In an adulterous relationship, the lovers exchange true and false sentiments with the same conviction. It is an intimate setting with no witnesses. But what happens if the false is true, and the truth is fear of replacing the spouse? The anonymous narrator of this story doesn't write to resolve this conflict; he contents himself with 'being the other', with understanding infidelity. He recognises the peak and the eventual end of feelings in himself, and in his lover, the abandonment that leads her to deplore her married state. However, conjugal fidelity is a bond impervious to passion, and perhaps clandestine love is not an attack on marriage, but in fact strengthens it. 'They Played With Snakes' offers an incisive read about adultery.