Gravy, when you come here to talk about your cheating, almost everytime there's something that is not consistent with what you have shared before. You didn't break NC? Not once? Not that time when you called AP while he was away and then you guys met up and took it further? Okay, I see. You mean after that broken NC, it was established from that starting point. Well that was a lot of damage caused there between the two NCs.
I actually saw nothing wrong with DDoms first post. Why do we need a back story anyway? You cheated, that's enough information here in the wayward forum, you posting from a wayward perspective. So, we shouldn't hold a WS accountable? I understand you are a BS too, that sucks and certainly complicates things, I can totally relate. I also didn't get to heal (in the beginning) with the help of my WH. Double fucking sucks, absolutely painful and heartbreaking. I am terribly sorry that it's been your experience as well. You may not agree but from what I've seen in your posts is that you've use it for an excuse to cheat yourself. You've called it a revenge affair, we all have our "reasons" to cheat, but this term conveniently places blame elsewhere, because it just drove you to it right? Completely without choice, 10 years later. You said it yourself you felt entitled to be happy, so I guess cheating was the trick to your happiness. Entitlement is the gateway to wayward thinking and actions. I guess with a back story of you being a BS somehow makes your cheating a little more okay? I don't get it.
I lived in a a state of repeated rug swept infidelity
You can't put this on your H and again from what you've posted it seems you want to. It is your responsibility to heal. And that means not allowing it to be swept under the rug. Of course a remorseless cheater will be more than happy to help you do that sweeping, but YOU allowed it. That's on you chick. It is up to you to survive infidelity, one can heal with or without the help of their spouse. Perhaps you didn't have the resources you needed to get through it or the willpower to leave a remorseless cheater, and I have a ton of sympathy for the situation you find yourself in as a BS. You have much healing to do there and it deserves your attention.
You seem to be in a hurry now, why? Not only in a hurry but now you are all of a sudden ready to clean up under the rug. The heat is on you this time for your cheating and you are deflecting. I'm not being insensitive to your pain, my heart breaks for you two because certain aspects hit so close to home. But why pick this time of all times to put the heat back on him and his cheating? I believe there is a time and place for for all of this and you might as well go there but the time isn't right and you are being insensitive to JD's pain. It probably feels as fresh as it did on dday. My H was just then entering his anger stage. And JD sounds angry, "waiting for a fuck up" maybe that has a little to do with your NC fuck up. Your actions then proved you are capable of fucking up, yeah he's angry about that and so much more. The insults, mockingn I know this isn't the best feeling and it does feel cruel, anger doesn't exactly present itself in the warmest way. Haven't you been angry and threw insults around? And don't you think he has a right to his anger? Anger is part of healing from this. Four months out, my H still didn't feel safe with me, and I feel like I was working hard to be a soft/safe landing for him. Still, the only feelings he felt safe sharing with me were his feelings of anger because at the moment it was probably his only safety net.
I agree communication is key, when the time comes. His safety cannot return just like that, just because you feel you are being safe enough. It doesn't matter unless he feels safe, kwim? You are trying to force something on him that he apparently isn't ready for and then blaming him for it. Transparency and accountability go a long way to restoring safety but it has to be coupled with so much more. There isn't really a clear one path fits all right way. But when something is wrong that is clear, and what you are doing here certainly doesn't help. And that is our goal as a WS, to help. Have you two addressed what does help him? That is a key conversation to have at this juncture. It might just be needing some space from the crazy want of yours to get past this part (recovering and stabilizing). It doesn't work that way unless you want him to rug sweep his pain too. I know you must get that.
Honestly, I'm so surprised that having been in his shoes you don't get it more. It obviously has no bearing on your empathy for his pain.
I've mentioned before (in this post and others) that you deserve the floor to work through your BS pain as well. It's okay to open that wound back up even years after. I just don't think the time is quite right. Why? He's still bleeding out. Maybe you can't understand that he could be so hurt seeing how he's cheated, and that's a reasonable conclusion to make. I often wonder how a BS can turn into a remorseless WS, knowing the fucked up pain.
Betrayal of this kind is painful and tragic, no matter one's past. And I personally believe that if you gave him some time to recover and heal just a little bit, enough to stop the bleeding you might see a change in him when and if you want the floor to work through your hurts.
This seems to me to be the biggest block, and until we can overcome it, how do I proceed?
with patience and compassion. That is if you are able to wait out his recovery. I get the sense that you don't want to and it's okay. You are allowed to walk away.