Cheating Parents. Dennis Ortman

to Marlene feeling more lonely and neglected. And the seeds of suspicion were planted: I wonder if he loves someone else.

      Marlene began having nightmares that featured Robert transformed into her ex-husband. Robert’s absence provoked flashbacks of her ex-husband being with another woman. She was flooded with dread, worry and anger. Before they were married, Marlene hardly knew her first husband, Bradley. The families had arranged for them to meet and eventually marry. Marlene, who had little dating experience, just followed her parents’ program for her. Little did she know the nightmare she had entered by marrying Bradley. He expected to be the master of the house and for Marlene to be his slave. He was part owner of a family clothing store and came and went as he pleased, expecting Marlene to stay home. She felt like a prisoner. When she protested, Bradley beat her. As the beatings and threats continued, Marlene withdrew into her own miserable world of depression. She heard through the grapevine that Bradley was seeing other women and felt humiliated. When she dared confront him, he beat her. Finally, Bradley decided, after five brutal years of marriage, to leave Marlene for another woman. Marlene felt relieved, yet also lost and terrified about her future. Until she met Robert.