Reddit Stories - Betrayal's Family Secrets Unveiled AITA for Revealing ( Over 3 Hour Compilation ) - Episode 89

Episode Date: April 29, 2026

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #betrayal #familysecrets #compilation #drama #relationships  Summary: In Episode 89, "Betrayal's Family Secrets Unveiled," individuals confront the consequences of revealing hidden truths. The emotional turmoil and complex dynamics within families unfold, leading to intense discussions about morality and loyalty. This three-hour compilation explores various perspectives on betrayal and its impact on relationships.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, betrayal, familydrama, secrets, emotionalturmoil, relationships, moralconflict, truthrevealed, familydynamics, confrontation, storytelling, podcast, compilation, discussions, perspectives, conflictresolution, personalstories, lifeadviceBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6816713/support.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Relax and enjoy the following compilation of stories. I hope you enjoy this story. My relative spouse continued to gaze at me and took action. Upon sharing this with my relatives, they accused me of falsehood and have since cut off contact with me, leaving me with no one to turn to. To confront him. I, 23F, have lived with my cousin Rose and her husband Dumbo, both 33, for over a year for economical reasons. We have had a lot of issues but I could handle them. Six months ago I began to realize that Dumbo was looking at me more.

I've always been sure to wear appropriate clothing in front of him and I've never even been without a bra outside of my room. Even so I noticed that his eyes were going to other places constantly like my boobs, ass or more below. I thought that it was just my imagination but just in case I started wearing around the house oversized hoodies and sweatpants and nothing body fitting. But I still'd noticed that when we would have conversations he would deliberately stare at other places. One night as I was lying on the couch laughing at a video on my phone he came up to me,

asked what I was laughing at, and before I could answer he bent down and put his head on my boobs at an angle he could look at the phone screen. I was in shock and I am ashamed that I just let it happen. That's when I knew I had to tell someone, especially my parents, but I didn't have the courage, so I stuck it out. More comments were made but the one that disgusted me the most was when he said, hey, is it me or have your boobs gotten bigger? I asked why the F he was looking at me that way and that he was so off for that, but he just laughed. I got the courage to tell my stepmom and dad and they were both shocked. They said that I needed to move out ASAP and that I also needed to talk to Rose about Dumbo's behavior

and I would also need to talk to Dumbo. It took a bit of pushing but I finally got the nerve. to sit down with Rose and tell her everything that had happened and this was the reason I was moving. She said that she would talk to him but in the end this was my problem with him and I needed to fix it. I thought that after she spoke to him he would come to me and apologize or say something at least, but that never happened. Two days after I told Rose that I was expecting an apology on his behalf and I was going to talk to him myself about everything. She said that would be useless because he said he was never going to talk to me again as he claims he did nothing and apologizing

would mean him owning up to what I claimed happened, that both of them were going to wait until my dad was back in town so he could solve everything. He claims that I am just trying to put my family against him and ruin his reputation. I left to go to work after that. But in my mental state I forgot something and when I came back I caught her talking to her mom them talking about how they didn't believe anything I had said and that the three of them would tell my parents that I'm trying to divide the family. With three people ganging up against me I am worried that they'll manage to change my parents' mind.

I think I fucked up by bringing this whole thing up, I may have just ruined my whole relationship with everyone, possibly ruined a marriage, and in the end I'm starting to even doubt my own judgment on what could have just been a misunderstanding. I fucked up by not staying quiet. I'll update if it's requested. Comments where OPP has replied. Commenter 1. Stick to your guns. You don't need anyone who won't stand by you when you tell the truth. You know who they are now. Oh, O-op, I know the truth. But man, when it's three people including the wife of this Dumbo trying to bring you down its heart. Thanks for your words. Commenter 2, you could probably reconstruct when this happened from your phone history. If possible, similarly figure out the dates and times of other instances of harassment.

These things are more convincing when they're documented with times, especially if, for example, they always happen during your cousin's working hours and days. If nothing else, it'll feel good to have it solidly documented. And more easily shared if you ever need to do so to defend yourself from accusations of slander. I don't primarily mean legally here but socially, just in case that's unclear. OOP, I only noticed six months ago. What I can say for anyone who wants details is that he only does this when my cousin isn't close by, for instance, when she's in the room or bathroom. I have noted down for myself all the situations I have remembered because I wanted to be as sure as possible before bringing to light something this delicate. It's just when it's three against one you begin to doubt yourself.

Update 1, November 2, 2024. Well, I'd like to say thank you to everyone that took the time to comment on my last post. it's because of you that I finally saw that I was not fucking up even though now my relationship with basically my whole family is. Unfortunately the result was not a pretty one. I spoke to my parents and the whole conversation was just off. To begin with, they don't understand why it took me so long to speak up. I tried explaining that for me this is a very sensitive topic and on top of that I was scared

of how everyone would react. Second, it is well known that I usually have a very strong. strong attitude and don't have an issue with telling people to fuck off or standing up for myself, which in their eyes makes it strange that I wasn't able to do that with Dumbo. Yes, I don't have a problem with doing that to people that have no major impact on my life and to be honest even today I am asking myself why I didn't react this way with him, although I wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But I also know that if I did Dumbo and Rose would run off to my parents complaining about

how disrespectful I am and it would have been messy either way. Third, they say things don't add up because in the end I never took their advice which was to remove myself from the situation and second to have a conversation with Rose and Dumbo. I have found a nice place to live as of December 1st and I spoke to Rose as I honestly didn't want, nor did I feel comfortable speaking to her husband in the beginning. Like I said in the first post, when I told Rose I was going to speak to Dumbo she said no because he wasn't going to listen and she agrees that we have nothing to talk about. I explained this to my parents but they weren't having it.

They said that I need to face Dumbo as he is the one causing the issue for me. I told them very clearly that I wasn't going to force him to sit down and listen to me, but according to them that is exactly what I should be doing. My dad says that at the end of the day, I don't know what Dumbo's intentions were and this won't get solved until he and I talk it out. That a lot of people look at me and it's not that big of a deal. He's angry that I've done nothing to solve this matter myself, and even if I know that Dumbo won't listen that that's not the point, the point is trying. I reminded him that he wasn't just looking, it was constant comments, staring and putting his head on my boobs.

I told him once again that I wasn't going to force a grown man to listen to me. But he kept on saying that I wasted their time by not taking their advice. Finally, my parents ended it by saying that because I haven't been transparent with them and it seems like I basically wasted their time then that is how they'd like to keep our relationship. With a wall up. I had prepared myself to take a step back from my parents if needed. But the fact that they did it because I wasted their time just hurts. I feel like they went into this convo with the mindset of not believing me and nothing I could have said would have changed that. Just the fact that they're telling me to force this man that's 10 years older than me to sit down and listen knowing damn well that because I don't want to be alone with him his wife would have to be there and she'd be jumping down my throat every two seconds is like telling me to flip a hot pancake with no gloves and to try to not get burnt.

Knowing damn well that I will. He never offered to be moderator. I had a feeling that this would have been the result. So in a way I do feel like I did fuck up. In the end, Rose and Dumbo are perfectly happy, or so it seems, they both still have a great relationship with my parents. My relationship with all of them is messed up and I'm feeling pretty depressed. Once I move out completely I will be in a better mental state. I won't have any toxic people in my life. I'll be saving money as the new place is a lot cheaper and most importantly I know that I still have people that love and support me even if it's very few. Once again, thank you to everyone that gave me words of support on my last post, it means so much. Update 2, November 9th, 2024. I didn't expect to be updating again, I thought that everything had ended when my parents

blocked me, but no. Since my last post, my parents still have me blocked, but only on social media. They have been calling me since and telling me that it's up to me to make this right. That basically my entire family is mad at me for trying to destroy the family dynamic. that because I still haven't confronted Dumbo. They all think that I am lying in blue what could have been a simply awkward moment into a big deal so that I could have a proper reason to move out and be independent. According to them, unless I speak to Dumbo face to face I will have proven their theory of simply lying to get out of the house with anyone questioning it.

They have made it clear that they think I have fucked up by bringing this to light and if I choose not to confront Dumbo they will proceed to have me blocked and will have me marked as a liar. Oh my God, the pressure I have been under to speak to this man has been making me sick at this point. Yes, I could simply block my parents on everything as well, but that wouldn't stop them from showing up to my house, and I'm too much of a coward to do so anyway. Even though I'm freaking out, I have decided to talk to Dumbo tonight once I get the courage to do so, just to get my parents off my back, because I can't handle another phone call with them where they accuse me of being a liar.

Deep down I know I didn't fuck up by telling my family about Dumbo harassing me, but I swear to God that if I had known everything that was to come out of this I would have simply moved out and kept my mouth shut. Any advice is needed and I deeply appreciate those that personally messaged to check up on me after my first post. Comments where Op has replied. Commenter 1. I am genuinely so fucking sorry this is happening to you. I don't have much in the way of advice but I hope you know that you're not in. in the wrong and you're not a bad person for speaking up. Don't let them tell you otherwise. Boop, I'm freaking the fuck out, I really don't feel comfortable talking to this guy, but on the other hand if I don't, the only family I have here will basically turn on me. I'm locked in

my room till I get the courage in to talk to him. Commenter two, do not talk to this person alone, but also not with your family they are shit and will gang up on you. Please bring an outside friend and record it if you can. You really shouldn't even talk to this person and be moved on to your own place and have everyone blocked they are not looking out for you. Stay safe and good luck. Oop, I'll be recording everything. Update 3, November 10th, 2024. To begin, I'd like to thank all of those that have given me advice and shown support during this hard time. It's given me more strength than you know. I've been asked some questions so I'll answer a few. One, why did I wait six months to bring this up? This is a very serious accusation to bring

up, I wanted to be absolutely sure that I wasn't imagining anything and that I was sure of this. I was also terrified of how my family would react. Two, why didn't I speak to Dumbo from the very beginning? I didn't have the courage and didn't know how he'd react so I went to my parents for guidance. Three. Why didn't I bring this up until after I moved out? Simple, I thought my parents would have my back. Now to the update.

After my last post, I spoke to Dumbo. Even though many advised me not to, I caved and I confronted him. I recorded the entire conversation like many suggested and even made sure to send it to a few people just in case. Dumbo was quiet the whole time I spoke and apologized even though he admits he stands by the fact he did nothing. His wife, my cousin, Rose, was laughing, snorting and making side remarks the whole time, the urge to tell her to fuck off was big, but I didn't want to make things worse for myself. The conclusion of our talk was this. They don't want to move on from this, but we will be civil, we will keep communication to a minimum until and after I move, he will make sure to never be alone around me and. and lastly that our conversation was basically pointless

and that even if I had spoken to him first place like everyone said. He says the result still would have been the same meaning we would all be divided. I told my parents all of this this morning as they wanted to know how the talk went, and even though I told them this was all said by Dumbo, they still said that I was trying to justify my reasons for not wanting to have the conversation with him. And basically they think I only caved into this to prove that I wasn't lying, because in the end, I never showed any signs of abuse or said anything. They have made clear that I have dived the whole family and that it's going to take time

for them to heal from the pain and distress I have caused and that in the future, my family may or may not reach out to me again. After all of this, my biggest fuck-up was how I went about this. I should have waited until I was in my new place and away from these people, at least that way a lot of this could have been avoided. Many have said that because I am 23 I am old enough to deal with this alone, to those who said this, thank you, I have learned that family will not always be there to back you up. Speaking up will never be a fuck up, but the way you go about things most definitely can be,

as you can see here. If I had done, said or acted in few different ways I think the outcome could have been a bit different. In the end, I know I still have people that love and support me, my move out date is just around the corner and eventually my mental health will be okay. In the meantime I will focus on packing and being around those I love. Thank you once again for all your support. This will be my final update. Comments where Ope has replied. Ope want her parents not believing her at all. Ope, you honestly couldn't have said it better. They have their mind set on what they believe.

I'm not going to waste my time trying to change it, it's been shown that no matter what happens they find a way to make this my fault. Commenter 1, the way your parents still found a way to turn what Dumbo said as you making excuses for yourself is incredible. Unfortunately family won't always stand by you and I'm so sorry you've had to go through this, at least there are still people that love you. I'm sure you haven't had time to properly process this whole shit show, but please, once you move out and settle in please take the time to grieve.

In the end this is still a loss. Sending you so much support and I'm proud of you. Ope, thank you for your support, with time I will take time and process. Next story. Stayed silent for two months and collected evidence after finding out my wife was cheating. She's mad when I confronted her, but I felt nothing. Hello everyone. My 30M, wife, 34F, and I have been together for eight years, five of them married.

I thought we were the kind of couple that could tell each other any problem. I loved her deeply and always believed she felt the same way about me. Like many couples, we had our ups and downs, but I never thought it could lead to infidelity. For months ago, I started noticing changes in her behavior. She was more distant, always glued to the phone and avoiding our conversations, you know the typical thing about a cheating person. Well, one day, I came across a message of her. on her phone that confirmed what I feared the most, she was seeing someone else. It was like a

punch in the stomach. I felt anger, sadness, and an overwhelming sense of betrayal. But instead of confronting her right away, I decided to wait. My main reason was to protect myself and a possible divorce. If I was going to face this situation, I wanted to have solid evidence, so I spent the next two months gathering messages, photos, and anything else I could use if things got legally difficult. During those two months, I pretended normality while the pain piled up. I watched her act like everything was fine, and with each passing day, my feelings for her faded. The love I once felt was replaced by indifference. If anyone says that love for someone doesn't go away, well, it's not entirely true. When I finally gathered all the evidence, I confronted

her. I showed her everything I knew, and although she tried to deny it at first, she finally admitted that she had been having an affair. She said it was a mistake, that she still loved me, and that she wanted to work things out. But by then, I didn't feel anything anymore. I didn't scream, I didn't cry, I didn't even get angry. I simply told her that it was okay, that we could get a divorce, and that we could each move on with our lives. My lack of a motion baffled her. She said my indifference was cold and cruel, and that if I had truly loved her, I should have fought to save our marriage, which was ironic coming from her. But the truth was that I did love her very much. Only after two months of living with the betrayal in silence,

I just didn't care. Wow. Honestly, I didn't expect the number of messages I've received in the last few hours. I apologize for not responding to the comments, but rest of sure, I am reading them. My inbox is filled with hundreds of replies, and I'm truly surprised by the support and the number of people who took the time to share their experiences and opinions. At first, I felt overwhelmed reading so many stories from people who have gone through similar situations, some even worse. I never imagined that so many people could relate to what I'm going through. I guess it's eye-opening to see that infidelity is more common than I thought. And yes, there were also comments that made me question if I disconnected emotionally too quickly,

but after reflecting, I believe I did what I needed to do to protect myself. Some people told me I should have tried to save the marriage, but the truth is, I don't think I could have. The betrayal felt like a wall that went up between us, and once I saw everything clearly, there was no way to go back to what we had. It's not that I don't want to love or be loved, it's just that the chapter with her is over for me. Does that make me cruel? I don't know, but it's my truth. One of the most impactful things was seeing how many people are stuck in relationships where trust has been broken and they don't know how to move forward. To everyone who asked how I'm doing it, I don't have a definitive answer. For me, it was a slow process,

day by day, watching the love fade until it was just gone. There were also some messages from people in my wife's position, those who had made mistakes but genuinely wanted to make things right. It made me think, what would have happened if I had confronted her before my feelings faded? Maybe things would have turned out differently, but honestly, I don't think so. Once trust is broken like that, it's nearly impossible to go back to what it was. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who shared their words, whether they were supportive or critical. You've given me a lot to think about, and I'm grateful for that. I'm processing all of this little by little, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that, for the first time in months, I feel like I can breathe and look forward without the

weight of what happened. Thanks again. Update 2, October 29th, 2024. Hi everyone, for those of you who don't know, I'm the guy whose wife cheated on him with someone else and he became indifferent. I'm doing this mini update because many of you asked me to give one, but I'm lazy today, so don't expect a long one. Well, for starters, the divorce is in progress. The notice was delivered to her at one of her friend's houses, since the house we live in is mine, from my mother's side. Moving on to the divorce, she didn't take it well and called me to tell me that she would

contest it, that we weren't getting a divorce. I didn't say anything, I just hung up because it bothered. me to hear her voice at that moment. I read comments that say indifference is a way to protect yourself from strong emotions, and they were right. After a couple of days, I started thinking about the time invested in my marriage and I really got angry. For her, eight years of relationship was nothing to open her legs to another jerk. For those curious, her lover is someone older, maybe 40 or 47, and he has a wife and kid. I don't care if the idiot has a heart attack or something, my soon-to-be ex and that guy are just trash that came out of the same landfill.

Sorry, I was getting angry as I was writing, so I took some time to calm down. Back to my soon-to-be ex, I really don't care if she decides to contest the divorce, she's just making things harder for herself, since all of our assets are separate, including the house where I live. For the moment, that's all I can share with you. Thanks for your advice, and to all of you who commented that I should work things out with her, screw you. You don't decide for others, you just show that you have problems. I'd rather divorce a thousand times than stay with a traitor with no morals. I hope you enjoy this story.

Precious offspring sibling who disconnected from me appeared alleging that her spouse was harmful, so I welcomed her into my home and assisted her in initiating legal proceedings for separation, yet subsequently I discovered she was the cheater, so I testified against her. One year ago, my younger sister Hannah, 27F, got married to her boyfriend of two years, Jacob, 30M. I'm two years older than my sister, and we used to be close when we were kids, but after that, we just sort of drifted apart. After I moved out for college, we started speaking less and by the time both of us had graduated and had our own jobs, we led very different and separate lives so we didn't have much to talk about. On top of that, we had a stupid fight about something.

something six years back, so we have pretty much had no contact since then. In the recent past, we would get together when our family would meet for holidays and stuff but wouldn't exactly talk to each other. To be quite frank, I don't even remember what the fight was about, I just know that it was over something really small. It wasn't like we were out to get each other but just didn't interact. And last year, after my dad passed away, I pretty much had nothing to do with my family. My mom was always closer to my sister, so they had their own thing going on and whenever I tried

to visit her, I would always feel very out of place so I just started keeping to myself. I was also very busy with work, so I wasn't really connected with either of them. And then, two weeks ago, Hannah showed up at my place in the middle of the night and she begged me to let her stay with me because apparently, her husband had turned out to be abusive and she desperately needed somewhere to go. though we hadn't been particularly close for the last couple of years, I allowed her to stay with me. This seemed to be quite serious and as a woman and her sister, I did not want to turn her away when she was asking me to help her out with something like this.

She had shown up at my place with absolutely nothing, just some money, and her cards, and kept apologizing for springing this on me, but she didn't have anybody else to rely on. I had just moved into a new apartment, so she knew that Jacob would not be able to find her here and that she was safe from him. So I instructed everybody in the family not to give my address out without my approval to anybody in case they asked, since I did not want her to be found.

She told me that apparently, Jacob had been controlling and manipulative right from the beginning, but after they got married, she had thought that he would stop doubting her every now and then, but he had gotten worse instead. He had forced her to cut her friends off because he did not like them and thought they were not the right kind of company for her.

Recently, he had started pressuring her, to even quit her job and stay at home because he thought that she needed to pay more attention to the household, and her job was distracting her from doing that. But at this point, she had put her foot down and they had been fighting about it for the last couple of weeks and the night that she had run away, he had come home drunk and was yelling at her about the dishes and the sink that hadn't been done yet. She had said that she had been very exhausted after coming back home from work, so she hadn't found the time to do it yet. Usually, he would just argue with her, but this time, decided to shove her and that was the last straw. After he fell asleep, she decided to make a

run for it and came straight to my place because she couldn't even think about any other place to go. I was a bit confused because I thought that she was close to our mother, so she could have gone to her instead. But Hannah told me that apparently, she had already talked to our mother about this and her advice had been shocking. She had told her that sometimes some men act this way, and she just has to deal with it because that's what married couples do. Every time they're going through stuff, she can't just admit defeat and leave because that's the easier way out and trying to make the marriage work. It's difficult, but it's also the right thing to do according to her.

And since they're married, not just dating, it's a very serious commitment and divorce is very complicated so she should just stick it out with him. If things get bad, she can try marriage counseling, but my mother's advice, ultimately, was to stay with him, in spite of whatever she was going through. I thought that was very bad advice to give to somebody who was being treated like this on a daily basis and I told her that she didn't need to listen to our mother. This was not the way to behave and Jacob needed to realize that. And if he hadn't realized that even after so many years of being together, there was no way he was going to change. So I told her that I would put her in

touch with a friend of mine, whose dad is a divorce attorney and they could go ahead and do something about this. So two days after she came to my house, she filed for a divorce and he was served within a couple of days. Both of us had blocked Jacob right after she came to my house so he couldn't contact us. She had also spoken to my mother on the phone and while she had been against the idea of leaving initially, after she learned that he had actually shoved her the previous night, she agreed that it was taking things way too far and she needed to leave. So we got her to block Jacob as well and eventually, nobody had any ties with him. him. So for almost one week, I had no clue about what the reality of the situation was and I was

gladly helping Hannah out, thinking that maybe this would finally help us bond and this situation would bring us closer together as a family. However, after one week of no contact with Jacob, I accidentally ran into him at a restaurant near my workplace. He was there with some of his colleagues, and I was there to grab lunch. I had absolutely forgotten that his office was quite close to mine, and when I spotted him, I started to leave, but he saw me there too, and he literally chased after me to catch up to me because I was trying to run away from him. But once I realized that I would not be able to outrun him and that he just kept calling my name and asking me to stop so he could speak to me, I decided to turn around and told him that I would call the cops if he

tried to do anything funny. He seemed shocked by that reaction and told me that he just wanted to speak to me about the divorce. I told him that this was final and I was not going to allow Hannah to go back to him and he started looking even more confused because he told me that apparently, the divorce had been his idea. Then, it was my turn to be shocked because that was not what I had been expecting. Anyway, after a conversation with him, I realized that Hannah had fed me a bunch of lies, and my mother had probably been in on it. He said the night that Hannah had run away from home without telling him. He had actually suggested that they get a divorce because he had found out that she had apparently been having an affair with one of her co-workers.

He had spotted them together after work when he had gone to surprise her at her office and, after that, there was no way that he could stay with her. So he was the one who had suggested the divorce and she had been very against it and they had ended up in a fight. She wanted to work things out and said that she was willing to end the relationship with the other guy and give their marriage a second chance, but Jacob just wanted to leave because he did not think he could trust her ever again. He said that he had been suspecting that she had been having an affair for quite some time and he had just been proven right that day. He had wanted to speak to her about it the next day and had even thought that he was going to offer to move out of the house so she could

live there on her own. But when he woke up the next day, she was nowhere to be found. When he tried to contact her, she blocked him. And he couldn't get through to her in any other way either. I had also blocked him and so had our mother. And all her friends had also blocked him, so he literally couldn't talk to anybody else. And then, he received the divorce papers, and the terms of the petition shocked him because she was demanding a lot of things that he did not think she was entitled to. She was demanding an insane amount of settlement and alimony, and he thought that it was bizarre that she felt she was entitled to any of this since they had pretty much been making

the same kind of money. Besides, she had been cheating on him so that disqualified her from getting anything out of the divorce at all, and she should just count herself lucky that he was willing to move out while they were getting divorced, even though he had paid the rent for the entire month. Now, to be fair, I did not know about the terms of the petition because I had just put Hannah in touch with the attorney, but I hadn't actually bothered to go over the papers with her. I figured that she was in good hands, I didn't need to worry about any of that. And even if I had known about the terms of the petition, and what she was demanding, I probably wouldn't have found

anything wrong with it because I had believed that Hannah was the one being abused by Jacob and so, she was entitled to whatever she demanded. But after finding out what was really going on with Jacob, I started thinking differently. Initially, I refused to believe him, but then, he showed me a bunch of screenshots and a lot of proof. Hannah had left her laptop back at home, which is so incredibly stupid because that allowed Jacob to get access to all the messages that she had been hiding from him so far and I could see months and months of messages between her and the guy she had been having an affair with, and that proved Jacob's story to be true. So I was pretty confused about what to do after finding out the truth and I just apologized to Jacob for making him

run after me and embarrassing himself like that. But he told me that he just wanted to talk to me so I could explain to Hannah that he did not want anything out of the divorce, and it would only be fair if she changed the terms of the petition to be more reasonable as well because he did not want any trouble and just wanted this to be over as soon as possible. So I agreed, and then when I went back home, I confronted Hannah about this, and she literally denied everything. Even after I told her that I had run into Jacob, and he had shown me all the proof that confirmed his story, she started accusing me of trusting some random stranger over me. Except that Jacob is not some random stranger, we had interacted quite a few times, and when she had first come to me, it did seem quite out of

character for him because he was a very soft-spoken and gentle guy. Even though Hannah wouldn't speak to me at any family gatherings or parties, he would always be polite to me and I just thought that it was really nice of him. I'm not saying that guys like that cannot be abusive, but from whatever conversations we have had so far over the years, it seemed unlikely that he would turn out to be like this. I really wanted to believe her, but I knew she had a pension for manipulation and lying because that's how she used to get out of trouble in high school. So honestly, even though she is my sister, I wouldn't put it past her. And the way she got so defensive when I confronted her, it just made me even more sure what Jacob was saying was the truth, and she had been lying to me

through her teeth. So I told her to leave and after a lot of fighting, she finally left. After she left, she probably went to our mother's house. Half an hour later, I received a phone call from my mother, and I could hear her crying in the background. My mother was berating me for trusting Jacob over her, but I told her that I didn't want to argue about this anymore since I was pretty exhausted, and my mother said that she did not want to speak to me anymore. I told her that I was fine with that and since then, we haven't spoken. About two days back, Jacob reached out to me since I had unblocked him and told me that he was collecting testimonials from everybody who knew the two of them to prove that none of the claims that Hannah was making against him were true in the slightest and he said

that my testimonial would hold a lot of value because I was literally her sister and if even I was speaking out in his favor, it would be great. He said that there was no pressure, but I wanted to do this because I wanted to stand up for the right thing. Since apparently, Hannah had refused to change the terms of the petition, and since my friend's dad had refused to work with her, they switched to another lawyer and demanded the same things, and even went on to claim that apparently, Jacob had indeed been abusive, and that was why she had resorted to cheating. So technically, according to her, this was all his fault and it was just so convenient for her. It was incredibly infuriating and I hated the fact that she had played me for a fool in the

beginning. And that was why I agreed to testify against Hannah so yesterday. I finally spoke up in his favor while they were in their mediation session and once that was done, felt pretty relieved. I knew that I had done what was right, but evidently, my mother and Hannah do not share my sentiments because they were more than pissed today. My mother actually called me up in the morning and asked me what I was thinking, testifying against Hannah, my biological sister. I told her very plainly that I did what I knew was the right thing to do and now that it was done, there was no point in trying to fight with me over this. But my mother was not going to see sense, so she just kept yelling at me and actually even threatened me, saying that she was now going to ruin my life.

It's interesting how she said that, but I know that she literally has no way to do it. And I said that she could try, but she really couldn't ruin my life, even if she tried too. That's when she started crying and said that I deserved it because I had sabotaged my sister when I could have just kept my mouth shut instead of going out of my way to speak up against her. She seemed to be really upset and I could even hear Hannah in the background, screaming at my mother to hang up because apparently, it was hopeless to speak to me since I couldn't think about anybody apart from myself and my false sense of superiority.

Hannah was saying that apparently, the only reason I had done this was to appease my overinflated sense of ego, and I thought that it was a bit extreme. So why did I for testifying against my sister and her divorce case? Edit A lot of people have been asking me why Hannah had come to stay with me when she could have gone to her mother and honestly, I don't know. I guess she was telling the truth about that bit, that maybe our mother had really given her bad advice and told her to stick it out with Jacob. Or maybe she wanted me on her side during the divorce

or something? That would be my other case since I can't think of any other reason for her to want to come live with me after six years of barely even speaking to each other. Either way, I'm pretty sure it was not for no reason. She and my mother are the kind of people who do things for no way. reason, so I'm sure that she was either here to have me on her side during the divorce. Maybe she was trying to get financial help from me and being with me would be the best way to reconnect. I'm not sure about their reasons right now, but I'll find out eventually. Update 1. It has been eight days since I last spoke to my mother and Hannah. After the phone call, I blocked them because the things that they had said were very upsetting, and I didn't want to

interact with them any further. And most of the comments said that blocking them would be the best way to go. So I took the advice that you guys gave me. But after a couple of days of that phone call, I started receiving a lot of hate mail from weird email addresses, and I figured out that this had to be them. They were ultra-specific about everything as well. They called me egoistic and selfish and said that I did not deserve to be happy. And they also said that my father would have hated me today. I think that was taking a tad bit too far, but honestly, I'm not even surprised that they are doing such things. I just don't understand what is the point of doing all this. It's not like sending me hate mail as somehow going to help them in the course of the divorce. I think it might even

make it worse for her in case I decide to send it to and then he can use it against her, just to show the kind of person that she is. The anger is just getting to their head and making them make bad decisions, but the comment about my dad really got to me. I had been ignoring their emails, but after that one, I decided to reach out to Hannah on her work email and tell her that if she didn't stop doing this, I would make things much worse for her than I already had. And I was serious about it. So she responded to me by telling me to unblock her if I had the guts to do it, instead of acting like such a coward.

I don't understand what was so cowardly about blocking her, I just don't want to speak to either of them. And after what they said, I think it was perfectly fair. Anyway, I did unblock her and we got on a phone call. She told me that they had indeed been the ones behind the mail, but apparently, they had their reasons for it. When I asked her what these so-called reasons were, she told me that she knew that I would get flustered and reach out to her and one conversation with me is all that she needed. Because now she said that, apparently I had a chance to make it up to her since the divorce negotiations were still ongoing. All I had to do was

testify for her this time and say that Jacob had pressured me into testifying against her the first time around, taking advantage of our strained relationship and manipulating me with his lies. I was dumbstruck that she thought I would even consider this. For starters, for the past six years, we have not been on good terms, and even when I thought I would be her friend and welcome her into my home, she decided to tell me such disgusting lies about her marriage and herself. I reminded her of these things and said that if she had just not even bothered to drag me into any of this, I probably wouldn't even have testified against her. I would have just stayed out of it and not said anything, but because she lied to me,

I decided to help Jacob out. And this is all her own fault, so I was not in the wrong anywhere. Since I wasn't even wrong, I did not need to make it up to her. Then I told her that she had been right about those emails bothering me, and she had been right that I would get flustered and unblock her to talk to her about it. I'll have to give her that, she was able to predict correctly what was going to happen. But then, I told her that after this, she tried anything with me than I would not hesitate in going to Jacob with these emails and helping him out even more to prove that Hannah was not a woman

of strong character, like she was trying to portray herself but was a sly, manipulative, and cunning piece of work. Hannah then started screaming at me and said that I was not going to do any such things and if I did, she was going to make sure that I paid for it. Again, I don't think she and my mother have the power to ruin my life or make me pay for it like they claim they do. They haven't even known me properly so it's not like they can find any dirt on me. I've had a very normal life and unlike them, I never do anything that can get me into trouble later. I like to be honest and have a clear conscience, so even if they try to dig something up,

they won't be able to find any dirt on me. So all their threats, they really don't scare me. I just wished her the best of luck, ended the phone call while she was still trying to talk to me, and blocked her yet again. And this time, I have made up my mind that I am not unblocking this woman to speak to her under any circumstances. I'll go see them in person and speak to them if need be, but I'm definitely not unblocking them, not after this. Update 2, so it's been a couple of days since I last spoke to my sister and I guess, if you can't find dirt on somebody, you can just make something up and then post it online. I received word from several relatives that apparently, my mother and Hannah had been posting multiple stories about me to defame me.

All falsified stories back from high school, so nobody could prove it either. Apparently, back when we were in high school, I was a total jerk to Hannah, and I was always jealous of the fact that she was more popular than me, so I would constantly talk crap about her and try to pull her down when she was at home while Hannah always tried to be friends with me. They made me out to be some villain and said a lot of cruel things. that I don't even want to get into because it's not worth it. But I received screenshots of those posts and as soon as I saw them, my blood literally started boiling.

I can't even file a defamation lawsuit against them because it's just their word against mine right now and I'm not even sure if this actually counts as defamation but I sure feel pretty annoyed. I'm pretty sure I have to lose something tangible to take action against them, I think. Until that happens, it's just them talking crap about me online. I did send them a warning from my email because I had them blocked everywhere else and said

that if they didn't take it down, I would be forced to take action. They haven't taken it down yet because I guess they're not scared enough. But I have been in talks with an attorney and I think if we do send them a legal notice, they might stop. Anyway, I was also able to figure out exactly why Hannah had come to me all those days ago instead of going to live with Mom. I had to talk with Jacob about all of this since he had reached out to tell me that the proceedings were going in his favor so far and he wanted to thank me for testifying against

Hannah. I took that opportunity to ask him if he had any idea why Hannah had come to me and he told me that in spite of the fact that we were not on good terms for a really long time, she always seems to speak highly of me when it comes to work. She was not wrong about that. I do have a great career ahead of me and I don't mean to sound boastful but I make more money than most people my age. Apparently, Jacob told me that she had been planning on starting a business and the reason she chose to come to me might have been because she wanted to win me over the course of the divorce and then have me fund her after it was all finalized.

He was guessing the only reason that she was hungry for so much money out of the divorce was because she wanted to fund her lifestyle. The guy that she had been having an affair with earlier was a pretty rich guy, since he was a senior in her workplace and he only found out about it recently. After finding this out, everything makes sense.

Of course, she's after the money, I should have known right from the beginning. Anyway, everything is finally adding up now. And if she and my mom don't take down the posts as soon as possible, I'm going to have to send them a notice and actually take action against them. Whether I win the lawsuit or not, or if it has even been valid, that doesn't make a difference to me. But I'm going to try my best to get them to take it down.

Update 3, hey, so it has been one week since my last update, and luckily, one legal notice from my lawyer was all it took for them to take it down. I guess with the way that the divorce was going in Jacob's favor, Hannah did not want to risk anything else. So they took it all down. Also, after the last update, a lot of you had asked me what exactly they had said in those posts, and at the time, I did not want to get into them. But anyway, they had basically tried to make me out to be the villain of Hannah's life. They said that apparently, I had bullied her throughout her life, and I would speak about her body negatively and shame her for the way she looked. For the record, would never do that to anybody

else since I have had it happen to me, and it's not very nice. I guess that's the reason they even said that because they knew I'm a huge advocate for body positivity and saying that about me would ruin my image. Not only that, they also said that apparently had tried to hit on all of her boyfriends back when we were living together because I couldn't stand the fact that she was getting male attention and I wasn't. And apparently, that has not changed since I'm still trying to get Jacob on my side. It's so ridiculous and disgusting for them to even say that, I can't even imagine them thinking such things, and then believing that it's okay to post it. Anyway, it was mostly such nasty things about me and now they've taken it all down, so I'm okay. I was a little disappointed that

they took it down so easily since I really wanted to fight it out and teach them a lesson. But oh well, I'm glad that I don't have to get into the drama now. I can just focus on my own life now and move on from all of this. Both of them are still blocked, and they are going to remain blocked for a really long time. That's the way it should be, and I know if my dad was alive today, this is the exact advice he would have given me as well. I hope you enjoy this story. Created celebration desserts from my pals but never received an invitation to a particular woman's nuptial.

She insisted that I craft her wedding dessert as a present regardless and subsequently initiated conflict in our relationship. Group chat when I refused. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions on how to approach this situation. I'll change the names of those involved. I have a group of friends, though not all of them are truly close to me. Most of them are more friends by association, but we all go out together and have a good time. I do consider Maddie, and Jesse to be real friends. For Maddie's birthday, I got her a cake. Jesse had a small civil wedding, and Maddie offered to bring wine for the celebration at her place, while I offered to bring a cake. There's a girl in the group named Carly, and my relationship with her is neither

friendly nor unfriendly. She's always shown some apathy towards me, and I know she doesn't really like me. I don't dislike her, but I get the sense we wouldn't be friends since we have different perspectives. During the celebration, Carly commented that she liked the cake, and Jesse mentioned that I had brought it. Carly said it was good, but that it tasted a bit dry. Everyone exchanged looks and changed the subject, but Carly kept talking about the cake. I didn't say anything about it. Carly had been planning her wedding before Jesse got married. She used to invite Maddie, Jessie, and other girls to discuss prices and ask for opinions on things, but she never asked me for my help or advice. I had assumed I wasn't going to be invited.

Everyone else got an invitation, and I wasn't surprised when I didn't receive one. Jesse wanted to talk to Carly about it, but I asked her not to, as I didn't want a pity invitation and understood that Carly wouldn't invite me because we're not friends. Jesse told me she wouldn't attend if it would make me feel bad, but I told her not to worry about it. Then, Carly messaged me on WhatsApp to ask about cake design. and filling options. I thought she already had that figured out since her wedding was coming up and she'd been planning it for a while. I sent her the catalog, and she commented on a few options she liked. She asked if I did the setup, to which I replied yes, and sent her some

example photos. She only reacted to the photos with a thumbs up, and we didn't talk any further. She didn't ask for a quote or schedule a consultation, so I assumed she wasn't interested in my service. This was over a month ago. Today, we went out to eat, and everyone was talking about the wedding. Her fiancé asked who I'd be bringing, I'm single, so I told him I wouldn't be attending. He asked why, and to keep the mood light and avoid drama, I mentioned I'd be traveling to visit my parents. He understood, but Carly asked me when I was leaving. I told her I'd be leaving on Wednesday, and she said, the weddings on Saturday, how are you going to set up the cake and desserts? I asked which cake she was referring to, and she replied, the one you're bringing to my wedding.

I told her we didn't have anything scheduled, and she insisted she had our messages. I clarified that I had only given her options and set up photos, and since she didn't follow up, I assumed she wasn't interested. Her fiancé asked if anything could be done about it. I explained that the bakery requires a contract and a deposit. Maddie asked if Carly had paid a deposit or requested a contract. Carly replied, asking why she would need two, since it was my wedding gift to her and that I should make sure she had her cake for Saturday. I explained that I don't handle the bakery schedule and that, with the wedding so close, they

wouldn't accept a new order. Carly seemed upset and looked very uncomfortable. I asked for my bill, paid, and said goodbye, saying I needed to go. I really don't want to lose my friendship with the group since I'm not from this city and I felt comfortable with them. I don't want this to create tension, but I also don't know how to handle conflicts. I know it's a bit sad that I can't stand up for myself and would rather avoid confrontation. Maddie told me that after I left, Carly said it wasn't fair for me to back out after agreeing, and some people in the group hinted that maybe I didn't want to go to the

wedding because I didn't want to give her the cake. Jesse said I wasn't invited, and Carly replied that she had invited me. Comments where OP has replied, commenter one. It's not okay for her to expect a gift, especially a big cake, from someone she didn't even invite to her wedding. You were right to tell her you hadn't agreed to make the cake. It makes sense that you wouldn't want to give something so big to someone who doesn't seem to like you very much. OOP, and especially for me to give her that gift when we don't even have a relationship. Comment her too. It sounds like Carly is trying to control the narrative Do It Might Be Best to Explain Things

to your group, including copies of your correspondence. Otherwise you might lose a few friends who are listening to Carly. Maybe even let her fiancé know. OOP, yes, they are really more friends. I've been dealing with them. for two years, and they are high school friends. Update 1, November 11th, 2024. I hope those who gave me advice and asked for an update can see this. To those who asked why I didn't stand up for myself and let things get so out of hand, as I mentioned before, I don't like confronting people.

I get nervous, feel like I can't breathe. When I had presentations in school, I used to throw up before and after each one. Sometimes, I've even kept items I didn't order or didn't want just because I was too embarrassed to exchange them. I've been in therapy, and thanks to that, I'm now able to work as a cashier in a bakery, I don't think I could have done that before. I've come a long way, but I still get nervous speaking in public. I have a younger sister, and she used to go everywhere with me. I'd give her the money, and she would pay because just talking to the cashier would leave me breathless. I know people often feel sorry for those who seem weak, and I don't want to be seen that way or treated condescendingly. Someone sent me a private

message asking our ages, I'm 21, Maddie is 30, Carly is 30, Anna is 31, Carly's fiancé is 31, Jesse is 30. I hope that helps clarify a bit more. Now, here's what happened next. someone suggested what I could say to Carly, and I sent it to her. She replied saying she thought I wouldn't mind and that I owed her a gift anyway, and she'd chosen the cake as her gift. I replied that only guests are responsible for giving gifts. She asked what I meant, and I clarified that she hadn't invited me to the wedding. She left me on Reed.

I messaged her fiancé something like, I don't want to cause drama or any misunderstandings, but I didn't commit to giving her the wedding cake. I sent him screenshots of our conversation, and he called me right away. He apologized and said he thought it was odd when Carly told him I had offered to give her the cake. I mentioned it seemed even stranger to me since I wasn't even invited. He asked if I was serious, and I told him yes, but that I wasn't upset and understood if it was something private.

He apologized again, and we ended the call. Around noon, Carly messaged me saying I was. was making a fuss over nothing, as if I couldn't just give her the damn cake. She didn't understand why I was being so sensitive, saying I'd given Maddie a cake and Jesse one as well, and asked me to explain why I couldn't do the same for her. I replied that Maddie's cake was a birthday cake and, although Jesse's was for her wedding, it wasn't a wedding cake. Carly answered that it didn't matter what the cake was for. I told her if that was the case, she could buy one from the supermarket. She started typing, but I blocked her before the message came through.

Then, Carly sent a message to the group with only the part where I told her to buy it at the supermarket, saying it was insulting and showed how little I valued her wedding, so no one could say she was the bad one. I responded to the group with a suggestion someone gave me in a comment, which I adapted a bit. Hey, everyone. I want to clear up some confusion and rumors. I won't be attending the wedding because I didn't receive an invitation. I understood and made other plans for that time since the rest of you were invited. I'm not hurt or upset, it is what it is. The confusion about the cake is as baffling to me as it is to you. I only provided information on models and fillings from the place where I work, and that's all. I don't understand why it's expected that I

cover a cake for a wedding I'm not invited to. It's true I suggested the supermarket, as she said the purpose of the didn't matter. I hope this clears everything up. I wish you all a wonderful time celebrating Carly and her fiancé. Congratulations in advance to the happy couple, and I hope those not involved don't feel caught in the middle. I posted screenshots where she reacted with a thumbs up when I sent the samples, along with all the conversations from that day and today. After a while, someone commented that the group wasn't meant for this kind of drama and that we should resolve it privately. Maddie jumped in and said, Carly demanded the cake in public, so it's only fair that everything is explained publicly. Another girl, let's call her Anna,

commented that's not the way to ask for a gift. Carly saw everything and sent a voice note saying she didn't know a simple cake would ruin my finances but that it was fine and that I shouldn't have shared everything in the chat. Then, she sent a second message saying that when I get married and don't have friends I'll understand what it's like to be without support. A guy replied tagging her, you didn't invite her? Carly responded saying she had sent the invitation. Another guy asked, do you have the confirmation? There was no reply. Carly, no, but she should have told me when she saw she didn't get the invite. Jesse replied that she didn't like Carly's attitude, that she even considered not going and would only attend for the fiancé's sake.

Carly then said, so no one says I didn't invite you. No one can see here I'm inviting you now. I'll send an electronic invite since there's no point in printing one now. I replied not to bother, as I already had plans. Carly replied, there you all see. Then, someone who hadn't spoken left the group. Update 2, November 21st, 2024. Hey everyone, before I get into what happened, I just want to thank you. you all for your kindness and great advice. I'll try to explain everything in order this time. I tend to be really brief when I talk, which can confuse people, but I don't mind clarifying things. You're all great. It's just something about how I talk. My sister always has to ask me

stuff like, did this happen before or after? Or what happened next? Just to clear things up, when Carly tried Jesse's cake, she had already sent out the invitations. That was on Monday. The group chat went quiet after that, and the groom muted it since he's the only admin. On Tuesday, the groom came by the bakery to ask how I was doing. He apologized for Carly, saying he felt bad about the way she treated me. Then, he gave me an invitation. It wasn't like the originals it was just a plain white envelope with a printed letter inside. I know. know you guys like the details. He asked me to come to the wedding, but I told him I already had plans and wouldn't feel comfortable going. He asked why I didn't say anything when I didn't

get an invitation. I told him honestly that I was embarrassed to be the only one left out, but I understood. He said he didn't know and that when Maddie brought it up, Carly claimed she had sent it but would check. He kept asking me to come, saying it would mean a lot to him. I said no. I'm learning to say no, and honestly, it feels great, he asked me to think about it, left the invitation, and left. Later that night, he added the guy who had left the chat before, the best man, back into the group. Then he sent a message saying something like, the issue has been resolved, it was just a misunderstanding. We hope Op will join Carly and me on our big day. It would be so sad, and we'd really miss her if she doesn't come. Op, please come celebrate with us.

Anna sent me a private message asking, Did the groom really bring you an invitation? I told her yes, and she said, send me a picture of it. When I sent it, she replied, what an idiot. She added, don't go if you don't want to. Don't let him ease his guilt. He's no better than Carly. I thanked her, and we wished each other good night.

The groom reactivated the chat, and Carly replied to his message with two crying emojis, Yes, op? Then the best man left the group again without saying anything. I left the group too and turned off my phone. When I got to my parents' house, I turned my phone back on and saw a ton of messages. I didn't know what Carly had said, but I assume it was about me because Anna sent me angry messages like, that was way too much. The groom had sent, she's already here, calm down. Carly had sent a bunch of messages in the group asking why I wasn't respond. Maddie replied to one of Carly's messages, which I couldn't see, saying, why do you want her to respond if that's how you feel? Apparently, Carly had said something like, that idiot never has an opinion on anything, and now she's trying to act all interesting.

Jessie replied in the group saying, she's not getting the messages, she's not seeing this. I had a lot of private messages from Jesse, but I opened the group chat first. There were more messages, but honestly, I wasn't feeling well. I turned off my phone again. On Saturday, the wedding happened, and I saw the photos on Facebook. Jesse and Maddie had messaged me privately, but I didn't know what to say. Maddie ended up coming to see me at work. She asked if I was upset that she went to the wedding.

I told her I wasn't. She mentioned I hadn't replied to her messages, and I said I was just stressed. She also told me she asked Carly's mom about the whole cake thing. Carly's mom said she didn't get it either because Carly had wanted another girl to buy her cake a week before the wedding. Maddie told her that Carly had originally chosen a dummy cake, and the guest cake was pre-ordered as individual servings. Maddie's mom said she'd talk to her but figured it was just a misunderstanding. Maddie also mentioned the best man told her he's cutting ties with the groom because of the resort issue and everything else that happened. She said Carly was in a bad mood at the wedding, and the groom got drunk, so they left early.

But otherwise, the wedding was nice. The original bridesmaids didn't end up being in the wedding it was different girls. Maddie also said neither the best man nor Anna attended. Edit, Anna didn't send me angry messages, she sent them to Carly. The group is on WhatsApp. The messages I received were after I was added back, and the one Maddie selected. I'll tell you what happened with the best man, he's not on my side. He had a separate issue with the boyfriend and Carly.

If Anna doesn't like something, she'll tell you, she didn't stand up for me because of me, she would have done it for anyone. I cleared it up this way because I'd like to read all your messages, and I hope the next time I update it will be the last because it's been a lot. Sometimes I think I should have just given the cake as a gift. Some people at my work know what happened, and it's awkward. I can talk about it easily here, but in person, it's harder for me. Additional information from OOP clarifying on getting messages from group chats.

OOP, I'm not sure if this works the same in all chats, but the group is on WhatsApp. If someone sends something and you're added later, you won't be able to see it. However, someone who was in the group before you can see it and reply to that message, but it will still not be visible to you. For example, if someone sent a photo before you were added, the people discussing the photo can reference it and bring it back into the conversation, but you can't download or interact with it unless someone sends it again. Comment where OP has replied, comment or one.

So, Erm, do you know the guy formerly known as the best man at all? Just wondering if he was just pissed off at their shitty behavior in general, or specifically towards you because he likes you? Would also give another clue as to why Carly doesn't like him. like you. She's jealous the BM fancies you. OOP, I don't think so. He was upset earlier about an overcharge on a reservation he made for the boyfriend and Carly. OOP clarifies on the resort issue. OOP, the best man works at a resort and got a deal with some services not included. Carly got bored because it was a weekday and asked for a few things, which resulted in an extra

charge. The groom couldn't cover the cost, so the best man paid for it, and the groom said he would pay him back. Update 3, December 16th, 2024. Hello, I couldn't update earlier because I was moving houses, and I had a legal issue with Carly. First of all, I see that I didn't explain properly what happened with the resort. The Godfather, who works at an expensive resort, was going to be the Godfather, and Carly wanted to go, but her boyfriend couldn't afford it. She talked to him, and the Godfather said he could get her a deal. but only for three weekdays, not the weekend. Carly and her boyfriend accepted the discount, but some services weren't included, like room service and massages. Carly got upset because

it was empty during the week and didn't like the activities. She ordered several things to the room, and I don't know what else she did, but there was a huge extra charge. The boyfriend couldn't cover it, and the godfather got furious. The boyfriend said he would pay half, and the the godfather would cover the other half, and he would reimburse him after the wedding. Carly had written to the godfather saying she hoped to get a bigger discount this time since he always brags about his work and so that the same thing doesn't happen again. He said that it upset him because he had work problems, and he sent her the reservation photo saying, I'm out of this. The boyfriend called him, and according to him, the godfather

told him to consider that debt as his wedding gift and not to involve him in the group again. That's why he left the group the first time. I knew about the resort but not that Carly wanted to go again. One of the bridesmaids, who is a friend of Maddie and very close to Carly, said Carly was nervous and that those were normal things for Bridalisillas. She said Carly told her the color of the dress but didn't give her any ideas about the design or exact shades. They sent it to her before ordering it online.

Carly agreed, but when she saw the dress in person, she said she did. didn't like it, even though they told her she had agreed to it based on the photos. She told them the dress looked different in person. Some bridesmaids backed out because they couldn't afford another dress, and the girl commented that the boyfriend had said he considered the girls as substitutes for the bridesmaids. She disagreed because Jessie and Maddie were married and didn't want to be part of the joke of catching the bouquet. The boyfriend suggested they not be part of the tradition of catching the bouquet, but she said that would draw more attention. This is what she said, I can't confirm if it's true.

This girl also said Carly often repeated a story about when we all ordered drinks, and Carly intentionally took mine because she knew I wouldn't change it. I always order the same thing, I don't like trying new things. I always order the same drink, the same ice cream flavor, the same food. Because of that and more, it makes sense that she might have done it just to make me look bad. I didn't even remember that, and she said, Carly tells the story as a very funny joke. There was silence.

Then they changed the subject. I listened to them, and for the first time, I didn't care about what they were talking about. Since that day, mentally, they were no longer my friends. At least a week passed after that. I don't have proof, but everything they said about Carly, even though I didn't comment, wasn't because of her. I don't like talking about people.

It came across as if I had said it and Carly came to complain to my workplace, started shouting at me, and I told her to leave. She broke a glass, and when other employees came out, she came at me. I had never fought with anyone, and I was angry because of how she made my days difficult. When she came at me, I grabbed a tray, one that was used for baking bread. I don't know how many times I hit her with it, but I fractured her arm. She sued me. But there are videos showing she attacked me and pulled my hair. She showed up with scratches on her face, and I don't remember doing that.

The bakery owner summoned her to the prosecutor's office for the damages, and she tried to make me equally responsible. But she had broken the glass before I assaulted her. Maddie and Jessie have tried to talk to me and offer their support. I told them I didn't want their friendship anymore. They insist they weren't the ones who spoke. to Carly. But it's strange that this happened right after they saw each other. It could have been the godmother, but what Jesse said about Carly was what Carly confronted me about. So, I don't

believe them because Carly confronted me about liking her boyfriend, and the one who asked me if I liked him was Maddie, and I told her no. And not just him, she asked me about several guys, one by one, who I liked, and I told her no. This was a long time ago, so it's strange that it's coming up now, and so distorted. There have been threats, which is why I moved. Sorry if this bothers you, I'm not a violent person. Although it seems like this made me better, it really hasn't. Now I'm more anxious and stressed. I've never had legal problems before, and this is how I'll start 2025. I hope you enjoy this story. Partner requested that I consider a non-monogamous arrangement right before our marriage ceremony, only for me to discover subsequently that his spiritual associates

had been influencing him deceptively for an extended period. I, a 28-year-old female, and my fiancé John, 28M, have been together four, as the title says, about five years. To understand the dilemma, I need to give you some background. We both came from very religious backgrounds, though it affected both of us very differently. John became a problem child, right? running away, causing problems, and eventually finding a parents would not approve of. Most of the members of this group were a part of the LGBTQ Plus, smoked pot, engaged in protests and were either atheist or practiced different religion. Although some of the members since have left, this crowd became his current friend group.

I won't go into details about each and every one of them, but the main ringleaders are Alex, 35NB, and Avery, 33M. From what I understand, they collected damaged people, as John jokingly said one day, and let them couch surf when things got rough. Alex is some sort of a Nipo baby and Avery works in IT or something like that. John met them when he was 15. At first, I thought they seemed very cool and couldn't wait to meet them since John equated their relationship to that of a child and a parent, so clearly very important people in his life.

But when I finally met them, when we were 21, and in college and home for the summer break, the meeting left me a bit disillusioned. Alex was catty and had snide remarks since I wasn't LGBTQ plus or anything, at most by curious, and Avery treated me like a child, but John said they always need to break new people in, so I tried to think positive and did my best to impress them with what I was studying and what my plans for the future are, both regarding me personally and my relationship. But the more I talked, the more they seemed to disapprove of me. Despite the strange meeting, John seemed ecstatic to see them again, and gushed about how much

they liked me, so I kept my mouth shut and just nodded along. Now, to understand a bit deeper on who Alex and Avery are, in the town they live in, they're something like local celebrities. Very spiritual, their home is full of souvenirs they accumulated over all their travels, are also married, but their definition of marriage is very different from the traditional one. Apparently, they went to some tropical state and took some hallucinogens together, and in their state, they proclaimed everlasting love for one another. Quite a wild concept for someone like me, but I learned to be more open-minded since I left for college. That being said, they also said that they can see oras, whatever that is, and apparently love my fiancés.

I don't know what they think of mine, but it probably isn't much. which brings us to the topic I came here with. Last week, after we got home from work, John sat me down and asked me what I think about being in a polygamous relationship. He said he loves me so, so much, more than is possible, and doesn't know what to do with the rest of it, thinking that it's fair to give it to someone else. I, on the other hand, don't have a limit on how much I can love him,

so I said no, and that was that. However, the question has been plaguing my mind ever since. If you knew John just a fraction, you'd know he researches about things long before he actually commits to anything. Any lifestyle or relationship changes, whatever. This makes me think that he has already thought about it for a while, and that he also consulted Alex N. or Avery about this. I don't want to villainize them, but I know, for a fact, they're not in a monogamous

relationship, and they clearly don't like me as the rest of their little group. Again, I don't want to point fingers, and I won't ask John to show me his messages with them unless I have solid proof that isn't just a gut feeling, but I just have this horrible feeling that they, somehow, pulled in John. There's no way he just thought about it suddenly on his own. Five years of relationship, and the idea of non-monogamy was never brought up, and now suddenly, just as we're about to be married, he brings this up. I don't buy it one bit, but I can't just go ahead and confront them now, can I? I just don't know what to do. I feel stuck. At home, I pretend everything is fine since my group of close friends told me that I'm just overthinking,

and I believed it for a while. But whenever I look at John, all I can think of is, he thinks there's a cap on how much he can love me, and he wants to love someone else. I want to deal with this, but I don't know how. If I bring it up with John, he'll just brush it off as well, or he'll think I'm cheating or don't trust his friends. I worked hard to get their approval, and I know for a fact John shares everything with them. I don't take this for himself. I just hope that someone here can give me pointers on how to proceed. Thanks. Comments where OP has replied, Degenerate Tittleiker, if you don't swing that way, then end it. It'll only get worse once you're married. This is not something you can compromise on. He wants to fuck other people while you do not.

Oop, God, the idea of ending our relationship is so scary. I feel like I built my entire life since leaving for college around him, and if we separate, I worried I'm going to fall apart. But I understand where you're coming from, I need more time to process the reality of it all. Tilda Why God we 94. Don't let them brainwash you. There are plenty of cases where people are pulled into someone else's lifestyle

and then randomly dropped. It will leave you wondering who you, you even are. I've been there and it ruined me. What happens if you drink the Kool-Aid and they reject you later? It's hard to come back from that. And I'm not saying this as a matter based solely on sexual preference either. New-age mumbo-jumbo or oras mixed with radical changes in sexual interest can really fuck a person up. A lot of people like this function almost like a give mind or the popular clique in high school. If you already feel like you're being pushed away from the group, and now he's making this request, it's a bad sign. Also the idea of him having so much

love that it's unfair to only give it to you is a horrible cop-out and a very common excuse people use when trying to convince their soda tripoli or open. It's often used to guilt people. It's almost like he's suggesting that you're greedy for wanting to keep your relationship personal and exclusive. I'd just say be careful. I don't want you to end up hurt like I was. Dedicating yourself to one person while their character and lifestyle is completely changing can end up with you getting hurt bad. If he is sincerely changing in this way, I'd be worried about how much you invest in him. I only say this because I was fully invested in my ex and she started hanging out with a group

of college friends more frequently towards the end. One day we got into a small argument over parking and it ended with her saying she wasn't certain what sex she was attracted to anymore and wasn't sure if she was even female anymore and that we had to end things. Now, I would have been fine with helping them figure themselves out, but for her it kind of just became her excuse to break up with me. I think it was more about her slash them wanting to have fun and was influenced by her group of friends all being single or experimenting

who all came out around the same time. I think she saw them having fun and felt FOMO T-B-H. So to her, she was getting her chance to catch up on fun she may have missed out on being in a relationship. To me, it was losing a person. piece of myself that I invested years of love into. Oh, O-O-P, I'm really sorry you had to go through that. I really hope John isn't using this as a maneuvering tactic to get out of the relationship or a chance to catch up. It doesn't sound like him, but I'll keep this in mind. Update, September 17th

2024. Thank you so much for all the nice replies and genuine advice you've offered. Not to sound cliche, but I didn't expect over a hundred comments and some nice DMs. I'm sorry I didn't respond much. The whole situation was kind of emotionally draining. I figured I'd update when something major happens, and I think this is it. But before I get ahead of myself, let me fill in some blanks in my story. Me and John came from similar backgrounds, but my family was a bit less strict, allowing me to go to college since I had great grades.

The plan for me was to move back after getting finding a job, a husband, and living the traditional life, which, obviously, didn't happen because I met John, who literally changed the trajectory of my life. After a year, I switched from my first major to one I liked more and it's been a while since I contacted my parents. They didn't approve, of course, but with John's help, I didn't give in to their demands to come back. Now they know I'm getting married and are invited, but the last time we spoke was about two months ago. John has completely no contact with his parents since 18. I didn't talk about the friend group in more detail at first since I didn't think they were that important, but they do like me, at first, they were obviously a bit unsure since to them.

I was a syshit white passing woman, but they warm up to me and I'm proud to call them my friends. The only people who didn't fully accept me are Avery and Alex, and since me and John got together officially, they tend to call me the wife in the strange, almost derogatory manner. It's not an important detail, but it gets on my nerves. Lastly, John is aware that opening up the relationship would lead to me being intimate, physically or emotionally, with other people, but he said it's a great chance for me to explore my by-side, though I haven't expressed the desire to really be with a woman in a committed relationship of that magnitude. On to what happened, I shot a message to John two days ago that we need to talk.

He works from home, I don't, so as soon as I got home, we sat down to. to have an in-death conversation about his proposal. I think he knew what it's going to be about and I had the feeling he seemed almost guilty, but I ignored that and basically word vomited everything that's been on my mind. This is embarrassing because I wrote down most of what the comments advised and was prepared to have a mature discussion,

but by the end of my easily 15-minute rant, I was in tears and he had to hold me, otherwise I'd crumble completely. The gist of what I said is that I'm hurt that he wants to fuck other people and that he doesn't care that I'd fuck other people too, that he believes there's a limit to how much he can love me and that I can't see where this all came from, that he just sprung this on me out of nowhere just a few months before

were to be wed. We tried to have a mature discussion, yes, but by the end, he was frustrated, he did apologize for making me feel less than, but said that my outlook on an open relationship is selfish. What it all boiled down to was that he feels he didn't have enough time to find himself before he committed to me, which is bullshit because he didn't show any signs of wanting more than I could offer. We were very happy throughout the five years. I really believed I met my soulmate. I realized that, since we were engaged, he seemed to talk more to his friend group, an extension to Avery and Alex. Again, I don't want to paint them as these cartoonish villains. They're really interesting in all, but now I want nothing more than to scratch those self-absorbed,

smug smiles off their faces. In the end, I demanded to see his phone, and he was shocked. We had a that we can see each other's phones, but we don't share passwords or anything since relationship is built on trust, and neither wanted to be a prison guard in the relationship. Nevertheless, he unlocked and handed over his phone, and I searched his messages, even deleted ones, and found nothing out of the ordinary. Then I checked the call log and guess fucking what? Hours long calls to and from either Avery or Alex. I was fuming and asked him what the hell does he need to discuss with them this long, and mind you, these dated months back. John eventually caved in and admitted it was them who brought up the idea of open

relationship, but they also talked about everything else since their Suu-U-A role models. John admitted that he started getting cold feet a while ago and needed a safe place to discuss this. I guess I, his wife to be, am not safe. Please make it make sense. Why even marry me, then? He promised we'd go to a couple's counselor and fix all of this, his issues with marriage, the open relationship thing, the whole nine yards, and that he'd book an emergency session with his therapist, that he loves me and wants nothing but to be with me. It was late, so we went to bed, despite how messy this all sounds, I was a bit more reassured by this.

I genuinely love him, even if my post doesn't reflect that very well. Though many people said to just leave, I want that to be the the last resort, I was willing to jump through hoops to make this work. But guess who's the idiot? This morning, I woke up to an empty apartment and a message on my phone from John, saying that he needs a few days to think this all over and need space. He didn't say where he was going or when he'd come back. I called and called and messaged everyone I know, but no one can tell me where John is. I told him that he either comes back home in 24 hours, or this is over. As you can imagine, I'm a wreck. I took the rest of the week off in between crying sessions and staring

blankly into the wall. I obsessively check my messages in hopes of someone telling me where John is. To be honest, if he's willing to put me through this, I'm not sure I want to be with him. How can you do this to someone you love? Next story, named my daughter Annabelle after my husband's grandmother who raised him. Then found out that it was also the name of my dad's affair partner. I-26F just gave birth to my daughter Annabelle. I didn't announce it beforehand because in the past one of my family members stole a baby name and it created a lot of drama. My mom wanted to know but I was adamant on keeping it a secret. My mom and dad was in the room when I gave birth and when it was time for me to sign the birth certificate

my mom asked for the name and I told her Annabel. Her face went pale and my dad didn't look too happy but he said he loved the name. My mom left a few minutes later claiming she didn't feel well. She said she'll come over in a few days to help with the baby. Now I'm at home with the baby and my mom hasn't talked to me that much. We used to talk every day so I was confused by this sudden behavior. My sister Emily lives with mom still so I called her over to talk. When she got to my house she explained how she overheard dad and mom arguing

because about 10 years ago dad had an affair with a co-worker named Annabel. Mom hasn't been talking to him and he's been trying to get her to talk. I guess Dad realizing that Emily had come over decided to come over himself. He asked if there is any way that I can change Annabelle's name. I asked him why to see if he'll tell me the truth. And he did, he admitted to the affair. He begged Mom not to leave him and she stayed. But just hearing that name had always put her in a bad headspace.

I told him I can't, and that Annabelle was the name of my husband. 's grandmother who helped raise him. My dad begged and pleaded for me to change it, saying mom was in the middle of packing her bags and heading to her sister's house. I told him I won't change her name and that it means so much to me and my husband. He began to raise his voice and immediately my sister yelled back and told him to get the hell out. She told him not to stress me out about a mess he created. He left immediately. I'm not changing my baby's name but I feel like this is tearing the family apart. What should I do? Small edit. Annabelle isn't her real name. Her real name only has three letters so a nickname based off her name wouldn't be possible.

And a lot of you suggested to change her first name to her middle name, but her middle name is my mom's name, and I don't want to change that. Additional info, oop on changing her baby's name for her parents' sakes and it shouldn't be a problem, oop, it really is though. My husband's mom has him at a really young age so his grandma raised him. She recently passed away, so this our way to honor her. And this is a baby we've been trying for so for the past six months we've been calling her Annabelle. In this case my husband's feelings matter more than my mother's because this is his child too. My husband and I talked about it and as much as this hurts my mom, his grandma was superwoman. I can't hurt my husband because my dad hurt my mom. My dad needs to fix it not

me didn't up know about the affair? So she could have give her daughter a different name-oop. I didn't know until four days later. Paperwork is already filed and now it will cost to change the name-oop should change names to avoid the trauma for all-involved Oop. This might sound selfish, but why does a bad situation take precedence over a good situation? I get my mom is hurt. But what about my husband's grandmother who's sacrificed years, money and time for a child that wasn't hers. I think the good outweighs the bad in this situation. It's my husband's child too. His grandma is just as important as my mom in the situation. Hasup talked with her mother about the associated name? Oop, not about this. I just found this out this morning. But for the past few

days it's been just quick three-minute conversations. I knew something was bothering her. I just didn't know what it was until today. Update 1. September 26. 27, 24. So my sister went over to my aunt's house to talk to my mom about what happened. My mom then came to my house to talk. She broke down saying how sorry she is for being distant and that it was wrong not to communicate with us about what was happening. She said while the name did shock her at first, she knew how much Annabel meant to my husband and that she'll never do anything to discredit the work she put into raising him. I asked why she didn't tell us about the affair. She said because she knew that.

that she was mentally too weak to leave and the last thing she wanted was to show us it's okay to stay with a man who cheated on you. I asked if she planned on leaving dad, and she said she doesn't know. She admitted that she never got over the affair and is mad at herself for ruining the moment her granddaughter was born. I told her, is there a nickname that she wants to call hay by and she said no and that she wants to honor the memory of Annabelle's great-grandmother? We hugged it out and talked. So I think everything is okay. Comments where Op has replied, why can't Oop reject her husband's name choice for their daughter? She has the rights to decide on the name Oop.

How am I selfish if my husband wanted to honor his grandmother? My husband's grandmother is essentially his mother. It's not from his mouth. Although he didn't want to change it, he was telling it was probably for the best. My husband does not control me or control how I think commenter. Yeah, this is not fixed. She's saying things, but not feeling them yet. And it's going to seriously hit the fan if she winds up divorced,

or your sister starts harping on her to divorce, because she will 100% associate your kid with her life falling apart. Oop, I get this is a possibility, but I'm pretty sure no one will blame my child. My father will 100% be responsible. Even my aunt told her that the baby is innocent, and that nobody is to blame but my dad. My mom looks up to my aunt and usually listens to her advice.

I'm pretty sure my aunt was pushing for her to start a divorce, so it's most likely going to happen. Oop on how she will explain to her daughter about her name when she's older. Oop, they will hear the story about the women who stepped up to take care of her father because his mother was on drugs. They will hear the story about how she saved her grandson from suicide. They will hear the story about how she worked two jobs to save up for his college fund. She will hear the story about how her great-grandmother had to make multiple sacrifices to make it to every football and baseball game. I think that trumps my dad's a fair partner oop going L.C. with her father-oop. The thing is I've never seen my dad act like that.

So I'm going to go no contact until Annabelle is older and I'm heading from the birth. Then I'll see where he's at and if he still blames me then I'm going NC permanently update too. So I'm actually going to separate myself from my mom and my dad. My mom said she was going to get couples counseling as well as therapy for herself I thought that was good. I guess my dad reads somewhere that it's best to completely be honest about the situation if he wants to move on. My dad is a science teacher at a high school. So Annabelle wasn't actually a co-worker but a student. He taught her as a freshman and had her in his AP class as a senior.

She graduated at 17 and they added each other on Facebook and things went from there, I guess. I asked my mom if she knew Annabelle was a student and not a co-worker. She broke down and admitted that she did. I asked her how can she be with someone like that? She didn't answer me. My sister was disgusted by him and cursed him out, calling him a child lover. She said she would never talk to him again. I agreed with her and told my mom that I can't allow my kids around her if she thought that my dad's behavior was okay. My dad said that Annabelle was an adult and that it was a mistake what happened between them. My mom even said it was a mistake to be open about the situation if it was only going to make things worse. My sister moved in with me which I don't mind because

the house is plenty of room. My dad and mom have been blowing up our phones. But I can't talk to either of them right now. I hope you enjoy this story. Mom invites husband's former partner to all family gatherings to demonstrate that he made an incorrect choice. The situation escalates when husband reaches a breaking point at mom's birthday celebration and decides to exclude her from our lives. For context, I, 28F, have been married to my husband Sean, 28M, for two years. Sean and I dated for two years before that, but we've known each other for several years since high school. We didn't start dating until a couple of years after college ended. I met him at a restaurant out of the blue, we exchanged numbers, went out on a few dates and

that's how we got here, almost four years later. Before me, Sean was dating another girl from high school Diane. She was a grade below us and had been with Sean since middle school. He and I weren't exactly close but we had a lot of common friends back in school so I saw a lot of him and Diane together. After we graduated high school, I lost touch with him because he went to college in a different state and we didn't see much of each other during that time. When we finally did meet at that restaurant several years later, I ended up asking him about Diane and he told me that they'd

broken up a year and a half ago. She'd been the one to dump him because she wanted different things from life and wanted a break to explore the world, but she'd come back to him someday, which just meant that she wanted to be single for a while and see other men without guilt but wanted to keep Sean around as well as a backup option. So he stayed friends with her after the breakup, but minimized contact with her. By the time he met me, he'd moved on almost entirely from Diane and I had also started seeing him in a new light because he'd grown a lot since I last met him in high school. Sean and I became friends very quickly and easily when we met four years ago and we still share the same easy and laid-back relationship even now. He says that that's something

he never had with Diane and she'd always tried to make him chase after her because she believed it made her more attractive. She'd flirt with other guys sometimes, go out with her friends all the time without bothering to speak to him for days, and would never bother to check up on how Sean felt about her behavior. He stayed with her because he was young and stupid and also because he thought that he needed to make that relationship work only because they had been together for so long. Another reason was his mother, who was a huge fan of Diane. Diane had met my mother-in-law Sharon, 49F, many times while they'd been together and whenever Diane would visit, Sharon would praise her and act like a totally different person. And if I go by what Sean tells me, Diane used to do

the same for Sharon as well, praising her incessantly and acting like a whole other person to impress her. They'd gossip and talk about other people, mostly Sean's other female friends which he didn't like, and sometimes even Sean's aunts and cousins. Diane is also kind of conventionally beautiful which meant that Sharon liked her even more. I don't understand why that's a thing, but it is what it is. Sean had told me that even after their breakup, Sharon had continued to invite Diane to family events and holiday dinners. He tried to talk to his mother and get her to stop inviting her,

but she claimed that she really liked her and even though they'd broken up, she and Diane were still friends so she saw nothing wrong with having her over. They talked almost every other week and were actually good friends so that continued even after I started dating Sean and he introduced me to his family. I'd felt very weird about it in the beginning and I still do but there's a reason I'd been putting up with it for so long. The first time Sean brought me home to meet his family was for Christmas, four years ago. We'd been dating for quite some time then, almost eight months. Diane was also present there and she was downright horrible to me the entire time.

She was picking on my looks, my height, my outfit, my makeup, and whatnot. She was clever enough to make it all sound very humorous like she was just joking, but Sean knew what she was trying to do and tried to stand up for me, but Sharon shut it down and directly asked me if I had a problem with Diane's jokes, putting me on the spot. I knew that if I said that I wasn't okay with it, they'd make it seem like I was insecure or something and put me down even more, so I decided to put on a strong front and said I don't care instead.

It was petty of me but as soon as I said it, I saw them look surprised and irritated so I knew that I'd done the right thing. Once Sean and I came back home, he apologized to me for the way Sharon and Diane had behaved and told me that he'd make sure his mom didn't invite Diane anymore, but I'm the one who told him not to do that. I knew the kind of women they were and I didn't want to lose to them, if you know what I mean. I didn't want them to believe that they'd intimidated me or made me feel insecure because they hadn't and I felt like I had to prove it, so I explained it to Sean as well. He was surprised by my opinion on this but he didn't interfere anymore after that day and so far, every single family gathering that Sharon has hosted, Diane has been there and every time they behaved the same way with me.

Snide remarks, backhanded compliments, or constant tries to bring up Diane's past with Sean even when there's no need to, just to make it awkward for me. I've faced it all with a brave face and have tried to remain as unfazed as I can. has even mentioned several times that Diane was the daughter-in-law she would have preferred and would have been the better fit for Sean as a wife indirectly. It was annoying but I tried to remain unfazed because as long as Sean was by my side, I didn't really care what they said. So Sharon and Diane could yap on forever and it wouldn't make a difference to me. That's how I've been dealing with this for the last four years and I plan on having the same attitude for the next

four years, too. I wasn't going to be the first one to snap and that was for sure. Now coming to what actually happened and the incident that brought me here. So three days back, Sharon celebrated her 49th birthday, and every year, she celebrates it with all her family and friends. This year, Sean didn't want to go and instead, wanted to go to his co-worker's engagement party instead, which happened to be on the same day. He had valid reasons because his coworker would only get engaged once and he was really close with him, too. But Sharon forced him to promise that he'd attend her birthday party instead and

wore him down after some days so we decided to go to that party instead. Like every other event, Diane was invited too and she dressed up to the nines for some reason. Even Sharon was overdressed but at least it was her birthday that we were there to celebrate. Sean and I had decided that we were going to leave after Sharon cut the cake and then go to the engagement party. So at around 530 in the evening, my father-in-law brought out the cakes and we were surprised to see two cakes because one of them said happy almost anniversary. Sean and I didn't know what the other cake signified and neither did anyone else so we waited for the birthday girl to explain instead.

Instead, it was Diane who took over the reins and to our surprise, grabbed Sean by the arm and brought him to stand by her side. We were both too shocked to do anything because he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight and everyone was looking at him. Then Diane began to talk and explain that almost 10 years ago, on Sharon's birthday, Sean had gone down on one knee and given her a promise ring because they were both 18 at the time and were about to go off to different colleges within a few months. It had been 10 years since that day and she was still sporting that ring on her finger which she even proudly showed off to everyone present there. She then proceeded to give Sean an awkward

hug that he didn't return and Sharon cheered them on while talking about how this time, she willingly let them steal her thunder so they could celebrate what could have been. The whole thing was so incredibly ridiculous that Sean and I just stood there silently with our mouths wide open, much like all the other guests. For a good few minutes, none of us said anything because we didn't know what could possibly be said in response to something this crazy. Diane continued to babble unjokingly about how Sean was her almost husband and Sharon was her almost mother-in-law, so this was their almost anniversary, as if we didn't understand what the joke was and Sharon cut the so-called anniversary cake to feed it to Sean. She first fed it to

Diane and then, she tried to feed it to Sean, but I guess he returned to his senses and backed away from his mother when she brought the slice of cake near his mouth. She looked surprised when he did that and asked him, what's wrong? When she asked that question, that's when all hell broke loose and Sean started shouting at her and Diane about what they'd done. He tore into the them and finally let years and years of anger out at the party. He called them both shallow, stupid, and self-involved to the point of being delusional and said that he was ashamed that he'd even been involved with Diane and was actually related by blood to Sharon because both of them were the trashiest women he'd ever had the misfortune to ever meet. I'll admit, even I was kind of

taken aback by that outburst because Sean was usually a very chill guy and rarely ever yelled or got angry at people. It took a lot to push him to the edge and Sharon had finally done it. with the help of Diane, of course. After Sean was done yelling at them, he stormed out of the party with me and we took a cab to his co-worker's house instead. I tried to talk to him on the cab ride there, but he looked visibly upset and said that he didn't want to talk about his mother and his ex at the moment, so I dropped it then. Once we reached the other party, his mood seemed to improve as he met his friends and other co-workers and I was relieved that he was looking better.

That day, by the time we came back home, he was in a considerably better mood. and I decided to bring up what happened at the party again because I thought he'd want to talk about it then. He did not, and instead, I ended up getting an earful about how some of this was kind of my fault as well. When I brought up the incident at the party, he told me that he did agree that Sharon and Diane had tried to humiliate me with the cake, but I wasn't all innocent here either. I'd been the one whom, for years now, had forced him to stay quiet and allowed Sharon and Diane to behave however they pleased at these events because I felt like I had to prove to them that I didn't care. I'd made it all about myself and my need to show people how nonchalant I was, but I'd totally forgotten that Sean was just as involved here as I was,

and this was getting on his nerves, too. Sharon, Diane, and I were the ones battling it out with our mind games, but he was the one suffering and nobody bothered to check on him and how he felt about any of this. He didn't expect it from his mother or his ex, but he did expect it from me and said that I'd kind of let him down by putting my own feelings above his regarding the situation. That night, I argued with him and told him that he was being way too harsh and unfair to me,

but now that I look back on it with a cooler head, I do think he had a point. I'd offer forcing my husband to stay quiet for years while his mother invited his ex to family events to put me down? Update 1, okay, so I apologize to Sean this evening. I read the comments. I did a lot of introspection and I talked to a couple of my friends about this too, came to the conclusion that I was in the wrong here and whatever he'd said that day was true. I had been putting my feelings above his own and was so busy acting like Diane and Sharon's

behavior didn't bother me that I didn't even stop to think that maybe it bothered Sean so for his sake. I should at least let him put an end to this if he wants to. I made him put his own feelings aside for years so that I could win some sick mind game with people who I didn't even like and in doing so, I jeopardized the one relationship that matters the most to me. I screwed up badly so I knew I had to compensate for it. Sean had been giving me the cold shoulder since the day of the party and I also had been trying to act like it didn't affect me. It's a thing that I've always had and it's been a problem forever because my response is to just always pretend that things don't bother me even when they do.

I want to be perceived as nonchalant and unfazed by anything so I act like that and bottle up my feelings which I now realize is a really unhealthy coping mechanism and I definitely need to work on this if I want my marriage to work. work. But today, I skipped work and decided to go get him dinner from his favorite place instead along with a chocolate cake that said I'm sorry on it. I came home, set it all up, and made it as romantic as I could because I know he's a sucker for sappy rom-com apologies. Also, because I was just very sorry about everything I'd put him through unwittingly. He came back home in the evening after work and was very surprised to see what I'd arranged for him and he'd forgiven me within 15 minutes of his arrival. We had a teary reconciliation and I ended up crying because I was so scared that I'd lose him over this when he wasn't speaking to me. We talk things out and everything is better between

us now since I acknowledged my screw-up. I explained to him my constant need to be perceived as someone who's chill and laid back, someone who's nonchalant basically, for no reason other than it looks cool and I don't want to be vulnerable around people. That's the real reason behind this entire mess and he understood and respected the way I acknowledged it and said that I'd work on it instead of just pushing it all down and bottling my feelings up. He also apologized for being rude to me, but I don't think he needed to do that. He did that because he's a good man and because he loves me which really makes me think that I won in life. After we were done with dinner, we finally spoke about and addressed what had happened the other day with Diane and Sharon. I hadn't heard

from either of them after the party and after my fight with Sean, it had all been driven out of my mind anyway. However, Sharon had constantly been texting him to make him apologize to Diane, who was allegedly inconsolable and overcome with grief because of the way Sean had behaved with her. I had to try really hard not to roll my eyes when I was reading the text that Sharon had been sending my husband to guilt-trip him into apologizing to that woman. Sharon was trying to make it seem like the cake and the whole almost anniversary gag was just that.

A joke and there was nothing that they were implying with it, but I called BS on it. This is a married guy that we're talking about here and surely they'd have enough brains to realize how inappropriate and disrespectful this was to me. They went ahead with it because they wanted to humiliate me at the party so they couldn't just write our feelings off saying it's just a joke and that Sean had taken things too far. The audacity to even suggest that Sean and I had taken it too far and had disrespected them with that outburst and then our walkout was just laughable. Sean had been ignoring her texts anyway and today, after I saw those texts, we officially

decided to go no contact with her. We'd had enough of her nonsense and wanted no part of this anymore. Update 2. Three days ago, Sean and I blocked Sharon and Diane on all our social media and he told his dad that he didn't want to speak to his mother anymore. His dad respected that because he understands Sean's feelings but he also refuses to interfere now since he also loves his wife and knows that he can't leave her. So he's staying out of this completely like he has for the past couple of years. I'm not on board with my father-in-law's behavior, but I can't help it either. Everything was going well for the past two days, but today, Sean suddenly called me out of the blue and said that he had to head to the hospital ASAP because apparently his mother had

fallen from the top of the stairs and had fractured her leg. His maternal uncle had been the one to inform him and he left as soon as he heard, as did I. We reached the hospital that his uncle had mentioned at around the same time, but before we could even enter, Sharon stopped us in our tracks and she was completely fine. She and Diane had ambushed us in the parking area of the hospital and told us that this was the only way to get Sean's attention because he'd blocked them everywhere. My showing up was something they hadn't accounted for, but they just ignored me and went on talking with Sean completely normally as if they hadn't done anything wrong. Diane tried to explain to him that whatever she'd done at the party had been a

prank and she didn't intend to offend him while Sharon backed her up. Sean heard them out for a while, then told his mom an ex to F off right to their shocked faces and walked away once more with me. When we tried to get into our respective cars, Sharon started screaming at us, but we didn't wait around to hear her out. I'm sure she was cursing us out, but it didn't matter because she'd lied her way into seeing Sean again and I couldn't imagine anything more manipulative than that. Sean went back home from the hospital because he was too stressed, but I had to go back to work. While I was at work, I received a text from a number I didn't recognize, and it happened to be Sean's mother. She screamed at me for 15 whole seconds

before I managed to disconnect the call. I'd just been caught off guard while working or else I wouldn't even have answered the call, but she was screaming at me. All I heard was selective swear words at the highest volume. I don't know why she was mad at me because I didn't have anything to do with Sean's behavior. She'd pushed her own son to this extent, not me. Anyway, I blocked her and tried to get on with my day and finally, when I got back home around six, I got to speak to Sean. He told me that he'd also blocked the rest of his relatives who were close to his mother along with his uncle because now it was clear that she'd go to any lengths to get him to forgive them and talk. That's all we can do right now because it's not like they're threatening us in any way and

neither are they consistently stalking us or whatever, so a restraining order is out of the question anyway. Sean has talked to his dad and told him about what happened today, but he still refuses to intervene. It's his choice and Sean loves his dad, so I'm not saying anything right now, but I don't think the way my father-in-law is acting is a great example of being a good father either. The least he can do is at least talk to his wife and stand up for his son, but he refuses to do even that much. Sean loves his father, but the man has never once stood up for him when it comes to Sharon and I've only kept my mouth shut out of respect for their relationship. Or else I'd have a lot to say about how his entire family is just ridiculously stupid people who literally never

think of anything except themselves. How a man like Sean is a part of a family like this, I'll never understand. Update 3. Hey, Everyone. So it's been a week since the last update in yesterday, we decided to file for a restraining order against Sharon and Diane because of something they did to me, or at least tried to do, to be more precise. So I was coming back from work the other day, like three days back, and it was a Thursday that day. On Thursdays, I usually stop at a coffee shop near my office and get myself a frappuccino as a little treat. Last Thursday, I was about to do the same but as soon as I entered the shop Diane and Sharon left their seats where they'd been waiting for me and came right at me with their coffees. Before I could even react, both of them had

splashed me in the face with it. And then Diane even grabbed some of the whipped cream from her cup and dumped it onto my hair. I was stunned and just sort of froze on the spot for a while before the baristas rushed to help me clean up a little. They tried their best and made sure to get it all off so a huge shout out to them for literally abandoning their jobs to help me and even the other customers who waited patiently while I tried to wipe it all off. My clothes were clothes were all sticky and gross and my hair was disgusting but I was a lot cleaner by the time I was done. Some of the other customers made sure I was all right and one asked me if I wanted to call a cop, which I did and reported Diane and Sharon. I pressed charges against them but

they got off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a fine because this was just a misdemeanor and hadn't actually harmed me. Unless you're talking about my clothes from that day which I can't wear to work again because of the faded brown coffee stain all over the front. Nevertheless, we did press charges. And that went on their record so that'll help with the case. Sean wanted to take this public and post about this on social media so that more and more people would know and stay away from Diane and also his mom but changed his mind when he realized that I just wanted to move on from this without any more discussion. Honestly, that incident kind of shook me up and it sounds silly, I know, but it did make me think

that if things were worse than it could have easily been something more than just them throwing coffee at my face. They could have seriously hurt me if they wanted to because they knew my routine for my social media and they knew my address so this could have gone south easily. Sean and I have had a decent financial year so we'd already been considering moving and now, after what happened, we definitely will be moving. We'd also been thinking about having babies and we're going to start trying soon enough but my in-laws won't ever get to meet my kids. We've cut off my father-in-law as well after he refused to intervene even after the coffee incident. Sean got into a big fight with him and then cut him off as well.

I, for one, am relieved that I won't be seeing or hearing from these people ever again now. I hope you enjoy this story. Arrived back home ahead of schedule to delight my partner with presence in honor of her recent employment achievement, only to hear her teasing my physique and intellect to her closest male companion. So I broke up with her and she ruined my entire house in revenge. Hello, everyone. I 33 am and my girlfriend Jenna 28F. We have been together for two years, a little over. I'm a veterinarian and we met at my office. She had just moved to the city and brought her dog in for an ear infection. We started talking and what should have been a 15-minute

appointment turned into an hour-long talking session. I've never been so smitten with a woman before. Before Jenna, I lived the Bachelor lifestyle. I was beginning to think I'd just stay single forever, even though that lifestyle of nothing but casual flings was growing really old and empty. Jenna is a charismatic woman with a lot of friends. Her best friend is a guy, Dylan, she knew in her old town. I trust Jenna, but I'd be bold-faced lying if I said that her relationship with him doesn't bother me at all. I don't get angry with her or fight him. about it. She's reassured me that they've been friends their whole lives and have never had any sexual relationship. I'm secure and I'm not insane, so I accept that they are friends

and have tried to buddy up with him as well. He has visited the city three times. He's a cool guy, however, he does not seem to like me much. Jenna says he's just protective. It comes off a whole lot more like jealousy than protectiveness, in my opinion. Jenna just finished up grad school this spring but she's had a really tough time finding a job. We have lived together for a year and I've been understanding that she can't help pay rent, etc. right now. I'm very financially secure so it isn't an issue, however, I am careful to not become a reason for her to not get a job and have her own financial independence. I just think it's important for everyone to have this sort of independence.

So, without being pushy, I've let her know that she does need to start paying half of the expenses once she secures a job. Anyway, she texted me at work on Monday to tell me she got a job. It's a job she really, really wanted and had to go through some pretty grueling interviews to get. I was so happy and proud of her that I decided to leave the rest of the day at the office up to my staff and took off early without telling Jenna. I bought her favorite booze, grabbed a bunch of Chinese takeout, her favorite, and bought her flowers. I had bought her a nice necklace that she'd seen at a store a couple of weeks ago. Nothing super extravagant, but it has a shark on it and that woman is just obsessed with anything to do with sharks. I'd hidden it in the basement and figured I'd give it to her soon, totally surprise her with tea once she'd forgotten about even seeing it in the store.

I got home and came in the side entrance to the basement so I could grab the necklace and then surprise her. When I came up the basement steps and opened the door, I could hear her talking on the phone. Normally I wouldn't stop and listen, but I heard her laughing uncontrollably, like belly laughing. It was pretty cute so I figured I'd wait for her to get off the phone before I surprised her. She was talking to Dylan. Nothing new there, they talk at least once a week. Then I heard what they were laughing about. It took me a few dull minutes to realize that she was laughing about our sex life.

She said something about how no, he can't even compare to, XPF. XBF had at least three inches on him. I feel bad every time I eat a baby carrot around him because it must be traumatic to see me chomping down on something the same size as him. It would almost be cute if it didn't suck so much. His body is amazing as long as he keeps his boxers on. Lots of laughter. So look, I don't really give a crap what people on Reddit think about the arm size of my member.

But, I do think it's important to say that what she was making fun of wasn't even true. Which in my opinion, makes it even more hurtful. I mean, I don't know about the XBF, maybe he was a horse, but I'm very average. Just good old-fashioned average. Not going to upsell myself here. It's nothing to write home about. But it's also not laughable. I've never felt self-conscious, it is what it is.

To hear her ripping me apart to this guy that she knows I have some concern about was just beyond hurtful. Hurtful doesn't cover it. She also made fun of me for being gorgeous but not super smart. Um, I'm actually highly educated. This isn't even remotely a concern of mine. I know I'm smart. Gorgeous and super smart with an average-sized penis, thanks very much.

I left after that. Did I throw the flowers out of my car window? Yes. Did I cry in a parking lot? Yes. I think she may have heard the basement door close. Maybe she even saw my car driving away, because she started texting me pretty quickly after I left.

Asking when I was coming home. That was Monday and I haven't brought it up. I don't know how. I think I'm still processing everything. It's horribly embarrassing and hurtful. But... Damn I love this girl. Not saying I'm going to forgive her necessarily,

I just want to stress how hard this whole thing is for me. I know I need to bring it up to her. But how? Any suggestions on how to start this conversation with her? I'm extremely hurt and I don't know if I can forgive her for this. Edit Wow, hey thanks everyone. I just wanted to add that I definitely will be breaking up with Jenna. I grabbed a beer with three of my friends tonight and told them.

Their sentiments matched the majority of yours, dump her and do it quick. I called my mom and told her about it. Yes, I told her everything, embarrassing as it was, we are pretty close and I wanted to tell her the whole story, and I've never heard her so angry about anything. She knew I'd bought a ring for Jenna. I will post an update after I do it, though it may take me a couple of days to post about it. I'm going to be pretty wrecked emotionally. Thanks again for all the comments slash messages of support and encouragement, I really didn't expect everyone to be rooting for me like this. Update. Well, supportive Reddit strangers, I stayed strong and broke up with Jenna Thursday evening.

This has honestly been the most dramatic couple of days of my entire life. I am exhausted. Things got pretty ugly on her part. Sorry that this is so long, a lot happened. At the suggestion of my friends, mother, brother, and many of you, I talked to her in a private but still public place. The thought behind that was that someone who can be so cruel and reveal herself as a liar is potentially capable of trying to turn things around on me and say that she left me because I hurt her or some other nonsense. I'd like to think she wouldn't do something like that, but who knows, especially after everything that has happened.

Better safe than sorry. I thought about just boxing up her stuff and breaking things off with no explanation. But it has been over two years together, I decided the best thing to do. do is to confront her calmly and then hear her out. If she had an explanation, I wanted to hear it, even if it didn't change my decision to break up with her. So I took her to a wine bar in downtown that has those little individual booths with half curtains. She's been sugary sweet since Monday. Which tells me she either A, felt guilty about what a jerk she was, B, thought I might have hurt her, or C, she just knew I'd been acting distant and was totally clueless as to

why. So she dressed up really nice and despite everything that has happened, I can admit that she looked stunning. She was also very affectionate and kept making a lot of sexy comments about all the things she wanted to do to me later. Normally, my precious little baby carrot would have been thrilled by this, but given the circumstances, it was difficult to hear and act normal. I had rehearsed what I was going to say to her over and over so as soon as we sat down and got our wine, I started. I can't remember word for word, my adrenaline was kicked in pretty high gear so it feels fuzzy. I basically started by saying how much I've loved her, how she's the only woman that I've ever felt connected to so profoundly that I opened myself up to her completely and trusted

her. I told her that she's the only woman I've ever thought about marrying, that I've gone ring shopping for, I left out the part about how I already bought a ring, and that I've actually imagined having children within the next few years. She kept interrupting me to say, ah, or to tell me how much she loves me, too. Then I looked her in the eye and asked her point blank why, if she loved me so much, she horrendously made fun of me to Dylan. I have to say, the look on her face was a bit satisfying. As expected, she denied at first and acted like she had no idea what I was talking about.

She said Dylan knows how much she loves me and that she's never made fun. of me to him. I kind of just looked at her and said something like, come on, Jenna. But she still denied even after I told her that I'd come home early on Monday and had hurt her. It was pretty frustrating, but I kept my cool. I just told her that she and I both know she's lying and that the things she said were unforgivable and that I couldn't wrap my mind around why she would say things like that to anyone, let alone Dylan, especially because she was lying just to be able to rag on me. Still denied and acted like I was crazy, she said she loves me so much that she's not dissatisfied with our sex life and would never say she was or complain about my size, and that she knows how

smart and sweet I am, that's why she loves me. If I hadn't heard what she said to Dylan myself, I would have believed her. She deserves an Oscar for that performance. Some commenters asked if I was sure she was talking about me when I overheard her. When she was talking about her ex-be-es, and his cracken of a dick, she said my name when she was making the comparison. I'm definitely sure that she was talking about me and that she was lying to my face about it. I told her that I would drive us home and she could grab the essentials she needed and her dog. My brother and his girlfriend would be at the house, too. I wanted to make sure there were other people there just to have witnesses that I let her get

her stuff and didn't do anything aggressive or destructive. I told her I'd pack the rest of her stuff up and leave it out for. for her to get whenever she could. She was in total disbelief that I was actually breaking up with her. She pleaded with me but my mind was slashes made up and I wasn't budging. It was hard not to cry in front of her though when she kept saying how much she wanted to be with me forever and that she had planned to be the mother of my children someday. I own my house and since Jenna hasn't helped with expenses by paying any rent or utilities, I wasn't too concerned about, putting it bluntly, kicking her out. She kept asking me what she was supposed to do and

where was she supposed to sleep. I told her it wasn't really my problem anymore and that she has plenty of friends she can stay with until she gets her own place. Basically all of the furniture and decor is mine, she just has clothes slash toiletry slash etc. To get out. All of the redecorating she did to my house was done on my dime. Then came the waterworks. She started crying and saying that she didn't understand how I could do this to her. She said she thought I was a nice guy about a million times. I told her I am a nice guy, which is why I didn't just throw her stuff on the front lawn, change the locks, and give her no explanation.

Then, I swear to you, this woman dug the knife in even deeper. She said she didn't know why she said those things to Dylan, she finally acknowledged it, and that maybe it's because Dylan brings out the best in her and she's able to laugh about things that would normally make her cry. I guess like my penis. I told her that it's really sad to me if what I heard was her at her best. It was petty and usually I'm above making snide comments, but I told her that she can go back to her hometown and go live with Dylan or her nine-inch dick ex-boyfriend. It was amazing to watch how fast those tears disappeared. Apparently I am an asshole, I don't know how to treat women, I'm a loser, my penis is tiny, I'm going to be alone forever, she never really

loved me and I was more like a friend but she didn't want to hurt me so she stayed with me, makes a lot of sense. She would have said no if I proposed, again, I am a loser and an asshole, and in case I didn't get it the first time. She meant it when she said my penis was a baby carrot. Oh, and I will die alone. I told her dying alone is preferred to dying married to a woman who is cruel and doesn't love or respect me. No joke, she started to scream. Not words, just a long, extremely loud scream. It was alarming and then she just booked it out of there

after calling me a disgusting pig. After paying the bill and apologizing to the waiter about the drama, I left and Jenna was just standing outside crying. I know what she did was horrible and all the things she said just a few minutes earlier were horrible, but I still didn't like seeing her like, that and didn't want to just leave her on the sidewalk. I'm in New England, it's already pretty cold here. So I told her to let me give her a ride back to the house so she could get her

stuff but that she needed to leave and go stay somewhere else as soon as she packed a bag. She agreed and we didn't talk at all in the car. Talk about an awkward ride. My brother and his wife were at the house when we got there. His wife stayed inside while Jenna got some stuff together and my brother waited outside with me. That went by pretty uneventfully and she had a girlfriend come pick her up. I got my key back from her before she left. She texted me throughout the night and the texts ranged from sorry to sad to angry to really angry and back again. I didn't answer any of them and only texted her yesterday morning to tell her that her stuff was on the porch and that she should come pick it up while I'm at work. I didn't hear from her all day until it was

almost time for me to go home. Pretty nasty text wishing me about every ill you can wish a person. I didn't answer. Well, I came home to a disaster zone. She smashed everything. I don't know if she had made a spare key at some point that I was unaware of or if she knows how to pick locks, but she got into the house somehow and she destroyed it. She smashed stuff that's irreplaceable, She ripped up the furniture, she clogged two sinks and left the water running, she left my refrigerator open and threw food all over the kitchen. It was wrecked. The only considerate thing she did was lock my two dogs up in a bedroom, I guess so they didn't cut themselves on glass or eat the food. I have two vehicles, one for everyday use and then an SUV for work. I use the SUV for when I make

house calls and may have to bring a large or exotic animal into the vehicle to transport it to the clinic. In the middle of all the drama, I'd forgotten I'd given her a key to the SUV in case she ever had an emergency and needed to drive somewhere. I went out to check the car and she trashed the inside of it too. She dumped flour all over the inside in addition to tomato soup. The stuff is just stuff, I suppose. It's more the fact that she could do something so childish and on top of everything else. It blows my mind. Last weekend I took her to a play, went out with her and friends, we played Monopoly one night and made up our own drinking game with it, we hung out and watched Netflix, made love several times. And this weekend my house and vehicle are destroyed and so am I,

amazing how fast things change. Not my finest moment, but I was so pissed off that I got right on to Costco's instant delivery and ordered 25 pounds bags of baby carrots and had them shipped to her friend's place, addressed to Jenna. 100 pounds of baby carrots. They deliver within an hour. I got a slew of interesting and insulting texts from her that evening. Yes, it was petty, but the only regret I have about it is that it was a waste of food. Hopefully she donates them or cooks some of them or something.

So, that's that. I blocked her last night after the nasty texts from her just kept coming. I'm feeling pretty beaten down right now and I've cried more than I have in a long time. It's obvious that I made the right choice. Jenna is clearly not emotionally stable or mature. She really is cruel and I know I do deserve better. I have spent a lot of time since Monday thinking about myself as a partner and trying to figure out what could have led to her obviously having some resentment or something for me.

I'm going to be 100% honest here. I work a lot. I try to still make time for the people I love and I try not to bring work home with me when I've had a bad day. But sometimes I do. I know this. Jenna and I have thought about it before and I have really tried to pace my days a certain way so that I can get home at a reasonable time and I've tried to leave bad days at work as much as I can. However, anyone who is a vet or has worked with one knows we're always on call for a

emergencies. Sometimes we have patience that we have to check on or stay with throughout the night. Time off can be challenging. It's doable, but it's challenging. My staff is incredible and can handle most situations, but I do still get a lot of calls or texts from them when I'm on vacation or off for the day. I'm sure there have been times when Jenna felt second best to my job. Well, I guess I know there have been, she's told me as much in the past. I did try to make changes but there's only so much I can do. As far as I can remember, I've never been purposely mean to Jenna. I've had bad days and been grumpy or absent.

We've had our share of disagreements and fights but nothing unhealthy or excessive. I really thought we had a solid relationship and that we were both happy. I know I was. It's hard to not question myself and wonder if I really am a let down or if I neglected her to the point that she felt unloved enough to act the way she did. I don't know, but I do know that no matter what, the way she put me down and the way she reacted to breaking up was way, way out of line. I didn't deserve that and that's on her. So thank you for rooting for me, Reddit. It's been great to read all the nice words and advice.

Time for me and my baby carrot to eventually find a woman who appreciates us for what we are. Edit, I did file a police report and took pictures, which will hopefully help with recouping some of the money lost through insurance. As far as the police report, it's very doubtful anything will come of it since I can't prove it was her. Same goes for trying to sue her in small claims court. And honestly, I'd rather not deal with her anymore. I'm going to hope that insurance will cover the damages and just move on with my life.

I hope you enjoy this story. My daughter is upset that I suggested she reconcile with her step-sibling after the betrayal with her partner, but she has decided to sever connections. Now that my daughter is expecting a child, I feel hurt by the exclusion. I am a newcomer. On Reddit. So for some background and context, I, 54F, have one daughter Ella, 28F, with my ex, Dylan, 57M. Dylan and I amicably divorced when Ella was only four years old.

A few years later I married my now husband Jack, 55M. He was a single dad of two kids, Jason, 25M, and Sophie, 27F. Jack and I also have a daughter, Bella, 17F. This is about Sophie and Ella. I always thought since they were closer in age they would get along really well. And I was right. They were like best friends and we were really happy in our blended family. When Ella was in college, she met this guy Brian, 30M, at a cafe where she worked.

They started dating. I was happy for Ella. Brian proposed to Ella in front of our whole family and it was very romantic. Everything was fine until one day Ella came to our house screaming at Sophie. She claimed that Sophie had been sleeping with Brian. I told her she must be joking. Sophie would never do that to her. There was a lot of screaming until Sophie finally said that she and Brian are in love.

This caused more commotion. We did have an extremely hard conversation with Sophie. She showed her remorse and was very guilty. We tried to talk to Ella. That Sophie was sad and maybe she should forgive her. But Ella was having none of it. She went on to more screaming and bashing all of us that we are abandoning her and picking Sophie. That is not the case.

I tried to make it as peaceful as possible but Ella didn't want that. When Ella and Brian broke up, he started dating Sophie. They got engaged within a year. Sophie wanted Ella to be her bridesmaid. But Ella just said, over my dead body. I thought it was really cruel of her to say that and she is being petty by holding on to the past anger. Needless to say, she didn't come to the wedding. Rather she left the city to live with her father.

She didn't contact us much except for Bella. I thought she might need some time to cool off. But I was hurt that she kept us out of her life. We only got some insights from Bella and Jason. She only sends me cards on my birthday but hardly ever speaks to me. I think it was unfair. Anyway, one day she came to our place. Sophie and Brian were also there.

She gave us an invitation card to her wedding with someone named Ray. I don't know much about him. She didn't even include us in the wedding party. Plus the venue was a four-hour drive. And the hotels in that area are expensive. We did agree to go, but at the last moment Jack got sick and I had to cancel it. When I told her the reason I cannot come to her wedding, she told me to not bother. She made the right choice by not including me in her wedding.

She knew I was a bad mom it really bothered me. I always wanted to be by her side. But the place and time she was getting married it were not compatible for us. That was two years ago. She never contacted us again. Then, a few weeks ago, my daughter Bella showed me a post in Instagram that Ella was pregnant. She posed with her stepmother with a caption like she will be a good grandmother.

I was furious. How can she forget her? whole family here. So, I called her from Bella's phone and wanted an explanation. She replied that since I never bothered to be at her wedding, I don't deserve to be in her kid's life. She said it is not just her wedding. She claims I have never been supportive of her, that I do not care about her. She went on to blabbing that she never felt like she had my support. Even when she got cheated on and I choose my stepdaughter over her. I told her it was not fair for. her to hold that against me because it was six years ago. She has moved on and Sophie has

moved on as well. She is being petty by holding on to something that happened years ago. So, did I do anything wrong? Relevant comments where Reddit absolutely tore the op-up. Zest I closed Sky in 1921. Yes, you did everything wrong but at least you're consistent. But I don't think you need to worry about Ella because there's nothing you can do or are willing to do to fix your relationship with her. So focus on your lovely stepdaughter and stepson because that's your family now. Just in case you are wondering, though, I have a scenario for you. If it had been reversed and it was Ella who lied and slept with Sophie's boyfriend, let's call him Brian, but she was very sad. Would you have told Sophie to suck it up and forgive her? And would she have?

Not sure that's even valid since someone who sleeps with her sister's boyfriend and lies about it is capable of feeling hurt or betrayal, but it's how you view and value each of them here that I'm wondering. Ice Queen 98547. Get a fucking grip lady. You have lost your daughter due to your own chain of actions slash inactions. Unless you do some seriously genuine holy fuck I made a bunch of shitty decisions and good God I'm sorry actions slash words. You will never have a chance at redemption. Your stepdaughter is in the wrong. You are in the wrong. Either listen to the comments and make a change or live with the consequences of your selfish behavior. For hours is not that far to drive to save a relationship. Geez fuck, you suck.

D.V. Kuno. You are the A-ho big time. At every turn, you put Ella down. You don't get to decide that Ella should forgive Sophie and Brian. You don't get to decide to not go to Ella's wedding and still expect things to be okay. You don't get to expect a relationship with Ella's child or any future children she has when all you've ever done is tear her down. Ella had an entire future planned out at one point and it all blew up in her face because her ex and step-sister betrayed her. And you couldn't even find it in yourself to comfort her then, just expected her to forgive Sophie so you could continue playing happy family. If I was Ella, I also would have gone NC with you. More info, I didn't forgive Sophie at all. We did tell her that what she did was wrong.

She was begging Ella for her forgiveness. And also, Sophie is my stepdaughter. Did you all really think it would be wise to abandon her just for one mistake? And I know Ella was hurt. I acknowledge that, but I didn't take Sophie's side. I just wanted both of my daughters to have a common ground. What I am trying to say is isn't it time for her to move on. She cannot hold a grudge against us her entire life. Sophie is happy with Brian and I am sure Ella is happy with Ray. It worked out for her. So why is it fair for her to hold a grudge against us?

Also, I didn't abandon Ella. She willingly distanced herself from us. She cut off contact with us. And no, I did not choose my stepdaughter over her. I love both of them equally. If I was in Ella's place I would have at least attended Sophie's wedding and not leave the town without any short notice. I tried my best.

But she was the one who was still cold towards me. And I was devastated because I couldn't go to her wedding. Jack was sick. He couldn't walk properly because he became weak. I would have gone if I could. I sent a gift and told her we will make it up to her. It's not like I intentionally didn't go. Edit, look, I did not abandon Ella.

I tried to be there for her. When she and Brian broke up, I went to her place to support her almost every day. I just think it is silly to hold on to something that happened years ago. I get that she didn't want to be a bridesmaid, but she could have attended the wedding. I never pressured her. Yes, I was disappointed, but if she politely declined, I would have never thought it was cruel. and I tried my best to attend her wedding. We booked the hotel too.

But Jack got really sick. We did apologize and promise to make it up to her in some ways. But she rejected it. Now in the update Ella's half-sister made a post equals hi guys, this is Bella 17F. The half-sister of Ella. So basically I am writing this update to clear things out. You see, this whole argument with Ella being pre-gues. happened two months ago. There have been fights and crying on my mom's part. I tried my best to

explain to her that what she did was over the line and she cannot expect Ella to be okay with it after she, my mom, hurt her. My mom still insists Ella is being unfair. She thinks every other person would agree with her LOL. So I gave her just that. I've been on Reddit for about three years. I have seen how people tear apart people like my mom. So I told her that she should post it anonymously on Reddit about it. I did help her in the steps to make sure she includes everything, but she still left out some parts. I challenged her that nobody thinks she is right after the shit she pulled. It was hilarious to see my mom reacting to the comments.

She genuinely thought people would be on her side, ha-ha. She read the comments for three hours. You guys even pinned her and those were the cherry on top. Seeing how people actually see her, she literally cried her eyes out. She is still in denial and keeps saying they don't know anything. Well, she had a breakdown of how cruel some comments and PMs are. My dad came home and saw Mom crying and scolded me for airing out our dirty laundry. My mom demanded that I delete the post.

Instead, I deleted the Reddit app from her phone. But now I am writing this for you guys. I must say, Reddit doesn't disson. disappoint. I have been reading all the comments. They are entertaining. My mom refuses to look at them. She is a lost cause. But I am here to clear things out a bit. I am the observer of my family. So, I have observed a lot of things. First of all, my mom didn't cheat with my dad as far as I know since some of you were suggesting. The divorce with Ella's dad was amicable, but that's what I heard. My mom has this weird obsession with having twins.

She always wanted twin girls. But that never happened. Since Sophie and Ella are almost the same age, my mom pretended that they are twins. I think she created this whole fantasy in her mind that Ella and Sophie will do everything together and have a matching life. Though Ella and Sophie never had bad blood, they were far from being twins. They are like normal people. my mom still wanted the twin lifestyle for them. Also, just like you guys pointed out,

Mom is the type of person who his family comes first. She wanted Ella to forgive everything and be okay with Brian and Sophie so that she, my mom, can show it off to people that in our family we always forgive and forget no matter how shitty the other person is. And Ella was ruining that Disney musical fantasy for my mom. My dad only cared about his bio daughters. Though he was never mean to Ella and always loved her. Blood comes first to him as well. Jason pretty much doesn't give a shit. He and Sophie were not that close. Neither was Ella and him. I am close with Ella. The only reason I showed my mom that Instagram post is so that I can show her what Ella is doing. She always asks me about her life. I thought this would bring some form of accountability on her part.

But no. As you can see I was wrong and I'd take full responsibility for it. Second thing, Mom and Dad did berate Sophie about her affair with Brian. Sophie started the waterworks saying she will do anything to gain forgiveness from Ella. Sophie even said she will cut off all contact with Brian. But Ella was having none of it. I think my parents got manipulated by the fake waterworks of Sophie. That's why they kept pushing for forgiveness from Ella.

And you guys asked what happened to Jack, my dad? Well, he fell down the stairs and hurt his back. I wasn't there because I was a bridesmaid at Ella's wedding. So I spend the whole week there in her town. Sophie and Brian were not invited. Jason was out of town too. But I still think if Mom made an effort she could have easily made it to the wedding. She did try to say sorry and offered to pay for their honeymoon, but I don't think that is enough.

I mean it was her daughter for God's sake. Lastly, my mom lied. Sophie and Brian are not a happy couple, L.O.L. They look like they are on the brink of divorce. My mom still has no idea that brain cheated on Sophie with a stripper at his bachelor party. Sophie forgave him because it was his bachelor party so it doesn't count. I knew that she also cheated on him at her bachelorette party too. I don't have the evidence, but I just know.

Also, a month ago Sophie decided that she would also try for a baby. I am willing to bet that Brian will skip town when that happens or he might not be the father. But we shall see. Finally, I am sorry for dragging you guys into my family drama. I just wanted Mom to see that she is wrong. She even tried to save her ass by replying but you guys gave her a new one. I was a little skeptical about posting here because I know a lot of you guys would think this is fake. and not give proper replies. And sorry if you felt deceived that someone else coerced op to make

a post. So I am being clear once and for all. The first post was made by my mom. This update is being written by me, Bella, the youngest sibling. Extended from Op's comments. The fact that Sophie and Brian's marriage lasted five years is astonishing. But it is now hanging by a thread. if anything Sophie did Ella a favor. I always thought that Guy was a bluff. Also, Ella has blocked my mom, Sophie, Brian, and dad. Her only communication is with me and Jason. So, itk if there will be more drama.

But even if she doesn't talk to Mom, I know she cares for her. I lied to Mom that she also blocked me after the fiasco. And besides, I will be 18 in three months. And I am planning to move out because I am applying to college in a different city. About the rest of the family, while Jason lives in his own world. Just occasional hi and hello. Like I said they are not very close. Ella and I also talked a lot.

I was sad when she left. I was the last person she talked to before she left town. Sophie tried once or twice to reach out but not much. Ray is a little older than Ella. He is 34. But a nice guy emo. Her dad says she picked right this time. I've only met Ray a handful of times.

The way he interacts with Ella says that he truly loves her and cares for her. Now on to the second story. Story 2. Wife of five years wanted to open the relationship for a woman. This is what happened. I've been married to Dee for five years. and we are both in our mid-30s. Last year Dee told me she thinks she is bisexual and would like to explore having a relationship

with a woman. I asked if she wanted to explore as in a hookup or a real relationship to which she replied an actual relationship. She felt she had so much love to share, but my concern was if she had enough time to share and I said I wasn't on board and I thought the subject was closed. About four months ago, Dee brought it up again and said she would be happy with just an FWB arrangement and not an actual relationship. I was still hesitant, but it was a constant topic that kept coming up. I relented under the conditions we do our research, books, podcasts, and see a

couple's counselor before opening up. D. was ecstatic and we dove into several books and found a great therapist, trying to do things right. One of the topics our therapist brought up was why we were opening up and if there was someone either of us had in mind. D. admitted that she had someone, someone she had been talking to who had encouraged her to open our relationship. This was a shock to hear for the first time and our therapist said this was troublesome. After that first session, I confronted Dean asked if she had done more than talked to this friend and she swore that was all they had done. I asked to see her phone and she unlocked it and handed it to me. She had been talking with Kim for about a year but there wasn't anything incriminating and no apparent gap in

the messages, just a two-way crush between them. There was a message from Kim right before this last polybombing episode where Kim said for Dee to initiate sex with me more often to soften me up. What I did find was three dating apps with Dee's profile on her phone. This caused a brief argument about jumping the gun with Dee agreeing to delete the apps until after we were open. Three months go by and we are getting closer to opening and Dee is acting like it's Christmas time. Our last counseling session we went over our agreements and boundaries and we got down to our messy list. Co-workers, relatives, close friends, exes and I wanted to add Kim to the list. Dee blew up especially when our therapist said it was a reasonable request.

Dee wouldn't speak to me on the way home, but when we got there she let me have it. I even showed her in two of the books we had read, where it said opening for a specific person was a bad idea. I basically said it was a line in the sand for me, I would be just as happy remaining monogamous. She got mad and slept in the spare bedroom and would hardly talk to me for two days. Finally, she gave in and agreed to Kim being on the messy list and we were officially open. A couple of days later Dee told me she had a date and it seemed a bit quick to me. While she was in the shower I decided to check her phone but the unlock code had changed, that's two red flags.

Later that day she got on her phone and I saw the unlock code. That night I looked at her phone, the dating apps were still gone and there were messages between her and Kim Trash talking me and planning their date. There were also references to having sex again. Emailed screenshots to my phone. So I felt like a chump and the two of them played me like a fiddle. I stood on it all night and part of the next day, then I called a lawyer and had him start drawing up divorce papers. The lawyer was a peach, not only did he put a rush on it, but they

served D at our house just two hours before her date with Kim. Attached to the divorce papers was a printout of the last texts I read. She found me sitting on the patio, she was crying, but I didn't know if they were fake tears or not. When she asked, I lied and said I knew about it all along. I said it just means we won't be married anymore, you can have the freedom to hook up whenever with whoever you want. Just think of us as FWB. I got up to go have dinner with some friends and told her she needed to hurry and fix her face if she was going to be at Kim's house on time. She got home earlier than I thought she would and wanted to talk, but I went to bed and said we could talk tomorrow. Her eyes were all red and her makeup was all smeared. I still felt gutted,

but I wasn't going to let her see that. Update November 12, 2023. My wife, wife, Dee, Polly bombed me until I agreed to open up. But I said the woman, Kim, who was pushing her to open up our marriage was on our messy list and she finally agreed. Within a week she already had a date with Guess Who, Kim. I felt betrayed and had Dee served with divorce papers the day of her date with Kim. Original Post She got home from her date with Kim earlier than I thought she would and wanted to talk, but I went to bed and said we could talk tomorrow. Her eyes were all red and her makeup was all smeared. The next morning started off on a negative foot. I asked her if Kim was worth throwing the last five years into the gutter. Then I started reading

some of the texts where Kim and she were planning to open our marriage and hook up again, and some of the disparaging remarks about me between them. And so when I found all this out I started planning a divorce since she lied and then broke our agreements, especially about the messy list which I considered cheating. Dee said she was still very much in love with me and didn't want a divorce. She wanted to go back to our marriage counselor and work things out. I told her I couldn't be married to a liar and a cheater, and she was the one who burnt down that pledge and now we just need to move on.

If we could be civil about it, I was open to an FWB or roommate slash with benefits arrangement and we could cohabitate and split the bills 50 to 50. Since we wouldn't be married any longer we would both be free to part ways at any time without any strings attached. She is determined to win my trust back and show me how much she still loves me. Hopefully, our therapist can help us form a new set of rules as roommates and we will see where things go from here. Oop updates a little in the comments. Mini update November 13th, 2023. I hear what all the comments are saying but at this point, I can't legally just kick it.

her out. But I have got our finances separated, all the credit cards cancelled and half of the money has been moved to a separate account. I told Dee she could stay on my insurance till the first of the year. Our regular counseling session is on Tuesday and I have already emailed our therapist with a heads up on our relationship change. I moved all of Dee's things into the spare bedroom. The last couple of days I've been love bombed, Dee wants to pump the breaks now on the open relationship and put the divorce on hold. I let her know that both of those ships have sailed and we would just have to ride them out and see where they take us. But it is unlikely that we would get back to where we were. Last night she got all made up and put on my

favorite outfit. Probably some of the hottest sex we ever had, including her initiating a couple of things that were on her taboo list. And then more this morning when we woke up. I gotta say that my friends have really been there for me these last six months, most of them have been encouraging me to stay steady on the divorce. My sill has told me recently that her sister has had a crush on me for the longest time and wants to set me up with her. Update November 2nd 24th, 2023. Update, Polly bombed an opening up.

Okay, I'm throwing in the towel. After the last two counseling sessions, Dee finally admitted she cheated and lied about her affair with Kim, but still doesn't show any remorse or that she feels like what she did was that wrong. She still tries to blame me for being controlling and dragging my feet on opening up. Our last session I gave her an ultimatum. Back to monogamy, no contact with Kim, no divorce. NM slash Polly, no contact with Kim, proceed with divorce and cohabitate. We split, she can keep Kim, separation and divorce. D thinks we can work out option two and still keep Kim. But I told her I felt like Kim instigated all this and her presence

was a deal breaker for me. I'm still being love bombed at home and pressured to give in to her desired outcome. I have been quietly looking at condos near downtown with the thought of moving out and letting her have the house for the next six months until the lease is up. I told her I wasn't going to Thanksgiving at her families this Friday and was going to my parents Thursday without her. I said tell them whatever you want, but I was telling my family the truth, which upset her. Her sister did text me about if anything was wrong and I told her Dee had an affair with another woman and we were getting a divorce. My hope is to be out before Christmas, if she spends the night or the weekend with Kim I can be out before she realizes it. I hope you enjoy this story.

Child openly criticized me after supporting my former partner in the divorce and severing ties with me. A long time later, she attempted to disrupt my wedding and is currently demanding an apology. I, 45F, got married for a second time a week ago to James, 39M. He and I have been together for the past four years after we met through some common friends and after living together for almost two years, we finally decided to make it official. But my wedding was almost ruined by my daughter and James had to kick her out to prevent her from causing a scene at the wedding. And now everybody is blaming me and accusing me of having failed as a mother because she was really upset at being kicked out. My daughter April 19F wasn't even invited to the

wedding and I know it sounds bad but I had valid reasons for not inviting her. She and I had no contact a couple of years ago because she had taken her dad's side in the divorce and had publicly insulted me. My ex-husband Donald, 47M, and I got divorced six years ago because we just weren't compatible anymore and I was sick of trying to make our marriage work. He and I got married really young when we were in our early 20s and had April shortly after. Things started changing and getting difficult for both of us once we had a daughter because now there were several more expenses that we had to think of and Donald just wasn't taking his job seriously. It felt like he was never going to get promoted and I would have to continue doing everything for him.

He was incompetent at all the household work and I could pretty much say the same thing for anything to do with April. He was just lazy and it was like he wasn't even interested in stepping up and helping me out. I got tired of doing everything on my own and being with him was becoming exhausting for me, but I still pushed myself and tried to make that marriage work for several years. I had fallen out of love with him way before I even filed for divorce, but I was trying to make it work for the sake of our daughter. Unfortunately, even April was becoming like a miniature version of my ex-husband and expected me to constantly run after her and do everything for her. It was really difficult for me to deal with both of them

since I was not only working in the office, but I didn't get a moment to myself even after I came back home and they would make me do even the most basic of tasks for them. And the worst part was that they were never even grateful for any of it and practically treated me like a maid around the house. I just got sick of it one day and I decided to move out without telling anyone and then I filed for divorce. My parents and a couple of my friends were really supportive, so I didn't have to worry about

where I would live or even about finding a lawyer. Donald tried to get me to come back when he was served with the divorce papers and said that he would change, but it was too little and too late for me. So I rejected that and said that I was going through with the divorce and he couldn't change my mind. He tried many times to win me over and get me back, but when, even after almost a week and a half, I still hadn't changed my mind. He changed gears and told me that he was going to make sure that I regretted the divorce.

He hired one of the best divorce attorneys with the help of his father, who was paying for everything, and decided to file for full custody of April and tried his very best to make sure that I didn't get much from the divorce. His lawyer was ruthless and it was a really long and difficult process for me personally. Because they were dragging my name through the mud and I just didn't stand a chance since they had manipulated all the facts and made me seem like an unstable and selfish person. Worst of all, they had portrayed me as a terrible mother and April had actually been part of it. She had made a very public post on social media during the divorce where she claimed that I was a bully and that I constantly kept picking on her.

She said that I made her miserable and she wanted nothing to do with me after the divorce. She added that she wanted her dad to have custody and wished that I wouldn't even have visiting rights. That was pretty much the final nail in the coffin because if April herself didn't want to live with me, then there was no point of a mediator or any custody battle. She had made it very clear to the world that she preferred Donald over me and would rather live with him. So the custody battle ended with Donald getting full custody of April and I got visiting rights, but they would have to be supervised. I did get the house and the divorce, but that was about it and it broke my heart because I had wanted my daughter to be on my side

and to realize that her father was not the man that she imagined him to be. She was just 13, which is probably why she didn't understand that being the fun parent wasn't enough and that he was raising her to be just as lazy and incompetent as him. It would be cute for a while, just like it had worked out for Donald while we were in college. But that sort of behavior wouldn't fly when she was in the real world and didn't have her family to shield her from real life responsibilities and expectations. It was devastating for me, but I still tried to keep in touch with April, in spite of the things that she had said about me,

because she was obviously being misled by Donald. Even during the divorce, before she made that post, I would often pick her up from school to spend time with her and she would try to convince me not to go through with the divorce. And I would try to tell her that I was just miserable in that marriage and it was better for all of us if her father and I separated. We would argue about it, but she would at least talk to me. In the weeks leading up to that post, she just cut me off,

and even when I would try to pick her up after school to hang out, she would blow me off to spend time with her friends or make up some excuse and avoid me. It was very clear to me that something had changed and it was Donald who had convinced her that I was the bad guy here. Nonetheless, I tried to keep in touch with her after the divorce, but she just wouldn't speak to me. and because Donald had full custody and I could only get supervised visits, he had a lot more control over her and made sure that I didn't get to see her more than once

or twice in six months. I tried to reach out to her online, but she blocked me there. I even tried to renegotiate the custody terms, but my lawyer advised me against it because it was just too soon and they had already painted a very negative and unstable image of me. I was also struggling at work so it was just not a good time for me and I made one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever had to make. I showed up at Donald's house unannounced one day and demanded to see April. I caused a racket when he said no and April came into the living room to check out what was going on. When I saw her, I asked her point blank if she wanted me as her

mother or not. I didn't beat about the bush and I tried not to let any of my emotions show on my face. She thought about it for a while and then she told me that she didn't consider me her mother anymore because I had broken up their happy family because I was too selfish to think about her so now, she wanted nothing to do with me. I had already seen that coming, but I just wanted to hear it from her before I cut her out of my life. Just so I would at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I tried my best and wouldn't have any regrets in the future. Once April had made it clear to me that she didn't want me to reach out to her anymore, I stopped trying because I needed to get my life back on track. It was a really difficult call for me to make because I

I had to cut the most important person out of my life and it was devastating for me, but I powered through it somehow and threw myself into my work. I did keep tabs on April and I knew that she was doing well in school. I wanted to reach out tomorrow a couple of times, but I held myself back because I felt like if she wanted to talk to me and make things right with me, then she would have to take the first step. Because now that I was older and had already gone through so much, I was too fragile to handle another heartbreak at the hands of my own daughter. So I didn't talk to her for years after the divorce, which is why I didn't even consider inviting her to my wedding.

For starters, I didn't even think that she would want to be invited because if somebody doesn't reach out to you after almost six years, then it probably doesn't even occur to you that this person might want to reconnect. So when the invitations were sent out, I didn't include my daughter on the list because we hadn't spoken for a really long time and I didn't want to get insulted once again. But somehow, she managed to find the details of my wedding. probably from some loose-lipped relatives, and then showed up on the day of my wedding. I got really lucky because by the time she turned up, James and I were already done with the ceremony

and we were just about to have our first dance as a married couple. We had a really great security team because they knew better than to bother us while we were in the middle of something. Instead, they waited until they knew for a fact that we were done with our first dance and then they summoned us outside to ask if April was wanted at the wedding or not. Apparently, they had caught her trying to sneak inside the venue after they had denied her entry the first time. April looked furious and demanded that I let her in because, after all, she was my daughter and she deserved to be at my wedding.

Honestly, I was so shocked to see her that my brain just stopped functioning and I couldn't come up with anything to say to her because this was the first time that I was seeing her as an adult. Seeing how shaken up I was by April's arrival, my husband decided to take over and told the security team to take her away because she wasn't on the guest list and our wedding was no place for her if she wasn't invited. So they escorted a kicking and screaming April out. James and I spent some time alone on the bench outside so that I could process what happened since I was really shocked. I absolutely hadn't been expecting April to show up at any point

because she had never expressed any interest in my life ever since it took me a while to realize that this was my wedding day and it was about me and James, so it was okay for me to want to celebrate this without making this day about anybody else. After I had pulled myself together, we decided to rejoin all our guests and take my mind off April and her sudden reappearance. We had a really fun day and by the end of it, I had almost forgotten that April had even showed up at the wedding.

But I was reminded of it the very next day when Donald called me for the first time after the divorce to berate me about what my husband had done. He was really pissed off because he believed that James had no right to have her kicked out, especially when this was my wedding that April wanted to attend. He told me that April had showed up at the wedding so she could extend an olive branch and make peace with me, but James had ruined it by having her escorted out.

Apparently, she had been really upset and humiliated by what we had done and Donald believed that I was responsible for it. So James and I owed her an apology. I told him that I wasn't going to apologize because that was my wedding day and if she wanted to really reach out to me and make things right with me then she should. have done so before and I would have even invited her to the wedding. But the day of my wedding was supposed to be about me and James and I didn't think there was anything wrong with us kicking her out because we had several valid reasons to do that.

The first one was that she had tried to sneak into the wedding and even when she was caught, she had a really nasty attitude and was acting as though she was entitled to attend a wedding that she hadn't been invited to instead of just apologizing and dealing with it nicely. So we knew that she hadn't changed since I had told James all about April and her behavior in the past. I think he judged the situation correctly and made the right call by not letting her in. Also, James and I had planned for months to have a perfect wedding and the invitation had been sent out several weeks ago so if she knew where to show up I was assuming that she had known about the wedding for a really long time. If she had really and truly wanted to make

comments with me, then she would have reached out before the day of the wedding instead of leaving it for the very last minute. That was just really suspicious and it made us feel like she had been looking for an opportunity to sneak into the wedding and ruin it. And that's why James had not let her in he had to make that decision on his own. I thought that these were all valid reasons and told Donald that April would just have to deal with her disappointment. He didn't take that well and accused me of being a failure of a mother. So I reminded him that I hadn't been her mother for the past six years, thanks to the custody arrangement that they had asked for. I also reminded him that April was the one who had said that I wasn't her mother and that's the reason why I'd even

cut her off. He was the one who had turned her against me, so now he had no right to be mad about the fact that she and I didn't share a relationship of any sort. He got annoyed and hung up on me when I said that and I thought it was over, but then he got more of his family members to contact me and tell me that I was being a terrible mother. He, along with his entire family, is now accusing me of failing to understand my daughter's feelings and it's getting to me. James doesn't think that we did anything wrong, but I have started to feel differently and it's messing with my head. Ida for letting my husband kick my daughter from my previous marriage out of our wedding because she showed up uninvited? Update 1, Hi, So James and I would just like to thank everybody who commented on my original post and made sure that we knew that we were not in the wrong.

We have since blocked Donald and everybody who was texting me because I don't need the kind of negative energy in my life and I don't need to question myself when it comes to my daughter. Honestly, my only regret is that I didn't block Donald a really long time ago. The only reason I didn't do that was that I had always expected that at some point, he would reach out to me and tell me that April wanted to speak to me. And well, I guess it kind of happened but not the way I had expected it would happen. Either way, I don't think that I'm a bad mother because I just decided to put myself first for one day. And it was my wedding day, mind you.

was supposed to be special for me. If April and Donald's don't understand that, then well, tough. Because I'm not going to be apologizing to either of them for sure. Now that that's out of the way, I would also just like to touch upon certain things that people had said in the comments of the original post. A couple of people had accused me of abandoning my daughter in the comments and I would just like to say that I had really fought hard to get custody of April. I think I made it very clear that even after the court order that April was going to stay with her father and I would only get supervised visits, I still tried to see her and get the order reversed. I did everything in my power to have a relationship with April, but she was the one

who rejected me, not just once, but every single time. And I really don't know what anybody else in my position would have done. I didn't abandon her because she was living with Donald and she was quite happy without me for the last couple of years. That was very obvious. If she had wanted me in her life, then she could have reached out to me any time and I would have gladly accepted her back into my life, but the truth of the matter was that she didn't want me back. So she didn't reach out to me and I know that I'm her mother that should always forgive my daughter, even if she doesn't ask for forgiveness. But I'm also human. So I hope that clears things up because I would hate for anybody to think that I abandoned my daughter. Update 2. So it's been a week since I got married

and April reached out to me today, but unfortunately it was not a nice conversation that we had. She texted me in the afternoon and told me that she wanted to speak to me in person, but I was at work, so I told her that I could speak to her once I got off work. And that was enough to make her snap at me. She accused me of not caring about anything apart from my work and myself, which is why I had cut her out of my life in the first place and let her grow up without a mother for all these years. She told me that she had been waiting for me to reach out to her and tell her that I loved her, but it never happened. And even when she decided that she was going to make my wedding day a bit more special as a gesture of peace, I rejected that and let my husband kick her out. She told me that

she had expected me to at least apologize to her the day after the wedding and accept that I had made a mistake by kicking her out, but even that didn't happen and instead, I doubled down and tried to justify my behavior to Donald and the rest of her family. She ended her rant by telling me that she was disappointed by the way that I was treating her as if she wasn't even my daughter. That remark really got to me because, for years, I had been fighting for her to be with me. And I knew that Donald was the one who had alienated her from me so he was the one to blame, even after she grew up, she didn't think that she owed me an apology. So I kind of lost my cool with her and told her that I had no regrets about what I had done

because I didn't trust her anymore after that scathing and untrue post that she had made against me during the divorce. I had worked hard to salvage my marriage and build a relationship with April when she was younger but Donald spoiled all of it. And in spite of knowing the truth, she decided to go ahead and make that post against me so she could take her dad's side. That had broken my heart, but I had still persisted and tried to forgive her because she was just a child and she didn't know what she was doing. So I kept trying to reestablish my relationship with her, but she didn't want it and turned me away by telling me that I was not even her mother anymore.

I reminded her of that incident and told her how much it had hurt and how depressed I was after that, but she had no idea about it because she just didn't care about her mother's feelings. In all these years, she hadn't even bothered to contact me even once and I couldn't forget that. Even on the day of my wedding, she showed up and made that day all about herself without bothering to think about how it would make me feel. I told her that if she had truly wanted to reconnect with me then she had the opportunity to do so before, but she chose the day of my wedding because she didn't even think about how I would take it. I told her she had grown up to be just as selfish and entitled as her father and I wasn't

going to speak to her until she decided to change. Because I was done dealing with the two of them. I had divorced Donald several years ago already, but I had still been willing to hold out hope that April wouldn't turn out to be like her father. Clearly, I had been wrong and she was just like him. I told her she could reach out to me once she was ready to apologize, but until then, I had nothing to say to her and I didn't want to hear from her. I didn't give her a chance to continue the argument and disconnected the call immediately after I was done speaking. It didn't feel as good as I thought it would and I almost called her back to take back everything that I had said.

Because even though we were fighting, it felt nice since at least now she was talking to me and not pretending that I didn't even exist. It's weird but that's how it is. Update 3, a couple of days have passed since April last, called me. Honestly, I had expected her to reach out to me sooner but it hasn't happened yet. I am a little disappointed that she hasn't contacted me yet, but there's not much that I can do. So I'm just trying to manage my disappointment by spending more time with James and planning our honeymoon, which we are supposed to leave for in a couple of days.

James thinks that if we are meant to work things out then April will reach out to me before that. So I really am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that she calls me before the honeymoon begins. But Donald has tried to reach out to me and obviously, whenever he tries to talk to me, It's never good news. He showed up at my office the day after I spoke to April on the phone, but I refused to speak to him. So instead of leaving like a normal human being, he decided to shout and tell me that I needed med to cut ties with April instead of trying to manipulate her into going against him. He also told me that the reason that she was just like him was because he was the one who had raised her while I was off romancing other men. That was way out of line and he had no

right to say that so I turned around at that point and told him that I would call the cops and report him for stalking if he ever showed up anywhere near me again. I was sick of him thinking that he could say whatever he wanted and get away with it and I wanted to scare him bad enough for him to stay away from me since I'd had enough of his BS. So I told him that I would call the cops if he didn't leave and he thought that I was bluffing until I brought out my phone and told him that I had already dialed the numbers. All I had to do was make the call and he would be in really big trouble. I could see on his face that he didn't want to leave because he didn't want to appear weak, but after weighing the odds in his head, he decided to get into his car and drive away.

Good for him, honestly, because I really would have called the cops if he didn't leave me alone. When I told James about it, he suggested getting a protective order against him and I'd love to, but I don't know if we have grounds for it just yet. We have spoken to a lawyer just in case we need it in the future, but right now, we're not doing anything because I don't think he poses an actual threat yet. He is weak and stupid and I'm not scared of him in the slightest, if I'm being honest. Update 4, hi, so there are just two days to go before James and I leave for our honeymoon April finally got in touch with me today.

I honestly couldn't be happier about it because things walked out exactly as I had expected them to. Not only did she reach out to me, but she actually apologized to me this time and said that she had been a horrible person for the past six years. She acknowledged the fact that she had been her father's daughter all these years, but after speaking to me on the phone that day, she had done a considerable amount of soul searching and realized that she had made a mistake. She had tried to speak to Donald about it, but his reaction just proved what she had been afraid of, that he had been misleading her all along and alienating her from me for his own gain because he wanted to get

back at me for the divorce. They got into a big fight on the day of our phone call in the evening. They and I suppose that's why Donald showed up at my office the next day to berate me. But after that, April had been thinking about the way that she had been behaving with me and figured out that the way that I had reacted to her showing up at my wedding had been completely normal. Because I obviously didn't trust her the way that I used to and she had nobody else to blame for it but herself because she hadn't even apologized to me. She had realized that she made a terrible mistake, so now she wanted to set things right with me

and make sure that she didn't waste any more of the time that we had to get to. It was a really emotional conversation and we decided to meet each other in person tomorrow and she even told me to bring James along because she felt like she owed him an apology as well. So we're getting together for lunch tomorrow and I really hope that it goes well. Update 5 so James and I just returned from our lunch with April an hour ago and it was surreal because it felt like we were finally catching up on the time that we had lost and I had never even thought that this could happen. It was kind of emotional in the beginning and then, after the apologies and stuff were out of the way,

we started speaking to each other about everything that had been happening in our lives. It was quite fun to hear her talk about her time in college and then we shared the story of how James and I had met. We actually had a really nice time and we have decided that we are going to meet for either lunch or coffee once a week at the very least, along with therapy. This is going to be quite a shock for Donald but April told me she doesn't care about it anymore. and I'm really looking forward to fixing our relationship. I hope you enjoy this story. Realize my supervisor was covertly financing her partner's lavish vacations with funds deducted from my pay.

Therefore, I collected proof of their relationship and informed the Human Resources Department. Greetings, all. I need some advice. I recently discovered something shocking at work, and I don't know what to do about it. I spoke to a few of my friends and they thought I should keep quiet and not say a word about it. I did not take that advice and it seems like I am in deeper trouble now. Let me give you some background first. I am Melissa 33F.

I am a software engineer. I work at a mid-sized tech company. I've been there for about five years now. My job is pretty stable and I've always been happy with my work. There's no stress or too much work. My team ends up closing the projects to the client's satisfaction and our superiors cannot ask for more. I also get along with my colleagues, and I have a good relationship with my lead manager, Sarah. Or at least I thought I did.

We had a recent job interview drive when our HR interviewed close to 200 people to find the right person for a role in my team. I also sat down with her to narrow down the resumes and give calls to deserving candidates. We are flexible like that. We like to help each other out wherever possible, but only when our tasks are done for the day. I came across Tom's resume, 28M. He is very good work experience with some of the leading tech companies in the country. I was surprised about why he would want to apply with our company if he worked with them. But, I shouldn't be judging someone without knowing their story.

I didn't want to do that, so I told my HR that Tom might be a good fit. My HR was happy to take his interview and he was hired. It took about one week for the other two new employees to join, but Tom started coming to the office within two days. What's more strange is that the team threw him a grand welcome party because Sarah insisted. I assumed that when other employees also join, they will be receiving the same welcome. But after a week, they were given their work kit and that was all. I let it go.

Tom was more talented than the others so maybe. the company wants to take special care of him. It did not go unnoticed that Sarah was the most the one with more excitement when Tom joined. Our team members also started discussing about the same in the office cafeteria. But we all thought that Tom would be assigned some big project so they are trying to help him settle in first. Let me tell you a little bit about Sarah, 37F. She has been with the company for over 10 years now. She was a very hardworking person and her work paid off. She was given promotions more frequently and is now our lead manager. There's also office gossip that she's always the favorite because she is related to the C-O.

But, I personally feel that Sarah has so much to offer to the company. She is the face of so many projects. We receive a lot of suggestions from her and our work becomes more easier when she guides us. I don't blame people giving her more preference than the other managers. She brings in a lot of money and it is only fair that people give her credit for the same. I got along with Sarah really well. We had our lunch together, we share smoke sometimes when we take a break from work. She is a joyful person with a very happy energy. She doesn't poke her nose where it is not necessary. I even looked up to her in a lot of situations. But I cannot say the same now. After the other employees joined, the work picked up pace. We were very busy. We were very busy.

with multiple projects. Tom proved to be an asset. Within a month, Sarah announced that Tom will be going to Maldives to take care of a project with a client. As far as I was aware, we had no client in Maldives. We assumed, maybe it could be a new client and they want to motivate newcomers to take up responsibility. Our team lead insisted that he will join Tom on the trip, but Sarah refused. She said Tom can take care of it himself and there's no point in my team leads work getting disturbed. We all agreed and gave Tom a nice send-off. He stayed there for a week. We had no communication with him. No details about the new project were shared with us. We were also neck-deep in work so we paid no attention to what Tom was doing in Maldives. After 12 days or so, we hear from our team lead

that Tom will be going from Maldives to Hawaii for a follow-up project. We do have a client. We do have a in Hawaii, but another team member of ours always took care of the details there. She was confused why Tom was suddenly replacing her. Sarah assured my colleague that this was in no way a replacement. Tom was anyways out of the country so he can handle the travel and take care of things. Apparently, he did really well with the Maldives client. Even the CEO is happy to know that we managed to grab the big fish or that's what we called the high-paying clients.

My colleague was disappointed because she always did her best to keep the client satisfied. Even the client was comfortable with her. With Tom in the picture, she felt like her work was being discredited. We all motivated her to not think negatively and look at things at the bright side. Now, she is free to accept new projects and explore more challenging tasks. Maybe, the company has something new to offer to her. With that, she started feeling a little less sad. A month after the newcomers joined, we received our paycheck.

I received my pay stub and noticed that my salary was lower than usual. At first, I thought it was a mistake. I checked my previous pay stubs and realized this never happened to me. There are a few tax cuts that may change the numbers a little, but this is huge. A few thousand dollars. I was confused and worried. I needed that money to pay my bills and take care of my family. care of my family. Being a single mother, the pay cut can affect my lifestyle. I will have to compromise

on a lot of things every day. But, I thought the company may have made the changes for a reason and did not approach the HR. No one else seemed to have a problem. I kept quiet. There is no use of making a scene about it. Also, I was worked lesser than usual that month. My sister was getting married so I took a week's leave of absence. I never did that before. I didn't have the need. I thought maybe because of my leave they cut my pay. The next month, the same thing repeated. I noticed some changes at work. Tom started going on business trips to holiday locations like Bali, among others. The other newcomers did not receive the same treatment. They stayed in the office, did the work that is fit for junior workers and received a pay that is much less

than Tom's. It was not just me, a few of my other team members also had pay cuts that month. We all gathered in the cafeteria to get ourselves a cup of coffee. That's when we discussed the issue and realized that the pay cuts were not just my problem but the others also received a lesser pay the previous month. I decided to talk to Sarah about it. She'd definitely know something about it. Before rushing to the HR, if I could get a work with her, maybe, the issue could be solved. Well, that's what I thought. Sarah seemed surprised and said that she was not aware of this change. She promised that she would look into it. A few days later, she told me there was a mistake in the payroll system, and it would be fixed soon. I trusted her and waited for the next

paycheck. But the problem continued. My salary was still lower, and Tom was still going on those trips. I started feeling suspicious. Why was my salary being cut while Tom was enjoying these luxury trips? I decided to do some digging. I talked to some colleagues in the HR department and checked our company's expense reports. What I found was shocking. It turned out that the money for Tom's trips was coming from the salary cuts of a few employees, including me. Sarah had authorized these cuts without telling anyone. I couldn't believe it. I felt betrayed and angry. She lied to my face that she didn't know anything about the new change while authorizing these trips that don't seem to hold any value to the company.

Tom hardly visited office anymore. Even when he is not on those trips, he sits at home and doesn't show up to work. No one says anything about it. Because Sarah used to defend him that after such tiring trip, the young champ deserves a break. When other people on the team go on business trips, they are given a little. one day leave for rest and they used to come back to work the following day. It is more and more evident that Tom was indeed being set free from his professional responsibilities. Sarah is giving it to him. Why would Sarah do this? Why was Tom getting special treatment? Also, we don't

hear about any developments in Tom's projects. That's not how things were before he showed up at the workplace. Everything was very open and available to all employees. If Sarah, Sarah lied to me, I should go ask her why she did it, right? It involved my hard-earned money. I had to cancel my kids swimming and aerobics classes because of the lack of funds. If this goes on, I will have to make several changes that are not fair to me or my child. The others may not find this to be a huge problem. They have their partners at home whose salaries may balance the cuts.

They did not say a word but I couldn't do the same. Also, Sarah lied to me. I took Sarah's time and questioned her again. This time, she was defensive and tried to downplay the situation. She said the trips were important for business and that I would be compensated later. But I didn't buy it. Something didn't add up. If they were planning to compensate me, why not discuss the change with me before they put it into effect? Should I not be knowing about the change in my salary? Why were only a few of us affected? Why was Tom the only one going on these trips? I asked her the same and she got angry.

She said I shouldn't be interfering with the decisions of the superiors. That is not how corporate system works and I should be aware of it after spending a good portion of my life working. Well, should I be aware? Because, in my professional career, I've not seen managers sending a single employee to holiday destinations and calling it a necessity. We had a team party that weekend. We decided to visit a pub near our office.

While we sat down and ordered our drinks and food, someone mentioned Tom. Everyone started talking about his strange trips. A few of us also told how we think that maybe our salary cuts are funding his trip. We all decided to dig deeper. We happened to invite one new joinee from the HR department to join us. She hangs out with us in the office so we thought we'll include her too. While we were talking about Tom, she seemed very uncomfortable. While we were leaving, I asked her if something was troubling her.

She initially refused but the guilt was very clear on her face. I assured her that I won't let her name come out and requested her to help me. I also told her how I was being unfair to my child because I cannot afford his classes. She gave in when I mentioned my kid. What she told me shocked me so much that I had to take a break to digest it. Tom and Sarah are dating each other. They've been together even before Tom joined the company. We have strict policies at workplace.

A couple cannot work on the same team. If you are married, one of the partner will be assigned to a different team. More importantly, if one of the partners is in a higher work position, the other partner cannot work under them. Sarah kept it all a secret. I asked the girl from the HR department if she was sure. Sarah is married and I don't think she'd cheat on her husband. They seem pretty close. The girl laughed and said loyalty is just for the show. Look at Tom. He is so handsome and well-built.

Why wouldn't a lady want to sleep with him? I became very sad. My salary was funding Sarah's extramarital affair. The result is that my kid is not able to attend his classes like before. I have to see him sit disappointed at the house while his friends went to the classes every day. Just imagine how angry I must have been. It wasn't just about the money anymore. It was about the betrayal and the unethical behavior. Sarah was using company resources to fulfill her personal desires. And Tom is also to be blamed.

He knows what is happening and taking advantage of the situation to enjoy luxury trips at the expense of others. I felt trapped. I wanted to report this to HR, but I was scared. I also didn't have any proof. The HR girl wouldn't come out in my support. She already made it clear that she won't be involving in any of it. She is new and her career may be affected. Yes, she is right.

Sarah had a lot of power in the company. Tom also earned a reputation for having a bad temper. I didn't know how he would react if he would. found out I was investigating him. I was also worried about my job. What if Sarah decides to teach me a lesson? What if I lost my job? I had a child to support, and I couldn't afford to be unemployed. I can walk up to the HR office and place my doubts on the table. I know they would take it seriously and investigate even if Sarah is related to the C.O. But, Sarah will hear about it. She will target me. What should I be doing?

doing. What do you people think? Should I go tell the HR manager that such practices were happening at the workplace? Or should I keep quiet and let it go? I can also look for another job and silently leave the company. But the change will be hard on me. I also got used to my work environment here and leaving a company that I served for five years is not easy. It's been six months since Tom's first trip. He has been on six already. I don't think it is going going to stop anytime soon. Sarah is not scared of anyone finding out. I must appreciate her for the bravery here, but her personal interests are against me. What should I do? Can you please give me some suggestions? Did any one of you experience the same or maybe similar situations at your

workplace? How did you deal with it? Update 1. Thank you so much for your suggestions. I took them into consideration. I waited another three months to see if Sarah and Tom would slow down. But, they did not. By this point, everyone in my team was angry and frustrated. Even my team leads started seeing smaller numbers on his pay slip. I did not tell them anything about Tom and Sarah's affair. I didn't want to get in trouble. They did the digging on their own and found out about it. They asked me if I would join them to the HR office. I was head to and said I needed time to think. They were okay with letting me decide. I should thank them for that. If they would have forced me, I seriously don't know what I would have done.

My daughter kept asking me to buy her these pretty shoes for about two months now. I used to make up reasons and refuse. That night, she burst out crying saying how I don't take her out for fine dining anymore. Her classes are cancelled. I won't buy her the shoes. She accused me of not loving her anymore. I felt really bad. I love my kid. I cannot let her think that her doesn't love her. That is the motivation I needed to say yes to my team. You remember I told you about my colleague who used to take care of the Hawaii client? She took the whole fuss to her heart. She indeed dig deeper than the others and found out very disturbing things. There is a reason Sarah sends Tom to these locations. She likes it when Tom goes to these places and sex chats with her

from the exotic locations. She gets a thrill out of it. They enjoy this virtual makeout session or something and Sarah loves it. During all these months, there were several times when I felt powerless and anxious. Every time I saw Tom, I felt a mix of anger and fear. He would come back from his trips, talking nonstop about the amazing places he visited. And Sarah would act like nothing was wrong, praising Tom for his hard work. When you're trying to do the right thing, the universe will help you. I guess that is what happened to us too. We were looking for some solid proof to report Sarah. This was very necessary. We all knew they'd let her off with a warning and probably fired Tom but she'd still be here. And what's worse, she will target all of us

and make our professional environment very disturbing. I got the proof. One day, I overheard a conversation between Tom and another colleague. Tom was bragging about his latest trip to Dubai. He mentioned how easy it was to get Sarah to approve the trip. He said something about Sarah being so desperate and how he could get her to do anything he wanted. That's when I realized how manipulative Tom was.

He was exploiting Sarah's attraction to him and using it to his advantage. And Sarah is not a baby that she can't understand what's happening with her. She is letting it go because she is getting something in return. When I had the chance, I pulled my phone out and recorded the conversation. I ensured it was a video and not an audio because then Tom and Sarah would argue that we tried to mimic Tom's voice. I didn't want to take any more chances. My team members and I met up in our team leads house and discussed how to proceed further.

We came to the conclusion that it is finally time to expose their affair to the HR department. This meeting happened two days ago and we are planning to go to our HR manager tomorrow. I don't know what will happen there but I'm hoping for the best. Let's wish that this doesn't backfire on my face. Update 2. Hello, came back to give you an update on what happened with the HR manager. We all took the record of our pay stubs, emails from Sarah, and the other evidence that I recorded. We scheduled a meeting with HR and presented all the evidence. He was shocked

and assured us they would investigate. I felt a bit relieved in the morning but in the comfort of my room now, I am anxious. What will happen next? Will they call Sarah and Tom and talk to them about it? Will they call of us together and discuss things right in front of them? I am very scared but there's no point in worrying while lying on my bed. I should wait and see what happens. Update 3. It's been two weeks since we raised our complaints to the HR manager. We received a call today. The HR manager wanted to speak to all of us. While we were going to his office, we crossed Sarah and she seemed like she was crying. She glared at us and stormed off without saying a word. We just looked at each other's faces and silently walked to the cabin of our HR manager. The HR

told us that they had conducted their investigation and found that my claims were true. Sarah and Tom were both suspended pending further action. The surprising part was that Tom ratted out Sarah. He was so scared that everyone will blame things on him. He said Sarah manipulated him into doing it and if he didn't agree she threatened that she'd end his professional career. He said that she used her extensive professional network as leverage and said she'd never let any other company hire him. That's absolute BS. He is an equal partner in this whole thing. Just because he is under the scanner, he pushed Sarah under the bus.

If word of this scandal should come out, no one would ever hire him anyway. But we are a meat-sized company, we don't have the time or energy to focus on spoiling someone else's career. It will be difficult, but if Tom steps out, he will eventually find a job. I cannot say the same about Sarah though. HR assured me that my salary would be corrected and that I would receive back pay for the months I was underpaid. He also thanked us all for bringing the issue to their attention. I was scared for nothing. It has been a tough few months, and I'm still processing everything. Finally, I will be

able to buy those shoes for my daughter and also send her back to the classes. Update 4. I thought things would be over once Tom and Sarah got what they deserve. But it only took days for the office atmosphere to get affected. After HR suspended Sarah and Tom, there was a lot of gossip in the office. People had so much to say about what had happened. Some people thought it was just a payroll mistake, while others suspected something more serious. I kept my head down and tried to stay out of the rumors. People were on edge, wondering if they would be next. Morale was low, and productivity dropped. I felt guilty for causing this disrupting. even though I knew it wasn't my fault. I had done the right thing, but it didn't make the situation

any easier. But it had to be done. Sarah and Tom couldn't have kept going at our expense. Sarah and Tom's suspension was extended as they were not cooperating with the HR team and were simply blaming each other without accepting that they made a mistake. The office felt strange without them. Sarah had been a big part of our team, and her absence was noticeable. Tom's absence was less impactful, well, obviously because he was never present. But some people still talked about him. Many of my colleagues expressed concern for Sarah, saying she had always been a good manager. I have to agree with that. She was indeed very good. Others were angry and felt betrayed by her actions. I am one of them. But the show must go on. We cannot concentrate on Sarah and let our work

efficiency reduce. We are all doing good now. I still feel weird, but I guess I will get over it with time. Thank you so much for all your suggestions and words of support. I was able to gain the courage to do the right thing with your help. Thanks a ton. I hope you enjoy this story. Partner of eight years informed me that she had only been intimate with one previous individual. However, I recently discovered that her previous partners total 43 and she has been dishonest about it. Cheating on me our whole relationship. My girlfriend, 32F, and I, 33M, have been together for eight years. Honestly, I thought things had never been more perfect.

When we got together she said she'd only been with one other person, I am, sexually. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just don't lie to me about it. it. I don't care how many people you've been with, just be honest with me. Anyways, she recently let it slip while we were playing a drinking game at our friend's place that her body count was 43. I didn't want to start a fight in front of our friends, but I was totally taken aback and I was utterly embarrassed. This certain drinking game, the couple had to guess the others' answer, so I had to guess what she was going to put, and I was sure she was going to say too. But then it comes out and she says 43.

The look on my face must have said it all. I didn't want to make a scene there because we had both been drinking, but when I brought it up the next day, she tried to tell me that I had never told her that I had only ever been with one person. And then we got in a fight about that. She said that it was unfair of me to try to peg her as some innocent angel. On top of that, she seemed to have a lot more guy friends than girlfriends. And maybe this was my insecurities coming out, but it always just seemed like she behaved way more than friends. I feel like sometimes she'd very much flirt with them in front of me but then play it off

like the fact that I had mentioned anything at all to her was disgusting because she said they're like my brothers. I tried to let this go for the longest time. Recently, however, there's been some incidents that have made me question things more deeply. For instance, a few months ago, she started getting very. very secretive with her phone, something she had never done before. She would receive late-night messages and would quickly turn her phone away when I was nearby. I tried to dismiss my concerns thinking I was just being paranoid and insecure. If I ever said anything, again, she'd gaslight me and

say that I was being a brat and she'd say I was being the overbearing and controlling boyfriend and I see these guys like my brothers. I've known them since I was a child. It's gross that you'd even think that. Last week a close friend of mine mentioned seeing her at a cafe with one of her male friends, and their interaction seemed more intimate than just friendship. He said she was grabbing onto leg and they were basically sitting on top of each other. This really shook me because it confirmed some of my worst fears. When I confronted her about it, she brushed it off, saying they were just catching up and that there was nothing more to it. Again, gaslighting me. This situation has left me feeling confused and insecure. I've always trusted her and believed in our

relationship, but now I can't help but wonder if there's something more going on. I don't want to jump to conclusions or make unfounded accusations, but I also can't ignore these feelings of doubt and betrayal. But then again, she just makes me feel like I'm the crazy one. Am I being dramatic here? Am I the problem? We've had multiple discussions about her friendships with men, and each time, she reassures me that they are just friends. Yet the secrecy and the way she interacts with some of them make it hard for me to believe that entirely. It's becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the person I thought she was with these recent behaviors. And now this cafe incident. I feel like my friend wouldn't lie to me about

something like this either. I trust him and his judgment. I'm at a crossroads, unsure of how to proceed. Do I keep trusting her and risk being hurt, or do I take a stand and demand more transparency and boundaries? The thought of losing her is painful, yes, I know. Hard to believe at this point, but so is the thought of continuing in a relationship where I can't shake off the feeling of betrayal. I need to find a way to address these issues without pushing her away or damaging our relationship irreparably. What do you think? Is she cheating on me? Am I the crazy one?

Update 1, hi, I'm back. A couple months ago I came on here asking whether or not my girlfriend was cheating on me. I'm just here to update you all. After posting that story, a lot of you said that she was and that I had to grow a backbone and confront her and dump her. Well, I did, but let me just get there first. And then there were some of you who were asking why I was sticking around and what I was holding on to. So here's a little backstory. So yeah, I met my girlfriend Asha at a mutual friends party.

It was one of those moments where everything seemed to click instantly. We bonded over our shared love for indie music and late-night philosophical discussions. We had both majored in philosophy, but we went to different schools. She was witty, charming, and had this infectious laugh that could light up any room. I was drawn to her kindness and the way she made everyone around. her feel special. She was hella fun and chill. We traveled together, supported each other through career changes, and even adopted a dog together. Life honestly felt perfect. She was incredibly fun and adventurous, always up for spontaneous road trips or hiking excursions. She was very much the

outdoors-a-type. We backpacked through Europe, camped under the stars in national parks, we tried to scratch them off this bucket list of hours, and even went scuba diving in the Caribbean. She had this amazing ability to turn any mundane day into an exciting adventure. Her zest for life was contagious and being with her made me feel like we could conquer anything together. Okay, now the update. So I went through her iPad, which was connected to her phone. All her eye messages and everything on her cloud would pop up on this tablet. She usually has her phone glued to her, so I had a rare opportunity, but I knew that that

would never happen. So I took my chances with the iPad and surprisingly, I managed to get on. I'm not sure if she forgot that they were linked or if she was just an idiot, but, hey, you win some, you lose some. I was scrolling through her photos first only to find videos and pictures of her nude and playing with herself. Early in our relationship, she'd send me pictures like this. so it wasn't completely out of the ordinary for her.

However, I hadn't received a single one of these recent pictures. They were all recently dated, yet they were very similar to the ones she used to send me. Quickly, I had the sense to airdrop them to my phone to make sure I had evidence if she was actually cheating. At this point, I knew she was, I just didn't want to fully admit it. Believe it or not, I did love her. I mean, I do in some fucked up way. Or maybe just love the person I thought she was. The person that never existed.

Despite everything, I still care deeply for her. We've shared so much together. She was there when my father passed away, and I've always imagined a future with her. When I looked into the coming years, I always imagined it with her. When I looked up the info on the pictures, I noticed a few of them were taken on Snapchat. This made me even more suspicious because we don't message each other on Snapchat. Honestly, I didn't even know she had Snapchat. While I had the time, I searched through her messages but couldn't find anything that stood out.

But then I checked her Snapchat and she had a bunch of guys on there that she had been recently messaging and some that she had a big streak going with. All of these names looked familiar. So I knew she was in daily communication with these guys. I opened up the conversations and there were saved videos back and forth. Saved messages going into detail about what they did and what they planned to do and how good things went and blah, blah, blah. I took screenshots of all the questionable messages and the people she'd been snapping. I didn't even care if it notified them.

Fuck M. After digging through everything, I put it back and decided what I should do. I wanted to call her up right then and there and leave. I wanted to pack up her shit and throw it out the door onto the front lawn. But after thinking it through, I decided not to bring it up while there was a chance that I might do something I regret. I have to really practice some self-control. I wanted to get my revenge and I have to make it good. I'll be back with an update as soon as I figure out what to do. Don't you worry.

Update 2. Hi everyone. I'm back with another update. After my last post I took some time to really think about how to handle this situation. I was torn between confronting her calmly or doing something more drastic. Ultimately, I decided that the best way to address this was to expose her lies in front of the people she had been deceiving, including the guys she had been cheating with, and all of our friends. In the midst of trying to act like everything was all good between us, I convinced her that we should host a game's night at our place with a bunch of our friends, including some. some of the guys she was messaging on Snapchat whom she claimed were nothing but brothers. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to reveal everything. I figured it would be a dramatic but fitting end to this mess.

I spent the week leading up to the game's night preparing. I printed out the screenshots of her messages and saved videos, organizing them into a folder on my laptop. I also backed everything up on a USB drive just in case. I wanted to make sure I had all the evidence ready for when the time came. On the day of the game's night, I tried to act as normal as possible. I didn't want to raise any suspicion. I helped Asha set up the snacks and drinks, and we arranged the living room for our guests.

As everyone started arriving, I could feel my heart racing, but I knew I had to keep it together. Honestly, I was stoked. The night started off pretty well. We were playing some board games, and everyone was laughing and having a good time. I saw her flirting with the guys she had been messaging and smiled knowing what was coming next. I waited until everyone was settled and fully engaged before I made my move. I stood up and said, Hey guys, can I have your attention for a minute? I have something important to share.

Everyone looked at me, a bit confused, but they quieted down. Asha looked puzzled but didn't seem too consistent. concerned yet. I took a deep breath and continued for our next time, it's time to play truth or drink. I pulled out my laptop and connected it to the TV. I opened the folder with the evidence and started showing the screenshots and videos. The room went dead silent as everyone processed what they were seeing. Asha's face turned pale and she tried to grab the laptop, but I moved it away. These are messages and videos Asha has been sending to other guys, some of whom. are in this very room, I said, looking directly at a few of her closest male friends.

I think you all deserve to know the truth. The room erupted into chaos. Some of the guys were in shock, others were furious. One of her friends, who had been a confidant of hers, looked completely betrayed. Asha tried to defend herself, shouting that I was invading her privacy and that this was a gross overreaction. But the evidence was undeniable and it had smacked her right in the face. Asha broke down in tears, but I didn't feel any sympathy at that moment. I simply felt relief that the truth was finally out. After the initial shock wore off, people started leaving, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

Some of them expressed their support for me, while others just left in silence. Asha and I were left alone in the apartment. She tried to talk to me, to explain herself, but I couldn't listen anymore. I was totally done. I told her to pack her things and leave. In the days that followed, she confessed to cheating on me throughout our whole relationship. She'd been talking to some of these guys from even before our time. She admitted to being a serial cheater. I blocked her on all social media and changed the locks on the house. It's been a difficult time, but I'm starting to feel like I can move on. The support from some of our mutual friends has been

helpful, and I'm focusing on rebuilding my life without her and looking ahead with some optimism. Apparently a lot of our mutual friends have turned their back on her. The guys who have been cozying up to her have dropped her like a sack of potatoes. Apparently they all thought they were the only ones, aside from me, of course. They each thought they were the special one that was causing her to fault her in her relationship. The apple of her eye. Not only that, but I heard from a friend that her professional life also suffered. Rumors of her infidelity and unethical behavior spread like wildfire throughout

her office. I guess there were some wives and partners calling in and causing a lot of drama with the men at work there because of their activity with Asha. I guess she was pretty busy connootling with the men in the office too. Her credibility and integrity came into question, jeopardizing her career prospects and opportunities for advancement. I heard she's on a lower right now. To anyone going through something similar, trust your instincts and don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. It's hard, but you deserve honesty and respect in a relationship. Always. Thanks to everyone here who gave me advice and support.

It really helped me get through this. Hopefully you don't hear from me ever again. Over and out. Now on to the next story. Story 2. Wife mocked and treated me like garbage. when I lose my job. Turns out she was cheating with her rich boss the whole time to get promoted.

So I got her fired and now she's begging for me back. My name is Cole and I was married to my ex-wife, June, for two years. Right from the first time I met June, I knew her to be a go-getter, and she had her way of being exceptional at anything she did. The first time we met was at work as recruits, and within months, she got promoted because of her hard work and dedication. About a year later, she left our company because she got a better offer, but there were rumors that she had a fallout with one of our bosses. But because June and I were close friends, I never believed anything they said after she left. After June left our company,

we remained in touch, and even though I felt she was out of my lead, I still liked her. One of the things that pulled me closer to her was her intelligence. She had an answer for everything, even the dumbest questions, and she was one of our best. About a year after June left for a better company, we got closer to each other, and we were almost like male and female besties. We were so close that she told me about everything happening in her life, at work, the guys asking her out, and so on. I did the same, but I never shared personal details about myself. Unlike me, June was an open book, she didn't need to know you so well to tell you about her. her childhood. In the process of being so close, I fell in love with her, and when I professed

my feelings to her, she admitted that she liked me too. Eventually, we dated and ended up marrying after a year. Being married to June felt good, and even though we fought and argued a lot of times, there was nothing we couldn't fix. Aside from our fights and arguments, every other thing was great with us. We looked after each other, supported and pushed ourselves to become better versions. On my end, I provided for June and took full responsibility for rent, groceries, gas, and other bills, and occasionally June would contribute to it. This was because there was a business idea she was working on, and we had an agreement that she would push whatever she earned to it for a couple of months, and I would single-handedly take care of us. Unfortunately, after 13

months of our marriage, I was laid off from my organization. It was a huge surprise and and changed many things at home. For starters, I could not afford to pay rent, buy groceries, pay bills, or do the things I used to do before because I had a minimal amount of savings, and when that was exhausted, I had to depend on June to take care of the house until I got back on my feet. I submitted applications to multiple organizations, and I didn't get any positive response for months. I even tried doing menial hourly jobs for a week, but it felt so out of place, and the pay was so low that even if I worked 50 hours a week for four weeks, it would be nothing compared to how much I earned.

So I quit and focused more on applying for my kind of work. Around the same time I was jobless, I noticed that June's attitude changed greatly. She no longer talked to me with respect. At every slightest provocation, she would remind me that she was taking care of the house. This hurt every time she said it. The first time we argued,

about me not making dinner for her on time, she said it in anger, and I believe she was stressed and exhausted. I even apologized to let peace rain, but after that, she mentioned it every day. Whether I did something wrong or not, she would always find a way to mock me for my joblessness and remind me that she was the one taking care of the house and paying all the bills. Also, it didn't end with the insults, our intimacy reduced too, and she didn't even let me touch her. Every time I tried, she rudely turned me down or claimed she had to sleep early so she would go to work on time the following day. And because I wasn't working, I took over the full responsibility of cleaning, cooking, doing the laundry, and other things we used to do together.

I'll admit I was hurt and heartbroken when she treated me and acted that way, and even after I got a job, things did not go back to how they used to be between us. Eventually, I was able to find a job. Although the pay was not as good as my first job, it was better than doing nothing. With my new job, things were back on track for me, but our relationship was sour from there. After I broke the news of my new job, she became nicer and apologized for everything she said to me. She even said she didn't mean to be rude, but she only encouraged me not to get comfortable with my joblessness. Despite everything she said, I still loved her and hoped we could work things out. I also forgave her for all the ill things she had said to me and the terrible treatment.

On her end, I had seen a couple of improvements, but it wasn't like before, and I believed everything would be back to normal with time, but I was wrong. Despite having a new job, June and I were still distant. She only allowed me to touch her whenever she was in a good mood, and she became more engrossed with work and barely had time for me. It got to the point where I was so tired of our marriage, and I could. tried as much as I could talk to her, but everything I said was ignored. One day, I wanted to borrow her laptop to do something quick since I had forgotten mine at the office, and as soon as I

turned it on, I got a notification from her bank. I shouldn't have checked her earnings since we were no longer close, but I was curious how much she earned. She had recently been promoted, and she never mentioned how much she was making, and to my greatest surprise, when I checked, it was a lot. So much that I wondered how it was possible, and as I did some further investigation to see how much extra it was from her previous salary, I stumbled upon something that revealed a bitter truth. In the past few months, June's transactions showed she had been making strange purchases, including payment for hotel rooms in a particular five-star hotel, and the moment I saw that, I knew something was wrong. Out of instinct, I printed out copies of these strange expenses,

and I cleared every trace that I had touched her laptop. I could not continue with what I wanted to do because I couldn't stop thinking. The following day, when June woke up, she told me she would be going out of town for a two-day business meeting and coming home on Monday morning. I knew everything was wrong with her business meeting because she barely worked on weekends, so I pretended everything was cool and kissed her goodbye. Shortly after she left, I followed her, and she went to the same hotel from her transaction. When she arrived, a man I recognized as her boss from work welcomed her.

They kissed and went into the hotel together. Luckily, I had my phone camera ready and took clear shots of them kissing outside June's car and him wrapping his hand around her waist as they walked into the hotel. Saying I was heartbroken is just an understatement. First, I could not believe that June was cheating on me with her boss, and while I was sulking in my broken state, everything made sense. The reason she earned so much monthly, and got three promotions in the space of a year was because she was doing her boss. Yet, she called herself my wife. Aside from being heartbroken, I was so mad, and I wanted to pay her back for hurting me that way, so as soon as I got home, I did some digging and sent everything I gathered to her company,

and I waited for the volcano to erupt. On Monday morning, she returned as she told me, but she met her bags out on the porch. I told her to her face that I knew she was cheating on me, and our marriage was over. Instead of begging as I expected, she picked her stuff, murmured words I didn't hear, and drove off. At that time, I'm guessing her company did not reach out to her yet, because when she was kicked out of work, she called me and cried over the foam like a child who lost her candy. Not to sound like a sadist, but I enjoyed listening to her cry, and I wished she had gotten worse. After she realized that she no longer had her job and her relationship with her sugar daddy

was out in the open, she tried to come back to me, but it was too late. I contacted a divorce lawyer, and shortly after that, we divorced, and I moved on with my life. As for her boss, the last time I heard, he was money laundering. He was also responsible for the increase in June's salary, and it was discovered that June was not his only sugar baby. He had a few others in the company. Now that I think of it, I can't help but believe that June was having an affair with one of our bosses in our former company, which was why she was sacked. She hurt me so much, and I'm even afraid to fall in love again. After we divorced, I have not seen her anymore, and I hope I don't.

She deserves all the misery in the world, and I pray she gets enough of it. I hope you enjoy this story. The mother despised her female child so intensely that she desired to banish me from her joyful household upon acquiring a stepson, as she sabotaged my meals and grinned. As I ate it. My mother has never been a girl's girl, if you know what I mean. My mother never hit her disappointment about giving birth to me. She would openly admit to everyone, even in my presence, that she had always wanted a baby boy.

The fact that she ended up with a daughter seemed to her like some kind of unfortunate twist of fate. She would tell her friends how she was stuck now with me forever which was incredibly painful to hear. It felt like a rejection of my very existence, an invalidation of who I was simply because of my gender. From a young age, I would also notice a stark difference in how my mother treated me compared to all my cousins. While they were often showered with praise and affection from her whenever we met with them, I always received a colder, more critical attitude from her. She also would scold me if I acted too girlish according to her. I was banned from buying anything pink for myself since she felt it was too girly and I needed

to stop acting like other girls. I was also banned from wearing skirts or dresses. She dressed me like a boy for a very long time and would only allow me to play with toy cars and trucks. I was also not allowed to keep long hair as she felt it was too much to take care of, and always made me cut my hair very short. Honestly, I just never understood her obsession with gender. Why did it matter so much whether I was a girl or a boy? Why couldn't she see beyond that and appreciate me for who I was? As a child, these thoughts swirled in my head, creating a storm

of confusion and hurt. Her behavior planted seeds of self-doubt and insecurity I began to question my worth and whether I could ever live up to her expectations. It was a heavy burden for a child's to bear, knowing that, in her eyes, I was a constant reminder of her unfulfilled desire for a son. I couldn't grasp why my mother, the person who was supposed to love and support me unconditionally, was so fixated on something I had no control over. As if this wasn't enough, she also had a particular disdain for other women in our lives, frequently indulging in harsh criticisms and gossip about them. If a female co-worker of my mother ever got promoted, she would complain to my dad and me, insinuating that the woman must have slept her way to get the promotion. It was her

default assumption, her go-to explanation for any woman's success in the workplace. The idea that a woman could achieve something through hard work and merit seemed foreign to her. It was as if, in her eyes, women could only advance by compromising their integrity. If a classmate of mine received more appreciation from a teacher, my mother would quickly jump to the conclusion that the child's mother must be having an affair with the teacher hence, the said child was getting extra brownie points. Not only was all of this weird for me to hear her as a child, but this negative attitude of hers was a constant presence in my life, shaping much of my childhood and how I perceived myself and others. As you can imagine, my mother's comments made it difficult for me to form healthy

relationships with other women. Her constant bashing of other women created an atmosphere where I felt it was almost wrong to admire or be close to any females in my life. The idea that women were always competing against each other, always out to undermine or deceive, was in the back of my mind constantly. If I ever befriended any women, my mother would constantly remind me about how it was better to befriend men and how men were always more helpful. This is why for a very long time, I only had male friends at school since I was afraid of befriending a female and getting backstabbed by her. As if all these things were not enough, when I was in high school, my dad confessed to my mother that he wanted a divorce. This was quite unexpected as I always thought my parents had the perfect marriage. However, it turned out that he had been having an affair with one of his co-workers.

The revelation was a bombshell, shaking the very foundations of our family. My mother, devastated and furious, packed her bags and took me with her to live in a motel. What followed next was a nasty divorce battle between the both of them. My mother's anger towards my father was intense and all-consuming. She would constantly use me as a pawn in her battle against him. I became a tool for her to one up him, to inflict pain and assert her dominance. Whenever I expressed a desire to spend time with my dad during their separation, she would get furious at me.

She would scream and yell, accusing me of choosing him over her, the man who had betrayed us. Her accusations were relentless. He cheated on us, she would scream, her voice filled with hurt and betrayal. You shouldn't even be in contact with him. The idea that I might want or need a relationship with my father was incomprehensible to her. In her eyes, maintaining any connection with him was a direct betrayal of her and all she had suffered. Whenever I attempted to tell her that I needed both of my parents and that I couldn't just cut my

father out of my life, her response was filled with venom. She would accuse me of trying to backstab her, of being disloyal. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're just like every other woman, she would say, her words dripping with contempt. It was a cruel and cutting remark, one that echoed her deep-seated issues with women and trust. I did try my best to understand her perspective, but I also missed my dad a lot. He was always a good father to me, regardless of his equation with my mother.

Whenever my dad and I met, unlike my mother, he never uttered a word against her. When he discovered that my mother had told me about his affair, he immediately. immediately apologized and took full responsibility for his actions. He explained that he had been deeply unhappy in his marriage and that falling in love with his coworker had been unexpected. Despite this, he emphasized multiple times that cheating on my mother was a grave mistake. He assured me that when I grew up, he would be open to answering any questions I might have about what happened. Navigating my parents' divorce as a single child was one of the hardest challenges of my life. It forced me to grow up quickly, but it also taught me that my parents are

just like any other human being and they tend to make mistakes. My dad has remained a constant presence in my life ever since the divorce, ensuring he fulfills his responsibilities. He has consistently paid child support to my mother, demonstrating his commitment to providing for me despite his separation from my mother. He also allowed my mother and me to continue living in our family home, even though he moved out. The condition was that I would live with my mother in this house so as to ensure stability in my life. He did not want me and my mother to have to go through the process of moving all our things and moving to a completely new neighborhood. Primarily, I reside with my mother, but I get to spend every other weekend with my dad.

This arrangement allows me to maintain a relationship with both parents. I have to admit that ever since the divorce, my mother has become worse towards me as a parent. I mean, I love her, but she is very fixated on getting married before my dad does. I believe her ego was deeply bruised by the fact that my dad cheated on her. After their separation was finalized, she began going out more frequently to bars and clubs, eager to meet new people and perhaps find a new partner quickly. This led to her meeting Dave just three months after the divorce. Dave is a DJ and a single father to his son, Matthew.

Dave and his ex-wife had Matthew when they were quite young, and after she left them, Dave took on the full responsibility of raising their son. Matthew is three years younger than me and seems pretty polite. Dave, too, comes across as a nice guy. However, the real issue began when I started noticing my mother's behavior around Matthew. As you know, my mother had always wanted a son, a dream that never came true for her. So, when Dave and Matthew entered our lives, it seemed she was quite excited at the prospect of potentially having Matthew as a son. She constantly went shopping with him, buying him

new shoes or shirts, and she would proudly tell all her friends about how great Matthew was at school or how proud she was of him. At first, I thought maybe I was just being jealous and overreacting. But it became even more clear that something was amiss when even my dad started noticing the same thing as well. My mother would constantly call my dad to ask if I could spend more days with him because she wanted to go on road trips with her boyfriend and his son instead of staying with me at home. If Dave had a performance anywhere, my mother would tag along with him. I tried not to care so much about her changing behavior as I was always happy to spend more time with my dad. One day, things came to a head when my mother came back home from one of her road

trips and informed me that she and Dave got engaged. This was unexpected and too soon since they had only been dating for a few months. I wanted to question her, but I knew if I said anything negative, she would take it as me not supporting her so I just kept my mouth shut and told her instead how happy I was for her. My mother then informed me that she had decided Dave and Matthew would be moving in with us. I was taken aback by this announcement, especially since the house wasn't even hers to begin with. It belonged to my dad, who had allowed us to continue living there after the divorce. As expected, when Dad heard about her plans, he was furious. He told her in no uncertain terms that if she wanted Dave and Matthew to move in, then Dave would have to pay him

rent every month. He wasn't going to let another person stay in his house for free. My mother didn't take this well. She argued with Dad, accusing him of being jealous and trying to sabotage. her relationship because she was finally happy with someone. She was convinced that his refusal to let Dave move in without paying rent was a deliberate attempt to ruin things for her. But Dad was firm. He reminded her that the house belonged to him and that he had only allowed her to stay there because of me. He made it clear that if she thought he was being such a pain in the ass, then she would also have to start paying rent or move out. The whole situation escalated but in the end, Dave stepped in and agreed to pay rent to my dad. Him and his son then moved into our house.

At first, Dave moved into the master bedroom with my mother, while Matthew took over the guest bedroom. Everything seemed to settle into a new routine, and Matthew and I would play a lot of video games together. I was happy to finally have a stepbrother since I had been a single child for a very long time. But it wasn't long before Matthew began to complain about the bed in the guest room. His had an old bed and understandably it affected his sleep. Dave promised him they would buy a new one soon. However, one afternoon, I came home to find that the bed from my room had been moved into Matthew's room, while the bed from the guest room had been placed in mine. I was taken aback and immediately asked my mother why this had happened. She casually dismissed it, saying that Matthew

deserved a good bed to sleep in and that it wasn't a big deal. I was floored by her response and argued with her that Dave could have bought him a bed just as he promised. She shrugged and replied that I was older than Matthew so I should learn to make sacrifices for the sake of her new family. After this incident, slowly and slowly, it became painfully clear to me that my mother was clearly favoring Matthew over me, treating him with a level of care and attention that she seemed to withhold from me. For instance, during dinner, he was allowed to take second plates without question, but if I reached for more, she would smack my hand and harshly tell me not to be a fat cow. The irony was that I wasn't even overweight I was athletic, active, and had a healthy

appetite to match. But she insisted that Matthew, being a growing boy, deserved the extra food more than I did. Then there was the time when my dad told me he had tickets to a baseball game and wanted to take me. I was thrilled and couldn't wait to go. But when I told my mother, she immediately insisted that I should let Matthew go in my place. Her reasoning? Because he's a boy and would enjoy it more. Obviously, my dad refused to take Matthew and I went as decided. Obviously, my dad refused to take Matthew to the baseball game in my place, and I went as originally planned. The game was great, and I was glad to spend that time with my dad.

On multiple occasions, my mother would plan day trips with just Dave and Matthew, deliberately excluding me from their plans. If Matthew ever invited me to join, she would insist that the only three of them needed to bond as a family and that I, being older, should sit this one out. It was as if she was creating a new family that didn't quite include me. The exclusion was hurtful, making me feel like an outsider in my own home, as though I was being slowly pushed to the margins of her new life with Dave and Matthew.

When my 18th birthday was approaching this year, my dad informed my mother that he wanted to throw a big party for me to celebrate turning 18 and graduating high school. Since our family home was spacious enough and had a huge backyard, he planned to hire caterers and have everything set up here. My mother wouldn't have to lift a finger as he was taking care of all the arrangements. However, as expected, my mother tried to push back. She argued that holding such a big event for me was unnecessary and that we could just have a family dinner at a restaurant. My dad argued that since I was his only child he wanted to celebrate such a huge milestone in my life with the rest of our family and friends. Even though I was okay with my

dad's idea, my mother wasn't ready to let it go so easily. She then argued that throwing such a big celebration for me would be a slap in the face to Dave, as he could never afford to do something similar for Matthew when he would eventually graduate. She claimed it was unfair to make Matthew feel left out by hosting an event that was all about me. Then she went on to suggest that we could perhaps celebrate Matthew during the party as well. This was supposed to be my special day, a milestone, and yet my mother was more concerned about how it might affect Matthew and Dave. It was as though she couldn't stand the thought of me having a moment that was purely about me without somehow bringing Matthew into it. My dad, however, had had enough of her arguments. He firmly reminded

her that Matthew was none of his concern and that this party was for me, his daughter, who deserved to be celebrated. He made it clear that he was going to throw this party whether she liked it or not and that if her new family didn't like it then they were all uninvited from my party, and that was the end of the discussion. This immediately made my mother backtrack her statements and she grudgingly agreed to let me celebrate. Next, when it came to planning the party, my mother continued to interfere with everything. She started dictating how things should be done, saying, that since Dave preferred vegan meals, we needed to have more vegan options at my party. Now, this was going to be a complete waste of money since I knew no one else was vegan but I did not

want to fight with her so I agreed. Next, I love eating fish and wanted to order a fish item but my mother informed me that Matthew didn't like fish so I shouldn't order any fish dishes. I tried to stay calm and told her firmly that this was my party and I wanted to order food that I liked. If she, Dave, and Matthew had an issue with anything I was going to be ordering, then they could adjust for one evening. My response set her off. She yelled at me, accusing me of disrespecting her family and calling me a spoiled brat. She went on to claim that my dad's money was getting to my head and that I needed to learn to care about her husband and her son as well. She shook her head, wagging a finger at my face, and told me, I should teach you a lesson for

acting so entitled. She then went on to insist that if I didn't consider what Dave and Matthew liked while planning this party, then she was going to ground me and take away my phone as my punishment. At that point, I saw Red. I realized I was going to be turning 18, and had nothing to lose anymore. I was going to be moving out soon anyway, so I decided to finally let out all the years of suppressed anger. I shouted back at her, telling her that I had always considered Matthew and Dave's needs, but this was my party my last hurrah before moving out and I deserved the freedom to make my own choices. I told her that I had kept my mouth shut long enough and if she took away my phone or grounded me for no reason, I would call CPS on her for mentally and emotionally torturing

me all the time over the years. It was clearly a bluff but I wanted her to think twice before mistreating me ever again. Her eyes widened in shock when she heard me say she knew a CPS investigation might affect her relationship with Dave and Matthew, who was still a minor. Then, I went on to tell her that if she no longer saw me as her daughter, then I would be cutting off all contact with her when I went to college. I didn't want a mother anyway who never prioritized me, who always put others before me, and who made me feel like I was second best in my own home. It was a moment of raw, unfiltered honesty, and I made it clear that I was done with being

pushed aside. This seemed to shake her up. She then started to insist that I was overreacting and that all she ever wanted was for me to treat Dave and Matthew just like I treated other family members. After this argument, she avoided giving her opinions to me as much about my party. On the day of the party, I was excited to celebrate with my family and friends. Dave had offered to play music for the event, and it was a blast Matthew, some of my cousins, and I had a great time on the dance floor, enjoying the lively atmosphere. Meanwhile, Dad was busy chatting with some relatives, proudly bragging about the college I was about to attend. However, the only person who stood out as a sore thumb was my mother. She was off in the kitchen, drinking her margarita and clearly avoiding mingling with the rest of us.

Her disinterest and detachment were palpable, and it was hard not to notice how she was distancing herself from the celebration. Even Dave noticed how distant she was and went to talk to her, trying to convince her to enjoy the day like the rest of us. When it came time to cut the cake, my mother didn't come to stand next to me while everyone sang happy birthday to me. Dad and I didn't bother and we simply went ahead and cut the cake, making the most of the moment despite her absence. It was a bittersweet reminder of how strained our relationship had become, even on a day that was meant to be about celebrating me. When the rest of the food started to be served out, I watched as my mother carefully prepared

plates for Dave and Matthew. She seemed to take extra care, making sure they ate everything they liked. I felt a pang of jealousy watching her serve them with such attention while ignoring me at my own party. I wanted to let the rest of the guests get their food first, so I hung back a little, waiting for my turn. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my mother came up to me, holding a plate of food. I looked at her curiously, unsure of what to make of this unexpected gesture. She handed me the plate and wished me a happy birthday. I was taken aback and asked her what she was doing, especially since she had never, in all the years I could remember, serve me a plate of food before. She just shrugged and said that she wanted to do this for me since I was now 18.

It was hard to admit, but at that moment, I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach. Despite everything, there was something comforting about being taken care of by her, even if it was just with something as simple as serving me a plate of food. For a brief moment, it felt like she was reaching out, trying to bridge the gap that had grown between us. However, as soon as I took a bite of the fish from my plate, I had to spit it out. My mouth was overpowered by an overwhelming taste of salt,

and I started to cough uncontrollably. Guests around me turned to look, and some of my cousins quickly offered me water, trying to help me calm down. I looked down at my plate, puzzled, and asked if they found the fish too salty. Bewildered, they shook their heads. Confused and increasingly suspicious, I checked my plate again and then glanced over at my mother. Our eyes met, and I noticed she had a smirk on her face. It took me a moment to register that in her hand, she was shaking an empty salt bottle

as if to gesture that she had purposely added too much salt to my fish. Suddenly, I realized that she had clearly tampered with my food. I was dumbfounded as to why she would do that. I went up to her, trying to keep my composure despite the hurt and anger bubbling inside me. What are you doing? I asked her, my voice strained. Did you really put salt on my fish? Why would you even do that? She looked at me, still smirking as if the whole thing was just a petty joke. With a cold tone, she told me that she had warned me not to order fish, but I had insisted on it so this was her way of teaching me a lesson for always being so entitled. She insisted that this was just a harmless prank anyway, but that it would teach me to never

argue with her in the future. Her words felt like a punch to the gut, and I realized then just how manipulative and cruel my mother could be. I told her how nasty she was as a parent, for even thinking of doing something like this. The fact that she would go to her. The fact that she would go so far as to make me feel small and unimportant was overwhelming. My mother just laughed derisively as she walked away as if I meant nothing. My eyes narrowed in anger as I contemplated how to get revenge on her. With cameras installed around the house, I knew I had a way to expose her. After the party, I decided to download the video from the backyard security camera. The footage clearly showed my mother adding salt to my plate before walking over to me and handing me the plate. Even as I write

this, the thought of what she did makes me seeth. I'm planning to share the video with Dave and Matthew when I move out of the house soon. I wish I could confront her or expose her behavior right now, but I'm going to just shut my mouth and bid my time for now until I'm away from her. Ida, if I expose my mother to everyone? Update 1. It's been a month and a half since I last updated. I've finally moved out of home. My dad helped me get all my boxes to my college dorm, and the rest of my things are at his place for now. I haven't told my dad about what happened with my mother yet because I know he will go ballistic, and I'm worried it might lead to a big argument. Now that I'm out of the house, I'm ready to go through with my plan to expose my mother

since she can't hurt me anymore. I think Dave and Matthew deserve to know the truth about my mother, even though it might be hard for them. For everyone asking, I am sure Dave has probably noticed how my mother treats me differently than she treats his son, but he has never interfered. Anyway, I don't blame him for any of this and my focus is only on my mother, who is responsible for everything that's happened. Update 2. Okay, guys, I listened to everybody's advice. This morning, I decided to create a group chat with Dave, Matthew, and my dad.

I wrote a detailed message explaining how I had been treated differently from Matthew over the years, making sure to emphasize that Matthew wasn't to blame for any of it. I then described the incident that happened on my birthday, where my own mother sabotaged my food by adding an entire bottle of salt and made me spit out the food and disgust just to teach me a lesson. I told them how I had grown tired of my mother's abusive behavior towards me over the years. To back up my story, I sent the video as proof. At the end of my message, I asked Dave if he would ever feel truly comfortable having his son around such a vile woman who had no shame in treating her own daughter this way.

He texted me back saying that he would look into it. Update 3. Since I sent that message yesterday, my phone hasn't stopped buzzing. First, my dad called to confirm if everything I said was true and to ask why I never shared all of this with him in detail before. I broke down and explained that I sometimes struggle to open up and that I had always hoped my mother would eventually change her ways. He apologized to me over and over and then told me that he had spent the morning yelling at my mother. He also mentioned that he's giving her a month's notice to move out. He said he had been thinking about it for a while but was hesitant. However, now that he knows how she's been mistreating me for years, he has no sympathy left for her and wants his house back.

Dave also reached out to me. He said he had no idea that my mother hated me so much. He always thought it was just typical mother-daughter stuff, so he stayed out of it over the years. But after watching the video, he truly realized how messed up my mother was. When he confronted my mother about it, she started blaming me for everything as usual. This led to a big fight between them,

and he decided to take some space from her. He even told me that he's putting their wedding. which was supposed to happen this year, on hold indefinitely. Matthew and I also talked, and were good. As for my mother, she hasn't stopped calling and texting me. Her messages have been all over the place, ranging from hurling abuse at me to threatening me for exposing her. But I don't care anymore.

I've decided to ignore her completely and avoid any interaction with her for the time being. In the end, I have no regrets about exposing my mother and hopefully, she will learn to not mess with me ever again.