Reddit Stories - Arrived back sooner than EXPECTED and DISCOVERED my partner enjoying THEMSELVES with a

Episode Date: November 9, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #relationships #unexpected #discovery #partner #surpriseSummary: Arrived back sooner than expected and discovered my partner enjoying themselves with a secret admirer. Shocked and hurt, I confronted them about the betrayal and demanded an explanation, leading to a heated argument and eventual breakup.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, relationships, unexpected, discovery, partner, surprise, betrayal, confrontation, argument, breakup, secretadmirer, hurt, shock, infidelity, trustissues, communicationBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Arrived back sooner than expected and discovered my partner enjoying themselves with a university student, so I confronted him and now I'm dealing with accusations of aggression that might lead to incarceration, meanwhile she taking zero responsibility for cheating on me. I, 28M, just had the absolute worst day of my life. I've been with my girlfriend, 26F, for three years. We lived together in a small two-bedroom apartment that, we both considered our home. I came home early from work, I had a terrible headache

and decided to leave around lunchtime, and walked into something I never expected in a million years. I opened our bedroom door and found my girlfriend having sex with some 19-year-old guy in our bed. They were literally in the middle of it. I can't get that image out of my head. They both froze when they saw me. She scrambled off of him, and he was just lying there, half-naked and in shock. For a second I just froze, completely in shock. She started stammering, wait, it's not what it looks like, it's just physical, it doesn't mean anything. As if that made it okay. That snapped me out of it. I saw red and completely lost it. I don't remember the exact sequence of events. Everything is a blur of shouting and rage. I know I flew with the kid

and started swinging. I'm not a small guy, and I was beyond furious. I punched him in the face and he fell off the bed. I vaguely recall my girlfriend screaming at me to stop and grabbing at my arm, and I think I shoved her away. The kid tried to scramble up, probably to get away, but I tackled him and kept hitting him. I hit him over and over until he stopped even trying to fight back

and just curled up on the floor. I only stopped when I realized he was basically unconscious. and covered in blood. I had beaten him unconscious on our bedroom floor. Everything after that felt unreal. My girlfriend was hysterical, screaming and crying. I was standing there heaving for breath, my knuckles bloody, looking down at this half-conscious college kid on our carpet. I suddenly realized, oh my God, what have I done? Next thing I knew, the police were at our door. Our downstairs neighbor heard the commotion and called 911. The cops burst in, pulled me off the kid, I had already stopped by then, but I guess I was still hovering over him in a rage.

They slammed me against the wall, cuffed me, and arrested me on the spot. I didn't fight them. I think I was in shock at that point, processing both the betrayal I'd walked in on and the fact that I'd completely lost control and brutalized someone. They hauled me out of my own apartment in handcuffs while paramedics tended to the kid. My girlfriend was freaking out, yelling that I was a psycho and a violent monster as I was led away. I spent the next two nights in jail. That phrase is something I never thought I'd say about myself, spent two nights in jail. But there I was, in a cell with a bunch of other guys, replaying what happened over and over

and wondering how my life imploded in the span of an afternoon. The official charge I'm facing is aggravated assault, with significant bodily harm. The kid I beat up ended up with a concussion and a nasty gash on his head that needed stitches. Apparently when I tackled him, his head hit the nightstand or floor in addition to the punches I landed. So yeah, serious injuries. After those two miserable nights in a holding cell, I got released on bail. My dad came and bailed me out. He was furious, I've never seen that look on his face before.

Riding home with him from the jail in silence was one of the lowest moments of my life. Now that I'm out, reality is setting in heart. I'm facing felony charges for the assault. My lawyer, yep, had to hire a criminal defense attorney immediately, says that if I'm convicted as charged, I could be looking at two to five years in prison. Prison, over this, because I lost my temper for maybe 30 seconds and beat someone up. It doesn't matter that I was provoked by finding my girlfriend cheating, legally that doesn't justify assault.

The guy I beat was unarmed, and I was essentially the aggressor. There's no self-defense argument or anything here. I just snapped. And now I might seriously pay for it. As if the legal part isn't enough, my now ex-girlfriend has been in. incredibly cold about all of this. She's been staying at her sisters since the incident. Obviously she didn't stick around the apartment after I got arrested. I managed to call her once after I got out on bail, more to ask why and what the hell she was thinking. That went about

as poorly as you'd expect. She basically bit my head off, calling me a violent maniac and saying I was lucky I didn't kill the kid. She kept saying it was just physical, it didn't mean anything and that I had no right to react the way I did. That line, it didn't mean anything, just keeps ringing in my head. To her, maybe screwing some teenager in our bed was trivial. But to me, it was everything. I loved her, I trusted her, and she blew up our life together for nothing. Just sex.

I told her never to come back, and she told me I need therapy and hung up on me. That was that. three years together and now we're just done in the worst ugliest way possible she's shown zero remorse for cheating the only thing she's upset about is that i attacked the guy in her eyes i'm the bad guy and okay i am a bad guy for what i did to him i won't deny that but it's like she's completely minimizing what she did that led up to it on top of all this the kids parents are furious and threatening to sue me I haven't spoken to them directly, and I probably shouldn't, but I heard from the police and through my lawyer that the family is considering a civil lawsuit to make me pay for

the medical bills and emotional distress or whatever. Because apparently a criminal case ruining my life isn't enough, they might also come for whatever money I have. Which, let me tell you, isn't much. I'm 28 and don't exactly have a hefty bank account, I understand they're angry, if someone beat my son unconscious, I'd want to skin them a little. live, so I don't begrudge them that. It's just another thing to worry about. I could end up both a convicted felon and financially wrecked if they go after me and win. And yeah, there's more,

this whole mess has basically torpedoed my career. Word got around about my arrest, it was in the local news blotter and it's a small community. My boss found out almost immediately. I got a call from HR saying I'm being put on unpaid administrative leave while they investigate the situation. That's pretty much a formality before they fire me, I suspect. I work, well, worked, in a field where a clean record and good judgment are kind of important. Hard to convince your employer you're a reliable guy after you make the news for a violent assault. So I'm expecting to lose my job any day now. In fact, even if by some miracle I avoid jail and felony conviction, this whole thing is going to make employment anywhere a nightmare.

Who wants to employ someone with anger issues who might flip out and cause trouble? It doesn't end there, my landlord is also on my case. The apartment management sent me a notice citing the police incident as a violation of my lease. They basically hinted that I'm not welcome to renew when the time comes, and that if there's any further disturbance they'll evict me outright. So I might end up having to move out on top of everything else. I don't exactly have the cash to move right now or break my lease, but given everything, I might not have a choice.

The neighbors all saw me being dragged out in cuffs. I doubt I'll get any friendly smiles in the hallway anymore. So to sum it up, I walked in on the woman I loved cheating on me in our home, I snapped and attacked the guy, and now my entire life is in shambles. I'm facing criminal charges that could literally send me to prison and definitely will give me a record. I'm likely losing my job, already on leave, firing seems imminent. My girlfriend, now X, is vilifying me and taking zero responsibility for her role in this. The guy's family might sue me into bankruptcy. My own family is horribly disappointed in me, my mom cried on the

phone saying, this isn't the son I raised, and my dad can barely speak to me right now. I'm probably going to have to move out of my apartment. And on top of it all, I'm trying, and failing, to process the betrayal and humiliation of catching my partner in the act. I feel completely lost and overwhelmed. I'm angry, I'm heartbroken, I'm terrified of the legal consequences, I'm a mess. I know I did this to myself by resorting to violence, and I have to face that. But damn, I just. I never imagined my life could blow up like this. this in the span of a single afternoon. I don't know how to cope with the legal stuff and the emotional fallout from the cheating.

I keep alternating between thinking how could she do this to me? And how could I screw up so badly and ruin my own life? If anyone has advice on how the hell to handle this, the legal maze, the emotional trauma, any of it, I'm all ears. I never thought I'd be that guy on the internet saying my girlfriend cheated and I beat someone up and now my life is ruined. But here I am. I feel like I'm drowning and I don't know what to do.

Update 1. First off, thanks to everyone who commented on my original post, I wasn't able to reply to many, but I read a lot of your responses. Ex-girlfriend news, she still hold up at her sister's house and refuses to talk to me, not that I have any burning desire to talk to her at this point. I did try calling her once, just out of sheer frustration slash need for answers, but that was a mistake. She picked up and immediately started screaming at me, calling me a violent effing monster and saying she's terrified of me. Basically, she's rewritten the whole narrative so that my one act of violence is the only issue, and her cheating is irrelevant. She told me to never contact her again and hung up.

So, that bridge is thoroughly burned. She's telling anyone who will listen that she's the victim of an abusive man, meaning me. I doubt she mentions the part about her banging a teenager in my bed as context. Whatever. I'm done trying with her. At this point I feel more rage and disgust toward her than anything else. Any sadness or heartbreak is buried under pure anger at her utter lack of remorse or accountability. The 19-year-old's condition.

Through my lawyer, I got some details on the kids' injuries, from hospital reports and such. The kid ended up needing 12 stitches on his face slash scalp and had a pretty serious concussion. I apparently busted his eyebrow area open, hence the stitches, and knocked him out cold. He's lucky I didn't cause a more severe brain injury. Frankly, I'm lucky I didn't kill him, because if he died or had permanent damage, I'd be an even deeper shit. I'm not a violent guy normally, I've never been in a real fight before. The fact that I had that in me, to hurt someone so badly, makes me feel sick. I can't sleep at night without seeing the blood on the floor flash in my mind.

I know he's just a kid, yes, an adult technically, but barely. I hate that I did that to him. I hope he recovers fully. And that's not me trying to look good or anything, I genuinely mean it. He didn't deserve that, no matter how pissed I was. His parents, unsurprisingly, are out for my blood. They've hired a lawyer, a civil attorney. I got a letter forwarded to me, via my lawyer, basically demanding that I pay for all of the

kids' medical expenses and also some additional amount for pain and suffering, or else they'll file a civil suit. So it looks like I'm very likely going to be dragged into court on the civil side of things too, unless by some miracle we settle. My lawyer says we might try to negotiate a settlement to keep it out of court, but either way, I'm probably on the hook for a lot of money. The medical bills alone are already in the thousands, I heard around $8,000 so far, and that could increase with follow-ups or therapy for him. I don't have $8,000, especially not now that my income is cut off.

This is a freaking nightmare. Criminal case update, I'm still out on bail, thank God. I had an initial hearing where I formally heard the charges and pleaded not guilty for now, standard procedure. My lawyer has been frank with me, if this goes to trial and I get convicted on the felony assault, I'm likely looking at a multi-year prison sentence. He said probably on the lower end, maybe two years, since I have no prior record, but still. That's prison time. He also mentioned the DA might offer a plea deal to avoid trial, but we haven't gotten one yet. Honestly, I'm so beaten down that if they offer to reduce it to a misdemeanor with no jail,

I'd probably jump at it. But I don't know if that's in the cards. For now, it's a waiting game, court dates, meetings, evidence gathering, etc. It's super stressful. I wake up every day with this weight on my chest knowing I have a felony charge hanging over my head. Work and job status, my boss, well, former boss now, called the person. me and, in a very HR scripted way, informed me that the company has decided to terminate my employment. It's pending an official HR review, but essentially I'm done. They cited the arrest

and the potential felony and some morality clause in my contract. I saw it coming, but it still made me feel sick to officially hear you're fired. Five years at that company, and now I'm out in disgrace. They're sending my final paycheck in a letter confirming the termination for cause. So yeah, I have no job and no income now. I already was barely scraping by after posting bail and paying the lawyer or retainer. This is devastating financially. I might have to move back in with my parents if I can't pay rent, assuming I'm even allowed to stay in the apartment, given the landlord's stance.

I've started looking for any kind of gig work or something just to bring in a few bucks, but let's be real, in our small community, everyone has heard what happened. Who's going to hire me? Even if they haven't heard, as soon as I mark yes on have you ever been arrested slash convicted? On applications, my phone's not going to ring. I'm effectively unemployed indefinitely now. Home situation, apartment, my landlord is still sniffing around for a reason to kick me out. I got a formal notice warning me that any illegal activity or disturbances violate my lease.

No kidding. It's basically a paper. trail so they can evict me if they want. I haven't had any further incidents, obviously, but I'm sure me being arrested on the premises is enough justification for them if they push it. I spoke briefly to the landlord and tried to explain. He gave me a lot of corporate talk about creating an unsafe environment for other tenants. So I'm not optimistic I can stay long term. Honestly, with no job and possibly no income, I may not be able to afford it anyway. Part of me is tempted to just cut my losses and move out to avoid the eviction on my record too.

But one disaster at a time. New discoveries, she cheated before this part. It just adds insult to injury. So, my ex left a bunch of her stuff at the apartment when she ran off, including her laptop. In all the chaos, her laptop ended up in my hands. She stupidly had no password. In my emotional state, I snooped. I'll admit it. And I found out that what I walked in on wasn't a one-off.

She had been cheating on me for months with not just the 19-year-old but at least one other guy as well. Her emails and messages were a treasure trove of infidelity. From what I can tell, she started hooking up with this college kid about three months ago. There were flirty chats, nudes, the whole thing, going back a while. They did it at his dorm, in his car, and apparently in our apartment at least. that one time, maybe more when I wasn't around. And then there's mention of another guy, someone closer to her age, an old friend from work, that she had at least a fling with. It's all there in her messages, talking about meeting up, making excuses to me about going out

with the girls, even laughing with her friend about how I was clueless. Reading those messages made me want to throw up. I felt like such an idiot. For three years I was faithful to her, and apparently for a good chunk of the last year, I was just a chunk providing her a house and stability while she fooled around. One particular message that hit me hard was her telling a friend something like, I do love, me, in my own way, but I'm not in love and a girl's got needs, L.O.L. She actually wrote that. A girl's got needs. And her friend was just like, ha ha you go girl. I know I shouldn't focus on this now, I have bigger problems, but man, it crushed me. I haven't even had time or mental space to feel the betrayal properly because

the legal shit is so pressing. But in quiet moments, it sneaks in and I feel this deep hurt and humiliation. She was using me. She really was. All those nights I was working later out of town for a work, she was probably out screwing around. And I was clueless, trusting like an absolute fool. I confronted her, probably stupid, but I shot off an angry text basically saying I found everything on her laptop. She didn't respond to the cheating accusations directly, she just replied, you have some nerve trying to play victim after what you did. Lose my number, Psycho. She's effectively erased anything good we had and is focusing solely on my violence. In her narrative, I'm 100% the villain, and she was already checked out of the relationship anyway

so somehow that justifies everything. I can't even properly argue with her or anything because, truthfully, I've given her the ultimate ammo against me. So yeah, that's where I'm at. My life is a complete dumpster fire. I'm out on bail awaiting what could be a life-ruining trial, likely about to be bankrupt from legal fees and settlements, jobless, possibly soon homeless, abandoned by many so-called friends, some have understandably distanced themselves after hearing I went all you.

on a teenager, and now I've learned the woman I loved was betraying me repeatedly for months. It's a lot. It's too much, honestly. I'm trying to take things day by day. One day I called a crisis hotline just to talk, because I was in such a dark place. It helped a little, I won't lie. I'm also considering seeing a therapist if I can find a free slash cheap resource. No insurance I need to get my head on straight to deal with all this. At this point, my goals are just, stay out of prison, somehow not go completely broke, and get through each day without doing anything stupid. The anger I felt initially has somewhat subsided, or maybe I'm just exhausted.

Now I'm mostly feeling fear and depression. But I'm keeping on. I have two. I'll update again if something major happens, thanks to those who offered advice and tough love. I know I royally screwed up, trust me, I'm facing the consequences, and I'm trying to hold it together and make it through this with at least a tiny shred of my life intact. Update 2 A few weeks have passed, and there's been some movement in my situation, some good, some bad,

plea bargain on the table, the district attorney finally offered a plea deal. They're willing to drop the charge down from felony aggravated assault to a misdemeanor assault if I plead guilty. The proposed sentence is 18 months probation, plus mandatory anger management classes and some community service hours. Essentially, no jail time, but I'd have a criminal conviction, misdemeanor, on my record. My lawyer went over it with me. On paper, it's actually a pretty merciful deal considering how badly I injured the kid. The DA likely knows my lack of priors and maybe doesn't want to risk a trial either. My lawyer had mixed feelings, he thinks we might be able to bargain it down a bit more, maybe less probation time or something, but he also

acknowledges that taking this deal would eliminate the risk of a felony in jail. He left it up to me, but advised that if I can't emotionally or financially handle a protracted fight, this deal is a safe way out. And honestly, I think I'm going to take it. I haven't officially signed anything yet, but I told my lawyer to inform the DA that I'm inclined to accept. The thought of having this over and not waking up every day terrified of prison sounds like heaven. Yes, I'll be on probation and have to do a bunch of crap, and the assault will still be on my record, albeit as a misdemeanor, but that's a hell of a lot better than being a felon behind bars. My court date to finalize this should be coming up soon.

I'm nervous but also eager to get it over with. Civil suit developments The kids' parents, through their lawyer, have been pushing hard on the civil front. My lawyer had a meeting with them, without me present, to discuss a possible settlement to avoid a lawsuit. After some negotiation, it looks like we reached an agreement, I will pay $5,000 to cover the kids' medical bills and some extra damages, and in exchange they will not pursue further legal action against me. They initially wanted the full $8,000 plus more for pain and suffering, but my lawyer, bless him, convinced them that squeezing blood from a stone is pointless, I'm broke and about to be more broke. We argued that $5,000, which basically covers the direct medical costs that their insurance didn't,

is the best they'll realistically get without dragging this out for years. They accept it. I think the parents are just tired and want to put this behind them too. Maybe they also see that I'm facing consequences via the criminal case and that I'm not some rich guy with deep pockets. So, I have a settlement agreement drafted. Of course, I now need to come up with $5,000, which is laughable given my current finances. My brother, who was furious with me at first but has cooled down, agreed to loan me $2,000.

I have about $1,000 left in savings, that I hadn't already given to loan. lawyers. And my parents said they'd help with the rest, though it's a strain on them. I hate taking money from family, but I'm in no position to refuse. The agreement is I will pay the $5,000 in installments over the next six months. It's going to be super tight, but at least there's an end in sight and this will make the civil side go away. Knowing I won't have a lawsuit hanging over me is a relief. One less thing to worry about. My ex, let's just call her that now, because that's what she is, finally came to get the rest of her stuff from the apartment. She coordinated with me to come on a Saturday afternoon with her brother and sister as backup.

Fine by me, I preferred not to deal with her alone anyway. When they showed up, I just stayed out of the way in the living room while her siblings packed up her clothes, personal items, etc. I was intentionally trying not to engage. But as she was about to leave, I couldn't hold my tongue. I said, very calmly, I hope it was worth it. She knew exactly what I meant. Boy, did that set her off. She launched into a tirade.

She basically yelled that she never loved me the way I loved her, that I had been convenient and comfortable but I wasn't fulfilling, whatever that means. She outright admitted that she used me for financial security and slept with others because I didn't have what she needed. It was brutal. Her own sister was like, whoa, that's harsh, but she kept going. She said I was boring, that our relationship had been dead for her for over a year and she only stayed because she liked the stability. I just sat there and took it, I didn't respond, didn't yell. What could I say? In her mind, none of this is her fault. She even had the gall to sneer, enjoy probation, you psycho,

as she walked out the door with the last box. Her brother kind of muttered sorry, man to me on his way out, which was unexpected. And then they were gone. After they left, I admit I broke down. I punched a wall, yes I know, not smart given my situation, one of my knuckles is still swollen, and then just cried. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I think that's the first time I actually cried since this whole thing started.

It was like everything, the anger, the betrayal, the stress, just culminated at that moment. I allowed myself that emotional release for an hour or so, then pulled myself together. I realize now that any love I had for her is completely gone and buried under all the hurt. The person I thought I was with doesn't exist. The real her is someone I never want to see or hear from again. No change on the job front, I'm still unemployed. With the plea deal likely going through, I'm going to have assault conviction on my record, even if misdemeanor, which is not exactly a gold star for employment. I've been looking at day labor and gig work to at least have some income.

A buddy of mine does home renovations and said he could throw some odd painting slash drywall gigs my way for cash. I'll take anything. Also, given I'll have to do community service as part of probation, likely that might actually help occupy my time in a productive way. I'm trying to view it as positively as possible. Maybe I can network or learn something while picking up trash on the highway or whatever they have me do. Who knows? As for the apartment, I'm going to move out. I decided it's for the best. The lease is up in two months, and I've already told the landlord I won't renew.

He was actually relieved he didn't want to evict me if he didn't have to. I'm going to move back in with my parents for a bit, swallowing. my pride and all that. At 28, that feels awful, but realistically, I can't afford this place alone now and it holds nothing but bad memories anyway. Mom and Dad surprisingly welcomed me back. I think they're just happy I'm not going to jail and I'm getting help in their eyes, probation and classes equals help. It might be good to be around family for a while anyway, given my mental state hasn't been the best. So, where does that leave me? If all goes according to plan, in a couple weeks I'll appear in court, plead guilty to misdemeanor

assault, and walk out with probation, community service, and in order to attend anger management. I'll then officially be a convicted criminal, which sucks, but it's my bet and I'll lie in it. Emotionally, I'm managing. Some days I'm really low, some days I feel almost normal. I've been keeping mostly to myself. A couple of friends stuck by me, one couple of friends stuck by me, one comes over once a week to watch a game and have a beer that's been therapeutic, just feeling a bit normal. Other friends have ghosted, I don't blame them. My reputation around town is pretty trashed. I'm that guy now. But with the legal side nearing resolution, I'm hopeful I can slowly rebuild. It might be in a different town or after a lot of time, but I have to believe I can

come back from this. I'm not the first guy to lose it in a moment of blind rage and regret it. It happens, not an excuse, but I'll spend years proving that one terrible action doesn't define me entirely. I know a lot of commenters had, justified, harsh words for me initially. I deserved it. I hope those who were worried I'd get off Scott Free C. that I am facing consequences and I've accepted them. The cheater got away in a sense, no legal troubles for her, but life has a funny way of evening

the score sometimes. I likely won't update again until I'm well into probation and such. Hopefully there won't be much to say except I'm doing the work and staying out of trouble. My plan is to keep my head down, comply with all the court requirements, get through the 18 months without a hitch, and then maybe look into expungement down the line if possible. And also, never get involved with someone like my ex ever again. I think I'll be doing a very thorough vetting of any future partner, trust issues will be real for a while. I want to say thanks to those who gave advice and even those who criticized me,

I needed to hear all of it. This whole ordeal has been the toughest lesson of my life. If you're still reading this saga, I appreciate you following along. Hopefully the next time I talk about this, it'll be something like, hey, I got through probation and life is looking a little better now. Small gossip update, I heard through acquaintance that my ex's other guy, who was apparently older and was separated from his wife turned out to be an even bigger piece of crap. Word is that guy was actually still fully married, and when my ex found out, there was drama and he basically kicked her out to save his marriage. So she's now couch hopping between friends slash sister places. Oh, and rumor has it she's pregnant, not sure if it's true, but if it is,

yikes. Could be that guys, could be someone else's. I didn't bother to verify this info, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me a grim sense of satisfaction for a minute. It's like, while my life is in ruins, at least hers isn't sunshine and rainbows either. I know it's petty, but at this point I'll take any feeling of cosmic justice I can get. Update 3. I'm checking back in about four months later with what will probably be the final update on this whole mess. I took the plea deal, as planned, I went to court and formally pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. The judge accepted the plea agreement. I was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, and I must complete an anger management program.

The one I found is a 26-week course. I also have to pay some probation fees and a $500 fine. No jail time beyond the two nights I already served. When the judge banged the gavel, I can't even describe the relief I felt. I walked out of that courtroom with no looming threat of prison. Yes, I'm on probation and if I screw up I'll land in jail, but trust me, I'm following every rule to the letter. My lawyer told me, this is a second chance. Don't waste it.

And I intend not to. Life on probation, so far, it's been okay. I have a probation officer I meet twice a month. We mostly go over my job search status. verify I'm attending the anger management classes, and discuss my community service progress. It's a bit degrading to have someone checking up on you like you're a child, but I get it, I brought this on myself. My PO is actually a decent guy, younger than I expected. He told me straight, if you do what you're supposed to, you'll be done with me before you know it. He even said he's

seen plenty of guys in worse situations turn things around, which was oddly encouraging. Community service, they've got me working at a local food bank and doing some parked cleanups on weekends. I've logged about 40 hours out of 100 so far. Honestly, it's not bad. Physical work keeps me busy and I feel like I'm doing something vaguely positive for the community I disrupted. Anger management, I'm about halfway through the 26-week program. It's a weekly group session with a counselor. At first, I was skeptical and felt out of place.

But I'll admit, it's been helping. As I mentioned before, I moved back in with my parents and my uncle gave me a job opportunity. I've been working with his construction crew basically as a general laborer. The pay is under the table and not great, but it's work. We're renovating an old office building currently, I do demolition, carry stuff, clean up, simple tasks. It's honest work and it's keeping me physically active and tired, which helps with sleep. My uncle has been a solid support. He doesn't sugarcoat things, he told me I screwed up royally, but he's also like,

keep your head down, work hard, and this will just be a chapter in your life, not the whole story. I'm trying to follow that advice. Working construction has actually introduced me to a couple of guys who, funny enough, also have passed they're not proud of. One of the foreman did time in his 20s for a DUI crash. No one was killed, thankfully, but it messed up his life for a while. He's in his 40s now, totally stable and doing well.

He shared some of his story with me one day on break, basically to say you're not the first to mess up, and you can climb out of it. Hearing that meant a lot. It's one thing for Internet strangers to reassure you, but seeing a living example of someone who rebounded, that hit home. A lot of friends I thought would be around are just gone. They slowly stop texting back or making excuses not to hang out. I don't blame them entirely, I became kind of a recluse for a while too, so it was a two-way street.

However, a few have stuck it out. My best friend since high school has been coming around every week or so. He never condoned what I did, but he also said he understands how I snapped in the moment. He was cheated on in the past but handled it better than that. than he's been supportive, he dragged me out to a movie last week, which was the first time I did something fun and I don't know how long. It felt good, like old times for a couple hours. So, I know people are curious about this. Last I heard through the people, my ex had her baby. Yes, it was indeed a pregnancy and she carried to turn. I don't know nor care who the father is,

could be the married guy, could be someone else entirely. Word is the married. Word is the married guy didn't leave his wife, shocker, and wants nothing to do with my ex or the baby. So she's basically a single mom living back at her parents' house. I want to close this by thanking everyone who gave me a reality check when I needed it. Some of those responses were brutally honest and it sucked to read at the time, but they did help me reflect. And to those who offered encouragement and shared similar stories, you gave me hope that this didn't have to be the end of my story. This will likely be my last update. There's not much more to say, the rest is just grinding through probation and continuing to better myself. And I intend to do just that.