Tomorrow's a New Day

This is a work of fiction. The legal proceedings although based on Scottish Courts rules have been changed in places to suit the narrative so don't use them for your own divorce.

This is the story of how man was badly wronged but ended up far better off. The culprits not so well.

There is no gory BTB nor an RAAC.

My life went from shit to a fucking bourach (Scots -- truly massive fucking mess) as I walked past the conference room. I saw that Bill was showing pictures from the wedding he had attended yesterday on the big screen. What caught my attention was in the background. My nemesis Darren Bryant with his arm around my wife Judith's waist as they headed to the hotel behind. Bill knew Judith so he knew what was going on. No one had said anything to me about this. Some friends and colleagues!

From the group's laughter, I surmised they all saw it and already knew. Not only that it was old news. I didn't stop. If they saw me, they never let on. I brushed aside the thought that they had seen me and were laughing at me. I learned later that was the fucking truth!

Donald Harvey our manager kept having me cover for Bryant. I had had to cover yet again for him that afternoon. Harvey had my holiday cancelled because Bryant had an urgent course. Judith went on her own. Or as it now struck me, did she?

The rest of the afternoon, I didn't do any actual work, I plotted to get my revenge on my cheating wife, that bastard and my so-called colleagues. I wouldn't work here a moment longer than I had too. I went to HR and asked about my notice period and annual leave. I knew I had at least seven weeks due me. It appeared that Harvey hadn't cancelled my leave. I showed Stella his email cancelling it and why. She just looked at me with sadness. Even she fucking knew!

I was utterly pissed off. I went through everything with her and her neighbour, the financial controller. I am supremely organised. It makes my work much easier. Maybe it's right I suffer from OCD! I have a record of all my work and expenses. I was able to prove Harvey was falsifying records to stop payments to me which were then paid to Bryant. By the end, they were able to confirm I was due nine weeks three days annual leave. I was due in excess of £17000 which had been paid to Bryant. Stella printed everything off. I copied those as I didn't trust anyone anymore.

My notice period was twelve weeks due to my specialist skills. I went back to my desk and wrote out my resignation. I didn't give it to Harvey who I just glared at until he was really uncomfortable. I had always been compliant; my only complaints were when I had to cover for Bryant. I went to see the CEO, David Bennett, one of the family who owned the company. His secretary told me he was busy. I told her I needed to see him urgently. If I didn't, I would be seeing a lawyer. She was very surprised with my tone. This was a different me.

She spoke to him again. He told her he would be free in twenty minutes and for me to come back then. I could tell by his tone something was off. Later as I thought about it he was trying not to laugh.

I came back and he kept me waiting. Ten minutes later he let me in.

There was no handshake, sorry about the wait.

"Well, Adam what's got you so riled up?" he smirked.

I was actually calm which surprised me. "Here's my resignation. I have been shat upon enough. I have had my leave cancelled allegedly for the firm's benefit. Everyone laughs behind my back as Darren Bryant fucks my wife as I have to cover his jobs for him as he does it. Harvey falsifies the pay sheets, so Bryant is paid for my work so you're due me over £17000.

"You'll see those accounts there. With my annual leave, despite Harvey trying to give it to Bryant, I have just over two weeks to work. I'll work them but I won't cover for Bryant, he can get fucked. He might have a very serious accident."

Bennett was not only quiet, but he was also gloating. His face showed his delight in what I was feeling. "You didn't know Bryant was fucking your wife, did you? Man, you're fucking blind. He boasts about it every fucking time. I'll sort out your money now fuck off out of here!"

Well, I knew where I stood. I'll have two weeks to get my revenge on all the cunts here, especially Bryant. I came out of that office and his secretary about shit herself. If I had been mad before my face said I was looking for trouble.

I went back to my desk. I could see others watching me but no one came to me. They had never seen an angry me before. I finished on time. Harvey had had me use my personal phone for work to save the firm money as my phone could have two sim cards. I took out the company one and left it on my desk. I wasn't giving them a second more than I had to. As I left, I saw some watching me like I was a stranger.

Bill enquired, "You're leaving on time for once Adam. What's up?"

"I've an appointment," I said brusquely. I carried on walking.

Thursday evening was late night, even the banks are open. I went in and saw the assistant and opened new accounts in my name only. When she showed me the balance on the joint account, I had with Judith it was very low. I could see missing payments. I asked why it hadn't been topped up from her account as it had been set up to. Judith had cancelled her mandate ten months ago. The girl apologised as she wasn't supposed to have told me. I told her it was okay; I wouldn't report her.

The anger I felt was growing. I left the bank and headed home. I needed to think and plan.

I should tell you a little about me. I'm Adam Halliday, 29, okay looking. I keep myself fit by heading to the gym three or so nights a week and do a bit of running. I'm a mechanical engineer with high end electrical and computer skills who solves large machine malfunctions. I work on those extremely expensive computerised machines which many local maintenance staff don't have the specialised skills for. As a result, I often have to travel. I suppose I'm one of those you never see, always in the background. I never shove myself forward, just do the job bloody well.

I do get taken as a fool as you've read. I'm not. I'm just conscientious and made the fucking mistake of trusting a whore and my work colleagues. I had wanted our company to do well. I'll help anyone apart from Darren Bryant who I can't stand ever since our childhood paths crossed. I can't describe him as an arsehole as arseholes have a use.

Judith had been treating me like something nasty she'd trod on for a long time. Now I knew why. I had tried to speak with her but she always managed to avoid actually speaking with me. She was used to getting her own way. At first I allowed it because I loved her and wanted to see her happy but recently it was only to avoid her sharp tongue. I realise it sounds like I'm a spineless wimp but I always wanted her to have what she wanted. I thought that was what love was about, making the other happy. Obviously not in her world!

Once I was home, I went into my office. I often worked from home as there are less interruptions. We fortunately didn't have children so I had converted one room. Tonight, I was going to work on the most important plan of my life. To set the scene, had Judith had a short affair with anyone else, I may have allowed her to persuade me to have counselling to try to repair the damage and rebuild our marriage, however improbable. (I had been trying to tie her down to discuss our marital problems but she was always too busy.)

However, she knew I detested Bryant with my every breath, so this was non-fixable. It was a deliberate act designed to fucking hurt me. The fact it was him was more hurtful than her fucking someone else and that was hurtful enough!

After the revelation in the bank. I checked all the bank statements going back two years. I copied the relevant transactions into an Excel file. I went through the credit card account and did likewise. I checked the payments to that hotel against my work schedule and found they were meeting six to ten a month at least. Many on days I had covered for Bryant at other sites. I'm sure they laughed that I was paying for them to fuck. I hoped he paid some of the time but knowing him I doubted it.

Even today, I had been headed to one of his jobs when I received a call cancelling as they had had to self-isolate due to a Covid outbreak at the factory. Without that I wouldn't have been in the office to see that photo. I had covered for Bryant the previous day as well. There were quite a few transactions when Judith was on the holiday Harvey had forced me to cancel going on.

One was for a photographer. With the time difference, I thought he may be at work. I called and told the receptionist who I was. I apologised but "we'd had a fire and lost the photos he took. Would he still have them on record?"

The receptionist checked the records and they did. If she printed and posted them to me, it would cost me but if she emailed them, I could print them myself or have a firm do that. I thanked her and had her email me, easier for both of us, as international postage can be difficult.

I opened a file for all the information I was collating. The photos confirmed my suspicions, Bryant's course was in fucking my wife at my expense!

One of Judith's indulgences is to have the latest car. She leases them. Last year she forgot (like fuck she did) her driver's licence and bank cards, so everything was put in my name. No surprise she hadn't made any payments for the car. The lease is up in two months. I thought that was great. I'll use "my car" for the next two months but won't renew the lease.

I needed access to her account. When we married, she wanted to keep her own account so she wouldn't have to explain to me how she spent her money. She works with an advertising agency. So, we agreed to keep our own and pay into the joint account for household things, council tax, food, utilities, holidays etc.

I changed all my access passwords to my computer, my phone and the safe. I checked that the prenuptial agreement insisted on by Judith's father was still there. I copied it and stored it in my new file. I gave it a technical name which Judith would assume was work if she managed to get my log in details. The file itself received another access password. I put all the documents I would need including this file in a vault on the cloud as well, using a VPN to cover my tracks, so I had access to a copy of everything whenever I needed it. I use a key generator so no mum 1 or mum 2 for me.

I tallied up all the money Judith owed me; it came to just over £47000. She or rather I had been paying for that hotel room for fourteen months. The holiday alone came in at £11000. We had a joint savings account with £105000 in it. It was supposed to be to extend this house, my idea as it has large rooms and a big plot. Plenty of room for our kids to play when she felt able to have them. We had talked of having kids before marriage but not long after she changed to become more career orientated. If I didn't like it tough shit!

Why had I put up with her shit so fucking long I kept asking myself?

She wanted to buy a rabbit hatch in a posh estate. I refused which really fucking annoyed her. Probably one of the few times I dug my heels in. Hence the house fund hadn't been used. She hadn't added to it either for a year. I'd added £6000. Looking at her wishes now, if we had moved her name would be on the property. My home would have paid a big chunk of the cost. She could have demanded a share of that new house when we divorce. A lucky escape!

I transferred the £105000 to my new account. If she complained, I would say her share was covered by her debt to me. When I completed all the movements of money necessary, I cancelled the joint account debit and credit cards.

I know now I should have paid attention to the accounts but Judith did all that. Why the fuck did I trust her especially given the way she treats me?

Judith wasn't home by the time I finished so I put a pizza in the oven. If no one called Bryant, she wouldn't know I knew. If she didn't come home, they had.

I was just about finished the pizza when she arrived. To say she was shocked would be mild. She gasped, "I thought you were in the office!"

I smiled, "I had an appointment and left my phone there. No big deal."

She relaxed, "I have already eaten, I'm heading for a shower," as she almost ran to our room. I could hazard a guess why!

I waited until I heard the shower going. She had dropped her handbag on the table as she came in, as usual. I opened it and took her purse and phone out. I logged in to the computer on her account. I used her bank card to operate the card reader to gain access to her accounts. She had the ones I knew about, but she also had two accounts with over £100000 in each. I copied all those to my file. I downloaded the contents of her emails. I opened her phone; she uses the same pin on all her devices and likewise sent copies of the texts and calls to my file. I replaced everything in her handbag and was sitting having a cup of tea when she came down.

She was dressed quite dowdy in comparison to her "working clothes."

I decided to wind her up, "I'm not worth glamming up even a little bit for!"

She just looked at me in her usual disdainful way, "I'm too tired maybe another night."

I laughed, "Yeah, why not, it's only been twelve months since you allowed me access to your body. I think we're headed for a divorce or I may get an annulment as you're still a virgin."

She stared at me, looking for what was behind what I had said. She was not happy. I didn't care.

I continued, "Bill was showing the photos from the wedding yesterday in the office when I came in."

She looked at me, "I wouldn't think you'd be interested."

"I wasn't. What's that Marion's third wedding? Maybe she'll keep her legs shut this time for anyone other than the mug who married her!"

She looked really closely at me. "What a nasty thing to say! I've never heard you speak about someone like that before."

I added, "I heard she got up to some mischief on her hen night. You went, spill the beans."

She was angry, "You shouldn't listen to gossip. It was uneventful."

I fired another arrow, "That's not what the water cooler gossips were saying. I hope she and the others involved got STD tested."

Judith stormed off to the bedroom slamming the door shut. I had hit a nerve I thought.

I went back to my office and studied up on the divorce laws. The good news was that I owned the house prior to us being married so she had no claim on that. Normally assets would be divided 50-50 in the event of no children. Which was good as her two large accounts were in my favour. Alimony could be set if one earned more than the spouse. The prenuptial agreement set out changes to the standard settlement on the grounds of adultery. No alimony would be granted against the innocent party. No claim on other assets such as a car. All costs to be borne by the adulterer.

I was glad her father had insisted on it.

I knew I needed further proof as Judith, Bennett and Bryant would deny everything. In the morning I would call an old friend Danny who's a local plumber. He often worked at that hotel. When we met in the pub his stories about the things he had recovered from the toilets there kept everyone amused. I was now thinking some of those knickers were probably Judith's.

I went to bed in the guest room. I wasn't going to give the ice maiden any chance of melting.

The next morning I went to work and off to a job, one of my own. I had suspected from Judith's comment, "I thought you were in the office" my phone was bugged. I had checked my sim card but found no tracker was on it. When I put the work sim card in, I found it hidden as the internet described. I bought a £20 phone and put the company sim card in it. I would leave that phone at work.

On my way to the job, I called Danny. I explained what Judith and Bryant were up to. Danny hates Bryant as well. Bryant was the school bully until I beat the shit out of him. The next time, he would be gendered reassigned.

Danny was heading to the hotel that day so would have some news for me later. He had an idea about evidence.

I was back in the office by 4pm. The job had gone smoothly for a change. I went to the finance department and gave them my new account details. I left strict instructions that no one was to be given those details. My tone surprised the girls.

I left bang on 5pm. Danny called and suggested we have a pint later so I agreed to meet at 8 in our local.

Judith wasn't home so I made myself some dinner and settled in front of the television. She came in about 7.30 again surprised to see me.

I told her, "I'm heading out, have a hot date with a nymphomaniac, may see you on Monday!"

She just looked at me. She smiled, "She's in for a disappointment then!"

I laughed, "Maybe she'll be interested in me rather than just herself!" I walked away before I wet myself. She was mad. A bullseye. She liked several orgasms at least but her foreplay was a couple of strokes to get me hard and then tell me to get on with it. Well at least as far back as my memory goes.

I was really beginning to see how my life was about to change for the better.

Danny had the pints in and we sat in a corner away from others.

"Adam, you don't deserve this. You're a stand-up guy, help anyone. No one at your work bothered to tell you. Fuck them!

"Bryant is hated by many. You remember Kate Duncan. He used to pull her hair and call her names at school. She works at the hotel. She's single, very cute with a body you dream out. She'd never entertain a married man like me. I told her about them and you.

"She still has the hots for you for some reason. Oh yeah! You caught Bryant yanking her off the bench by her hair and beat the crap out of him. I'd never seen you angry before but that day, you looked like nothing would stop you. If he had tried to hide behind a brick wall, you'd have gone through it to get him. No one tried to stop you as we all wanted Bryant beaten up.

"They are booked in next week, Wednesday and Thursday. She'll make sure they get a particular room. We'll have a video camera hidden in it to capture them. After they're finished, I'll have an emergency call to deal with the room's blocked toilet. I'll take the camera away and give you the SD card. It's so small it fits in the smoke alarm which covers the bed."

I told him, "I owe you both."

He smiled, "No, this is what he deserves. I thought Judith had more sense."

We had a couple more beers and I headed home.

When I came in, Judith laughed, "Did you disappoint her?"

I shook my head, "When she saw how big I am she was scared. The last man she had, had such a little dick, Darren bloody Bryant, would you believe that? I always knew he had a little dick."

Judith was blushing. She was trying to see where I was going with this. She looked concerned. I thought I'd better dial back a bit, I needed them to go ahead with their rendezvous.

In the morning, she suggested we head to the car dealership to look for a new car as the lease was close to ending.

"Don't you mean my new car? It's all in my name and you haven't paid a penny towards it. We can go and I'll tell them I'm handing it back when it expires."

She looked totally gobsmacked. She left without waiting for me. She was back fifteen minutes later.

"My debit and credit cards aren't working. What have you done?" she screamed.

I replied calmly, "I was checking the account because I was sure I had paid an invoice but I got a letter asking for it to be paid. I saw you haven't paid anything into the household account for a year. I'm not subsiding your lifestyle when you treat me like shit. I cancelled the cards. Use your fucking own!"