Fans of true NTR will play against the NTR as hard as they can - including remaining faithful to the LI - in order to get the strongest possible NTR kick when (rather than if , hopefully) the LI's betrayal is revealed.
If the MC was already cheating on the LI left and right or treating her like shit then her cheating on him isn't as much of a betrayal. Rather it's evening things out, a lesser kick.
The ideal NTR MC -the one who will suffer the most from it- is a nice guy who deeply loves his wife and would never intentionally jeopardize it. Some games understand this to the point where explicitly choosing to remain faithful/avoiding the harem path forcefully sets you on the path of unavoidable NTR.
If she keeps intentionally and openly hurting the MC/her husband (in the latest stripclub scene he even says she seems to be enjoying watching him squirm, enjoying causing him grief), after finding out he's innocent, that he's been true to her all along, then there won't be as much of a reason left to care for her nor whether or not she eventually cheats on him (in the very, very unlikely chance that it's all been smoke and mirrors so far on the "loyal" path) as he'd just be better off dumping her then.
MC would have to start jumping through hoops to justify her behavior to himself (way more than he does with his current obliviousness) to assume something like she's now blaming herself for believing the lie and irrationally lashing out against him because she can't bear her own guilt or something - rather than seeing her as a slut who's just jumping from one excuse to the next to justify her whoring out and keep blaming him for it to control him.
Very true!
The basic setup of the story is so good, but if the MC is a cheating bastard with a harem of women, then her cheating doesn’t really have an impact on him...it just balances the scoreboard.
On the other hand, if she keeps cheating simply because she can or because she wants to hurt him, that also takes away the heartbreaking impact. In my opinion, the best version is when the other characters totally take advantage of his trust, naivety, and gullibility.
Harvey and Dobbs should play him rather than telling him how his wife cheated on him in the past (Dobbs’ story) or in the present (Harvey’s story). They should act like they’re on his side, feeding him bullshit, just so they can hit on her behind his back while he thinks they’re two good guys trying to help him.
He could be focusing all his jealousy on McQueen without any real justification, while these two are actually corrupting and molesting his wife...while he completely trusts them and relies on their help.
Of course this type, needs a two sided story telling. Otherwise the reader misses the good, heartbreaking part
