What Happens At The Ending Of 'My Husband'S Mistress'?

My Husband's Mistress by: Lise Birtwistle - A very emotional rollercoaster read! My review will contain spoilers, especially regarding the end. The main character goes through so much pain and heartbreak throughout the book, but in the end she finally gets her life back under her control. We find out that not only was she betrayed by her husband's affair, but also by his financial fraud. But instead of going down the violent revenge route, our main character gets her revenge in a calm and quiet way. In the end she is able to expose her husband's deeds to the public, and his name becomes a byword for him being a cheat. The main character finally gets to move on with her life with her head held high, she even opens up her own small café and is able to start again from scratch.

However, what surprised me most, was the mistress wasn’t portrayed as a complete evil doer. Instead the author shed a light on her character in a way that had you reflect on her actions, poor choices perhaps, but the author portrayed her in a nuanced light at the end. The story brings attention to how society tends to have women fight each other and how finding friendship with another woman is in itself victorious. It’s not a romanticized ending but it’s really satisfying and believable.

The ending of 'My Husband's Mistress' affected me deeply. It was very human and messy. After all the drama, the heroine did not forgive her husband or forget him immediately. After begging her to return to him, he was refused. The woman who had had an affair with him too eventually left him. It became clear that he had manipulated both women. The last pages of the book are of the heroine alone but peaceful. She is watching a sunset. There are no grand words to describe her feelings. She has simply moved on from her life with her husband. That is all. It left a deep impression on me.

It’s a time jump. It’s a year or so later. I think there’s an epilogue where she runs into a mutual acquaintance of hers and her ex-husband’s, and he fills her in on her ex-husband’s life. She listens with great interest, feels nothing whatever, and tells her acquaintance that she really must run along as she is expected at a bar with friends to continue drinking. The closure is provided by her utter indifference. The information provided by her acquaintance about her ex-husband is merely gossip about a stranger. It’s the realisation that the person who once monopolised her emotions completely is now simply a footnote to her life – and, in the lives of others, a mere point of reference for gossip about a stranger.