If you discover your wife is having an affair, you must improve yourself whether you divorce or reconcile.
Jack and his wife, Ingrid, have been having marriage problems when he notices that she has received a message from someone called Will saying, “Room booked for Rome for 26th-29th May. Can’t wait!!” That was the weekend she was going to a conference in Rome. As his heart sinks as it dawns on him that his wife is having an affair.
Taking a long hard look at himself in the mirror, he realises he has let himself go and that Ingrid has fallen out of love with him. Disgusted by what he has seen, he starts to work on himself, to try and save his marriage. He dresses better and exercises to lose weight. The problem is that Ingrid is going to Rome in two months.
Can Jack improve himself and save his marriage before Ingrid goes to Rome? A classic reconciliation story.
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Free Extract
Chapter 1
I looked at my wife’s, Ingrid, phone, and felt sick. It was full of messages to someone called Will, messages you would send to a lover. My blood ran cold as I read them. She had arranged to meet after work on days when she told me she had to work late. They had gone for dinner and drinks. They were clearly dating. She was telling him how good a listener he was and what good company he was. He was telling her how beautiful she was. She had told him how much she was looking forward to seeing him again. There were photos on there of them together, with arms around each other smiling. It looked like they had been seeing each other for a few months.
This was my worst nightmare. How could she do this to me? I had been nothing but faithful. I opened her photos and scrolled down to see us from happier times. These happy memories became gut-wrenching. The phone pinged and a message popped up. It was from Will,
Room booked for Rome for 26th-29th May. Can’t wait!!!
Oh my god! That’s when she was due to attend the conference she had planned to attend. That was in two months. I look at the messages again. A sense of relief fell over me. They hadn’t had sex yet. They couldn’t have. Oh, Christ, but they were planning to, in Rome.
‘Jack, have you seen my phone!’ I heard Ingrid say sharply, unseen from outside the room. I quickly make a show of shuffling bits of paper before calling out to her,
‘I’ve found it!’ I called out to her. I stood up and went to her, ‘It was charging in my office,’ I smiled weakly, handing it to her, my hand shaking. ‘You have a message.’
She looked at me nervously, ‘Have you been snooping on my phone?’
‘No, of course, not,’ I lied with a false laugh. ‘Are you having an affair or something?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ she snapped snatching the phone from me, but her eyes were full of nervous doubt. ‘Remember, I’m working late tonight. I won’t be home until 9 pm. You can have dinner without me. There are leftovers in the fridge.’
I went to kiss her, but she turned so I kissed her cheek instead and she left without a goodbye.
I returned to my office, and I collapsed into my chair in despair. This couldn’t be happening! I then began to stare at the photos of us on my desk of the pair of us. We looked so happy. As I stared, I noticed the photos were from several years ago. I looked younger, better dressed, and thinner. Those were the days when I worked for a big corporation. Before I was made redundant, and before I became a finance blogger.
I went to our bedroom and saw the photos there. They were from back then too. I went around the house and the photos were the same. There was nothing recent. I returned to my bedroom and looked in the mirror. My despair turned to anger. In the mirror, I saw what she saw. I was a mess. My hair was a mess, my clothes were old and dirty. I had no idea how much I had let myself go. I pulled up my T-shirt and saw the rolls of fat. Ingrid was disgusted by me. She had stopped loving me. That was why our sex life had disappeared. You can’t have sex with someone who disgusts you. Why would she love this guy? An awful realisation hit me. I had also stopped trying. She would spend the day at the office, come home, cook, and clean while I stayed in my home office. No wonder she started seeing someone else. Someone who would lavish attention on her. Someone like Will.
My wife, Ingrid, and I had been married for five years and together for eight. We were good together. We regularly went out together, to restaurants, and meeting friends, trips away. Our sex life had been epic. The sex I had with Ingrid was the best I ever had. We were going to start a family. We had good careers; you would have called us highflyers. You would still call Ingrid a highflyer. She was earning far more than me now.
When I lost my job, I decided to follow my dream of becoming a writer. So, I started a finance advice blog. Ingrid supported me all the way. I managed to earn a decent wage, but it was a fraction of what I used to. The truth was that I could earn more from it. My financial advice blog was linked to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. My dream had been to be the next consumer finance guru, I had thousands of loyal followers, but I could do so much more with it, but I had become a lazy fat slob.
Tears welled up in my eyes to see what I had become. Without meaning to brag, I used to be good-looking and well-groomed. Women used to check me out, but I only had eyes for Ingrid and now Ingrid had eyes for someone else.
I was furious with myself. I had become lazy, and it was going to cost me Ingrid. She had betrayed me because of my laziness, and we were on the path to divorce. Despite her betrayal, I still loved her.
Then I remembered she hadn’t had sex with Will, and I wondered if there was a chance of winning her back. Did I want her back? Yes, I did. She betrayed me because I betrayed her with my laziness and neglect. If I wanted her back, I needed to change, I needed to be the person I used to be. The person she used to love. I had two months. If she has sex with Will then there would be no turning back.
When you have a blog you quite often collaborate with other bloggers. I went to my computer, and I checked my followers and passed collaborators. I had a few fitness and lifestyle bloggers following me who I liaised with now and again who I gave free financial advice. I quickly messaged one I knew who lived close by.
Hey Nick
I was wondering if you could give me some help offline. I’m looking to lose some weight and get myself fit. Would you be willing to train me? I’m willing to pay for your time. Could also give you exposure on my blog too. Could record my story and have links to your blog and photos of us both?
All the best
Jack
Nick’s response was almost instantaneous.
What’s up Jack!
Sound great. When do you want to start?
Nick
Oh boy, this going to be hard.
Thanks Nick
I need to start today or tomorrow. Just found out that my wife is seeing someone else. Need help to get in shape to win her back and I only have two months to save my marriage.
Jack
Nick didn’t reply for a while. My heart sank. I could do it myself, but I needed a personal trainer to get fast results and at least be in shape before Ingrid went to Rome with Will, but he looked like my confession made him ghost me. I needed to be the man she married again. I went to my wardrobe and looked at my clothes. There was a lot of stuff I forgot I had. I took them out and realised I couldn’t fit in any of them. I then looked at the clothes I normally wore. They disgusted even me. They were full of stains and holes. I needed to buy new clothes. I got some bin bags and threw all my clothes in them, even my underwear and socks. Tears ran down my face. Nothing excused Ingrid’s cheating but I had given her the excuse she could throw back in my face if I confronted her. Even if it was too late, I should at least do it with my head held high.
I returned to my computer and found Nick had replied,
Jack mate, I am so sorry.
I apologise for not replying quicker. I hope I didn’t appear heartless; I was checking out my schedule. Love the collaboration idea but let’s focus on you. Can you make it today at 3pm in Ashbury Park so we can see what we are working with?
I quickly replied,
Thank you so much Nick!
3 pm today in Ashbury Park sounds great. See you then.
My heart leapt.
Chapter 2
I met Nick as arranged in Ashbury Park at 3 pm. Since I found out about Ingrid’s cheating my self-esteem and self-worth plummeted, it got even worse when I saw how the world saw me, and I think it got close to rock bottom when I met Nick.
Nick was a very good-looking guy. He had a well-defined and muscular body. Unsurprisingly, he had a lot of female clientele and fans. To make it worse, he was a really nice guy. Any man would feel inadequate next to him.
I had spent the morning shopping. I spent a small fortune on new clothes and got myself a haircut. I tried to show restraint because I hoped to lose a couple of clothes sizes, but I had thrown out so much that I needed to replace most of it, or I wouldn’t have anything to wear. I also visited the tech store and bought a camera, background lights, a microphone, and a GoPro camera. When I started my blog, I intended to have a YouTube channel as well but although I created an account it fell about the wayside as my laziness kicked in. That was going to change.
‘Hey, Jack,’ Nick called to me warmly from a distance. Fuck, this guy was good-looking and looked even more ripped in real life. Some guys would probably go gay for him. Nick then pulled a face when I got closer, and he saw I hadn’t failed to notice.
‘Hi, Nick. How are you?’
‘I’m so sorry, Jack. For everything and my reaction,’ he said guiltily. ‘That was really unprofessional of me.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ I reassured him. ‘I know what I look like. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not surprised that Ingrid is cheating on me.’
‘Nah mate, her cheating is on her, not you,’ he told me seriously with a lot of sympathy. ‘I’ll lay it on the line, you are out of shape, and I can’t help you win her back, but I can help you get into shape so that even if you can’t win her back, she will regret it, and you won’t be on the market for long. How does that sound?’
‘It sounds great, Nick!’ I smiled. Nick’s enthusiasm was infectious.
‘If we are going to do this, I will need 100% commitment from you. We have a short time frame, but I know we can do this.’
‘Hell, yeah!’ I replied loudly, surprising myself with my enthusiasm.
‘Yeah!’ Nick shouted and we high-fived. ‘That’s what I’m looking for. We’re on to a good start already.’
‘Hey, listen, Nick, I’m serious about this collaboration. I brought some equipment to film our training sessions. I want to film my journey, and I want you to benefit from it.’
‘Jack there really isn’t any need. You’ve helped me in the past with my business for free. I’m just returning the favour.’
‘No, I insist. What I did for you was chicken feed compared with what you are doing for me.’
‘Okay, but only because you insist, alright.’
‘Great!’ I smiled.
We went to the car and got the GoPro camera because Nick decided we would start with a run in the park. The workout was hell. More than once, Nick tried to stop but I insisted we kept going. I really just stumbled around the park before Nick got me to do some weights and boxing with pads and mitts.
‘I’ve got to say I’m impressed with your attitude,’ Nick effused when we had finished. ‘Ingrid should be impressed when you get home.’ I made a painful expression and Nick understood immediately that she was seeing Will that night, ‘Jesus, I’m sorry! Look, we are going to do this three times a week and I’ll send you some yoga exercises you can do when we don’t meet that will work on your core, so you get faster results. You should see some improvement in about three weeks. Are you good for that? It’s going to really tough on you. Also, I think you shouldn’t do this for Ingrid, I think it would be better if you did this for yourself. If you win Ingrid back then great, but if you don’t you will still have your pride. I don’t want you feeling at the end like, what was the point? People fall into depression from that.’
‘Yeah,’ I panted, barely able to breathe which made Nick laugh but my expression through the pain that I agreed with him, and Nick could see it too. This guy was good.
‘Awesome! We’ll meet here at 3 pm in a couple of days.’
I noticed, after I arrived home and showered, the dirty laundry was overflowing. I decided that as this was the first day, I would make a big statement. I put as much as I could in the washing machine and headed to the shops to buy the ingredients for Spaghetti Carbonara. It was the meal I cooked for her the night we first made love, so I knew it was special to her and I paired it with her favourite Italian wine. I might not be the one taking her to Italy but maybe I could bring Italy to her.
I waited past 9 pm for Ingrid to return. Eventually, the hunger I felt from my workout got the better of me and I ate by myself. I left her plate on the table waiting for her. I guessed she had dinner with Will. I spent the rest of the evening hanging up the laundry to dry before I went online for advice on how to deal with being cheated on. It turned out Ingrid was having an emotional affair, and it was now up to me how to deal with it. If I wanted a divorce, I would need proof but if I wanted her back, I would need to win her back. I decided that what I planned to do was the right way forward but if it turned physical, that would be the redline for me. Nick sent me the yoga exercises as well. He must have spent several hours doing that for me. He was proving to be a real friend.
It was well after 10 pm when Ingrid returned. I had gone to bed early because it had been a busy and emotional day. I was half asleep when she got home. I heard an ‘OH!’ in surprise from downstairs. I assumed she saw the Spaghetti Carbonara. Then I heard ‘What the-?’ in surprise again. She must have seen the laundry drying.
I’m not sure what she was doing but she took a while before slowly climbing the stairs. She did it like she was afraid she might see something she didn’t like. I heard her then enter the bathroom and she began to masturbate as she always did when she got home late. Normally it upset me because it meant she didn’t want me to have sex with her or even me to get her off but this time I felt relieved because it meant she still hadn’t had sex with Will, but it was getting harder and harder for her because she hadn’t had sex for so long. I hoped she could hold out just a while longer.
The following morning, I rose early. I found out why she took so long to come to bed. She had completely rearranged the drying laundry. I made her breakfast and waited for her.
‘You’ve made me breakfast!?’ I wasn’t sure if it was a statement or a question from Ingrid, I don’t think she was sure either. We ate breakfast in silence and Ingrid ate with a worried expression. I didn’t think it was doubt that was on her mind, but more of why I was doing it and probably whether I knew about her and Will. ‘Thank you for dinner and doing the laundry,’ she said awkwardly. ‘I need to show you how to hang it up properly. I’m sorry, I had dinner out last night with my colleagues, but I will take the Spaghetti Carbonara to work for lunch. I tasted a little and it was delicious. It has been a long time since you cooked that for me.’
When I kissed Ingrid goodbye, she turned her cheek as she habitually did now but this time it was a little less turned. I was surprised by her reaction. When she left the house, I couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t come back to me, but it was a better start I could have dreamed of.
I started the day doing the yoga exercises Nick sent me and then I went through my blog and chose some topics to record some videos to upload onto YouTube. During my breaks, I finished washing the dirty laundry and prepared dinner so I could cook it later.
Ingrid surprised me when she returned home at a normal time. She was in a terrible mood.
‘You’re home early. I thought you were working late again?’ I asked tentatively.
‘What of it,’ she snapped, ignoring my attempt at a kiss. ‘It’s my home too! I have a right to be here!’
‘I’ll start dinner,’ I told her.
‘What?’ she snapped.
‘I’ll start dinner. I found a Japanese recipe that looked nice,’ I said quietly.
‘Fine!’ she snapped again but a little less angrily before she shouted, ‘Oh, for the love of God! Jack, come here!’ I found her by the drying laundry. ‘If you are going to keep doing the laundry, learn to hang it properly. Get some coat hangers from the wardrobe!’ She then began to show me how to hang the laundry, berating me as she did so.
I was getting confused. She was shouting and insulting me but helping me with the laundry. It didn’t make sense. Her phone then rang and she looked terrified,
‘I need to take this call,’ she said disappearing hurriedly into the toilet and locking the door. I couldn’t help but eavesdrop but I’m glad I did because I found out the reason for her bad mood.
‘I told you not to call me when I’m with Jack,’ I heard Ingrid hiss. ‘Seriously? Are you still going on about the Spaghetti Carbonara? What was I supposed to do? I had to eat it. Whether it was delicious or not isn’t the point. He would have got suspicious if I hadn’t eaten it and just thrown it away. It might not matter to you, but it does for me. Look, I’m not talking about it now. I have to go!’ and she abruptly ended the conversation.
I couldn’t help but punch the air in delight. I had my opening. She was talking with Will and they had a big argument about the Spaghetti Carbonara I cooked for her. You had to hand it to Will, it takes balls to have an affair with a married woman and then get jealous of the husband when he does something the wife appreciates. What an asshole! Strike one to me and my weapon of choice was Spaghetti Carbonara. I decided to make all her lunches from then on.
I got the wine Ingrid and I didn’t drink the night before, pouring two glasses. Ingrid might not have been celebrating but I was. Ingrid sat in the toilet for a while before she flushed the toilet, making a show of washing her hands. Maybe she was washing her face. When she left the toilet, she looked like she had been crying.
‘Here,’ I said to her holding out her glass of wine. ‘You look stressed. Take a seat and tell me about your day while I cook.’
Ingrid looked at me stunned before she looked at me properly, ‘Have you bought some new clothes?’
‘Yeah, I decided to buy a whole new wardrobe, and I have begun to work out,’ I said brightly, I was in a good mood.
‘Oh,’ she said taking a sip of her wine with a worried expression. ‘They look good on you.’
Sean Dalton Erotic 