Something Snapped Inside

by Sean Dalton

Anthony, or Ant as he prefers to be called, has always had a problem with boundaries when it came to his Brooke, his beautiful wife.

When they attend Brooke's law firm's start-of-the-year party, a lavish black-tie event at an exclusive hotel where staff are encouraged to bring partners to the point of being expected, Brooke has outdone herself, but, after months of being distant, Ant can't shake the feeling that her efforts aren't for him.

At the Brooke introduces Ant to the new senior partner at the law firm, Xander Coulsen and Brooke's behavior over the past months started to make sense when Ant sees her dance with Xander Coulsen as if he weren't there.

Seeing his wife enjoying herself with another man, Ant turns to leave quietly, but something snaps inside. If his marriage is going to end, it will end with his head held high. He then shocks everyone at the party by punching Xander Coulsen before leaving.

Is this the end of Ant and Brooke's marriage, or will Brooke come to her senses?

51 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 4, 2025

Reviews

[Steve Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.0 stars

This is a very interesting psychological exploration of what women really need. The story is about a married couple Brooke and Ant. They have been married for 10 years but knew each other for far longer. They grew up together but didn't really interact with each other. Brooke was always the popular, beautiful life of the part and Ant was a nerd. That changed after college. Brooke ended up not being able to get into law school and at a party, her boyfriend kissed her friend right in front of her. That is when Ant talked to her. By this point he was top of his class in college and going to go for a master's in electrical engineering. He also had been taking martial arts and bulked up. So, in a sense, they had traded places.

He asked her out and thing progressed. They got married and had 2 kids. He would do anything for her. They are going to her office party and things have been off for a while. She dressed up very sexy, but he doesn't think it was for him. She has been kind of cold to him, and they haven't had much sex in months. He isn't much of a dancer, but she loves to dance so he tried and ended up stepping on her foot. She gets mad. He goes to get her a drink and then finds her on the dance floor with another man. They are very close, and she is smiling at him. A gay coworker comes to him and apologizes. He is a new lawyer at the firm who likes to hit on married women. They have been going to lunch and going out for drinks after work.

When his wife introduces the new man to her husband, he comes across as cocky and insults him. When Ant stands up for himself, the wife takes the other man's side and goes to dance with the other man, leaving her husband standing there. This was the moment. He could either walk away or stand up for himself. Something in him snaps and he goes to interrupt their dance. He tells the other man to take his hands off his wife. He provokes him so that he takes a swing at Ant and then Ant knocks him out. He then yells at his wife.

She is shocked, she really doesn't seem to know what she did wrong. He spends the whole weekend ignoring her while she tries to apologize. After the weekend she quits her job and signs them up for therapy. She wants to work on the marriage. She now understands she was having an emotional affair. She never slept with him or kissed him, but she will now admit it was an affair.

We find out in therapy that because the husband gave in to her all the time, she didn't feel safe in the marriage anymore. She kind of fell out of love with him and was taking him for granted. Once he punched her coworker all those feelings came back. That one punch saved their marriage. The marriage counselor told Ant he needed to set boundaries for his wife. That is something she needed to feel safe. She had her own problems of wanting to always be the popular girl and center of attention and not knowing what to do with herself when that was no longer true.

This can be confusing for guys. You give a woman exactly what she wants and yet it isn't enough for her. You tell her no though, set boundaries and she will love you more. I guess it does make some sense. It is more about the reason behind it. If you give your wife something because it makes her happy that isn't the same as if you gave her something because you are afraid to lose her.

The therapist in the story told the MC he was a good guy but then told him that wasn't a good thing. I kind of a agree. You don't want to be a nice guy; you want to be a good man. A nice guy is acting out of fear. Most nice guys want to be with the woman they are hanging around; they are just too afraid to make a move. They act out of fear. The difference between a nice guy and a good man is a nice guy will give a woman a shoulder to cry on, but a good man will give a woman a face to cum on. I am not a woman, but I have to think that most of the time they know when they are being unreasonable, and they can't feel good about their partners when they give in to their unreasonable demands. They start thinking their partners are pathetic. I wonder how much of this is subconscious.

[Charles N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story, it was a fun easy to read story. I am really enjoying Mr Dalton’s stories, each day when I start my reading I check to see if Mr Dalton has a new one out.
I suggest reading his stories is recommended

[chuck r · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good to read a story line where the MC stands up. Was hoping that after a threading retaliation the MC would have stood up again to the offender.....go figure an attorney. Enjoyable read regardless.