infidelity

Why do I read books where there is a separation and thus a high chance of the hero having sex with other women and hurting his heroine?  I think sometimes I read the book description and think "ok, the separation was only a year or two, the author could definately swing it so that the hero abstained". 

In this case, the hero's pregnant wife walked out on the marriage believing a woman who claimed the hero cheated with her.  He hadn't, the woman lied, but the heroine didn't know... and the hero was too proud to fight to keep his wife, after she had disappointed him by not trusting him.  He eventually moved on to other women, their divorce was in progress.  Eventually the heroine found out he hadn't slept with the woman who made the claim, and she wanted the hero back.  The moment the heroine realized that the hero had had sex with other women for REAL after their separation, it was as if she was just shot out of her dream world and landed on her ass in reality.  It was so heart-breaking.  It was also heart-breaking to see the hero's reaction to having to confirm to her that there had been other women, he knew it would hurt her now, and he didn't want to hurt her.  This was just crushing. 

Back Cover:

'I never meant to do it...she was just there when I needed someone...'

Rachel and Daniel had three adorable children and a strong marriage - or so Rachel had always believed. But her happy existence was shattered when she was told that Daniel had been having a, affair. Then she realised that they'd been growing apart for years. Rachel wanted to save her marriage - but was it too late  

My Review: 

Holy crap.  I cried like mad during this book, even the happy loving moments between them made me cry.  I needed to pull out the kleenex.  This book is about Daniel and Rachel, who married when she was 17 and pregnant with the first of their kids.  They have been together seven years, and through those years Daniel has gained business success and his life has changed, but he's tried to keep his family life separate from that, keep his family as his "garden in the vile jungle".  During a bad period where all three of their kids were ill, Rachel was run-down, and Daniel was under threat of a business takeover, Daniel started seeing another woman... a colleague at work who he started seeing outside the office.  He quickly came to his senses, and he never had sex with the other woman, but he still felt what he did was cheating and he felt a lot of guilt.  Rachel was told by a third party about it, and it nearly destroyed their marriage, but she stayed and fought through the pain.