallen so she was looking at the table, but it was clear she had made a decision and this was not a discussion, but an information session.
She lifted her head and announced, “Look, John, this is something Martin and I need to do. I am telling you what is happening and you need to deal with it.”
This was typical of Beth, she often ended arguments with “I am telling you…” and John usually let her get away with it because, usually, it was about the colour of the curtains, or if they were going out with some of her friends, who John universally disliked. These were minor things in John’s life, but big things in Beth’s. John wondered if she had mistook his lack of concern on these minor issues as some sort of agreement that he would be subservient to her on vitally important issues. He hoped she was not that stupid.
“I suppose you are going to tell me it’s your body and you can do what you like with it,” John commented with a streak of sarcasm running through it.
As always, Beth missed the sarcasm, and nodded at John with a smile, thinking he was going to accept her plan.
John looked her straight in the eye and announced, “Well, this is my body,” pointing to himself, “and I will do what I want with it. And if you go on your date on Friday night, the first thing this body will do is divorce you.”
Beth opened her eyes wide and looked at John. Initially, there was shock on her face, but it rapidly morphed to anger. She raised herself in her seat and announced, “What do you mean divorce? You love me, you know you do. I want to have your children. This is one night, one bloody night for me, and you come up with this crap.
“Martin will be phoning you in one hour, you better tell him that you are good with this, and that it will not harm our marriage.”
John shook his head; how could his wife be that dumb. “So you want me to lie to him? Because I won’t. I will tell him I do not agree with this and if you do it, I will divorce you.”
“John Dundee, you will do what I ask you to do. This is my marriage as well, and if you screw this up for me, I will never forgive you!” Beth shouted, as she stood with her hands on the table, looking down at John.
John stood up, rising above her by several inches. “Well, looks like our marriage is fucked then,” and he turned and walked into his office come den, slamming, then locking the door.
Act 2 — The Hard Sell
It was about an hour and a half later, that the house phone rang. The phone in the office had caller ID. John didn’t recognise the number.
Beth came to the door and tried to open it. When she discovered she couldn’t, she shouted, “John answer that, it’s for you!”
John ignored her and let the phone ring out. Almost immediately, Beth’s cell phone rang. The conversation through the closed door was indistinct, but after it went quiet, Beth knocked on the door very loudly, and shouted, “John, Martin is phoning again, answer the goddamn phone and tell him you are good with this!”
Within a few minutes, the phone rang again from the same number. John picked it up, and asked, “What do you want, asshole?”
Martin was perplexed. He had spent months setting Beth up, and he was sure her husband was submissive to his wife’s desires. He had played this game many times, and he was never wrong about the husband. Martin decided to take the forceful approach. “Look, John, your wife wants a date on Friday night, one date then you and her get back to your normal life. So, I can assume you are happy for her?”
John was astounded by the brazen attitude, but decided to fight fire with fire. “I suppose you are one of these men that gets off on having sex with married women. Is it the sex, or the humiliation of the husband, that gets you off? Well, let me tell you, I am not comfortable with this, I am not going to accept it. Make sure you tell her I am starting divorce proceedings tomorrow. Goodbye.” With that, John hung up.
Seconds later, Beth’s cell phone rang again; she had obviously been standing outside the door. Beth let out a shriek, then thumped the door. “John, I told you to tell him you were good with this. And what the hell are you talking about divorce? So help me, if you don’t get out here now and apologise, I will be cutting you off for months.”
It was at that moment, John knew his marriage was in its death throes.
Act 3 — The Planning
Martin had brought Beth under his spell. Martin had a fetish for married women, especially those who were getting broody. He had bedded several women in that state, and he loved meeting the husband as he took the wife away and then again the next morning when he brought her back. The look of total defeat was the greatest thrill of all, it was always far better than the actual sex.
Once, he had managed to bed one of the women after she had gone off birth control. She got pregnant that month and Matin loved meeting the couple and their baby in the street. The wife smiled at him, while the husband went red and looked away. He so much wanted to do that again and he was working on Beth to go off the pill now and to make this date a monthly thing, until she was pregnant. He didn’t think she would go for it, but he was definitely trying.
Beth was excited. She knew her long-term future was with John, and she saw a bright future with children, grandchildren, and if she was very lucky, great grandchildren, but she needed a thrill before she settled down to motherhood. Something different, something John was not involved in and would never do. Beth shivered at that.
“So help me god if he tries to take another woman, I will cut his balls off,” she thought to herself.
The irony that John might feel the same way about her, never occurred to Beth.
The date had been arranged for Friday night. It was Monday. The plan was simple — dinner then straight to the room. Martin was handsome and well built. He could sweet talk anyone and just listening to him talk about sex and what he would do to her made her whole body shake and her pants wet, but he was shallow. She didn’t want to go dancing, she wanted what he offered — lots of sex in different positions and at different tempos, going on until she screamed for him to stop because she couldn’t take it anymore.
Beth knew John would not take it well, but she had used this tactic of getting him to tell someone he is okay with it before. From there, she could always get her way because Beth knew John loved her beyond anything, and once he agreed something was okay, no matter how reluctantly, he would never go back on his word.
Added to that, Beth was able to reward him with her body, a reward John could never turn down. The one fly in her ointment was the way John had treated Martin. Not only was he rude, he swore at him and even said he would divorce her. His behaviour required a new tactic; she would threaten to withhold sex from him– see how long he would last.
John knew his wife far too well. She was one dimensional. Telling him what she was going to do, force him to agree, quite often by getting his mother to phone him and tell him how much Beth wanted something. Once he said yes, Beth would kill him with sex. If he didn’t agree, Beth would withhold sex. The problem was this time, John didn’t want to have sex with Beth. The idea of touching her while she was thinking of Martin, meant the sex would be mechanical and the idea of touching her after she had been with Martin repulsed him. John knew he would be getting emotional sloppy seconds and he would never accept that, never mind the physical sloppy seconds.
Martin decided he needed to reassure Beth. Calling her cell, he started, “Well, sex bomb, I hope you read him the riot act. Why not tell him you will bring him home a pussy full of my cum? You know, he might just have a fetish for cleaning up. Could you imagine that? You could offer to do it every Friday for him. What would he think if you went off the pill? God, just imagine how hard he would have to work just to suck my cum out of you then to make sure he was the one to get you pregnant. God, I am hard thinking about it.”
Beth sniggered. Martin just came out with it. She loved that. She knew she couldn’t risk having Martin’s baby, but she did wonder if John was really that submissive. John would often fight her, but as soon as she got her way, he liked the result. Last year, she had wanted an SUV; John had said, “No,” but eventually gave in– and he drives it all the time.
All she had to do was to make sure she was home early on Saturday, and to get into bed, so he could feel her sloppy pussy. He just might love it.
Beth was bubbling with excitement when she replied, “Oh, I bet I can get him to clean me up. Let’s do one night and see how it goes; we can think about ongoing dates if he likes it as much as I hope he does.”
Martin was pleased. Not only was there an option for an ongoing affair, meaning he could meet the husband every Saturday morning for the ritual humiliation, but she hadn’t shut down the possibility of keeping it going while being off the pill. He still had some work to do, but it was there for the taking.
John started by considering his options. Beth was head strong when she decided she wanted to do something, nothing would stop her. If he said “no” to one of her stupid ideas, Beth would often go ahead and do it, asking for forgiveness after the fact. Just like that expensive and impractical SUV. Beth had done everything for a month to get John to buy it, getting people to tell him how useful it would be, his mother-in-law and mother had both suggested they would need it for the kids they would soon be having.
When that failed, Beth had stopped cooking dinner for him as “punishment” for saying “no”. That lasted a week, until he came home to find a contract on the table beside his favourite dinner. Beth had bought the SUV and signed the finance agreement. This was her buttering him up, and she would then kill him for the rest of the week in bed. Three months later, Beth was driving John’s car full time, and John was left to drive the SUV, which he hated.
John knew that if he tried to stop this date, she would go do it anyway, and then tell him after the fact. Probably while trying to get him to have sex with her. So John knew he had to find a way for her to decide not to go on this date, while planning for the aftermath if she did.
John had started his research into divorce, soon after the call with Martin. Their state had a no-fault option, which could be filed online. With no children, it would be a fifty-fifty split of all marital assets. The house actually belonged to Beth’s grandmother, who was living in sheltered accommodation. The issue was, that in a no-fault divorce, the court could order counselling. John could file under adultery, but that required photographic proof and would actually take over twelve months to finalise, while a no-fault divorce, even with counselling, would be done in months.
Downloading the documents was simple, and John reviewed them. He had to provide evidence of all the assets and any liabilities, including pension assets. He also needed proof of income and household expenses.
The documents also gave him a checklist of things to do upon filing. They included opening new bank accounts, splitting savings and investment accounts, changing the account details for where his salary went into, paying off and closing joint credit cards. As they did not own the house, the utilities were all in Beth’s grandmother’s name.
The next item on the agenda for John, was somewhere to live. A review of a local real estate website identified a weekly rental just outside of town. It was close to the interstate and John could get to work easily from it. It was actually a holiday let, and this was winter, so he sent an email to the agent asking for a two month rental at a discounted rate. Two months would be plenty of time to find a more permanent home.
Once John had everything he needed, he headed to the spare room. Beth tried to intercept him before he went up the stairs, but John ignored her. Five minutes later, Beth was banging at the spare room door, asking John why he was in there.
Beth said, “Come to bed, I have a big surprise for you.”
John just sighed, and responded, “No thanks, I’ve had enough surprises for one day, and now I want to be left alone.”
Beth was a bit shocked by that. John never turned her down, so she ploughed on, “Well, I want to show you how your generosity to me will be repaid multiple times over.”
John felt his anger rising again. Was she really such a stupid bitch. John had to bite back a couple of replies because they would have been unrecoverable, so he just grunted and added, “No thanks, I don’t do sloppy seconds, either emotional or physical.”
Beth didn’t catch what he said, so she stood at the door for a few minutes to see if he came out. When John didn’t, she went to the master bedroom to think.
Act 4 — Tuesday Tribulations
John got up early, showering in the ensuite of the spare room. He had no choice but to go to the master bedroom to shave and get some clothes. When he went in, Beth was lying on top of the bed, nude. It was clear she was pretending to be asleep in the hope that John could not resist taking her. Unfortunately for Beth, John was still angry, and seeing her trying to buy his agreement with sex, just made him think of her as a slut. John’s love for Beth was being washed away like the suds in a car wash.
Beth had heard John in the shower, and knew he would be in their room soon. All she had to do was get him inside her and all would be back to normal. When John entered the room, he hardly looked at her. Instead, he walked into the bathroom and locked the door. He always shaved when he came out of the shower, then he would go into the walk-in wardrobe for his work clothes. Beth would get him just inside the door. She would have him hard in an instant, then push him back into the bed and away they would go.
John had a feeling Beth would try to jump him, and she would try to do it in the walk-in wardrobe where there was not enough room for two people to pass easily. He had to get his clothes, but he had to keep Beth from trying to suck him off, which she always did to get him hard.
There was an old robe on the back of the door. Beth wore it when she got out of the shower. John put it on, then stepped out of the bathroom. Before going into the wardrobe, John checked the bed. Sure enough, Beth had left it, so John went to his underwear drawer and took out a pair of shorts, pulling them on, under the robe.
As John walked into the wardrobe, Beth was standing in the corner trying to hide in one of the cupboards. John hurried by, using his hand to close the sliding door where she was hiding. This gave him time to get to his own clothes, while Beth struggled to get out.
It certainly killed her mood, as she asked, “Whey did you do that? You knew I was there, I was looking to give you a little loving.”
John turned his back to her, taking his pants out of the wardrobe and pulling them on. By this stage, she was right behind him, but he was now clothed from the waist down.
John turned to the other side to get a shirt. “What part of “no” do you not understand? We will never be intimate again, if this stupidity continues.”
With that, John pushed past Beth. She tried to stop him, but John pushed much harder than she expected and she half fell. John stepped over her, carrying his shirt and a jumper, and walked out.
Beth tried to get up, but John was down the stairs before she got herself together. She grabbed something to wear, but by the time she was in the kitchen, John had finished dressing and was heading out of the house with his shoelaces untied.
As he left, John picked up the keys to his car, adding over his shoulder, “That SUV is yours, I’m taking my own car from now on.”
Beth hated driving the SUV. It was too big and she could not see out of it to reverse. She shouted, “Come back, John!” But it was too late, the door was closed and she heard the alarm of the car sound, indicating it was deactivated and the car unlocked. Beth stood in the kitchen until she heard the car reverse out of the drive, then pull away from the front of the house. What was she going to do?
John drove to work, thinking how transparent his wife was. Had she always been like this, and he was only noticing it, or was this something new? He didn’t know, but what he did know was that it was an academic discussion.
Beth went back to bed to think. Clearly, John was much more upset over this thing with Martin than she had predicted. The plan for the previous night was for John to listen, then she expected him to go silent while he contemplated the proposal. Martin would phone and get John to say he was okay with the date, and it would not harm their marriage. Beth knew that once he had said that, he was committed to letting her do it without blowing up their marriage. After that, Beth would have taken him to bed and ravaged him, and by this morning, they would have been back on track. That plan had gone to hell in a hand cart when John had fought back, not only against her and the proposal, but he had been properly rude to Martin and had even suggested a divorce on two occasions.
Beth realised her options were limited. Deep down, she knew this was not going to be a one off. If Martin was half as good as he claimed, she would be going back to the well several more times. If she didn’t do this, she would regret it for the rest of her life. If she told John she wouldn’t do it then did it behind his back, he would divorce her on the spot. Usually, she asked for forgiveness but somehow she knew that wouldn’t work.
No, her only option was to keep going. If John was truly submissive, as she and Martin both thought, he would fight right up to when she left Friday night, then when she came home on Saturday, he would be apologetic. Then she could make John clean her up and when he was doing that, she would tell him all about it and that she was going to do it again.
Perhaps after they had finished, she would tell him to flush her birth control pills and they would play “Russian roulette” with his and Martin’s sperm. As she was thinking about John cleaning her up and then flushing her birth control, Beth had started to play with herself and it took only seconds for her to explode in a massive orgasm, with an image of her swollen belly and the thought of not knowing who the father was, running around her head like a Disney Princess fairy tale.
John arrived at work, knowing he could do nothing to save his marriage. It was all in Beth’s hands. That thought was surprisingly calming to John, giving him the time and the space to plan.
John’s first call was to HR, where he asked for Tuesday and Wednesday as holidays. He then left the office and went to a local coffee shop where they had wifi. He started by downloading all of the information from the bank, then made an online application for a new account in a different bank.
As John finished up the application, the rental agent phoned him. On answering the phone, the agent asked, “Is that John Dundee?”
John replied in the aftermath.
The agent continued, “You made an inquiry about one of the weekly rentals on Lansdowne Road? As you noticed these are weekly rentals, but they are all empty at this time of the year. One of the landlords is willing to rent to you for eight weeks with a fifty-percent reduction. He has asked that the rent all be paid up front. It is very unusual for someone to rent there at this time of the year, and certainly no one has ever asked for eight weeks, can we ask why?”
John wondered why they wanted to know. But then he thought the truth was important, so he advised, “My marriage is in trouble, so I need somewhere to live short term, until I find a permanent home.”
The agent just said, “Oh.” Then added, “Would you like to view the property? I could be there for eleven-thirty, if that works for you?”
That worked for John, so they agreed to meet at eleven-thirty.
Beth arrived into the office and went straight to the kitchen for coffee. She was getting as bad as John, needing coffee to do anything in the morning.
Martin was in the kitchen and his smile lit up the room when she walked in. But she wasn’t feeling it this morning. Things had gone bad with John and after she came down from her bedroom pleasure, she was beginning to think she had misjudged John and she had better postpone, or even cancel, the whole idea. Martin was a fling, a lot of fun, but he wasn’t worth losing John over.
Beth sat with Martin, then started, “Martin, John’s reaction last night and again this morning makes me think I’m making a mistake. I think we need to cool it for a while, until I repair my relationship with John, and then I may be able to open a different path for us. But I’m sorry, I have to cancel Friday.”
Martin had seen this coming from the previous night’s phone calls. John had been much more aggressive with him than he had expected. John had also kicked back at Beth. He had hoped Beth would be more assertive, but he knew he had to bolster her reserve and massage her ego to keep her on the path.
“Was he really a prick about it to you? I know what he was like with me, but I can’t imagine why he would be so rude to you?” Martin opened with.
“God, he was terrible with me,” Beth answered. “He shouted back at me and even threatened divorce. Then he spent all night in the den, doing I don’t know what, before locking himself in the spare room. Then this morning, he won’t even let me touch him, never mind make love to him before he left in my car, well his car before he bought the SUV, leaving me to drive that monstrosity.”
Martin could sense Beth’s frustration with John. He knew exactly how to play this. “Beth, you currently hold the dominant position in your marriage. If you lose it over this, you will lose it over everything. You have to hold out, or he will take these pleasures away from you, effectively chaining you to the kitchen sink, barefoot and pregnant. I have seen many Johns over the years, if you give him no choice, he will accept it.
“By the sound of it, he is genuinely submissive, he is probably throwing a temper tantrum in the hope you slap him down, then he can admit he likes being a cuckold. You never know, he might want to watch us doing it. Either way, you need to take a firm hand in this, tell him how it is going to be. If he threatens divorce again, you will need to discipline him.”
Beth contemplated Martin’s words, then replied, “You are right, I will sit him down tonight and tell him what I expect of him.”
Martin was delighted. He didn’t believe John was submissive and if that destroyed Beth’s marriage, so be it. He would still get the thrill of the humiliated husband on Saturday. If he really loved Beth as much as she said he did, then he would accept his fate, and Martin knew from there, he could push the envelope.
John met the agent at the appointed time. He used his personal credit card to pay the eight weeks in advance, took the key, and left; driving back to the house he shared with Beth. He noted to himself, he did not call it home.
Once back at the house, John started filling out the divorce papers. It took him several hours, saving the finished documents to a file on his hard drive. He would review them, sign, and get them notarised the next day for filing in the court. Documents had to be filed before close of business on Wednesday, so they could be served on Beth on Saturday morning.
John stood in the kitchen, contemplating what to do. He knew Beth would come in from work and would probably take another shot at selling her plan. Did he want to hear it, or not. If he went out for dinner by himself, he wouldn’t have to listen to her, but on the other hand, if she hit him with more BS, it would stiffen his resolve for what had to be done. He decided to stay.
Beth burst through the door at her normal time, acting like everything was good in the world. When she saw John sitting in the living room, she started over to him, saying, “Oh, John, I missed you last night and this morning. I hope it has given you an insight into what life would be like if we weren’t together. Now come here and give me a hug, then we can talk about the logistics for this weekend, while I roast this chicken along with potatoes and veg for dinner.”
There it was, she had committed to this weekend, and John then knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He just stood up and Beth held her arms out for a hug. But John just turned his back on her and trudged to the stairs.
Beth stamped her foot. John was not supposed to be acting this way. She demanded, “John, get back here. We have a lot to discuss, not least what you will do when I am away and what time you need to be here to welcome me home.”
John hadn’t stopped walking. He just said, “Whatever, Beth, you make your plans and I will make mine.”
Beth’s anger was flaring. John wasn’t listening to her, and he wasn’t making any attempt to fix the problem. Beth couldn’t help herself. She picked up a baseball that John kept beside his chair, and threw it at him, hitting him in the middle of his back.
John swung around with a look on his face that made Beth genuinely afraid of John for the first time ever. In a whisper, which was full of anger and even hate, John stated, “I have never hit a woman before, but so help me god, if you ever do anything like that again, I will break that rule; do you understand?”
With that, John turned and walked up the stairs. Beth stood, watching him. She knew John was mad, but she always thought she could control him. For the first time in their relationship, she realised she couldn’t. She came to two conclusions– first, her marriage was probably over regardless of what she did. Second, she might as well go on with her fling; if John was submissive, he would be happy on Saturday morning. If not, well, the marriage would be over anyway, so she might as well have some fun.
Act 5 — Wacky Wednesday
John woke up early on Wednesday. During all the trials and tribulations of Tuesday, he had hoped that Beth would have come to her senses and end this plan. Deep down, he still loved her, even if it was damaged beyond repair. They would have had to do counselling, but last night’s display of temper and disrespect had killed the last vestiges of his desire to be with her. No matter what happened, they would be getting divorced.
Before going to bed Tuesday night, John had collected his clothes and shaving kit from the master bedroom. He was able to shower, shave and change without going near Beth, which he did, then exited the house as quickly as possible. He was not afraid of Beth’s tongue, he was afraid of what he might do to her.
Beth heard John shower, and she readied herself again for him coming into the master bedroom to get his clothes. This time, he was not going to get away from her. But he left the guest room and went straight downstairs. She jumped out of bed, but John was already out the door and driving off by the time she was coming out of the room. “Damn him,” she thought. “How can I fix this?”
John went for breakfast. No one in the diner spoke to him, mostly because he was staring into space, no thoughts in his head, only a dull pain of loss and a ball of anger.
Beth ate at home before going to the office. She didn’t know how to feel. John was definitely kicking back at her in an unexpected way, but the thoughts of Martin kept making her pussy wet. Confusion was the biggest thing in her life right then.
Martin was in a great mood. He was due to make his usual call into Beth’s office at twelve-thirty and they had planned a long lunch to discuss the final plans for Friday, and to book the room. Martin felt the real excitement. He hoped Beth would let him pick her up at the front door. He had to make sure she put her foot down, telling the husband he had to be there when she left and when she returned. This guy John was fighting back hard, and he was so looking forward to claiming his wife and making him a cuckold, so he could look into his eyes and watch him wilt under Martin’s gaze.
John ate something; what, he couldn’t remember, and drank two cups of very bad coffee. It was now nine-thirty and he knew Beth would have left the house, so he returned. He printed three copies of the divorce petition, plus the supporting documents for income and assets– one for his records, one for the court,and one to be served to Beth. He placed all three in separate envelopes and left the house, driving to the office of a notary public, who was located in the center of town.
It cost a hundred dollars to have his signature on all three documents witnessed and the notary’s stamp affixed.
Next stop was the courthouse, where he submitted the documents to the court office. The officer on duty stamped the documents as received, entered the details on the computer, then returned two sets, keeping the third for the court records. They charged five hundred dollars for the filing.
John asked the officer, “Where do I get a process server to have these documents served to my wife?”
The officer pointed to a man sitting at a table, just outside the court office. “That is Max Radcliff. He is a process server.”
John thanked her and went outside.
“Hi, are you Max Radcliff, a process server?” John enquired.
“Yes, I am,” Max replied, in a deep drawl. “How can I help you?”
John pulled out the chair at the table and sat down, dropping the two envelopes on the table between them. “I need my wife served on Saturday morning at our house. She is going off with some asshole to cheat on me, and I want her served on the driveway in front of him. The problem is I don’t know the time they will be back, but I might be able to give you a time window on Friday night.”
Max sat and contemplated, then said, “I will have to charge you for a full day because I will have to keep someone in and around your property until they are served. I would charge 350 dollars for a Saturday,”
John handed him one of the envelopes, saying, “These are the papers, the address for service is on the document.”
By this time, Max had opened the envelope and was looking at the top page.
“I need to pay you by credit card, as I haven’t split the bank accounts yet, is that okay?”
Max picked up his coffee cup and John rose to follow him. At Max’s office, John paid the fee, then left for his old house.
Beth was waiting for Martin to turn up. She had made up her mind; this had turned into a battle of wills with John, and she had to prove her dominance, so this was going to happen. Once it was over, she would have a few weeks to work on John to stop him divorcing her. She would even put Martin on the back burner for several months, just until she had re-established her position of power over John.
Martin came into her office with a smile. “Well, gorgeous, you ready for a bit of lunch and who knows what else?”
Beth felt a flutter, she just could not resist that smile. She picked up a stack of papers and handed them to Martin. “This is the order for delivery on Friday, now let’s go.”
Lunch was a sandwich, but they didn’t have time for a long, slow lunch– they had things to do. First, they went to Harvey’s to book a table for seven-thirty on Friday night, then next door to the Holiday Inn to book a room. They paid a little extra for a double-sized jacuzzi and to have a bottle of chilled champagne in the room when they arrived.
Finally, Martin asked, what for him, was the important question, “Will your husband be there when I pick you up on Friday, and when we return on Saturday?”
Beth smiled. She replied, “Oh, you are wicked. Yes, I plan to make sure he is there. It’s important he sees me leave with you on Friday, so he can feel a sense of loss and see you bring me back on Saturday. I expect by the time we return on Saturday, he will have felt what it is like to lose me and will be glad to see me back. From there, we can work on all those extras, like him cleaning me up and making this a regular thing.”
Beth and Martin continued with the small talk, while back at the house, John was packing suitcases and his other personal stuff. He had time for two runs to his new home, leaving clothes and other items anywhere in his new place. He could spend Friday night and all weekend, putting everything away.
Beth arrived home twenty minutes later than normal, at six PM. When she entered the house, John did not greet her. She looked around, but could not see him in the kitchen, living room, or den. Beth had hidden the bag containing her new lingerie for Friday night in her handbag. She quickly ran up the stairs to hide it in her wardrobe. She noticed the door to the guest room was closed and when she entered the master bedroom, it was clear John had moved all his stuff out.
Beth was getting annoyed at John. She stomped over to the guest room door and tried to open it, but it was locked. She banged on the door and shouted, “John, stop being so juvenile. Why have you moved all your clothes into the guest room?”
John was working on his computer. His new bank account had been opened this afternoon, and he was in the process of splitting the savings and investment accounts. He made sure not to move anything out of the checking account, so that Beth would not spot what he had done. Next, he would write and email the letter to HR changing account details for his salary.
It didn’t pass John’s notice that Beth assumed he had moved into the guest room. She still had no idea that John considered the marriage finished. John ignored her and after a few minutes of shouting and banging on the door, Beth went downstairs.
About thirty minutes later, John received a text message telling him dinner was on the table. John replied, “Already eaten”
About an hour later, John’s cell phone rang. The number was not in his contacts, but he had a nagging feeling who it was. John answered with, “Hallo,” and waited, as he expected Martin to hurl abuse at him.
John was not disappointed.
“What the fuck are you doing, you little prick? Look, your wife needs a man to teach her a few tricks. You will hand her to me and I will show her those tricks. On Saturday morning, she will have a pussy full on my cum to give you a thrill and a load of new tricks to keep you happy for the rest of your life. Now get out there and apologise for your behaviour.”
Martin stayed on the line. The excitement of being able to humiliate the husband on the phone was making him hard. When John started to laugh, Martin felt deflated. This guy was not going to fold as he had expected, so he would just have to come to the house on Friday night and whisk Beth away, as he stood at the door and watched.
John’s laugh was still echoing in Martin’s ears when John said, “I won’t be touching your sloppy seconds. By the time you arrive on Friday, I will be long gone. I bet that will ruin your night.”
Martin was furious. If John wasn’t there it would ruin it, having sex with Beth was only the means to humiliate John. If he wasn’t there to feel the sting, what was the point? Martin went to say something else, but as he started to speak, he heard the line go dead.
“That bastard hung up on me, how dare he!” Martin screamed at the phone. Then he rapidly rang Beth. “Hi Beth, you need to get John under control. I phoned him as we agreed, and he is making all sorts of threats. He’s even threatening not to be there on Friday night and Saturday morning to hand you over. You know how important it is that John agrees to this. I don’t want to destroy your marriage. Please talk to him, if he is not there, I cannot take you out on Friday. I will not cheat with you, John has to know and has to agree so there is no cheating.”
Beth was angry at John, how could he be so selfish. He wanted her to be a mother and a wife, but he refused to give her any leeway. “Don’t worry, Martin,” Beth hissed, “I will make sure he is here.”
Beth hung up and went to the guest room door. She banged on the door and tried to force it open. When it wouldn’t move, she shouted, “John, what are you playing at? Martin is trying to make sure you are comfortable and let you know I will be safe and all you do is insult him. You better be here tomorrow night, so I can explain how this will work. I expect you to be here on Friday night to speak to Martin and you damn well better be nice to him.”
Beth stormed back into the master bedroom and lay down on the bed. Her heart was racing. “How could John be so stubborn? He was never like this before,” she thought.
John lay on the bed in the guest room. All the tears were gone, all the emotion was gone. All he wanted was it to be over so he could get on with his life.
Act 6 — Thursday’s Truth
Again John woke up early, showered and headed for the door, but this time, Beth was in the kitchen waiting for him. She was wearing only a robe which was open. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and there was one poured at the kitchen table, sitting at John’s place.
She said, “John, please sit down and talk to me. You are destroying our marriage, why are you doing this to me? to us?”
John was flabbergasted. She was delusional. “I am not destroying our marriage, you have destroyed it.”
Beth’s anger flared, and she shouted, “Sit down John, you need to hear this!” She then took a deep breath and went on, “This is something for me, something I expect you to give me before I settle down to produce children for you. You are being selfish and acting like a jealous prick. If you destroy this for me, I will never forgive you. You will have to fight for our marriage and I will not be having children until you prove you won’t treat me like a possession. Do I make myself clear?”
John just looked at Beth; he felt no emotion. “Our marriage is dead already. I don’t want children with you any longer. Go fuck your dickhead, I won’t be around to pick up the pieces.” John turned and left the house, without so much as a goodbye.
Beth stared at the door as he left. Part of her knew John’s words were true, but part of her wanted to ignore it. She threw the dregs of her coffee down the sink then said to the empty room, “God, I didn’t realise what a prick he has become.”
Martin phoned Beth at work, just after lunch, asking, “Did you speak to John? I hope he understands how important it is that he is there on Friday night and Saturday morning, so he knows I did not hurt you and you are the same Beth when you get back.”
Beth was nervous. She was certain John would refuse to be there on Friday night or Saturday morning, but how did she get it past Martin. She pretended to be confident. “I’m not sure what will happen on Friday, but he will be there on Saturday. We had a long chat last night and this morning, and he knows how I need to get this out of my system before we settle down for the rest of our lives.”
Martin knew it was BS. He could smell it. He thought quickly; if John didn’t go for this, he would probably divorce Beth. Would destroying the marriage be as big a thrill as the humiliation? He didn’t think so, but he had put a lot of effort into Beth and he wanted some reward and walking away without fucking Beth would mean John had got one over on him, and he would not allow that.
Martin said, “God, I hope you are right, if this destroys your marriage I will never forgive myself.”
After a bit more small talk they confirmed the pickup time as seven on Friday night and ended the call.
John had a mountain of work, having been off for two days without cover. He threw himself into it and all thoughts of Beth and her betrayal were wiped from his mind. At six o’clock, John ordered a pizza and kept on working. He had a lot to do and no desire to go home.
Beth stood in the kitchen of their home at nine o’clock. She had made John dinner, but he had not come home and hadn’t phoned. She had tried to call him several times, but there was no answer. She desperately wanted to get them back on track, get him back into the master bedroom before tomorrow night, but how could she do that if he wasn’t home.
At ten PM, she heard John’s car pull into the drive. She ran to the back door waiting for him to come in. She was going to throw herself at him, but when he came to the door, he just stood on the step outside.
That stopped Beth dead, and she stated, “Oh for god’s sake, John, what is your problem?”
He didn’t speak; he just pushed past her and went to the guest bedroom where he locked the door.
Beth had followed him up the stairs, and again was left looking at the closed door. What was she to do? “John, I expected you to be home for six-thirty tomorrow. Martin will be here at seven. You will let him in and then come upstairs and walk me down. I will leave a pizza in the oven for you to eat. We will be home around midday on Saturday. Martin will bring me into the house and we will have lunch together. When Martin goes, you and I can go to bed for a few hours and reconnect. This is non-negotiable.”
Beth didn’t wait for a reply, she turned and walked into the master bedroom. She needed an early night, as she didn’t expect much sleep tomorrow night.
John just looked at the door. That was it, it was finally over. He texted Max and gave him the timings for Saturday. Then he packed the few remaining clothes into his duffel bag and lay down on the bed. Sleep came slowly and he dreamt of being lonely.
Act 7 — Finally, It’s Friday
John was up early, but he didn’t shower this morning, knowing if he did, Beth would hear him and try to corner him again. John finished his packing, everything was out of the house, except for his tools and computer. He had booked another day off work, so he left early and drove to his new place.
Once there, he started putting his clothes and other items away, showered, then found a place for breakfast.
At eleven o’clock, he returned to his former home. Collecting his computer and his small tool box, he returned to his new home.
The day passed slowly for Beth. John leaving the house without so much as a goodbye had stung. Had she made a terrible mistake in assuming John would accept this? If she backed out, would John accept it? What would Martin say if she backed out? Did she want to back out? And that was the real issue– she didn’t want to back out. She wanted to do this more than anything else, and John would just have to accept it.
Beth had a hair appointment at three that afternoon. On her way to the hairdressers, she phoned John, but he did not answer his cell. When she phoned his office, she was told John had taken a day’s holiday.
“What the…?” she said to herself, as she hung up. What was he doing? and why had he not told her he was off for the day?
By this stage, Beth was at the hairdressers and all thoughts of John left her as she concentrated on the preparations for her date.
After leaving the hairdressers, Beth went home and soaked in the bath. Her new dress and lingerie made her feel sexy.
At seven, she phoned John. The call went straight to voicemail so she left a message, “John, where are you? I need you here now so that you can see Martin is no threat to you, and confirm you have given your consent. I will not be pleased if you are not home before I leave.”
John was eating a burger at the riverfront. He had decided to go fishing this afternoon to clear his head. When John heard the voicemail, he knew the final nail had been driven into the coffin that now contained his marriage. Strangely, he felt relief; he could walk away knowing Beth had killed the marriage and his love for her.
Martin arrived at the house at seven-fifteen. He rang the doorbell with anticipation. He really hoped this asshole was in the house. He was going to enjoy watching him squirm under his fixed gaze. The power, the excitement, and the humiliation were so great– but then Beth answered, and Martin knew the moment was lost.
Beth smiled her warmest smile, but Martin just wasn’t feeling it. He was going to have to fuck this slut… and for what? Looked like the husband was kicking back, so at least he would see the divorce, but he knew that just wasn’t going to give him the thrill.
John went home around ten, and went to bed. He had slept badly the night before, but this night, he slept soundly, safe in the knowledge he was better off without Beth than with her.
Act 8 — Weekend Awakening
Beth woke up early on Saturday morning. She felt a presence beside her in the bed. It had been almost a week since she had felt someone beside her in the morning and her heart sang. John had returned to bed with her. But as she gradually came to her senses, it dawned on her that she was not in her bed, and this was not her master bedroom– but a hotel room. Then, the horror of the previous night struck.
The night had been a disaster from start to finish. Martin, not the best conversationalist, unless he was talking about himself, could hardly speak over dinner. He made a number of very derogatory comments about John not being man enough to look him in the eye, but that was the only time he showed passion.
Back in the bedroom, the sex was mechanical– Martin clearly had no interest. They did it once and it wasn’t very good. The only time Martin got excited was when he degraded John again, but that didn’t last long. Martin eventually came, but Beth didn’t. As soon as he was done, Martin rolled onto his side, and went to sleep. Beth just lay on her back, wondering what had happened.
Martin heard Beth leave the room after she had showered. The night had been as bad as he expected, when John was not there to see them off. The sex had no excitement. He tried a bit of denigration of John, but knowing he had not accepted what was happening, just killed it for him. He could have gotten a two-bit hooker and felt more passion than this.
Martin was so bored, he started to do some work on his computer. He hoped Beth did not want sex this morning. The idea actually repulsed him. He just knew her husband was laughing at him.
Beth had showered and dressed for breakfast, but Martin hadn’t stirred, so she went down by herself. She used the opportunity to look around a few shops and returned to the room around eleven to find Martin working on his computer. Beth asked to go home and Martin seemed all too eager to be rid of her.
They arrived back at the house around eleven-forty-five. Just as Beth stepped out of the car, a man approached her. She half turned as he said, “Are you Elizabeth Mary Dundee, also known as Beth?”
She looked the man up and down. He was well dressed and he carried a brown envelope in his right hand. Beth said, “Yes.”
He lifted his hand with the envelope, and said, “You have been served.”
Beth took the envelope, not knowing what else to do. The man turned and she looked back into the car to see what Martin would do. All she saw was a smirk on Martin’s face, and he pulled away at speed when she closed the car door.
Beth walked up to the house in a trance. Opening the back door, she dropped her bag beside the door and flopped into a kitchen chair. She didn’t need to look into the envelope to know what it was, but she did anyway. As soon as she saw the word “divorce,” the tears started.
Martin sat in the car as Beth got out. He could see the house was empty, so there was no point in walking her to the door. He watched the man, who was sitting on the hood of his own car, walk up to Beth. Martin could hear the whole conversation through the open door. He couldn’t help but smirk. The stupid slut obviously didn’t know her husband at all. The look on Beth’s face was almost as good as the look on a humiliated husband’s face. He enjoyed that look a lot more than he thought he would.
As Beth slammed the door Martin drove off feeling satisfied with his weekend’s adventure and the destruction it had caused.
Beth tried to phone John, but the phone rang once then went to voicemail. That indicated he had blocked her number. “Why would he block me?” was her first thought; then for the first time in several weeks, a rational thought hit her. “Oh shit, not only is he not submissive, he has no desire to be a cuckold. I have destroyed my marriage!”
With that thought, Beth broke down. The rest of the day was a blur, she washed her clothes, showered and looked around the house, discovering all of John’s clothes and possessions had been moved out. After that, she just curled up in a ball on the couch. Her next rational memory was on Sunday at lunch time, when she found herself sitting at the kitchen table, telling her mom what she had done.
Her mom was shocked. “You really blew it, Beth,” her mom stated blandly, as she took out her phone and called John.
Beth sat in a trance as she heard John’s phone ringing on her mom’s cell. John answered and Beth went to speak, but her mom held up her hand in a stop-sign gesture. “John, this is Ashley. I’m here with Beth, and she has just told me what happened. I am only going to ask this once; whatever you say will be my position, but is there any chance for you two?”
Beth heard a sigh from John. That was all she needed to hear to know they were finished as a couple.
John answered, “No chance, Ashley. Wanting sex with another man was bad enough, but this guy has a fetish for humiliating husbands and Beth bought into it. She clearly thinks because I loved her, I could be manipulated, abused and degraded, and I would accept it. But no man could accept what she did. She clearly has no respect for me, and it would only be a matter of time until she did it again.”
Beth tried to protest, but Ashley gave her a look that cut her stone dead.
John continued, “I’m sorry, but she has actually killed my love for her. I don’t wish her to come to harm, but I actually no longer care for her. I left the house yesterday and I was pleased it was over. How sad is that? I am happier to get a divorce than stay with her. That is how badly she treated me. No, our marriage is dead.”
Beth dissolved into tears, the full extent of her betrayal laid bare in John’s words were just too much for her.
Act 9 — The Weeks After
It soon became common knowledge that John and Beth had split. For Beth, the situation was terrible. Martin stopped coming to the office, sending a junior member of his staff, instead. Beth found it hard to eat and she was so lonely at home, she moved back in with her parents. Beth tried the girls’ night out with her friends from the office and her other friends, but she found herself scanning the bar or club for John.
John discovered he was a hot property. Every Friday night, there was an office party for all the singles. As a married man, John had never been invited and never wanted to go, but as soon as it became common knowledge that he had split with Beth, he was invited along.
It took John a couple of weeks to let his hair down at the Friday night party, but he was soon enjoying himself.
Beth woke up one morning with a start. She’d seen John at a club last night, with people she did not know. She had gotten up to go to see John, thinking he would be as lonely as her. She really hoped he was missing her, and that they could reconnect, maybe have some dates. As she was getting up, a pretty girl sat on John’s lap and kissed him. Not a peck on the cheek, but a deep kiss, like a kiss shared between lovers.
Beth almost fell back into her chair. Had he moved on? They looked like lovers. How could he move on so fast? How dare he be involved with another woman!
One of Beth’s friends followed her gaze and saw what was happening. Before Beth could do something silly, her friend grabbed her by the arm and whispered in her ear, “Leave it, Beth. You gave up the right to John when you went to bed with that asshole. You need to let him move on and you need to move on, as well.”
Beth started to sob. “But I can’t let him go. He’s my husband and I love him, I need him and I want a family with him.”
Her friend’s heart was breaking, but tough love was the only thing that would work. “Beth, you should have thought about that before you made your bad choices. There is no way back from what you have done. If you truly love John, you will set him free.”
Something struck Beth, as her mind raced the next morning. Her actions had allowed John to grieve for their marriage before she had even cheated on him, and she now accepted it was cheating. She had to accept the consequences of her own actions and that meant accepting the death of her marriage to the man she loved. With a heavy heart, she phoned her attorney.
Act 10 — The Court
Beth’s initial reaction had been to fight the divorce. John had filed under irreconcilable differences. That gave Beth plenty of options to ask for counselling and to fight every detail of the asset split. Beth had lawyered up fast and John had to do the same.
Having seen John and realised the extent of her betrayal, she dropped the request for counselling and agreed to sign the divorce papers without further fighting.
On the day of the only court appearance, the judge looked at Beth. “You have dropped your claim for counselling. Can I ask why?”
Beth stood up, feeling nervous. She knew John was watching her from his seat and for some reason, that was more scary to her than speaking to the judge. “Your honour, I did something so terrible to my husband, the love of my life, that I have to let him go. I know he can’t live with me, but in the words of the song, “If you love someone, set them free,” so that is what I have to do. You never know, in several years, he may come back to me.”
The judge looked at John. “Have you anything to add?”
John thought,then stood up. “No, your honour, I just want this over.”
The judge looked around the room, then said, “Divorce granted on the basis of the petition laid before me. The marriage will be dissolved in ninety days, unless both parties apply to the court to have it overturned.”
Beth sat in her chair, thinking about what she had destroyed. John sat in his chair and thought about the little blonde he had met on Saturday night in the club. She had worn him out and he wondered if she was up for a repeat performance.
Act 11 — Epilogue
Martin stood at the door, looking into the eyes of the husband of Jane Danials. Martin had moved across the country after being promoted. A new town had presented him with plenty of hunting opportunities. Jane Danials was a typical soccer mum and Martin had delighted in the chase and standing there, looking at the defeated husband was amazing.
Just as he was thinking, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see three men standing behind him. The look on their faces was not pleasant. One said, “Well, sir, you like playing with married woman so we are here to explain to you that is not acceptable behavior around these parts.”
Martin wondered how he had misread the situation he also knew that was going to be a lot of pain in it for him over the next few hours.
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