It had been a while since she had heard from her boyfriend so Brenda hopped online, hoping to catch him there. Unfortunately, he was not on. Quickly she checked her emails to see if he had responded to any of the ones she had sent to him but there was nothing. That was so strange because for over a year now, they had communicated online whenever possible. See, her boyfriend was unhappily married (or so he told her) but was thankfully in an open marriage and they were generally able to see each other frequently. At this time though, they were going on several weeks without seeing each other and Brenda was going nuts with frustration at having no outlet for her sexual desires.
After waiting for quite a while for Walt to sign on, Brenda decided to check his email and see if he had gotten an email inviting him to a Halloween party. Walt had needed some help with a problem on his profile and had given Brenda his password several months ago so she could fix the issue for him. Little did either of them realize at the time what that innocent little gesture would turn into!
When Walt's email finally came up, Brenda was amazed at the number of emails in the mailbox. Curiosity got the better of her and she began opening some of them that were obviously from other women. Reading one, anger seized her and she began quickly opening others. A cry of hurt, anger and disbelief was torn from her throat, as the depth of his deception was made clear. Email after email was full of sexual innuendoes, comments about previous encounters, ones yet to come and even one addressed to a woman he called "honey" thanking her for indulging in phone sex with him that very night. It hurt so badly to see the erotic story that Walt had said he had wrote for her was also sent to so many other women. Pictures that Walt had said he wanted to try to reenact with Brenda were sent to other women with the exact same message. Times when Walt had told Brenda that he was working or had to go someplace with his wife, he was actually laying in the arms of another woman, actually, several other women. Brenda began to send a small selection of the emails to herself so she would have proof to confront him with.
Brenda logged onto another website where Walt received mail, figuring his password would be the same on that one as well. Unfortunately it was the same and she was able to read those emails as well. Or maybe it was fortunate that she was able to look. Maybe it was time she learned what type of person she was dealing with. Again, she forwarded some of the emails to herself.
Brenda leaned back in her chair, stunned at what she had learned. The man she had loved for a year, the man she considered her best friend, lover, confidant, and soul mate, the man who asked her to be his beloved wife even though it couldn't be legal was a user. Nothing more than a player who had learned the rules of the game better than anyone she had ever ran across before. Tears of pain coursed down her cheeks as she realized what a fool she had been, how quickly and easily she had been played for a sucker.
Once some of the shock had worn off, Brenda decided to log onto one of Walt's instant message services and look at the archive. Like someone worrying a sore tooth, Brenda couldn't let go of her desire to know how many other women were out there who had fallen victim to Walt's stories and lies, she had to keep probing at the pain. It hurt so much but she couldn't stop touching on it. Brenda was surprised at how few people Walt had on his buddy list but one lady was showing up as online. Before she could change her mind, Brenda clicked on the button to show "Walt" as online and sat back, waiting to see if this woman would approach her or not. After a few tense moments in which Brenda held her breath, she logged off. The woman did not approach her. Maybe it was possible that she and Walt were only friends.
When Brenda signed back onto the instant message service, she was immediately connected under Walt's screen name because she had not reset her computer to her own name. A cold hard pit of dread and anger settled in her stomach when the buddy of Walt's she had noticed earlier sent her a message. Softly sobbing, Brenda responded back, acting as if she were Walt. Although it felt as if her heart were breaking into a million pieces, Brenda talked with this woman as if nothing were wrong, repeating some of the same complaints Walt had voiced to her about his wife and his life in general. With a heavy heart, Brenda made plans with this woman for a luncheon date on Wednesday or Thursday at the Olive Garden.
Tears almost blinded Brenda as she conversed with this lady, acting as if nothing were wrong. Her body shivered as if she was caught outside in an arctic blast while they chatted away. Brenda learning some details of this woman's life while they talked, trying desperately to discover what it was about her that led Walt to her. Suddenly, Brenda's stomach heaved. The past 17 months of lies and deceit more than her body could bear any longer. Telling her new friend that she had to use the bathroom, Brenda rushed away from the screen and bolted to the bathroom.
Leaning against the cupboard in the bathroom after she was finished and had flushed the toilet, Brenda began remembering the 'ceremony' her and Walt had shared after he had asked her to become his beloved wife. Crying heavily, Brenda recalled how special, wonderful and loved she had felt when Walt had slipped on the ring he had bought as a symbol of his commitment to her. Seized with a terrible fury, Brenda stormed into her bedroom, dumped out her jewelry box and frantically searched for all the things Walt had given her that she had cherished. Throwing them on the ground, Brenda stomped on them, smashing them all to tiny pieces.
When Brenda returned to the computer, the woman she had been speaking to had left a message stating she would be right back. Brenda began typing a message to her, explaining who she was and apologizing for acting as if she were Walt. Before she could click the "Send" button though, Brenda got a wonderful idea for revenge.
"Maybe it's time for Walt to be played for a sucker," Brenda thought. Brenda changed the settings for Walt's account so that all of his messages would be archived. Then she deleted the email she had begun to him. She would wait a little longer to see if the plan for revenge would actually work before she let him know what a despicable asshole he thought it was.
Brenda started another email instead, one to all of the women she had found emails either to or from in Walt's accounts. In the letter, she introduced herself as another of Walt's victims and explained how long she had known Walt. She explained her idea for revenge to the other women, begging them not to share her plan with Walt if they decided they did not want to participate. Brenda was taking a big risk in contacting all of these women with her idea on revenge, perhaps Walt did not make the same suggestions of a future with them, and perhaps he was more honest and did not make them feel as if they were the only ones in his life outside of Sheri.
It was difficult to pretend to Walt that nothing was wrong in their relationship. Luckily Brenda was in the process of moving so it was easy for her to avoid talking to him for any great length of time by pleading either the need to move something, saying she had to go to work or that she was tired from all the day's activities. It made her so angry to read him telling her he loved her, to hear him calling her his beloved wife, telling her how much he missed her and couldn't wait to be with her again. Several times when they would talk on the phone, Brenda had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming at him what a scum-sucking bastard he was when he talked about how crazy he was going because they hadn't seen each other in so long.
Finally Brenda got all the responses back on the email she had sent out to Walt's other 'girlfriends' and then called Walt to put her plan in motion.
"Hi, baby," she practically purred when he answered the phone, "is this a bad time?"
"Not at all, my beloved," Walt replied.
