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What constitutes cheating? Is it sex, a kiss, a touch or could it even be just a look? Is a kiss on the cheek acceptable whereas a kiss on the lips is not? Or is it dependent on whose lips they are, or the manner in which the kiss is delivered?

Infidelity is defined as an act of being sexually unfaithful. Cheating is different since it does not necessarily need to involve sexual interaction to be described as such, it simply implies dishonesty.

The reality is that in any monogamous relationship the two amount to the same thing. It is all about betrayal and the breaking of the trust which is mandatory for the relationship to be able to succeed.

Infidelity is comprised of only 5% sex and 95% betrayal. When one half of the couple kisses someone other than their partner they cross the line and the trust is shattered. Whether it progresses to intercourse or not is irrelevant and is a relatively easy step to take once the betrayal has been achieved anyway.

Cheating results in total and very public humiliation for its victims so why would anyone do something so ugly as to inflict this upon another human being? This is, after all, a person with whom at one time they were in love with, or at the very least cared about. There are two main reasons. Firstly, it may be that the culprit is incapable of sustaining ANY monogamous relationship, or alternatively, they are simply involved with the wrong person.

Victims of infidelity can take solace in this knowledge. Should you fall foul of the first type, it is worth the realization that the perpetrator is likely to be a serial cheater and will probably never succeed in any fruitful relationship. The second type is a little different. Why would someone stay in a relationship with someone they quite clearly don't want to be with? The answer is simple, it is fear. They are a COWARD.

So, at exactly which point does someones actions progress from innocence to culpability? A touch or kiss can, after all, be nothing more than purely platonic. The answer is both subjective and simple but I suggest that the guilty are fully aware when it occurs. It lies within a feeling and a desire for reciprocation. When a hand is reached out in the hope that it be taken and squeezed by another, the line is crossed and the betrayal complete.

Learn more about this author, Matt D. Barnes.
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