Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

All That She Needs: The Betrayal of a Marriage

Rate this book
Asha finds herself navigating the turbulent aftermath of a crumbling marriage. Aiden, her husband, has betrayed her trust in the most devastating way, leaving her grappling with heartbreak and a storm of unresolved emotions. Caught between the life she once knew and an uncertain future, Asha must confront her pain while searching for a path forward.

Haunted by guilt and consumed by regret, Aiden is desperate to make amends. The weight of his mistakes looms large, straining his every effort to rebuild the shattered bonds with Asha and their children. Despite his attempts at reconciliation, the shadow of his choices threatens to overshadow his hopes of redemption.

Caught between love, loss, and self-preservation, Asha faces a choice: rebuild what’s broken or leave it behind.

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2025

458 people are currently reading
263 people want to read

About the author

Jona Leigh

4 books104 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
421 (39%)
4 stars
328 (30%)
3 stars
205 (19%)
2 stars
72 (6%)
1 star
44 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
Profile Image for Camille.
291 reviews
January 12, 2025
Spoilers abound, y’all.

This book is far from perfect. It is in dire need of a really good editor. I am a reader that gets super distracted by a crap ton of editing errors and had I not been enjoying the huge gut punch this book provided, I would have abandoned ship. One of my issues is with inconsistent language-maybe the book was translated from another language?

Next, it is Super Soapy. If that’s not your cuppa, then don’t bother.

Also, it’s really l-o-n-g. That wasn’t as much of an issue for me because of the gut punch, but I could see it feeling really long to others who maybe don’t jive with the overall tropes as much as I do.

Now the good stuff: this is cheating heaven for OG Angst Whores. The story really packs an on-page punch, so if you don’t like to read about sustained infidelity, this probably isn’t for you. The feelings seemed real-our h waffled too long but hell-after 20 years of marriage, some waffling might be in order. Also our H couldn’t stop loving his side piece and OOOOOF, was that a gut punch. For folks who relish an HEA, there is one. It might not be in every reader’s preferred shape and size, but there is one. There is also a distinct HFN for another MC. And, a glorious bunch of comeuppance to boot.

I rated this highly because so few authors are willing to touch these tropes and this one did! I LOVED IT, warts and all. Keep writing these stories, JL! I will inhale them!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
15 reviews1 follower
March 13, 2025
Wow. Where do I even begin? This book was a hot mess from start to finish, and honestly, I’m still reeling from the sheer imbalance of it all. Not a single character was likable, not one! First, we have the cheater, who wasn’t just your average run-of-the-mill scumbag; oh no, this man was practically diabolical in his obsession with his mistress. And speaking of the mistress, good lord, was there a single redeeming quality about her? Vile, loose-moraled, and smug in that way only homewreckers with zero self-awareness can be. And then there’s the wife, the poor, spineless doormat. I mean, my sympathy for her ran out by chapter three. How much humiliation can one person endure before growing a backbone? It was painful to witness.

And don’t even get me started on the wife's new love interest. A 32-year-old acting like a whiny, love-starved teenager. Where was the depth? Where was the emotional maturity? It was impossible to root for their so-called "love story" when it read more like an awkward college situationship. And then the author had the audacity to have the wife think these two were "written in the stars." Girl, please. Aim higher. You were in an 18-year marriage, you don’t need a baby-faced rebound who throws tantrums when you don’t want to DTR three seconds after signing divorce papers.

And the emotional payoff? Nonexistent. There was no deep, soul-crushing, heart-laying-bare conversation between the wife and her new man. Just surface-level fluff. How am I supposed to buy into a love story without the messy, uncomfortable truths laid out? And as for the cheating husband, this man spent ninety percent of the book disgustingly obsessed with his mistress, only to show up in the epilogue suddenly heartbroken over losing his wife? Oh, so now she’s a "rare gem," the "true love of his life"? And why exactly? The book never bothers to explain that whiplash-inducing shift. And now he’s chasing down her lookalikes and failing to fill the void? Please. You don’t just develop self-awareness overnight!! Where was the breakdown, the moment of reckoning? Why wasn’t his fractured relationship with his kids explored? Why weren’t the consequences of his betrayal fully unpacked?

And the worst part, no real karma for the two cheating assholes. None. Just a weak epilogue that felt like the literary equivalent of a shrug. I mean, come on, if you’re going to put your readers through that much emotional chaos, at least have the decency to serve up some poetic justice. One star, and that’s only because Goodreads doesn’t allow zero.
Profile Image for Beeg Panda.
1,641 reviews599 followers
March 2, 2025
3.50 to 3.75ish starts. Married couple, with 2 kids, Asha and Aiden have been together for 20 years.
Both have successful careers and couldn’t be happier in their loving passionate marriage.
Until Asha realizes that Aiden has ‼️SPOILERS ‼️SPOILERS


ETA NB:
Neaten review
364 reviews
February 28, 2025
This is about a heroine who gets cheated on, then moves on to a better man. That's the basic gist, so if that sounds good to you, you'll probably like this.

Asha (39) has been married to Aiden (40) for like 20 years. They have 2 teen kids, but Aiden has been cheating on Asha for a while. Asha knows this, and for some reason, hasn't confronted him about it or left him. She only finally decides to leave him when she realizes her kids know their dad has been cheating, and it's negatively impacting them. Then, she meets Liam (32), who is basically perfect, and gets an HEA with him while Aiden suffers from his bad choices.

This wasn't bad, it did scratch the itch for this topic, and the writing was fine. But it had several things that didn't land well with me. Asha was hard to like at first, she came across as pathetic, since she knew Aiden was cheating, delayed leaving him, and even slept with him. Other characters in the story are like, "Why didn't you leave him sooner???" And I agree with them! I don't always need a heroine to have a perfect reaction to a given situation, or react the same way I'd react. But I need to be able to understand a heroine's behavior, and I didn't. Asha's reaction to her husband cheating was weird, and didn't make much sense, and made it hard to like her for a while. Even after she grows a backbone, she's WAY too nice to Aiden, often smiling at him and hugging him, and even talking to him in a friendly way on FaceTime when her kids call him. That's fine for him to stay in the kid's lives, but Asha doesn't need to casually chat with him!

Liam also feels more like a side character than a hero, and he's too perfect, which is boring and made him feel like a flat character. I guess that makes sense if Asha's journey and Aiden's regret are the main focus of this book. For this type of book, it does work for the new guy to just be a Good Guy who practically worships the heroine. But even so, I still feel like Liam could have been more interesting and developed. It also felt too convenient that he entered the story and immediately started worshipping Asha. That felt like all those New Adult books where the heroine is a new girl at school or college, and conveniently, there's a random girl at her school who is determined to be her instant friend and drag her to parties. Liam felt like a similar character type -- like a character who exists only to hype the heroine up. But, that might be a matter of personal taste, other people might like that type of character.

I found myself much more interested in the side characters in this story than the main characters - Asha has 2 mysterious hot brothers, who dated the same woman. I would read that MFM story, or really any story about either or both of her brothers. Also I would read a story about Liam's brother Jake, the bartender.

Not many authors write angsty cheating reads, so I would read more from this author, but I had too many issues with it to give it more than 3 stars.
Profile Image for Yames Bond.
917 reviews14 followers
January 21, 2025
3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was absolutely @ddict!ve. I wanted to keep going until I knew the entire story.
It has great character development. Usually, I always cheer for the original couple to remain together but with this H and his description of everything he felt and did with OW, he was beyond redemption.

I liked the new H. The epilogue was AMAZING and I just really enjoyed this! Great ex Wattpad story turned into a very entertaining book!

I also wanna know what’s the story with the brothers and the doctor!
35 reviews2 followers
December 13, 2024
Excellent emotional page turner.
I highly recommend this book. The author took you on an emotional journey of a family broken up, because of infidelity.
You experience the betrayal, loss heartbreak anger, and new beginning in hope and love experienced by Ash,and the betrayal suffered by the children.
And then there is Aiden dear stupid Aiden, I hated him through half the book, but end the book hoping for a happy ending for him somewhere too.
Profile Image for Maria.
614 reviews31 followers
May 4, 2025
This was a solidly written cheating husband / angsty trope romance. I was invested in the fmcs plight with dealing with infidelity in a marriage with having kids.

I'm glad that the fmcfinally let herself fall in love with someone else and was able to build herself up after beying betrayed.
Profile Image for Brittany Curl.
46 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2024
I have to applaud the author. This book was amazing. I can not remember the last time I was this into a story. I had zero desire to skip to the end to see what happened (this happens to me a lot).
11 reviews
August 2, 2025
Ugh, this one was just as disgusting as "Unfaithful," if not more. This author is not for me. She seems to be a misogynist at heart, as she treats her female leads very unfairly. I mean, eighteen years of marriage is no small thing, yet instead of portraying the raw pain experienced by Asha and the kids, she was focused on showing the cheater’s love for his mistress. Honestly, Kayden’s ultimatum, Vanessa’s true colors, and the epilogue felt more like damage control than genuine plot twists! Also why the fuck was that bartender Jake so quiet and nonchalant about the affair? The scene I despised the most was when Aiden was jealous of Vanessa’s supposed fiancé in the boardroom, despite his wife breaking down in front of him just a few nights earlier and his son confronting him in tears. Ugh, he was a monster, I hated him so much!!
And why was Liam, a 32-year-old man, acting like some frat boy with a MILF fantasy? After everything Asha endured ,18 years of marriage destroyed by betrayal,This is what she gets as a "happy ending"? A shallow, immature fling instead of a man who truly matches her depth and resilience? Did she really deserve so little after all that pain? One star for Asha!! She was written as a weak character but still I couldn't bring myself to not like her!
Profile Image for Mojo_Mama.
1,611 reviews851 followers
br-on-the-rocks
May 26, 2025
Paused at 15%

Husband is irredeemable and wife moves on to another dude who’s so perfect I think it’ll set my teeth on edge.
Profile Image for Fatima Barakat.
280 reviews19 followers
March 18, 2025
This was a new and wonderful experience for me. I went to this book blind, and I did not know that the ending would be like this. I thought, hey, it’s gonna be a cheating book with heavy groveling, and the characters will live happily ever after, but what did I get?!
Let me tell you, I got the best book with this trope ever where the FMC knows her worth and finds her HEA.

This was a ride full of emotions, angst, love, and emotional maturity it was so good to read.

I cried so hard and I smiled with happiness even harder that how good it was for me.

I’ll definitely be reading this author's work all the time.
Profile Image for Danny Lea.
852 reviews12 followers
February 10, 2025
I didn't know this author's work was here on Goodreads, but I am enjoying her writing on Wattpad. She writes a lot of ow stories with cheating or perceived cheating. Her newest one called Unfaithful is a doozy, but it's still a WIP. Only 2 chapters. The herione from this story has two children Kayden and Chloe. The author has a WIP (work in progress) for Kayden as well.
Profile Image for Misha.
682 reviews28 followers
March 16, 2025
3 stars

Skimmed this. Wanted to know what happened. Liked the ending and LOVED how the kids, esp Kayden, made it VERY clear what Aiden (his dad and the cheater) would lose if he made the wrong choice. Take that, adulterer!

Is it wrong that I liked that he got hit by a car by the woman he had an affair with?

Profile Image for EARTH.
69 reviews
January 6, 2025
It is a well written, painful story where the cheater actually faces the full karma of his actions. Really tough read at parts emotionally, but the ending was satisfying, and I felt everyone really got what they deserved.
91 reviews
January 12, 2025
Ok

There were some grammar typos, but it was a decent read.
Maybe yornext one could be about Aiden finding a second chance.
Profile Image for Davy.
516 reviews4 followers
January 27, 2026
her brothers placing even a smidgen of blame on her was too much and her mom can drop dead
390 reviews17 followers
May 19, 2025

This book was such a hard read emotionally—it completely broke my heart. You can’t help but ache for Asha. She knows her husband, Aiden, is falling for another woman, and yet she doesn’t confront him straight away. Instead, she quietly endures the pain, feeling him slip away, watching him grieve the loss of this affair as if it meant more to him than his own family. That emotional weight is heavy, and it’s written so raw and honestly that it really hits you.

And then we get Aiden’s point of view—and somehow, it breaks your heart all over again. You see how deeply he’s obsessed with the other woman, how much effort he puts into hiding it, and the lengths he goes to keep the affair a secret from Asha. It’s only when their son confronts him and says, “I know everything,” that Aiden finally stops to reflect. He starts to realize that maybe it wasn’t love, but rather a temporary escape—something he thought he needed.

Asha eventually reaches a breaking point. There’s a powerful moment where she tells Aiden they could move forward if he can just say he doesn’t love the other woman—and he can’t. That seals it for her. She chooses herself, gets the divorce, and begins to build a new life.

Then enters Liam—young, kind, and exactly what Asha deserves. Their love story is beautiful, and watching her thrive with him, remarry, and have another child was so satisfying. She’s finally living her best life.

The epilogue, set five years later, shows Aiden still stuck. He’s going on empty blind dates and clearly hasn’t moved on. He runs into Vanessa, and all she does is remind him of the biggest mistake of his life. It’s haunting in a quiet, sad way.

One scene that really got to me was the work party. Asha is at the event with Aiden, and he sneaks off to have sex with Vanessa upstairs while his wife is downstairs. It’s never explicitly shown, but he later admits it—and that moment just crushed me. The lack of respect was staggering.

What made this book even more heartbreaking was how deeply the affair impacted their children. The pain was generational, and the author didn’t shy away from showing that.

Overall, this was a powerful, painful, beautifully written story about betrayal, growth, and healing. It’s not an easy read—but it’s definitely worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for VoraciousReader.
2,141 reviews
June 14, 2025
1. I can’t remember reading a book with such unlikeable characters. Aiden was a cheating, lying scumbag; Asha was a pathetic, spineless doormat and Liam was a creepy, childish stalker.
2. Badly needed editing.
“I was on my wit’s end here.”
“I had no choice but just to purge through”
“There were quite several men trying to flirt with me in the past.”
“Dennis said that with my looks, my success, and my Ice Queen personality, men would feel challenged and tried to conquer me.”
“The look of feral consumed him.”
“Let me get this out of my chest.”
3. Why would Asha fall in love with a man who was “arrogant, cold and detached” and stay with him after he fell in love with another woman and became a “pathetic, pitiful mess”???
4. The only reason that Aiden was feeling “regret” and “remorse” for the way he had betrayed his family was because Vanessa was marrying someone else. Just a few days before he was begging his wife not to leave him, he was begging Vanessa to come back to him because he couldn’t live without her.
5. After Asha kicked him out, Aiden kept whining about how much he was missing his children. Strangely, he didn’t miss them at all in the nine months that he was having an affair with Vanessa; he spent zero time with them because he preferred to spend every spare second with his mistress.
6. Asha was so weak and pathetic.
a. She repeatedly kept trying to take some of the blame for Aiden’s affair.
b. She was so concerned about how upset Aiden was when her brothers were angry at him for cheating on her.
c. She kept trying to draw a parallel between Aiden cheating on her with Vanessa during their marriage and her spending platonic time with Liam after she and Aiden had separated and she had filed for divorce.
7. Aiden promised both Asha and his kids that he would never hurt them again. If Vanessa had come back to him, he would have dropped his family again in a hot second.
8. 50% of the way through the book, I’m still not sure who the MMC is.
9. I had to stop reading when Aiden started claiming that his decision to fight for his marriage and his family had nothing to do with the fact that Vanessa was marrying someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for hugsandcookies.
990 reviews82 followers
March 10, 2025
Addictive Raw and Emotional Read

If you go in blind, please do cause I recommend it. It’s a good book and my first book by this author that I couldn’t put down.

The story is as you can guess. Yes, Betrayal ie as I call it cheating. I devoured this book within 24 hrs.
I could go on and on but I feel like this book takes you on a journey of heartache, heartbreaks and learning when to let go and accept what will be.

It’s also a discovery of stepping back, learning and knowing and also facing the reality of how to process all the hurt, all the brokenness and to process the betrayal.
Asha is a victim of being betrayed on, but she was also a strong character that I admired. Her strength her determination to not let her drown in her heartbreak, was that she focused on her work, taking control of herself and her children.

Kayden and Chloe are amazing kids. I like their characters, as any normal teens as can be. I love Kayden but he’s a genius 😉 who masterminded everything. If you give this a book a chance you’ll know. Kayden so much surprised me. He was a strength for his sister and his mum although he was hurt and let down by his father.

Liam the hot InfiniTech 😉 I’m glad he was the right mix for Asha, but I felt like his character was too flawed and too rushed to be with Asha. But, however though I’m glad that Asha was able to put the brakes on it. Asha had to do what she had to in order to move forward with Liam.

The secondary characters also make this book enjoyable to read. Asha being a triplet and Dennis her assistant and Jake the bartender was a surprise twist to the story.

Ugh, I hate cheating, but I think Aiden and the ow deserved their karma. I won’t lie, I did feel for Aiden and at one point I thought he would of, but nooo he wanted both his cakes 🤦🏽‍♀️ was he a victim of his bad choices no he CHOSE to do it, and in the end he realised it too late when all was loss for him. Karmas a ****
Profile Image for Sue.
206 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2025
This book shows some reality regarding a broken marriage with children involved. The main characters are admirable, and you can feel each character's emotions while reading it. It ends in a HEA for one of the spouses (which I was rooting for). I can say on a personal note this story left me thinking.

The quote I got from this book was:
"I'm a good listener, you know. And I've been told I'm a pretty decent misery bucket." I let out a small laugh. "Misery bucket?" "Yeah. The one people like to pour all their misery into."
Profile Image for Violet Kattalakis.
314 reviews4 followers
January 9, 2025
Gut wrenchingly beautiful

This story made me, laugh, giggle like a teenager, get angry and cry. Wow! The highs and the lows were so beautifully well written and the characters had so much depth and growth I literally couldn't put the book down. Such a beautiful story.
Profile Image for Addicted 2 📖.
653 reviews13 followers
January 26, 2025
This surprised me - so much emotion that I couldn’t put it down. I did skip some pages because honestly it was a bit too long for me.

Was it a perfect story? No. But sadly, what some don’t understand is that conceptually it’s real. Asha, aside her high profile career was like 2 women I personally know that have gone through cheating spouses. Despite her ‘overstay’ I loved her resilience. Adultery has such a domino effect- the emotions: heartbreak, laughter, anger, self-doubt….its gut wrenching.
How this affects kids in the marriage, and family surrounding it all?
Profile Image for Snafuzled.
122 reviews
March 10, 2026
I really liked this one for the angst and betrayal. Not often you read a book where the MMC truly feels he loves his wife AND the OW. He was a mess. Watching him crash out over the OW was wild. It was hard to understand where the FMC was coming from in the beginning, but I get it. They had a very long term and loving marriage. She truly loved him. So even though I can’t imagine living like she did, I still can see where she was coming from in her acceptance. Liam was a little too good to be true… but overall a very satisfying read if you like this genre.
107 reviews
January 31, 2025
I’m not crying…..

These characters will quickly become real. The excellent description of their journey from betrayal and brokenness to healing and growing. The description of their hurts, confusion, will have you sharing their pain ( both points of view- cheater and one being cheated on) . Creative storyline. Well written. And yes, I did cry… more than once. Well done. Jona Leigh.
Profile Image for Christine.
1,166 reviews20 followers
February 3, 2025
To be betrayed…

This was a very raw and emotional read. While the MMC was portrayed as the villain, he was just as much a victim of his choices and actions as the rest of the characters. This was a very different read, no HEA or HFN, not this type of book. But it did end on a positive note which was appropriate.
Profile Image for a🧚‍♀️.
939 reviews
January 17, 2025
4 stars ⭐️

BOOOM SHAKALALA see this is how you write a book with the cheating trope 🙏🙏🙏 god has answered my prayers
117 reviews
February 8, 2025
I’m being super generous and giving this a 3 star. Only because Liam and Asha was like an Oasis in a desert while reading this crap and the fact for fucking once the author doesn’t let the wife stay with the cheating bastard even if she was a doormat. Oh yes and Kayden giving this dumb dog of an MC an ultimatum. I never once liked Aides (aiden). Fucking douchebag had an easy ending to the story and so as that bitch Vaneeeeesa. Both of them I hated to the brim. This author fumbled so much. She could’ve went with a more destructive ending for them but somewhere down the line she fell for her own BS and fell the MC sob story. Anyways bye!
Profile Image for TheBookishWife.
373 reviews21 followers
January 29, 2026
This was more of a 3.75 stars for me. If the longish internal monologue were minimized and better editing, it could have been a 4.5 star read. The story was really good, and the dialogue between some of the characters was witty. I will note that the 1st chapter will piss you off...or it did me, as the cheating husband Aidan reminisces to a bartender his spiral into his adulterous affair.

[We were fucking everywhere like we had no care in the world. In my office. In her apartment. In my car. In a hotel room somewhere. Even in a restaurant bathroom stall.]

[Oh, how exquisite it felt. Her warm channel would squeeze me tight, milking single every drop from me until there was nothing left]

See what I mean. Fret not. He and she get theirs in the end.
Recommend for 'cheating husband' afficionado's.
.
Profile Image for I’m a Paula too… Thompson.
1,582 reviews10 followers
April 27, 2025
Seriously intense…

The married couple are Aiden and Asha, and they have two kids that are in their teens. Asha is the CEO of a company, and Aiden is a CEO too. So clearly they’re both high octane and busy most of the time. Interestingly, as a woman in control of a company, she’s a submissive to her husband. Which is why it was incomprehensible to me why he cheated with Vanessa.

It’s clear that she’s not going to take him back. And Vanessa turns out to be crazy and stalks him. Asha ends up meeting Liam, who’s a tech guy and rich. The whole thing is actually a bit messy and I kept shaking my head…

KU read but this is really good. Everyone had a lot to learn and to grow. Many, many lessons to be learned, including by the kids. Asha got a beautiful life, and Aiden learned a truly painful lesson…

Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews