Life's Dramas: An Evening Conversation

She sat at the kitchen table, head bowed, not looking at him. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks one after another. She didn't raise her hands, keeping them folded on her lap, staring at them blankly.

He sat opposite her, speaking in a quiet, calm voice, saying things she didn't like at all, but which were the truth. Unfortunately, everything her husband said was true, and she simply couldn't argue with him.

— And now I'll tell you everything you heard in more detail and explain how I know it all...

The man leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully twirled a cup of now-cold coffee in his hand, and began his story.

— As you know, I was

married once before. Ten years of marriage, then we separated, divorced. We even have a child, he's eight now…

I never told you the details, I'd just joke it off. Now the time has come. My story will explain a lot about our relationship, because it strongly influenced my worldview. And my attitude towards marriage and women in general.

I fell head over heels in love with a girl, a classmate, when I was eighteen. I courted her for a long time, stole her from an older student, and we dated for four years while we were at the institute. I was happy, and so was she.

She was my first; I lost my virginity with her. And I planned to live a long and happy life with her in the future.

After university, we got married and lived in a happy marriage for two years. Six years of cloudless happiness, or so it seemed back then, just the two of us, in love.

And then suddenly everything somehow broke. Scandals started, constant nagging with or without reason, threats of "I'll divorce you," refusals to have sex, to have children, which I really wanted. In short, the marriage was falling apart before my eyes.

It got to the point where I myself decided to get a divorce after four years of marriage. Yes, that nightmare lasted two years, and I was terribly tired. I honestly admit I came to the conclusion that she had fallen out of love with me.

And then I did one thing I still regret to this day. Frantically searching for reasons why my wife had changed so much, I decided to get an answer from her friend. At that time, we often hung out in the same group, we'd been friends since university, and she was married to my friend, whom I'd known for fifteen years.

After another argument, I called her and went over. I bought some beer to drink with my friend, but he wasn't home. She was alone; her husband was on a shift, a 24-hour work shift.

I had to down the beer. And talk. And then run to the store for more beer. When I came back, she climbed onto my lap herself, and then… Well, we slept together…

I walked home feeling like a complete piece of shit. I cheated on my wife, something I never planned in my life, never even thought about. I betrayed my friend, slept with his wife. The guilt didn't leave me for many years.

I didn't find out anything. My wife's friend either didn't know anything or lied, I don't know. She just swore that my wife wasn't seeing anyone, that the fighting was temporary and I needed to be patient, everything would normalize. But nothing normalized. So I made a decision, opened my mouth one day, trying to say we needed to divorce, and then my wife drops: "I'm pregnant."

I cooled down immediately. Well, you can't just abandon a pregnant woman, even if it had come to divorce. I decided we'd see. Maybe childbirth and having a baby would change something in her and in our relationship. Hope appeared. Naive…

Though, I remember sitting there thinking: when did this happen, how? We didn't use protection in the classic sense, but I didn't finish inside, only on her stomach. Sorry for the details, but you're a grown girl, we "protected" ourselves the same way.

Yes, everyone will say that's not one hundred percent protection from pregnancy, that just a little drop getting inside is enough, and bam, you're a dad. I agree. But I had a ton of doubts back then. Okay, moving on. Though it's important.

Married life. Nothing changed. The relationship didn't get better. Her belly grew, but her complaints about me didn't decrease. On the contrary, they grew more and more each day.

So one day it happened that I got a mistress. It happened by accident, unexpectedly; I didn't do anything special for it, didn't flirt, didn't look for connections. But it happened. I fell in love. Hard.

She had everything my wife didn't – care for me, affection, adoration, a desire to be with me, to have sex with me. I just escaped from reality when I was with her…

She suffered because of it, though, as she was in a relationship with a man who had left his family for her. And I was leaving, it turns out, too. She considered herself a homewrecker, destroying other people's marriages, and was very upset.

I told her straight out that I had someone else. She'd known for a long time; I didn't hide it. I always slept at home, though, never at my mistress's place. My wife tried as hard as she could to keep me, cooked delicious food, offered lots of sex… But I didn't need it anymore.

The day I made up my mind and packed my things to leave, we had a short conversation, but it didn't change my mind. I left. And only on my mistress's doorstep did I realize how much I loved my wife. And that I didn't need anyone but her. So I told my mistress we had to break up and went back home, to my wife and child…

The following years I tried to be a good father and husband. It didn't work out very well, of course, but I tried, that's a fact. The relationship with my wife, it seemed, improved. There were arguments and conflicts, and every time she'd bring up my affair and my mistress.

Then I made my second big mistake. Not having learned my lesson the first time, I again wanted to find out from her best friend, a different one, with whom we studied together, what was going on with my wife, why she was so cold, what I had done to her besides that affair.

She was married and already had a child, but that didn't stop her from shutting me up with sex. Yes, we just slept together by the riverbank, where we'd gone to talk about my family problems. And in the end, there was sex…

Again, I didn't find out anything. I was fed a line about it being a temporary thing, that my wife was tired from work and housework, that I needed to be more attentive and spend more time with her. I believed it back then. Plus, I got sex again, from her friend, a different friend.

And then my wife got sick. Got a terrible, fatal illness. And she kept quiet until I intervened. Until I noticed and forced her to get treatment. She was cured. And that's when she kicked me out of the house…

She'd kicked me out before during arguments; I'd leave the apartment, which her father had given her – she's the owner. But I always came back. I couldn't live without her, loved her very much.

But the spot was already taken. Taken by our mutual friend, with whom we studied together. A family friend. With whom we drank and ate from the same plate, played on the same computer, who slept over at our house many times and babysat my daughter.

My wife told me he helped her a lot with repairs and with her sick mother, helped take care of her. And somehow it happened that now they were living together.

I was in shock, but immediately started offering options to kick him out and start living together. I was ready to forgive her, forget this weakness of hers. But she dragged out her answer for a week, another, a third…

And a month later she told me that she'd been sleeping with him "periodically" behind my back since our daughter was born, that this was how she got revenge on me for my affair…

I was in shock, completely crushed. Couldn't find my place. Again considered myself guilty…

But that passed quickly. I started remembering facts from our shared history, some inconsistencies, and carefully reading our social media correspondence, where she admitted to some things. And I came to an amazing conclusion…

Though I don't know for one hundred percent, because I didn't want to talk to her, and she wouldn't have told the whole truth, but I believe the first time she slept with my friend was before the wedding. Probably at one of the student parties, of which we had many.

Because that's exactly when my friend told me he had problems with his male health, had an operation on his organ, and couldn't be with girls.

He really was in the hospital. Then he dated girls, but it was always fleeting. By the way, he hooked up with my wife's friend. The very one I later slept with. And back then I started thinking he really… couldn't be with women. Especially since he lived alone in recent years and didn't have a woman.

In reality, he did. My wife. All those years they were fucking behind my back. I think at every possible opportunity. Sometimes he helped us with repairs and hung around our apartment for days. Sometimes he refused to go fishing with me, especially if it was an overnight trip. Why would he need fishing if he could spend the night with my wife?

I think back then, in our student days, he fed me that story about his dick problem, afraid someone might rat them out to me, tell me they'd slept together. And here he was, like, a eunuch, don't even think of suspecting.

And I didn't suspect. For years I trusted him, often left them alone, never worried about him as a rival. Friends joked about them, and I'd brush it off, smiling, remembering what he told me, that he couldn't…

We divorced quickly. And then I did a DNA test and found out my daughter wasn't mine. I offered to quietly, without scandal, change the records on the birth certificate. She agreed.

I never saw or heard from my wife, my daughter, or that bastard again.

And then I met you and fell in love…

The man fell silent, picked up his e-cigarette, and took a drag.

— This time I wasn't a naive boy. I understood perfectly well that all of us – men and women – given the right circumstances, would cheat on each other.

For example, me. I started married life confident I would never cheat on my beloved wife. And in the end, I slept with… let's see… nine women besides my wife. With some I met from time to time just for sex, with others it was just once or twice. Yes, I'm no angel.

So I decided it would be fair not to pay attention to my future wife's infidelities. Who knows the circumstances… The most common – well, she felt like it, got turned on while drunk, random sex, pleasure… Screw it, I'm ready to forgive. It hurts, it's offensive, but I'll forgive. I don't want to cheat myself, but I won't swear off it. It could happen to me too.

But what I definitely won't forgive is cheating in thoughts. That is, if my woman falls in love with someone else. That's an immediate divorce, an instant breakup of the relationship. I won't allow myself to be strung along for years again.

And I also won't allow myself to live with a slut who fucks left and right with a bunch of guys, that's not for me.

At these words, the young woman sitting opposite shuddered but didn't raise her eyes to the man.

The man sighed, took another drag from his cigarette.

— Now about us. Or rather, about you… When we went to the car dealership to see your friend Sveta a year ago, the manager immediately noticed you, the beauty, and asked her who you were and who the guy with you was.

She answered that you were her best friend since school, and I was a cool auto mechanic. And the manager immediately hatched a plan to get you into his bed.

The woman opposite shuddered again and raised her wet eyes to her husband in surprise.

— Yes, don't be surprised. I know even more than you can imagine. How – I'll explain later.

In short, he was burning to get under your skirt. And he came up with a plan. Especially since he didn't really need to invent much.

He found out everything about us from your friend. That I work hard and long hours at the auto shop and don't make huge money. Then he fired one of his workers at the auto shop attached to the dealership. There were reasons; the guy was a slacker.

And then he told your friend they urgently needed an auto mechanic and wouldn't mind trying me out. She got excited immediately and told you, and you told me.

Double the salary, bonuses, strict schedule, clean workshop, close to home – tons of advantages. We both agreed it would be a great job, just brilliant. But…

He was just playing his cards. Or rather, your card. He interviewed me, then through your friend invited you over. And practically straight up offered you a blowjob in exchange for hiring me.

He fed you a line that he had a ton of applicants for the position, professionals no less skilled than me. And that you had a week to think. Either a blowjob for him and a job for me, or take a hike, he'd hire someone else.

He had nothing to lose. And we were losing a good job. So you agreed the very next day. Didn't think long. Came to him and blew him right in his office. And the next day I started working as an auto mechanic at his dealership.

That was the first time you cheated on me. With my future boss. So he'd give me a job. For a good salary, a convenient schedule.

But he had bigger plans. He didn't plan to stop. He wanted to fuck you. And he did.

The woman shuddered again, not raising her head.

— Three months later he called you and suggested meeting, said he had a serious talk. You agreed. And he informed you he was planning to promote me, make me head auto mechanic, manager of the auto shop. You were happy, and he demanded "gratitude" from you.

And the next day you went to his office. Again. Closed the door, took off your skirt, shrugged off your jacket, got on your knees, and pulled down his pants. Took him in your mouth, sucked him, then took off your panties and rode my boss…

He came inside you and immediately called me upstairs from the workshop. I was surprised to see you in his office then. But he said you'd just come to visit your friend and husband. And then added he had happy news. And showed me the order appointing me senior mechanic, manager of the auto shop.

I remember how you joyfully threw yourself on my neck, hugged and kissed me. And at that moment, his sperm was dripping out of your pussy…

The woman jerked again, as if struck, but again didn't raise her eyes.

Her husband smirked.

— You know what's the worst thing in this story? It's not that you slept with the boss for my promotion. It's that he would have appointed me manager anyway. Because from above, from the owners, he got an order to appoint an auto mechanic with a specialized education as manager. And I was the only one with that, a specialized automotive degree…

So, even if you hadn't given it to him then, he still would have had to appoint me. That's how it is…

Well, anyway, it's in the past. Another three months later he called you again. Remember that call? We were fucking after work, and you declined it several times, he was bothering us. But then we interrupted sex, and you finally answered and went to talk