Reddit Stories - BETRAYED by Blood_ The High Cost of Mother's DANGEROUS Love CHOICES_

Episode Date: October 12, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #betrayal #family #relationships #motherhood #loyalty  Summary: Dive into a gripping tale of betrayal and dangerous choices in "BETRAYED by Blood: The High Cost of Mother's Dangerous Love Choices." Explore complex family dynamics and the consequences of loyalty being tested.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, betrayal, family, relationships, motherhood, loyalty, choices, drama, fiction, novel, book, story, reading, thriller, suspenseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Mom continues to pick terrible partners over our well-being, ends up selling her property to her most recent con artist bow, and is now destitute and seeking assistance from us despite our prior warnings. I'm uncertain about what to do next. Begin with this, but my mom has destroyed her own life and it's all her own fault. To start from the beginning, my mother has always held the belief that a person should prioritize their partner over their children.

In the past, this book has been. has been more of an annoyance than anything truly damaging. It mostly meant that she consistently took his side in arguments, even when she later acknowledged that he was objectively wrong. I ended up spending a lot of time with babysitters so they could have a lone time. One instance that really upset me and cemented my belief that my mother loves my stepdad more than me was when she got drunk with her friends and was asked a hypothetical question. If my stepdad and I were both drowning and she could only save one of us, who would it be? She didn't hesitate at all before choosing my stepdad. As time went on, it became increasingly evident that my stepdad's

behavior was not just a matter of annoyance but a genuine cause for concern. He was emotionally and sometimes even physically abusive, and yet my mother remained steadfastly loyal to him. I suspect now that he struggled with bipolar disorder because he would have random violent mood swings, which often manifested in emotional abuse and occasional violence. The cycle was painfully predictable. It usually started with something minor, like a simple misunderstanding or a moment of hesitation on my part. Then he would go unusually quiet which would make us tense and tiptoe around the house, afraid to provoke his wrath. I would stay in my room for hours afraid to go out because of this. Then, like clockwork, he would go out and drink and return home in a drunken rage,

unleashing a torn of hurtful words and destructive outbursts on us. Our house belongings would then bear the brunt of his anger, our oven door, expensive blinds, dining room chairs, and even my computer fell victim to his fury. Then, he would start screaming at us saying how he was going to leave and never come back. In those agonizing moments of his absence, would hold my mother close as she grappled with despair trying to keep the house together. Days would pass by in a haze of uncertainty until, out of no one of no way. he would reappear on our doorstep, as if nothing had ever happened. There would be no apologies,

no explanations. It was like he would expect us to welcome him back with open arms. My mom would force me to forgive him and give him a hug so we could resume our facade of a happy family, until his next mood swings. During those fleeting moments of peace, he would shower me with affection, claiming me as his own daughter and showering me with praise. But beneath the facade of affection, I knew that his craziness would inevitably return, plunging us back into the cycle of fear and uncertainty. I would plead with my mother to leave him and she would say how he is going to change and to be patient. This was extremely frustrating yet as a child, I had no choice but to follow my mother's lead. Despite the turmoil at home, my mother decided to get married to my stepdad

and they eventually got married. She gave birth to my stepsister Serena. The arrival of Serena did nothing to change our family dynamic and my stepdad continued to behave like a maniac as usual. Perhaps it was because my mother spent so much of her time taking care of my stepdad that Serena and I started to lean on each other for support. I was four years older than Serena, so I took it upon myself to look after her as much as I could. We walked to and from school together, sharing stories and secrets along the way. In those moments, despite the chaos at home, Serena, and I found solace in each other's company, which is why we continue to be close even today. As we started growing up, my stepdad started to focus his abuse more and more on my mom and me.

He knew my mother would not lift a single finger against him so he would often take advantage of that by kicking me, throwing my food if I didn't listen to him, taking away my phone and checking all my apps, and making me go hungry to bed. If I protested, he would often taunt me that as the man in this family, he needed to make sure that I was being a good daughter otherwise no man would want me. He would also say things like I was the reason that he and my mom fought so much. One of his biggest manipulative methods was forcing my mother in such a way that she had to choose sides. For example, if he didn't like what I was wearing, he would ask me to cover up more or change even though I would be wearing a normal shirt that showcased no skin.

He would loudly ask Mom if she approved of her daughter going out like this and then Mom would obviously take his side and make me change into a turtleneck. When I would get pissed at her, she would tell me that a good wife puts her husband before her children. At 16, I wasn't allowed to watch any movies, listen to music, read comic books, play games on my computer, or go out with anyone whose parents they hadn't met. I would plead and plead, but my stepdad would scoff and say how women during his time stayed in their house all the time, which is why they were good housewives. He would also say that I should be a good role model to Serena so that she could grow up like me. He himself would spend hours on the couch drinking and watching shitty action films.

Once, I even walked him to watch porn. That shameless guy didn't even bother to switch it off or lower the volume. Serena didn't understand what he was watching and was shocked to see what was going on on the screen. I was so embarrassed that I rushed her inside my room and put headphones on her ears. Later, when I told my mother about it, she said how men sometimes need to watch porn and that I should not judge him. I told her to at least tell him to watch it somewhere outside and when my mother decided to talk to him about it, he tried to manipulate my mother and say how I decided to come back home early and it wasn't his fault. In the end, everyone dropped it and pretended like nothing

had happened. Finally, when I was 18, I got into a good university, and without hesitation, I moved out. Serena and my mom begged me to not move so far away which absolutely broke my heart, but I knew that if I didn't go then I would never have this chance again. Stepdad threatened that he would never allow me to come back home if I really decided to move, but I didn't care about his opinions anymore. I promised Serena that she could move in with me when she was 18. This is when my actual life began. Leaving home for university was both liberating and terrifying. It was my chance to break free from the toxic environment I had grown up in and start afresh. Living on my own taught me independence and resilience. I threw myself into

my studies, surrounded myself with supportive friends, and explored new opportunities. Meanwhile, I kept my promise to Serena close to my heart and worked hard to get good grades so I could secure a good job and have her come live with me. I eagerly waited for the day she could join me and experience the freedom I had found. As the years passed, I watched her grow into a remarkable young woman, and when she turned 18, she moved in with me, marking the beginning of a new chapter in both our lives. Unlike me, she didn't have good grades so ultimately I got her enrolled into a community college in my locality. She approached her studies with dedication and enthusiasm, determined to carve out her own path. Our lives together were great. We shared everything

from stories to chores, and it was great to see her grow. She worked hard at college, and we supported each other through the ups and downs. Having her around made life more exciting, and we tackled challenges together, knowing we could rely on each other. As she studied and I worked, we built a strong bond that made everything feel possible. Throughout all this, my communication with my mother had reduced she would only talk to me when stepdad was out of home, so he would not catch her talking to me. He clearly nursed a grudge against me and it only solidified even more when Serena moved out to be with me. He would call Serena several times and demand her to come back home, but she would say how much happier she was living with me. He would

then threaten saying that he would show up at our doorsteps, give me a beating of a lifetime and then drag her out. As a result, this would scare both of us so we lived in fear for a very long time not knowing when he would actually show up. When I got a stable job, I moved me and Serena into a gated community after which we could relax more knowing that there was 24-7 security. A few years later, we found out from Mom that my stepdad was diagnosed with liver cancer due to excessive drinking. It was his last stage and there was no treatment in the world that could save him. I hate to write this, but I genuinely felt about it. He sent me a long message saying how sorry he was for all the abuse he put me through and how he needed me and Serena to come back so we

could take care of him. He had sent a similar message to Serena saying how she was his own flesh and blood and they should spend his last days together. Both of us immediately refused and blocked him. We honestly didn't care if he lived or died. My mom was extremely upset with us for not forgiving him. She said she knew he was sorry and didn't understand why our hearts were so hard. She said he was dying and as his daughters, we needed to forgive him so we could go away in peace. I told her that he is going to hell no matter how much forgiveness he asks for which pissed my mom even more. She even tried to guilt us into visiting them by saying how he was crying in bed the whole day for us, but we didn't pay any heed. Eventually, my stepdad passed away in his

sleep. I wish he could have suffered more, but unfortunately, he didn't. Serena and I then decided to go back home to be there for our mother and support her through the funeral. I arranged everything regarding the funeral while my mother was crying to all her relatives about how great of a husband he was and how she was going to miss him. Once his funeral was done, we discussed with my mother to come and live with us since we knew she couldn't sustain all by herself but to our shock, she refused. My mom then went on to say how stepdad had left behind all his assets like the deeds to this house and some bonds to her and she had plenty to go on with it.

She showed me the paperwork and I was surprised to see that he had saved up so much money. He also had life insurance which she was going to claim. I was happy for my mom since she had suffered enough under him and at least these assets were some form of repayment. Stepdad had left all his money in his savings account to Serena which wasn't much, but at least he left her something. Now that we knew Mom would be okay, Serena and I flew back to our place so we could resume our daily lives. We would constantly talk to Mom every day to make sure that she was okay. Whenever we had holidays like Christmas, we would visit her. To stay busy, Mom even started working at a library where she would meet other women of her age and make new friends.

This is how two years went by until my mother informed us out of the blue that she was seeing somebody. She told us how excited she was for us to meet him and how he was perfect for her. We were happy but also a bit curious about this mystery man who had captured our mom's heart. When we visited my mom, we were shocked when we met this mystery man, Derek. This supposed boyfriend of my mom was almost the same age as me. At first, we tried to keep an open mind but the more we watched them interact with each other, it was difficult for us to accept the situation. We found their age difference to be quite creepy.

Additionally, we suspected he was taking advantage of her. In just a matter of a few months, she had bought him expensive gifts and even put him on the deed of her house that stepdad had given her. Moreover, the way they met seemed suspicious. When we asked her about it, she became uncomfortable and lied that they met at a cafe. However, when he spoke to us, he wanted to be truthful and told us the real story. Apparently, he and his friends were at a pub getting blackout drunk. My mother was there with her friends to celebrate her friend's retirement. Derek's friends dared him to find and kiss a cougar and he somehow chose our mom.

They made out and mom invited him back to her place. Since then, he hasn't left her side or this home. When they started to get serious, he insisted my mom add his name to the deed of the house with the pretext that they were going to get married anyway in a few months. He told her a sobbed story about how expensive rent was and how he couldn't afford living on his own anymore and Mom decided to let him stay with her until he could get back on his own feet. They had started off as friends with benefits, but that slowly turned into dating and now Mom seemed like she was head over heels about him. Clearly, Derek was taking advantage of her and

mom was lapping up all his attention. We stayed with them for a few days and throughout this entire time, we noticed that he didn't work at all. Derek would wake up at 11 a.m. and then start playing video games. The only time he would ever come out of the room would be when me and Serena would cook something for ourselves. He would then insist on us making him a plate also. While he was a good for nothing, Mom would work the whole day at the library. She would then come back home and cook for him while he would complain to her if he didn't like her cooking. She would literally baby him as if he were her child. Clearly, he was using her and she was too blind to see it. On our last day before we were flying back, we decided to finally call him out and have

a serious discussion with Mom. We pointed out how he wasn't doing anything around the house while she was paying for all his expenses and had even added him to the house deed which was so unfair since they were not married. This resulted in a huge fight with Derek saying how we had no right to judge their relationship and that if we continued to complain then he would teach us a lesson we would never forget. We were shocked to see how Mom's young boyfriend was clearly three. us yet despite all this. Mom tried to defend him saying how he was a good man and we needed to spend more time with him to see that. When we questioned her regarding the deed of the house, she said that Derek and she were going to get married so she trusted him and that we should

not interfere in their relationship. This was really difficult for us to hear since clearly she was getting back to her old ways of trusting her partners more than her own daughters. She was clearly picking this guy over us and believing that he would take care of her. She had made such a huge decision without even consulting us and now kept on justifying it. Despite all the evidence, Mom was clearly blind to how Derek was using her. We did argue a bit more, but she told us that if we couldn't accept him, then we should just leave since this was their house and we needed to respect him. This was the last straw for us so Serena and I decided that we were done with her. It broke our hearts to see how she picked her boyfriend over us.

After this incident, we didn't visit our mom much, nor did she call us. She had clearly made her choice, and we wanted to respect it. A month ago, Serena and I woke up to multiple missed calls from Mom. It had been a long while since she had called us. I called her back out of concern, and she picked up to say that she was flying to see us and requested I arrange an Uber for her to come to our place. I asked her firmly if her so-called boyfriend was coming also because if he was, then he wasn't allowed inside our place.

But my mother said no and didn't elaborate much, which was suspicious. When Mom came, she looked utterly disheveled. We were concerned about her and sat her down. I then asked her if something was wrong. This is when Mom broke down crying, beating her cheat and despair. We were completely taken aback by her reaction, which is how we knew that something was wrong. Serena gave her a glass of water to help calm her down. Eventually, my mother started telling us exactly what had happened.

You see, after she stopped talking to us, Derek started taking advantage of her, knowing that he had her isolated from us and there was no one she could turn to. He convinced her to sell the house they were living in, saying that they needed a much bigger one before they got married. She foolishly agreed, and they eventually sold the house. This is when Derek kept all the money from the sale of the house, which he then used to buy another house under his name. When Mom found out about this, she asked him to add her name to the deed also, but he got angry, saying that he was a man so the house should rightfully belong to

him he promised to add her to the will so she could have it. This was ridiculous since Mom was older than him so clearly she was never going to get the house. When Mom kept arguing about how it wasn't fair he got even more angry and this is when he got physically violent with her. Mom ran out of the house in fear and with the little money she had left in her bank account booked a direct flight to come and see us. Serena and I sat there listening to her in horror. She continued to tell us how blinded by affection and longing, she had no assets left to her name now. Almost all her savings were also gone because she had spent it all on him, believing he would be her night in shining armor. Tears streamed down her face as she told us how family is all she has left hands now she wants us to help her out.

As I am sitting here writing this, my mother is sleeping off her exhaustion in the next room. I am so angry at her and there are so many things I want to tell her, but I don't know if I should say it. She chose a stranger over her own flesh and blood and now expects us to help her. Will I be in a hole if I refuse to help my mom? I am afraid that she will fall victim again to the next guy who talks sweetly to her and might drop me and Serena again. Update 1. Thank you all for the supportive comment. over the last few days. I am glad to see there are other people like me who understand what I'm going through. Just to clarify a few things, my mother in her own will allow Derek to take the entire money from the

sale of her house so she can't really sue him since she was the one who consented as well as it added him to the deed. My mother is also refusing to go to the police regarding the emotional and physical abuse she has sustained. She says that society will look down on her if she decides to come out with this and file an official complaint. This frustrates me to no end because she is not doing anything to help herself yet she expects me and Serena to forget everything and help her out in the name of family which is absolutely ridiculous. I do plan on talking to her since I can't have her traumatizing us again with her drama. I don't think she will ever change, hence I don't want to be dragged down with her. Serena also agrees with me and being her older sister. I want to protect her as much as I can.

Update 2, Hey Everyone. It's been two weeks since I last updated. I wanted to give some time for our mom to recover so I could speak my mind to her. After much deliberation, Serena and I sat down with her yesterday in a calm and collected manner, to have a talk with her. In short, we began by expressing our concerns and frustrations about her situation with Derek. We told her how we acknowledged her pain and the difficult position she found herself in. I made it clear to her that we empathized with her and until she decided to take action against

Derek's actions were clearly manipulative and abusive, there was nothing more that we could do. My mother's eyes widened hearing this and she asked what we were getting at. I urged her to reconsider her decision not to involve the authorities, emphasizing that seeking help was not a sign of weakness but a brave step towards reclaiming control over her life. I reassured her that society's judgment should not outweigh her safety and well-being but mom vehemently refused saying this was her life and she had already made her decision. Hearing this, my mind was made up as well. I told her how throughout our lives she always seemed to put her partners ahead of us, whether it was our stepdad or Derek. We were tired of feeling like we came second in her life.

Mom tried to interrupt, saying she would change, but Serena firmly spoke up. She said she was fed up with not having a stable family and wanted Mom to stop drifting in and out of our lives whenever it suited her. I nodded an agreement, adding that family meant everything, which is why Mom should have thought about that before choosing Derek. We reminded her how we had warned her about him, but she still chose to push us away. Serena and I agreed that we couldn't keep picking up the pieces every time she found a convenient. Mom started crying, accusing us of being ungrateful and selfish. It was a tough conversation, filled with emotions and tension, but we needed to get our feelings out in the open. Serena told her how I was more of a mother to her than her own mother,

and we were strong enough now to need her in our lives anymore. Mom continued to cry silently while I gently told her that she had one week left after which we would be kicking her out. Mom started screaming about where she could go and I told her that if she wanted we could help her out with a few initial months of rent while she could work and save up money after which she be on her own. Mom started getting angry saying how she wished she never had us, but we ignored her and told her that she was welcome to ask her family for help if she wanted to. After this, to give Mom some space, I took Serena out for some ice cream. In the car, both of us cried a little since this was such a difficult conversation for us to have, but it was much needed. I hope our mom

makes the right decision and works towards changing her life rather than resenting us for her own mistakes. Only time will tell if my mom will heed our words and take the necessary steps to reclaim her life. Update 3. Hello, hello. Wow, it's been three months since my last update and I am back now with a small update since I've been getting a lot of DMs regarding this. Everything is well with us and our mom. Despite how much she yelled at us after our conversation, she had no choice but to go back to her city and resume her job while we agreed to pay for her rent for the next six months. Before going, she apologized to us again and has been unusually sweet to us. Don't worry we are not sending her any money directly but we send the rent money directly to the owner so she can't use our money elsewhere.

After her getting scammed out of so much money, we are obviously a bit nervous. She hasn't been in contact with Derek since their breakup so I guess he is living his grand life. There is nothing that we can do against him when mom herself doesn't decide to file a complaint. Anyway, Serena and I are doing well in our lives. I have been promoted so I am quite happy with my job. Serena is also excelling in her career and I am proud of her. We are focused on building a strong bond between us, supporting each other through thick and thin. Despite the challenges with our mom, we are determined to create our own stable life.

We are learning to prioritize our own well-being and happiness first, knowing that's what truly matters in the end.