All Comments on 'February Sucks - New Details'

Very, very, very good. Worth 5 stars!

Apart from him waiting a year this was a very good take on this story. The writing was great and leaves me disappointed that this will be your only story in loving wives.

I would normally give 4 stars but I think this deserves a 5.

He lived as a cuckold for a year but finally moved on.

Great way to deal with it. It happened to me, and I tryed to safe the marriage for several yrs. But once I knew that the cancer was not going to kill me,( yes she did it right after I had surgery for cancer and I knew I had only a few yrs to live) andwhen I told her In was going for the divorce her, my x told me u can't divorce me u are my meal ticket. 17 yrs ago I walked away. Best decission I ever made. It took me awhile to forgive but I will always remember. I married a wonderful sweet lady and when I retired we moved away, far away. And I go to sleep with a smile and wake happy. It is important to forgive, for if u do not the hatred will destroy u and then the cheater wins.

Great ending to the story 5 star

Good spin. The really sad part, is that it took him a year to understand her disrespect. Her lack of remorse, faked intimacy, and refusal to distance herself from the friends group, should have tripped his disrespect alarm; or at least detonated his bullshit threshold much earlier.

Very good presented a new challenge to start a new and better life

Serious dose of a total lack of respect. Too real. thanks

Liked this and very agree with ur afterword. Yes it's a story, but I am willing to bet in real life there'd be a divorce 9 out of 10 times

My biggest disappointment is that there is no final conversation with the therapist… who, as described, sucks big time! I enjoyed your work. I have always felt saddened by Jim’s diminishment in the original. Thank you.

I agree with the rational commenters... As a writer you're free to write as you wish but that was an awkward place to leave the reader.

it was a great version in some ways but lacking in others--primarily because you left a bunch of low-hanging fruit to be picked (results of divorce, will Linda grasp reality or acknowledge Jim's feelings and feel remorse or take responsibility, therapist, kids, families, friends, future).

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Well done..

Great writting!

Your own story -- of Zoe -- is the most compelling. The point of BTB is to discharge the rage that comes at betrayal. A stab in the back deserves a stab back. However, much of it (especially the "300 felonies" variety) is not realistic. I think your story is realistic, namely: "If you really loved me, you would never have run off to fuck Marc Lavaliere." The big point is that she wanted her freedom, but it was freedom from the marriage. The best solution would be for everyone to shake hands and walk away with what they put into the marriage, but the courts get involved and shit the bed as usual. The bigger point is that feminism takes from men to give to women, and this provokes BTB-style resentment. I like the approach of looking at details because in my experience the cheating is found through a pattern of details, rarely one big event like the Linda betrayal which occurs in public in the febsux subsubgenre. However, that makes for better symbolism than a dude slowly noticing that his gal no longer loves him, and moving on to keep his self-respect.

well done and very clearly expresses the thoughts of hundreds of us who have endured the Feb Sucks joy ride

Very good! …yes, very good indeed! Thank-you

Possible one of the best endings to [February Sucks]. Many of the endings were good but being good does not always make it a realistic ending or make it feel good. You certainly can't feel good for this ending, but you do get a feeling that it's real. I gave it 5-stars for it being and feeling realistic.

I thought the writer came up with a realistic version of how a wronged husband might react, especially one w/ kids. The ending was satisfactory as well, since Jim didn't end up staying w/ the unrepentant wife.

Great story and you are so right about being realistic with the details. I have gone through two divorces because the wives were cheating on me while deployed in the military. I can never really forgive them, but I had to move on because the details matter. I have 3 wonderful boys with 7 grandchildren, and I have more contact with all of them then my previous 2 wives, so details do matter.

Well done, it however was obvious from day one. No Respect.

I guess some guys are slow learners. The bitch showed her true colors when she got up from the table to dance with Marc without even a "fuck off" for her husband. It was over right then, Jim was just too slow or too shocked to realize it. Your guy wasted an entire year of his life playing her cuckold. No need to ever forgive HER. Just forgive YOURSELF for being stupid enough to ever have fallen for such a monster!

You can forgive but you will never forget.

6.5 stars. I don't agree with everything you wrote, but it was excellent- and honest. Jim handled it well, not like I or a lot of other guys would, but then this story does that. she deserves more shit, more retribution. maybe the truth will come out, maybe a class action lawsuit as the lawyer suggested. Too bad there is not a second part. I'd go to Vegas and bet that the parents, and friends (other than the filthy group from that night) don't know what happened. But the odds aren't worth the airfare. Good luck, Jim.

The BEAR

P.S. not bad for a first shot in the Biggs- LW. The BEAR

Good take on the story and the outcome needed. Thanks for your writing.

5* great rendition of the classic story. A nice way of describing the failures of a marriage that occurred after the horrible event.

The counselor was not realistic. No counselor would let Linda get away with not doing any work in the relationship like that, it defeats the purpose of the counseling. Telling Jim he has to forgive her whole letting her skate is taking sides.

In the end Jin knew the truth, he was a comfortable worn set of slippers you wear around the house.

There are few commenters that expressed dissatisfaction with this story, mainly that I didn't have Jim engage in full-on-nuclear-BTB revenge.

That's fine. Jim Loved his wife enough to try and 'fix' the marriage. Love can blind a person to a lot of things, and It took a while for the details to add up. The diary was the final detail that pulled the rose-colored glasses from his eyes.

It took a long time for me to get over my ex, and I didn't even stay with her after she left with 'Kirk'. If we had been married with children, I might have stayed around longer...

As for the BTB angle, I wrote a *REALISTIC* ending. As I said in the prologue, revenge is *Impractical*.

Vengeance *always* costs more than it's worth, and as I also said, taking revenge too far can result in a Prison Sentence.

The things I wanted to do to Zoe would have landed me in Pelican Bay for life if I had done any of them.

I love myself and I value my freedom too much to lose it chasing 'vengeance' that wouldn't achieve what I wanted.

There is simply no way to *make* Linda regret what she did. There is *no way* to make her care. That was the hard thing to accept.

Even if she does truly regret it, there is no way to rebuild trust. Jim *had* to forgive her and move on, because the alternative would be to live in a shitty, faithless marriage to a lying, cheating cunt, and the resentment would spill over to the kids.

I read this, and like a popular song that's covered endlessly, everyone tries to place their imprimatur on it. The result is that after a while, the follow-ons have lost any meaningful connection to the original. I also don't see how KitDeLuca's excellent follow-up to George's original is tied to this except through its shared literary DNA. Also, a lot of the dialogue begins to sound like a transcript. As writers, we try to make people see what we see, but we only have words. That's why dialogue needs to be in some visual or other sensory context. Word inflections, facial expressions, and emotions are conveyed through dialogue tags and action beats.

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The story is good, and I like your treatment of it. Realistic endings don't always fit the readers' expectations, especially in Loving Wives, but write YOUR story. Also, I think that freed from the constraints of working within the story confines of other writers' works, you have the framework of an original story more powerful than presented here. 4/5.

Very good. I would say that the way you present the counselor, Jim should have insisted on switching to another counselor. Why he would have anything to do with Dave and Dee after what happened makes no sense. Everyone from that group should have been tossed out of their lives for good. Lastly, I wonder what happens in their lives 5, 10, 15 & 20 years down the road. Jim deserves a decent life and a great partner. Linda deserves heartache and grief. Hopefully the kids when they learn the story kick her out of their lives or minimize their contact.

Most impressive. Heartfelt and true. Well done sir.

Nicely done.

Yeah, this isn't forgiveness.

Not that it has to be or anything. But that ending is definitely not authentic forgiveness.

I get why so many people want to write an ending to February Sucks. I wrote one myself. It's interesting to explore different possibilities and motivational and outcomes for the characters.

But, I think way to many people hate that Jim and Linda reconciled in the actual story, because they cannot fathom actual forgiveness. Or weakness. Or repentance.

Given the title and tags, I was hoping for something less explosive and vengeful. If people are going to keep writing variations on February Sucks, I'd love to see more that explore narratives truer to the actual ending and intent for the characters.

Well written, but not for me.

"It's easy to betray someone you don't respect."

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Pretty much sums up the whole collection of stories.

Thanks for sharing...

A very insightful story, your right :)

Wow. Sad but true. Time will heal most wounds. But the scars still remain.

Well said my man well said indeed.

A very apt response to @KirdeLuca's take on GA's FeSucks. @KitdeLuca I say is a very good talented writer so much so that she details effectively just how selfish, narcissistic sociopath Linda was though depicting her a heroine for standing up to her right to give her body to anyone she deemss worthy of her regardkess of her husbands feelings and the writer just wrote Jim as a clingy pathetic beta who nèeds to accept Linda's disresoect of him. Thanks @BiĺlyName99.

Remember the words "La donna e mobile" (the woman is fickle)?

No? How about "it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind"? (Essentially the same idea.)

To the author, the woman in 1989 did you a favor.

1) It would have been much worse later, after kids, more years down the drain, etc.

2) You got a valuable life lesson about women.

A woman who TRULY loves and respects you will both tell you and show you. (and would NEVER pull "a Linda".)

When she does, lovingly RECIPROCATE.

A good effort but what's all this 'forgiveness' crap about? Nearly 20 years ago I was horrifically betrayed by the devil's daughter. I removed her from my life and any time anyone tries to talk to me about her I change the subject. The theme that seems to be endemic in LW is that you have to forgive to move on but that is not my experience at all. I've never forgiven that piece of trash and I'll never consider doing so but have I moved on? Hell, yes! I'm in a good place now and I didn't need to sit by a campfire singing 'Kumbaya' with her in order to get there. My healthy contempt for her serves as a reminder never to let myself be treated that way again.

excellent story I think its the best one and the truest, Its a shame if this is the only one you write here. This little section needs more of you and alot less of others who write thier sissy shit stories Thank you for this

I enjoyed the story and give it 4 stars. I don't know why but some parts didn't feel like they flowed properly and threw me off.

Well writtenk DETAILS, details made the story

He left a year to late .

A bit hurting to read Jim trying hard while Linda just pretends. Unfortunately, that's the reality when you have RAAC. Good thing he decides enough is enough!

Yeah. This is the one that I liked.

Thank you Billyname99 for referencing my story. The details do matter. Your story is raw and honest. It ends, as many readers commented to me, with the only realistic conclusion given all the pain that Linda placed on Jim. Many have written to me saying that I don’t understand men and if I did I could have never written FS-Datails. I accept this point as mostly true. Thank you for giving me such an honest window into the male psyche and for such a compelling story based on your real life experience. KDL164

It took him 11 months to come to the realization that he is a fool and an idiot.

Your MC was way too slow to act. He thinks forgiving her will help him, but it is too soon for such a profound betrayal. Maybe in a few years when he has some objectivity but not yet. Bitch needs some serious pain and if he's not up for it, he is the cuck she believes him to be.

well that was a tasty piece of real world reality, five stars

Chicken - LOL! I'm not sure how the preface directly contributed to your overall piece of work. In fact, the basic story line if you took out the sequel to "February Sucks" was really well done. I would have scored it higher if you had written a standalone with a different lead in. Writing style was solid with balanced narrative and dialogue. The early setup of sitting in his driveway about to forgive her a excellent, deceiving the reader into thinking this would be a RAAC story. Good job overall. 4.2*

A very good story. I believe a more realistic outcome after the event, a man trying to keep things together for the sake of the children but ultimately realising he cannot go on like this.

As Tajfa states, don't be to hasty regarding writing more loving wives tales this was 5 stars.

Part of the story the aftermath. He getting a divorce but it's about the journey after that brings closure I feel you need 1 or 2 more pages of jim finding love or really moving on to the dtbmo

PS - Hate autocorrect... "The early setup of sitting in his driveway about to forgive her was excellent, deceiving the reader into thinking this would be a RAAC story."

It took him a year to realise the self-centred slut had zero respect for him?

I didn't particularly like the forgiveness speech either. Even if he felt like he needed to forgive her (which I personally think is bullshit) why even tell her that?

He should've kept it to himself and left her thinking that he despised her. She didn't deserve any forgiveness because she didn't do anything to earn it.

Really liked it. Would love a follow-up

One of the better follow ups to the original story and a good afterward. Very realistic in the way events progressed

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It seemed as if Bauer and Linda were discussing Jim's sessions. Jim should have asked to see the reaction.

A great story, I gave it 5 stars.

This was a story can really believe will happen. I’ve seen to many times the hurt could never go away. The respect was the biggie. Sho no respect get no respect. You did a great job on this. It’s a tuff category but I hope you write more. You really hit the true feelings. I wished you had Jim bring up to Linda a the marriages he had ruined. She was just one of many who paid the price for her stupidity I gave it a five

Not a bad effort. Four stars. Nuff said.

JPB NOT BOB

I liked it a lot.

One of the very very few version which sound realistic.

Please reconsider „not“ posting on LW again.

LW has many bad stories, too, and many comment trolls, but the best stories (with very few exceptions) can only be found here.

Thank you for your story!

Amen brother. Forgiveness does not equal acceptance nor does it lead to condoning.

Should have wrote through the divorce to see whatvshe would have claimed was the reason the divorce was happening . Her spin to make her self the victim. She is the worst kind of skank

The author taught me something. The thing that always got to me in the originals and the sequels is how a good wife gets seduced so easily. Something about this story and the wife's lack of contrition taught me that she never really loved or respected her husband. She is a manipulator from the beginning and I finally see that. Good job!

Wow. I'm not sure if I'm pissed, mildly upset, or laughing. Linda is completely forgiven? Not in any circumstance. Never!

Very good writing, though I'm not sure what meaning of forgiveness is meant here. It certainly doesn't mean absolution or lack of blame/anger. Maybe just a letting go?

Ditch the Bitch and Move On... my new favorite quote/acronym (DTBMO)

Apologies for staying anonymous but I'm tired of people defining the validity of the comment depending on the commentators nom de guerre.

So here goes: Considering the quality of your story telling, I'm sorry you decided to continue this bag-of-barf called FS.

Every new story simply adds to the growing belief that this author and the story itself has value. Sadly, this in turn lends impetus to those who delight in turning men into wimps. Listed amongst those are writers like Blackrandl, Harddaysknight and the rest of that disgusting cabal of misandrists, giving them another opportunity to congratulate themselves whilst continuing their anti-male agitprop.

That aside, I thought that the MC waiting a year, wasting money on counselling and while knowing how other men were screwed over and yet he still hung around. You wrote him as sufficiently aware to notice he was getting played by Linda and her friends and he still stuck around despite having experienced this before.

Then by accident or as some would call deus ex machina he discovers not proof but further proof of her disrespect and his position as little more than her meal ticket before he finaly decides to act.

Anyway despite all of this I'm certain you're about to get an equal number of likes and dislikes but the dislikes may very well turn ugly and personal... That's LW for you.

Thank you for posting.

Liked it, but it took him far too long.

Somebody said something, I FORGIVE YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, I'M LEAVING YOU BECAUSE I LOVE MY SELF, i think it works here, thanks you for your time and publish this story

While plot is betterand ending MUCH more satisfying than in KitDeLuca164 version, it's also quite shorter. I have a feeling that some Linda POVs wouldn't hurt. Still, 4/5

Thankyou. And a plague on all marriage guidance counsellors!

Most enjoyable, and realistic. Still a sad story...... One that ended up with four losers.

He was a year too late...

10+ stars. He is right, with no respect or remorse from her it would eventualy destroy him and nothing would make her or her cohorts change. There are some despicable people in this world and the only way to get over them is to move away and leave them behind. The alternative is totaly remove them from this world but that is wrong and make you the same as them. Karma may happen and they meet another like themselves and receive the same treatment that they gave to another decent person. Sometimes a light comes on in their brain and they finaly realise their past bad treatment of others and understand what karma is. But they rarely change it isnt in their make up.

nice try on your behalf, details won me over 5/5

Well done. Related to much you wrote however my take on the three strands of marriage is as one other author so eloquently put it…Trust. Respect. Loyalty. These three make up what we define as love. Without one the others will fail. Interestingly you don’t read often about loyalty but it’s probably as important or more so than the other two. Linda was not loyal to her husband, to her family, to her children. She proved herself to be a traitor and what happens to traitors? They generally are sentenced to death because giving someone like that a second chance is akin to giving someone another bullet because they missed you with the first shot.

It would take a strong man, or subsequently a very insecure one to want to try and repair what Linda had done. It’s the LW’s version of the Kobayashi Maru. The no-win scenario. And that is why G. Anderson’s story vexes so many men. We want to solve it, we want to find a way to make it work while keeping our pride, ego, masculinity intact but we can’t. It’s unsolvable hence why so many write a sequel.

Thank you for this tale. The prologue and your own personal experience places a context very much empowered as the one in the original February Sucks. Everyone is entitled to their own point of view. I respect the differing opinions on RAAC and BTB found in the story and the 28 comments post up to this point. There is a tinge of emotion here. Sadness and realism and a loss of hope. Living in denial doesn't make someone stupid. There are many things that happen in real life that we find it almost impossible to believe. Yet they happen. One point I am focused on is the idea of Settling. She settled for Jim or after Marc was willing to settle for Jim. I think that is the lost key to LW betrayal stories. It is the unexplained "Why" in why she did it. This story contained all the symptoms and clues needed. How many readers can say they didn't have to settle? How many are willing to admit to themselves that they did settle? I hope you excised your demons. It will be a loss if more heartfelt honesty is not composed and presented here. 5 stars given. Only because there isn't tenfold more allowed.

Sadly, this story suffers from the same trap that Mr Anderson set in his original, in which Linda actually told the truth in response to Jim's demand, that Marc was an absolute sex god with whom Jim could never compete. In this version, Linda keeps a diary in which she pines to be fucked again by Marc, because he's so awesome, leaving it where Jim could, and eventually did, find it.

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One part of being able to reconcile, which Linda obviously wanted, is for the husband to be able to think she's actually happy having sex with her husband, rather than fantasizing about a past fuck. The truth is that all women, and all men as well, occasionally fantasize about a past fuck, and we all know it, but Jim has been put in the position of thinking that Linda is fantasizing about that one sensational past fuck every single time . . . and Jim knows what that past fuck is, and with whom it was.

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"Do these jeans make me look fat?" That's the question we all know we never answer truthfully, but Mr Anderson had Linda answer truthfully when it came to Marc's talent in bed, and no real woman would ever tell her husband that a past lover was sensationally better in bed if she actually wanted to keep her husband. In this version, Linda kept that truth laying around in a secret diary, along with that blue dress.

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Which leads to another very common problem in LW: all wives who have ever cheated are written as being as being dumb as a box of rocks, when women are generally not stupid, and the way things usually work out, are as smart as their husbands; the stupid women marry stupid men, and smart women marry smart men. In the TV series House, Dr House put it succinctly: 9s don't marry 4s, and if he was talking about looks, it applies pretty much to everything else as well.

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Escape Within wrote, "One point I am focused on is the idea of Settling. She settled for Jim or after Marc was willing to settle for Jim." Linda didn't really "settle" for Jim, because she didn't have the opportunity to take things further with Marc.

Servant111 wrote, "The entire February Sucks origional is so over the top with blatant PUBLIc betrayal that the element of utter contempt shown by the Linda character frankly eliminates ANY type of RAAC for any add on."

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And therein is the problem: Mr 111 has expressed a point which at least could be read as Jim being able to accept and forgive Linda's affair if only everybody around them didn't know about the affair. He could have gotten past being cuckolded if only other people didn't know he'd been cuckolded. That's another fairly common theme in LW, though usually not written quite as directly as I just did.

A wonderful story this is.

Wife didn't have any respect for husband, so, He took a real man's

way out - a divorce. He forgave her and divorced her.

I felt better. My Job performance improved and I got a

Promotion. In my case I received a bonus 4K$ plus a hefty increase in wages.

Wanna know something?? I could not completely forgive her but she doesn't know that 43 years later. I still hear that quiver of regret in her voice once in a great while.

She is the kids mom. I have moved on.

I feel like we should at least see what happens after the divorce, it feels empty to not see how each side moved on, needs a little more.

One of the best Feb Sucks stories I have read. I especially enjoyed the new genre you created (DTBMO) and find

it to be more realistic than the over-the-top violent solutions. Revenge, in big ways is impractical. Anything really satisfying would point to you or require planning and logistics most don't have. Great effort!

This type of behavior in a real world would end badly.

I will bet that if some sort of data base was used at least 2/3 of the Major trauma involved (wife running off spontaneously) "with another man during a Night out as husband and wife with long term friends who helped at adding and abetting (The cheating), there would be a killing or suicide/ too much extremely high-end emotional involvement.

B-R-A-V-O!!!!! Even a year was too long to spend with that cunt! I read the other story first and then commented on it. Afterwards, I read your story. My comments on the other story could have served as the bullet points outline to your story! Someone finally gave Jim a pair of balls! A little late - but better than never! 5/5 BRB

This is one of the better sequels, even without Marc being crippled and financially ruined. Jim’s realization that Linda never did truly love or respect him let him make the decision to cut her loose. He did waste a year and 20000 on her with no benefit. So much revenge he could have taken, but it’s your story and a good one. Please reconsider not posting in LW again. You have real talent.

I get the various feelings of the commenters. Can't say they are wrong. Each had to follow whatever code they live by.

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One thing I think some believe that forgiveness is bestowing absolution. Again, for some that is what it is. However, I think the code the author is working from is forgiveness is letting go of the hate and anger towards those who betray him. Keeping the hate and anger is allowing that person to control him by living rent-free in his mind, body and soul.

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Forgiving people is tantamount of not expending unnecessary energy on them. Instead, they become a not entity. Much as he did with his GF. Just let her go and have no care about what happens her.

It's kinda of like Data did on Star Trek TNG. He wrote a subprogram to figure out how to date a woman who was on the rebound. She was high maintenance wanting Data to anticipate her needs to be romanced. She winds up dumping Data. He asks her if they were no longer a couple. She told they were not. Data responds, "Then I will delete the appropriate program." I remember going "Yes!"

George Anderson`s story brought up understandably painful memories for the author. I sincerely hope he finds that writing and publishing this sequel helps him find some measure of solace. If his goal is to accomplish forgiveness, I fear he has many miles left in that journey. Sadly, I have no words of wisdom to illuminate the way. But I do have two courses of actions I would encourage for the author's Jim.

To the extent a sense that justice has been served may make forgiveness more achievable, it is important to note that not all consequences one can enforce on a cheater are illegal. In this sequel, Marc is portrayed as responsible for more than a dozen divorces. If even one half of those affected husbands told their story jointly in a public manner, and thus established his pathologic tendencies without doubt or ability to deny, the resulting clamor would end any career that requires fan involvement. The MC in this sequel had not even told Linda's parents of the betrayal he had endured. Failure to make her actions public to those whose opinion might influence her future behavior is an inexplicable act of collaboration with her abuse. It not illegal to speak the truth, and there is no nobility in silent suffering.

Why the hell would you trust a marriage counselor who is doing nothing for you except raping you financially. Nothing was said about her in the joint sessions because the “counselor” already knew what was going on and knew it would just make him mad and he would stop showing up so all that free money would stop flowing in. I have seen therapists and shrinks and only the asshole have a timer that beeps or makes any noise to show how the session is over and they cut you off mid sentence or even mid thought because they just want the money. Spending $20,000.00 on a year of supposedly getting help and walking away with nothing should be against the law. There is such a thing as ethics and integrity and these people are supposed to have it but in reality the majority are thieves and liars. You are better off giving your money away because the you would at least have all the time that ended being wasted.

Doctor Bauer deserves to be stuck off.

I was going to give 4* because I didn't like that he tried to reconcile the B* but I'm ending up rating it 5* because I hate RAAC stories and this is the RAAC opposite. In most RAAC stories the cheated one is very angry with the cheater and in the best of the cases doubts wether forgiving the cheater or not and in the worst cases is decided to dump the B* but in the end in none of both cases there is divorce, whatever the reason for the RAAC is. In this case, as in the end, there wasn't reconciliation nor BTB (something I dislike), as I said, I rate it 5*.

These guys talk too much ……..

They think you'll never have the balls to actually go through with it. They think they have you wrapped around their finger. And they confuse loving trust for weakness.

Linda is well on her way to dying alone.

Jim is well on his way to the rest of his life.

A very good explanation of why there is no coming back from the level of treachery that Linda heaped on Jim. The original story was the worst kind of RAAC and all of the spin offs that resulted in a reconciliation sucked just as badly. Well done.

While a year of pansy-assing around was too much to believe, I thought it was otherwise pretty realistic. The Linda GA created was indeed a shallow and unrepentant narcissist, and this author kept her true to form while giving Jim some (albeit a bit late) self-respect. Good tale, one of only a few FS add-ons worth reading.

Well done. 5 from me. I groaned when I saw another Feb Sucks story (Even tho I wrote two, one being indirect) Your story was excellent.

I did an outline of a Feb Sucks story that I discarded close to your story. About how he knew he could never compare and Linda would always be thinking of Marc when they had sex.

PS you SHOULD write more LW stories in the formula. yeah, the anonymous trolls are gonna troll. Personally, I like this theme. I called it Fall and rise.

I have several stories and outlines of stories with the theme of man is betrayed then recovers to live a better life. The burn meter on the cheating wife is rather low on them but I ended the story with the man in a good place: In love with a better (Not necessarily massively younger or prettier) woman. I'm even writing one where the woman is a significant downgrade in looks, from model beautiful to just a touch above the median... but in lovability, crushes the ex wife.

Excellent read!

I enjoyed the realty more than anything. Trust and Respect in a marriage is severely damaged in a relationship when one spouse/partner cheats. Your story is much more realistic.

Just one thing-don't make this your last story in LW. Your writing style is good and your perspective is refreshing.

5 stars

Well done. Thank you! Lots of things to think about in your story. Much appreciated.

On an aside, I'm not sure why you aren't willing to write other LW stories. I seems that you scored very well in this one.

Wow, great story, VERY well written. Unlike many people I like the February stories so I read every one, usually more than once.

He got the best revenge, he moved on. I think this Linda was one of the most cruel of them all. The thing that got me about her and that asshole therapist (who should have his license taken away and sued) kept up the charade of reconciliation. He kept getting a paycheck but he knew that Linda was never really in it. He had a conflict of interest that would have never permitted the true professional to continue seeing both of them. He needed to pick walk away from both parties. Instead he let Linda go in with her selfishness and kept Jim in the dark continuing to cause Jim harm. HE is the real villain here. Had he done his job at couples counseling he would have worked toward a resolution for the benefit of both. Instead he damaged at least Jim if not Linda, too. If he did his job from the beginning he would have made Linda be honest and then MAYBE there would have been a chance for reconciliation. Instead they are headed toward divorce, which may or may not have been inevitable.

I liked the focus in the couple instead of doing a global resolution that included retribution against Mark, that would be a good second chapter. Having said that, unless writing this cut your sole to the bone, you are great at the LW category and I would hope you would write more. I hope to see many more stories from you.

Thank you for your effort in this writing. I appreciate how much work it takes to write something that captures the reader. You did that well here.

I quite like this take on February sucks. Unlike some other commenters, I don't think him taking a year to finally pull the trigger is unrealistic. They'd had over a decade together, it's hard to admit that it's over and move on. I'm glad this version of Jim did though.

The thing I hate the most about February sucks and most of the takes on it is that Linda is an unforgivable person. Not only did she cheat but she publicly humiliated him and treated him like dirt.

Finally, someone gets it. This is realistic. Linda is selfish and shows no remorse. This is what would happen in real life. All those stories where Linda breaks down and is institutionalized are just crap. She has no remorse. Never will. Good job author. You get it.