All Comments on 'Slowly and Then All at Once'
by Charles_Bovary
- 157 Comments
Very familiar theme but brilliant writing.
Very believable stuff. No over the top revenge.
The MC used a mother's love for a special child brilliantly.
The wife is a bitch and shows no remorse till she is burnt completely.
I loved it
A great BTB
5/5
I gave you 4 stars. However, what was Martina all about? Is she totally heartless? Why when Clare told her about her affair and her decision to pursue Ivan was made did she never once given any thought to her son and husband? Was he such a bad person that she had no feelings for him or her son? I think hearing something from her as to her feelings or lack of them would have helped the story. She was painted as being icily cold with no heart. If so how did her marriage last 9 years? Still good writing.
Very good story even if the ending with the woman having grown old, fat, childless, .......... was absolutely unnecessary except to satisfy BTB's need.
BTB's need: I know that some people live by it, and even need it to hold on and move on.
But in the end, your life becomes beautiful and wonderful thanks to your happiness, and not on the misfortune of others.
Thanks for sharing.
Very touching and satisfying story. Too bad things never quite go that way in real life. D
Good stora, but only 4 stars from me because I'm missing more of what was thinking after starting the affair. Why did she so easily discard her husband. Was it his money or the reputation that influenced her?
Good story with consequences. One thing about 95% of these "Cheating" wives, why are the wives always so oblivious to how thier cheating affects people? Not just the husband. There is a school of thought that says "Fiction mirrors Reality" if that is the case going by these wives in these stories us men and their families are in trouble. Thanks for the story. The good guy one the bad guy or woman lost. 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
Entertaining story. Kind of odd though. After Martina heard about Clare's affair with Ivan the only thought she ever had about John was that she needed to be slow and deliberate about transforming her work appearance so that John wouldn't notice and get suspicious.
Since we were given no prior information about the status of John and Martina's marriage prior to the beginning of this story it makes Martina's lack of guilt or any other emotion difficult to comprehend.
I like the subtle foreshadowing of the disconnect between husband and wife. Martina and John have about as much chemistry as Megan Markle in any scene requiring depth. Ivan seems like a typical Silicon Valley douchebag and probably likes quinoa in his coffee.
Nice story. I gave it a Four.
But I kinda have to admit... it all sounded VERY familiar, even if I can't point to a specific story. I kept having déjà vu from the time your MC tried to confront the wife with the affair evidence, and the part where AP's wife was fully aware, didn't care, and had a disabled son herself, was the most familiar piece.
Nicely done. The wife thought she was trading up and wound up out on her ass - Karma is truly a bitch. Thanks for sharing, CB.
The twist for me was the info he gathered from the transcript had two points that would make me go nuclear. 1 that she intended to get full custody of their child and give him visiting rights . 2 Ivan having little or no intention of providing any care or affection to either boy. Growing up in a loveless home takes a toll on a child's mind.
4 stars and well written. The MC seems kind of wimpy, but your take on current legal standards for divorce was a relief. No cliche of the Mom gets everything and the dad gets screwed.
If Ivan was fired for sexual harassment, then Martina has a slam dunk case against the company.
What a fairy tale. No man is going to come out anyway like this in a No Fault divorce state. Don't know of any woman naive enough to think that she has to give up her dominate position in a divorce so it goes through quickly so that she can marry a man still married. I realize that what we read on LI is fiction, even fiction has to have some relation to reality.
Well written! I would have liked more of a final confrontation, but 5 stars from me, a satisfied customer.
The story had a smooth and skillful arc. It was nicely paced. The dialogue was well crafted. There was a problem, however, in the development of the wife's character. What motivation did she have to pursue an affair with her boss aside from some vague curiosity and a friendly but competitive relationship with her coworker? There was no significant conflict in her marriage, and she had a child to consider. Nonetheless, upon hearing about the coworker's intimate encounters she immediately began working on the seduction of her boss, and never once stopped to think about the consequences of the actions until it was far too late for her to adjust course. Why would she have believed her lover would divorce his wealthy wife? How could she have thought herself special to him when he had been fucking her coworker when she caught his eye? There is much of importence left unexplained and unsaid despite the submission running well more than four Literotica pages.
Same old clichés, zero creativity, almost no emotions, just plain average. If I hadn't read even one similar story, it would be enjoyable, but since there are a hundred others like it on the site, decidedly not.
It started off well and I loved the fact that John was told that the law doesn’t care about photos and even having them might place John in legal jeopardy. I loved the fact that everyone basically told John: “suck it up. File for divorce and move on.”
But then you turned the last page into utter bullshit. Martina gets played, fired (which could be construed as wrongful dismissal since she was having an affair with her boss) and fat and lonely while Ivan gets fired and John and Allison live happily ever after.
That turned this fro a 5 star to a 1 star. You murdered this story for a BTB ending when it didn’t need it. You reduced Martina into a nothing character and it ruined a great story.
Jesus his ex is horrible.
I like the. realism while also dishing out some serious consequences.
Come to think of it this was very realistic. The fast fair divorce so they can remarry. Hardly ever used in these stories but very much real. His big plan to get back at Ivan the first time fell flat. It's rare for that to happen, usually things go off without a hitch and have epic results. And again, very much real because I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. APs woman didnt give a shit but was sympathetic. Fuckin weird. Oh and the wife turning into satan instamtly. Very real and its the shit of nightmares.
3 things that bug me though. Clare said she was having an affair which made me assume she was married. Sounded like she wasnt but if she was the husband should have nuked her marriage.
How much time passed until hisnex came back? It's weird the kid would have forgotten her.
Also I feel like his Ex would have sued the company herself after getting fired as she only stood to gain. Plus she would have had a valid case.
A great story beautifully told. Characters were believable and their behaviours congruent. Thank you for a well written, well plotted tale.
Great story ! 5 stars , I do like a good BTB but this was a good way of dealing with the problem.
You took a normal story of a wife being seduced by money and status and made it far more interesting with all the machinations behind the scenes. Loved it
That was excellent, well done!
It was satisfying to see Martina and Ivan get destroyed post divorce, but even more enjoyable to see the faithful husband get a well-deserved happy ending.
A good story, shame about the obvious editing errors, but perfection is desired not expected...just like marriage. Thanks.
Well written, realistic perfected story with an unrealistic tool perfect ending forth ending for the innocent spouce
Martina's decision to cheat seemed really, really shallow, selfish, and narcissistic. Hard to imagine that aspect of her personality wasn't evident to her husband before then.
GarySmith69, you hit the nail on the head.
That's exactly what has happened to society.
You may know that about 52% of marriages now end in divorce. What you might not know, is that 75% of divorced are now initiated by the wives, and a high proportion of those are for women who are 'trading up'.
There was a story I heard that came out of the GFC. When everything crashed, although the bankers got "bonuses" and a free pass, other professions still suffered. Trading houses still took a hit. Developers were clobbered. From all this chaos, there was a massive uptick in women leaving their husbands because they were no longer raking in the big bucks.
One 'successful' couple who were not impacted by the financial chaos were listening to some report or other, and the husband said "If I lost everything, you'd stand by me, right?"
She spoke before her brain caught up to her mouth...
"God no!"
He divorced her.
5 little gold pointy things awarded. Good to see Old Mommy got her comeuppance. As others have mentioned very little time is spent on Old Mommy but in my opinion the story is more about dad and how he reacts rather than about her. Glad to see Dad survived nicely. Also glad to not see over the top gorgeous moms and Holmes length men. Just average people surviving a difficult time.
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Grammatically a few words missing here and there but overall very well written.
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OG46
Well, Martina was certainly a villain but it would have been more human and real if Kyle had not been so removed so quickly.
By that, I mean a mother son bond isn't wiped away by absence that quickly.
women are oblivious to how their decisions impact others because far too many of them are self centered and narcissistic.
it nice when they burn themselves also one of the nicest endings i have read in a long time. left me satisfied and without lingering thoughts very nice ty for the read
Good story, but I thought the MC going to Mrs. Ingersoll to give her evidence of the affair before the divorce was final seemed out of character. That was stupid, as it risked Ingersoll dumping Martina, causing her to renegotiate the terms of the divorce while there was still time to do so. Also, I think Martina would have sued for wrongful dismissal and sexual harassment when she was fired, and gotten a big settlement. But thanks for posting. 5 stars from me.
The wife is kind of a cardboard cut-out: we never see what attracted the husband to her in the first place, and her treatment of him in leaving him seems really cold for a character who apparently has no special motivation to be cruel, but her cruelty nevertheless catches him completely by surprise. The replacement wife isn't very clearly drawn, either; all we know is that she's very accommodating, which is convenient. That being said, it's better than the run-of-the-mill for this site, and the BTB jackals will probably love it.
This was a classic LW tale told well. Frankly, I think I prefer it when tne cheating wife is a remorseless, conniving, selfish bitch rather than a stupid, silly, MSR victim.
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I thought the final scene with Martina lacked a little punch, however. As written, she had zero contact with Kyle after she departed for Seattle. So when she shows up at the door, I think I would have enjoyed John just ripping into her rather than being so stoic.
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Finally….Ivan was a pretty stupid tool, wasn’t he?
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5 *****
This was weak. She didn’t care that her husband destroyed marriages and he was contrite on her behalf when he gave her evidence.
Great story that well laid out enough to make it plausible in real life. The crazy thing is in 2024 this crazy sexual harassment shit is still going on in Fortune 100 companies. 4.7*
This was a bit long-winded but it had zero black helicopters or special forces operatives. It was well-constructed and life-like. I gave 5 stars. Well done.
Yeah.... I enjoyed this one. The author did an excellent job of portraying Martina's state of mind - showing her to be completely infatuated and in lust with Ivan. When a person is in that state of mind - everything is fresh, new, and exciting. They are mentally detached from the real world - oblivious to everyone and everything around them. They do not see, feel, or care about the pain they are bringing to those previously important to them. They just aren't thinking clearly. In their mind, they are able to completely rationalize everything they are doing. Which also means that they tend to blame others for their own behaviors. They completely abandon any measure of accountability. People in this state of mind cannot be bargained or reasoned with. It takes an absolute shock - or a jolt of some sort - to release the cloudy veil obstructing their view of how the world actually is. In the end, the fairy tale ending envisioned by the infatuated person rarely happens. The shine eventually comes off the apple. The "real world" with work, and finances, and family, and friendships, and the duties of daily living, eventually intrudes on paradise. It's just human nature. Only then, might they see the carnage their solipsistic actions left behind. 5/5 BRB
What I don't understand is that Martina would have had a strong case against the consulting company, citing sexual harassment, after being fired for performance flaws while the affair was still going.
3 stars - and only because he divorced the SLUT.
The story followed the LW standard guidelines, but the plot had a fair number of gaping plot holes.
You should have added that the SLUT managed to get a decent out-of-court settlement for sexual harassment, so she could move on with a small bit of security. Plus, John should have pursued the bitch for their comments in the PI's report regarding Kyle and Rodney. He should have reinforced the fact that she would never be allowed to see, or be alone with Kyle ever again.
Hands down, one of the best LW tales seen in months. Well written, realistic and balanced content, coherent characters, and more than one twist that make this medium-length tale interesting enough to reach the end without skimming (and it's rare). No BTB here, since the MC husband wasn't a vindicative type. And to make this great tale standing, among the countless monothematic cheating-cuck-raac tales, it doesn't end with the usual unbelievable RAAC. Needless to say, a well deserved full 5 stars is inevitable.
A very good example of how the narcissism can influence the behaviour of normal people: a total blind selfishness that make these kind of people destructive and auto-destructive. In this rare pearl of a tale, Justice has been served in a very realistic way, pushing the good guys to react to the evil ones. Well done and more on this path. 5 stars.
"She even included some intimate apparel that John had never seen." - Why hadn't he? Nothing was said about her buying it new, so she apparently had it, so why not wear it for him?
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"any video evidence we collect will not be admissible in court." - I agree with that for any video obtained inside the hotel room, but video in public spaces should be allowed.
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"As Kyle's mother, I could easily get him full time," - Not necessarily, given her traveling.
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"Ivan is a very clever fellow, and he's made Triple I tons of money." - So, why couldn't he go off on his own?
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His wife cheated for months, has filed for divorce and is living with her paramour, and HE'S worried about dating before the divorce is final?
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"if I wind [up]relocating"
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I don't think she was old and fat. A few gray hairs doesn't make you old.
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, I agree that Martina has a great sexual harassment case.
Loved the story. Was is perfect, from reading the comments apparently not, but I gave it a five star rating.
What hurt the most with Martina is when Stevie asked Kyle who that was, “that’s Old Mommy “
That is Martina realized she lost everything. Good one.
Decently written, though I had a hard time following in parts. It's probably me & not the author. It's the phone call with his ex that pushed my ratings solidly into the 4 star. It was a bit longer than should've been, but worth the read. Bob
5 stars for the good stuff. should deduct for the missing sexual harassment suit wife would have against her company and supervisor. With hubbies P I info would be a slam dunk and even new owners of company would be on the hook.
Thanks for the story!
Great story, please keep writing!
I had a hard time understanding Martina's actions. Her friend tells her "I'm fucking the boss!" and she suddenly decides that she has to do it too?
10 Big Blazing Very Excellent BTB story. Ha What a super Burn on the Bitch in this case! Just what she deserved. It was beautiful. Buster2U
Clare … This character is not presented to We-The-Readers as married nor unmarried. That leaves her urge to inform Sweetie open to question. Any woman who is not in a committed relationship might tell a ‘bestie’ about a new sex partner but not identify a senior executive. A married woman would usually be circumspect. Unfortunately, the rule of “Don’t get your honey where you get your money” is too often overlooked! Clare’s willingness to search as far away as Spokane suggests she is single.
Honestly, it seemed like a more real life model story. Unfortunately, real life can be fairly dull. I just didn’t feel a lot of emotion. There wasn’t really any conflict either. 3*
There was almost zero depth to the wife’s character. And very little to the husband’s. I was waiting to be drawn in but it never came. And using that same boring trope of the new woman just conveniently being right there all along, boring.
Pretty good technique and emotional recovery story, but why wasn't the wife's character better illustrated and explored. You portrayed her as some sort of sociopath, fucking over her husband and child to prove she was the better seductress than her office colleague, seriously? Her ego and arrogance made her a soulless monster. She obviously cared little for her child, and essentially nothing for her husband, and appeared to act with complete contempt and abandon for her previous life and family. Why? Was her marriage that bad? It was never made clear why she so casually and carelessly sought and succeeded in destroying her marriage. And even when she realizes she was in turn deceived by the Ivan asshole, her only real regret is that she lost her job and a place to live. So she proposes sucking even more blood out of the man she fucked over with such energy and disregard?
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Yeah, the unanswered question is, why did she turn into such a heartless cruel monster, and with such nonchalance? Is that the woman he ignorantly married, or is this another Martian Slut Ray plot? And apparently she had no living parents or other family, not even friends who would be asking questions and trying to help the husband with his son? Kind of a thin story when it comes to the humanity of the characters. Good action, but not much substance or depth. Please keep trying.
Pretty good. It went through some of the tropes but it wasn’t trite or over the top.
Excellent story!
Now for a couple of nitpicks, if you ever revise it:
1. The title quote is actually from a Hemingway character, I believe Mike Campbell in The Sun Also Rises.
2. Other commenters are correct: As you wrote him, Ivan could get backing for another startup.
3. You also could add a line as to why he couldn't just go out and be a successful individual influencer himself.
Another 5 for Monsieur Bovary. The last line reminds me of the last line of the Randi story I re-read most often. I referenced that story in my comments on "He Loves Me Not." Didn't name it then, and won't now. But eventually I'll comment on the story itself. Anyway, back to this. Tajfa was quick off the mark in noticing the same thing that struck me (and many others). To say it again, this time in my own words, I found it hard to believe that Martina chose to pursue Ivan just to compete with Clare. There must have been something lacking, at least in her view, in John or their marriage, for her to go so rogue. Don't get me wrong. This story is still a 5. But had this been added, it would have been five-plus. Franceman's comment that Martina was "fat" in the last scene is incorrect. She may have added a touch of grey, but that's not necessarily "grown old," though with Kyle happily living with Daddy John and new Mommy Allison, "childless" is apt. Dummy2069 is no dummy. Correct that Nadia firing Ivan for sexual harassment cause opens the door for Martina to sue. Clare, too, for that matter. So maybe those two musketeers can join up in Seattle with the wind at their backs, at least financially. Silentsound cautions that the mother-son bond wouldn't be so easily erased. But since Allison had already been filling that role when needed due to Martina's absences, there was already a transition going on. And since John and Allison got together right away after the quickie divorce finalized, and Martina continued to be absent, the transference from "Old Mommy" to new Mommy isn't surprising. Note the approvals from two giants (Laptop and Hooked). Happy to tag along on their coattails.
Martina was looking to "upgrade" right from the start. Fair enough. The author didn't go to a lot of detail about that except to comment on her seductive behavior. Then because this story wasn't about her, she sort of gets dropped from it pretty much from when she serves hubby.
There could be a whole other story from her perspective. Including her angst and getting terminated and finding out Ivan was in fact on a very sturdy chain. Then losing contact with her son and her whole orchestrated life.
Point of order. Martina has a valid sexual harassment and wrongful termination claim against III and against Nadia as owner, for failure to enforce their own sexual harassment rules. Her termination for "performance" would show up as a sham.
All five stars turned golden... I love the italics used for the stream of conscious thoughts. Well done.
And the worm doth turn slowly but surely...
And all that is left is for the fat lady to sing, karma and all that?
Thank you, the good triumphs over all. high five to the right!
"I found it hard to believe that Martina chose to pursue Ivan just to compete with Clare. There must have been something lacking, at least in her view, in John or their marriage, for her to go so rogue."
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Typical femdom pro cheating-without-consequences excuse, already seen in other LW tales. This slut wife was just a selfish narcissistic and irresponsible bitch, that decided to swap her brain with her genitals.
"You should have added that the SLUT managed to get a decent out-of-court settlement for sexual harassment, so she could move on with a small bit of security. "
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That's not the case, since the slut wife was responsible for the "sexual harassment", systematically seducing her boss, and in plain sight in their workplace. The boss didn't harass her in any way, he just accepted her 'offer'.
"The author did an excellent job of portraying Martina's state of mind - showing her to be completely infatuated and in lust with Ivan."
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Not at all. She was just a selfish narcissistic slut wife trying to compete with her friend.
"They are mentally detached from the real world - oblivious to everyone and everything around them. They do not see, feel, or care about the pain they are bringing to those previously important to them. They just aren't thinking clearly. In their mind, they are able to completely rationalize everything they are doing. Which also means that they tend to blame others for their own behaviors."
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An almost perfect description of the Narcissistic mind. Sadly it's very much real, so, better be aware of these very smart and extremely evil people.
Enjoyed your tale, a family suffers when one person puts themself first. Thank you!
somewhere east of Omaha
"More an LBL (living best life) than a BTB"
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First comes the well deserved BTB for the slut wife and her boss and only then, comes the 'living best life' part. Without the Justice-BTB payback, the so called 'living best life' is rarely possible: how many, after the destruction of a marriage and family, are able to 'living best life'. Too much often, in the too many RAAC unrealistic fantasies, we can see the biblical 'turn the other cheek' and 'forgive & forget' unrealistic behaviour, in extremely cheating-betrayal situations. Even if the MC was not directly responsible for the BTB, he certainly contributed enough.
"the BTB jackals will probably love it"
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That's for sure. The same is also true about the millions of femdom-fetish-cuck fantasies, where "the Fetish-Cuck jackals will probably love them".
"If I hadn't read even one similar story, it would be enjoyable, but since there are a hundred others like it on the site"
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And since the other millions are almost all identical cuck fantasies, what would remains to read in LW ? Nothing. The BTB tales are almost inexistent, here in LW, some of them are fake-BTBs, and others just flat, so a good BTB is a very, very rare event, and this one is certainly a masterpiece.
"What motivation did she have to pursue an affair with her boss aside from some vague curiosity and a friendly but competitive relationship with her coworker? There was no significant conflict in her marriage, and she had a child to consider."
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in a few words: blind selfish narcissism.
" I realize that what we read on LI is fiction, even fiction has to have some relation to reality."
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that we should say to the millions of femdom-fetish-cuck fantasies, that are filling this LW to the brim, with totally unrealistic cartonish no-male cuck husbands.
"If Ivan was fired for sexual harassment, then Martina has a slam dunk case against the company."
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not certain, because it was the slut wife to harass sexually her boss.
Well written except for Martina becoming Martha for a short time. However, kind of cliche, with even a new love waiting in the wings for MC.