Reddit Stories - Deserted embracing solitude a melodic confession of family abandonment

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #solitude #confession #familyabandonment #152kbit #opusSummary: A deserted individual finds solace in embracing solitude, sharing a melodic confession of family abandonment. This 152kbit opus delves into the depths of loneliness and the complexities of familial relationships, resonating with those who have experienced similar struggles.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, deserted, embracing, solitude, melodic, confession, familyabandonment, opus, loneliness, relationships, struggles, emotional, storytelling, personalgrowth, acceptanceBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. I left my relatives and I am fine with it. I am parked in my camper van outside a bistro with complimentary Wi-Fi typing this. I have reviewed this. So many times in my head but I figured, writing this out could help me clarify the thoughts in my head. I abandoned my family a little over a week after D-Day, wife 36F and me 37M and daughter 13F. It's now almost six months since that day, I discovered her affair by chance, I was totally clueless, I believed we had a good marriage, plenty of intimacy, we would talk about stuff

for hours, we had date night regularly, we had shared an individual hobbies, we were healthy, in fairly good shape, it was good. Or maybe it was just me thinking that. My wife, let's call her Eve, she cheated so she obviously preferred another man, not me, and if she could betray me like that she couldn't possibly love me, here I was thinking she was my best friend, I guess not. In hindsight I can see that I probably saw things through rose-tinted glasses, I actually believed that my family cared about me, I believed I was loved, I was the fool, I guess. I came home late from work, there was a safety training seminar I had to attend. She was sleeping on the sofa and a message with some emojis popped up on her phone,

emojis like I would use when I message her. WTF. I snooped and I found out what had been going on for at least five months. I knew the AP, let's call him Adam, he was a work college of hers, I had even been to a barbecue at his house and met his family, he was married and had three children, the youngest, just two years old. While reading the messages something just snapped in my head, it fundamentally changed me.

Over the course of reading their messages, I went from loving Eve more than anything, to hating her to just going blank, not just about her, but everything. Totally numb, I took pictures of the messages and went to bed, I didn't sleep at all, I just stared at the ceiling. Eve was pissed the next day that I went to bed without waking her up, she complained about neck pain from sleeping on the couch all night. I wasn't really listening, I just remember thinking how everything was muffled, as if someone had turned down the volume on the world, I was kind of surprised about how little I cared, I felt practically nothing, I should be angry right. During breakfast I didn't say a single word, my wife and daughter chatted away, they didn't seem to notice anything

different about me, or even acknowledge me, but I definitely didn't feel like myself. I felt like I was someone new, someone I didn't know or understand, wearing a suit of the old me. I went through all the daily motions, I went to work, did all the normal stuff, the only difference is I sort of stopped talking. Sadly, I realized that nobody seems to even notice. It's like I wasn't even there, I started to understand that Eve and my daughter didn't really love me. I was in the house with them, but unless they wanted something for me they didn't really interact, they talked at me, not with me, if that makes sense. I would get these pangs of pain, they would come and go, sometimes they would overwhelm me completely, I was not okay. I walked around like this for five days

before Eve asked me if something was wrong during dinner, I had maybe uttered three words in total to her and my daughter in that period. I didn't even answer her question, I just made a mock slash don't-no face then continued eating, she seemed okay with that. The next day I didn't go to work, I worked for the local power company, I fixed power lines and such, I packed up some random stuff plus my camping slash hunting gear. I didn't really have a plan, I put it in my car and walked around the neighborhood for a while, I ended up at the kitchen table waiting for the wife to come home. She came home with a few bags of groceries, she immediately started talking about her day while unpacking. I just sat at the kitchen table in pain, she didn't even look at me.

Apart from one glance as she entered the kitchen, daughter popped in and did the same, their backs were turned to me and they talked about some trivial crap on sale. I have never felt so rejected, unappreciated, so alone, I felt totally invisible, like I wasn't there, or that I wasn't worth acknowledging. I was thinking back on our lives and all I could see was that they didn't care about me at all. They probably never did, I was an accessory to their life, I just didn't matter to them. I was a convenient and useful prop. I was hit with a wave of pain, I cried, still they didn't notice so I got angry, very angry. I had a glass of water in front of me, I stood up and threw it hard at the tiles over the sink. It just exploded,

glass shards rained over everything. They both turned around angry what the H. They froze, unsure what to do when they saw my contorted tear-soaked face. It was uncomfortably quiet for a long while before I spoke, Eve, I know all about your cheating with Adam. I was surprised how clear it came out since I was clenching my jaw so hard it hurt. My daughter looked at Eve what? Is that true, Mom? Eve starting to try to explain, she briefly glanced at me and said, sorry, I can explain. Then she turned back to our daughter and they started arguing.

Again it was like I was invisible or something. Hello. Oh. Glass thrower here. After a few minutes watching their increasingly heated argument I just walked out and got in my car, I looked at them again through the window, still arguing in the kitchen. They didn't even notice I had left. I sat there for a few more minutes before I gave up and just drove off. It took maybe 15 minutes before Eve tried to call me, then call after call after call,

then a flood of texts from both of them. I just ignored it and eventually turned the phone off. The next day I took half of our money out and called my boss. I told him I didn't know when I would be back, he told me if I didn't show up by. Was fired, I just told him okay and hung up. I just didn't care. I went to Adam's house, his wife opened, I gave her a copy of the messages and told her what Adam and my wife had been up to, I left her crying on the stairs.

At the end of the day I ended up in a cheap hotel at the edge of town. The next few days were kind of a blur while I tried to come to terms with things, I didn't make any real progress, mostly staring at the wall trying to think of reasons not to end myself. Eve's older brother is a cop, let's call him Bob. Bob showed up on a third or fourth day, I'm not sure, I don't know how he found me, he tried to interrogate me, I didn't say anything. When I didn't engage, he told me I was under arrest and put me in cuffs, however he didn't take me to the station like I expected, he took me home instead. Bob dragged me into the living room where my wife and daughter immediately started berating me.

Still I said nothing, I just listened in amazement while they told me how terrible this was for them. When a terrible a-hole I was for making them worry, it went on for a while, in the end eve screamed at me say something. I stared at her for a while before calmly saying I have nothing to say to you, whore. Bob freaked out and slammed me against the wall, screaming at me to not talk to his sister that way. I got a lot of satisfaction out of Bob's violent reaction, I don't know why, it made me so happy I was laughing. Bob's wife left him four months earlier, I smiled at Bob, your pathetic Bob, did you beat your wife to Bob? Is that why she left you? Bob hit me hard.

I went down, wife and daughter started screaming their heads off. As I start to get up I just laughed even harder. I just couldn't help myself. I was bleeding from somewhere I saw it on the floor. I am still in handcuffs, laughing, maybe it was the absurdity of it all. I spat blood in Bob's face and said, fool, K, you Bob. He hit me again, hard enough to knock me out cold this time. I woke in the hospital, I puked all over the floor the second I opened my eyes so I knew I had a concussion.

Eve, Bob and my daughter was there, they were talking at me, I was too confused to make it out. A nurse appeared and asked them to leave, she got me a pan to puke in and called someone to clean. While she was taking my pulse, I told her that my family put me here and that they were not to come anywhere near me, that if they came back into the room I would leave, I would just run away, she argued kind of sternly that running or even getting up was a really bad idea for me, but she would talk to security. I didn't see them again in the hospital, it was bliss. Finally I felt a little at peace, I could think.

I was thinking about maybe reporting Bob to get him fired, but it's a small town, his colleagues would probably cover for him, I considered confronting my wife, but that didn't make any sense to me either. I decided to disappear, to turn into a ghost, I wanted nothing to do with these people ever again. I made a letter to each of them, I warned Bob that if he ever bothered me again I would report him. I told my daughter that Eve had betrayed me and that she would be without a father from now on. To Eve I made a longer letter, I tried to be as practical as possible, I told her to sell the house, that I won't be paying the mortgage or utilities anymore, etc. I told her reconciled.

or even contact was impossible, especially after she had sent her brother to drag me back and beat me senseless in front of them. I explained that I won't do anything for her ever again, so if she wants a divorce she will have to arrange it. I told her I will disappear and I don't want to be found. That if she interferes with my life again I will simply end myself, that we will never speak again, I ended it with how much she had hurt me. I really, really regret giving her that sentence. It's like I let her steal a little bit more of me, like I let her, give me a little more pain. In the hospital I made a plan on how I could disappear, Eve gave the hospital some fresh clothes that they forwarded to me. Then one evening I just went out the rear fire

escape. I triggered some kind of alarm I was panicking a bit, but, thankfully no one stopped me, I got back to the hotel to pick up my car, I traded it with a small RV and set off. I got a new phone, the only person I called was my father, I told him everything and told him if he gave my new number to anyone I would become totally unreachable, forever, he could call me if he needed to reach me if I needed to sign something, other than that I wanted to be left alone. For the first few months I grieved the loss of my old life, but I came to realize that I grieved the loss of a fantasy, a memory that only existed in my head, the loving wife and daughter, the family, friends. It was all just an illusion in my head, these people never really cared for me. Over time I started to rebuild the sort of life, only this time I was a total ghost. I ghosted all of society, now I'm only a po box, I rent a safety deposit box to keep valuables in cash, I do odd jobs for money, I hunt and fish and scavenge, my money consumption is insignificant

so my cash reserves are actually growing, I don't pay taxes. I don't have a bank account, and people ask my name I answer people call me Fred, it's not my name I go out of my way to not contribute to society or anything else for that matter. I am still invisible, like I was in my family, at least now I am invisible to strangers, not people that claim to love me, and to be honest I kind of like it now, I brew my own beer, I move around, I have no obligations, I work when I want, I spend a lot of time in nature just relaxing, I have a few friends that I hunt and fish with. I am in amazing the best shape of my life actually. All in all my life is getting better, at least now no one is using me for nothing but

their own benefit while pretending they care about me. I don't know what happened to my wife and daughter, my old friends or the rest of the family, I don't know if I am divorced now or if I owe child support, I don't know what happened to the house, I don't really care, my father has tried to give me information a few times, but I shut that down hard. He is the only one I speak to occasionally for my old life. I feel free, relaxed, content, I could say happy even. I don't have much, but I don't need much. When I get to the end of the line I will sell everything and burn the rest of my money, I will make sure there is nothing of value left, nothing left to remember me by. Then I will walk into a national park without no one ever knowing and disappear forever.

Sometimes I go to shopping malls, train or bus stations and just observe the people. There I see them, all the men like I used to be, the men that are sacrificing themselves to a society and families that don't give a shit about them, men that work themselves to death without any recognition or gratitude from anyone. They are guilt-tripped, pressured and pushed to always make more, sacrifice more, more and more pointless nonsense, brand clothes, bigger house, more this more. that. Never even getting a thank you, no form of gratitude, or appreciation, in most cases, not even a smile. They try to fool themselves, just like I was, refusing to recognize reality, but I see it in them, just like I used to, deep down they know. I recognize their empty million-mile stare, I used to have the same one. This felt nice to get up my chest, thank you for listening. To make any update, I abandon my family and I am over.

with it. First, thank you everyone for all your feedback and comments. I am afraid I will not be able to respond to everyone, there is just too much for me to be able to cover. So many sad stories on PM, a lot of comments and criticism, much of it justified, I won't be able to read all of it. As I was reading yesterday I was starting to experience something similar to the day I tried to confront Eve. The world got muffled, feeling disconnected at etc. In short, I was not feeling well. I felt I needed to log off, I called a hunting friend and asked if he could come over, we talked on the phone until he arrived and the first thing he did was to confiscate all my ammunition. So he was pretty worried, I guess. He called my dad and

stayed with me until he arrived. I have moved to a different city so that took over four hours, we talked and discussed many of the comments that I found distressful. I can't really remember any details, it's kind of fussy. Long story short, dad arrived and he took me to see a doctor, as a result I have been committed to a psychiatric facility. The doctors suspect that I suffer from emotional and psychological trauma, probably depression as well. Apparently, the numbness, extreme desire to self-isolate, strange reactive behaviors like laughing at being beaten, nobody loves me, feeling undeserving, reclusive, etc., etc., are pretty clear indicators, according to the doc.

I don't know really, I will have to wait for more diagnosis, I have no idea what they will do about me, or if they can even do anything. I hope to talk to my daughter in the near future if the counselors say it's okay, for me and her, and if she wants to, my dad has talked to her a bit about the situation. He tells me that she loves me and asks for me, dash I guess many of you were right, I am a massive piece of shit. My dad is with me for now and I will be monitored 24 to 7 for the next few days. They tried some medication but I had a very negative reaction so they will try something else

tomorrow. Peace. Bob somehow found the post and pawned me and apologized. Eve hadn't told him the real reason I left for the hotel, she had just told him about the glass in the wall, leaving the rest out. Bob told me he had informed his superiors what he had done when he found out, according to him, everyone that should be, has been informed. He was suspended in order to undergo anger management training, if I submit a complaint he will be dismissed, he has prepared a full written confession and all the paperwork for me if I choose

to do so. All I need to do is read it and if I agree to sign it, if I choose not to move forward with that he will be allowed to continue his work with pay cut and a demotion. But I don't know what to do, I think I will just focus on me for now, I feel kind of broken and lost at the moment, so I need to figure that out first. I don't know anything at the moment TBH. I felt I needed to make an update to thank everyone, you helped me accept that I needed to seek help. Maybe I will post an update in the future, thank you again. Update 2, I abandoned my family and I am okay.

with it. I guess this is kind of a positive update. Thank you everyone that has reached out, sorry I haven't gotten back to all of you, there are just too many for me to respond to. I have tried, but I have had limited access over the last week, the hospital took away my internet access since it caused me quite a lot of distress to read some of the comments, I was very unstable in the beginning. Anyway, I am out since Friday morning, I have been getting a lot of therapy and I am doing much better, I have daily treatment, but I no longer need to be committed. I suffer the after effect of emotional trauma and have mild PTSD. My behavior has naturally been off as a result of this. I have been in intensive therapy and I am getting some medication,

I only take the pills now and again at this stage if I feel overwhelmed. I still get these waves of pain that hits me where the world goes numb, but it's less frequent. Some of my behavior, especially the isolation, probably made things even worse for me. I have talked a lot to my daughter, she tells me she has forgiven me, she never meant to make me feel unappreciated, she loves me, the first few days I didn't actually believe, but once I got some perspective I realized this doubt was all on me. I have apologized more times than I can count, she started telling me to stop apologizing actually. She has moved away from her mother and is living with my brother and his family at the moment. She gets along really well with his kids and my brother has told us that

she can stay for as long as she wants. I am in no condition to be a full-time parent at the moment, so for now, she will stay with them. My brother has arranged therapy for her and I will do my best to be the best father I can be from now on. My wife, Eve has also moved out of the house and is living with her parents. My father has been paying the mortgage for me, without me knowing, so the house isn't sold yet. I am not looking forward to going back there to all the memories. I have decided to sell the house and downsize to a tiny home and live a life closer to nature with less stress,

I will try to rent or buy a plot of land and live as simply as possible, at least for a while. My daughter loves this idea and has been researching tiny homes like a pro. Adam, the app is trying to reconcile with his wife and has cut Eve off completely. Eve has been to my dad's house almost weekly begging for him to contact me and let her talk to me. If what her mother tells me is correct, Eve lost her job and is in a terrible way, barely leaving her room at her parents' house, she is shunned by pretty much everyone according to her mom. I have found a lawyer today and will start divorce proceedings ASAP. I bought a whole case of my hunting buddy's favorite whiskey and spent Saturday night there, thanking him, he is a true friend. He probably saved my life.

My wife's affair completely broke me and my family, I was so broken I couldn't even see it myself. It was actually all the harsh comments here on Reddit that got me to accept that something was seriously wrong with me, I would not have asked for help if I wasn't. I pushed to a point where I started to break down, up until then I was sort of holding myself together by convincing myself that I was doing better, but truth is I was hanging on by the tiniest of threads. So once again, thank you everyone. Edit, I forgot to tell you about Bob. I have called Bob employer today and pleaded Bob's case that he continues as a cop. Bob visited me on Thursday, he had prepared all the paperwork for me to file a complaint against him, he made no excuses, he admitted his behavior was completely out of line.

He apologies for loosing his cool, and that it was entirely his fault. He pushed me pretty hard to file against him actually. But I have been thinking about him, I have seen him throw himself in the path of a punch to protect an old woman being attacked. I know a lot of his colloques, and they always talk about how he will always go that extra mile to help someone. I found out why his wife divorced him as well. Bob doesn't make much, but he donates 10% of his salary and volunteers three days a week to help the homeless. Apparently his ex found this to be unbearable. Bob refused to stop helping so she divorced him.

Bob is a good man, he lost control one time, I lost my way for over six months. I am happy to take a beating to make sure a man like him can continue to do good. He took me to see the homeless people he helps today after I insisted and he needs to keep doing what he is doing. For month update, I abandon my family and I am okay with it. Firstly, thank you. I still get a lot of support via PM from here. You guys are amazing. I have gotten a lot of therapy and I am fairly stable. My daughter is doing well. I am however a different person now. I have a hard time trusting people. Apart from my daughter I prefer solitude and I have a very low public profile in general. I don't know if I would say something

is broken inside me. I guess you could say I am broken compared to who I used to be. but I am not unhappy, I am perfectly okay as a partial loaner, I am just different now, I guess. The house is sold and I bought a tiny home where me and my daughter lives, it's not a tiny, tiny home like you see on TV, it has two separate bedrooms and a combined living room kitchen, it's in a secluded location on a forested hillside and it has a porch outside as big as the house and a wonderful view. I absolutely love the tranquility and the close proximity to nature in our new home. I am divorced, or almost divorced, it's just waiting for the formalities now, expected time frame is three months. STBXW has been begging me a lot for a second chance,

almost daily, but she has not demanded anything from me, she doesn't try to excuse herself she own her affair. We used mediation and she has given me everything basically, all our assets plus full custody. The only thing she has asked for is to be allowed to visit off-fair. so she can try to repair her relationship with our daughter. She has offered to cook and clean as well, but I don't want to feel like I owe her anything, I will keep the household operational, it's tiny anyway, and I need some chores for my daughter. I don't want her to grow up to be a spoiled brat. My daughter and STBX relationship is very, very strained, we will have to see how it goes. For you that want to tell me this is a ploy to try to get back with me, don't worry

she is not sneaky about it at all, she has told me straight out that she hopes we can find a way back together and that she will make efforts towards that, if I put up boundaries she has promised to respect that, so I am okay. From my perspective I have told her I want closure, but there is no way of repairing our relationship. We will be co-parents, that's it. I have insisted on split custody since it's cumbersome to undo full custody after the divorce is final, now that I can think straight I want our daughter to have a relationship with her mother. I have forgiven her and moved on, I will live my life as I see fit from here on out. As for the assets, I will give her half at the last minute, or directly after the divorce.

We built up these recourses during our marriage so it's only fair she gets half, but I really want to see if she will go through with it, actually giving me everything. She is very remorseful and I find it helps my healing. TBXW is still struggling, some would say she is an absolute wreck, she is going to counseling, we all are, including family therapy for my daughter's benefit. I am determined to try to make up as much as possible for my daughter for my mistake. My daughter is very sharp, I believe she has forgiven me, but she watches very carefully how I act towards her mother.

I am determined to be a good role model, so I will act exemplary. When I posted I was in a really bad place, thankfully I was stupid enough to post on Reddit, I don't even know why I posted TBH, but I got some much-needed feedback that sort of snapped me out of it. It's been incredibly hard to deal with the aftermath, but I am finally starting to stabilize. Even if our family and marriage is destroyed, we will be okay in the end. So thank you all once again.