In 2014 edrider73 wrote a story called Strange Car in the Driveway.
You really should read this classic piece of Literotica fiction before you read my sequel, which has been written with the permission of edrider73.
Thanks to Randi for an excellent editorial job. Any remaining mistakes are mine alone.
You'll find the original story here:- https://www.literotica.com/s/strange-car-in-the-driveway
And now, the sequel.
*****
The sound of bitter, heartrending sobs had woken Vera. They were the visceral sounds produced by a soul in torment, torn from a woman who knew she had lost everything that she had ever held dear to her, or close to her, that she knew she would never hold again, or be close to, again. Ever.
When Vera touched her cheeks she realised that they were slick with her tears and that the sobs that had awoken her had been her own.
Gary stood, stupefied, as he read the letter that Vera had placed for him to find in the envelope:-
Dear Gary,
I love you and only you, and I am not having an affair. I want to tell you that first because I know you are really upset right now. It's the same way I would feel if I were in your place.
But there is nothing to worry about.
This package is an explanation of what just happened, but before I explain, I want to tell you how sorry I am for doing this to you. I hope the whole thing didn't last more than fifteen minutes. Also, this is not a prank. Also, I don't think it's amusing. Now for the explanation.
What you've been listening to is my play, as performed by Reg and me. It got an A+ from the instructor. I told her it's fiction, but I could tell she thinks I'm really having an affair with Reg. That put the icing on the cake for me. Remember, the assignment was to write something from real life or good enough to make her think it's real life.
She loved my idea of two people performing the play on a dark stage, and that's the way Reg and I read it in front of the class. You'll hear the reaction if you listen to the end. We got a standing ovation. Afterward, I told her it was the first and last performance and that no one else would be permitted to hear the recording or see the script except her, and I was counting on her confidentiality because I knew she would never violate the university's code of ethics. It was a threat, and she understood.
The first time I met with Reg, he already knew what his play was going to be about, but I had no idea what to do. I started telling him about our life and asked him to stop me if he heard anything dramatic I could make a play about. He never stopped me.
Before we left the coffeehouse, he told me a little about himself, Penny and their kids. I joked that I felt safe, knowing he wasn't an actor. He asked me what I meant, and I told him about Kara's opinions of actors and her warning.
His eyes lit up, and he asked me, what if it wasn't a joke? What if he and I had an affair while we were working on our plays?
I asked him whether he had lost his mind, and he said something like that could easily happen, and it would make for great drama. I said I didn't think I could write that kind of play, but he said to try.
With a lot of pushing by Reg, I managed to do it. It was my idea to do it in the dark, because I was so ashamed of what I was imagining that I was doing to you. He thought that made it even better. I couldn't think of any motivation for me to betray you until he came up with the idea of turning guilt into exciting sex. That was totally sick, but the teacher and class went for it.
I told him about how you liked everything I wrote, whether it was crap or not, and I wished I could get your honest response to my play. I don't know which of us came up with the idea of the car in the driveway. He provided the speakers and the electronics and security detectors that turned the recording on as soon as you opened the door.
I went back and forth a lot of times in the last couple of days. I really wanted to know how you'd respond to the play. Would it sound realistic enough to fool you for a few minutes? I guess I'm just like those insecure, neurotic playwrights that we've been studying. I knew that if I got my wish and you really believed it, it would also make me selfish and cruel, because it would hurt you deeply. Maybe the most disgusting thing I did was last night when I manipulated our conversation. You didn't know it, but when you told me you'd forgive me, you were giving me permission to do this to you.
I was afraid you'd destroy Reg's car, so I rented a junk car from a salvage yard. It will be towed back tomorrow. I rented a sledgehammer for you, too. It's in the garage, so if you feel like it, you can pound the car to pieces. I also moved everything valuable out of our bedroom, so you can destroy that, too. You told me a couple of months ago that it was time to get a new bed anyway.
If you are in a rage, I hope you do anything you feel like to work it out. The only thing I want to prevent is you hurting yourself, or hurting someone else and going to prison. That's why your gun is in a safe place, not in the house.
Reg wanted to mount cameras to record your reaction, but I said no. We've only been listening to you through the tablet. Right now we're listening to silence while you're reading this. Reg thought you might be curious and listen to the whole play. I bet him that once he said he was naked, the door would be history. We've heard who won the bet. I'm hoping Reg and Penny owe us a couple of steak dinners.
If you didn't wait to hear the whole thing, you don't know the ending, so I'll tell you. I never do sleep with Reg. We end up talking each other out of it. It had to be at least a little realistic for me, even though I don't think the teacher liked the ending. If you want, you can read the script. It's in the envelope with this letter.
If you are up to it, you could join Penny, Reg and me at the Denny's near our house, but I don't blame you if you'd rather not. Now that I know you're reading this, I'll wait about fifteen minutes and then head home. If you feel like yelling at me and throwing things or giving me the silent treatment, I'll completely understand. No matter what you do, I deserve it.
Is there anything else you should know, since we always tell each other everything? Yes, I know you held back on your suspicions, but that doesn't count because of how I manipulated you to set you up for today.
Larry and Kara have no idea they helped me. Kara really did see me at the coffeehouse with Reg, and what she told you was completely true. She called me after she spoke to you and screamed at me. I explained to her that the first time she saw me, I was unhappy because I couldn't think of what to write, and the second time I was excited because the play was nearly finished. I told her not to say anything to you because I was under a lot of pressure to get the play done, and I didn't want to have any conversations with you about Reg until later.
The only person you know whom I took into my confidence was your boss. You won't believe how hard she tried hard to talk me out of doing this. Before she finally gave in and agreed to send you home early, she said that if I ever did anything this cruel to you again she'd come after me, herself. I swore on her Bible that I wouldn't. She felt so bad that when she apologizes to you tomorrow morning and asks you to forgive her, she'll probably tell you about your promotion and raise that wasn't going to be announced until next month. Please act surprised.
I thought we could take the kids out for pizza after we pick them up later, if that's okay with you.
And last, but not least, I love you love you love you and beg you to forgive me.
Love,
Vera
Gary had, theoretically, known what the word 'bereft' meant. But now? Now he really, truly knew what the word meant. He felt what it meant, felt it in his flesh, his bones and in his soul. He tasted it, almost.
'Bereft.' Verb. Meaning: to deprive and make desolate, especially by death. Desolation.
Vera had killed their marriage, had rendered it desolate. She hadn't done it thoughtlessly, she had done it extremely thoughtfully, with careful planning throughout, over a long period of time and with a good deal of malice, too. Doubtless she'd deny that, deny she had intended any malice, but Gary knew better. How could such an evil scheme be perpetrated without any malice?
Shit! If she did truly love him, was his loving caring wife and really did "love him love him love him" and she could do this to him, what the hell could she do to him if she ever stopped loving him, or even actually started to hate him at some point in the future?
He looked down at her tablet. He steadied himself mentally before somehow managing to speak in as steady a voice as he could manage. "Vera, Reg and Penny, what can I say? You set me up and you got me.
"Vera, I will come down to be with you and Reg and Penny at Dennys, but I'll be a little longer than fifteen minutes. After what I just went through I feel a little soiled, a little dirty, to be honest. I'll take a shower before I meet you. It'll be about 45 minutes or so before I get there."
He reached over and turned her tablet off. There was no reason for her not to believe him, he thought, so he'd probably have an hour at least for him to do what he needed to do.
He walked to the built in wardrobe, and from the top shelf removed a large suitcase which he put on the bed; he opened it and carefully, but with speed, ("more haste, less speed" he thought to himself) and put in enough clothing for a week or so. He was still in his business suit, so that needn't be packed.
He closed the suitcase and carried it downstairs into the hallway.
From the home office he removed his Macbook, charger and his phone charger and put them in his laptop case. Almost as if it were an afterthought, he went back to the bedroom and retrieved the letter and the package Vera had left him. He took that downstairs and placed it in his laptop bag, zipping it up and placing his bags on the back seat of his car.
It had taken just under twenty minutes to clear himself out of the smouldering ruins of his marriage.
He drove away from the house, unsure exactly of where he was going or what he would do. He just knew he had to quickly put distance between himself, Vera and their nuked marriage.
