if you are looking for a BTB story then this isn't for you. A cheating Mother and wife and her husband are confronted and helped by their tenacious daughter.
Father/Peter
My daughter Elaine, cornered me in my home office. She sat in the chair opposite my desk, with her arms crossed over her chest. She just had her eighteenth birthday and is off to college next year. She is as smart as a whip.
"Dad, we need to talk."
"Okay, you look serious. What's the problem?"
"Are you aware that Mother has been having an affair? She had a man home with her on the weekend."
I sighed and looked at her. So young and yet so wise. She was concerned, very concerned for her dear old Dad. It warmed my heart.
"Yes, I know she is having an affair." I replied calmly.
"What the heck! What are you doing about it?"
"That's a loaded question. I am doing everything I can, which is damn little."
"Why haven't you stopped her? It has been going on for a couple of months."
"Actually it has been nearly two years now. I know about her and her 'friend from work'. I didn't know they were using our house though."
"Dad, why are you taking such a laid-back attitude about this? She is cheating on you."
"What would I gain by confronting her, screaming at her, laying down the law? I never scream, your Mom and I had a long and difficult conversation about her desires. I told her I didn't approve and that she would be responsible for the consequences. The only person she has been trying to hide it from is you."
"I have seen him here, in our house, totally by accident last weekend. You were away on a business trip. Mom didn't know I had come home. He was naked and walking from your bedroom to the bathroom after having sex with Mom. His penis was all slimy and flopping about. It was gross! Mom didn't see me. I wanted to say something to her but I had to tell you first."
I shook my head. I knew Margot had been emboldened by her affair but to bring it home was unconscionable. I guess she figured there would be no witnesses so no harm no foul.
"Your Mom met him at work. They spend between 8-10 hours a day together. They eat lunch and take breaks together. I see Margot for half an hour in the morning and maybe two hours at supper before bed. She knows him better than she knows me. I'm not going to discuss my sex life with you but let's just say you Mom has no interest in me."
"As she grew closer to him she drew farther and farther away from me. I asked her why she had become so distant and she admitted that she had met someone that she was becoming close to. I asked her if they were having sex. She answered, "Not yet." That told me that she intended to. I told her I wasn't going to give my okay to that. I told her it would be the end of us. She would be throwing away all our years building a family. She said she didn't need my okay, didn't require my approval."
"But Dad..."
"She was right kiddo. She didn't need my permission, she could do whatever her heart desired. I don't own her. She knew there would be a price to pay but she did it anyway. I mentioned divorce and she laughed. She said she'd skin me till I was broke. I said that I wouldn't care. She then said she'd make sure I wouldn't get custody or visitation rights for you. She would poison my relationship with you.
I couldn't imagine life without you Elaine. So I am simply biding my time. I figure once you've graduated from college I will pull the trigger on a divorce."
"But Dad, you are suffering now. Aren't you heartbroken?"
"Yes, I still love your Mom but she loves someone else. It hurts but I can't do anything about it until you are independent. I will tell her that using our home is disrespectful and. It needs to stop."
"I love you, Dad. I want to talk to Mom about this. I want her to know that we know and that we don't approve. It is better if I talk to her alone but I wanted to talk to you first."
"I don't advise that. She might not react the way you think she will."
"I am going to do it. Dad, I'm on your side okay?"
"I love you too."
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Mother/Margot
My daughter cornered me in the kitchen, she was scowling. I figured she wanted more money for something, but I was wrong.
"Mom, I know you are having an affair with a co-worker. I've seen him here in our house. He came out of your bedroom naked, he was walking to the bathroom. Why are you cheating on Dad?"
Damn, Peter! He must have told Elaine. I hadn't expected this, I didn't think she knew. I stuttered some words in reply.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you do Mom. Dad knows all about it too. How could you hurt him like this?"
"Your Father and I have an understanding...I am allowed to have my own friends."
"Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. He is not your friend. He is your lover, your affair partner, you have sex with him in the same bed you and Dad sleep in. Don't sugarcoat it. Why don't you love Dad anymore?"
This is a very difficult conversation and I was sure I was going to bungle it.
"I do love your Father. We have just grown apart. We have different interests."
"You don't show your love for your husband by sleeping around on him. Dad is the same man he has always been, the man you married. You have abandoned a man who worshiped the ground you walked on. The two of you always put family first. Dad still puts family first. It is the reason he hasn't kicked you to the curb. You threatened to break him if he divorced you. You are forcing Dad into living his life as a cuckold."
"Where have you learned language like that?!"
"On the internet like everyone else!"
"Mom, if you continue with your affair then it will be you who will not see me. If you don't drop it I will apply to the courts for emancipation from you. Legally you would cease to be my mother."
"Elaine, be reasonable, how do I end a love affair that I've had for two years?"
"The same way you walked away from loving my father who loved you for more than twenty years. It should be easy."
Shit, the girl knew everything. She was even playing hardball. Emancipation was no small threat. I loved my daughter. It would ruin my reputation and hamper my career too.
Father/Peter
My daughter told me about the confrontation with my wife, Margot. I expected some backlash from her but my wife was unusually quiet. I wanted to discuss how this was affecting Elaine but lately I could read my wife like a book. It wouldn't have ended well. So once again I held my tongue and bided my time. My daughter came to me in my office and asked me some short, deep questions.
"Do you still love Mom?"
"Yes."
"Even though she's sleeping with another man?"
"Yes, your next question will be why. The truth is I will always love her. I may not always be with her, we will likely be divorced. I may hate the choices she has made. but I will always love her."
"If Mom was to end her affair...?"
"I would love her just as much as I do now."
"That's not really what I'm asking."
"I know honey. She has broken our promises, our vows to each other. She has given herself or at least her body to another man. She can't erase that. Even if I could forgive her, how can she ever be my wife again? I will always love her but we can never gain back what we lost."
"Thanks, Dad, I understand. I want to talk to Mom about this. I want her to know what you told me. I know you two can't communicate with the marriage in such rough shape but I think she needs to hear this."
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Mother/Margot
Elaine had another talk with me. She said that she wished she didn't have to be a go-between Peter and me. She then told me what my husband had said.
Tears formed and collected in my eyes. He still loves me? After the shit I've put him through?
How would I have felt if it was him who was having an affair? Would I still say that I loved him? Not fucking likely!
The thing that hurt me the most was that he said although he would love me forever, he couldn't excuse my actions and my disrespect. He was right, I had crossed a line that can't be uncrossed.
Peter is one of the calmest and deepest men I've ever known. He never raises his voice in anger but he not a doormat, far from it. He doesn't show his anger in a normal way. There was no ranting and raving. Maybe if he had ranted and raved a little I wouldn't have gone as far as I have.
"What difference does it make whether I continue or quit my affair? The end result is your father will never really forgive me."
"Mom, it would show integrity. Dad would honour that."
"But he would never take me back."
"He says that now because you are still with your affair partner. This can't be a quid pro quo. You can't say to Dad 'Take me back and I'll stop dating my affair partner.' You need to act unilaterally. Give it up because it isn't right, not as a means to a reconciliation."
"How did you ever get so smart? I think you may be right. It's a lot to think about."
Daughter/Elaine
The next month was very different around the house.
Mom came home from work earlier than usual every day. She stayed at home with Dad and me on the weekends.
Dad does a lot more work from home and because of the increased face time with Mom, they have actually been communicating.
Dad surprised us by taking us out for an afternoon of fun at an amusement park and dinner afterward. It was nice to see Mom and Dad smiling together and laughing.
There was a different feel in the house. Instead of grabbing meals individually, we sat down together for meals. It was not something we had done in two years. We had conversations at the table, real conversations for a change.
I found Mom making up the bed one morning and thought it was time I addressed the changed vibe.
"You know Mom, I've enjoyed the atmosphere here in the last while. We have been acting like a family again. What has changed Mom?"
"I have been looking into the mirror, and I wasn't liking what I saw or who I've become. I want this family to be happier. If it means spending more time here at home then I'm happy to do it."
"Dad seems to be happy with the change."
"Maybe, but I still have difficulty talking to him. He won't address the elephant in the room and I'm afraid to."
"If we keep living the way we have this past month it won't be an issue. The path forward will be plain to both of you."
Dad and I had another of our office talks.
"Dad, you seem to be a lot happier these days."
"It's been nice spending more time together. We all have our own things to do but lately we eat together, have fun, talk."
"You and Mom don't talk about the big issues though, do you?
"No, but I am enjoying the fact that she is home a lot more often."
"I wonder why Mom is spending so much more time with us? Do you know?"
"No idea, not a clue. Usually I know her motivations."
"I always knew you were clueless Dad!" She laughed.
"Here is a clue for you, if she is spending time with us she isn't spending it with someone else. Think on that for a bit."
Father/Peter
My daughter has been working hard on both of us. I have been enjoying our family life this past month. It feels a lot like it used to be. But I know it can never truly be like that again. o
Elaine has been dropping clues, letting me know that Margot is having a change of heart. For the past two years, she ignored me. Now she seems to enjoy time with us. It is time I sucked it up and had a heart-to-heart with my wife.
When we finished dinner that night our daughter said she was going out to a movie with friends.
