David felt his wife did not love him

[Bassim]

I am wondering if my sentences are grammatically correct. I am not sure if "the more he tried, the oftener it came up" sounds natural.

David felt his wife did not love him as before, but didn't have the guts to tell her. He put the thought out of his mind, but the more he tried, the oftener it came up. In the end, it became an obsession.

 

[AirbusA321]

I think "oftener" sounds strange in American English. Better say "more often".

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd start with "didn't love him as much as before" or "didn't love him anymore". "As before" on its own sounds strange to me. Also, at the end, I'd say "He tried to put it out of his mind, ...".