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The Humiliated Wife: A Husband's Betrayal & Grovel

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She thought he loved her. He made her the punchline.

Fiona believed her marriage was built on love and respect. She was wrong.

When she discovers her husband’s secret social media account mocking every detail of her life, the humiliation is brutal, public, and impossible to forget.

Now Dean will do anything to win her back.
He’ll beg. He’ll grovel.
But words are cheap, and some betrayals cut too deep.

Can a man who destroyed his marriage ever be worthy of the woman he never deserved?

398 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2025

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Elise Camden

7 books124 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 378 reviews
Profile Image for Soph.
657 reviews66 followers
August 17, 2025
★★★★★. deanfiona, I love you so much.

The groveling was done so well. The plot was very realistic and so heart breaking to read. The betrayal was ROUGH and I truly didn’t think Dean would be forgiven. The angst was ANGSTY. I absolutely loved Fiona right away and I love how strong she was. Dean was perfect. He truly worked himself to be the man that Fiona loves and became better in every way.

For my safety people; safe. The betrayal isn’t him cheating or flirting or anything like that. Dean makes it known he would NEVER cheat or even move on when they broke up.
Profile Image for Paige.
785 reviews13 followers
August 19, 2025
I had a hard time rating this, I wasn’t sure if it was 3 or 3.5 stars.

I do love marriage in trouble books or betrayal/grovel books where the MMC doesn’t cheat so this was right up my alley.

I really hated Dean at the beginning. The first like three POVs of his I was like wow this guys a prick and idk how I’m going to be able to forgive him. I also thought Fiona was going to have no backbone because she did seem pretty naive at first and I thought it was going to be frustrating. BUT as it turns out Fiona did have a backbone and Dean actually became someone worthy of her in the end.

The betrayal isn’t what kept me from giving this more stars. It was how repetitive this book was. I felt like I kept reading the same chapter over and over again because it was all the same with slightly different wording and sometimes the same wording. This book could have been like 100 pages less than what it was. We don’t need to hear several times about how he missed her humming in the house, once would have been suffice. I ended up skimming a bunch toward the end because it just said stuff I had already read over and over again.

So in my personal opinion it was a tad bit unrealistic. Like we have a man, a husband, posting things on social media making fun of his wife for things that people would actually praise. You’re telling me not one comment was “omg she’s amazing” or “I love that she cares so much” or “your such a shitty husband for talking about your wife this way” it didn’t make senses to me that there were thousands of comments talking about how simple minded and dumb she was for thinking a certain way. Why she was getting criticized for giving her student a snack because they were sad. Especially this day and age a man who put that stuff on the internet would have been cancelled for saying such things. Especially since he was making fun of her for being a good person. This didn’t sit well with me at all. Maybe if he made fun of her for something else it would have made more sense but not this.

I also thought his so called friends got off too easily. He should have stood up to them more not only before him and Fiona broke up but after as well. The fact that he still hung out with them a few times after she left him was crazy to me. And when he did stand up to them it was very luke warm, like I need my man coming in guns blazing to protect my honor not whatever it was that he did. He also should have found another job. To continue to work for a company that praised you for trash talking your wife is insane!!! And even while trying to win her back he still stayed there. Like wtf?

Anyway wasn’t the best read but wasn’t the worst either. Just so much repetition!!!

NO CHEATING
NO OP DRAMA ( FMC gets hit on by parent)
BREAK UP AT LIKE 20%
BETRAYED/GROVEL
HEA
Profile Image for enqi ☾⋆˚*̣̩✩ (slumping).
403 reviews1,157 followers
March 31, 2026
──⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡┊2 ★

Grovel is my secret soft spot and one of my absolute favorite microtropes, so I was hoping this would be a good palette cleanser. And don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it, and I never thought I'd say this, but Dean’s relentless groveling actually ended up overwhelming the story.

Initially, I appreciated his remorse, but the constant repetition of his inner thoughts soon dulled the emotional impact. What started as sincere regret gradually became tedious when I was forced to read the same thoughts over and over again.

Yes, no loving husband should betray the person they claim to cherish, and any good apology should reflect the depth of the harm caused. Still, the sheer length of his penance drained me as a reader. There really wasn't a need to go over the same thoughts several times. I read grovel for the emotional payoff, and it was overdone here! To the point that I was thinking to myself, "Dean, if you really worship the ground this woman walks on, why'd you even fuck up this bad in the first place?" Him betraying her felt completely unrealistic and out of character.

Fiona’s hesitation to forgive him until nearly the very end was pretty satisfying. I admired her strength and refusal to cave too quickly. She was betrayed by the person meant to be her safe space, and her pain was palpable. If it had been me, I would've walked away... two years of humiliation and being the butt of a cruel joke is something I doubt I could ever endure.

But on the other hand, witnessing Dean’s transformation firsthand yet continuing to question whether he deserved forgiveness became exhausting. In real life, such caution makes sense, but in fiction, the prolonged back-and-forth felt excessive. A balance between realism and pacing would have made the emotional journey more compelling.

Finally I'm a bit conflicted because the writing style and features seem a little too much like AI to me... the specific paragraph breaks, periods occurring every few words, repetive content, the speed at which the author churns out new books, and the formulaic titles... idk. I'm unsure about this and I don't wanna accidentally accuse a genuine author of using AI but something feels a little off to me. I can't really put my finger on it.
Profile Image for Jen ♥.
1,829 reviews1,114 followers
August 27, 2025
I never thought I was going to say this, but Dean's grovel went too far. Most of the book was all about it. I actually enjoyed it in the beginning, but it became repetitive and ended up becoming tedious to read. It was just the same inner musings mostly, so reading them time and again sort of lost their emotional impact.

I eventually got tired of how he had to prove himself over and over again. Okay, tbf, what he did was terrible; there's no excuse for that. No sane loving husband should've done something that awful to the person they proclaim to love. I genuinely believe that the apology should match the level of hurt his actions have caused. By the end, reading this really showed me how sincere he is and how much he wants to fix what he broke.

Fiona didn't forgive him until the 97% mark. 🫠 At first, I was proud because, yes girl, show her you have some spine! I kind of understand why she took her sweet time. She was betrayed by the person who was supposed to be her safe space, and I can only imagine the pain she's feeling.

But gawd, she witnessed everything he did. She knew deep down that he had changed, but her fears kept getting in the way of her decisions. Again, I see where she was coming from, but still. I eventually reached a point where I was exhausted by her constant questioning of whether she should forgive him or not. I think that in real life this situation is ideal, but since it's fiction, I don’t really see the need for this lengthy groveling. 🫣 I'm not saying she should've settled for a half-assed apology, but I feel like there needs to be some kind of balance here.

Idk, I really liked the writing style and the storytelling. It made me tear up a few times, with Fiona's heartbreak and Dean's realization. But overall, this emotionally drained me by the end. Apparently long groveling are exhausting to read too.

Anyway, even after finishing this, I still have no idea what I would do if I were in Fiona's shoes. Two years of humiliation and being the punchline of a joke that I never agreed to or knew of is something I don't think I can handle. 🫣 But then again, Dean was genuinely remorseful about what he did. The realization came too late, but he still took action and made changes to make things right. Sooo, I really don't know. I guess it's up to the readers to judge whether he really deserves that second chance.


PS. The only reason why I was contemplating forgiving him was because while there's a betrayal, it didn't involve cheating. That is something unforgivable and unredeemable in my dictionary.
Profile Image for Tmstprc.
1,348 reviews171 followers
August 17, 2025
I liked this more than I expected. He loves his wife, but doesn’t really respect her. He’s a marketing executive and she’s a teacher. She has no idea that he has a private social media account basically making fun of her kindness. His cynical followers are nasty as are his co-workers.

She may be sweet and kind, but she has backbone and once she knows about the account, she’s gone, files for divorce and he spends the story playing catch-up.
Profile Image for Aou .
2,069 reviews216 followers
August 17, 2025
Good plot, but there’s too much repetition and not enough angst.
P.S. Even while skimming through some overly long scenes, I noticed that her student count dropped from 25 to 23, and after staying as a guest at her sister’s house for 2 months, the husband suddenly remembers being with her at a banquet just a month ago.
Profile Image for Van.
826 reviews42 followers
August 17, 2025
A very big betrayal book and grovel, No Cheating or OP involved
Totally safe
More than angst I think it’s a sad betrayal with an idiot hero
I can hold a grudge for life and the betrayal is big but the grovel, redemption, shame, guilt and everything he feels it’s worth to read!


Profile Image for Juniper.
112 reviews29 followers
October 29, 2025
I really like this author. I just wish most of her books were not about cheating. But this one is not so I was eager to read it.

Marriage in trouble, uncovered betrayal with a huge gut punch, an FMC with a backbone of steel, a devoted but idiotic MMC, and the GROVEL.
🎶 These are a few of my favorite things 🎶

Let me start by saying I am a grovel whore and I am rarely satisfied. It’s a specific formula that I’m looking for. I want the H to suffer terribly and I want the grovel to be about showing they are changed. I don’t care about grand gestures or flowery words with no action behind them. I want him to show his remorse by accepting full responsibility for his bullshit and then he dismantles his life without any expectation of getting the h back because he knows he doesn’t deserve her but he wants to be a better man anyway. More importantly, I want the h to stand her ground, know her worth and not accept any of the blame for his actions. I want her to be ready and willing to completely move on. I don’t want it to be made easier for him with forced proximity or someone almost dying. I don’t want her to soften and make excuses for him. I don’t want him to bulldoze his way back in. No I need him to truly put in the work and earn not only her forgiveness but mine.

Not too much to ask, right?? I can count on one hand and have fingers left over the amount of books I’ve read where the author hits every point. This is one of them. I want every romance author to study this book and take lessons from it like they are going to write a thesis on the subject. Most authors are LAZY when it comes to the grovel after spending too much time making the H into a complete bastard (I’m looking at you Maya Alden, Susie Tate, Jessica Prince, Natasha Anders…I could go on and on). But this author goes the extra mile and I appreciate it.

What the H did in this story was abhorrent but I completely believed in his remorse and redemption. I felt his grief, his anger at himself, his yearning and pining for the h. It was delicious. Even after he knew she was not going to take him back, he never stopped trying to take care of her from the background. He never gave up. I truly believed in their HEA.

I really hope she writes more books that are not based around cheating as I just can’t do those anymore. I also think it’s so much more interesting when the betrayal is not infidelity based. I like reading about couples who truly love each other and are devoted to their marriage but then a grenade is thrown in and they have to deal with it. Those stories are rare but this author gives me hope that maybe more authors will listen to us readers and give us what we are begging for.

Safety: Totally safe. Neither are with anyone else after separating. The MMC never even considers looking at another woman. The FMC has a fellow teacher who is interested in her but she is not interested at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for abhilasha ˖˚⊹ ꣑ৎ .
311 reviews49 followers
December 5, 2025
I am so done with grovel books. Like, dead serious this time. Sigh. I mean, who vomited this trainwreck of fuckery onto the page?

Full rtc
_____

Don’t mind me, I’m just here to witness this never-heard-before, totally unique (at least to me) disaster the hero is gonna pull.
Profile Image for Pinky.
651 reviews712 followers
August 21, 2025
Trigger Warnings:

I read His Wife’s Secretary awhile ago and while I hate cheating, the book was angsty. I hate cheating, but I always wonder how the MMC will grovel. IRL, I would never advise someone to get back with a cheater, even if they managed to change by grovelling. The relationship is forever ruined, and you will always remember that your partner did that to you. But in books? I’m willing to see if I will forgive the MMC. In surprising situations, when the grovel is so good, I actually cave. When I read the summary for this book, I was curious. While this book doesn’t have cheating, the betrayal is very invasive. This book was longer than it should have been, the writing was repetitive and it got boring. I feel like the betrayal happened too early on, it could’ve happened a bit later. The reason for the betrayal was stupid and unrealistic. And sure this is fiction, but seeing how the characters talked and acted was so immature. Both the MMC and FMC kept repeating themselves, I fell asleep multiple times while reading this. The grovel was good, but it would’ve been nice to have more moments between the MMC and FMC. While I did like the idea of this story, I feel like there could’ve been a better reason for the betrayal. As well, the length of the betrayal was so long, it makes me question the MMC’s love for the FMC. The characters were easily forgettable, but if you wanna pass time, check this out.

Vulnerability is not entertainment. And there is nothing funny about betraying someone's trust.

When Fiona is betrayed by her husband, she believes her whole life was a lie. Dean made the big mistake and wants to do whatever he can to fix his marriage. But what if it’s too late?


Now for spoilers


Stay safe folks!
Profile Image for Lu.
184 reviews1 follower
September 7, 2025
HE CREATES A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT HUMILIATING AND EMBARRASSING HIS WIFE——


AND SHE 👹F̵̪̳̪̖̙̥̘̈́͊̉̓̈́̕͠o̷̗̼͓̘̍͋͗͛̽͝ŗ̷͖̒̈́g̶̟͛̿̆͋̓̅í̶̫͆͛͜v̴̢̹̫̻͕̩̫̗̑̊̈́ę̸̫̠̻̫̞͙̱̔̍s̵̢̪̈̇́̈́̌͂̀̀ 👹HIM????






ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴵˢ ᴬᵁᵀᴴᴼᴿ ᵂᴿᴵᵀᴱˢ ᵀᴴᴱ ᶜᴴᴱᴬᵀᴵᴺᴳ ˣ ᶠᴼᴿᴳᴵⱽᴱᴺᴱˢˢ ᵀᴿᴼᴾᴱ


WE ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE 🚨 WE HAVE ENTERED ENEMY LINES

(don’t ask me how I found this book)
Profile Image for Danny Lea.
865 reviews12 followers
August 24, 2025
Came back to edit. I wanted to mention that this author only writes infidelity books, and I read all but one. This book does not have cheating in it, but for me personally felt way worse for some reason. H Dean publicly humiliated his wife on the internet for two year's without her knowing. Though it felt unrealistic because she had no clue it was still a gut punch. All his co-workers gave her backhanded comments, and she always felt like she was the butt of some joke she wasn't privy too. She could have honestly pressed charges against her own husband. It was online bullying. There's no way around that. Then he felt like he did nothing wrong and that she should be happy she had so many people making fun of her at her little quirks. He even posted pictures of her. Violation full stop. So much worse for me than her cheating books. I'm glad she went in a little different direction because this author writes the best gut punches. They just end up losing speed as the book progresses because the H's grovels don't feel realistic to me.



If I could choose one word for this book it would be unrealistic. Ok. I know I'm reading fiction, but the way this man groveled was unrealistic. He basically became a woman. I said I wasn't going to read anymore of this author's work because her books don't hit my particular preferences. Her books are entirely too drawn out. Almost 400 pages of repeat and not moving. Other than repetition of dialogue. Couldn't connect with either character. This author always has a strong start, but it all goes downhill for me. I need groveling in my marriage in trouble books, but I lean toward more realistic approaches. This man is just throwing his money around like it grows on trees. The FMC signs divorce papers saying ex husband is willing to take care of her for the rest of her life. Never having to worry again about how much she makes in her teaching jobs. From public humiliation to a light bulb going off in the H's head and basically changing overnight. Wasn't believable. The h acted like an airhead. Sorry I said it. I wouldn't call her pathetic, but she had no real direction. Pretty much until the end. Even when she said she was still in love with the H I felt she just wanted to be financially stable so she could start ordering and forgetting what she ordered on Amazon again. Anyways, wasn't my cup of tea, and I think I'll officially stop reading this author's work. It's a me thing honest. I'm sure lot's of ladies liked this...
Profile Image for Dara.
848 reviews55 followers
August 18, 2025
Ooof, this was an INTENSE gut-punch/grovel book.

Fiona and Dean have been married for two years, and they are still in that bubble of young love, flirting with each other and delaying leaving for work to have a little nookie. Fiona is a fifth-grade teacher. She's a little quirky and twee (think Jess from New Girl), and deeply earnest.

Dean is an advertising and marketing man. He's handsome and successful, and extremely concerned with image and staying cool and relevant, as are all his colleagues.

Fiona never feels comfortable when they go out with his work friends. She always feels like they're looking down at her wardrobe, her career, and her small-town roots. She says more than once that she feels like they're all secretly laughing at her, like a joke that only she's not in on.

Well. Turns out she's right. Because for two years (the ENTIRE length of their marriage) Dean has been tweeting (okay, the author never specifically says 'twitter') about her quirks in a cruel account called "shitfionasays". He makes fun of her cute love notes, her twee clothes, the lunches she packs for him, her love of baking, her happiness when she gets through to a kid at work, everything. And she finds out in a very public venue, when he's accepting an industry award.

This all happens in the first 10% of the book. The rest is the grovel, which is gooooood. We sit with Dean as he realizes that everything he's spent his life chasing is worthless and empty without Fiona. He grovels with words and actions, public and anonymous. Sometimes his ideas fail, and he has to change lanes abruptly. The man works.

I notice this author often writes cheating romances, but this one is not. Not even a little bit. But when Fiona asked Dean, "Do you even like me?" I almost wish he had just cheated.

The gut-punch is delicious, the grovel is good.
Profile Image for Debbie DiFiore.
2,909 reviews324 followers
August 19, 2025
Got annoyed

I think I must be a sociopath. The 2nd half of the book just annoyed me. He groveled, then groveled again, and then he groveled some more. And after that he actually groveled again for the rest of the book. He groveled more than the horrible bastar@ cheaters in her other books. And yes what he did was wrong and cruel, and twenty shades of effed up, but I actually got tired of his groveling. Really tired of it. Yes she started her own page and talked about starting over and wrote trite platitudes of how her life changed, he deleted his posts and put an apology on it. But they were both silly. I have no idea of why his making fun of.his wife even interested anybody. I thought it was dull and quite dumb as a matter of fact. The stories weren't funny or interesting. And yet it supposedly became a cult favorite!?! I totally didn't understand that They weren't even amusing. That pretty much didn't work for me. Or her talking about spreadsheets at 6:00 am, her becoming a new.petson, just say no. But I kept on reading and by the end, I really.loved her husband. But I didn't like her. I am always team wife but I just felt the story went.on too long. I actually was annoyed at both of them. But I did.like the book itself. The first half was good, but there came a point at which I just wanted them both to stop. I was like enough already. Move on. nothing to see here. Glad they got the ending they did though.dong want to spoil it. Crazy thing though, that old cliche kept running through my mind, love means never having to say your sorry! And he did 238 times.
Profile Image for Nour Hane .
425 reviews23 followers
May 1, 2026
3.5/5⭐
تخيلي عزيزتي متزوجة رجل وتحبينه و عالمك يدور حوله تفتخرين فيه تمدحيه عند أهلك و أصحابك وتقدريه في يوم تكتشفي انو فاتح ﺣﺴﺎﺏ مسميه shitfionasays وينشر صورك في لحظات عفوية و خاصة ورسائلك يلي ترسلينها له وانتي تشاركيه في يومك ويعلق عليك انك ساذجة و انسان رجعية ويحط لايك ل ناس يلي تتنمر عليك و كمان ينشر اسرارك عشان يضحك عليها هو و صحابه في شغل و مسوينك مادة للسخرية قدام 22 ألف متابع وانتي ولا على بالك وكمان يضحكو و ينكتو عليك في حظورك معهم وأنتي مو جايبه خبر

توجع صح؟!! وذا كان رد تيس زوجها لما أكتشفت شو مسوي من دون علمها:

And what—he was supposed to be the villain now? For what? For having a sense of humor? For finding the things she said charming?

بعد ما ذلك لمدة سنتين وانتي واثقه فيه ومأمنته على حياتك وأسرارك شايف رد فعلك على حقارته انك حساسة زيادة على لزوم وتسوي في دراما من عدم وكيف تتجرئي ما تتقبلي تكوني مادة سخرية لي و لمحيطي أخسسس عليك يافيونا بجد أنتي دراما كوين نسوان هذا زمان بجد قليلات أدب؟!!!

If she couldn’t see that—if she was too sensitive to take a joke, too dramatic to stay and work through this like adults—well, that wasn’t on him.

حال بطل كتاب ذا زي شلة دبي يشتغل بزوجته 😭😭😭😭😭رهيب أهرب من رجال الواقع ألقاهم متجسدين لي في كتب مش معقول .

على كل حبيت شخصية فيونا عسل مرة لطيفة وصادقة وفي ناس كثير في واقعنا تشبهها وهنن يلي قال عنهم رسول ﷺ يدخل الجنة أقوام أفئدتهم مثل أفئدة الطير...
وما اشوفها غبية أو سخيفة العكس محتاجين في محيطنا عشرات من فيونا لا نكون بخير.. عبارة عن طاقة ايجابية متحركة أعشقها.

نرجع ل ذليل البغل زوجها دين عبارة عن حمار متهور يحبها لكن لأنها انسانة بسيطة يشوف نفسه انه افضل منها ولازم تسجد سجدة شكر لله أنو بحياتها ومعبرها ويشوفها مرأة متخلفة لأنها بسيطة وصادقة ويسخر منها ومن ردود أفعالها الحقيقية لأنو انسان فيك مقزز ذبابة توكسيك معتاد على المظاهر الخداعة وكمان فاتح حساب بأسمها ويفضح فيها وناس تعززله حرفيا شخصيته مقرفة واقعية جداا مع الأسف في كثير اشباه رجال مثله... قهرني داندو.

أحلى شيء إن الكاتبة عرفت تخليه ينذل ويتعذب بردت قلبي فيه كلب رجع لمقامه طول الكتاب وهو يصلح غلطه ويعض أصابيعه ندم.

حبيت إنها ما سلكت له وخلوته يبكي دم على فراقها وعجبتني كيف خلت البطلة قوية وتركتـه لا سمعت مبرراته ولا صاحت عليه أعطته أكبر ميوت ببساطة تركته زي الزبالة كووووين.... تمنيت ما ترجع له أبدًا أنا أشوف غلطته—even لو تسامحه أتفهم بناء على شخصيتها —لكن تعطيه فرصة ثانية؟ ما أحبذ الشيء ذا غلطه كبير ممكن يُغتفر خاصة انو أظهر ندم لكن مو ممكن يتعاش معه من جديد... بس فيونا أطيب من سنوايت سامحته ورجعت له وذا اللي خلاني أشيل نقطة ونص من التقييم.

أسلوب الكاتبة ما حبيته كثير لأني أكره الكتب اللي ما تكون دوال بوف وهنا استخدمت Third person dual POV صح ما احبه بس بنفس الوقت ما كان عائق وصلتني مشاعر البطلين وانسجمت مع الأحداث.

الأحداث كانت درامية وذا اللي كنت أدور عليه والكتاب كان من ترشيح صديقتي (ريري أتمنى تكوني فخورة فيني لأني تسامحت مع فعل دين وما كنت قاسية 😭 لأني صراحة لو ما هدتني كان كملت تسفيل فيه وحكمت بمبادئي أنا كنورهان بس هي فتحت عيوني وخلتني أشوف من منظور أوسع وأكون open-minded شوي) المهم كتاب حلو.. بطل غلط... تعذب وانذل… والأهم إن أفعاله ما مرت بدون عقاب و صلح فعلته ف رضيت نوع ما.
Profile Image for Amee.
935 reviews64 followers
November 6, 2025
Betrayal can come in so many different forms other than a cheating spouse, and the premise for Deans utter lack of respect for his wife Fiona was huge. Gone viral huge. I just couldn’t believe the scenes Dean sat by and allowed Fiona to be the butt of peoples jokes, demeaning her and making her question herself. I like a strong written woman who realizes her worth and Fiona fit the bill, yet she also had forgiveness in her heart. Did Dean deserve forgiveness is the ultimate question and I’m just not there yet. More groveling needed but he made a good dent in his bad karma. I like this author, but I will say she’s a bit heavy on the inner monologues. Slowed things down a bit for me.
Profile Image for Margo.
2,119 reviews129 followers
August 16, 2025
I enjoyed this and I thought the type of betrayal was innovative. There’s no question that the H groveled. The problem is that it went on too long without variation.
Profile Image for Joanne Farley.
1,396 reviews35 followers
August 18, 2025
Fiona finds out that her husband Dean has been making fun of her online for the last two years. She leaves him and his whole world comes crashing down. He finally see's himself for the man that he is not and starts to try and make ammends. Fiona also learns and important lesson, what one person views as a weakness others view as a strengh.
This is a redemption book .
Profile Image for Colleen.
492 reviews2 followers
September 26, 2025
Anytime I read a book with grovel, even if I think it’s a decent grovel I always say ok but I still wouldn’t take him back. I’m a stubborn bitch and would take the grudge to the grave with me rather than give someone who wronged me the time of day. I think this is the first time I’ve read a book and I’ve said ‘ok forgive him now’ and it was way before she actually did. Like who am I?! Now I’m not saying I would forgive him if it was me but I’m glad the fmc did lol.

I started this because I was in a bad mood and wanted to be even more annoyed and it worked. The rest of this authors work is on my ‘will never read’ list cus it seems she likes to write about cheating scumbags but this book was ok for me since there was no OW shit at all whatsoever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,290 reviews28 followers
August 19, 2025
Wow, this was a powerful story about feeelings, trust, betrayal and redemption. The h is a teacher who loves the H, her family and her students-none of which she is ashamed of at all. The H loves his wife but loves his successful life and being accepted by his 'elite' co-workers more. He is about image and financial figures that illustrates success and recognition. They make their 2 worlds work well until the h is made aware that the H has been sharing her life, her trust and her feelings on social media without her knowledge or consent. Unfortunately his post reflect disrespect as he allows trolls to mock her, laugh at her and consider her an inferior to their hallowed lifestyle.

The h is stronger than any of them, she leaves and files for divorce refusing to allow the H's associates to change her values or way of life. The H is gobsmacked that she cannot see the humor in his actions, gaslights her and is angry. Fortunately for him, once he realizes what he has done, he is astonished at his stupidity and behavior. She remains unmoved.

Through a lot of work and self growth, the H slowly establishes a moral framework and grovels beautifully. He realizes that, even if the h never reconciles, that he needed to become a better man.

Having been involved in an organizations that thrived the belief that image, brown nosing and feelings of superiority were more important than performance and individuals, I can understand both of their reactions. When the facade of this lifestyle is removed, the individual is often left with very little to feed their ego...the H. Outsiders, like myself and the h, neither care not appreciate nor acknowledge that those people are superior...the h. Fortunately the H's need for the illusions of success were replaced by the need to be better than the facade. I once read a biography about a high ranking political appointee (Sec of the Army) who relayed the reality of this transition. He stated that one day, he was catered to, people gave him more respect than he deserved and that he could tap into almost any want or need and it was provided or met. Then he retired or was replaced and suddenly he had to wait with everyone else, realize that the 'special' benefits were no longer available and that he was now one of the many ordinary people. He like the H had a hard transition but came out of it as a better human being/husband/father/friend.

Loved the writing syle of this author, she is a jewel. Her ability to make you feel the emotions was exceptional.
Profile Image for cajareads.
346 reviews
March 1, 2026
Finally, a proper grovel with angsty, heartbreaking storyline. 4.5⭐️ because as much as I loved the grovel and all, if this happened to me and I was Fiona, I could NEVER forgive Dean. He liked a reply about demeaning things about her for god sake! And I hated the way Dean thought what he did was not wrong and was not humiliating to Fiona and he had the nerve to be nonchalant about it in the beginning ughhh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
147 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this one. I know this author usually does cheating books but I devoured this one when I found out it was betrayal without cheating because I love those. Great read.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
203 reviews6 followers
August 17, 2025
This is for those betrayal lovers that also want insane amounts of groveling. This is not a cheating betrayal. It was actually a type of betrayal that I’ve never seen before. It was really good. The grovel was over half the book for me, that’s way too much. For normal fans of the genre, I think they will love it.
Profile Image for Bookish.Midnight. and. black.
1,492 reviews74 followers
August 17, 2025
a long journey of self improvement.. safe to read (a plus), no cheating (also, a plus). Repetitive and dragged (two minuses)
Profile Image for Soma.
577 reviews68 followers
February 5, 2026
This story gave me exactly the kind of emotional punch I look for. The book was more real, true to life, than I expected. What stayed with me most was how raw it all felt. The humiliation, the heartbreak, the slow rebuilding of trust. It drained me at times, but in a good way, because it made me feel every bit of her pain and his regret.
Profile Image for Cyn.
390 reviews31 followers
May 4, 2026
Great Grovel, definitely some of the best ever.
I like books where there's betrayal without cheating.
I wasn't sure how angsty or gutting this would be based on the premise. But does cut and you understand your complete loss of trust in him.
At the start to meet this couple that's happily married, you see how much they love each other and are each other's peace.
The author shows us all these sweet little moments between them.
But you also see the awkwardness between her and his coworkers and the very image driven industry he's working in.
At first the little incidences seem little, even though as a reader you don't like that he's doing this but the reality of being in her situation and how she learns of it and the devastation to her trust and wondering if her husband just sees her as an idiot is totally valid and heartbreaking and you're proud of the decisions that she makes. He's taken all of their sweet private little moments and just destroyed them.
He groveled long and hard and burns down his world for her knowing that he might never get her back.
Profile Image for Feriel B.
200 reviews3 followers
January 12, 2026
3.5 rounded up
man the grovel was good but i still didn't forgive him😂😂 i love my grudges
Profile Image for lunewhal ✨🌿🍉.
237 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was a sweet read albeit heartbreaking at times while the grovel was done quite well. I especially liked the way Dean tried to make Fiona’s life easier by doing things without her knowing, in subtle ways. The chapters were short which made this book an easy read. However, I didn’t like how the author didn’t describe any features of the MCs in any way. We dont really know what the MCs look like, or the color of their eyes or hair, their skintone, nothing, which was kind of a turn off for me, actually. Otherwise, it would have been a satisfying book.
Profile Image for girlwithhearteyes.
1,799 reviews245 followers
August 24, 2025
3.75 stars

Were Dean’s actions forgivable? IRL, no, because what a gut punch. But gosh the grovel (and dismantling of his entire character) was deliciously satisfying. 😅

I only wish this soapy drama was 100 pages shorter, as it did feel a bit repetitive in the middle.
Profile Image for Lidia's Romance.
671 reviews343 followers
Did Not Finish
August 26, 2025
DNF @ 50%
The best part is the first 30%. The author did a great job at getting me to care for our heroine. I wanted to cry for her because she was such a sweet girl. She didn’t deserve to be belittled by anyone, much less her husband (the hero). This angsty part of the book was really well done. But unfortunately, I lost interest in the rest. It’s the typical issue for me…the story became predictable and I can see it was going to drag till the end. I don’t think the hero was a bad person. I even believe he truly loved her. But he did betray her in a huge way and should grovel accordingly (which he does). Still, must it be so predictable? There was no anticipation left. I need more than just groveling. Give me something to keep me on my toes! lol
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