Jennifer was at a total loss. She felt as if the dreams in her life were falling into little pieces and she was unable to pick them up and put them back together. After 2 years of dating and 3 years of marriage nothing was working out how she planed. She still remembered all the nights spent before her wedding in bed with Michael when they whispered words of love and plans of a future together. Those nights were most often the ones after they had made love and she still had the wetness of him inside her. She felt so close to him back then and she believed that he had felt that way toward her as well. She still felt the same love, desire, and hope for the future toward him. The problem was she didn't think he reciprocated those feelings anymore.
How do these things happen? The question kept ramming into the front of her mind. They were both busy with work. Michael was taking classes part time to finish his degree as well. Perhaps the lack of time together was where the distance started. The lovemaking that had always been so frequent and intense slowed. Michael started spending more and more time online and she felt ignored. She tried to be understanding and picked up hobbies of her own. She tried dressing sexy and cooking him special meals and fussing over her. None of it worked. More and more time on the internet lead to less and less time with her. It wasn't just the sex that ebbed away but the affection and companionship. After 3 short years of marriage she was living with a stranger who shut down his chat windows on the computer when she walked into the room. She suspected she was being cheated on. Was Michael really in class right now? All she could do was wait for him to come home. She knew he would just deny being anywhere other than class. She curled into the corner of the sofa and cried until she couldn't anymore. Then she sat and stared at the wall feeling numb. She had no power.
That evening when he came home, she asked him all the questions.
"No Jen I am not cheating on you ... where the fuck would I find time between work and school?!"
"Damn it Honey! Yes I still love you. I am just tired. I spend time online to wind down and relieve stress. You harping at me all the time to spend time with you doesn't make me want to!"
"Sweetie don't cry. Hey I am sorry ok? Lets just go lay down and sleep. I am just tired. It will get better when school is over."
That night as she listened to the rhythmic sound of his breathing she turned over and slid her hand up his back. She loved the way the muscles of his back were so tight and warm. She worked his shirt up and started to kiss his spine as he moaned softly in his sleep. That's when she saw the red parallel lines on the muscular part of his shoulders. Michael woke at her gasp and turned quickly over to face her jerking his shirt down.
"Where did you get those marks?!" She asked in a soft but intense voice as she looked deep into his wide blue eyes.
"I fell off the treadmill at work on my break. Hurt like a motherfucker too." He responded. There was something about the look on his face. The way he blinked as he said it. Jennifer knew he was lying.
"They look like fingernail marks." She whispered.
"Fuck! Here we go with the suspicion again!" Michael shouted at her as he jumped out of bed and started to put some jeans on. As he did this Jennifer thought she saw one of the red marks on the top of his ass cheek.
"Michael what..."
" I am going online for a while. Go to sleep Jen." Michael clipped out as he stormed out of the bedroom.
*****
The next day was Saturday. Jennifer had cried herself to sleep and she hadn't felt Michael come in at all. She woke up and walked out into the office. He wasn't at the computer. After a sweep of the house revealed his keys and wallet were gone she knew that he wasn't there. She felt like her stomach had been delivered a sharp blow. She walked back to the office and sat down in his chair. As she wiggled the mouse the screen came to life. There was a website up. The site had been logged off but she could still read his profile name. She started to try passwords. The idiot had used the name of his childhood dog. The one he always talked about when she mentioned possibly getting a pet.
The website was full of BDSM personals. She clicked on her husband's profile homepage and read his ad. It made her heart stop.
28 year old attractive married professional seeks Dominant female to worship. Discretion is a must. Activities enjoyed include pain, bondage, humiliation, foot worship, and domestic chores. Limits include anal, scat, golden showers, blood, and illegal activities. Let me pamper you for an evening. Train me to be your pleasing pet...
The ad went on. Worse than the ad were the emails on the account. He had been communicating with multiple women. In all of these e-mails he said that he loved his wife and wasn't ready for a divorce "yet". He said that Jennifer was boring in bed and would never explore what he really wanted. Most of these emails seemed to go nowhere but near the end she found one that had obviously been sent by a woman he had met. The woman was older, short pixie cut dark hair with streaks of gray. The woman's name was Mistress Kathy. She had a picture of herself up in a corset and heels and while she wasn't that bad looking she had nothing in the looks department over Michael's wife. Jennifer felt a wave of anger as she compared herself to the women. Jennifer was 26 years old. She had long black hair, pale skin, beautiful big eyes and a great body. Michael was cheating on her with *this* woman? Because she would do these perverse things to him? As she read the e-mail she kept focusing on one line:
I had a great time last night pet. I hope the marks won't be too hard to hide. I got a bit carried away by your delightful reactions...