All Comments on 'February Sucks - All Year Long'

Very good, but you forgot a few things. What were their parent's reactions? I can imagine Linda's parents saying we love you because you're our daughter, but you did this to yourself and you're going to have a lifetime of regrets. I would imagine his folks would be nastier. their divorce would send a nice shock wave through their former friends, and maybe some marriages wouldn't make it. I hope the Linda's of all these stories live very long, lonely and miserable lives.

I love you as much as I always have. Precisely. That's the problem.

Story's been done to death but having said that, this is one of the more realistic ones. If it's realistic to stay with someone who is that delusional. Her attitude in all of the stories is not very believable to me. But I guess that's because I've never gotten to know anyone like that. The fact that he didn't miraculously become a millionaire, meet a movie star who couldn't live without him or go to a gym for a month, take two self defense lessons and then beat a professional football player to death with his bare hands says a lot for the credibility of the story. One of the better sequels, thanks for sharing your story.

pappy

Just another rip off that is nowhere near as good as the original

One of the better takes on GA's story. Nothing over-the-top, no outrageous revenge scenarios, No extreme reactions by any of the characters. Very understandable, organic consequences that came from Linda's "One Special Night" and her refusal to, really, listen to Jim. Nicely done. 👍 5 ⭐'s.

-

Pasqual

Best February sucks ending, real man, did the on sensible recourse

I do like your unique take on the February sucks story and I believe I have read them all. What a sad tale but I felt you really grasped the nuance of Jim’s feelings of betrayal. Well done

Perhaps one of the better FS versions out there. Ending is still tragic, a family dying is never going to be a good thing. I liked Jim's resolve to soldier through the year collecting intel as he went. He knew his wife's continued cheating was inevitable. His resistance to her and the re-consummation of their marriage made it possible for him to keep his kids and the house. He also used that year to redefine himself. Linda was an absolute Idiot. I have met women like her before, that believed they could do nothing wrong. Full of hubris, arrogant. 5☆ - TANSTAAFL

GREAT!!! 7 stars, because it's worth it. I can only say the guy is more patient than me. But the time waited enabled him to get the evidence needed. The Bear heartily approves. And just when I thought I was done with these stupid stories, they suck me back in. Keep writing.

The BEAR

Only 3 stars at best. Linda did not pay a high enough price for her actions and neither did Dee, or the Asswipe. Could've been a 5 star story.

One of the better endings to Anderson's original.

Liked it a lot. One of the better ones in this never- ending story chain. Linda never took ownership of her mistake and acted as if she was "entitled" to do what she did.

Very well written. Unbearably sad.

-jog

Definitely one of the best sequels.

Best reset, yet! Very realistic, and the characters stayed in character.

.

Linda walked out of the bar that night like she was in a Harlequin Romance and ended up as a Connie Francis broken-heart song.

.

Easily 5/5!!!

Out of all of the February sucks stories I enjoyed this one the most. It was told almost completely from Jim’s point of view, with just a few short paragraphs expressing how Linda was acting or maybe reacting is a better term. As far as the writing goes there are only a few problems that slipped through. Overall a great addition to George Anderson‘s story.

Interesting ending. I enjoyed the read. But she was sooooo stupid. Unbelievablely so. Also, there was no mention of the parents getting involved. In 99% of the cases they would have. Sorry, but I don’t believe your version. Still enjoyed the read. Thanks

The idea of this is really well-thought-out.. And using a unique format in dealing with the George Anderson February sucks story Gets a lot of points in my book. Having a back-and-forth between Jim and Linda regarding how they see each other over the course of the next several months is a really interesting and unique way of dealing with the fallout From her callous disrespectful humiliating and masculating actions.

.

But there are some real problems with this writing which unfortunately hurt the story. For example when Jim and Linda are visiting the parents and they ask about how their special romantic night went why doesn't Jim tell Linda's parents what happened?? If he really has concerns that she doesn't love him anymore and that she is about to leave him why not tell Linda's parents?

.

Second.... Jim does most of the talking during the course of the next year with his internal monologs and Brief conversations with other people. The author keeps having Linda say nothing Has changed and she keeps expecting Jim to return to the bedroom and the marriage. But when Jim suggests a marriage counselor And the wife rejects that idea.... The story begins to fall apart. Linda's argument that we don't need a marriage counselor everything will be fine if you just change your attitude.... It's not the point. Jim should have driven home the idea Is that he as a person and as a man has trouble dealing with what she did and that if the marriage means anything we have to go through a marriage counselor.

.

Or he should made the offer if we go to 7 sessions for the Few weeks I will return to the bedroom.

.

Also there is no point in the story until the very end where Linda after 5 months or 6 months or 9 months come to with realization the nim is not returning to the marriage. Even if she's still fucking the football player at some point it must have occurred to her that this is not working out. But it never There is no conversation or thought from Linda where she says to what she says to herself or to her friend D you know maybe Jim is really having problems with what I did. Maybe I was wrong And thinking that he would accept it.

.

On the other hand the conversations that Jim finally has with Linda where she demands that they finally talk and he rips into her about what he really wants he was exceptionally well done and very powerful.

I liked that Linda ended up miserable and alone, crying to herself because nobody else have a shit about her.

I also liked that Jim finally moved on, divorced the slut and met someone else.

-

But why waste a year waiting for Linda to realise how badly she'd destroyed their marriage? The woman was deluded and had no regrets about publicly betraying and humiliating her husband. There was never any way that she could atone for what she did, so why drag out the misery?

just keep on crying cheating whore.

Back in the Stone Age, when I was growing up, you would often hear the same adages from different sources. Among them were “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”, “Look before you leap.”, and “Actions speak louder than words.” Seems like they are all apropos, here.

One of the top 3 derivatives of the original.

I'll happily read more of your work, lover1953

Just when I thought that February was dead and gone, someone posts their version.

4

One of the better versions. As someone else said, I was glad to see that Jim didn’t become independently wealthy, stumble across nymphomaniac twins who couldn’t live without him, or reveal that he had been a Special Forces assassin with childhood friends in the mafia. Linda is a sociopath who has a moral code, but it is very weak. If she loves Jim as much as she claims to, she is suffering plenty.

Well written. I like your version. One of the more plausible. Thanks.

I liked it well done. A different take on an old story these days.

Plus she got burned which l believe is now a required ending for this story.

Scores 5/5

5*

A very enjoyable read.

Thanks

Very well done . Perhaps the best re-imagining of this tale .

Not wishing to appear picky but isn't there a little unfinished business regarding Dee .

Linda got hers , as did Marc , but Dee played a role in this too .

Her husband , Dave , wasn't happy that she would have , given the opportunity , made a cuckold of him . And she also knew of her friend Linda's further meetings with Marc .

She's a fairly nasty piece of work who deserves to feel a bit of pain too .

Not a bad version, but not that great either. No body really paid a price except at the end when someone other than Jim hurt Marc. Plus if he had any balls, he would have tossed her out once she refused counseling

I normally skip these because I am as over this theme as one can possibly get. I did read it though and I agree with most of the other comments that this is a more realistic ending. Shared custody is definitely the norm today, especially where both work.

Where I always come up short is how the affair happens and the wife's behavior afterwards. Others called Linda delusional. Based upon her portrayal here, I suppose that's accurate but I find that difficult to accept from a behavioral perspective. One of the constants in all these stories is the public abandonment and public humiliation of the husband. That requires a level of callous disregard for one's partner that rises to the level of narcissism, disrespect and contempt. Claiming to love and respect in the face of these actions may be delusional but I have always argued there would be evidence of this superior attitude prior to the evening. That it always comes out of nowhere seems very unlikely. The linda archtype as written in most of these stories would work far better by planning the indiscretion away from that evening and attempting to keep it secret. It's still a self serving and narcissistic act but less intentionally emotionally destructive and emasculating. The Linda here is more likely to tell her husband to get over it or else. Having her have a discrete relationship AFTER the public blowup doesn't make much sense.

That she doesn't have any guilt or has lost respect for her husband is the least realistic aspect of the story. A woman who carries on an affair for a year with a man who gets off on domination and humiliation will definitely seek to not only make Linda do whatever the hell he wants but make sure Jim knows about it.

Him taking the wife in public definitely fits with how he is described, secret affairs are not.

Even though this has been done a bunch of times, I enjoyed your version immensely. Very well done, I look forward to more of your work

One of the better conclusions to this story. The rekindled affair seemed a bit of a stretch given that he had already gotten what he wanted (humiliation of her husband) and an ongoing quiet affair would do nothing to further that, it did help to sell the ultimate ending given how courts typically favor women in custody disputes. The emotional impact on him, and her absolute lack of comprehension over what she had done seemed quite believable though. Any affair is bad- but to publicly tell the world that you don't love your partner enough to be faithful to them for even one night is a level of disrespect that I think anyone might find difficult to forgive- particularly when the person who committed the act failed repeatedly to comprehend the destructive nature of what they did.

Best FS version yet - 5 *****

Jesus Fucking Christ, this was boring. I had to tape my eyelids open. I skimmed over about 4 pages of this nauseating drivel.

Probably the best version... 5 stars

This was a good continuation and was a very logical story of consequences of infidelity. 5*.

Sorry but this is just delusional. Jim is the worst sort of coward. He didn't inform his own parents and her parents of what had taken place. He didn't make it known among all their friends what she had done. He just wanted to play the victim and try to get pity. He just turned into a big, weak, pussy.

Plus, all throughout he completely misunderstand the divorce laws. He CANNOT evict his wife from the marital home. HE can leave if he wishes. All that crap about visiting Dee and getting her to provide explanations was also ridiculous. Why should she talk to you about private things she discusses with her friend Linda?

Then, if adultry is not a valid claim for divorce then all those photos/evidence mean nothing except that she cheated and continued to cheat. That is NOT illegal!

Finally, to allow this situation to go on for 12 months just proves how weak, spineless and how much a doormat he actually was. He is an accountant FFS. Obviously not very bright but not entirely stupid yet you make him weak. His wife could have filed for divorce and should have, months ago to get rid of the pussy. Yes, SHE would remain living in the family home!

This brought nothing new... Giving her one whole year to redeem herself only showed she was right when decided to cheat, knowing he would forgive her. But that also made her lose all the respect she had for him. Just two stars, no more.

this was the best so far, he waited a year and a judge or a counselor can't say he didn't try.

wow! Well done! truly. 5⭐ .

you have tackled a huge difficulty by writing another sequel.

But without context, your story is probably one of the most successful, most real and most believable.

No super dad, no revenge, no call girl, just 2 people who don't see things the same way, who distance themselves from each other, and who even if they keep a little love, they lost their feelings of love.

Just a remark, I find it a pity that he didn't ask him if he was doing the same thing, wouldn't that mean anything either.

Thank you for sharing your talent.

Poorly written. Don't go all indigent (sic) on me, but your hay-day (sic) is in the past.

How did a year of living with, while avoiding, the wayward wife make so much difference between what his lawyer initially told him state law would cause to happen in a divorce, and what was written into the story once the divorce eventually happened? The outcome was a complete turnabout, even though nothing about the relationship that might have affected the outcome in the eyes of the law was any different a year later.

One of those two completely different scenarios was bullshit, so guess what that makes the story.

2 stars

I can't believe that someone would opine... 'nowhere near as good as the original' What a delusional and grossly inaccurate statement. The original by G.A. was so bad that many people have tried to fix it. Problem is some things can't be fixed, just covered up! 'February Sucks' was always a poor story but it was so bad and defective that many real authors on this site tried to fix George's big mess. This rewrite was worth 4**** and that is a good 3+ more than the derge that was the original

Pretty good , this is a tired story line but you made it good.

Good job. D

Very good story with real emotions and without the unnecessary violence in most BTB stories.

Linda proved, not only she's an idiot, but a slut. He had the evidence. Marc got his, but Jim should have been the one doing the giving. Jim and his new lady are doing well and slut got thrown away by Asshole. Good, but she still breathes...

We had a bad stretch of February stories a few months ago, but I have liked a couple of the recent ones, including this one. The good ones are where Linda gets "it." It took almost the whole story here, but she finally did. Thanks.

I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall I enjoyed the story quite a bit, but Jim was living on a acid bath for a year and that seemed grossly unfair and painful. His arrogant wife was waiting for him to "get over it"; the attitude of the typical arrogant person when they do something wrong.

Yet, it is all brutally realistic. Jim thoroughly investigated his options, which were limited given the absurd divorce laws that allow women to cheat without consequence and instead punish men. From that point he correctly reasoned that focusing on his kids and his personal health were his best options as he settled in for the long game. Fortunately, arrogant people always continue their bad behavior and his wife slips a noose over her head by continuing her affair. Armed with evidence, Jim exits purgatory and is in good shape to move on because has already moved on in his actions.

Jim's wife sums up that she was stupid but she is still in denial. She was supremely selfish, grossly arrogant, unloving, and even cruel. What KIND of person walks out on their spouse (AND her family) on their special night out, in front of their "friends", with the obvious intent to cheat on their spouse.? She doesn't want to look in the mirror and see that type of hideous person but that is what she is.

But for Jim to live in that type of situation for a YEAR? WOW! But he did what he needed to, to win. The jock got his knees busted; that's righteous. But the wife got off lightly. I guess that's what it cost for Jim to remain a "good guy". But a whole year?

One of the better sequels - gave it a 3* - not enough retribution to the offending parties.

Maybe it was more realistic, and that’s why it was so boring. Sorry, but it was. There’s no climax, just an obvious “thud” for an ending.

.

The addition of a continual affair with Gronk didn’t really work well, though I suppose you needed it to justify the ending. Why would a womanizer like Marc keep bothering with an older married woman after the first time? It just does not add up.

.

Linda not seeing her first time with Marc as something she did wrong seems wholly unrealistic; after a whole year, at least some doubt should have crept into her head.

Just like all sluts. My Ex did the same and it was over. 2 years later at one of my kids birthday parties after she had remarried she waited until I went into my bedroom and followed me and locked the door. Undressing She wanted to do it right there. I had endured 2 years of this shit when we were married. I walked to the door and said skanks and slut free zone. Get dressed and leave. She left and now is on husband 4. All through it all "it meant nothing".

A very good version of the classic story! 5* for this

I will join the nearly unanimous applause for a best case ending. I think this may be #61 reprise of FS but I might have missed a few. Well done, and well written with rather few glitches.

Better than the other follow ups I've read. 5*

1 star because it keeps Feb sucks alive

Jim is a Mary Sue

And Linda is a moron

“But you kept ignoring me… so I kept repeating the original unforgivable offense” I mean, how did she think that was going to work out?

And it seems Jim knew about her continuing to see Marc throughout so he was an unreliable narrator because it was only revealed toward the end

I choose to assume Dave kicked Dee's cheating ass to the curb :D

Great ending to the classic FS

Too bad the line was No knees, no football career. no balls and dick, no fucking . Couldn't happen to a more deserving asshole.

Some parts were very good but I can't totally buy the Linda character. Nobody could possibly be that selfish and stupid at the same time... could they????

a great addition to the tale.

I liked it. A bit of public humiliation for Marc would have been nice.

Good job.

This story hits so hard on the pysche additional takes on it just never gets old, so far anyway.

A testament to the authors doing them.

'She looked at me like I was the stupidest person on the planet, and I was paying her.'

/

Well, Linda, you are stupid.

And a liar and a cheater too.

Had sex with Marc not once but multiple times.

In real life, there are men out there advising other men that if women says a number of times, multiply it by 3 and you'll get nearer to the truth of number of times she had ridden the CC.

Not ranked top 10 of all the GA Feb Sucks versions but fair enough for me.

Thanks for sharing your effort lover1953.

Finally, a version of this story that is entirely based on the 'real world'. I loved the way Jim absorbed the blow of her infidelity, used his anger in a relatively constructive way, and set out to create his future either with Linda or without her. Neither path would be painless but the first step would have to be hers and she never took that step.

One of the better takes. Well written…and well plotted. As with all of these sequels/alternatives, the author had to deal with the impossible/ridiculous premise that a supposedly happy wife and mother of 10 years would INSTANTLY forsake her vows and family for a night of fantasy sex in such a public manner IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROMANTIC CELEBRATION with her husband.

.

The author here kept Linda consistent with the illogical premise — that one night of sexual bliss was deserved and forgivable…without remorse. And this Linda was so controlled by her sexual fantasy that…when Jim, naturally, was repulsed with having sex with her non remorseful self — went BACK to Mr Stud for “relief”. Clinical delusion. AKA — Martian Slut Ray victim.

.

Again…well done version. Linda was portrayed as the deluded fool that the ridiculous original premise crested, and Jim maintained his dignity and in this version, moved on…as he had to.

.

4 ****

.

This comment is as pointless as these #FebSucks stories have become. It is just another boring rehash of the same comments that have been written better before, by better commentators. If comments were like cigarettes, this one would take 10 minutes off your projected life-span.

I will say, that 10 minutes looks like a bargain compared to the time wasted out of your life reading most of these #FebSucks stories.

If the original by GA had to be a "long-time getting there RAAC," then this one seems to be one of the better "eventually must divorce" alternatives. I thank you for NOT having Linda brag dreamily about her best-ever sex with Marc; that has made no sense in any story. I still struggle with the usual premise that Linda believes it's either nothing or a minor blip. No one gets married without talking about fidelity and since the GA original blatantly said they'd all discussed and agreed on "one and done," I've never understood how Linda could first do what she did, but worse still, totally discount years worth of discussion, and her husband's feelings.

Hard to give it a 5 but I should. It struck so close to home it hurt. That aside it’s a good accurate story even the karaoke, been there done that.

Another bites the dust !

I sure hope the endless sequels to this story stop. This one was good…..to a point. Linda continuing to play with Marc came out of deep left field. There was absolutely no indication it was something other than a one-off and, boom, she’s screwing the guy every month. That just didn’t seem realistic to me. But overall, still a decent sequel to the never-ending travails of Jim, Linda and Marc.

For the most part I liked it. Right up until you had Linda with Marc again. She was either too stupid for words or truly didn't care anymore about her marriage. You don't work on RAAC while sleeping with the enemy.

And Linda clearly wasn't very bright nor eager to return to a good married life. Seriously? Refusing to go to marriage counseling? I guess ...

Good story but pretty depressing. It's hard when dealing with a brick wall. I hope he finds the happiness he deserves.

So, these women "have needs" that they have to fill as justification for cheating.

I went through decades of jerking off and not getting pussy. And they can't handle a few days or weeks?! GTFOH

I actually like reading all the different endings to this sad story. This was one of the best bug it still leaves an empty and sad feeling about the waste she caused. I also agree with others who felt her and her co-conspirators got away Scot free. An easy 5 stars for a well told story.

Excellent

Good ending 4 stars , to get the last star you need to make Marc and Jim´s former friends suffer way more.

That had to be the best version of this story. I couldn't believe that she had been so stupid to keep seeing this guy, on what she thought, was the sly.

It's the best one so far

Well done, good writing and a suitable outcome. Many thanks for your hard work.

God I hate Linda.

1 Star

Please let this story die

-26thNC

Cheap twist having her continuing cheating. You give us her POV, telling us it was "only one night," and she loves Jim, while she's still fucking Marc.

\

"Had I torpedoed my marriage?" - Well, duh!

\

"I knew, or thought I knew, that my husband loved me so unconditionally that he would quickly move on from my one night with Marc." - But it wasn't one night, and he knows it.

\

"I was now very worried that my night with Marc was a bad idea." - Is it one night or several?

\

Why does she keep saying it was one night when it's clear that it was more than that? His lawyer said this earlier: "What he meant was that infidelity wasn't one of the things that the law considered when it came to the end of a marriage. A woman could fuck as many men, besides her husband, that she wanted and as long as she fed the kids and acted like a reasonable mother, she got the kids, a big chunk of the income of her husband and almost always the house," so how is he getting the kids?

\

"I knew from talking with Dee ..." - So what makes Dee such a relationship expert? Haven't they been listening to Dave?

\

"I was so sure that he would let me have my one night and let it be with that." - MAYBE, if she had left it with the one night, but she didn't.

\

"If I was unfaithful once, what was to stop me from doing it again." - Hell, she DID do it again!

Well done. Not only did the cheating wife keep her dumb idea intact, she compounded it by going back repeatedly. I gave you 5 stars.

I’ve read all sequels to the original mediocre story. This one gets 2* like the original.

Liked it. Good read. Decently written dual viewpoint.

Certainly one of the best versions of the story.

one of the worst. could not get past the wimpy couldn't breath,blah, blah, blah

Really? Not another sequel to the worst story ever written in LW. 1* without reading. Give this garbage story a rest. Please.

I can't believe it, some idiot actually thinks the original is good. What the fuck. What kind of wife, just out of the blue, takes off with another man in front of husband and friends? And you think that's a good story line? Like mentioned, one of the worst thought out stories and yet idiot authors want to improve it? Give it up. Gave each February story a one star rating for stupidity.

Really good job of explaining how Jim thought and felt. The continual repeating of how Linda thought Jim would just get over it and move on as before makes her seem delusional, but as the reader I never got a sense of why. Was she like this before? The Martian Slut Ray is referred to often here in LW land but it reinforces how incongruous her behavior is. In my life experience so far, most people’s behaviors are consistent, so if Linda was callous and indifferent before this episode, this was just another to add to the list. In this case there has never been any reference to this, so the betrayal is horrendous and the insistence by Linda that it was nothing feels incomplete.

These sequels seem to be graded on the basis of whether readers like the outcome. To me, a sequel needs to have continuity with the original and, as with any quality story, avoid the usual LW cliches. In this case, the problem with Jim starts about here: "Are you leaving me?". Although GA initially writes Jim as a strong man, he deep in the story hits him with the Martian Pussy-Boi Ray. In this case, Jim is psychologically the same weak, needy cunt of a man that we see in so many LW stories: his first concern is not justice or moral principle, it's whether Linda still "loooves" him. Frankly, the suggestion throughout, as this author writes Jim, that if Linda is appropriately contrite Jim would stay in the marriage just shows that the Linda/Dee take on Jim is correct. He's a weak, needy cunt who will settle down and accept his cuck humiliation like a good little boy.

Then we get the usual divorce lawyer meeting in which the usual cliches are spewed about "losing everything" (Interestingly, the author seems to forget about that and essentially does a 180 on the nature of the judges at the end to magically get Jim what he wants). The meeting is then followed by the "I'll stay for the children, because it's best for them" cliche. Like so many authors here, this author doesn't understand that the parents staying in separate rooms and having radically changed their usual behavior toward each other in an extremely negative way won't be noticed by the children or profoundly upset them. IRL, the children would be very disturbed and insecure, far more so than in a reasonably amicable divorce. As for the "lose everything" trope, in this version Jim is a CPA, which means his skills are widely in demand. Given that, a more likely response to law unfavorable to husbands/fathers would be to find a job in a better jurisdiction. Nothing legally prevents Jim from getting a new job in, say, Texas and moving with the children there and inviting Linda to follow. This could be done on the same surprise basis on which she walked out of the club with Marc. Of course, once jurisdiction over the marriage is established in Texas, he could divorce her ass.

Linda is radically changed. Continuing with Marc turns Linda into a Dee-like character. Replacing Linda with a higher status model (epidemiologist) is another cliche.

There's more, but overall, the character development is largely (notice I don't say entirely) inconsistent with GA's characters, and the story is filled with the hoariest of LW cliches.

Nothing can fix GA's mess other than a complete rewrite.

A very good version. Technically well written. When one of these comes up I always look forward to Dee getting her well deserved just deserts. Ah well hope springs eternal and all that. A hard earned five

One of the better endings to the saga.

definitely one of the best alternate endings - Great job!

Nearly perfect. I liked this ending because I think it’s the most realistic, not at all outlandish.

There’s one detail that none of the endings considered: birth control. What would happen if Linda turned up pregnant? How would Jim react?

Assuming she’s on the pill, most women don’t keep their pills with them 24x7. When with Marc, she’d be without the next morning’s dose.

In this ending, Jim trashed everything Linda left at the hotel. Most likely that included her birth control. That’s something a husband would jump on when asking about condoms, and her need for STD testing.

I too have been captivated by the George Anderson original. I am a sucker for reading every take of alternate endings since. I have gone over this scenario many times. I am always amazed at how calm the character Jim is in relation to what Linda did that evening with Marc. I have been out on bike rides by myself and thought, as many men have, what I would have done given the situation. Most men always think about how they would get revenge and take the macho side as a reaction. I think I would have done what the character Jim did and leave the hotel and gone home. Linda's clothes would have stayed at the hotel, no way I am bringing them home for her. The next morning before Linda arrived I would have called both her parents and mine to tell them what she had done. I would also ask them to come to our house that evening after Linda got home. When she arrived I would have told her why this is a much bigger deal than she rationalized. I would have wanted her to admit to me her mistake in thinking this escapade was okay. After she affirmed to me that she wanted our marriage to work, I would have told her to strip. I would have wanted every article of clothing she wore the evening before, and of course the blue dress she bought "for me". I would ask her to empty her purse and put it on top of her clothes and shoes. I would then tell her to stand there naked until I returned. I would gather up all the articles of clothing and take them out to our fire pit and burn them. Upon my return into the house I would tell her that I wanted to inspect her and see if her football hero had marked her in any way. Upon completing the examination I would tell her that in a couple of hours the parents would be bringing the children back. After putting the children to bed I wanted her to explain to her parents what she did and why. The next day I would want her to sit the children down in my presence and tell our children what she did in terms the children could understand. If she balked at any of this we were done. If she agreed I would know she understood there are consequences to anyones actions. Last but not least I would want her to call Marc and on speaker phone tell him what a terrible idea it was for her to leave with him that evening and that she was trying to make up for her transgression with her husband. She also would tell him that she would never want to talk to him again and that she didn't realize that night just how insignificant she really was in his eyes, Jim was the one who loved her and took care of her, he was nothing but a misplaced fantasy.

I wouldn't have waited a week. At least I would have some form of formal separation made to protect my finances while I worked the divorce out.

The story was very good expressing the confusion, frustration, anger, disappointment, shock, and suffering Jim experienced after Linda's actions the night she left him in the club with their friends to cheat with Marc. Since Linda's actions, lack of guilt and lack of understanding of Jim's feelings, don't really change in the story until after the divorce, there is little understanding for the reader of the reasons why Linda acted like she did, her lack of guilt by her actions, and her naive expectations the marriage would continue as it was prior to her cheating episode. She came across as an extremely self-centered and narcissistic being to have any empathy for the husband's suffering. She firmly believed time, sex, and superficial showing of love would help Jim erasing her cheating from his mind or at least they would calm him enough to continue with the marriage for the children's sake. For me such a public display of cheating by a supposed happy wife seems incomprehensible and too far fetch to be true... and if it happens the only logical, rational, and possible end for that marriage is in divorce court. Thanks for the story and the effort.

The story was about six thousand words too long. It was very repetitive which made the story drag. That being said it was one of the more “realistic” of the 4,000 sequels and well written.

Definitely one of the better FS versions. I have wondered for a little while now if any of the ladies from the real life conversation that prompted GA to write the original, have read any of them. Would be interesting to know their thoughts, if they have read, after so many versions of FS prompted by their discussion.

Not the best sequel for my taste but the best non-over-the-top, no seals, no ninja moves, no movie stars, no bs -- realistic re-telling of a sad story. A real man facing a real problem. Hubris(pride) ---she lies to herself and it's all about her. Like he said, he never knew her. 5* all the way.

This is probably one of the better endings to GA's story. It is well thought out and very plausible. Kudos!

What changed with the wife will get the house and kids in the year? When he first checked with lawyers she would get the house and kids regardless of adultery then pow he's got the house and kids.