Reddit Stories - Episode #11 - AITA Stories That Keep You Thinking ( Over 9 Hour Compilation )

Episode Date: October 19, 2025

#redditstories #sleep #sleepstories #bedtimestories #fallasleep #aita #drama #thinking #longcompilation SummaryEpisode 11 delivers AITA stories that keep you thinking, packed with dilemmas and family drama in a soothing 9-hour bedtime compilation. With calming narration, these powerful confessions are designed to relax your mind, help you unwind, and guide you into restful sleep while reflecting on unforgettable Reddit stories. Tagsredditstories, sleepstories, fallasleep, bedtimestories, relaxingconfessions, aitadrama, thoughtprovokingstories, longbedtimecompilation, soothingnarration, 9hourstorycollection, calmingaita, sleeplisteningaudio, familydilemmas, peacefulnightroutine, bedtimecompilation, stressreliefnarration, deepreststories, nightlisteningstories, relaxingbedtimeaudio, sleepbetterstoriesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Manipulative partner coerced me into agreeing to a distasteful agreement regarding my relatives on the eve of our marriage, so I embarrassed him by reciting it publicly in front of our guests. Okay. Reddit, I need to get this off my chest. I'm 28F, and I'm a dentist. I met this guy, Gene, 28M, on a dating app. We went on a few dates, and I quickly started to see some things I didn't like.

The first date was at a really trendy bar. Jean ordered a lot of expensive drinks for himself and his friends, and he put it all on his own tab without asking me if I wanted anything specific. I just had water, and he made a comment about it. He said, don't worry, I like a girl who knows her limits. It's cute. He gave me a wink, but I didn't feel like he was being nice. It felt like he was looking down on me.

The second date was at a loud night. Club. Gene spent most of the night talking to other women. While I was getting us drinks, he was very obviously flirting with a blonde woman in a tight dress. When I got back, he didn't even notice me for several minutes. He finally saw me, grabbed his drink, and didn't even say, thank you. I told him I felt uncomfortable, and he told me I should loosen up and learn to have some fun. The third date was dinner at a regular restaurant. He spent the whole time talking about his family's money and his plans for the future with their business. He didn't ask me much about my work or my life. Then, he said something about my job that bothered me. He said,

Dentistry, huh? That's adorable. My mom always wanted me to marry a doctor, but I guess a dentist is close enough. She'll be thrilled. I realized we were very different. I like quiet evenings, reading and things like that. Gene was clearly a very social person who enjoyed bars and clubs. I don't have anything against people who like to party, it's just not for me. I work at a well-known hospital, so I'm doing pretty well in my career. Gene, on the other hand, was going to inherit his father's business. After those dates, I stopped answering his texts. He sent me a few messages that got angrier and angrier. The last one called me boring and uptight, and he said I was probably just jealous of girls who know how to have a good time. A few months went by. Then, I saw him

again at a friend's birthday party. It was at a quiet, upscale lounge, which is more my kind of place. At first, Jean just kind of looked at me from across the room with a little smile. But then, he came over and apologized for those texts. He blamed me. it on having a bad day and drinking too much tequila. He was being very charming, paying a lot of attention to me, and even pretending to remember things I'd told him about my job on our first date. He got some details wrong, though. We spent the whole party together. We left together, but just as friends. Soon after, he asked me out again. He suggested a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant that's known for its food and wine. It seemed like he was actually trying to do

something I would enjoy. He said, I want to make it up to you. I know I messed up before. I thought I'd give him a real chance. Things got serious pretty quickly. Gene started doing big, romantic things, buying me expensive gifts and taking me on weekend trips. It was impressive at first, but then it started to feel like a little too much. He bought me a designer handbag that I never would have chosen for myself. He said, every woman deserves a little luxury. We are very different people. He kept making jokes about me going to bed early and liking to stay in, saying I had old lady habits. He'd tease me, saying, you're going to turn into a pumpkin if you stay out past 10 p.m. Cinderella, we said we loved each other. A year after we started dating,

we moved in together. He picked the apartment, a luxury high rise in a trendy neighborhood. I wanted something quieter and closer to my work, but he brushed it off. He said, come on, babe, you'll love the views. And the amenities are insane. Living with him, I saw what his everyday life was like. He played video games all day. He went to the gym sometimes. And he partied every weekend at bars and clubs. He'd come home really late, often waking me up. One time, He brought a group of loud friends back to the apartment at 3 a.m., even though he knew I had to get up early for work. His work situation was, interesting. He went to his father's company office twice a week, but only if he felt like it. He was supposed to work from home the rest of the week, but he sometimes didn't even do that.

The company belongs to his father, and nobody could tell Gene what to do. It was obvious he only had the job because he was the owner's son. He was proud of it. Two, he'd brag to his friends about how he had it made and didn't have to work hard. His father was still working there, but he kept telling Gene he'd inherit the business someday and that he had faith in him. Gene has a business degree. I tried to talk to Jean about his work a couple of times. He told me that as long as he was getting paid, I didn't need to worry about his professional life.

He added, you wouldn't understand the pressures of a family business anyway. It's not like pulling teeth. sweetheart. I knew he was contributing money, so I decided not to argue with him. I just tried to ignore the whole weird work situation. One evening, I got home after a long, tiring shift at the hospital. Jean was playing video games, and the apartment was a mess. I asked him if he'd had time to look at some important documents about our lease. He said he'd get to it later and that I was stressing him out during his downtime. He gestured to the video game and said, can't you see I'm in the middle of something? This is important, too. I didn't say anything, but I was starting to feel frustrated. My parents

are in their early 50s. I've been helping them out with money. It was the right thing to do, and I wanted to. I could afford it. I was helping them save for retirement. I paid a couple of their bills every month, whenever I could. They told me I didn't have two, but I kept doing it. Jean and I kept our money separate. I didn't tell him about helping my parents because I didn't think it was important. He never told me how he spent his money. A couple of months ago, he found out I had paid my parents' electric bill. My parents had visited the day before, and they mentioned it in conversation. Gene was acting annoyed during the visit, making little comments about how lucky my parents were to have such a generous daughter. He kept refilling his wine

glass and ignoring me when I tried to talk to him. Later that night, after my parents had left, Jean brought it up. He slammed a beer bottle on the counter, which surprised me. He said I should have discussed this with him first. He said I was hiding things from him and going behind his back. He told me I must ask him before sending any money to my parents. He said it was about respect and that, We're a team now. You don't make these kinds of decisions without me. I didn't react well to that. We had a big argument. I told him he had no right to control my money. I told him I didn't know anyone an explanation for how I spent my money, especially since I earned it myself. I also pointed out that I'd never asked him how he spent his money, like when he was buying,

his friends drinks at the bar every weekend. I said, at least I'm not blowing my money on useless things and acting like a spoiled frat boy. I told him I could afford to help my parents. Jean said that my money was now our money, and he had a say in how it was used. He said, What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine. That's how partnerships work, babe. We didn't speak for a few days after that fight. I slept on the couch. I was starting to feel really uneasy. Jean eventually apologized. The was short, and it was more about the misunderstanding than about him trying to control me. He said, I'm sorry we fought. I just, I get worried about money. It's a family thing. He gave me a cheap

bracelet as a gift, which didn't look like anything I'd wear. I felt like I had to accept the apology, even though I was still upset. A few weeks later, I suggested we start saving for a down payment on a house. Gene laughed and said we didn't need to worry about that, because his parents would probably gift us a property when we got married. He said, besides, you wouldn't want to live in some boring suburb, would you? You'd missed the city life. He didn't even ask what I thought. A couple of weeks after that argument, we got engaged.

Gene proposed in a very public, showy way, at a fancy restaurant with a lot of his friends there. He got down on one knee, holding a huge diamond ring, and said, well, my name, are you going to make me the happiest man in the world, or what? I felt like I had to say yes, even though I had mixed feelings. I got really busy with wedding planning. I kind of forgot about that argument. Gene didn't really help with the planning, leaving most of it to me and his mother. But he kept criticizing our choices, saying they were too traditional or not classy enough.

He didn't want a string quartet at the wedding, saying, that's so stuffy. We need a DJ who can actually get the party going. He insisted on a big ice sculpture, which I thought was unnecessary. The wedding was scheduled for six months after the engagement. We planned to stay living separately until the wedding. Three days before the wedding, the night before, actually, Jean came to my house, where I was staying. He was about to check into a nearby hotel. He gave me a document and asked me to sign it.

He told me to hurry. He seemed uncomfortable and was trying to rush me. He kept tapping his foot and avoiding looking me in the eye. He said, it's just some legal stuff, nothing to worry your pretty little head about. At first, I thought it was a prenuptial agreement. Then I read it. The document had three main clauses. One, after we were married, I wouldn't be allowed to give any money to my parents or any other member of my family.

Two, if we had children, they wouldn't be allowed to be alone with my parents until they were 18 years old. 3. If Gene or his parents thought it was necessary, I might have to cut off all contact with my own family. Gene said the contract was a necessary measure because of the argument we'd had before about my parents' bills. He mentioned that his father was retiring soon, and he would be getting more money. He said he didn't want my parents to think they were entitled to any money. He added, we need to protect our assets, and you know how families can be. They'll bleed you dry if you let them. He said the clause about the children was just in case my parents tried to use the children against us.

He said something like, you never know what people are capable of. We need to be careful, implying my parents might try to turn our kids against him and his family. He said the no-contact clause was for worst-case scenarios and that I shouldn't worry about that. He was talking to me like the contract was a completely normal thing. He just asked me to sign it, pushing the pen towards me. I signed it, but I made sure to keep that copy. After I signed the paper, I kept thinking about it and my mind was going a mile a minute. I couldn't fall asleep that night. I stayed up late, reading the contract over and over. The next day was the wedding. I went through with all the preparations. I just pretended everything was fine. I got my hair and makeup done and put on the dress.

I walked down the aisle. It felt like I was watching it all happen from far away. When it was my turn to say my vows, I asked my maid of honor for my purse. I took out the contract. Everyone looked confused. They probably thought I had written down my vows. Gene and his parents looked alarmed. Gene's father started to stand up. I began reading the contract out loud. I read through all the clauses very carefully, making sure everyone heard each word. I announced that this was what Jean had made me sign the night before. Then I said I wasn't in love with him. I called him a man-child, I said, you're a selfish, controlling, entitled brat, and I refused to spend another minute of my life with you. I looked right at his parents and called.

them privileged douchebags. I ripped the contract into tiny little pieces. I threw the pieces of the contract at Jean's face. A piece of paper landed in his mouth, and he sputtered and tried to call me back. He was yelling, my name, what the hell are you doing? I grabbed my parents' hands. They looked shocked, but they squeezed my hands tightly. We walked out together. I didn't look back. We got into my parents' car and drove to their house, my childhood home. It was a quiet ride. My mom was crying in the back seat, and my dad was trying to comfort her. When we got home, I changed into something more comfortable, an old sweatshirt and sweatpants.

I took off all my makeup. I sat down with my parents. My father told me they were incredibly proud of me. My mother was crying too much to speak clearly, but she was nodding in agreement with my father. She said, we love you, honey. We'll always be here for you. I've been staying at my parents' place ever since the wedding. That evening, Jean called me. He yelled and cursed at me. He called me a gold digger and manipulative, and said I'd ruined his life. I didn't care. I hung up on him. Then I got a tearful voice message from the woman who

would have been my mother-in-law. She said I had had to be. made a mockery of her and her family publicly. She said the contract had been presented in private, and I should have rejected it privately. She called me ungrateful and classless, and said I had brought shame on their family. She was crying the whole time. So, Reddit, was I really the one in the wrong here? Update 1, I wanted to give a quick update. I posted here on Reddit about what happened. I don't think I did anything wrong. I might have been a little bit and impractical, but that's a whole lot different than being selfish, cruel, or disrespectful. And honestly, I don't care if some people disagree with me.

Most people seem to think I did the right thing. I keep thinking back to that argument about the electric bill, and it just makes me even more sure I made the right choice. Jean and I had to talk about splitting the costs of the canceled wedding. We had to deal with the caterers, specifically. He tried to make me pay more, saying it was always my fault and that he was losing a lot of money because of what I did. He even threatened to sue me. I told him to go ahead and try. I don't regret the money I lost. If I'd canceled the day before,

would have saved some money, but whatever. At least I have a pretty crazy story to tell now. Update 2, another update. The wedding expenses, the caterers, are finally paid off. It took a lot of arguing and even getting lawyers involved, but we finally agreed to split the costs in half. It's a relief to have that over with, even though it was expensive. Gene has blocked me. I found out when I tried to message him about getting some of my belongings back. I've been feeling a lot of different things. I'm relieved, but I also feel kind of, empty. I spent years thinking we were in love. Now, I don't really know what to do without him. A part of me actually wants him back, which I know is ridiculous considering everything he did. I'm almost

ashamed to admit that. I've been getting a lot of your so fabulous texts from people, which is nice, but it doesn't really change how I feel inside. I'm just feeling numb. I can't really talk to anyone I know about this in person. I don't want to make things awkward or uncomfortable for them. So, any advice on how to deal with this kind of heartbreak? L.O.L. Update 3. It's been about a month since the wedding. I went back to the apartment we used to share to pack up the rest of my stuff. It was my last time going there. Gene wasn't home.

A friend of his, Troy, was there and let me and a friend of mine in. Troy was acting really uncomfortable and made a few comments about how I'd overreacted and ruined a good thing, he said. Gene's really messed up about this, you know. He really loved you. My friend and I packed up my things. I noticed that some of my stuff was missing or damaged, like a favorite book with pages ripped out in a smashed picture frame. I'm pretty sure Gene did it, but I didn't say anything to Troy.

We just left as soon as we could. Before I left, Gene's friend gave me a note from Gene. Troy handed it to me and said, He wanted you to have this, but he didn't seem happy about it. The note was an apology from Gene. He apologized for what he'd done and how he'd treated me. He said it had always been even-tempered and shy, which is funny, because it shows he never really understood me. He said things must have been pretty bad for me to react the way I did.

He said we were both immature during the relationship, and that we cared more about being in a relationship than about each other. He said he hoped we could meet up again sometime in the future, when we were both in a better space. The letter was bittersweet. I don't think we'll ever get back in touch. The damage is done. The apology seemed like he meant it, but he still didn't really acknowledge the main problem, his disrespect and his need to control me. It felt like he was trying to make it seem like we were both equally responsible for what happened.

I crumpled up the note, then smoothed it out again. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I've rented a new apartment. It's near my parents' place. It's smaller and not as fancy as the old apartment, but it's cozy and peaceful. I feel safe and relieved being closer to my family. I can visit them whenever I feel lonely. I'm going to focus more on work.

I'm sad, but I'm also looking forward to being single. Thinking about it, reading Jean's letter stung. I know that I also made some mistakes. Update 4. It's been six months since the almost wedding. I got a promotion at the hospital. I'm now the head of my department. I think it's because I'm able to focus on my work now, and I'm not constantly stressed and worried like I was with Jean.

My social life is much better. I've reconnected with old friends, and I've made new friends. I feel much more confident and outgoing than I have in years. I even went dancing with my friends, something I never would have done when I was with Jean. My relationship with my parents is stronger than ever. I'm still helping them out financially, but it's different now. We have dinner together regularly, and they're always there to support me.

Something surprising happened. Jean's father contacted me. He offered me a job at his friend's dental hospital. He said my skills would be a good fit there and that he always thought I was a good, smart girl. I turned him down. It would have been a major constant. conflict of interest, and I just don't want to be involved with that family in any way. And then I ran into Jean.

It was at a coffee shop near my new apartment. He looked, not great. He gained weight, and his clothes were wrinkled. He tried to talk to me, apologizing again and saying he misses me a lot. He told me he's been having trouble at work, and his father is thinking about selling the company because Jean can't handle it. He said he realizes. now how much he messed up and how good I was for him. I was polite, but I didn't give him much.

I told him I'd moved on and that I wished him well, but I wasn't interested in getting back together. I left without saying much else. I felt a little bit of pity for him, but mostly, I just felt relieved that I'm not stuck in that situation anymore. This whole thing has made me realize how much I've grown and how much happier I am without genes' negativity and control in my life. It was a tough decision, but I know I did the right thing. I feel a sense of closure and peace about it all. Update 5, it has now been a year since the wedding that never happened. I just went on my first date. It was really casual, just coffee with someone I met. It was a bit strange and definitely new, but I was happy, excited, and only a little bit nervous. I have been going

to therapy, and, wow, it has helped so much. My therapist has helped me work through the whole mess with Gene, build my confidence, and learn how to set healthy boundaries. I have finally realized my self-worth. I'm actually looking forward to the future. I hope you enjoy this story. Mother evicted me due to her new household. Afterwards, upon discovering my achievements, she appeared requesting financial support for my younger relatives' education. Upon my denial, she struck me. So for context, my mother had me when she was 20 and my biological father was never in the picture for me. My mom told me that he had never wanted to have kids with her and since they were just together for a couple of months at the time.

When she got pregnant, she had given him the choice to leave, and he had taken her up on that offer. She told me that her breakup with him had been quite bitter, so she had decided not to take any child support from him and he hadn't been willing to offer any either. So it was convenient for both of them to just never speak again. Thankfully, my grandparents were very supportive and were always there for her. That's how she was able to complete her education and then get a job. She dated a couple of men when I was younger and then, when I was around eight years old, she finally started dating Harry. She used to work with him at some point, and they dated for almost three years before she got married to him.

Harry and I got along well enough, it was not like he and I were super attached to each other. but he didn't hate me and we were just cool with each other's presence in the house. For years after they got married, my mom got pregnant and everyone was really happy about it, including me. In hindsight, I probably should have seen what was going to happen in the future, but I was too caught up in the belief that no matter what, my mom would always be there for me. After all, she had been through a lot of hardships while she was raising me, so she was obviously not going to let it all go to waste and abandon me. So even though we had started growing apart and she had made it very obvious that she was distancing herself from me after she got married to Harry, I thought that it was probably just a temporary phase and things would get better again.

So I tried my best to be there for her while she was pregnant, but she would always get very irritable whenever I was around, so I decided to make myself scarce just so it wouldn't bother her. But I guess I hadn't made myself invisible enough because six months after she gave birth to her twins, she and Harry told me that they wanted to have a serious. chat with me. And they told me that now that they had two kids to deal with, they couldn't have me in the house as well. I think I had just turned 16 at the time, so I was still a minor and they couldn't legally kick me out without getting into trouble, so they tried to gently nudge me by telling me how hard it was becoming for them to support our whole big family on their limited income. I honestly don't think that two adults, one teenager, and two babies were impossible to support on the income of two web developers and had been able to provide quite a

a comfortable lifestyle for us so far. It was obvious to me that they were bluffing, and they just wanted me out of the house, but even then, I tried to make suggestions that would prevent that from happening because I really didn't want to move away. I tried to tell them that I would take up a job if money was the problem, but my mother told me that more than anything else, she wanted to save money and other resources for the kids who actually deserved it more at the time, referring to the twins. She didn't say that they needed this more. She said that they deserved to stay with them more than I did, and that was all that I needed to hear to help me make up my mind that I needed to get out of there because I was clearly not wanted. They hadn't even told me where

I should be going after I left. All they had done was nudge me in the right direction because they wanted me to go and they knew that I had enough pride to realize that I was not wanted, so their plan worked. Technically, it wasn't even kicking me out in the real sense of the word since they hadn't forced me, but honestly, I would count it as the same thing because they had pushed me into a corner where I had my back against the wall and I felt like I simply had no other option. After I left that day, I headed straight to my grandparents' place and they were quite unhappy about what my mother had done but did not cut her off because they still wanted to be there for the twins. My grandparents were getting old, so it was obviously not an option for me

to rely on them financially, and I had to get a part-time job at 16. I would see my mom and Harry occasionally when they would visit my grandparents with the kids, but they rarely ever asked about me, and even when they saw me around, they were mostly very formal with me. It didn't feel like they missed me at all, and they actually seemed quite happier without me living with them. Even my mother seemed way less irritable than she used to be, and it broke my heart, but I couldn't do anything about it. I stayed with my grandparents until it was time for me to start college and even then, my mom had nothing to do with me and I had to rely on a couple of friends to help me settle in my dorm since my grandparents were obviously not young or fit enough to be

doing that. I had to take out a student loan and even for that, I had to ask one of my relatives to be the co-signer because my mom and Harry had declined for the same reason that they had kicked me out, that they wanted to save their resources and their money for the future of their kids, since they had the twins pretty late in their lives. I was lucky that one of my uncles had come to my rescue and agreed to be the co-signer, as long as I promised him that he would never have to actually pay any money. So I worked throughout college alongside completing my education in order to make sure that I did not end up defaulting on any payments after I graduated and would have a head start regarding money. After I started college, I pretty much had no contact with my mother anymore,

and even at my graduation, it was just my grandparents who attended. My mom did not even bother to congratulate me then. After I graduated from college, I started working and living separately because I did not want to be a burden on my aging grandparents anymore. It was very difficult for the first couple of years because I did not really earn a lot of money, but I had to cover rent, groceries, and utilities, and even start reducing my debt on my income, while still making sure that I saved for the future. I think that was what I would actually refer to as limited income, but, thankfully, that's not the case anymore. I worked my way up in the company and it was not easy, it took me a really long time, but I'm in a relatively comfortable position right now.

I won't bore you guys with the details, but I'm pretty proud of how far I'm. I've come, especially considering the fact that I hardly had any help from anyone. I make a comfortable living and quite unexpectedly somehow, in spite of not being in touch with me for the past many years, my mom was able to find out about it. So I'm almost 33 now and I'm working in an upper management position in the same company that I started out in. I received this huge honor of getting promoted about four months back and very few people knew about it because I wanted to keep this private. One of the people that I did tell about this was my uncle because I wanted to thank him for becoming a co-signer on my loan application back when I was struggling to find a way to cover my college expenses. And from what I know, he recently met my mom and Harriet some family get together and told her to get in touch with me so she could finally congratulate me after so many years of keeping me away from her because I was finally doing well in life.

I'm sure that he had his heart in the right place but it kind of backfired because she definitely did not reach out to me to congratulate me in any sense. of the word. Anyway, the bottom line is that my mom found out, and she recently showed up at my house with Harry, demanding to speak with me. I've already mentioned that after I started college, I did not have any contact with her. And once I graduated, I decided that there was no point in hoping that someday, my mom might come back to her senses and try to make things right with me, so I blocked her everywhere as well and completely cut her out of my life. She did not seem any worse off at either, honestly, I don't even think she noticed. I hardly kept in touch with anybody from my family apart from my grandparents, who already knew that I did not like talking

about my mom, so they refrained from speaking to me about her. As for my uncle, I did not exactly keep in touch with him either. So I really had no idea that for the past couple of years, my mom and Harry had been doing really badly financially. I only found out about it recently, when they showed up at my house and started telling me about how difficult everything has been for them. The only reason I had even let them in was because I had assumed that they were here to finally make things right with me, but I guess it was just wishful thinking. But instead of congratulating me on how well I was doing, they started off by talking about how they had heard from my uncle that I had received this huge promotion, and I was one of the

youngest people in such a position in my company right now and they were surprised that I hadn't told them anything about it. It was funny because I was surprised that they had expected me to even talk to them after so many years of no contact, let alone expect me to tell them good news about my life and my career. They even told me that they were quite disappointed that I had cut them out of my life just because they had decided that they wanted to be there for their babies more than me, since they needed their time, money, and resources more than I would have. As a teenager, they said that they had expected me to be mature about the whole thing and understand why their priorities had changed, but instead, I had started distancing myself from them after I moved in

with my grandparents instead of being supportive of their decisions. I don't even know why they would expect me to be supportive of their decision to kick me out of the house, but well, that's how they started off our meeting after so many years, by trying to gaslight me into believing that I was somehow the bad guy for getting upset that they had kicked me out of the house so they could be alone with their babies. Then, they did not even give me a chance to talk about my side of things and quickly moved on to talk about how difficult the last couple of years had been for them. They started talking about how they had started their own business, but unfortunately, they had fallen flat on their faces since it had failed to take off, and now, they were trying to cover up their losses,

but unfortunately, since the twins were also at an age where they needed to start thinking about colleges and stuff. They needed money to cover the expenses of two kids, and they needed it ASAP. That's when I finally started to realize why exactly they had come to me because they needed the money. They wasted no time in getting to the point and even tried to sugarcoat it by saying that initially, they had been quite offended when they found out that I had been doing so well and hadn't reached out to them yet, but I could make it up to them by funding my siblings' education. I simply could not believe the audacity of trying to make it sound like they were doing me a favor by letting me make it up to them by covering the college expenses of two kids who I didn't even know anymore

since I had left them behind, in my past. So I immediately told them that I was not going to be doing any of that. and it was downright offensive that they thought they could manipulate their way into something like this. I lost my temper with them and I reminded them that they were the reason that I had to pay for college and work throughout my years in college because they refused to help me out financially simply because they wanted to save for the future of their kids, since they deserved it more than I did, according to their opinion back then. And I had never questioned it, nor had I ever bothered them after they made it clear that they wanted to prioritize their twins and not me. But now, since they had

chosen who they wanted to prioritize and even kick me out and refused to stay in touch with me for so many years, they had no right to expect anything from me, let alone financial support. They didn't even have the right to expect me to speak to them anymore. I told them that since they had wanted to save their money and resources for the kids that actually deserved it, they could now use that very same money that they had saved by kicking me out to fund their college expenses instead of trying to emotionally manipulate me. Then, I requested them to leave because I was done with this interaction and had nothing left to say to them anymore. It had been pretty stupid of me to allow them to enter my house in the first place, believing that maybe they had finally come to their

senses and shown up to apologize to me for how they had treated me for so long. When I started getting at them and telling them to leave, they started getting offended as well and told me that it wasn't like I was all innocent in this situation. Their defense was that back when we had all been living together, I had always been very overenthusiastic and over-involved in their lives and used to get quite annoying. I don't even understand how that's a real problem that they had with me. I was literally a teenager and I was only trying to stay connected with my family when they were drifting away from me. And then, they started telling me that by rejecting their request right now, I was no better than them because I was forgetting all those years that my mother had supported

me and raised me on her own. This was my opportunity to make it up to her and help her out, but here I was, acting all ungrateful and disrespecting everything that they had done for me in the past. I thought that it was insanely dumb for them to bring that up since back then. I was literally a child. There was no way that I could have chosen not to rely on them. Even if I had wanted to be less of a burden on them, I still would have had to rely on them financially and it wasn't like they were doing me a favor. As soon as they thought that I was old enough to handle stuff on my own, they nudged me into leaving home and essentially just kick me out and then refused to even

acknowledge my existence for almost the next 18 years. Even after all of that, I couldn't understand how they had the audacity to demand that I helped them out for everything that they had done for me in the past. Things got pretty nasty and personal in the argument after that and I started threatening to call the cops if they did not immediately get off my property. So after a while, they did leave, but my mother kept telling me that she had made a lot of sacrifices when she was younger just because she wanted to be a good mother to me, and only once in her life, had she ever expected me to understand her situation and allow her to prioritize other people rather than just me. And she believed that I should have been more understanding instead of shutting her out for so

many years and now, apparently, I was the one trying to paint her as the bad guy and not the other way around. It's been messing with my head ever since and I don't understand if I'm actually the one at fault and ended up expecting way too much from my mother or if she is just gaslighting me. I'm mostly sure that I'm right, but just to be completely sure, I have decided to post on Reddit to ask you guys for objective opinions. I'd offer refusing to cover the expenses for my half-siblings to go to college because my estranged mother and stepdad are not doing well financially at the moment. Edit, I have spoken to my uncle and I have told him that what he did was not right or acceptable. Even if his intentions were not bad, the impact of what he did was definitely not good. If he had not told my mother about what I was up to in life and given out my contact info and address without my permission, I wouldn't be in this situation at all.

He apologized to me profusely and told me that he had no idea that my mother would end up doing something like this because even he had no clue that they were struggling financially. Had he known that, he wouldn't have told them anything about my life. And even otherwise, he acknowledged the fact that it was not his place to talk to my mom about these things. and if we had wanted to sort things out on our own, we would have done so without his interference. I do not plan on cutting him out of my life because, after all, it's not like he had his heart in the wrong place. Had that been the case, I would have been a lot more upset with him, but honestly, he just made a mistake. Moreover, he is the reason why I've been able to go to college in the first place because nobody else had been ready to step up and help me out by taking on the responsibility of

becoming a cosigner on my loan application, except for him. If you think about it, had it not been for him, I might not have been in this position at all and I don't want to be ungrateful to him. But I'm also not a doormat, so I made sure that I told him that what he had done was not right. I think I struck the right balance and whatever I did, it was fair enough. Things between us are completely fine, I'm not going to hold this against him because I think in some way, I kind of needed this closure. I have also spoken to my grandparents about what's going on with my mom right now and they think that I am in the right and have told me that they're going to try and get her and Harry to get off my back. They have always been in touch with my mom because they didn't want to

lose contact with their other grandkids, and that's quite understandable. While they can sympathize with what their family is going through, they don't think that what they're putting me through is right or justified. So that's their stance on this and I think it's fair enough. Update 1, so it's been almost nine days since I last spoke to my mom and since then, she has taken it upon herself to constantly remind me everything that she had done for me right from when I was a baby and email it to me every other day, probably to make me feel like I was indebted to her or something. I don't really understand what the point of any of that was because she was legally supposed to do everything that she did for me. It's not like she did me a favor by raising me on her own.

And it's not like she did it for as long as she was supposed to. She did it for as long as it was convenient for her. As soon as I started becoming an inconvenience, she and her husband decided to kick me out under the pretext of saving money and resources for their future and the twins. Well, we are in the future right now, and the twins are grown up, so I think they should rely on themselves and not waste their time trying to guilt trip and manipulate me. I had been ignoring the emails, but a couple of days back, I decided to write back to her, and I told her all of this, whatever I have said in this post so far. Obviously, she did not take it well and started calling me ungrateful once again,

and I just told her that she could call me whatever she wanted, it wasn't going to change the facts. And the fact that she was a terrible mother and that was the reason why I wanted nothing to do with her anymore. After that, I blocked the email address that she had been sending me emails from, but she just created another one and started trying to bother me again. So I did the same with that one as well and I'm going to keep you. doing it until she realizes that I'm not going to sit here and think about her when she never did the same for me. Honestly speaking, I'm really glad that we are having it out right now

because I'm sure that it will all be over soon and I'll have the closure that I need. The only reason I had invited them inside my house and spoken to them that day was because I was still under the delusion that maybe they had changed. That maybe they were here to congratulate me and make things right with me but speaking to them reminded me that they were the kind of people who were even incapable of feeling such things like remorse or guilt or shame. It helped me open my eyes to just how selfish and manipulative they are once again. And now, I have just completely given up any hope of ever reconciling with them. Update 2, my mother showed up at my work earlier today and I think that might be the craziest thing that she has ever done so far. Thankfully, I was not at work today

so she left pretty quickly and failed in whatever she had been trying to accomplish. I had taken a day off because I was feeling kind of under the weather and I'm so glad that I did because I'm sure that otherwise, had I been at work, she definitely would have thrown a tantrum or done something horrible to embarrass me. I found out about it when the receptionist called me to tell me that my mom had shown up at work and demanding that she meet me, and was refusing to leave even after she had been told that I hadn't even come into work. I was already pretty scared when I told the receptionist that I would speak to her in person because I really had no idea what she was going to do. But when they put her on the phone with me, I told her that I was at home and that if she tried to do anything

funny at my workplace, I would sue her so hard that let alone sending her kids to college, she wouldn't even be able to send them outside of their house out of sheer shame and embarrassment. I think that really scared her because I had tried my best to sound intimidating and I guessed that on the other end, she immediately told me that if I agreed to meet her in person. Only then would she get out of my workplace and I told her that she was in no position to be making demands because I knew for a fact that she couldn't afford a lawsuit on her hands right now. And if things got extreme, even my company wouldn't hesitate to sue her, and that would be a different conversation altogether because they are not going to be as lenient as me.

So it would be in her best interest to just leave without making much of a fuss. After I said that, she handed the phone back to the receptionist and I'm assuming that she left because after that, I did not get any calls or notifications regarding this from work. But it was definitely a close call and I cannot afford something like this happening again, so I have decided to speak to a lawyer just so I can get to know if there are any preventive measures that I can take. I don't know if this is grounds for a restraining order or not because it's not like she has threatened me but I'm still going to talk to the lawyer and try and figure something out.

Until then, I'm just going to have to hope that this recent interaction was bad enough for her to consider leaving me alone now. Update 3, hey, so I guess I don't need to worry about whether I should file a a restraining order or not since I'm pretty sure we have grounds for it now. Last week, my mother had shown up at my workplace, and I had somehow managed to get her to get off my back. And then after what happened this week, I think everyone should get a restraining order against her. So a couple of days ago, when I came back home from work, I saw her standing outside my door and I immediately told her that I was not in the mood to argue with her right now,

and if she did not go away, I would call the cops. I even had my phone in my hand. I even had my phone in my hand and I was about to dial when she literally came running at me and tackled me to the ground, so my phone went flying out of my hands. She started trying to beat me up and all this while, she was cursing at me continuously, blaming me for everything that had gone wrong in her life. I was taken aback by how psychotic all of this was, so it took me a while to try and fight back, but when I did, it was very easy for me to overpower her because I work out and I'm also a lot younger than her. Thankfully, my neighbors had realized that something was going wrong and had called the cops because of all the yelling and had even come to my rescue themselves. They even held

my mother down while we waited for the cops to arrive. When they finally did, I decided to press charges. So she's in a lot of trouble right now and I have also spoken to my lawyer and have filed for a restraining order against her. From what I know, Harry has left with the kids to be with his parents, and I really don't know if he's going to be coming back any time soon or not because my grandparents said that after he bailed her out that day, she had been charged with a misdemeanor since I was not seriously hurt. He had confronted her about what she had done and said that she couldn't be behaving like this, but she started fighting with him as well. I think she just snapped because obviously she's been going through a hard time and she just couldn't accept that I was doing well in my

life. Honestly, she's responsible for whatever she's going through right now and I refuse to feel bad for her. Soon enough, I'll have the restraining order against her, and I had been considering moving out of my house into a bigger one anyway, since now I'm earning more. So there is never a better time, and I think I'll finally start looking for options. I really hope that my mother deals with whatever she's going through and tries to be a normal person because it's embarrassing to be related to somebody like that. Even my grandparents have told me that they don't want to associate with her anymore because she had been pretty rude to them as well. So you know, she only has herself to blame for everyone distancing themselves from her. Anyway, that's none of my concern.

I hope you enjoy this story. Following the tragic loss of our son from a stillbirth, my spouse is distressed about us expecting Triplett's daughters and is contemplating separation. Should I be concerned? I, a 27-year-old female, have been in a relationship with my partner, a 29-year-old male, for five years, and we are married. For three of those years. Our marriage was perfect and we were so happy. It felt like our entire life was perfect. Church on Sunday, loving husband, beautiful home, all of it. A few months into our marriage I became pregnant and my husband and I were overjoyed and so was the rest of our family. My husband was especially happy after finding out our baby was a boy as he'd always told me he wanted at least one son.

I even started to try to attempt to repair my relationship with my mother so our son could have a relationship with his grandparents. I had originally cut off most contact with my mother due to how she treated my brother when he married his husband. Though my brother said he was all right with my decision to try to get her back in my life since he still has love for her and my baby was her first grandchild. However, our son ended up stillborn, and it broke me. I fell into a depression and even at one point considered taking my life, but my husband was there for me during all of it and we got through the grief. Our marriage felt stronger than ever and life started slowly feeling beautiful again, even if it no longer felt perfect.

About five months ago I found out I'm pregnant again, and then found out soon after that we're having triplets. My husband and I were over the moon and he was the most doting and loving husband. Since we had always said we wanted two to three children we agreed we wouldn't try for any more children after this. Because of our and our family's excitement for the triplets, we decided to throw a baby shower and gender reveal party. We trusted my brother with the genders of the triplets and he bought some confetti cannons with the colored streamers inside. The baby shower went wonderfully with my parents, in-laws, my brother and his husband and their daughter, and tons of

friends and extended family. It was like a dream come true and I was so excited for the gender reveal. I don't care what the gender of our babies was I just wanted healthy little babies, but my husband was clearly excited for potentially three sons. When the time came me, my husband, and my brother all shot a confetti cannon and all three shot out pink confetti. I was so excited and so was my brother, but my husband screamed at the top of his lungs and hit the table in front of us, hitting it so hard that it actually broke. He screamed at me that I was supposed to give him at least one son because I killed his first one. That's when I burst into tears. I had been so broken up about our son's stillbirth and a part of me had felt it was my fault, and now he my husband was,

the love of my life, telling me that it was. My brother immediately stepped in and tried to get my husband to calm down but my husband shoved my brother, so my brother instead pulled me inside where I cried in the living room while my husband's mother tried to calm him down. I could hear him screaming outside about how three daughters is too many, how he doesn't want four kids but he also wants a son. Ever since that moment my husband has hardly talked to me. He's been sleeping in the guest room and when we do interact he's clearly upset and mad and tries to argue with me. I tried to talk to him about it and asked about how he'll be with our three daughters, but he spat at me and told me he will provide them shelter and food,

but he isn't interested in daughters and doesn't plan to have a close relationship with them. That sealed the deal that I want to divorce him and I cried myself to sleep last night. Earlier today I confided in my mother and Mill about all this, but they told me I can't divorce my husband just because he wants a son. I don't want my daughters to grow up in an unloving household where their parents constantly argue and their father doesn't love them. The moment my husband said I killed our son I felt as though I lost all love I had for him in an instant, and I don't want my daughters to be in that kind of household.

However, both my mom and Mill say it's just natural for men to want sons and that at least he isn't saying he'll mistreat them. They treated this as absolute fact and acted as though I'm just a silly little girl who doesn't know anything. I felt incredibly small and stupid. I don't know what to do. My mother and Mill make me feel like maybe I'm over. overreacting to my husband's behavior, but my brother says this is not normal as he and his husband

are both men who absolutely love their daughter. I'm also not sure of what I'll do with myself if I divorce my husband. I don't work and I'm not sure how I'll be able to find a job that can support me and three babies all on my own, or how I'll make time for all of them when I have to work. I feel so lost and helpless. I'm torn on what to do because I worried divorce will be too brash of a decision and that maybe my mother and Mill are right. Ida. What should I do? Update 1. I didn't expect to have an update so soon, but after reading everyone's comments I decided to take action immediately and went to my brother's house. We talked for hours through the night and came up with a plan. I am going to divorce my husband. He's shown the kind of man he is and I don't

want to live in or raise daughters in that kind of environment. I'm going to move in with my brother and bill during all this. He and his husband have a nice, large house where I can have my own room and a nursery for the triplets. I originally worried that perhaps myself and three babies would be overwhelming or a burden to him and my bill, but they assured me they would love to have us here. I knew everything would be okay when my brother even offered to have a baby monitor put in their bedroom so he could help if more than one of the triplets woke up during the night. My bill has a nice, high-paying job and my brother works from home, so I will have a stable environment and my brother will help with his nieces.

My own niece is excited for us to live with her. The current plan is I will live with my brother and Bill for a while and once my babies are old enough where I feel comfortable putting them in daycare, which my bill has offered to pay for, then I can try to find a job of my own where I can save up money and eventually move into a nice place of my own with my daughters. I'm so thankful for my brother and Bill, they truly feel like angels. My brother and I are also going to go no contact with my mother.

My brother and I discussed her behavior with us growing up, how she treated him when he came out and also got married, and how she's treated me these past few days. We decided this was the best course of action as we've given her many chances in our lives to became more stable and kind, but she's always refused them, and we want our daughters to grow up in with a loving family. when I knew my husband had left for church this morning my brother, Bill, and I went to my house and got all my important things such as documents, clothes, and things that are special to me as well as all the baby things. My Bill's mother watched my niece while we did all this. She's a kind woman and has offered to be a grandmother to my own babies, which I happily accepted. I will admit that I cried, I've cried a lot lately, but mostly happy tears. Because my brother and I didn't go to church my ladies' Bible study group texted me and asked if we were all right and if we needed anything. I texted them back and told them the truth and what happened, and they were all horrified.

They told me they support me and are proud of me for taking action, and are now even planning a bake sale at the church to help raise money for me and my babies. Also apparently when my husband went out to lunch after church with his men's Bible group, one of the other members is husbands to one of my friends in my Bible group and when he found out what happened he yelled at my husband so much that he cried. I got a little bit of joy out of hearing about that, not going to lie. My pastor even called me and asked if I'm okay, and he let me know that I'm I'll always have people who support me at my church, which I'm very grateful for. After my husband came home from church and saw that most of my stuff was gone, he blew up my phone,

but my bill called him for me and said that he would pay for my husband to get therapy for his grief over our son and also told him to leave me alone. My husband has not tried to contact me since, and he is yet to give my bill an answer for his therapy offer. All in all I'm so grateful for my brother and Bill, I wouldn't be able to do any of this without them. I'm hopeful, for the future and while this isn't the kind of future I imagine myself or my babies this is definitely the best one I can currently give them. They say it takes a village and my babies will definitely have a village full of love and support. Thank you and bless you to everyone who left comments supporting me. I'm grateful for all of them. I'm glad I could give you a very speedy and happy update.

Now on to the next story. Story 2. Am I wrong for rejecting my colleagues' request to make her lunch? I have a habit of making my own meals to work, simply because I love cooking and health-related issues. So I just started a new job in a new company three months ago, and seeing me making my own lunch every day has gotten me some attention from some colleagues, with that I was able to talk and mingle in a new environment. My colleagues tend to ask things like recipes, how long did I take to make it so and so, just small talk questions.

Everyone was okay except for this one girl from the same department from me, which I will name her as Sally, 27F, a junior designer. From the first day she saw my lunch, Sally has thrown in a lot of comments like how envious she is that I could cook my own meals, etc. It was fine until after one week later, she started asking me questions like, so when will you make me lunch?

I was taken aback, but I thought she was joking and waved it off with a smile and a nod. After that, at least once a week, Sally would ask me the same question again and sometimes she'd even say things like, You still owe me a lunch made by you or she'll whine about me not wanting to cook for her. I've kindly turned her down every time she brings up about this issue. Last Monday, she offered to pay me if I make her lunch for $3.

I told her no again and she was visibly upset. She told me it's not that hard to make her lunch since I'm already cooking for myself every day, single and I am being unsociable and unfriendly by not making her food. Since then, she has been passive-aggressive towards me, as well as not willing to cooperate at work when I hand her new tasks. It has made me feel bad about it and I have no idea how to go about this. Should I have just made her lunch just to keep the peace? This feels horrible and I don't know how to deal with it frown. Edit, after reading all your comments, I think I will try to talk to Sally about this ad if that doesn't get through

I'll have to discuss this matter with the same ranking colleague or my supervisor. Verdict, not the A-hole. Comments where Op has replied. Winter underscore Raisin underscore 591. NTA, tell her you are under no obligation to cook for her or anyone else. Full stop. I also suggest registering a complaint with HR before she turns this into something else. O.P., I've told her that before, but she'll go all pick me up girlish saying things like,

but your food looks so good it's honestly driving me crazy, especially now that her attitude has flipped 180 degrees after I turn her down for three months frowns. Update 1. Not sure how do I post an update, so I will just write it out on my own profile. First off, I would like to clarify some details I left out in my previous post. You can skip this if you don't really bother with the deets.

For those who said Sally is flirting with me, I am 26F and Sally is anti-LGBQ. So I think flirting is highly impossible. For those who asked about my job, I work in a design agency as a senior designer. Sally is my work junior. I work closely with the juniors as I oversee their work. Also, I am actually from Southeast Asia. I used USDA in my previous post was because Sally legit told me $3 because USD is four times more than our currency.

Somehow she believes it sounds nicer. So after reading most of your comments, I have to be a lot of your comments, I have to be that. have gave it a long thought about how I want to approach this issue. With that, I decided to not make lunch today and bring Sally out for lunch as to confront her about this whole lunch thingy privately. I offered to pay for her lunch on the condition I picked the venue and she was quick to agree and her attitude went back to how it was before I declined her request. Which I find it weird, but yay, I was first relieved that at the least I could talk to her about things and hoping I can iron this out on my own. That 40 minutes of my life felt like hell.

I brought up the issue of me not being comfortable with her recent attitude and her requests after we have ordered our food. The whole time I was talking to her she either zones out or just retorts with why. Or why not? Here's a little snippet of how our conversation went. Me, Sally, your constant pestering about how I should make you lunch is making me uncomfortable, I'd appreciate if you'd stop that. Sally, why? Me, I mean like, I don't cook for anyone other than myself.

Sally, why? Me, because Sally, I'm your colleague not her BF or mom or family. Sally, but I don't see why you couldn't make me lunch just once, I'll pay you double this time. It felt like the conversation was going nowhere, the rest of lunch was filled with awkward silence. Sally would just sit there and stare at me without saying anything and I'm not sure if it's just her zoning out or she's somewhat pissed at me. She didn't even apologize, not once. The whole thing made my stomach feel weird, like something is grabbing my guts and twisting them around. The tension between us was awkward even the whole way we walked back to the office.

Another senior designer, Mark, took notice and he pulled me away to talk about work. Sally gave me one more look and walked to her seat. Mind you up till this point I have never talked to anyone in the company about Sally and things she had told me. I was brought into a breakout room, Mark went straight to the point. Did Sally ask you for something ridiculous or weird? Turns out, some people in the office were unhappy with Sally and her little antics. She once pestered a colleague into buying her souvenirs as this colleague does a lot of work traveling. In meetings, she would zone out when people are talking to her and she would always shift the weight to someone else.

E.G. Well, we have 30 so, there's nothing to worry about also. Few times she'd take bits of food off guys' plates like fries, and would giggle if anyone tries to tell her off. If the giggling doesn't work, she would retort the same whys and why nots I got during my talk with her. Mark suggests I should make arrangements with my supervisor to talk about it. They have all done it earlier this year and that stopped her from doing what she did to them. Well, most of them, she still zones out in meetings or mid-conversations. I thanked Mark for his suggestion and decided it was a necessary next step.

I have told my reporting manager about the gist of things. and I will be having a meeting with him tomorrow to give him more in-death details. Somehow, it's assuring to see he actually had to massage his forehead followed by a long sigh when I mentioned Sally's name. I hope things will get better after this. P.S. As I was typing this I couldn't help but think back on some of Sally's behavior towards me throughout these three months and at most times it is weird and I'd quote to make of them.

Maybe I'll make a separate post about it if anyone is invested, ha. Update 2. Not sure if anyone considers this an update, but I just want to write this out. I've talked about the whole Sally thing with my friends over Discord last night while we were playing games. Apparently, some of my friends attended the same art school as Sally and was at one point sharing the same few classes. This is quite a famous art school in my country. If you tell people you are a designer, people's first guess would be you've studied there. From what I've gathered from my friends, in short, they describe Sally as a person with bad social skills but is naturally gifted in design. She doesn't talk much but whenever she decides she wants to be friends with you, she could only spout questions that are uncomfortable to most people.

In one instance, Sally asked a classmate why did her parents get a divorce? With such, they've concluded she has bad social skills but they have never seen her reacting negativity when people don't respond to her. they were shocked when I told them she was being uncooperative at work. Also, according to them, Sally behaves in a way that suggests her parents shield her from the world a lot. She's unaware of many things that's deemed common sense for most. She once became paranoid because she learned about scams in college and believed by picking up one phone call from a stranger would land her in a lifetime of debt. She's also very insecure about many things, e.g. her looks, her weight, relationships, etc.

At the end of the day, they didn't know much about Sally personally because back then they thought she was nosy by always asking people very personal questions. However, Sally does have a few friends in college. With this in mind, I recall how Sally asked me weird questions such as, my salary as well as me joining the company as a senior despite her having more work experience than me as trying to dump her relationship problems on me. Maybe it is her attempt in trying to be friends with me? Now that I think about it, she needs some sort of professional help more than discipline for her actions. Comments where OP has replied. Kit Hyfaxil, she definitely has some social issues and probably needs therapy, but her behavior goes beyond just not understanding social cues.

She may be neurodivergent, I'm neurodivergent myself, and her parents protecting her has stunted her development greatly, but that's not an excuse for breaking boundaries continuously and only stopping when a higher-up is brought in. She must be an amazing designer to still have a job after all the things she's done and how she just doesn't seem to contribute to the team. She sounds like a nightmare to deal with honestly. O.P., yes, she does do good work, and I do realize her behavior it's not something you'd see every day. I've suggested to my supervisor that if it's possible for the company to kind of talk her into getting professional help since we do have this benefit called mental health claims. Nonetheless, I, you know, I, you know,

do hope for the best for Sally, unfortunately, I have no means nor the capability to help her. Final Update. Hello everyone, this will be the final update. Took me a little while to write this post because I was busy at work. First of all, I'd like to thank you internet strangers for all the advice and similar experiences. It helped me a lot with navigating the situation as a whole. However, I'm still baffled by such behaviors ESP in a work environment where I was taught people are professional there. Anyways, on to the main topic. I had my meeting about the issue I had with Sally first thing in the morning. I told my manager that the main problem is work, about how uncooperative she was with me.

It didn't take long for him to link this whole thing back to Sally making unreasonable requests for colleagues again. He didn't exactly tell me what the company would do at the time but mentioned that the company would take appropriate measures in regards to this. Soon enough, an email was sent to Sally with all the senior designers ceased in. In short, Sally will be put into probation as well as having a 30% pay cut and she has been assigned to a more stern and experienced senior designer. I heard she's really scary, for work evaluation. Sally only gets one more chance to keep her job, one more of those requests from her after this would result in termination. Sally started kicking and crying upon reading the email as she yelled it's not fair. Repeatedly, everyone looked at Sally briefly and went back into their own businesses.

I saw some colleagues put on their earphones and raising the volume, some put on earplugs, and the one sitting near her would just walk away with their laptops. No one consoled her, everyone just pretended she wasn't there. It felt as if I was watching a movie at this rate. Still a little worried that Sally would do something to me, I asked Mark if he could sit with me during lunch in case Sally tries anything. I'm not sure if Mark meant it as a joke or what, but he said, no worries she's not smart enough to link this back to you. Lunch since that day has never been so peaceful and I'm looking forward to more peaceful lunches as long as I'm with this company. Comments where OP has replied. A few creeps, great job seeing this through till the end.

You improved your and all of your. coworkers and superiors, work environment and mental health by leaps and bounds. I honestly wish the same for Sally. O.P., I do hope Sally understood what she's doing is not okay and improve herself. Though, I wouldn't see myself interacting with her anytime soon outside of work-related matters. I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse dedicated many years to training as a physician, but unexpectedly decided to pursue a homemaker role instead. I became anxious and attempted to persuade her otherwise.

It was not until later that I recognized my mistake. Failed her. Hello, I, 32F, have been with my wife, 31F, since our second year of high school. From what I remember, she has always wanted to become a doctor. A pediatric doctor to be exact. While I kept changing my mind and was continuously unsure about what I wanted, my wife was extremely dedicated on wanting to be a pediatric doctor. I've seen her study her but often college and cry from frustration as she studied.

Seeing her work so hard gave me the motivation to finish school and become a lawyer. We've been each other's biggest supporters throughout this journey. From working odd jobs to support ourselves, having cheap dates at the park and crying from stress and frustration, it was like finally seeing the end of the tunnel with my partner next to me the entire time. We got married right after I graduated from law school and started living in a bigger place with the money we had saved together. She finished her internship this year and is about to legally become a licensed doctor. However, her happy tune about becoming a doctor suddenly changed. I'm not really sure when her obsession with becoming a housewife started, but seeing her go from being a career-oriented woman with hopes and dreams to wanting to become a housewife gave me severe whiplash.

I just couldn't understand what could make her change her mind so suddenly. I tried asking about it and she said something along the lines of I just want to cook and clean for you. Live a simple life. I assumed that maybe she was feeling lonely since I'd been working a lot so I told her that we'd go on more dates and spend more time together but again she insisted that she wanted to be a housewife. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a housewife, but to give up your long years of studying and hard work to stay home and cook is absurd. We're already splitting the chores at home and we've just been on very equal footing since forever. I just can't seem to read her. Maybe being a doctor just isn't for her? Or perhaps she got bored. I just don't get it. I want her to do what makes her happy because I

truly love her and she's my entire world but is stopping everything and throwing away the chance of having one of the most respectable jobs on earth just to stay home and do chores really worth it. Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions. Maybe she's trying to tell me something and I'm being dense. I wish I could read her mind. I just don't get it. At the end of the day I just want to know why and maybe convince her otherwise. As much as I think that's it's a bad idea, it's still her life,

but I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself if I let her throw her career away. Edit to add After reading the comments I've had some time to reflect on how I handled the situation, and I realized now that my initial reaction wasn't the best. When my wife first brought up her desire to make a change, I immediately jumped in with all the reasons I thought it wasn't a good idea. I assumed I knew why she was feeling that way and tried to talk her out of it without really understanding her reasoning. In hindsight, I was too focused on what I thought would be best for her instead of listening to what she actually needed. I can see now that I've been making assumptions rather than having an open and honest conversation with her about what's really going on. It's easy to fall into that trap when you're worried about someone you love, but it's clear I need to do better in understanding her perspective.

I've been so caught up in protecting her from what I saw as a mistake that I didn't stop to consider that she might have her own valid reasons. I'm grateful for those who pointed this out, and I'm committed to working on this with her. Instead of making assumptions, I'll take the time to sit down and truly listen to what she has to say moving forward. Update, July 15th, 2024. Hello everyone, I realized that it's been quite some time since I've made this post and I apologize for updating you all so late. If I'm being honest, this post slipped my mind completely. My wife and I were going through our own healing journey and I simply wanted to focus on her. However, things are much better now and both my wife and I are content with our lives.

Here's a proper and pretty lengthy update for the ones who were curious about how my wife and I were holding up now. For one, she's working to finish her residency. I'm so incredibly proud of her for pushing through, even with all the odds against her. She's incredibly hardworking and I'll always be there for her. Through the past few months, I had to revisit a lot of areas within our relationship. For one, the status of our relationship was worse than I imagined. There were major life events in her life that I would have never known about if I hadn't broken the growing wall between us. My wife has always been a hard worker and because simple encouragement always seemed to be enough to boost her morale, I assumed that this was still

the case. I was terribly wrong. My wife needed a friend, a shoulder to lean on, a confiant and a lover. But during her very difficult year, I was none of those things. As her wife, I failed to give her the proper love and support she desperately needed and deserved. Not only was she burnt out, but because I unintentionally put work before her, I wounded her deeply. Our intimacy was practically non-existent, our conversations never went beyond surface-level subjects and sometimes, the only time we'd see one another, was when one of us was already long asleep. Whenever I would ask her if she was okay, she always told me she was fine, which I doubted. But since I didn't want to push her, I stopped asking. That's where I made my mistake. Asking wasn't enough. I was foolish.

We barely saw each other, did anything together, shared words of endearment or bashed in each other's presence. Intimacy just seemed so foreign between us. Like a fool, I thought, hey, I asked if she was okay and she said she was fine. My job here is done. I never once tried to give her the reassurance that I was someone she could depend on, that I was ready to sit and listen, that she could complain to me about the same thing over and over again and that I'd still listen with just as much attention. During a time of great stress, I was everything but helpful. The distance between us was growing pretty rapidly, and it's only after her insistence on becoming a housewife that this veil was lifted. Thanks to my initial post, I received a lot of helpful criticism both online and in real life.

It took a lot of personal reflection. Initially, I thought applying what I was told would be a piece of cake, but seeing myself struggle to approach her made me realize how much we had truly grown apart. Little things like her hair, the bags under her eyes or even her choice of clothes all changed. My wife has always been someone who enjoyed dressing up. Pastel colors are her favorite, weird earrings she finds from God knows where, shoes, makeup, sweets. Little things that made her, her, suddenly stopped appearing. Again, I tried to argue that because she works in a hospital, her style of choice was most likely limited,

but even when she was home, it was different. Guilt was eating me alive. My hands would tingle and pain just thinking about the burden she must be carrying all on her own. I decided to stop acting oblivious. Even if I had to do something I deemed as awkward or unnatural, I was going to push through because she deserves better. I began to initiate simple intimacy. If it meant simple hand-holding, or working in the same room as her, I did it. I no longer asked if she was okay but instead let her know that I would always be there for her whenever she needed me.

She's my priority. Although it took some time, I was able to coax her into confit. fighting in me again. We did revisit the housewife thing after a few months. She admitted that this feeling came from a deep sense of loneliness, stress, feeling burned out and the witness of a child's death. It was her first time witnessing a gradual, inevitable death and had grown quite attached to both the child and the mother who happened to be our age. This made the entire tragedy even more painful. However, my wife is still a doctor and things move quickly. She tried for getting about it and moving on.

But the realization of the weight she carries as a health professional kind of became burdening. She began questioning her years of study, her skill, her abilities. Things that she took great pride and turned into insecurities. Eventually, she came across some aesthetically pleasing life as a housewife content. The idea of never having to go through such stress and heartbreak seemed so freeing to her. longer having to see children in poor conditions, focusing on herself, her home, her own personal life and our relationship. To be completely honest, I didn't know how to comfort her.

For one, I'm not a health professional. Whenever I curiously looked at her notes, my head would start spinning seeing words that seemed so foreign. Our careers differ so much from one another, but I didn't know what would be appropriate to say. What can you possibly say to someone going through this type of heartbreak? With my limited knowledge, I told her that she shouldn't carry that burden and blame herself. People are quick to run to doctors whenever they get the slightest symptoms because they know that a doctor knows best.

You naturally bring comfort, a sense of relief and safety. To me, she is no different than a superhero. The joy she brought to that child stuck with her right until her final moments and that's something she should be proud of. The child was able to live a little longer and experience so much more joy, because of her kindness and expertise. We revisited this conversation a lot and every time I listened. Eventually, she gained a lot more confidence. She relied on her supervisor as well who's been in the field way before either of us were even born. Seeing her get better day by day made me so incredibly happy.

We're at such a great place in our relationship right now. I love hearing her voice, seeing her, being near her and being there for her. I missed her so much. I don't know how we went so long without speaking properly. She's my best friend. My family. I want to say that I wish I had known what to do sooner, but this entire incident was necessary. I believe it is.

It brought us so much closer. We're family and speaking about heavy subjects shouldn't be odd between us. I learned a lot about my wife, myself and our relationship. I'm very happy with how things are going. Although we're still busy, we always find some time for ourselves. We also recently adopted two cats. I know a lot of people suggested that perhaps my wife was getting baby fever, but I assure you, our kittens definitely taught us that kids probably aren't meant for us.

Not anytime soon anyway. Thank you again for being so kind and honest with me. I'm excited to learn more and deepen our emotional connection and I can only see a brighter future ahead. Edit to add, I've been reflecting on some of the advice given, and I completely agree that my wife needs a solid support system in place, whether that's through counseling or another form of mental health support. The environment she grew up and didn't exactly encourage talking about mental health.

In fact, it was treated like something that would just pass on its own, like a common cold. Because of that, seeking professional help was never something she seriously considered before. Now that we've distanced ourselves from that environment, we're starting to see things more clearly. Mental health isn't something to be ashamed of, and we're both committed to making sure she gets the support she needs. We're definitely going to look into options like counseling and see what resources are available, even through her workplace, if possible. It's something we're actively working on, and I'm hopeful that it will make a big difference for her well-being. Now on to the next story. Story 2

Wanted to keep my last name, so my fiancé offered to take mine instead. His parents exploded, called us unbiblical, threatened to cut him off, and tried to stop our wedding. My fiancé, M21, Alex, and I, F-22, have been together six years, getting married this year. I never cared much about my last name but after some recent family events realized I want to keep mine. Alex doesn't mind and chose to change his last name so we'd match. Upon finding out, Alex's parents, Lisa and Luke, yelled at him. Lisa cussed him out, so my parents let him stay with us for the last week of winter break. We were home on break from college and live a few miles apart.

Lisa and Luke say Alex is destroying and disowning his family, publicly humiliating them, and say I'm stripping him of his manhood. They told us we're unbiblical, and that women. should submit. To them it's political too, they said the queer community is the reason we're susceptible to this, transgender people are to blame, and America is in its downfall. This is just another sign. Alex has gotten plenty of texts from Lisa, calling him hateful, cruel, and cold, asking how he can let her suffer. The meetings Alex had with his parents went poorly, they told him they wanted to see him and not talk about the name, but then did. One meeting involved

both sets of parents, Lisa and Luke talked 90% of the time before getting up and leaving. Their Matt Alex stayed with us and said even if we go with his name, they'd resent us and my family for supporting us. Lisa threatened to cut Alex off and says he won't get another penny, they had planned to contribute to our wedding, stating there were no strings attached, and they fund his college apartment. Lisa said this is the worst thing to happen to her since losing her first baby, and that it's worse than if Alex had gotten me pregnant, killed someone drunk driving or was gay. She's telling Alex that his grandparents will have to move to assisted living from heartbreak, and Luke keeps telling Alex's choice is hurting people. Their main

reason seems to be that it is tradition and that they want the last name carried on. It's not an uncommon last name. I also learned that Lisa Borderline tried to talk Alex out of proposing. Alex asked me to marry him anyway, and Lisa called my mom in the midst of the engagement excitement to share her disapproval. They said that they get a say until Alex is married, and that's when they'll leave us be. Lisa and Luke keep texting Alex and my parents, but I have never gotten anything.

They openly dislike me now, bad-mouthing me whether I'm there or not. I've decided my relationship with Lisa and Luke is over, it was rocky before as they tried to push their religion onto me numerous times. Alex is deciding how much more he can give. He's hasn't taken a harsh tone or so. spoken rudely to his parents, but is tired. Now his parents say if Alex won't move back home, their financial support ends. They say the family won't come to the wedding, and one of his

siblings actually has left the wedding party. Obviously I have decided to stay mostly away from Lisa and Luke now, but they are Alex's family. With the wedding still coming up, we're unsure how to move forward. Edit to add, Lisa and Luke's financial support is not necessary, and the wedding will proceed with or without it. Just thought it relevant that the money that was offered no strings attached, clearly does have strings. We know we are young and are still getting married, after spending six years together. Esponing the wedding isn't something we're willing to do. Update, July 7, 2024. Alex and I got married last month, and everything was absolutely beautiful. Since my original post, after more months of emotional and verbal abuse, Alex made

the difficult decision that his parents were no longer welcome at our wedding. He explained that he couldn't trust them to respect his boundaries, respect us at all, or respect what the event was about. As expected, they freaked out, asking if he was trapped and needed help, saying everything had become about me, op, and telling him he'd been isolated from everyone he loves. We're not sure what story they told Alex's extended family. Alex reached out to everyone to explain what had been going on, but every response he received was more discussed toward his name choice, refusal of wedding invitations, and saying he needed to apologize slash grovel and fix the family. Most of Lisa's family were the ones talking the most about how dishonorable he was being

and how he was breaking apart the family. Interesting seeing none of them share Lisa and Luke's last name, Luke's family does. Luckily, only one invitation was returned with nasty notes inside. But the rest of the digital responses took Lisa and Luke. side, berated Alex for doing this near the anniversary of the death of Lisa's first child, and called him cruel and hateful. For context, Lisa's first child passed away a few days after birth, over 25 years ago. Alex says there has never been any remembrance that he knows of, and they do nothing on the anniversary. He doesn't even know the date of the anniversary. Lisa and Luke explained what happened once when he was young, and never mentioned anything

again. We're unsure why it's all coming back up now. after presenting is generally unimportant his whole life. Apparently, this drama being four months from the anniversary was disrespectful, his sister Alice also went off the rails. After checking in to see how Alex was doing, Alice got angry that he wanted to discuss things over text instead of on the phone. It became obvious that she wanted him on the phone to berate him, because she ranted about how he was steamrolling their parents,

and wasn't really an adult because he wasn't married yet. She said she had encouraged Lisa and Luke to cut him off long ago, and that I, Opp, wasn't acting like family since I stopped letting her follow my Instagram account. This was after she dropped out as a bridesmaid and made it clear she didn't support our marriage. I decided not everyone gets full access to my life. As his only sibling, it was devastating for Alex to watch Alice Spiral into fully taking their parents' side, after initially leading him to believe she had his back and being supportive. After saying not to expect her and Alex's bill at the wedding, there's been no further contact since Alice refuses to speak to him unless he'll talk on the phone.

At this point, he won't do any phone calls as we'd rather have record of everything that goes down. Many people tried to talk to Lisa and Luke, my own parents, mutual friends, etc. To encourage them to choose relationship, and explain the damage they were causing wasn't worth the loss they'd endure. It seemed to have no effect. Alex was quick to become no longer financially dependent on his parents. We've changed his phone plan, reclaimed all his bills from Lisa and Luke, fully moved him out, and finished college. We're not sure if they attended graduation,

they texted Alex the day before to say they'd be there, but then turned off their location services. Graduation day was stressful and nerve-wracking, with Alex not knowing if they'd make a scene or corner him. He left as soon as he walked across the stage. and made it to his car with no interactions. Since then, as most people suggested, we've been nearly no contact with Lisa and Luke.

We spent the first six weeks of summer finishing wedding details, and our day last month was gorgeous. Alex received no communication between graduation and the wedding, and has no plans to continue their relationship without an apology. Lisa and Luke did not show up to the wedding or say anything day of. The only recent change is Lisa unfollow. and unfriending both of us and my family on all social media. For me, my in-law relationships are basically over, apology or not.

Learning they'd never supported our engagement, ignoring my existence, and hating me because of my political and religious beliefs is enough for me not to keep contact. Thank you, for your kind help and good wishes. Our day was truly perfect and straight out of a fairy tale, and we're looking forward to the next chapter of our lives, with hopefully less drama. I hope you enjoy this story.

Became pregnant and welcomed a child despite facing rejection, later battled with despair and made the decision to place him for adoption. Now at 23, he is thriving and harbors affection for me, yet I am filled with mixed emotions. Like I missed out on life. I, 40F, love my son Avram, 21, but I did not want to be a mom and was denied an aberration. I love him so much, but I've never deserved him. I was a terrible mom. I know it was bad untreated depression but it doesn't excuse anything.

His dad and stepmom took him when he was 10 and they love him so much and made him the most amazing young man in the world and I'm so grateful. After they took him I got therapy treatment and then spent time and inpatient for my drinking. Avram kept wanting to see me, his dad let me have weekends and I tried to make the best of it and be a good mom this time. He'd always tell me I didn't need to apologize because I'd always tell me I didn't need to apologize because I was sick and he loved living with me. Since he turned 18, he spent more time with me and I know I don't deserve it and his stepmom does,

but I don't do anything because it makes him happy. This past Friday his stepmom was hosting a work dinner and wanted all her kids there, but Avram wanted to spend Friday with me because we always do that. She's more his mom than me, so I knew he should be there for her. But he wouldn't listen and insisted on being with me so I pretended I wasn't home that day and ghosted him so he'd go and I saw he did on his girlfriend's IG. story. But you can see who sees stories and she did and messaged me I was selfish for ghosting and I really upset him. She essentially called me an asshole without saying it. He hasn't messaged

me much since then either. I don't think I'm wrong. I'm trying to do what's best for him and that's showing gratitude to the woman who deserves his love. But I thought to try for judgment here. Comments where Op has replied. Deleted. Oh O'Day. He is an adieu. He is an and can make his own choices about how he spends his time and who he spends it with. You need to communicate. Ghosting was a dick move. Of Kite 510. O ODA, your kid is 21 and is well past the age where he can make his own decisions about which of his parents he wants to spend time with.

You explain to him that he should really be with stepmom and it would have been his decision to not do that and hang with you instead. If I were him I'd feel so hurt by this. Avoid my son op, I had no intention of hurting him. Deleted, will you have so stop trying to act like a victim and understand that your son wants to see you? My mother was similar to you, every time I wanted to spend time with her, she blew me off or told me to go see my dad since he's better and can love me more. I rarely talk to her now. So how about you stop feeling pity for yourself and go meet and spend time with your son? Rizarkana Mia Oodier.

This is going to be harsh. Don't read if you can't take it. He is 21. He deserves to choose how and with whom he is spending his time with. You denying your presence when he needs it is just you doing the same thing you did before. Your excuses of I don't deserve him. His stepmom should be his priority since she's like his real mom, etc. Are just that, your excuses and your feelings, not his.

Now is the time for you to make amend. Don't let your guilt deprive him of you even further. Apologize and tell him. you feel like you don't deserve him but you'll stop being a coward and will always be there for him from now on. Make amends the way he wants you to, not the way you think you should. That's the best way you can own up to your past and get forgiveness from both him and yourself. Avoid my son up. I don't mean to let my guilt deprive him of anything and I don't mean to be a coward but I know that I am. He's the most amazing boy a mother could ask for but it's true that I don't deserve him that

isn't an excuse because I did everything wrong by him. Brittity Cat. then how about you try to do better? You playing the victim and beating yourself up won't help anyone. You might benefit from therapy if you are committed to getting better and doing better, for yourself and for your son. Yummy Bread 69, you are so self-centered, it's nauseating. All you can do is talk about yourself and how you feel. This pathetic self-pity party you're throwing for yourself is one of the most selfish things I've ever seen in this subreddit. As I can't truly say what I think of you without getting banned, Uda will have to do. Okay.S.creen.8739, Uda, ghosting your kid isn't cool. At least give him the respect of being honest.

Could you not have spoken to the stepmom about attending as well? Avoid my son up, she would not want me there. Athenorian 1, Uda, you're very well-intentioned, but he's an adult and you're essentially trying to make decisions for him. you think you know what's best for him you can share what you think how about you see your stepmom instead since this is special we could see each other saturday etc but you have to respect his decisions it might be time for another round of therapy the way you talk about your son absolutely screams unresolved issues and it sounds like you could use some help navigating your relationship with him now that he's an adult your heart seems like it's in the right place i wish you luck

Avoid my son op. I still go to therapy because my issues will never be resolved and I've asked him to go with me but because of his school schedule and other stuff he's never been able to. Update 1. After my post I realized how wrong I was and I called Avram, my son, and thankfully he picked up and came over. The first thing he did before I could even talk was give me such a big hug. It almost made me cry but I held back my tears. I talked to him about his stepmother's event and why I felt he should go and why I felt I didn't deserve him. I told him about the things that I did when he lived with me as a kid and why I felt I didn't deserve his forgiveness. I guess what really shocked me was that Avram pointed out to me that he didn't see his time with me as bad and that he mostly had happy memories and all the bad times were just because I was sick and that wasn't my fault. And it's not things I forgot, I guess, just things that I never valued and I guess never really considered.

small things like how I'd take him shopping to Zellers on Sundays and always let him buy a toy. How I'd always get a special message printed on his birthday cakes. How I'd always let him sleep hugging me even though he was 10 by the time his dad took. How I'd miss work to stay with him if he got sick. The big thing he told me that made cry is when he was nine. Kids bullied him when they found out were ethnically Jewish and made him cry so bad he left school before the Easter egg celebration, so I organized an Easter egg hunt just for him in the park. It wasn't just that, he told me so much more that I did that he valued that if I wrote

it here I think I'd break the word limit. It's so hard to hold on to the happy memories when I think about how terrible I was and how much I yelled at him or drank or smoked, but if he can do it, then I can do it for him. And I've been trying. I've let him take full control of our relationship, and I think it's been for the best. I've been seeing him much more often and during Mother's Day, he and his girlfriend took me out to dinner and gave me so many boxes of chocolates. I've only been eating them when they come over so we can have them together. Even therapy has been going better since I did convince him to attend some sessions with me and I think he's understanding what I went through when I got pregnant but also how much respect I have

for his stepmother. Plus, his girlfriend has started going to the gym with me. I love my son so much. He's the best thing that ever happened to me. He is everything that was. He is everything that was ever good about me and thankfully he got nothing that is bad with me. Maybe in another world where I didn't end up so damaged, I like to think I would have turned out just like him. He makes me so proud and so happy, I will try and never hurt him again and never be so selfish again. So thank you to everyone who convinced me to apologize and to all the other mothers out there. Please hug your sons tonight if you can no matter how old they are. Comments, deleted, awesome update. Great points to note. You learned of your mistakes too. You learned you weren't as bad as you

originally thought three. Your kid was always more mature than you noticed four. You sought help five. Clearly that help is working six. Awesome your kid is going to some sessions as well glad for you and your son. Keep going in the right path. Avoid my son op. Thank you. I will always try to stay on the right path for him. Lili O Fiali, that's absolutely fantastic. Do it for him and do it for you. There's a ton of people rooting for you and your second chance to love yourself less than 3 G MnHGG, God bless you. You're such an amazing person. You're doing right by him in so many different ways. You truly want the best for him. Not many people are like this. Just because you slipped and stumbled doesn't mean your dirt. You're loved.

60 and cha-shy, I love updates like this, but someone's cutting onions at my desk and I'm going to catch some weird looks from coworkers soon. I'm so happy for you. Ah! I know from experience that forgiving yourself is often way harder than forgiving everyone else, especially after struggles with addiction, but it is worth the fight to do so. I'm glad you're mending that relationship. Now I need a tissue.

Avoid my son op, thank you, I guess it is because I feel I don't deserve to be forgiven, but if my son can do it then so can I. I did beat my addiction for him so I know I can do this. Paisley Penguin, forgiveness isn't about deserved. You don't earn forgiveness. You can't buy forgiveness. You can't work towards it. Forgiveness is given. Your son is giving you forgiveness.

All you have to do is accept. Obviously if you continue to be an op, the other party is less likely to offer it, but in the end much like stepmom's party, it is his choice to make to forgive you or not. And he has, our cockroach 1662. NGL, I'm ugly crying at my work desk right now. Good on you for taking advice and talking it out with him. I'm so glad he showed you the mom he sees you as. Look at you from his eyes, Mama.

I'll give you a saying my father always told me there is no such thing. is a perfect parent. You did the best with the tools you have. And that sounds accurate in your situation as well. Remember, you did the best you could with the tools you had. And obviously you did a great job. Look at how deeply your son loves you and wants to be around you. If you were half as bad as a mom as you think you were, he wouldn't want to be around you as much as he is. We are our own worst critics. Avoid my son op, you're right since letting him take charge of things I think that I can sit in his shoes. Kind of like how him going to therapy with me lets him sit in mine. A boy will always love his mom but this past little bit has been surprising me by showing me just how much.

I would do anything for my perfect boy. Update 2. I wish that I got to live my son's life. I don't know if this is the right place to post but I've read a few posts and I think it is. I love my son with all my heart, he's a perfect boy and a wonderful young man. He's 23 now and he's graduated and already got a great job as an accountant and he went for that career because it's mine. In September he's going to be married to his fiancé. This Mother's Day, they both honored me and it was such a wonderful night at my home but ever since then I've had these thoughts in my mind that I can't get out.

I'm 42 years old now and I feel like my entire life has just been wasted but that my son is living the best possible version of it. When I got pregnant with my son, I was in a foreign country and I was swept up in some stupid religious craze with a bunch of other teenagers and I was pretty much blocked from getting an abortion while I could. At that time, I did not want kids and thought I'd never want them. My life became hell after I had him. I was depressed, I drank, I smoke, I did drugs a few times and I would spend hours on hours in the gym because I was stupid and thought that I could get my body back and even in the bar because I wanted to be flirted with like before. I had to give up custody to his father and go get inpatient treatment for my drinking and I've

been 10 years sober now. Even though I did all of that horrible stupid stuff my son still loves me so much that it doesn't make sense. When I ask him why he brings up all these good things that I can only dimly even remember. And it makes me feel so fucking guilty because if I could go back in time and get an abortion and never have him I would do it in a heartbeat. He's the best thing that ever happened to me and I would do that. And since Mother's Day, I've been thinking, I never got to have the whole college experience like he did because I had him. I never got to fall in love with somebody who could sweep me off my feet

and I could live out a fairy tale romance with because I had him. I never got to have the stable and steady career where I eventually run my own business because of my mental health issues. I never got to decide if I, I actually did want to have kids or if it was just some teenage fear because I already had one. But he has gotten to do all of that. He's had a great time in university and graduated with distinction. He's been such a good young man because he did sweep his fiancé off her feet and they've told me to expect to be a grandmother soon. I have no friends. I spend my time either at work or at home or at

gym and he's my only real family left and the only one who loves me so I shouldn't feel like this. It feels so good to hug him and he makes me feel so happy and proud, but the moment he's gone back to his father's I feel sick and I honestly regret having him because wish I could have gotten to live his life because I feel like it should have been my life. I've told my psychiatrist this during the last session that we had and we had a good talk, but I can't remember it now and I don't know why it gets so hard to remember things nowadays. Does any of this make sense? Am I wrong for feeling like this?

Comments, this is Stoker. I'm sorry you feel the way that you do. I want to point out that you seem to be really dead set on living on the what-ifs when there is absolutely no guarantee you would have had all, if any, of the things that you think you missed out on. The fact that you got caught up in a cult of sorts in the first place kind of tells me you wouldn't have achieved all those missed experiences to begin with. I think you are maybe using this as a crutch and an excuse to not having achieved any of your dreams. Many women still get swept off their feet and find love with children, many still go to school and earn the degree they want and establish a business with

children. It also sounds from your post like you gave up custody for a substantial amount of time in which you maybe could have achieved all of these things. Your mental health issues could have hit you at any point for any reason. I think you will find a lot more happiness in your life if you be real with yourself and actually live your life. You're only 42, that's still plenty young to accomplish those things. Trust me, I'm all for the pity party. I have plenty of those myself, but nothing is more helpful than taking accountability and making the necessary changes to find your happiness. I really hope you do find happiness, especially given that your son is such a wonderful young man that loves you so much and seems like he will be a great support to you and whatever you do. Avoid my son op, I wasn't in a cult. My family was religious and it was a bunch of us teenagers and it was easy for us to be manipulated by traditionalists.

I don't know what we were thinking getting all swept up and all their promises about our futures. I still got to go to school and get my degree and a job and date and everything, but none of it was like how I dreamed it would have been because I had my son. And the time after I gave up custody of my son, I spent the first part in inpatient rehab for my alcoholism and the rest of it is so hard to remember. I can remember a lot of specific things but nothing general. I know that's weird but I don't know why I couldn't do anything I dreamed about then. I just don't really remember that time that well. And I know you say 42 is young, but it's not. I am old now. I can't go in the gym like I used to anymore.

Guys barely flirt with me anymore. I never get asked out and my career's progression has stalled. People 10 years younger than me are higher up than me now. I mean hell, if my son's going to have a baby after he gets married then I'll be a grandmother soon. What's more old than that? Upon having a grandchild here. I can't take full credit for how my son turned out. I really didn't play much part in raising him after I gave up custody.

I wasn't fit to do it anymore. Maybe if I had been, if I could really take credit for that then maybe I wouldn't be thinking these things. I'm so lucky he loves me and is so perfect. I will do my best to be the best grandma possible. As long as I'm not called grandma and not Zadie, I'll have nothing to complain about it. I'll spoil my grandchild like my grandma used to spoil me, poop on all the people trying to cheer her up here, thank you.

I appreciate everyone here trying to cheer me up, but it's like they're not getting it. I love my son and I love that he's living such a good life. I would give anything to make sure it always is this good for him. But I hate that it wasn't like that for me. X M-M-R-S-M-L-W. Man, this one gives me so many mixed feelings. I'm glad her son still loves her and it. is able to see past her behavior when she was sick, but I also feel so sad that she missed out

on her life to have a child she didn't want. And she's clearly still suffering from that. Lost worked, yeah, it's unfortunate. It seems that after two years since her original posts, she hasn't really gotten much better and in some ways, might have even gotten a little bit worse. Saffron honeysuckle, oh or, hopefully, she is in the early stages of having a clear mind and looking around before starting to rebuild. I wasn't so deep down, but I've deaf been out of it and then woken up overwhelmed and devastated over lost time. Like even her mentioning working out is a perfect analogy. If you've never been in shape, it can feel impossible. Once you've successfully gotten there, even if you fall behind again, you know how getting there feels. I don't think she

has ever known what it feels like to have her life in shape. Lost worked, it's this quote from her that resonates with me, maybe in another world where I didn't end up so damaged, I like to think I would have turned out just like him. Because her son is clearly a wonderful person, a beautiful soul and all that she wants to be. It's like being proud of him has made her understand how unproud she is of herself and hopefully that clarity can push her in the right way. Dramatic humor 53-63. Oof. Fuck. Hey, Oop. If you ever see this? Bunch of strangers think you're great and your son is more like you, genuinely you, than you think. You deserve having adventures like he does. Boomshrum, God, that was a rough read. This woman clearly hates herself

and her life and the only bright light is her son, but who also represents one of the worst things that happened to her and partly caused the trauma that affects her. I hope she can work through this and learn to love herself at least a little bit. Lost worked, what I'm trying to figure out is, what foreign country was she taken to and was kept confined in when she got pregnant. She's clearly Jewish, but she doesn't really give any indication as to where this happened. Meg Bookworm, that's my guess too, most Orthodox sex discourage or disallow abortion. It would have been very hard for her as a single mother as well. Not that single motherhood is easy regardless.

BR4 Z 3NBO 77, Orthodox Jew here. There is a lot of debate within religious Jewish circles about abortion. I personally am pro-life, however, I attend the large mainline Orthodox synagogue in my city and the head rabbi gave a sermon from the pulpit on the Saturday, our Sabbath, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on RVW discussing different rabbinic opinions on abortion with the final opinion being that it is permissible according to Jewish. Again, this is mainstream Orthodox Judaism. I wear a black hat and am bearded and have eight kids.

Followed up with the statement about ethnically Jewish and doing Easter, I am lead to the conclusion that while according to Jewish law, this woman and her son are recognized as part of being legally of the Jewish people. She isn't a practitioner of the Jewish religion. My guess as others have stated is that she was part of some fringe Christian group. I hope you enjoy this story. Delivered twins and put on weight, my friend kept making remarks and gifted me a scale on my birthday. I misplaced it and went off with the end. I misplaced it and went off with the end. infants. Presently, my husband wants me to apologize. Recently, I gave birth to twins, and obviously, that has led to a bit of weight gain. I've spoken to the professionals and they have assured me that this is completely natural and normal after a pregnancy, especially after twins. And soon enough, with a proper diet and regular exercise, I'll be able to come back to my original size. To be honest, I'm not even very concerned about that, since I used to be really thin

earlier and I think putting on a bit of weight has been good for me. Besides, right now, my primary goal is to be a good mother to my children, no matter what weight I am at. But I don't think my mother-in-law agrees with it since she has made it very clear that she doesn't want me at this size right now. Agnes, my mother-in-law, used to be a model so she's pretty conscious about her appearance and that's great, I find it wonderful that even at her age, she always takes great care of herself. But for her to expect the same of me, especially after I have given birth to twins, I think that's a bit unrealistic and I was really upset for the past couple of weeks because she kept insisting that I needed to lose weight. I was getting annoyed by my husband's family anyway

because they kept visiting every other day and my mother-in-law had practically made a home in our house. So this meant that I barely got any alone time and I was forced to entertain guests all day long for the past three weeks. I tried to be polite about it, but my husband felt that it was normal for his family to want to come over all the time since his family loved him and they couldn't believe that he was a father now, so they wanted to meet the baby as soon as possible as well. I could understand that his family was excited, but I feel like it shouldn't be the norm to keep visiting a woman who has just given birth since I'm honestly just exhausted right now. Anyway, I was pretty annoyed by the fact that Agnes was visiting every day already, and instead of

helping me out, she would expect me to do everything around the house and she thought that she was doing me a favor by looking after the kids instead. I thought it was kind of unfair since I was the one who was their mother, so if she really wanted to help me she should have taken care of the other chores and let me look after my babies. That was bad enough as it is and on top of that, she just kept taking pout chats at me about my weight. The rest of my husband's family found it funny, but I did not and neither did my parents, who told me that I had to stand up to these people and make sure that they didn't behave this way with me. The problem with me is that, by nature, I'm a really non-confrontational person and I find it very difficult to talk about what's

bothering me, but after my parents visited me. I decided to tell my husband that I was not fine with his mother making an issue of my weight so publicly and neither was I fine with her or his family visiting us every day. That led to an argument since he believed that I was being unreasonable. He said that I'm not very close to my family, which is why they didn't visit that often and it was kind of true, but another reason that they didn't visit that often was because I had been very clear that I needed some time to myself with the babies before I was ready to entertain guests. I tried to explain to him that these frequent visits from his family were making me irritable and I was exhausted from dealing with them, but he turned around on me and made it sound like

I was being selfish. And I am not really in a condition to keep fighting and arguing, so I let that one go and drop the argument, even though I shouldn't have. Because I guess that's what led to this incident that took place a couple of days back, on my birthday. I had specifically told my husband that I did not want a birthday party, I just wanted to spend the day alone with him and the kids. And I thought that since it was my birthday, he would respect it, but unfortunately, that's not how the situation played out. I spent the morning at my parents' place since they had invited me for birthday lunch and that's a ritual that we follow every year. Usually, my husband also accompanies me, but this year, he said that he was feeling a bit under the weather and that he wanted to stay home. Around the evening, when I finally came back home, my husband had invited his entire family and a bunch of our friends to the house to surprise.

me. This was exactly what I didn't want, but since they were already here, I decided to put on a happy face and pretend that I had the energy to deal with this. I was really tired and I just wanted to nap, but after I had cut the cake, Agnes told me that it was time to unwrap the presents and even though I told her that I wanted to get some rest, she insisted that I do it and I opened hers first. I was too tired to put up a fight, so I did what she asked just to get it over with and I completely flipped out when I unwrapped her present to me and realized that she had given me a weighing machine. For the past couple of weeks, ever since I had given birth, I had found my husband and his family increasingly more annoying to deal with, but this was just the last straw for me.

Agnes had been the worst of all, constantly bringing up how much weight I had put on, and that I had to shed it off all quickly and this was what finally tipped me over the edge. I started freaking out at her, and I really gave her a peace of my mind. I had stayed quiet for long. enough, but once I started yelling at her, I just couldn't bring myself to stop and let it all out. I told her that she had no business talking about my body, especially after I had given birth to the grandchildren that she constantly came over to see, without even bothering to ask if I would be okay with it. Then I yelled at her for a bit about how she had become an absolute nuisance to deal with since she never helped me out whenever she came over and expected me to do all the menial tasks,

while she got to play with the kids that I had carried for nine months. I said a lot of other things as well before I asked her to get out of my house and kicked her out of the party, and I also told my husband's family that after this party, I did not want them visiting me at all until I'd specifically invited them. I was absolutely furious and I did not care in the slightest about what they thought of me, I just wanted them all to leave me alone with my babies. After yelling at them, I didn't even bother speaking to my husband and just went to the bedroom with the babies and went to sleep. I did wake up quite a few times after that, but my husband was nowhere to be found. I was kind of worried, but I was also really upset, so I did not even

call him. It wasn't until the next morning that I finally saw him again, and when I asked him where he had been, he told me that he had spent the night at a friend's place because, after my outburst, he did not feel like staying with me. He seemed upset and I felt a little bad about my behavior as well since I had really insulted him and his family the night before. But I had been pushed to the edge, so I couldn't say that it was all my fault. Anyway, I thought that we could discuss it and talk it out, but instead, he told me that his mother was really upset about everything. And the worst part was that now, both he and Agnes expected me to apologize to her for my behavior because she was an elderly woman, and she had never been humiliated like that before. They also felt like I had overreacted since

she was only trying to look out for my health. So here's a couple of things about Agnes. She's just 54. That doesn't count as elderly at all, at least not in my books. And she has always been very weird about people's appearances, very judgmental and snarky. In fact, sometimes I feel like the only reason she was so nice to me before I got pregnant was because I fit her idea of what an attractive woman should look like. Like I said, I was really naturally skinny and she had complimented me on that several times. If I'm being honest, it feels like she's obsessed with being thin and maybe that has something to do with the fact that she used to be a model in her early 20s before she became a mother.

But I'm not a model and neither am I planning on becoming one anytime soon. So I don't understand why I have to be that thin as well. Also, if she really was concerned about my health and well-being, then she wouldn't have put me in a position where I had to entertain guests all the time without any help and do all the work around the house while she just played with the kids. She would have actually done something to make sure that I wasn't under a lot of stress and would have at least helped me out around the house. In fact, even with the kids, she would literally just play with them.

But when it came to feeding them or changing the diapers, she would call for me. So I wasn't buying the fact that she was only looking out for my health. Since then, she would have actually done something to help and not just nitpick at my weight. And if my doctor thinks that I'm at a healthy weight, then I don't understand why she thinks that her opinion matters more. So when my husband told me that I had to apologize to Agnes, because she was really upset, it really rubbed me the wrong way. He had already screwed up after I had given birth by never bothering to think about what I was going through, and forcing me to constantly put up with his family.

But I had done it all with a smile on my face because I wanted to make it work with him. After the party, though, I had realized where his priorities were and it was a bit of a reality check for me, that I desperately needed. It was evident that. It was evident that. for him, his family came first and I came second and I wasn't ready to deal with that anymore. So I didn't even fight with him when he said that he wanted me to apologize to Agnes. I just quietly got up and went to my bedroom and started packing my stuff. He didn't bother to follow me, he stayed in the living room, and after a while, when I was done packing, I decided to take the kids with me and go live with my parents. I could have left without

saying goodbye, but I decided to tell him exactly where I was going, and I said that. I said that that if he wanted to be a mama's boy, then he was free to do so, but it was unfair of him to expect me to put up with his family. I told him that he had been really disrespectful towards me and what I wanted and the fact that after the party, he had just left and the kids on our own showed us exactly how little he cared for us. So now, I wanted him to contact me only when he was serious about his family, and I meant the family that he had chosen, not the one he was born in. He didn't say much to me, only that he would expect me to let him come visit the kids whenever he wanted. But unless I apologize to Agnes and the rest of the family, he had no intention of making things

right with me. So I could live with my parents for as long as I wanted to, but he was not going to tolerate this kind of behavior. And then, I left and for the past three days, I've been staying with my parents. They know the situation and they think that I should think about getting a divorce, but right now, I'm not really sure what to do. Because he has been a common occurrence with my husband, I wouldn't have thought twice before leaving.

But that's the catch, we have been together for almost six years and married for three and he has never behaved like this. He has always been very attached to his family, especially his mother since his father was always too busy for him. And their relationship had only become stronger after my father-in-law passed away last year. That had never been an issue for me, though, since he had always treated me well. This change in his behavior that has taken place after he became a father, that's what I don't understand. It feels like he doesn't care about me at all, even though during my pregnancy, he had treated me like I was the Queen of England. And this is what I'm constantly bumping up against because even if I want to leave him for his behavior right now, I can't stop thinking about the fact that he never used to be like this before and it might be crazy,

but I've been considering the fact that maybe I'm actually the one at fault here. I've heard about plenty of cases of postpartum depression where women become increasingly irritable and have bouts of anxiety and stuff. So maybe I can't see that I'm being unreasonable, but he can and maybe he's right. But at the same time, given the circumstances, I hardly think that my anger is unjustified. If I speak to my friends or my parents about this, I'm sure that they are going to be on my side. So that's going to be a little pointless. And so I've come to Reddit to ask for help so I can make sure that I'm not being selfish and unreasonable like my husband believes, and that I actually do have caused to be mad.

So I'd have for kicking my mother-in-law out for talking about my weight and telling my husband's family that I don't want them visiting me right now? Update 1. Hi, everyone. So it has been two days since I posted and I've been really conflicted about what to do because most people in the comments said that I shouldn't reach back out to him and that I should speak to a lawyer immediately. And I told my parents about it. They suggested the same thing as well and put me in touch with an attorney. But it just didn't feel right for me to file for a divorce before at least giving him one last chance to at least explain himself. I was about to contact him, but, thankfully, he came to me himself. Now, we were not exactly able to make up, but at least we had a discussion.

Last evening, he came by to see the kids and it was very awkward, but the babies seemed happy enough to see him. He played with them for a while and then he started talking to me since I had stayed in the room. My parents had the good sense to go to their bedroom and leave us alone as soon as he came over, in case we wanted to discuss anything. Anyway, both of us were much calmer yesterday and were able to actually have a dignified and civil discussion rather than just one of us walking away angrily. I told him that his recent behavior had made me feel very confused because so far, he had always

shown great care for my feelings but right now, it felt like it didn't matter to him. It felt like he only cared about his family and nothing else. not even me. It was very difficult for me to take it because I was the mother of his kids. I felt like that demanded a certain amount of respect and care. I also told him that the way Agnes had behaved with me and the way she had been pushing me to lose weight just three weeks after I had given birth to twins, was ridiculous, and he should have taken a stand for me instead of defending it. He was silent for a couple of minutes, and then he said that he wanted to apologize for not taking a stand for me when it came to Agnes. He was just very confused, but he had to come to

the realization that his mother had been wrong for constantly pushing me to lose weight. Apparently, the night that I had kicked her out of my party, she had called him later on, and she had been sobbing on the phone, which is why he had felt so terrible about the way I had behaved with his mother and thought that I should apologize to her. But then, he had thought about it for a while and realized that Agnes actually had been quite pushy about the weight thing and she had brought it upon herself. So maybe I didn't need to apologize for it and he had to tell me that he had spoken to Agnes, and she was mad so she wouldn't be saying to me any time soon, but he wanted to say that he was sorry. He also told me that he was sorry for not realizing this earlier.

He had genuinely thought that Agnes only cared about my health and that's why she wanted me to lose weight, but giving me a weighing machine and forcing me to open it in front of that many people was humiliating and she shouldn't have done that. So I was glad that at least he had come to his senses regarding his mother and was apologizing for it. But that was not all that I wanted to talk about, we also needed to talk about the fact that he had not treated me as well as I deserve to be lately. And by that, I meant the fact that he had continued to constantly force his family's presence on me, even though I had made it very clear that I wanted to be on my own for a while with just him and the kids

since I was exhausted, and that meant both emotionally and physically. I guess I had mentioned in my original post that I had brought it up with him earlier as well, and he had argued with me, calling me selfish for wanting to keep him and our kids away from his family. I didn't want to drag out that fight, so I dropped it, but since it had become a bit of an issue in our relationship, I brought it up once again. This time, I had no intention of dropping it until it was sorted out. He had apologized about the thing with Agnes, but here, he told me that he did not think he was wrong. Apparently, his family was really excited that he had become a father and it was a huge deal for everyone. That's not very surprising because right from his childhood, he has kind of been the

darling of his family, and that is meant that I have also been showered with a lot of love and affection by them. But whenever they would come over in the past three weeks, it would only be me who would have to sacrifice time with my babies to entertain them and occasionally cook for them, and even though it might not have seemed like a lot of work to him, it took a toll on me. And I told him that it was not fair, since neither he nor his mother had been of any help to me. Even though he had started working from home, he barely did any of the household chores anymore because he was always busy with the kids, and that responsibility fell on me. As for Agnes, I have already said that she never did anything around the house, and one

came over to play with the kids, and didn't even help me out with changing them and stuff. So I was pretty upset about that as well. Here, though, he said that he could understand that it had become a lot of work for me, But it was unfair of me to expect him to tell his family that they were not allowed to come over at all. All of them were very excited and he did not want to squash, which is why he had argued with me. And I'm not very close with my family, apart from my parents, so my relatives had only video called me to congratulate me and see the babies, but hadn't visited so far. Part of the reason for that was that I had specifically instructed them not to come over right now

and that I would tell them when I was ready to have visitors. I tried to explain to my husband that no matter how much they loved us, it was very important to have boundaries as well, but he refused to understand what I was getting at. He just kept insisting that his family was doing this out of love, not just for him, but also for me and the babies. And I couldn't overlook that, since that would be disrespectful. They were a very close-knit family and since I had always known it, he didn't understand why I was making a big deal of it right now. After one point, it started feeling like we were just talking in circles, so I told him that there was clearly no point in discussing this further. We hadn't been able to come to a conclusion about this problem

that we were facing, since he strongly believed that he was right and I think that I am right. So I told him that I needed some more time to think about what I wanted to do right now and that until then, I would be staying with my parents. As of now, I have put each and every thought of getting a divorce on hold. Because I really want to do right by my kids and at this moment, I'm not sure what that would mean. A divorce is a big deal and once I get involved, I can never go back. So whatever I have to do, I have to think about it very carefully and I don't want to make a mistake. This is why I have decided that I'm going to take my time and talk about this to my husband, a couple of times more, and if we are still not able to come to a conclusion that works for both

of us, then I might but I'm treating that as a last option right now. Update 2, hey, so two days ago, my husband visited me and I'm still thinking about what I want to do. But a couple of hours ago, I did receive a text from Agnes, and that was quite surprising because she was actually apologizing to me. Of course, the tone was very passive-aggressive, and it was very obvious to me that she didn't really want to apologize, but she still did. Even if it was just for the sake of maintaining a civil relationship, she did. She told me that she said. She told me that She had heard from her son that I had left home with the kids and she knew that she was part of the reason that I had done this, so she felt like it was her responsibility to try

and make this right. Personally, I don't agree with her, this is between me and my husband and maybe she was a part of the reason why we had a fight in the first place, but she can't exactly help us sort this out. Anyway, she said that she really didn't want us to separate because that might not be the best move for the kids. Again, I can't agree with that because I think if we separate right now, it might be better for them in the long run because they'll never have known us as a couple in the first place. I think that's a better alternative than sticking together, being toxic for a couple of years, and then traumatizing both our children before we eventually part ways. Anyway, I'm not thinking about a divorce right now, so that doesn't actually apply.

Regardless of that, Agnes apologized and said that if this helped the situation, she would be glad to say that she was sorry about how she treated me. even though she is still going to maintain that she was only trying to look out for my health and make sure that I didn't compromise my well-being. She claimed that he came from an era where being skinny was considered the healthiest and maybe she was mistaken, but that's what she had been raised to believe, and she had been imposing on me, which was wrong. If I'm being frank, her apology was all over the place and it was kind of contradictory in itself, but hey, at least I received one and that's something to think about.

I'm not sure if my husband had put her up to this or not. not, but it doesn't matter. Like I said, my relationship with my husband does not depend on her apology. I replied to Agnes and told her that it was fine, that I forgive her and I'm still thinking about what I want to do about the situation with my husband, but I'm thankful that she took the initiative to apologize to me. But yes, I still have no idea what to do so some advice would be greatly welcome. Update 3, hey, it has been two weeks since I left home and for the past two weeks, my husband and I have been talking about everything back and forth. At first, he would only visit to see the kids and ask me if I had changed my mind and I would say no.

And then, we would have another argument about who was being selfish. But both of us got pretty exasperated after one point. It got really annoying, so I just told him that maybe it would be for the best to just end it and move on with our lives since we were obviously never going to be able to work this out. I think that was about 10 days ago and when I said that, he got really quiet and asked me if that was really what I wanted. And that forced me to really think about the situation, whether that was what I wanted or not, and honestly, I didn't. What I really wanted was for him to understand me, to apologize to me, and to make everything right again. That was what I really wanted and that's what I told him.

That day, he told me that he wanted the same thing as well because, at the end of the day, we really loved that. each other. We had been together for six years, we had kids together now and I don't know, but this seems like something worth fighting for. That day, he told me that he was going to come back the next day after work with a clearer head and we would try to sort things out. Because obviously, if both of us wanted to make it for each other, there was no reason for us to get a divorce. And I decided to do the same, to think about everything with a clearer head and keep an open mind. To try and understand him instead of trying to defeat him, just so that we would be able to make this work. After that, he started visiting every day and there was a lot of explaining,

a lot of listening, some arguing, some apologizing, and a lot of reassurance. Two days ago, we felt like we had finally been able to sort things out and it was really relieving because I did not want to leave him. He promised me that he would tell his family and especially Agnes, that right now, it was not the perfect time to visit us so frequently and that we needed our own space. And I would apologize to the rest of this family for my outburst the other day at my party. We have also promised each other that from now on, it's going to be us against the problem and not us versus each other since that's clearly not going to lead us anywhere and it's only going to hurt each other. We don't want that and we definitely don't want to hurt the kids, so we're going to try and be better

partners so we can eventually be better parents. I'm going back home with him tomorrow and my parents are also pretty happy about the way we were able to deal with this. So I guess all's well that ends well. Thank you so much for all the advice. I hope you enjoy this story. Covered the expenses for my sibling's marriage location as a present. Presently, my additional privileged sibling is requesting that I do likewise for her, and our guardians are accusing me of being egoistic.

Refusing. I, 32, female, have two younger sisters. let's call them Michelle and Denise. Michelle is 30 and Denise is 27. Denise and I don't really have a good relationship and we hadn't been on speaking terms for the past couple of years after an incident at the Christmas party that I had hosted. Three years ago, my mother wasn't feeling well so she had asked me to host the family for Christmas, and since it was my first time I was trying hard to make everything perfect. My husband and I worked really hard on the arrangements and everyone actually seemed impressed with it, but for some reason, Denise made it a point to make fun of everything

that we had done for the party. She kept making insulting jokes, I've forgotten what exactly she said, but she was really getting on my nerves that day. And so after a while, I decided that I had had enough and told her to shut up or just leave if she didn't like what I had arranged. We got into a bit of a fight and she ended up leaving and we didn't speak to each other after that. Even when we would meet at parties or other family events, she would give me the cold shoulder and I would ignore her as well. Our parents tried to fix things between us several times over the years, but instead of telling her to apologize to me for her behavior that day, they insisted that I reach out to her.

Apparently, I was older and I should be more mature about these things and not let petty fights get in the way of our relationship. Michelle was on my side and told me that I had no reason to apologize to her because her behavior at the party had been pathetic and anybody in my place would have reacted the same way. The truth was that Michelle and I were both well aware of how spoiled Denise was and how our parents enabled her bad behavior. And this wasn't even something new, this is how things have been ever since we were kids. Which is probably what led to Denise becoming such a brat. My parents always favored her because she was the youngest and spoiled her rotten.

Even when she would behave badly or act out in public they would just laugh it off but never reprimanded her. Michelle and I had been raised really differently and were a lot more well-behaved than she was. So we never behaved the way that she did because as kids, we didn't get away with any of that like she did. It was like she had been raised by different people altogether and that's how she had turned out to be such a menace. Michelle and I tried our best to be friends with her and make her a decent person but it never worked because she was just too stubborn and ill-mannered. Unfortunately, the world didn't care about Denise the way that our parents did. She had been fired from a bunch of jobs for being rude to colleagues and occasionally even clients.

Throughout her adult life, everyone had termed her difficult to work with and that had earned her a pretty bad reputation. She barely had any friends because of her nasty attitude and after our fight, even Michelle, and I stopped speaking to her because we could tell that she was just never going to change. She thought the world of herself but nothing of anyone else and we were not ready to put up with that kind of behavior anymore. We were all just too old to tolerate it. So no matter what our parents thought, we were not going to force ourselves to be on good terms with her just for their sake. But then last year, Michelle got married to her boyfriend of seven years, Andy. Michelle and Andy had been together for a long time and I knew the guy really well since he and I had gotten quite close while they were dating.

He and I had really similar personalities and a lot of common interests and Michelle and my husband often joked that we were more like siblings than Michelle and I. So it's needless to say that we knew each other quite well and got along. So when Andy proposed, I decided that I was going to pay for their venue and that was going to be my wedding gift to them. This was supposed to be private information but my mother had found out about it while they had been planning and Michelle had been discussing the wedding expenses. We didn't think that it was going to be a big deal but now it's come back to bite me. My parents said nothing about me paying for the wedding venue for Michelle's wedding at the time. But now that Denise is getting married as well, she wants me to pay for her wedding venue as well and my parents think that I should do it because otherwise it would just be unfair.

Denise had reached out to me a couple of months ago when she first got engaged and said that she wanted to apologize to me for the way that she had behaved with me, not just on the day of the Christmas party but all through our lives. And she wanted to make a fresh start now that she was getting married. I had forgiven her, not thinking much of it because we had to see each other at events anyway and I wanted to avoid the unnecessary awkwardness around her. It also seemed to be a genuine apology at the time and she was my sister, so I wanted to give her a chance and try to make things right with her. But I had absolutely not expected things to turn ugly so soon after our reconciliation. Denise and Michelle had already made up last year, around the time of her wedding.

But that was because our parents had emotionally manipulated Michelle to invite her to her wedding. Michelle was a lot softer than me so, she invited Denise to the wedding but she had discussed it with me first. I told her to go ahead and invite Denise because they didn't have any issues and Michelle had only stopped speaking to her because of me. I didn't want that to become a bone of contention because that would just make me feel like the two of us were ganging up against her and that wouldn't be fair. So I reassured Michelle that I wouldn't mind if she invited our youngest sister to her wedding and even encouraged her to do it as a sign of goodwill to keep the peace of the family. So Denise had attended Michelle's wedding and had actually been quite gracious about it.

It had been kind of awkward but she didn't do anything attention seeking or mean at the wedding and just sat through everything quietly. She didn't speak much and left quite early but at least she had attended and she had been willing to put everything behind her. So that made me feel like she had grown up in the couple of years that we hadn't been speaking to her, which is why I decided to forgive her at the beginning of this year when she contacted me to make amends with me. We had been in touch on and off for the last couple of months

and it had been nice reconnecting with her and getting to know her as a new person. She had really convinced me that she had turned over a new leaf and was no longer the spoiled, entitled, and brady girl that we used to know. She also told me a lot about her fiancé Hank. Apparently, they had met through a dating app last year, but she had been so in love with him that they moved and together within a month and were so sure of each other that they had decided to get married after just a year of living together. I personally thought that they were rushing into it but it was not my place to say anything

because they really seemed to be in love, so I kept my opinions to myself. But then Denise asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could pay for her wedding venue, just like I had done for Michelle. No prizes for guessing what I told her when she asked me that. I had obviously declined because the circumstances of Michelle's wedding were really different from hers, and I didn't think I was willing to spend that kind of money on Denise's wedding. When I declined, she didn't argue with me and just disconnected the call without saying goodbye. So I had no idea about what was coming.

Within an hour of that phone call, I received another phone call from my parents and to say that they were furious would be an understatement. They were freaking out at me for saying no to Denise because apparently right after that phone call, she had called our parents up, crying because now she had to change her budget for the wedding. She had just assumed that I would be paying for the venue. since I had done that for Michelle and now she was accusing me of being snarky to her on purpose just because I had a favorite among my sisters. I did have a favorite and it was Michelle

because she was the only one who had bothered to be nice to meet all throughout. Unlike Denise who had been horrible to both of us and had always tried her best to put us down. Even on the day of the Christmas party, she had been trying to put me down and it wasn't even the first time that he was doing something like that. All the other times, we would just ignore it because we didn't want to indulge her and create drama because that would be playing into her hands and giving her just the kind of attention that she wanted. But the one time that I stood up for myself, we ended up not even speaking to each other for the next couple of years. So of course I had a favorite and it wasn't Denise because she was the one who brought this on to herself. I didn't see any reason for me

to feel bad about it and I told my parents that they couldn't guilt trip me into paying for the wedding venue. Denise and I had just started reconciling but we still had a long way to go before our relationship was actually fixed and I was not paying for her wedding for no reason. I also explained to them that I had known Andy for a much longer time than Hank, whom I had met only twice at lunch with Denise. And both times, we had barely even said anything to each other. But with Michelle and Andy, it was really different because he was also a good friend of mine, not just my sister's partner. So I treated that as a wedding gift for them and they didn't even have to ask for it because I wanted to do that for them. But with Denise and Hank, I don't think I owed it to them to pay for the wedding venue or even contribute to their wedding in any way, shape, or form.

I could buy them any gift that they wanted from the registry, like the other guests, but I wasn't going to shell out more money to pay for her venue. It sounded mean, but to be perfectly honest, she and I were just not as close as Michelle and I are. and I don't even know her fiancé, unlike Andy. But my parents were not happy with that explanation and decided they were going to fight with me until I agreed to cover for Denise. They started arguing with me and said that I couldn't pick favorites because it was problematic and they didn't want me to hurt Denise just a few months before her wedding because that would mean the family falling apart once again and they didn't want that. They told me that they had very narrowly avoided having problems during Michelle's wedding and had made her invite Denise so nobody would ask questions so we could at least all put up a united front and they were not going to let me ruin that this time. So it became very clear to me that it was more important for them to keep up the appearance of

us being a normal and happy family and that was even more ridiculous to me. So I doubled down on my decision and I told them that I didn't care what other people said. Our relatives and others could gossip about us if they wanted to but the fear of that wasn't going to make me pay for the venue. My mother almost started crying after arguing in circles with me for a while and my dad told me that I was being incredibly selfish and entitled. I almost started laughing when he said that because it was obviously Denise who was being entitled here.

When I told him to elaborate, he said that it was entitled of me to expect the family to still keep in touch with me if I wasn't even prepared to act like it and step up and be there for my little sister. I had to try really hard to take them seriously at that point since it was really obvious to me that they were grasping at straws to get me to agree.

So I told my parents that they were free to cut me off because there was no way that I would be contributing to Denise's wedding and that means sacrificing my relationship with them, so I'm willing to do it. I was honestly just getting sick of them constantly trying to manipulate us into going easy on Denise. This time they were asking for way too much and I was putting my foot down. So if that made them mad, then they'd just have to deal with it or cut me off like they had said they would. I wasn't going to fight it anymore because that would just lead to more arguments and I didn't want that because I was just sick of fighting with either them or Denise.

And even if we didn't fight and decided to make up, that would lead to more manipulation in the future which is also not something I wanted. So they could either have a relationship with me on my terms now or just leave. I had given them a very pretty clear choice and now it was up to them if they wanted to still keep fighting with me for Denise or they could just let it go and not jeopardize their relationship with me. So they obviously chose the former because, to them,

it was more important to spoil her than to be actually good parents to all of their kids. They cursed at me on the call that day and said that they never wanted to speak to me again. I only wish that they really hadn't spoken to me after that. After they hung up that day, I didn't think they would call me back any time soon because the fight had been a bad one. But they called me the very next day to tell me that they had made up their mind about what they wanted to do and said that they were going to cut me off since I wasn't acting in the best interests of my family. That was just a fancy way for them to say that they thought I was being selfish. I believed that they had thought that the threat of them cutting me off would scare me into contributing to Denise's wedding but like I said.

I didn't care anymore, so I told them to go right ahead and even offered to block them myself so they wouldn't have to put in any extra effort in order to cut me off. They were really mad at me and told me that I was a really selfish brat and I was going to regret this in the future when I didn't have any family to think about me. I didn't pay much mind to them because honestly the drama was getting under my skin and I hadn't signed up for any of this. So I told them to stop bothering me because no threats were going to make me contribute to the wedding and they might as well give up trying since at this point they were only just making huge fools out of themselves. My parents stopped calling after that, but there was always Denise to replace them and she started calling me to tell me that the way I was treating her was really mean-spirited. She even tried to play the victim and said that the reason she had always been mean to me and Michelle while we were growing up was because we would treat her like an outsider in our own private little club and that made her feel alienated. Honestly, that was just a bunch of bologna because we always wanted to include her in things but she was the one who would turn up her nose at us and that's how we started treating her like an outsider. Because she would act like one, so I was not buying the whole victim thing and I reminded her that she couldn't just gaslight me into believing her BS.

I blocked her personal number, but she just found other ways to contact me like from her fiancé's phone or from her friend's phone numbers and I didn't even have those saved so I couldn't even ignore all of it. I was getting impatient because I just couldn't tolerate this level of annoyance and so the last time that we spoke a couple of days ago, I said something and that really hurt her. Yet again, she was harping on about how I was hurting her feelings and that I owed her this because I had contributed to Michelle's wedding. So I snapped on the phone and told her that I owed her nothing because she wasn't as close to me as Michelle was. Since she had never treated me with respect or love and she always took us all for granted because that's how she was raised. I told her that had she ever bothered to put in the time and effort to be nice to us then I would have gladly contributed to her wedding and she wouldn't even have had to ask, I would have just done it. But it's really tacky, the way that she has been behaving for the past couple of days and acting as if I owe it to her to pay for the venue. I told her that her behavior has been nothing short of ridiculous and entitled and it's getting on my nerves now.

She still had a chance to back down and let this go, but instead, she decided that she was going to argue with me and make things worse. She told me that the only reason she expected me to cover for the venue was because I had done it for Michelle, but she should have known that I was too insecure and jealous of her to let her have a beautiful wedding. Because that would mean that all our relatives would only be talking about her wedding and she would win again and of course, we couldn't. stand that, which is why we were not okay with her getting married the way that she wanted to. It was straight up just absurd because nobody thinks like that. We're all adults here, except for her, I guess. So to retaliate, I told her that maybe the reason I didn't want to contribute to her wedding was just because I didn't like her and also because I didn't want to throw away my money on a marriage that wouldn't even last long, given how she is completely crazy and can manage to drive anyone away.

So it doesn't make sense for me to waste money on a short-lived marriage. She lost her mind after that and started screaming at me, but I didn't wait around to hear what she was saying and hung up. But things have become kind of chaotic after that because my parents and a couple of my other relatives have contacted me to tell me what I said was out of line because now she's really miserable and believes that saying her fiancé would leave her was a low blow. So I'd have for telling my sister that her fiancé would leave her because of her crazy behavior? Update 1, hi, so I went through the comments here and most of the people here agreed that I didn't say anything that was out of line. And if she didn't want me to lash out at her then she probably shouldn't have been trying to insult me even as she was trying to ask for help. And I guess it's true, I have no reason to feel bad just because my parents and a couple of other relatives are supporting her. Michelle and Andy don't think I said anything wrong and neither does my husband.

And nor do most of you guys here so I don't think I need to apologize to her for anything. I honestly just wish that they would understand this because things have gotten really out of hand. My parents have been constantly trying to get to me so I can apologize to Denise and take back what I said because apparently, she is hurt by that. I don't even understand why that's hurting her so much. If she has any faith in her relationship, then she won't let my words bother her. I don't even know them that well, so my comments should be pretty much irrelevant to her. The only reason that I can think of is that she isn't really confident.

about her relationship and that's why she is letting my words get to her because I guess I hit a nerve with what I said. It's just a thing but it might be true given how she has reacted to it. I can't think of a single other reason why someone would take this so hard. It might be for attention but I think she receives enough of that from our parents already and she hasn't gone public with this yet, so it seems unlikely. Either way, I'm definitely not going to apologize to her because she doesn't deserve it so she can continue to cry about this. It's not like she is going to cancel her wedding just because I'm not paying for the venue, that's still going to happen so I really just don't understand what the fuss is all about. I have been feeling really bad about the way that my family

was treating me just because I refused to go along with what Denise was telling me but now it's clearer to me than ever that my parents don't care about anybody apart from her. She is always going to be their first priority, no matter how old she gets. They will continue to enable her until the very end, so it doesn't matter what I say. She is just going to remain the same person, incapable of change. Update 2, okay, so the invitations to Denise's wedding were recently just sent out, and guess what? I didn't receive one and neither did Michelle. Now I can understand why she wouldn't want to invite me but the fact that she didn't even invite Michelle, even though she had attended her wedding, is just ridiculous. When it was Michelle who didn't want to invite Denise to her wedding,

our parents made sure that they talked her into it and made them reconcile. But all of a sudden, they don't care about appearances because clearly what Denise wants is far more important than what Michelle wants at her wedding. The double standards are honesty just sickening and it makes me so mad. Michelle and I met for lunch the other day and she told me that our parents had even texted her to let her know that she could still get an invite. As long as she promised to cut me off and never speak to me again until I apologized. She told them to leave her alone and said that they were the worst parents on the planet so they started arguing with her and accused her of being my minion. They were really vicious and said that at this point, they only had one daughter and that was Denise.

Apparently, Michelle and I are really selfish and don't deserve to be related to them because we are clearly never going to make any sacrifices for our family. It's ridiculous how entitled they sound and they don't even realize it because they think letting them walk all over us is the only way that we can prove that we are indeed loyal to our family. It's crazy how their minds work and the mental gymnastics required to make us the bad guys for simply not wanting to waste our time, money, and efforts on someone who will never appreciate them. We have given Denise several chances to improve her behavior and act like a normal person around us. But she just refuses to grow up and be a decent person, so I don't understand why we are expected

to put up with it constantly and pretend that she is a nice human being when she obviously isn't. It's not our fault that she never learned how to be kind to other people and not treat them like utter garbage. And the credit for all of that goes to our parents because they made sure that they raised their youngest daughter to be the most insufferable and annoying person on the planet at any given moment. They were the ones who spoiled her and I would honestly say that they ruined her life by making her so entitled because now nobody likes her and she can barely even hold down a job, thanks to her horrible attitude. They certainly didn't do her any favors and are still continuing to enable this behavior. It's just sad and pathetic at this point.

Update 3. So, they're married now. Denise and Hank got married a few days ago and obviously, I was not invited but I did see a lot of photos because it was all over my social media. and I realized that they got married in my parents' backyard, probably because I didn't pay for the venue. But they seemed to have fun so I don't even know what they were all so mad about earlier. They could have just adjusted their plans accordingly instead of throwing a tantrum and making a big deal out of nothing. But well, what's done is done now. I'm just happy that they're married. And I, unlike them, don't want to waste any more of my time talking about them to other people which they did at their wedding. A lot of relatives reached out to me afterward to ask if it was true that I had promised Denise

that I would contribute to her wedding by covering the expenses for the venue but I backed out at the very last moment which is why they had to disinvite me and also changed the plans to get married in my parents' backyard for free. So that's the version that they're going with. But it was pointless because I obviously told my relatives the truth and they believed me because everyone knows about the reputation that Denise and my parents have, so they were not going to buy that version anyway. Their attempt to save face was pretty useless if you ask me. I haven't spoken to any of them ever since the last fight that we had and I don't really think that we can ever get back on good terms again after this. Way too much time has passed and honestly, unless they can really

prove to us that they have changed, I don't see myself having a relationship with any of them in the future. Michelle and I have tolerated a lot of disrespect over the years but that has finally come to an end now. Earlier my parents could just manipulate us and guilt trip us into forgiving her, but now that we are not on speaking terms with them either, they can't do that to us. And I, for one, am glad about it because sometimes things just become too much to handle and that's exactly what happened with my family. Sure, it's not like I don't miss speaking to my parents because we did have a lot of good times and they were nice to us sometimes as well. But in comparison to what happened recently, I feel like cutting them out of my life was the best decision that I could. have made. I had been a little down in the dumps the day the photos of the wedding were posted. But I soon realized that I wasn't wanted among those people anyway, so it was best for me to

just stay away and so that's what I'm going to do now. I hope you enjoy this story. During a gathering with relatives, my guardians boasted about their efforts in grooming me to become a successful physician. In response, I revealed the reality of how they deceitfully took advantage of me and negatively impacted my life. Hell. My parents were both killed in a hidden drunk car accident when I was just 10 years old. My dad was at the time 40 and my mom was 36. Neither of them had relatives who could take me in. We lived in a really small, church-going town where everyone knew one another. My dad had been the heir to a small fortune and so he never really had to work. He didn't like the big city, so he and my mom decided to move to a small,

town where he could have an antique store. My mom was into collecting antiques, so this was a good idea for them. I would have had to go the orphanage route when they died, but this couple from the church, who I will call Mr. and Mrs. Jones, made this big to-do in church about how a little girl needs a loving home, and God has given us this joyous task of bringing her up in our home and hearts. It's been a long time and I don't remember if those were Mrs. Jones's exact words, but they did say something cringe-worthy like that. So in the end Mr. and Mrs. Jones ended up becoming my foster parents. The Jones had their own daughter Lily who was a year older than me.

That should have meant we would be super good friends, but Lily had her own thing going and practically ignored me. I can write countless stories of how Lisa manipulated everyone around her and would blame me for random things. To give you an example, one day, she once stole a lapel pin that belonged to her father as she liked shiny things. She would wear it secretly in school and I knew about it. Mr. Jones soon discovered that the lapel pin was missing and turned the house upside down looking for it as it belonged to his father and he really loved it.

They found the pin in Lily's room where Lily, instead of admitting the truth, acted like she was shocked and started blaming me for the pin. I was dumbfounded by her accusations and denied them vehemently but she convinced the Jones that it was in fact me who had stolen the ring and hid it in her room to hide my crime and blame her instead. This is just one of the many, many times when Lily would get away while we were growing up by blaming me so I would get punished or grounded instead of her. The Jones received a stipend from the state to take care of me, but they also received checks every month from my dad's estate, which was supposed to take care of me until I was 18. When I did turn 18, it would receive full control of my inheritance. The Jones weren't exactly cruel to me, but in private it was clear they were just using me to build up their reputation in town. In front of other people, they would fawn over me in a sick, cotton-candy fashion that made me uncomfortable. They would also make Lily be nice to me in public, which she absolutely resented but went along with it.

The Jones would also put on a big show whenever social workers came to check up on me. They would coach me before the lady would come, and tell me to praise how godly and wonderful they were. After the social worker left, they would go right back to ignoring me and spending my dad's money on crap on the internet or on their trips. It was clear to me even as a teen that the Jones were using only some of my endowment, both from the state and for my trust, to take care of me. The rest, they would spend it on themselves. As I grew older, I could see that my Jones parents would pretend as though they had great business acumen and that's why they had more money and could buy where I'm from. A new Volvo is an event. And take a trip to New York and buy fancy clothes for Lily. When I was 17,

I noticed that my Jones parents were stockpiling away my trust fund money to pay for Lily's tuition to college. Throughout this time, the Jones would never outright say so, but would heavily imply that I owed them and that once I got control of my inheritance, I should be godly and generous and give them some material compensation for all the work they did to raise me. I think they already got lots of material, especially since Mrs. Jones practically stole all of my mom's antiques from my parents' store and kept them for herself, gave some to Lily or to her other relatives. One thing my mom never kept at her store was an extremely expensive, Barocara fine China set, absolutely complete and worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Not a replica, but the real deal. So real, Napoleon Bonaparte himself might well have eaten a steak off those plates. Probably not, but you get the point. It was my China set, of course, but Mrs. Jones thought I was an idiot and didn't know that. She would always talk about how this China set will go to Lily on her wedding day. Mrs. Jones assumed that since I always dressed like a tomboy, didn't care about all my mom's antiques that Mrs. Jones had stolen or given away, and I also wouldn't care about the China set.

When I was a kid, my mom told me that things were things, and not to obsess over them. So, having the China set for myself wasn't an issue. What was an issue was Mrs. Jones acting like it was hers to give away? So, once Lily went off to college, thanks to my biological mom and dad's money, I had to make my own plans. I had always done well in school and had actually gotten a partial scholarship to attend school out of state. The rest, I could easily pay for with my inheritance, which I would very soon have control of once I turned 18. Per usual, Mr. and Mrs. Jones were haranguing me about how I owe them compensation and since I was going to be rich soon I ought to share the wealth with them. I never promised them anything or argued whenever they talked like this.

I just smiled and kept a tally of every single bank statement. I got them quarterly, that my trust issued over the years. The Jones family never shared them with me, of course, but when I asked the bank for a yearly run down, they were more than happy to oblige. I figured that over the past seven years, they probably stole or misappropriated more than $200,000 of my parents' money, to say nothing of the state money they misused. I think they had more than shared my wealth. I also wrote down every single major purchase my Jones parents clearly made over the past seven years with money that was clearly beyond their means as a housewife and an insurance salesman. Things such as a $50,000 car for cash, I used $18,000 car for cash that they gave to Lily, trips to Hawaii and New York, and cash gifts to the church that made them look super generous at my deceased parents' expense.

I kept it all in a nice, three-ring binder. I started arranging my travel to my new campus so I could officially move out. I didn't have much stuff at the Jones's house anyway, and had zero intention of coming back, not unless they apologized. The Jones knew I was leaving but didn't bother seeing me off, because they assumed I would come back to give them their due. I waited for our church's yearly antique sale extravaganza, set to begin in three days. Per usual, the Jones donated all sorts of random stuff, many of it knick-knacks that used to belong to my parents and technically belonged to me. They weren't shy about giving away my stuff and taking credit for it.

While Mr. and Mrs. Jones were on one of their shopping sprees with my parents' money and away from their house, I boxed up the China set that belonged to my mother and took it with me to college. On the way to college, I stopped at an antique store that I had researched about. I knew the good people here would appreciate it and give me a fair price for the set's value. Thankfully, they did and I asked them to transfer the money to my bank account which could only be accessed by me. As expected, my Jones mom went ballistic when she found her China set missing. She called me flabbergasted and I informed her how I had sold them. She started yelling at me that I had no right to do that and it should have gone to Lily. I told her that it belonged to my mother and she left it for me so why would Lily deserve to have it?

Mrs. Jones began shouting how ungrateful I was and how selfish I was for selling it when they had spent all these years raising me. I laughed hearing her words and told her that she would be hearing from my lawyer very soon. She started asking me what I meant by that, but I cut the call knowing that she and Mr. Jones were going to receive a big surprise soon. You see, I had met up with the lawyer who handled my parents' wills and we had discussed everything that my Jones parents had taken from me over the years which was quite illegal. A week later my Jones parents received a package by registered mail from me and my attorney. It contained my binder where I showed my bank statements and also a list of all their spending

extravagances. It also contained a warning from my attorney that should they ever try to contact me again for money, they will receive a bill and a court date. That was that. Since then, Lily and the Jones family never reached out in seven years, and I've intentionally kept it that way. About six months ago, Lily unexpectedly contacted me on Facebook. I remember blocking her, but it seemed she made a new account.

She shared that she's now married and expecting her first child, expressing thoughts about how she has been thinking about family. Lily admitted regret for not treating me better, acknowledging the absence of siblings in her life, and expressing a desire to share this journey with me. She apologized for the years of neglect and hardships she caused me, assuring me that her current outreach wasn't motivated by money but by genuine remorse as she found herself in a better place. It felt good to see that she understood her actions and truly apologized.

I hesitatingly replied back to her, acknowledging her message and expressing my initial reservations. However, over time, our conversations evolved. Slowly, we started sharing bits and pieces of our lives. I told her about my journey through medical school and the challenges I faced to be. become a doctor. Surprisingly, Lily opened up about her pregnancy, sharing the joys and anxieties of impending motherhood, and spoke about her married life. As the weeks turned into months, our exchanges deepened. We spoke about our respective pasts, bridging the gap that had once seemed insurmountable. The wounds of the past began to heal, replaced by a tentative understanding and a shared commitment to rebuilding what was lost. It was a gradual process, marked by cautious optimism

and a genuine effort to forge a connection that had eluded us for so long. Through our conversations, I learned that Lily had truly changed and was committed to being a better person. She expressed remorse for the pain she had caused and was determined to make amends. Hence when I finally graduated this year, I decided to invite her to my graduation ceremony. Surprisingly, she accepted, and after seven years, we found ourselves face to face. She had that radiant pregnancy glow and hugged me warmly. I congratulated her for her first child and we looked at each other sentimental. I met her husband, Kyle, for the very first time and he seemed like a level-headed and supportive guy for Lily.

Over the course of the evening, we shared stories, laughter, and even a few awkward moments. It was during these exchanges that I realized Lily had indeed transformed. The bitterness that once to find our relationship had given way to a new thing. found understanding and acceptance. She apologized to me again, this time in person, acknowledging the pain she had caused during the time we were growing up. Her sincerity struck a chord with me, and I found it within myself to reassure her that I had moved past the scars of our shared history. I let her know that I appreciated her efforts to change and that, in the end, forgiveness was a healing bomb for both of us. It was a cathartic moment,

releasing the lingering tension that had haunted our connection for so many years. We took a lot of pictures that day and Lily posted some of them on social media. It wasn't long before Mr. and Mrs. Jones discovered that Lily and I were back in touch. A week later, Lily called me, excitement evident in her voice. She explained that her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, were eager to talk to me and extend their apologies in person. According to Lily, they were genuinely happy to learn about my accomplishments as a doctor, and she believed that they had undergone significant changes as well.

Although I was apprehensive, I had seen firsthand how Lily had changed over the years, hence I thought I could definitely give the Jones a second chance. I unblocked them on my phone and let Lily know that I was okay with them calling me directly if they wanted to. Mr. Jones called me that evening and he congratulated me for becoming a doctor. He told me how proud my parents would have been, which was great to hear. He talked about how proud he was of me and that Mrs. Jones felt the same. In that moment, I felt a mixture of emotions, surprise, and skepticism, but also a hint of hope.

Hope that people could change, and that growth and self-reflection could lead to redemption. Mr. Jones extended an invitation to me to meet in person for a family dinner, and though hesitant, I agreed, understanding that this could be an opportunity for closure and, perhaps, a chance to build something new. After seven years, I was traveling back to the town I grew up in. It was a surreal moment and I prayed that everything would go well between us. I was warmly greeted by Mrs. Dot Jones who gave me a bare hug. I was surprised by her affection but I can't deny that it did feel good.

Mr. Dot Jones came out to greet me as well and helped with my luggage. They ushered me in and I was shocked to see some of their close family and friends waiting to surprise me. They all yelled surprise as I entered and I couldn't. help but feel genuinely happy. We all shared smiles and laughter as they welcomed me back. The atmosphere was surprisingly warm, and it seemed like they had genuinely put effort into making me feel comfortable. Mrs. Jones guided me to a spot where I could sit, and everyone gathered around, eager to catch up. As we settled in, I noticed the effort Mr. and Mrs. Jones

had put into preparing a meal. The table was filled with homemade dishes, and the inviting aroma filled the air. It was clear they had gone out of their way to make this a special occasion. The dining room was soon adorned with laughter and clinking glasses as we talked about various things, memories from the past, my journey to becoming a doctor, and their lives since we last saw each other. Then, in the middle of dinner, Mr. Jones clinked his glass for attention. We all looked at him surprised. He got up from his seat holding his glass in front. Proud to say, we've done a great job with this one, Mr. Jones declared, raising his glass. She's a doctor now because of the values we instilled in her. My Jones' mother chimed in, we took her in when she had nothing.

We provided the love and guidance she needed to become the success that she is today. We are so very proud of her, sat there, simmering with resentment. As I was confused as to why they were congratulating themselves for raising me when all they did was use me for my parents' money. I looked at in confusion and she looked apprehensive as well. As everyone toasted on my accomplishments, I smiled politely, trying to contemplate whether or not to let this charade continue. Throughout the evening, the Jones couldn't resist boasting about their role and molding me into a successful individual. Eventually, I couldn't take it any further. The urge to set the record straight became overpowering so I cleared my throat, capturing the attention of the room. Thank you,

everyone, for your kind words, I began, my tone measured. But there's something I need to share, something that has been on my mind for a long time. The room fell silent, every eye on me as I began to recount the painful truth of my upbringing. I spoke of the years I spent feeling like an outsider in their family, of the constant belittling and emotional abuse, of the struggles I face to rise above the trauma they subjected me to. The once joyful atmosphere turned tense and uncomfortable. The Jones exchanged nervous glances as I exposed the facade they had carefully crafted. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats, avoiding eye contact with me. I put my head down and worked hard to escape this hell so I could build a life for myself. I continued, my voice

unwavering. They only put up this face in front of the public but behind closed doors they would take advantage of my parents' money and buy things for themselves. Gasp's rippled through the room as my story unfolded. The guests, once eager to heap praise on the Jones, now sat in stunned silence, absorbing the shocking revelation of the dark underbelly of my seemingly idyllic upbringing. As the truth settled in, the Jones were left fumbling for words, their attempts at damage control falling flat. The dinner that started as a celebration transformed into an uncomfortable confrontation, exposing the painful reality behind the facade of a perfect family. I then left the party after this.

I was no longer willing to play a part in their charade. The shock and disbelief lingered in the air as I walked away, leaving behind a room filled with uncomfortable silence. In the aftermath of that revelatory evening, I had been receiving calls from Jones and Lily. I wanted to get an opinion from everyone on Reddit if I was indeed an asshole by spilling the truth in front of everyone. Update 1. Thank you everyone for giving me your honest opinions.

I do realize that I should have known that the Jones would never change. I don't know why, but I had genuinely thought that they would have repented over the years how they treated me, but that day watching them fall on over me and try to take credit for my hard work was infuriating. I did talk to Lily after a few days since the incident. She apologized to me and made it clear that she had no idea that her parents would behave this way. I assured her that I didn't blame her for their actions and explained to her that I just wanted people to know the truth. surprisingly, she supported my actions. I am happy that she clarified from her end and I will continue to have a relationship with her.

As for the Jones that have tried to reach out to me but I don't have the energy to answer their calls. Update 2, it's been a month since my last update. To everyone asking, yes, I finally had a talk with the Joneses. I called them out of curiosity, willing to hear what they had to say. Mrs. Jones answered the call, sounding hesitant yet hopeful. Mr. Jones joined the conversation after a moment of awkward silence. They began with attempts to justify their actions, emphasizing the financial strain they faced and how they believed they were entitled to a share of the inheritance.

I listened quietly, letting them air their perspective. When it was finally my turn to speak, I calmly but firmly laid out the undeniable facts, the misuse of funds, the emotional manipulation. and the overall mistreatment I had endured under their care was too much for me mentally and emotionally hence when they tried to brag about me at the family dinner it felt extremely fake. I explained that the revelation wasn't intended to harm them personally, but to expose the truth that had been hidden for far too long so that they could realize the harm that they had caused.

Mrs. Jones eventually broke down, admitting that they had lost their way and got carried away with the idea of wealth and societal standing. Mr. Jones, too, expressed remorse, acknowledging that their actions were inexcusable. Despite their apologies, I made it clear that the scars of the past couldn't be erased with mere words. The conversation concluded on a note of mutual understanding, albeit strained. The Joneses expressed a desire to make amends, understanding that it would be a gradual process. I didn't promise immediate forgiveness but acknowledged their willingness to change. Since that conversation, there have been periodic check-ins, but I've maintained a guarded approach.

Rebuilding trust takes time, and I'm cautious not to let sentimentality cloud my judgment. The journey towards reconciliation is ongoing, and while I remain vigilant, I'm open to the possibility of healing and forging a new understanding with the Jones. The ball is in their court to prove that their remorse is genuine and that they are committed to positive change. Update 3 It's been five months since my last update and I am happy to report that Lily has given birth to the most adorable baby ever I visited her in the hospital and nothing can even come close to describing how it felt when I held my baby niece for the first time. I am so grateful that Lily has changed and reached out to me.

The birth of my niece has been a source of immense joy and has further solidified the connection between Lily and me. Lily has also continued to play a role in bridging the gap between me and her parents. I appreciate her efforts to mediate, and I can see that the Joneses are getting better and better. As for me, I have been going to therapy for the last two months. The process of healing is slow, but each session brings a newfound understanding and a step toward emotional liberation. In the professional realm, my career as a doctor is flourishing. The experiences and challenges I face during medical school and residency have only made me more resilient, and I've emerged stronger, both personally and professionally.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the future and I am learning to redefine my understanding of family, trust, and personal growth. I hope you enjoy this story. Supported my ailing relative and he bequeathed me his rural retreat and a substantial sum of money instead of my relatives, were now angry and insisting that I relinquished the estate. They want it for themselves. Okay for background, I, am 24, live a very different, life than the majority of my family. I didn't graduate high school but got a GED and started

working as a welder and hunting guide. The rest of my family is pretty successful, for instance my father is a lawyer and my mom used to be an RN, brother's own companies, sister got married to a lawyer, etc. I'm glad my family found a lot of success, but they can be very shallow and often put me down for what I do for work. My mom will make comments like when are you going to school to get a real job, or stuff like that. They didn't want to pay for welding school, so I worked at an auto shop to pay my own way through. They often go on vacations and cruises without me

because I won't be able to appreciate the culture or food and other BS like that. I love them but I have been slowly pulling away from them over the last few years since I can tell that we live different lives and they have no interest in sharing their lives with me. Now, my grandfather's brother Mike and I have always been pretty close. Mike and I used to go hunting when I was pretty young, and even though Mike was also working in law, he and I shared a love of the outdoors and nature. About a year ago, Mike was diagnosed with cancer

and has quickly gone downhill in the last few months. I have taken a lot of time off of work to care for him since he is my oldest relative and no one else wants to take care of a frail, sick old man for some callous reason. His wife died 15 years ago and he doesn't have any children. He recently asked me if taking care of him was hurting me financially, and I told him that I was cutting back on hours at work, but I loved him more than any of my other family members, so it was my pleasure to take care of him. The next time I went to visit him he revealed to me that he was having his will changed and would be willing his hunting cabin. It's not a cabin, it's a small single family home with power and running water, on 70 plus acres, to me, along with about $100,000

to get it fixed up and start your life. He wants the rest of his estate to be. He wants the rest of his estate to be liquefied and donated to different causes that he was passionate about. Mike is actively dying now. He asked to be taken out of hospice so he can die at home with his dog, who will also be coming with me when he passes away. In his own home my family was talking about how much money Mike has, and how when he dies they want to convert his hunting cabin into a summer vacation home and how they were going to fund a big memorial trip to Europe on his dime,

since we are his last remaining family and they expect the majority of his wealth to be broken up between us all. They do not know that everything is being donated and I am getting the house and some of his money. I know that if Slash when they find out about what Mike has so graciously done for me, they will rip me down and curse his name. I don't want to be around for the fallout. I plan to set aside some money for renovating the house for full-time use and start a small welding company someday. So, Wibta, if I cut them out of my life as soon as Mike is gone? Seeing this new greedy side of them has soured me a lot and I don't know if I can even stand being around them anymore, even though I know that Mike always said that your family should be everything

to you. Mike's properties and how they are going to be split. Boop, Mike has a three different homes, and they are very large and beautiful, except for the cabin, which is small and beautiful. He has a lot of assets that are being liquefied and donated. The 100K in cabin will be all that gets passed along from his wealth. Update, August 24th, 2024. Mike passed away shortly after my last post. He died peacefully in his sleep. His last waking hours were spent with me, Maisie, and the nurse that was caring for him. He is buried next to his late wife. He lived a good life. Some of his last words to me were we had a pretty good run, didn't we? The will issue was hilarious to me and was a great pain reliever.

Mike is always looking after me, even after his death, because watching the bombs fall in real time was like chicken soup to my grieving soul. Yes, Mike did leave the cabin and money to me. He also left me his guns, his dog and her stuff, and his fishing poles slash tackle and a few mementos from over the years. He changed the will three years ago and simply never told me or anyone else in the family. He left various trinkets for other members of our family that were pretty on the nose. For instance, he left my father, who spent a long time complaining about the contractors doing work on the house, a bag of old hand tools. My sister got a box of wine glasses. One of my brothers got a drawer full of pens and pencils for your blossoming legal career. He also gave all of us some money for a round of beer in his honor.

Watching everyone go from fake sadness to excitement, to horror and disgust was quite the trip. My mom kicked the pot of flowers outside the office so hard she tipped it over. My father just stared out the window in silence for a really long time. Oldest brother held it together until we made it home and then started screaming and swearing about getting a fucking box of pencils as a thank you for being part of his life. I have been moved from the disappointment's son list to the shit list. As some of you noted, they weren't exactly angry about the cabin and the money Mike left me, but more so as larger assets that were being liquidated and donated.

That drove them completely insane. The main target of their abuse was the primary organization that Mike willed the rest of his estate to, and other than an initial small explosion and some snide comments, they seemed to take it in stride. I haven't spoken to them much ever since Mike's passing and the will issue. There are still issues and such that that need to be worked out and I was told that could last up to a year.

The cabin has been locked up, set up some cameras and a gate alarm. I am moving in slowly, hopping between here and my apartment until my lease is up. It's definitely dated and I'm currently working through renovations and repairs. Because my phone number is tied to my work I didn't want to change it, just opted to block everyone except my mother in case something really bad happened. After a few days of her complaining slash questioning why Mike left me something so nice, she quieted down. Last week she began calling and texting me again and telling me it was an emergency. I spoke on the phone with her, and lo and behold, it was not an emergency. They want me to donate the cabin and land to my sister

since she's thinking about starting a family and wants to raise her future children holistically. I told my mom that my sister and her husband have a double income and a lovely house in a completely different state than me and if they wanted to move out to the country they were completely able to do so, but I would not be giving them my land. She then suggested they were buy it from me for $200,000, which is far, far less than it is worth. I said no. I got everything from I'm a selfish bastard, to if I don't support my sister's dreams of raising her kids in the countryside I'm dead to her, to Mike would want me to give the cabin and land over, to see if we ever do anything for you ever again, you entitled asshole. I feel like it should have been harder

to hear those things, but it just feels like they're trying to get me to give up what my great uncle willed to me and it made me angry rather than sad. My sister also got on the phone to cry and say it was her and her husband's dream to raise their kids specifically on Mike's land. I kind of felt bad saying no to her then, but in hindsight she's never mentioned it before so maybe this is a new development. Since then, they've been contacting me by email, social media, and the like, hounding me to let my sister have slashed by the cabin and land. So, despite my best efforts, the people are right once again. I should have gone completely no contact. I've deleted my socials, and since I've moved job locations, they don't know where I am currently working. They do, however, know where my house is.

Sometime while I was at work my mom and sister drove over and knocked on the doors, tried to open the side door, and looked in the windows. On my doorbell camera my mother very clearly tells my sister not to touch anything so he can't sue. I am thinking of putting up a lot of. gate, right now it latches, but does not lock. Everyone is now blocked and I am putting together a list of people that would need to be notified of a phone number change since I want to change my number. Not really sure how to go about keeping them from walking onto my property. About two weeks ago when I came back to my apartment my parents were both waiting for me to confront me about how devastated my sister is that her future children won't have the experience of growing up in the

country. I'm kind of afraid that they might camp out at the property until I give in. I put up no trespassing signs and I hope that's enough. I know one of my brothers drove by a while back because he snapped me a picture of the road my house is on. Other than that, I am well, Maisie is well, and Mike is laughing from the grave. I'll stick around a little longer here, and then I'll be logging out of this account permanently. Relevant comments Upon getting a cease and desist letter for harassment against his mother and sister for entering the property and helping the rest of the family. Oop, I don't think I can do anything legally, but I'll ask.

I was allowed to move in but on paper I don't own this property yet. Apparently it can take years for the will to be worked through, so I'm not sure what I can do about it legally. I don't even think I could sell the property to them even if I wanted to. I think they want me to help provide for her and give her future kids the dream life. She has never been to this land before. When she and my mom showed up it was the first time she'd been there. Lawyer brother hasn't spoken to me yet, the brother that drove by works in insurance. Oop on Mike's dog, Maisie, Oop, she's a golden retriever, a little older but still active and playful.

She's really well trained so I'm hoping it won't be hard to find someone willing to work with her that's closer to my home. I'll follow previous advice and ask around at the vet's oop on his relationship with his family. Oop, I'm adopted. Next story. husband accused me of cheating when I told him I was pregnant. I agreed to a paternity test, but then I found messages on his phone revealing he was having an affair. I, 26F, and my husband Alex, 27M, have been married for a year. Recently, I found out I was pregnant. This was not planned, however, ever since we got married we have not been using protection

every time we got intimate and I'm currently not on any birth control. My guess is that I'm only a few weeks along, I haven't seen a doctor yet, anyway, I told him when he got back home from work yesterday. I personally was very happy about it because I've always wanted a mom. I was pretty sure I was all smiles when I told him, and I thought he would be too once he found out the news. Let me add that he's been neutral on having kids. My assumption was wrong. Immediately he gets super upset and asks how in the hell this could happen. I explained to him that while it was sudden, we hadn't been using protection every time so it wasn't that surprising.

I thought he would have understood. For some reason he didn't. After a few minutes of back and forth, he demanded a paternity test and told me there was no way it was his. I was hurt and insulted. Let me be very clear that I did not, and will never, cheat on my husband. I have also never given him any reason for him to be suspicious about me cheating on him either. I was so taken aback that he doubted my loyalty enough to ask for a paternity test. I told him I couldn't believe he was seriously asking me for that.

He said that I wasn't helping my case, and that if I had nothing to hide, then I would take the test and prove my loyalty to him. I honestly can't remember all that I said, but I ended up saying something along the lines of if you're doubting me and my loyalty so much that you think I cheated on you and got pregnant with someone else's baby, then I don't think I want one with you anymore. I don't want to be tied to someone who clearly doesn't trust me. He blew up at me and accused me of cheating once again.

It was a big argument and he said I was being shitty, dismissing his concerns, and saying that asking for a paternity test was valid. In the end, I agreed to the test, but said that I stood by my words. Had to highlight that because some people are saying that I didn't agree to it when I very much did. We haven't spoken since the argument and he's currently at work. I went to my friend for advice and she said that while he was out of line for accusing me of cheating, I shouldn't have said that to him over one of his valid concerns, and that clearly had a reason to feel that way about the situation. I cannot fathom made him feel like I was cheating on him.

I was just so hurt that he would insult me like that and accuse me of doing something so disgusting when I thought we were supposed to have trust in each other. But I'd offer saying what I did edit one, a lot of people are suggesting he got a secret vasectomy that failed, and that did cross my mind. During the argument, I did ask if he got a vasectomy or was infertile and that's why the baby couldn't be his, but he dismissed that and continued saying it just couldn't be his without providing me a solid reason. So in that regard, I have really no idea what to say. Edit 2, I feel I should elaborate on the neutral about kids' part. I told him while we were still just dating that no kids was a deal breaker for me. He said that was

fine because his stance on it was that if we ever have kids, it's fine. If something happens and we don't, it's fine. I'm calling that neutral since I don't know what else to call it. So when I told him I was pregnant, I thought he would be fine with it like he said. But apparently he just changed his mind about that and didn't tell me. And also, I have no issues with men wanting paternity tests. I just had an issue with him blatantly accusing me of being a cheater with no solid proof to back it up along with it. Update, August 23rd, 2024. Hi everybody, this isn't going to be a super crazy update saying we got the test back and he got a secret vasectomy, etc., etc. But it's kind of a big one. This might be a long post. Thank you for everyone's kind words and

advice. It was all super helpful, including criticism because it really made me reflect on my behavior and how I handled the situation. On top of that, I'm so sorry that I didn't really respond to any comments. There were a lot just coming in non-stop and it was a little overwhelming. Moving on. After I made that post and he came home from work, I cooked him his favorite dinner and let him relax a bit before I calmly approached the subject again. I told him that I was happy to do the paternity test,

just that I was a little hurt that he would accuse me of cheating on him, because I loved him a lot and would hate to make him feel that way. I also apologized for what I said. I asked him if he was just overwhelmed slash scared from the news and that's why he accused me like he did. He said that wasn't it and that was genuinely his biggest concern. He then told me he wasn't willing to talk to me, say anything else, or negotiate about anything until after we get the test done. I asked if he was sure and he practically yelled at me telling me to drop the subject for now.

So I did. And so things have been super tense. I've been scrolling through comment after comment for what feels like forever. A lot of you said he was cheating. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to him being told he was infertile or something, but I ended up getting a really bad sinking feeling in my gut that I should check his phone. I never wanted to be the type of person that goes through their so's phone obsessively for no reason, but my gut has never really steered me wrong, so I did it last night while he was saying.

sleeping. I snuck his phone off his nightstand and went out to the living room. He's cheating on me. And if that wasn't bad enough, it is, indeed, with my friend I mentioned in the last post. Like a lot of you said, I guess it does make sense now that I think about it, but I'm still really shocked. I'd never been suspicious of their relationship before, but after reading the comments I realized her reaction was a red flag. I went through their texts, and from what I can tell it's only been going on for a few months and started after we got married. But really, I only focused on the texts from right after I told him I was pregnant. He texted her saying things like,

I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to fuck her without a condom. She says it's mine, of course, but I swear to God it better not be. I'll be happy if it isn't obviously I don't want a kid with her. I'd rather be with you than be stuck with her, you in this context being my friend. I know I should have been careful I don't care if she thinks I'm a dick or an awful husband right now. This was his reply when my friend told him that I came to her about the situation, so yeah. Those were just a few messages. But their conversations were hard to read and I ended up crying a lot.

I screenshoted the messages, sent them to myself from his phone, deleted the texts on his phone so it looked like he'd never sent anything, and then deleted the screenshots, and deleted them from the recently deleted folder. I also went on his laptop to check if they were deleted there too. From his texts I gathered that he did not have a secret vasectomy that failed, nor does he think he is sterile since he said himself that he should have been more careful and he doesn't know what he was thinking. I don't think he'd be saying that if he thought he was infertile. I also want to say that yes, he knows I'm not currently on birth control. And he was the one that decided not to use a condom, not me. I just agreed. I did not pressure him. At first he was pulling out, but occasionally he wouldn't. I don't know why he would continue not wearing a condom occasionally after the affair started.

I'm guessing it was because telling me he no longer wanted to go without protection every time no matter what would make me suspicious. But that's basically it for now. I am not going to confront him about cheating right away. I am going to get the test, then confront him and tell him I want a divorce along with the test results. I mean, that's currently my plan but my mind is also all over the place so maybe that's not the best way to do this? I don't know. It's like 6 a.m., I feel like shit, and I haven't gotten any sleep, L.O.L. I almost forgot to mention that I'm going to get an STD test just to be safe.

I think I'm going to get an abortion just because I don't want my first full-term pregnancy to be literal hell when it should be a happy experience frown. But thank you to everybody congratulating me. It means a lot. The next update will probably be after the paternity test, or whenever I feel like I need to update. I hope you enjoy this story. I served as a caregiver for my father while holding a nursing position, as my favored sibling spent hours gaming. Later, he and his partner attempted to claim my space, and my parents supported them. I, 28F, have been living with my parents, both 60, and my younger brother, Jake, 25M, for the past three years. It's a situation I never imagined I'd be in at this point in my life,

but here we are. I guess I should start from the beginning to give you all the full picture. Three years ago, I was living in a nice apartment in the city, working as a nurse at a busy hospital, and in what I thought was a happy relationship with my boyfriend of five years, Mark. We had talked about getting married, maybe starting a family. Then, one day, I came home early from a shift to find Mark in bed with his co-worker. My world shattered in an instant. I broke up with Mark immediately, but I was a mess. I couldn't stand being in that apartment anymore.

Everything reminded me of him and our life together. Around the same time, my dad started having some health issues. He was diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's, and while it wasn't severe yet, my mom was struggling to manage everything on her own. So, I made the decision to move back. home. It seemed like the perfect solution at the time. I could save money, help care for my dad, and have some time to heal from my breakup. My parents were thrilled to have me back, and at first, it was nice to be surrounded by family during such a difficult time. Jake had

moved back home right after college about six months before I did. He'd always been the golden child of the family, smart, charming, and our parents' clear favorite. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but the disparity in how we were treated was always obvious. Growing up, Jake could do no wrong in our parents' eyes. If he got A B on a test, they'd praise him for trying his best. If I got an A, they'd ask why it wasn't an A-plus. When Jake decided to major in philosophy, our parents called him intellectual and deep. When I said I wanted to be a nurse, they asked if I wouldn't rather be a doctor instead.

So when Jake moved back home without a job lined up, our parents didn't bat an eye. They said he needed time to find himself and explore his options. Meanwhile, I was working 12-hour shifts at the hospital, coming home to help care for dad, and still contributing to household expenses. For the first year or so, things were okay. Jake said he was working on his novel and applying for jobs and publishing. I was skeptical, I never actually saw him writing or filling out applications. but I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

After all, I was dealing with my own issues, trying to heal from my breakup and adjust to living at home again as an adult. But as time went on, Jake's job search seemed to consist mainly of playing video games and hanging out with his friends. He'd sleep until noon most days, then spend hours online or out with his buddies. When mom would gently suggest he look for work, he'd get defensive and say she was stifling his creativity. I tried to talk to Jake about it a few times.

I even offered to help him with his resume or practice interview skills. But he'd always brush me off, saying I didn't understand the creative process or that I was just jealous because he had the freedom to pursue his passions. Meanwhile, I was working my ass off at the hospital, especially when COVID hit. There were days when I'd come home exhausted, physically and emotionally drained, only to find Jake lounging on the couch, playing games and eating the food I'd bought. I tried to talk to my parents about the situation, but they always made excuses for Jake. He's just finding his way, my mom would say. Or, not everyone's path is as straightforward as yours, honey. It was frustrating, to say the least. Then, last week, Jake dropped a bombshell. He announced at dinner that his girlfriend, Megan, 23F, would be moving in with us. This was the first

I'd heard of Megan, Jake had mentioned he was seeing someone, but I had no idea it was serious enough for her to move in. My parents, of course, were thrilled. They started talking about how nice it would be to have young love in the house again, completely ignoring the fact that we barely had enough space for the four of us as it was. That's when Jake dropped the real bombshell. He said that since Megan was moving in, they would need their own room for privacy. And since I had the second largest bedroom in the house, it made sense for me to move to the basement so they could have my room. I was stunned. I looked at my parents, expecting them to shut this down immediately, but they were nodding along like this made perfect sense. That's when I lost it. Are you kidding me?

I said, you want me to give up my room for your girlfriend? You don't even have a job. Jake rolled his eyes. Come on, sis. Don't be so selfish. Megan and I need our privacy. It's not like you're using the room for anything important. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not using it for anything important? I use it to sleep after 12-hour shifts where I'm literally saving lives. What do you do all day, Jake?

Play video games and mooch off mom and dad. Jake's face turned red. You don't understand. I'm working on my novel. That takes time. and mental energy. Just because I'm not punching a clock doesn't mean I'm not working. Have you written a single word of this so-called novel? I shot back. Because all I've seen you do for the past three years is play games and hang out with your friends. Children, please, my mom

interjected. There's no need to fight. I'm sure we can work something out that makes everyone happy. But I was too angry to back down. No, mom, this isn't. fair. I work full time. I contribute to this household. I help take care of dad. And now you want me to give up my room for Jake and his girlfriend? When he hasn't lifted a finger to help or contribute in any way. Now, that's not fair, my dad said, speaking up for the first time. Jake contributes in his own way. How? I demanded. Tell me one thing he's done to help this family in the past three years. There was an uncomfortable silence. Jake broke it by saying,

You're just jealous because you're single and bitter. Maybe if you weren't such a workaholic, you'd have a relationship too. That hurt. More than I wanted to admit. At least I can support myself, I snapped back. I'm not mooching off my parents at 25. Enough. My mom shouted.

Both of you, go to your rooms. We'll discuss this. when everyone's calmed down. As I stormed up to my room, I heard my mom comforting Jake, telling him not to take my words to heart. It made me feel like I was 15 again, always the bad guy, always the one causing problems. That was a week ago. Since then, the atmosphere in the house has been unbearable. Jake is giving me the silent treatment, which would be fine if he didn't make a point of sighing loudly and looking put upon whenever I enter a room. My parents keep trying to mediate, which really means they keep hinting that I should be more accommodating to Jake's

needs. Yesterday, my mom actually said, you know, the basement really isn't so bad. We could fix it up for you, make it cozy. I feel like I'm being pushed out of my own home to make room for my freeloader brother and his girlfriend. But at the same time, I feel guilty. Am I being selfish? Should I just suck it up and move to the basement?

I don't want to leave because of my dad, his Parkinson's isn't severe yet, but he does need help sometimes, and I worry about him. So, Reddit, I need your honest opinion. Ida for refusing to give up my room? Update 1, first of all, thank you to everyone who responded to my original post. Your support and advice mean more than you know. I've been trying to take some of your suggestions, but unfortunately, things have only gotten worse. Megan moved in last weekend. My parents welcomed her with open arms,

cooking a big dinner and breaking out the good China. Meanwhile, I was coming off a night shift and just wanted to sleep, but my mom insisted I joined them to make Megan feel welcome. Dinner was uncomfortable, to say the least. Jake and Megan were all over each other, giggling and feeding each other bites of food. My mom kept gushing about how wonderful it was to have young love in the house again, while my dad nodded along enthusiastically. I tried to be polite, asking Megan about her job and

interests. Turns out she's between jobs right now too, having recently quit her position as a barista to focus on her Instagram influencer career. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking how exactly she planned to pay for things. The next day, I came home from work to find that Jake and Megan had taken over the living room. They were sprawled on the couch, watching TV and eating snacks. The coffee table was covered in empty chip bags and soda cans. When I asked if they could clean up a bit, Jake rolled his eyes and said, relax, sis. We'll do it later. They didn't. The tension in the house is unbearable now. Jake and Megan make a point of being loud and affectionate whenever I'm around, clearly trying to make me uncomfortable. They'll start making out on the

couch when I'm trying to watch TV, or giggle loudly outside my door when I'm trying to sleep between shifts. I tried talking to my parents again, but it was like talking to a brick wall. When I pointed out that I work full-time and contribute financially while Jake and Megan do nothing, my mom actually said, well, you've always been more independent than Jake. He just needs more time to figure things out. And Megan is pursuing her dreams as an influencer. That's a real job these days, you know. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Mom, I said, Jake has had three years to figure things out. And Megan has 127 Instagram followers. That's not a career, that's a hobby. My mom's face hardened. I think you're just jealous, she said. Jake and Megan are young and in love.

They have their whole lives ahead of them. Maybe if you weren't so focused on work all the time, you'd have found someone too. I was too stunned to respond. Is that really what they think? That I'm just some bitter workaholic? I'm seriously considering moving out, even though it would make caring for my dad more difficult. I feel like I'm being pushed out of my own family. The house I grew up and doesn't feel like home anymore. But I'm torn. If I leave, who will help dad when he has bad days? Who will make sure he takes his meds on time? Mom tries, but she's not always great at keeping track of things. And what if Jake and Megan throw parties or do something irresponsible?

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I stay, I'm miserable. If I go, I'll worry constantly. I don't know what to do. Update 2, things have gone from bad to worse. I've started looking for apartments, but I'm torn about leaving my dad. Every time I think about moving out, I remember the time last month when Dad had a bad day and fell in the shower. I was the one who heard him call for help, who got him up and made sure he was okay.

What if something like that happens and I'm not there? Meanwhile, Jake has stepped up his campaign to get my room. He's now telling our parents that Megan is claustrophobic and needs more space. I know this is a lie because Megan has never mentioned this before, and I've seen her happily squeeze into tiny booths at restaurants or small dressing rooms at stores. But of course, my parents believe him. They've started dropping hints about how nice the basement could be with a little work. My mom even left some home decor magazines on my bed, open to pages about cozy basement renovations. I've tried to stand my ground, but it's getting harder. The other day, I overheard my mom on the

phone with her sister, my aunt. She was saying how worried she was about me, how I seem seemed angry all the time and unable to be happy for Jake. It hurt to hear her talk about me like that, like I'm the problem. The final straw came yesterday. I had just finished a 12-hour shift at the hospital. It was a tough one, we lost a patient, a young guy not much older than me. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, dreaming of a hot shower and my bed. But when I got home and went up to my room, I found Jake and Megan had moved some of their stuff in.

There were boxes on my bed and clothes hanging in my closet. For a moment, I thought I had walked into the wrong room. When I confronted them, Jake had the audacity to say, We thought you'd be cool with sharing until you move out. You're hardly ever here anyway with all your shifts. I lost it. I started yelling at both of them to get out, to take their stuff and leave my room. Megan started crying, saying I was being mean and unfair.

Jake put his arm around her and glared at me like I was the villain. My mom came to see what the commotion was about and ended up lecturing me about being more considerate of Jake and Megan's needs. They're a young couple, she said. They need their space. Why can't you understand that? What about my space? I shot back.

What about my needs? I work 12-hour shifts saving lives, and I can't even count on having a place to sleep when I come home? My mom sighed like I was being unreasonable. Honey, she said, I think you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Family is about compromise. Jake and Megan are going to be starting their lives together. Don't you want to support your brother? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And what about supporting me? I asked, I'm your daughter too, mom. Or have you forgotten that? The look on her face was a mixture of hurt and disappointment. Of course I haven't forgotten, she said quietly.

But you're stronger than Jake. You've always been able to handle things on your own. Jake needs more support. I didn't know what to say to that. How do you respond when your own mother essentially tells you that you matter less because you're more capable? I'm at my wits end. I love my family, but I feel like I'm drowning here.

The unfairness of it all is eating away at me. I catch myself feeling angry all the time, snapping at small things. This isn't who I want to be. I think I need to move out for my own sanity. But the guilt is overwhelming. Am I abandoning my family? Am I being selfish for wanting to put myself first for once? I don't know what to do.

I feel lost and alone, even in a house full of people. How did things get so messed up? Update 3, I've done it. I've finally moved out. After the incident with Jake and Megan moving their stuff into my room, I realized I couldn't stay in that toxic environment any longer. It was damaging my mental health and starting to affect my work. I couldn't risk making a mistake at the hospital because I was distracted by drama at home.

Finding an apartment wasn't easy. I wanted to stay close to my parents' house so I could stay close to my parents' house so I could still visit my dad regularly, but rentals in the area are expensive. I finally found a small one-bedroom about a 15-minute drive away. It's not much, but it's mine, and for the first time in years, I feel like I can breathe. Telling my parents I was moving out was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My mom cried, asking why I was abandoning the family. My dad looked hurt and confused. Jake, on the other hand, couldn't hide his glee and immediately started talking about how he and Megan would redecorate my old room. The day I moved out was surreal. I hadn't realized how much

stuff I'd accumulated over the years. As I was packing, I found old photos of our family, Jake and me as kids, all of us smiling on vacation. It made me sad to think about how much things had changed. My parents helped me move, but there was a tension in the air. My mom kept making comments about how I could always come back if things didn't work out. Jake and Megan conveniently had plans that day and couldn't help. I've been in my new place for two weeks now, and I'm still processing everything that happened. Part of me feels guilty for leaving, especially because of my dad. I call him every day to check in, and I've been going over on weekends to help out.

but it's not the same as being there all the time. Another part of me feels relieved. I didn't realize how much stress I was carrying until I wasn't in that environment anymore. My apartment might be small, but it's peaceful. I can come home after a long shift and relax without worrying about what drama I'll walk into. Yesterday, I got a call from my dad. He sounded tired and said he misses having me around. He also mentioned that Jake and Megan have been.

been arguing a lot, and he's finding it stressful. Apparently, Megan's influencer career isn't taking off as quickly as she'd hoped, and she's been pressuring Jake to get a job. Jake, of course, is resistant to the idea, insisting that he needs to focus on his novel. I feel bad for my dad. He's caught in the middle of all this, and the stress can't be good for his health. I offered to come over more often to help out, but he said he didn't want to burden me. It broke my heart a little to hear him say that. After talking to my dad, I called my mom to check in. She was polite but distant.

She asked about my new place and my job, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it. Towards the end of the call, she sighed and said, I just don't understand why you couldn't work things out with Jake and Megan. Family should stick together. I tried to explain again how I felt, how the situation had become untenable for me, but she didn't seem to hear me. She just kept saying how she hoped I'd come to my senses soon and move back home. It's frustrating because I feel like I'm still being cast as the villain in this situation. My parents seemed to think I moved out on a whim, or despite Jake, rather than as a last resort

after months of feeling disrespected and unappreciated in my own home. The guilt is still there, gnawing at me. Every time I come home to my quiet apartment, I wonder if I should have tried harder to make things work at home. But then I remember how it felt to live there, the constant tension, the feeling of being pushed aside, the lack of respect for my space and my needs, and I know I made the right choice for my mental health. I'm trying to establish a new routine now. I still go over to my parents' house every weekend to help out and spend time with my dad. I've been teaching him how to use video chat so we can talk more often during the week. It's not the same as being there, but it's something. Jake and I haven't spoken since I moved out. Part of me misses my little brother,

the kid he used to be before all this drama. But another part of me is still angry at how he treated me, how he seemed to have no appreciation for everything I did for the family. Megan reached out to me on social media the other day. She sent a message saying she was sorry for how things turned out and that she hoped we could be friends. I haven't responded yet. I'm not sure if she's genuinely sorry or if she's just realized that living with my parents isn't the carefree situation she imagined it would be. As for me, I'm focusing on my work and trying to build a life for myself outside of my family drama. I've started volunteering at a local animal shelter on my days off, which has been rewarding. I'm also considering taking some classes to advance my

nursing career. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have the mental space to think about my own future. But there are still nights when I lie awake, wondering if I did the right thing. Was I the asshole for refusing to give up my room and ultimately moving out? Should I have tried harder to make things work? Am I being selfish for putting my own needs first? I keep replaying everything in my mind, wondering if there was something else I could have done, some way I could have made my parents understand how I felt. But every time I think about moving back, I remember how it felt to live there, and I know I can't go back to that. So here I am, trying to navigate this new chapter of my life. I'm hopeful that with time, my relationship with my family will improve.

Maybe Jake will finally grow up and start contributing. Maybe my parents will realize that they've been enabling his behavior. Or maybe things will stay exactly as they are, and I'll have to find a way to accept that. Either way, I'm committed to taking care of myself and my dad as best I can. I'm trying to forgive myself for leaving, to believe that it's okay to prioritize my own well-being sometimes. It's not easy, but I'm working on it. So, read it, after hearing the whole story and how things have played out, what do you think? Was I the asshole in this situation? Did I make the right choice by moving out?

Or should I have found a way to make it work at home? I'm still struggling with these questions, and I could really use some outside perspective. Thank you for reading this far. Writing it all out has been cathartic in a way. Whatever your judgment, I appreciate you taking the time to hear my story. I hope you enjoy this story. Envious Clara can find me in a storage room during my pregnancy celebration because she couldn't accept that I was becoming a grandmother before her. Hello, how can I assist you? Right into it. I've always had a very weird equation with my sister-in-law and recently, something happened that kind of pushed me over the edge.

And not just me, literally everyone in the family. I, 28F, have been married to my husband, 28M, for three years and we have been together for six. A couple of months ago, we found out that we were expecting our first child together and we were thrilled about it. A few days ago this week, we decided to have a baby shower and invited our families and friends to our new house for the event. My sister-in-law, Connie, 30F, and her husband were also invited to the event. Connie has been with her husband for eight years and married for five and they had been trying to have a baby for a really long time, but haven't been successful. Recently, they started their IVF treatments because even though neither of them had any

fertility issues, they were still struggling with conceiving. Had she been a better person, I might have felt bad for her but after what she did recently, I'm glad that she hasn't been able to conceive yet because she's crazy and honestly doesn't deserve to be a mother. Connie and I don't really get along and I would say that it's her fault because I've always been cordial with her, but she just has a weird attitude about everything. Earlier, she used to be nice to my face, but I had heard from several of her family members that she constantly put me down behind my back and made fun of a lot of things about me, so I slowly distanced myself from her.

And then, eventually, we got to the point where we were only nice to each other for the sake of our family and nothing more. So inviting each other to events was more of a formality and we knew it. She had been invited to my pregnancy announcement party as well, and even there, all she had done was sulk and maybe I should have taken that hint and not invited her this time, but I didn't think much of it. Anyway, a couple of days ago, I had my baby shower, and Connie and her husband also attended. They were one of the first few guests to arrive, so we had taken a few people on a house tour since it was a new home. And yes, this is quite an important detail. And anyway, after everyone had arrived, and the baby shower was in full swing, I was speaking

to a couple of friends when Connie came to my side and asked me if I could show her where a bedroom was because she wanted to rest for a bit since she was feeling kind of nauseated. I thought that it was quite strange that she had come to me and not her brother, but since I was busy with my friends and also because I was heavily pregnant. I told her to find my husband and ask him since I really didn't feel like getting up. But she told me that she also wanted to speak to me in person and privately, which is why she had asked me specifically since she didn't actually need to rest. She just wanted to talk to me and needed an excuse for it. That made me a little curious, so I decided to excuse myself and got up to take her to the bedroom so we could talk away from

everyone else. I actually thought that she was going to apologize for her behavior in the past or something, because she was being really nice and I guess it should have made me suspicious. But anyway, I didn't think of it and started walking with her to the bedroom. And here's the deal with our house, it's pretty big and that means that our bedroom is quite a distance from the living room. There is a really long corridor leading up to it and on one side of the corridor, we have something like a supply closet. So while we were crossing that, all of a sudden, Connie grabbed me by the arm, shoved me inside, and locked me in. The closet was a small, dark, and cramped room where we were storing a couple of unpacked boxes on the shelves,

our vacuum cleaner, and a few mops. We hadn't yet installed lights in that room and there was no ventilation apart from a tiny window that was situated really high up in the wall. Everyone in the family knows that I suffer from severe claustrophobia, so a room like that is pretty much the stuff of my nightmares. I started panicking as soon as Connie shoved me into the room, and I kept banging on the door and telling her to let me out, but I knew that there was no point because she must not have stayed outside the door for long. And there was loud music playing in the living room, where everyone was sitting because we wanted the baby shower to be fun for everyone and it was more of a party than a

shower. Besides, even without the music, there were a lot of people in the living room and I'm sure they couldn't hear me above the conversation because the supply closet was a little distance away from the living room. In spite of that, I kept banging on the door and screaming for someone to come help me until my voice gave out and I honestly don't remember what happened after that. I guess I must have fainted because of my claustrophobia since the only thing I remember after that was waking up in the hospital. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to be found about 20 minutes after I'd left the living room since it was time to open the presence, but I wasn't even there so people came looking for me. Apparently, after Connie had returned to the living room without me,

She had told my friends that I needed to rest for a bit and that's why I'd chosen to stay in the bedroom and had sent her back to tell them. A pregnant woman choosing to take some time away from a party so she could rest wasn't all that strange, so nobody raised any questions because what Connie had done was so absurd. It hadn't even occurred to anybody that she might have been lying. And then, eventually, when it was time to open the presence, people started looking for me, and my husband started panicking when he realized that I wasn't in the bedroom like Connie had said. He had the good sense to check the supply closet in there. He found me on the floor, unconscious.

It didn't even take a second to call the ambulance so he could rush me to the hospital because he thought that something serious had happened and I had fainted because of some pregnancy-related complications since I hadn't even woken up when sprinkled with cold water. Our families drove behind us and my sister stayed back home to handle all the guests. Until we reached the hospital and I regained consciousness. Nobody discussed exactly why I had been in the supply closet in the evening, even though I'm the kind of person who refuses to enter that space while there is daylight because of how cramped and small it is. I remained unconscious for about 10 minutes and when I woke up in the hospital, which is luckily just a few minutes away from our home, they ran some tests

and stuff before telling my family that there was nothing they needed to be worried about. I'd just been knocked out cold because I had probably been in a very stressful situation and my blood pressure had dropped to a dangerously low level. That bit wasn't surprising because ever since I got pregnant, I had been having a lot of trouble with my blood pressure and the way it was fluctuating constantly. And I guess the claustrophobia and the panic attack must have triggered me somehow, which is why I ended up fainting and remaining unconscious for 10 whole minutes. After I came to my senses, they took me home and my sister made sure that all the guests were served food and told them that I was completely fine so they wouldn't worry. Once I had come back home, nobody was in the

mood to have fun anymore, so everyone went back home and it was just me and our families who stayed so we could get to the bottom of what had happened. I felt exhausted, so even though I remembered exactly what had happened, I was in no mood to relive it and I just wanted everyone to leave so I could go to sleep. But luckily for me, my friends who had been speaking to me before I left the room with Connie had heard the conversation between me and her and they knew that it was Connie who had taken me out of the living room so we could go to the bedroom. And in all likelihood, she was the one responsible for this, so before they left, they had told my husband about it. They didn't bother me that evening, but the next morning, I found out from my husband that he had confronted Connie

before the family had left, and while I was resting in the bedroom, they had been arguing in the living room. Our families were there and so was he, and Connie kept denying that she had anything to do with locking me in the supply closet. She claimed that she had gone. She had gone. She had gone with me to the bedroom to apologize for always being cold and a bit mean to me all the time, and apparently we had made up for the last couple of years. Then, I told her that I wanted some time away from the party, so I stayed in the bedroom and she came back. So she really had no idea why I had ended up in the supply closet and denied having anything to do with it. And since it was just her word against my friends, they couldn't come to a conclusion that evening. But the next

morning, I woke up in a much better condition, and after breakfast, my husband asked me what exactly had happened and I told him everything. I told him I had kept banging on the door of the supply closet and begged Connie to let me out, but she probably hadn't even been there to hear me. He was furious and called the rest of the family over once again so we could deal with the situation and this time, I was present as well, so she couldn't deny what she had done. I remember that that morning, Connie showed up looking really sick and pale because she probably knew that she was screwed. Her husband also looked worried, but I don't think that he knew exactly what his wife had been up to. Anyway, I recounted what had happened that evening and confirmed

the fact that Connie was the one who had pushed me into that closet and left me there. Everyone seemed horrified and nobody really knew what to say because I don't think anybody wanted to believe that somebody they had known for so long was capable of doing something so horrible. Truth be told, I get that because no matter what kind of relationship I had with Connie, even I had found it very difficult to believe that she had done something so unhinged. But that was the truth, she had tried to harm me on purpose, and I didn't even feel safe around her anymore. After I was done talking, my mother-in-law, Pam, was the first one to speak up. She sounded really disappointed and resigned, and said that she should have seen this coming,

because, for the past couple of months, Connie had been absolutely livid with me. The reason for that was that she felt like I was rubbing it in her face, the fact that I was pregnant before her, even though she had been married for longer than me. She had even said that she was very unhappy with the fact that I would be the first woman in the family to give Pamela a grand kid and not her. But Pam thought that these ramblings against me were just harmless and petty, so she never brought it up with us. But she had no idea that Connie would go out of her.

her way to do something like this out of anger and jealousy. At that point, Connie started crying and said that she hadn't done this out of anger, but it was only meant to be a harmless and innocent prank. She claimed that she had no idea that this was going to go so wrong, and she had actually intended on just leaving me locked in there for a couple of minutes as a prank, and then she would let me out and apologize for not just locking me in for her behavior towards me for the past couple of years. She said that she had completely forgotten about the fact that I was severely claustrophobic and when she realized that I had fainted in the supply closet, she knew that people would think that she had done this on purpose and that's why she had chosen to lie about the previous

night because she was scared of the consequences. But now, she did not want anyone in the family to misconstrue what she had done and she had done it, so she insisted that it was just a prank and she didn't really intend to harm me. Unfortunately, for her, nobody really believed her because, well, it wasn't very believable. And I was very pissed off that she had put me through. so much just because she was upset that she wasn't getting pregnant as if it was my fault. I hadn't even been rubbing anyone's face like she was saying, I had only held a pregnancy announcement a couple of months back, and now, this baby shower. As far as I'm concerned, these are very common events, pregnant people host,

and they are not meant to rub the pregnancy into anyone's face. If that's how she felt, that was her own fault and insecurity showing. Also, what she had said about me being the first woman to give Pamela a grand kid was just disgusting because this wasn't a competition or a race. The bottom line was that she was upset that she hadn't had any luck in getting pregnant and I hadn't even been trying, but I still got pregnant. And it sucks for her that she's having to deal with fertility issues in spite of having all normal results, but that's really not my fault or my problem.

And I had had enough rest, so I was furious the next morning and I told Connie that for the past couple of years, she has been nothing but weird with me, but I had never even done anything to her. In fact, I had always tried to be nice to her, and she was the one who had constantly faked it with me and then gone behind my back to talk crap about me. Even then, I had stayed dignified and just distanced myself from her, but it seemed like she was just never happy and wanted to make sure that she created enough problems for me. I told her that I could understand that she was feeling jealous and insecure, but for somebody to act like this, was just demented, and I did not feel safe around her anymore. I told her that she was a horrible human being for what she had done,

even though nothing had happened to me, something very easily could have happened, and I knew it was not a prank like she was trying to pass it off as. I knew that she saw me as competition, but unfortunately, I was not competing with anyone and she had no right to drag me into this for no reason. Then, I told her that I did not want her visiting or speaking to me anymore, and then, I turned to everybody else and said that if they spoke to her again then I I would not speak to them. So it was either going to be her or me and that's when Connie started protesting, saying that I had no right to do that, especially when she had just been playing a prank. I could see that both she and her husband were actually worried but I had said whatever I had

to say and they could go on screaming but it didn't matter, since I knew that the rest of the family was also going to agree with me. Eventually, Connie got way too loud and my mother-in-law had to step in. She told Connie to stay quiet because this was just the consequence of her own actions and she had lost the right to protest against it. And then, she said something that shocked us all. She backed me up and told me that I was right. It wouldn't be possible to look at Connie the same way because what had happened was just insane and nobody was going to believe her claim of it only being a prank. Then, she went on to say that she was cutting Connie out of her life for now and maybe in the future they would be able to make up. but right now, she didn't want anything to do with her.

And that also meant that she was no longer going to be paying for the IVF treatments, so they would have to look for some other way to deal with it. My father-in-law, who is a generally quiet man and mostly lets Pamela do all the talking, also agreed with this and I'm not even exaggerating. Connie and her husband literally erupted at that point. They started screaming at Connie's parents and said that they couldn't do this since everyone knew that they were really desperate to start a family and they couldn't afford the IVF treatments along with everything else that was going on.

So Connie's parents had been their only hope. For context, my in-laws are quite rich, but Connie's husband's parents aren't exactly on the same level so they couldn't have approached them for help. Connie and her husband have just started a new business. It's barely been a few months so they haven't managed to break yet, which is probably why they were relying on Connie's parents for the money for the treatments. We didn't know about that before it was brought up by them and it was a huge deal. that they were backing out of it since Connie had been pretty desperate to have a baby.

When Connie and her husband started screaming hysterically, Pam stood her ground and said that given her current state of mind and the way she was behaving, she thought it was best for her not to have a baby right now and I couldn't agree more. Nobody had anything to say and Connie just broke down and kind of just fell to the floor while crying, and it was pretty pathetic to see her like that, but I wasn't going to go back on my word. She continued to sob on the floor for about five minutes and nobody said anything. during that time but then, she got up and I thought that she was going to speak to her mother, but she came directly towards me and actually started begging for forgiveness.

And I mean, she was really begging, she was on her knees and everything and said that she was genuinely and truly sorry for what she had done, but she knew that I could make this right by speaking to Pam and I just had to do it. Pam tried to be gentle with her and told her that her mind had been made up and not even I could change it, but Connie was not ready to listen, she was just hysterical and I don't think she was in her senses at the time. It was kind of awkward, so I didn't even know what to say and I really felt bad for her, but there was nothing that I could do. After a while, her husband grabbed her and got her to stand back up, and while she was still

crying, he walked out with her and left us all still trying to process what had happened. After that, everyone went back home and it's just been me and my husband since then. We haven't been speaking about what happened with Connie because it was sad after one. point, but right now, I've been feeling a little weird about it. I know that what she did to me was terrible, but I was the one who put forth an ultimatum for the rest of the family and forced them to cut her off and that also meant that she couldn't have a baby because it meant no more IVF treatments. So I've been wondering if I was a jerk for doing that or not and that's what I wanted to know, which is why I'm here for an objective opinion. Ida for telling my family and my

in-laws to choose between me and my sister-in-law? Update 1. Hey, everyone. I would just like to first thank everyone who responded to my post and commented on it. The majority of the comments agreed that I'm not the one at fault here, so I'm pretty relieved because I had been feeling very heavy and guilty after what had happened. I guess I just hadn't expected her to beg for forgiveness like that and she had been pretty hysterical, so I guess I started feeling bad for her. I still kind of feel bad for her, but to be honest, this was something that she deserved. It wouldn't have been fair for her to get away with all of this sense.

Scott-free because regardless of what her intention had been, I still don't know if it really had been meant to be a prank or not, but the consequences of it were not really good for me. And to be honest, I think I'm still going to stick by what I had said about her not being ready to be a mother just yet. If she is acting like this, so unhinged and irresponsible, just because she's pissed at me, then I'm not sure how she thinks she's ready to handle a baby. It's very obvious to me and I think it's clear to Pam as well that Connie has some serious issues. So until she deals with that, I think it's better for her to stay away from motherhood. I've spoken about this with my husband, and I told him that I had been feeling really bad about

what happened with Connie, but he told me not to worry about it. Apparently, his sister had always been a bit of a hothead, but everyone had thought that she had left that kind of behavior back in her teens. She used to be one of your typical vindictive mean girls back in high school and even in college, but this was not just mean, this was downright cruel. and I knew that she had always had a main streak in her, but for her to manifest in waves like this, I don't think anyone had seen that coming. Anyway, my husband reassured me and after that, I felt considerably better about all of this.

So I'm going to try and put it all out of my head now and just focus on having a happy rest of my pregnancy. Update 2. Hey. So eight days have passed since my baby shower, and since the event didn't exactly end well, we hosted a formal dinner for everyone tonight to make it up to them, and obviously, Connie and her husband were not invited this time. I hadn't opened any of the gifts, so I decided to open them today, with all my friends and family around me. We were all having quite a nice time until dessert was served because that was the time around which Connie decided to make a post on social media, calling me out on my behavior. Yeah, the irony is astounding that after everything that has happened, she is the one who is calling me out. I had blocked her shortly after the incident had taken place, so I didn't know about the post,

but she had tagged a couple of my friends and a few family members on it, so they were notified and read it out to me. It was ridiculous, she had posted that apparently I'd always been in competition with her, and I had really thought that I won when I got pregnant before her. And she acknowledged the fact that she had lost her temper a couple of days back, during my baby shower, and had locked me in the closet, but my way of retaliation has been a lot more severe than what she had done. She posted that I had forced her family to cut her off and made sure that she wouldn't be able to get pregnant by convincing her mother not to contribute to her IVF treatments anymore. But unfortunately, my plan was not going to work because they had decided to pay for the IVF

treatment themselves and they were definitely going to have a baby. So the rest of the family could cut her off, but it was not going to make a difference to her because she was determined to become a mother and start her own family. And that family would be far better than the one she was born in. since apparently her both family was too busy, sucking up to me instead of looking after the only daughter that they had. I tried really hard to feel offended at that post, but honestly, it was just such a huge joke that I ended up laughing at it and everyone else followed me. So we brushed it off as a big joke and didn't even talk about it because I wasn't going to let Connie ruin an event for me a second time. I'm pretty sure that she had picked this day on purpose as well to make that

post because she wanted to gain sympathy and attention, but unfortunately, nobody really has any of that to spare for her. Not after what she has done, at least. Update 3, hey, so I have great news for everyone, I recently gave birth to a really beautiful and healthy baby girl. She is six weeks old now and I already love her more than anything in this world. In fact, my husband and I are already fighting over who loves her more, but we know for a fact that we love her the most. Motherhood has been beautiful so far and I've had my fair share of struggles, but this has made it worth it. But this update is not going to be about my daughter, even though I could totally go on writing about her. This is actually going to be about Connie because she's getting divorced and I'm honestly not surprised that this is happening.

I heard from a couple of people that she and her husband have been living separately for the past couple of weeks and they have finally announced on social media that due to irreconcilable differences, they are going to be separating. Apparently, they had tried really hard to make it work in the past couple of months after the incident with me, but I guess the stress of everything just got to them and they can't be together anymore. And I don't think it's going to be an amicable divorce because they have decided to sell their business and had it been a mutual thing. I don't think they would have tried to do that because that business was their first baby and they had put in a lot of hard work into it. It's sad that they are separating, but not very shocking. Connie's parents are still not speaking to her, though, even though, even if they're not.

though I have told them that I would be fine with it if they decided to get back in touch with her after the news of the divorce broke. But they told me that unless she apologizes to everyone and does it sincerely, they are not interested in having any contact with her. Honestly, I count myself to be very lucky that I have such supportive and loving in-laws because I don't think everybody has been blessed by people like them in their lives. My own parents have also been incredibly supportive ever since I gave birth and even before that and I feel really lucky that I have such a great support system around me. Connie could have had the same for herself if she had just bothered to be nice to the people

around her but well, that was never one of her strong suits. At this point, I don't even feel angry, I just feel bad for her. She could have had a good life, regardless of the unexplained fertility issues, but she chose this for herself. Anyway, that's none of my concern anymore and I just felt like I had to share this here so I could get it out of my system. But now, all I'm going to do is focus on raising my daughter, and yeah, I can't wait for all the great parts of motherhood. I hope you enjoy this story.

Missing Dad unexpectedly returned following three decades, bequeath me his complete wealth rather than his spouse and children. I am a 35-year-old female who was raised without a paternal figure. My mother raised me on her own after my dad left when I was just a baby. I never knew him growing up, and to be honest, I didn't think much about him. My mom did an amazing job as a single parent, and I had a happy childhood despite his absence. Fast forward to about five years ago. Out of the blue, I got a message on social media from a man claiming to be my father. At first, I thought it was some kind of scam or mistake.

But after some back and forth and verification, I realized it really was him. He said he had been looking for me for years and wanted to reconnect. I was hesitant at first. This man had been absent for my entire life, and now he suddenly wanted to be part of it. But curiosity got the better of me, and I agreed to meet him for coffee. That first meeting was awkward, to say the least. He tried to explain why he left, saying he was young and scared and made a huge mistake. He told me he had another family now, a wife and two.

kids, my half-siblings. But he said he always regretted leaving me and my mom, and he wanted to make amends. Over the next few months, we started building a tentative relationship. We'd meet for coffee or lunch every few weeks and talk. He told me about his life, and I shared bits and pieces about mine. It was strange getting to know this man who was biologically my father but felt like a stranger. During one of our meetings, he mentioned that he had a successful business and had done well for himself financially. He hinted that he wanted to make things right with me, whatever that meant. I told him I didn't want or need his money, I just wanted to get to know him. Things were going okay for a while, but then I started noticing some red flags.

Whenever I'd ask about meeting his wife and kids, he'd get evasive and change the subject. He always insisted on meeting in public places, never at his home. And sometimes he'd make comments comparing me to my half-siblings that made me uncomfortable. For example, he once said you're so driven and hard-working, not like my other kids. They've had everything handed to them and don't appreciate it. Another time he remarked, you look just like me, much more than my other children do. It started to feel like he was trying to relive some idealized version of fatherhood with me, while keeping me separate from his real family. I started pulling back and our meetings became less frequent. The last time I saw him was about six months ago. He showed up looking

stressed and agitated. He told me he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months left. I was shocked and didn't know how to react. Here was this man I barely knew, who was technically my father, telling me he was dying. He said he wanted to make sure I was taken care of and mentioned updating his will. I told him again that I didn't want his money and that he should focus on his wife and kids. He got upset and said they didn't need it and he wanted to do something for me. I left that meeting feeling very unsettled. After that, I didn't hear from him again. I figured he was spending his remaining time with his family. Then last week, I got a call from a lawyer saying my father had passed away. I felt a confusing mix of emotions.

But then the lawyer said that my father had left his entire estate to me and his will. His house, his business, his savings, everything. And he had left nothing to his wife and other children. I was stunned. This was the last thing I expected or wanted. The lawyer explained that the will was ironclad and had been updated just weeks before my father's death. He also said there was a sealed letter for me that my father had left with the will. Before I could even process this information, my phone started blowing up with messages and calls from

numbers I didn't even recognize. It turned out to be my father's wife and my half-siblings. Somehow they had gotten my contact info and were furious about the will. My half-sister, who's about 25, sent me a long message accusing me of manipulating our father in his final days. She said I had no right to swoop in at the last minute and steal their inheritance. My half-brother, who's 28, left me a voicemail full of threats and expletives, saying they would fight this in court. Their mother, my father's wife, tried a different approach. She sent me a tearful message talking about how devastated they all were, how they were struggling financially, and how they just wanted what my father would have wanted. She begged me to do the

right thing and share the inheritance. I was overwhelmed and didn't respond to any of them. I needed time to think and process everything that was happening. I decided to read the letter my father had left before making any decisions. What I found in that letter changed everything. My father explained that he had always regretted leaving me and my mother. He said that in his final months, he had tried to make amends and get to know me. But he also revealed some painful truths about his other family. But the letter contained even more shocking news. My father wrote that he had discovered, through a DNA test he'd taken out of curiosity, that neither of his other children were biologically his. He had confronted his wife about this, and she had admitted to having

multiple affairs throughout their marriage. He detailed how his wife had manipulated him for years, using his non-biological children as leverage to keep him in line because he was the one who had signed their birth certificate and legally he was the actual father for her kids. She had also apparently been involved with several of his business associates, and there was a possibility that one of them could be the biological father of both children. This discovery had devastated him and made him think of his entire life. He realized that the family he had chosen over me wasn't even truly his. In his pain and anger, he had decided to leave everything to me, his only biological child. He wrote that his wife had known about me all along and had pressured

him to stay away. She had threatened to leave him and take take everything he has in court if he ever tried to contact me. My half-siblings had grown up knowing they had an older half-sister, but had been told I wanted nothing to do with them. My father admitted that he had been weak and allowed this to happen. He said that getting to know me in his final months made him realize what he had missed out on. He felt I deserved to be compensated for a lifetime without a father. He also added that his other children had grown up spoiled and entitled. They had squandered opportunities and money he had given them over the years. He worried that leaving them his fortune would only enable more of the same behavior. The letter ended with him asking my forgiveness and saying

that this inheritance was his way of trying to make things right. He hoped I would use it to build a good life for myself and maybe even help others. After reading the letter, I just felt sad that while I did not know my father, the time I have spent with him showed that he was actually a good man with a good heart. I decided not to respond to any of my father's family's messages. Instead, I had my lawyer send them a formal letter explaining that I had no intention of contesting the will or sharing the inheritance. I did not mention the contents of my father's letter to me. This set off another round of drama. My half-siblings started a social media campaign painting me as a gold-digging homewrecker who had seduced their poor dying father.

They posted old family photos and talked about what a wonderful dad he had been, conveniently leaving out my existence. Some of their friends and extended family members started harassing me online. I got messages calling me horrible names and saying I was tearing a grieving family apart. A few even made vague threats about what would happen if I didn't give back the money. My father's wife tried a new tactic. She showed up at my workplace one day, crying and causing a scene. She talked about how they were going to lose their home and how my father would never have wanted this. My coworkers were confused and uncomfortable, and I had to ask security to escort her out. Through all of this, I've stayed quiet.

I haven't engaged with their accusations or tried to defend myself publicly. But it's been hard. There are moments when I've been tempted to share my father's letter and expose all their lies. But I know that would only lead to more drama and pain for everyone involved. I did reach out to my mom to tell her what was happening. She was shocked but supportive. She told me that my father had tried to come back when I was about five years old, saying he had made a mistake. But when she found out he was married with another kid, she told him to stay away.

I guess that explains why he said he had been looking for me for years. As for the inheritance itself, I'm still figuring out what to do. The business my father left me is quite successful, but I know nothing about running it. I'm considering selling it and using the money to set up a scholarship fund for kids from single-parent homes. That feels like a way to honor both my mom's hard work in raising me and my father's final wishes. The house is another issue. It's in another state and much bigger and fancier than anything I'd ever want for myself. I'm thinking about selling it and donating a portion of the proceeds to a charity that supports families affected by cancer, in memory of my father.

My half-siblings are still threatening legal action, but my lawyer assures me they don't have a case. The will is solid and there's no evidence of any undue influence on my part. Still, I'm bracing myself for a long and ugly court battle if they decide to go through with it. I know I didn't do anything wrong here. I never asked for this money or tried to influence my father's decision. But I still feel conflicted about keeping it all when I know his other family is struggling. So Reddit, am I the asshole for refusing to share the inheritance with them, given everything that's happened? Update 1, hey, Reddit.

It's been about six months since I last posted, and things have been a bit complicated. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything that's happened since I inherited my father's estate. When I first got the news, I was in complete shock. But now that the dust has settled, well, sort of, I'm realizing just how complicated and stressful this whole situation. has become. After my father's passing, I inherited not just his house and savings, but also his business. I had no idea how to run a business, let alone one as large and successful as his. My father's company was well established, with a lot of moving parts. Employees, contracts, clients, the works. I tried to step in and learn as much as I could, but it's been incredibly overwhelming. I've been getting

harassed nonstop by my half-siblings and their mother. They've made it their mission to make my life a living hell. They're constantly sending nasty messages, spreading lies about me on social media, and even showing up at my workplace to cause scenes. The stress of dealing with them, combined with trying to manage a business I never wanted, has been taking a serious toll on my mental health. I've been seriously considering selling the business. It's not something I ever wanted or asked for, and I feel like it's more of a burden than anything else. But at the same time, I can't help but feel a sense of responsibility to the employees who rely on it for their livelihoods. I've been discussing my options with my lawyer, but it's a tough decision.

As I mentioned in my last post, my half-siblings and their mother have been furious about my father leaving everything to me. Well, things have escalated. They've officially filed a lawsuit contesting the will, claiming that I manipulated my father and his final days and took advantage of his illness to get him to change his will. They're accusing me of elder abuse, saying that I isolated him from them and pressured him into leaving everything to me. Their claims are completely baseless, but it's still terrifying to be accused of something like that. My lawyer has been great, though. She's advised me to consider filing a countersuit for defamation, given all the lies they've been spreading about me.

I'm not someone who likes to get involved in legal battles, but at this point, I feel I feel like I don't have a choice. When we finally had our first day in court, and it was a complete mess. Their lawyer presented a bunch of so-called evidence that was supposed to prove I manipulated my father. It was mostly just out of context messages and twisted interpretations of our conversations. I sat there feeling like I was in some kind of nightmare, watching as they tried to paint me as this evil, money-hungry person.

But then, my lawyer presented the letter my father had left for me, the one where he explained why he had left everything to me and revealed the truth about my half-siblings' paternity. The courtroom went silent as she read out loud the part where my father explained how he discovered that neither of his other children were biologically his and how his wife had manipulated him for years. It was like a scene out of a movie. The judge looked stunned. My father's wife, who had been sitting there with a smug look on her face, suddenly broke down in tears. She was called to the stand and under pressure, she admitted to having multiple affairs throughout their marriage. She even admitted that she had known about me all along and had pressured my father to stay away from me.

My half-siblings were in complete shock. They stormed out of the courtroom, refusing to continue with the case. The judge dismissed their claims, ruling in my favor and stating that the will was valid and that there was no evidence of any undue influence or manipulation on my part. The case was officially closed, but the aftermath was anything but. After the trial, things got even more complicated. My half-siblings completely cut off contact with their mother. I heard that they were devastated by the news and felt betrayed by the woman they had always thought of as their mother. They'd been blaming her for everything that happened, and it seems like their relationship has been irreparably damaged.

But that's not where the drama ended. I started receiving anonymous threats. both online and in the mail. People were telling me that I had destroyed a family and that I would pay for what I'd done. It was terrifying, and I didn't feel safe in my own home. I ended up setting security cameras to protect myself. As for the house and business, I've decided it's time to let them go. The house is in another state and is far too big for me. I've never felt any emotional attachment to it. I've made arrangements to sell it, and I'm planning to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity that supports families affected by cancer, in memory of my father. The business was a

harder decision, but I knew I couldn't keep running it. I just don't have the knowledge or the passion for it, and it was causing me so much stress. That's when something unexpected happened. After the trial, I was approached by one of my father's longtime business partners. He had been with my father since the early days of the company and knew everything there was to know about the business. He told me that he had been heartbroken by my father's passing and that he had been concerned about what would happen to the company. He made me an offer to buy the business from me, with the promise that he would keep all the current employees and continue to run it with the same integrity and care that my father had. I knew that selling to him would mean that the employees

would be taken care of, and the company would be in good hands. After some negotiations, we finalized the deal. The business was officially sold, and I was able to walk away with a clear conscience, knowing that it was in good hands. I've since invested the money from the sale, and I'm planning to use it to build a life for myself that honors both my mother's hard work and my father's final wishes. This whole experience was new to me, but I'm finally starting to feel like I can move on. I've learned a lot about myself, my family, and what it means to truly make peace with the past. Thank you to everyone who offered advice and support. It meant more than you know.

Update 2, hey, everyone. It's been a year since I inherited my father's estate, and I wanted to give you all an update on how things have been going. After everything that happened with the legal battle, selling the business, and dealing with the fallout from my father's will, I'd been trying to move forward and build a new life for myself. After selling the business and the house, I decided it was time for a fresh start.

I moved to a new city where no one knew about my past, my father, or the drama with my half-siblings. I've been focusing on investing the money I received wisely. I've also been exploring ways to give back, just as my father had hoped I would. I've set up a scholarship fund for kids from single-parent homes, in honor of my mother's hard work in raising me. It feels good to know that I'm doing something positive with the money, and I hope it will make a difference in the lives of others who are in similar to the one I was in growing up. Life has been quiet, and I've been enjoying the peace. But recently, something happened that I wasn't expecting. I was at a hospital for a routine checkup when I ran into my half-brother. I almost didn't recognize him at first. He looked

completely different from the person I remembered from the courtroom. He was sitting in the waiting room, looking tired and worn down. When our eyes met, he seemed just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. We ended up talking, and he told me that he had been going through a really rough time. After the trial, he and his sister had cut ties with their mother and had been struggling ever since. He had been living on the streets for a while and had recently found out that he needed an expensive medical treatment that he couldn't afford. Hearing all of this stirred up a lot of conflicting emotions. On one hand, I felt for him. Despite everything that had happened, he was still my half-brother, and it was hard to see him in such a dire situation. But on the other hand,

I couldn't forget how he had treated me during a legal battle. The accusations, the harassment, the threats, it was all still fresh in my mind. I didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to help him, but I was also afraid of being manipulated again. I ended up consulting my lawyer about the situation, asking what the risks would be if I decided to help him. My lawyer advised me to be cautious, but suggested that if I did want to help, I could do so anonymously through a trust. After thinking it over, I decided that I couldn't just walk away from him in his time of need. But I also knew I needed to protect myself. I ended up setting up a trust in his name, with the condition that the money could only be used for his medical expenses. This way, I could help him

without opening myself up to more drama or manipulation. I had my lawyer handle the details, and to this day, my half-brother doesn't know that I'm the one who set up the trust. I hope it helps him get the treatment he needs and that he can get back on his feet. I believe I recapped everything I could remember, so I want to step away from the keyboard and live my life habit. Thanks for listening Reddit. Until next update, bye. Mini-update, unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Not long after setting up the trust, I got word that my half-brother's health had deteriorated,

rapidly. He needed emergency surgery. I didn't know if I should try to reach out to him or just let things be. In the end, I decided not to get directly involved. I figured that if he wanted to reconnect, he would have reached out to me by now. But I did hear through some people that he made it through the surgery, but his condition is still touch and go. I hope he pulls through, but I'm also trying to maintain some distance from my own peace of mind. This will be my final update. and I want to thank everyone who has followed my story and offered advice and support. This past years has been one of the most challenging of my life. I'm planning to continue focusing on the positive,

using the inheritance to build a better life for myself and to help others in need. I've learned that sometimes, the best way to move forward is to let go of the past and focus on what you can do to make a difference in the present. Thanks again, Reddit. I'm finally at peace with everything that's happened, and I'm looking forward to the future. I hope you enjoy this story. Invested all my savings in my unemployed partner as he pursued his ambitions. After one year and $25,000 later, I ended our financial support when he claimed I was his true love.

Using him. My boyfriend and I started dating in July of 2014. He is the biggest optimist in the world and lived a pretty cushy life as the only child of divorced parents. We both lived separately and had jobs that come. covered all our bills and then some. He bought an expensive sports car, gaming computer, and purebred dog, important later. He was in school, while I had graduated a year before and started work at my first big kid job. Life was great, and the first six months were some of the happiest times of my life. The first week of January 2015, he was wrongfully terminated from

his job, a new supervisor was on the warpath to replace everyone on BF's shift with his friends and waited until the new year, after the holiday rush was over, to start cleaning house. Government sided with BF during the unemployment claim, and BF started receiving benefits. He decided to focus on finishing school instead of looking for more work. This where the crack started. He was supposed to graduate that May, but he failed a class and couldn't, so he had to go to school in the summer. In June, his savings ran out and he could either afford his car payment and insurance or rent. His lease was up at the end of July, so I agreed to pay his rent and he could move in with me in July and finish school.

He found out weeks before he was supposed to graduate that he needed one particular elective to get out. He had to go to school that fall, too. I demanded he get a job to help with expenses, as I wasn't planning on having to support him for so long. A month or two, fine. Six months? No. He got a job as an insurance agent. for an extremely reputable company at the end of July. Turns out this job is commission-based.

Being the optimist he is, the manager's talk of being able to make unlimited amounts of money drew him in. I paid for him to take the certification tests he needed to work, and he started trying to build a client-based selling structured financial products. He made and makes nothing. He'll have a $700 payday for a small close, then nothing for months. He's out there busting his ad. every day, but building a financial client base from scratch without any family privilege or

existing networks is ridiculously hard. In September 2015, we downsized from my fancy downtown apartment to a posse house on the edge of the ghetto. I paid the security deposit and double rent at both places for a month as that's how the lease overlaps worked out, totaling about $3,500. By November, my savings was almost gone and I had to liquidate shares of my family trust, on which I took a penalty, as my grandfather did not want us to access it before age 25, to get us by. By deck, I had $300 in savings and nothing left in my family trust. I had spent about $17,000 since July supporting us, his job, he needed money to take clients out for lunch and coffee, his dog, and my dog. Since September, we had been having recurring fights about money and chores.

I expected him to pick up 90% of the housework as his way of paying me back. He never shaped up on either front. He just kept repeating to me the same things that his manager said to him to draw him in. It'll get better. Everyone struggles at first. If you hang on, you'll make it. Once I make it, we'll be rolling in it. Every time we had a fight.

Every time. Two weeks before Christmas, we had this fight again and I demanded he do something other than feed me bullshit inspirational quotes. I left the house in a rage and drove to buy cigarettes. I was thinking of who I should text and ask to crash for the night when I got angry. Fuck no, I'm not crashing on someone's couch while he lives on the house I pay for, sleeps in the bed I pay for, and eats the food I pay for. I returned home and gave him 10 days to pack his shit and get out. He moved into his dad's house, I spent Christmas morning chilling with my dog and returning his presents online.

We started hanging out again in January of this year, and things seemed to be going well for his business, just for him to consider getting an apartment. I told him he could move back in and if we couldn't split expenses evenly at first, he had to get serious about doing chores and sticking to my budget. It was fine at first, but by April, he wasn't doing any chores and I was back to paying 100% of his and his dog's living expenses. He also was about to not meet quota for that quarter and asked me to sign up for a policy and then reverse it after quarter and so I'd be reimbursed. I lost my shit on him.

I work in capital markets, I can't afford to commit financial fraud for him. I told him I've sacrificed enough for him, he can't come for my integrity too. Bonus, the friend who he did rope into doing the reverse policy still hasn't been reimbursed. Five months later, we had another blowout fight, and he majorly stepped to. up on the chores front, which has sustained to this day. Money was still touch and go, when he didn't get paid, his fancy car aided up every month. He landed a big case in May, and paid his half rent in June for the first time, and offered to pay all of July, which he did. By the second week of July, he was completely broke again, and told me last minute he couldn't

pay August rent. I had to scramble to get the cash needed in one account to send the check. He couldn't afford to pay for his half of groceries like he promised either, so that was a scramble too. I'm so sick of this. I work an incredible job for my age, paid off all my college debt eight months after graduation, and own my car, yet I'm living paycheck to paycheck supporting him. There's always something, even if it's a legitimate something, that keeps him from paying his half. It's been a fucking year and there hasn't even been marginal improvement. His job is meant for filthy rich trust fund kids who can afford to be this broke while they build their client base. I admire his optimism but he's not suffering for listening to it.

I am. I have enabled him far too long and after the most recent fight about money, I realized he is too immature to be trying his hand at this job. He complains when he meets with clients that spend their money on cars and trips and toys instead of buying a policy from him. when he blew his money on a car and a gaming PC when he had a steady paying job. He has no problem having regular, circular fights with me yet won't ask his parents for help because that would be awkward and I don't want to lose, his father's respect. He's hurt that I don't trust his promises when he's barely kept any of them. From his graduation date to his bills to chores.

He is too immature to see the larger picture and because I've been enabling him to a fault. He has never needed to because the same. the consequences don't fall on him. They fall on me. Last night, I told him I'm not renewing the lease and I'm moving out by myself. He followed me around the house pleading with me and asking me questions. How do you feel about me? What about us? Where will I go? What will it take for you to let me come with you? Questions I have answered every single. Fight. Questions he needs to answer because it's his fucking life. I refused to answer them again and went to bed. He stood in the doorway and said that stupid Marilyn Monroe quote about not deserving people at

their best if you can't handle them at your worst. I said he was totally allowed to feel that way and walk. He shut himself in the computer room and slept on the couch that night. I can't believe he feels like I'm abandoning him after all I've done. He doesn't understand how hurtful it is when he tries to pay his half of rent and bills by spouting off platitudes about struggle and success. It makes me feel so fucking disrespected and I have told him this every fight. And despite having this fight regularly, it's like he's not even listening to me. Why would he? I haven't made myself worthy of respect by being his financial doormat and not sticking to my

boundaries. At this point, I feel he is using me as a safety net. He knows I won't let him or his dog starve so he doesn't make himself care about. coming up with the money for food. He is deluded by his optimism so much so that he breaks every optimistic promise he makes to me. He talks about how he thinks a client will buy an expensive plan, but then they get the cheap one and now he can't pay rent. He talks about how he met loads of people at a networking event, but only three call him

back and he needs money to take them out. He says he's set to get 40% enrollment on a corporate contract, but only gets 11% so he can't pay for groceries this week. I used to think he was lying to me, but now I see he's lying to himself. He hasn't matured at all and grounded his expectations in reality because I've been standing in the way of it. Because of this, I don't trust him to give me a realistic end date to supporting him, because he'll probably be wrong about that too. And now that I'm done being his Atlas and holding his world together, he's starting to panic. It bothers me so fucking much that he didn't take me seriously until I let the hammer drop on him, as it should have been in the

the beginning. The irony is not lost on me that he's a broke financial advisor. I miss the first six months of this relationship, when he had a job that paid well enough to cover up his financial immaturity. I could have taught him a few things that might have stuck instead of picking up all the slack and mommying the ever-living fuck out of him. I miss going to sit down dinners and football games and movies with him. I miss the fiend I had a month after I met him, where I knew I would marry him. Now I'm not sure at all. I'm sad I love him. It's a burdensome tether instead of the inner flame it used to be. And maybe this is my own fatal optimism speaking, but that guy is still there, buried underneath all this bullshit. He just has to grow the fuck out of it and take

his own risks to learn his own lessons. I can't even explain how badly I want the guy I met back. I'm tearing up writing this. I agreed to him moving back in this. I agreed to him moving back in this. year because, according to him, he only needed a few more months to make it and be stable, and I wanted that for him so badly so we could go back to enjoying life together. My hope is hamstringing me, just like it's doing to him. Can our relationship survive now that I'm seriously taking steps to ensure it doesn't bankrupt me? Or am I being stupid and thinking anything will change?

Will he move in with his dad and just get him to be the new enabler? What am I doing wrong that's preventing him from understanding how I feel? Comments where Op has replied, commenter one. No, you couldn't have. People have to want to learn for lessons to stick. I understand why you're having trouble walking away, because his strengths and weaknesses are so closely tied. But you'd be making the exact same mistake he is by staying,

doubling down on a bad decision because you're convinced you can turn it around with just a little more time and investment. He can't, and you can't either. Stop feeding into the sunk cost fallacy and go. Oop, this is so true. I'm a realist from an abusive home, so he was such a bright light of positivity when I met him. Now it's burning me. You're so right about me making the same mistake.

I know what I have to do. It's going to suck doing it, but... I'm worth it, to myself at least. Commenter too. There's no hope. You cannot change anyone but yourself. He's the only one who can change him. himself. Instead of changing, he's doubling down on a philosophy that has proven to be a failure.

Why isn't he getting another job? Even if he can't let himself kill this dream and quit, he can at least work a second job. One that would actually pay minimum wage. Boop. Bill has office hours during the day and it infuriates me that they don't pay him for that. He can't get a second job for that reason as he's meeting clients before and after common working hours. He can't even be an Uber driver because his fancy car is on the restricted cars list, and fuck if he's going to take my car too. I hate his stupid fucking car so much. It represents how financially immature he is,

because he didn't even use his money wisely when he had it and continues to butt-fuck him to this day. Did I mention he hasn't paid taxes or registered it either because he doesn't have the money? Not sure who will be paying that inevitable ticket, but it sure as hell won't be me. update, well a lot has happened since I made my first post. I guess I'll address it sequentially, since that's how I'm operating right now, moment to moment. After I made that post, I decided to truly cut him off. I changed the Wi-Fi password, froze the credit card I gave him, applied to close our joint accounts, and threw out any gifts I ever gave him. We were planning on attending a dork convention over Labor Day, in Atlanta, for those familiar with the con scene,

budgeted paying for both of us over a year ago. I told him he couldn't go unless he paid for his half of the hotel and tickets, $600. Not sure why I did this instead of shooting straight and admitting he was out of his gourd if he thought he could go. Shouldn't have played any games, but I'm kind of glad I did because he told me he'd have $1,000 to me by the end of August. Over text 2, in writing. I was floored. Suddenly he can come up with money for a weekend of partying and a chance to reel me back in? I said I would apply that to August bills, then he could start paying down the rest of the $25,000 he owed me for supporting him this past year before he could spend his money on luxuries like out-of-state vacations. This was over text, and he never responded,

and slept on the couch again that night. That was a Friday. Saturday morning, he left the house around 9 a.m. with his dog, leaving all of his crap in my house. I piled all of his and his dog stuff under his desk and got rid of any pictures of him around the house. I blocked him everywhere but Facebook and text. I went to two rental house showings, loved one of them and the landlord, put a deposit down that day, went on multiple walks with my dog as well as a long trip to the dog park and celebrated slash vented slash drank wine through Twizzlers with my next door neighbor and her boyfriend. XBF never returned that night. Sunday, I spent the day working on cosplays and outfits for the convention as well as goofing off with my neighbor and dog.

It was lovely. I kept waiting for this wave of sadness and regret to hit me, but it never did. He had been out for 24 hours and his name wasn't on the lease. I texted him that his claim to residency was gone, and he needed to come get his things with 24 hours notice. He said he was coming that night. I said 24 hours notice. He agreed to Monday evening. Monday, He picks up his stuff in his father's truck and gives me back the key. Hours after he left, he added a song to our shared YouTube playlist, say something by a great big world. I added Gravity by Sarah Borellis and Two Good by Drake,

then removed his access to the playlist the next morning. Yay middle school communication methods. Wednesday his best friend texts me like nothing is wrong. Thursday, I text my ex about when I can expect his check in the mail. He doesn't respond. Friday morning, I email him. At this point, as far as I can tell, he's gone no contact with me. I send him one last email a day later basically stating that, and he asks me to coffee Sunday night.

We met up for coffee. He never mentions repayment at all, but in the discussion about our feelings, we both felt the same way about this. Betrayed, abandoned, hurt and distrustful of the other person. He felt I had lied when I said I was fine supporting him and basically insinuated that I wouldn't want to be repaid if I believed in us because otherwise I was actually loaning him money under the guise of love and setting him up to fail. When I realized he felt just as used as me because I cut him off from my money, I knew I was done. My stomach sank like a weight. I let him finish talking, then we parted ways. He asked if he could contact me, I said I needed a break. The next day I emailed him about the $1,000 he promised me and reminded him he never discussed repayment at our meeting. He didn't respond for days, then the day I was set to leave town for

the convention, he replies saying the money was on the way. Cool, it can sit in my mailbox for five days while I'm out of state. Also, during this time he was telling mutual friends we were going through a rough patch yet my friends were finding him on Tinder and OKC. I partied my tail off for the entire convention and when I came back, the check was in an unpostmarked envelope in my mailbox. I cashed it and sent him an email telling him such an ass that he used snail mail for future repayments instead of trespassing on my property when he knows I won't be home. I seriously wonder if he was looking for the spare key I left with the dog sitter. So creepy. He replied to that email with some mushy, I love you and I know I fucked up things

claiming he is too nice and can't say no and his urge to help others makes him neglect himself. and he needs to work on that. It was the most laughable apology on earth. I was so nice and helpful that I couldn't stop myself from draining you of all your money and energy. My bad. I replied you broke my heart and my bank account. It will be a long time before they're both fixed,

and my then I hope I won't be stupid enough to trust you with them a third time. I will be responding to emails about repayment, otherwise good luck with everything. He replied, if I could take everything. back that I did, I would. I love you, name. With all my heart. I could have prevented it all. I could have taken action, but I let you slip away. And that'll be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I'm truly sorry for hurting you. I just want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted. I moved out of the house we lived into a similar one a few streets away. Moving helped keep me

busy enough to not think about this. I threw out all our mementos and pictures and shit in the process so everything in the new place is all me. Just me. Now I'm settled in and it feels like it hasn't hit me that it's over. I thought I would be crushed and there were some lonely moments at the convention that caught me up enough to need a cigarette, but I just feel humiliated. I don't even have the urge to check his Instagram. Every time I see a picture of him it just reminds me of how stupid and naive I am for thinking he was my one. I'm also super distrustful of my feelings now because of that. It wasn't a question in my mind when I met him that we'd be together forever. I knew I wanted to spend my life with him, like my name, like a fact. I see cute people out

or have great conversations, but I have no desire for anything more because I feel like my feelings aren't trustworthy enough to merit acting on them. They led me so far astray last time. But that's it, I guess. It's over and life is going on. Comment where OP has replied. Commenter one, I remember seeing your original post and wondering to myself what would happen. You handle this masterfully, and it's obvious you are much better off mentally and emotionally for dropping him from your life. You just sound happier in your writing, and for that I'm glad for you. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Smile O.P., thanks. It creeps me out. how quickly he became a stranger, right in front of my eyes. Anyway, the convention was helpful

for jump-starting the old single-bitch thing again, aha. That's the path I'll be on for a bit. I hope you enjoy this story. Wealthy Willow despises my occupation, caused me to weep at her extravagant event, and attempted to lure my spouse with money. However, I outsmarted her by convincing her to wear my professional attire at the gathering. Golden Child's Wedding I 24F desperately need advice, so I am reaching out here hoping someone will be able to help me. I have been married to my handsome husband, Andrew 26M, for three years. I work at a local diner as a waitress, and Andrew works at a restaurant. I would love to say our marriage has been amazing, but unfortunately my mill, Gloria F. 50, has made our marriage and dating years a nightmare. On top of that, I am currently

19 weeks pregnant, so I am super emotional right now, and Gloria makes me cry all the time with her snarky comments and constant put-downs. Gloria and I have never had a good relationship. She is super wealthy, and she absolutely hates that I work at a diner, making only minimum wage. She makes comments all the time, saying I should be making more money to ease Andrews She says, I'm making life hard on him. Andrew Works also makes a low income in the restaurant. So no, we are not wealthy like her, but we make it work. What Gloria doesn't realize is she is the one putting stress on both of us. You see, Gloria was always the breadwinner of her family, as well as being a single mom to Andrew and his little brother, Michael M. 25. Apparently, Andrew's dad left the picture

shortly after they had the boys, when Gloria divorced him and took him for all he was worth, and they never heard from him since. My guess is he could not deal with Gloria's narcissistic personality. But anyway, Gloria is so proud of making money and being a single mom, that she thinks I should be contributing more money to my little family, just like she did. All she thinks about is money and her reputation, and it is sickening. Gloria is constantly comparing me to her perfect son Michael is fiancé, Deborah F. 23. I can see why she thinks Michael is perfect, as he is a really down-to-earth guy, despite being a well-off doctor. He and I have been friends for years and he is actually the one who introduced me to Andrew.

Deborah is perfect in Gloria's eyes because she works as an intern working towards helping kids suffering from cancer, while I just mindlessly hand people diner food. Deborah is also gorgeous with beautiful long blonde hair with big blue eyes and skin as smooth as a baby's, while I have short black hair, small dark eyes and blemishes on my skin. Gloria is constantly referring to Deborah as the daughter she never had, while I'm just the girl Andrews settled for. Gloria thinks Michael and Deborah are the perfect couple in Andrew and I need to try to be more like them. In fact, when I told Gloria I am pregnant, her response was, oh. While Deborah is saving children's lives, you will be busy screwing your child's life up. What a shame.

Who says that? I have come to expect mean comments from Gloria, even though I go beyond my means to impress her to try to be like Deborah. I have even gone as far as to ask Andrew what Gloria's favorite flowers were so I could surprise her with them for Mother's Day and bring her a nice gift. But, no matter what I do, she finds fault in my offerings and makes me look like the worst person on the planet. I just cannot please Gloria. Gloria's hatred of me began on day one of my relationship with Andrew. When we first started dating, I told Gloria I worked at a diner, and obviously that did not go over well. On my next date with Andrew the following weekend, he told me Gloria had set him up on a surprise blind date with her best friend's daughter immediately after meeting me because the other girl

had a swanky office job and made a hefty salary with benefits. To this day, I am appalled she would to pull that kind of stunt, when Andrew and I are clearly meant to be together. But obviously, she is all about money and status and I just don't fit her high expectations for her son and her family. Well, last night was one of the worst nights I have ever experienced with Gloria, and I was left embarrassed and crying, and I am still upset now. A few months ago, Gloria began planning her grand party, a super fancy party to celebrate her early retirement, which she achieved by working 14-hour days,

seven days per week at a publishing house. The party was going to be extremely extravagant to show off her ability to achieve retirement more than a decade ahead of the expected time, at the age of 50. She invited us to her party, only because Andrew happened to be there when she invited Michael and Deborah. Don't get me wrong, she loves Andrew, but this woman definitely does not like me, so I think I was invited because she felt obligated to include me. When she invited us, she gave Andrews specific instructions such as the

location, time, and the dress code of the event. He was told we must look dazzling and rich, not homely like usual, which made me annoyed, but we prepared appropriately. I saved a few weeks pay and bought a fancy dress, and Andrew bought a nice suit and tie. We would certainly look the part. Even though we thought we had it all figured out, I was dreading the party. I did not want to go. I am not much of a people person, four one. Secondly, I am tenly, I am tenly, I am ten. terrified of Gloria, so why on earth would I want to go to a party that is basically just celebrating how awesome she thinks is? Yesterday was the day of the party and I had to work the day's shift at the diner, as usual, and then I was to meet Andrew at the venue. I figured I would do my makeup and

hair before work, do my shift, then spruce up and change at work before getting to the venue. I did not have much time between my shift and the party, but I figured I would have to make it work. I worked my shift as normal, with nice makeup and my hair slightly fancier than normal. After my shift, I went to my car, grabbed my dress and my shoes, and went back into work to put it on. I was still dreading going to the party but figured it would be fun to dress up for once and I would just try to have fun for once. I unzipped the dress cover, pulled the dress up and, to my surprise, the dress did not fit. I had picked the dress out a few weeks back and being 19 weeks pregnant, I guess I got bigger, and my dress no longer fit me.

I panicked and started thinking of my options. There were no options. I had no other dress, my house was too far to grab another one, plus I did not own anything else remotely fancy, and there was absolutely no time for me to go purchase another one. I did not know what to do, the clock was ticking, and I have a bit of pregnancy brain. So, I had to go to the party in my work outfit.

my dumb black diner dress. As I drove there, I cried, as I knew the wrath I was about to face. As I cried, my makeup smeared down my panic-stricken face, making me look even worse. I showed up to the venue and found Andrew and Michael standing outside. I explained what had happened, and while Michael laughed it off and seemed understanding, Andrews seemed a little irritated at first. He then noticed I had been crying, as my makeup was smudged, and he became somewhat more understanding and told me that everyone should just be happy to have me there. I felt comforted by him, so I sucked it up and walked into the venue with Andrew and Michael by my side. I walked in and immediately regretted my decision. The other women were all dressed in ball gowns with embroidery and

crystals and lace. Even the dress I had picked out would have stood out like a sore thumb. people began staring at me, immediately pointing, and whispering to each other. I swear I could hear laughter, and I know it was directed at me too, which made me feel so embarrassed. I just stood there in my stupid diner attire, a little black dress with white trim. I mean, I knew it was bad, but the gravity of the situation was about to sink in really quickly. Not even five minutes after we arrived, Gloria stormed over and pulled us into the hallway of the venue. She said she could not believe I would show up looking worse than her maid. In fact, exactly like a maid.

She told me I have some nerve showing up like that, and that her rich friends were all asking why I was dressed that way. She even said she overheard one lady say, who invited the help. She demanded to know where my ball gown was. I told her what happened and that it could not fit to which she threw her head back and said, Oh, you are such a joke. Then she ripped my name tag off my chest, which I forgot I was even wearing, and she mockingly said, Look at me, I'm Kate. Poor me. I'm so poor, I am dressed like a maid at a grand party.

I just want everyone to feel bad for me because I work at a diner, making pennies an hour. I can't even afford this baby I'm carrying, but don't worry, my mother-in-law will bail me out, like she always does. She stood there fuming mad as I stood there embarrassed. but also fuming mad that she had the audacity to say such terrible things to me. I began to cry silently and did not know how to reply to such insults as those. I mean, what do you even say to that? Then she told us to leave and stormed off back to her party before I could even form a response. I left the party with my husband, feeling disgusted with her and myself.

She has a way of making me feel like maybe I am not good enough for Andrew, or anyone for that matter. I hugged Andrew outside the venue and continued sobbing. We eventually parted ways, and I continued crying as I drove my car back home. I thought about the words Gloria said to us at the venue, and at this moment, I am very disappointed I didn't stand up for myself. The whole thing felt like such an attack, and I am left feeling confused and so hurt. I don't know what she means by her bailing me out, as she has never spent a dime on us or the baby I am carrying, and I don't plan on ever asking her for any help either. Today is the day after the party, and Gloria is blowing up our phones with voicemails and texts, scolding us, but mainly me, of my indecency at her party.

Asking me how dare I embarrass her, that we are the talk of the town now, and that people should be talking about how grand her party was, not how cheap the guests were. Of course, she also keeps mentioning that Michael and Deborah look stunning, and that they think I should never have showed up looking like the train wreck I did. She also threw in there that if I'd stopped picking out on diner food, maybe I would have fit into my dress. My husband's support and the anticipation of having my child is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. But even though my husband supports me and says his mom is out of line, and he does not want to talk to her anytime soon, I know Gloria is very manipulative and I worry she will convince him to leave me. She tends to know what to say to sway him and

pin him against me, but maybe I am just being overly emotional due to pregnancy hormones. Also, I wish she would actually say something to his mom about how cruel she is being to me. I am not too sure what I'm hoping to get by posting this. But I guess I just want advice on what to do with someone like this. I am beyond stressed about this and I can't stop replaying the night of the party in my head. The constant messages from Gloria are not helpful either. Any advice is welcomed and is certainly needed. Update 1. It has been a couple months since I posted here, and I want to thank you all for your advice. Things got a lot worse since posting, so I thought I would leave an update. I started therapy shortly after writing my post, as I needed someone to vent to and my husband

was not being very understanding. He tries to be supportive, but he is still loyal to his mom and, although I understand it must be hard for him, it does hurt. Gloria continued to be mean to me, and it feels good to have a therapist to talk to. Andrea mentioned I was in therapy to Gloria, and she laughed and said I must be crazy if I am in therapy. My therapist has made me realize that Gloria is toxic and abusive towards me. My therapist is trying to help me cope with the stress that Gloria puts me under, but I do have a piece of bittersweet news regarding that.

Due to the stress I have been under because of Gloria, I went into preterm labor and gave birth six weeks early. The baby and I are doing fine, but the baby had to stay in the NICU for nearly a month, which caused Andrew to miss work for that entire time. He had only planned to take a few days off for the birth of the baby, so we were struggling to make ends meet and we needed money for our rent and baby formula. We were really in a bind and had absolutely no one to ask, so Andrew had to ask Gloria for money. Of course, I did not want to ask Gloria for money. But I also need to make sure my baby is fed. and we have a roof over our heads. I really did not know what else to do. That night at the party,

her comment about her having to always bail us out stands out and races in my mind constantly, and I feel so ashamed. But I had no other choice. Gloria gave the money to Andrew, but I did not even dare to ask him what she said when she handed it over to him. I am still upset about the last thing she said to me when she came to pick us up from the hospital a few days ago, you know, you probably wouldn't have had that baby early if you weren't living off diner food scraps. This comment made my blood boil. I spoke with my therapist today and she said the cause of my preterm labor was probably actually due to the fact that I am under so much stress dealing with Gloria. She really does stress me out and make me so upset.

Now that the baby is here, I want to try to focus on being a good mom to her and try to ignore Gloria. Since she was so early, she has some health issues, which makes it really hard on Andrew and me. Our constant challenges make ignoring the ruminating thoughts about Gloria nearly impossible. She is the reason I am struggling. She is the reason I have a sick baby. I will try to update you guys after I have done some more therapy. Hopefully things with Gloria will have improved if I can better myself. I just don't know anymore.

Update 2. she tried to ruin my marriage. It has been a few months since my last update, and I have to say the last few months have been H. My therapy sessions quickly turned into couples counseling, as my husband and I began arguing constantly over Gloria. In one of our sessions, Andrew finally admitted what has been going on, and I am telling you, Gloria is going to pay for what she has done. So, I better start at the beginning. Shortly after we brought our baby girl home from the hospital, Andrew became distant and refused to change diapers, stopped helping around the house, and we argued non-stop. I spoke to my therapist about it, and she decided to have Andrew come in

so we could sort out what was really going on. Our first session, we got nowhere because Andrew would not open up. However, during our second session, Andrew cried and began to spill out years of secrets he had been keeping regarding Gloria. For one, Gloria has been giving Andrew money the entire time we have been together. She even bought him the car he drives to work. Secondly, Gloria made an offer to Andrew shortly after the baby was born. The offer was that if he left me and the baby and proved it with signed divorce papers, she would buy him a house and give him a large sum of money. She promised him a fresh start and the ability to find a new wife that would be more suitable. Andrew admitted that the offer was very tempting, especially the money in home, as we had been

struggling for so many years. But, as he sat there in tears, he promised he would not take the deal. He also said the stress Gloria put him under to take the offer was why he had been so distant over the last while. My therapist told us that Gloria is clearly trying to pin us against one another, and that she is very toxic. She also tried to get Gloria to come in with us for a session. Gloria declined by telling the therapist she is not a lunatic who needs therapy like me. Since the therapy session, Andrew has been very supportive and is helping me with the baby. I think the stress was also getting to us due to the fact that, because of Gloria, we had a premature baby, and my baby is sickly. We have a lot of doctor appointments for her, and she has a

feeding tube with very expensive formula. Sometimes, I feel like Gloria has ruined my life and my baby's life. It is not fair for her, or for Andrew, or for me. This is a few. This is a lot of whole offer and the fact that Gloria made me have a premature baby and all the rude comments, I just can't take it anymore. Michael and Deborah are getting married next month, and I plan to make that wedding the wedding of the century. I am going to embarrass Gloria, so she gets what she is coming to her. I just hope I have the courage to go through with my plan. Stay tuned. Update 3 well, I have good news and bad news. I will start with the good news. Last week was Michael and Deborah's wedding night, and I had a somewhat wicked plan up my sleeve

for Gloria to receive payback for everything she has put me through. You see, with Michael and Deborah both working for the hospital, their budget for the wedding was quite high, and Gloria, of course, matched that budget by buying a high-end extravagant gown to wear to the wedding, which by the way cost more than a whole year's worth of my rent. Gloria had been going on and on about how darling her gown was and how special this wedding was and how it would be so much better than mine and Andrews. She really knows how to get under my skin. We arrived at the wedding and everyone was dressed to the nines, looking their absolute best. The venue for the wedding was very ritsy and the ceremony, I hate to admit, was very well put together with even the release of doves while Michael and

Deborah sealed the deal with a kiss. Gloria's dress looked just as expensive as she claimed, and she wore it proudly around, trying to steal the spotlight from Deborah. Even though Deborah and I don't really see eye to eye, I thought Gloria's attention-grabbing attempt was so rude. She also commented on my dress, which was the same one I intended to wear to her grand party months ago, saying I looked frumpy. That was a tough pill to swallow, seeing as I just had a baby.

It was time for payback. At the reception, I took my glass of red wine and walked over to Gloria, pretending I was going to strike up a conversation. As I walked toward her, I pretended to trip over my dress, and spilled the dark red wine all over her lavender dress. She was livid. She told me I ruined her dress and mentioned that I must pay for it to be fixed or replaced. She also said I did it on purpose and she simply could not spend the rest of the night in a wine-stained dress.

I calmly told her I had brought a spare dress in case the baby had spit up on me, and it was in the car. I told her that since the dress was flowy, and we were roughly the same size, she could wear that. Since Gloria had no other options and she desperately wanted to attend the rest of the reception, she agreed to wear the dress. I met up with her in the bathroom of the venue with the dress, which was none other than my diner dress. The very dress she had made fun of it her grand party months ago when she told me I looked worse than her maid. I refused to wear this. She protested. After nearly half an hour of convincing, Gloria wore the dress.

She said she was only wearing it because she wanted to attend the reception and her dress was filthy. The reception went on, and it was speech time. Gloria went up to deliver her speech and I snapped a photo of her giving her speech in my diner dress. I posted it to social media with the caption, who invited the help. Gloria felt so embarrassed the whole reception and she no longer trotted around trying to steal the spotlight from Deborah. In fact, Deborah came over to me near the end of the night and actually thanked me for allowing her to shine on her special night. Thank you to everyone who commented with words of support. This will be my last post.

I really don't know where I will go from here, but it has been nice having people finally sighed with me about my crazy mill. I hope you enjoy this story. Wealthy Willow despised me for my lack of wealth. She pulled a trick by labeling me the roommate at her gathering and shared it on the internet to human beings. humiliate me, but my spouse's actions next shut her up. Hi, everyone. I'll be referring to my husband as Harry and my mother-in-law as Olivia. I, 28, female, had been married to Harry for about two years. Harry, also 28, and I were friends in college and that's how we know each other. We didn't start dating until after we graduated, we ran into each other at a common friends party a few years ago

and have been together ever since, for almost four years, including the time that we have been married. Harry and I love each other and I don't have any regrets about marrying him but the only thing that I can't stand is his mother. Olivia was a single mother and raised Harry all on her own and that's great but she is really arrogant and cold which is what makes it very difficult for me to like her as a person. She made it clear from the very first day that she didn't approve of me and I think it has a lot to do with my financial background. I don't come from a rich family and my parents had to really work hard to provide for me and my three sisters. We were quite poor growing up, my dad used to be a janitor and my mother had to take up several odd jobs to be able to

support us. I'm honestly not ashamed of it and I'm actually quite proud of where I come from, as are all my siblings. Let me just put it out there that we never looked at our parents' jobs as something to be ashamed of or to be embarrassed by. They were honest, hardworking people and we always have been, still are, and will continue to be extremely. extremely proud of them for raising us to be good people, just like them. Olivia, however, is quite classist and instantly made a face when I revealed to her that my dad used to be a janitor and my mom would run errands for those who could afford it. That was back when we had dinner with her for the first time and ever since then, she made it

pretty clear to me that I wasn't welcome in her family and she would never accept me as one of her own. She didn't say anything to my face, but she would always keep her distance from me physically, like she couldn't touch me or something. Whenever she would invite us for dinner and even use different silverware and plates for me which were slightly less pretty than the ones she and her son used. I didn't bring it up because I thought I was overthinking things and I didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing but then there were a lot of other things too, which forced me to come to terms with the fact that Olivia was classist. She would buy me cheap birthday presents and I knew it because she left the price tag on. For context, Olivia ran her own business and could definitely afford to buy nice presents for people and she would.

she did. She got Harry a very expensive watch one year and got her assistant in all expenses paid trip to Bali for three days. The very same year, she gifted me a knockoff Prada bag which didn't cost more than $85. After that, I realized that I wasn't imagining anything and she most certainly didn't like me. The biggest mistake that I made was not talking to Harry about this back then because I didn't know how to talk to anyone about something so upsetting. I had been discriminated against before, but it was never by someone who I hoped to have a relationship with in the future. I actually did admire Olivia, before I saw this ugly side since I want to have a business of my own someday as well. And when Harry told me about this mother, I was quite impressed.

My sisters and I are all finance majors. We went to college, thanks to student loans and were able to score well enough to bag decent jobs. I work in marketing and advertising, but I really want to build something of my own and I didn't want a bad relationship with my mother-in-law, which is why I didn't speak up about Olivia before Harry and I got married. I hoped that she would accept me eventually, but it didn't happen. And then, it just became too awkward. I finally did speak up a few months after we got married and told Harry that I didn't feel comfortable visiting his mother because she made me feel inferior and I had a feeling that it had something to do with my family and my dad's profession. He was quite understanding about it and told me that he would speak to his mother,

and tried to clear the air between us. He did live up to it, but it didn't lead anywhere because after he spoke to Olivia about it, she just denied everything vehemently and started crying crocodile tears because she felt attacked and claimed that she had been nothing but warmed to me so this accusation of her being classist was uncalled for.

But that didn't change the way I felt about her and only made me feel like she was trying to manipulate us. So I told Harry that I appreciated his efforts, but I still didn't feel comfortable around her. So we decided that, he could stay in touch with her, but I would avoid her and only when I felt ready would I talk to her. He didn't cut her off but distanced himself and I knew she hated me for it. Now that we were married, I didn't have much of a choice when it came to her and had to make my peace with it.

Olivia and I would meet at family get-togethers, but we wouldn't see each other otherwise and we were both fine with that arrangement for a while. However, a few days ago she texted me around noon that she was celebrating her 50th birthday and she wanted me to be present a few hours before the party was supposed to begin because she wanted to mend things. She told me that I had been right about her and she had kind of been horrible to me in the past, so she wanted to make up to me for it. I agreed to it and showed up early because I was really happy since I felt like she was finally coming around and accepting me as her family. But that turned out to be a bust because as soon as I got there, she told me to go wait in the kitchen for a while. It was confusing, but I did it

and a little while later, she came into the kitchen herself and introduced me as her housemaid to the wait staff who were there for the party. I was shocked because this was a new low, even for her and to make it all worse. She was recording it and laughing like this was the funniest prank that one could ever play. Everybody else was also quite uncomfortable and I was so humiliated that I started crying. I ran out of the house and got into my car so I could drive back home. I had told Harry that I was visiting Olivia, but he was busy at work so he hadn't read the text and he wasn't going to be at the party until it was supposed to begin. So I came back to an empty house and an empty inbox which made me feel even more alone and I cried myself to sleep. I woke up a couple of hours later and

Harry was finally home by then. He was sitting beside me on the bed, furiously typing on his phone and when I asked him why he wasn't at the party, he turned his phone towards me and showed me a video that his mother had posted. It was the video that she had recorded and had captioned it as a prank that went wrong. She cut the video off right before I started crying so it didn't look as bad but she still posted it only to humiliate me and I started crying once again. Harry told me not to worry about it because he was trying his best to have it taken down and told me that he would pull out all the stops to make sure that his mother regretted this. She wasn't replying to his messages or picking up his calls probably because she was busy with the party, but he knew that

she would call him in a while to ask why he wasn't there yet and when she would. He promised me that he would teach her a lesson of a lifetime. He most certainly did live up to the promise because about an hour after I woke up, his mother called him and I can't repeat exactly what he called her but trust me, it was bad. He ended the call by promising to file a lawsuit against her for what she did to me. After he was done yelling at her on the phone, he apologized to me repeatedly for not doing enough about Olivia when I told him that I wasn't comfortable with her. I honestly didn't blame him because back when I first brought it up with him, I made it seem like it wasn't a big deal which is why he didn't deal with it that seriously. I also never spoke up about the other

incidents that bothered me and he isn't exactly the most attentive or observant person, so he never picked up on any of that himself either. I can't exactly blame him for not cutting his mother off because he had no idea exactly how horrible she was capable of being. But then on the day of her party, I finally told him everything and he was furious. He told me that I should have let him know, and I agree, I really should have. He never would have allowed this to go on for so long. He also apologized for falling asleep at the wheel and never noticing how his mother was treating me. We talked things through and then he called up his lawyer because he wanted to know if there was any legal way that we could get back at her for what she did. Unfortunately, we couldn't file a lawsuit

for emotional distress because there weren't exactly any physical repercussions of what she did. So even if he did go after her that was a good chance that we would end up wasting our time. I told Harry that there was no need for us to go after her anyway and that we could just cut her out of our lives. But he told me that it wasn't good enough for him and he wanted to teach her a lesson. I could tell that he was really angry on my behalf and I loved him more. for it, so I didn't try to stop him. He didn't do anything that day but then, the next morning, he told me that he had contacted his mother and told her that she had three days to issue a public apology, not just to me but also to my family. And it had to be in video form or else he

would make sure that all her business associates got to know about the way she had been treating me and that would pretty much ruin her future because she'd carved a niche for herself as a female entrepreneur but this wasn't exactly very feminist of her. The negative reputation could potentially ruin her future, so she'd probably have to take this threat very seriously. We are on the second day right now and I honestly don't feel very good about this. This feels really close to blackmail and I did tell Harry about it, but he dismissed my worries and told me that this was the only way to teach Olivia a lesson to make sure that she would never repeat the kind of behavior or try to bother me again. I don't like this. I'd offer

letting my husband go after my mother-in-law. Update one, hi, as many of you suggested, I sat Harry down after he came back from work and told him about my concerns yet again. I know Olivia is the bad guy here, but I don't want to stoop down to her level just to get back at her and I told him that I didn't like the idea of him resorting to such tactics only to get her to apologize. And an apology wouldn't even mean anything because she would just be saying it for the sake of it. So I told him that I didn't want him to go through with this and to call it off and tell Olivia that she didn't need to put up any apology. And she was free to do whatever she wanted, as long as she stayed the heck away from us.

Surprisingly, he didn't resist this time around but just broke down into tears and I had to console him for several minutes before he could finally tell me what he was upset about. As most of you said already, he was overcompensating for not taking things seriously and dealing with the situation properly when I first told him about Olivia. I know most of it is my fault because I was so desperate to win her over and accept me, even though she hated me. but after watching that video which has since been deleted he realized just how deep-rooted olivia's problems were and felt really guilty so he started channeling all that guilt into getting back

at his mom instead of just listening to me and what i wanted to do but talking to me made him realize that he was making that same mistake again and not taking me seriously it probably doesn't help that i'm quite submissive and literally have no idea how to assert myself but we talked about it and he texted Olivia and told her that there was no need for an apology because now, he just didn't want anything to do with her and that was it. I'm actually quite proud of the both of us for dealing with this so well and making sure that it's us versus the problem and not us versus each other. Honestly, Harry and I care very deeply for each other, which is why it was so hard for us to tell one another about the biggest problems. We need to work on that so we agreed that we are going

to look into marriage counseling since we clearly could do with it. I have already started looking and I hope to start working on our marriage within the next week or so to make sure that these incidents don't repeat ever again. This has been one of the worst experiences of my life and I don't want to feel the way I felt a couple of days ago ever again. I'm really glad that Harry is cutting Olivia off because I don't think I would have ever been able to see her again and resist the urge to smack all the arrogance out of her. I won't do it, but I hope that someone does. Update 2. A week has passed since the day of the party and Olivia hadn't tried to talk to us after Harry gave her that ultimatum. And she didn't even reply when he told her that he was calling it off and he didn't need an

apology anymore. We knew that something was wrong and she was definitely preparing to do something big because she wasn't one to let this slide. But then days passed and she did nothing, so we kind of forgot about it. However, today she finally turned up at our house. She had her lawyer with her and when I opened the door, she walked in without even glancing at me as if I was not even there. And then she started calling out for Harry and told him to come see her in the living room. It was stupid because Harry was in our bedroom and I was going to go tell him to do that anyway, so she didn't need to take matters into her own hands. When Harry appeared in the living room, she told him to sit down on the couch and it was really annoying for us because she was acting like

this was her house and ordering us around inside our own home. So Harry told her that he was going to do whatever he wanted to and right now, he didn't want to speak to her so she needed to leave and take her lawyer with her because it didn't scare him. But Olivia didn't budge and insisted that he take a seat because he would want to hear this. I was the one who told Harry to just do it because I wanted her out of the house as soon as possible. And that wouldn't happen unless she had said what she wanted to say. I just wanted to get this over with and if that meant that we would have to listen to Olivia threaten us legally or some other rubbish, I was ready to hear her out, and then she could get the heck out. So then Harry took his place on the couch and I sat down beside

him, just to show her whose boss around here. So she could ignore me all she wanted but this was our house and she needed to know her place. She still ignored me and then told her lawyer to come forward and start reading the terms of the document that she had prepared. And so he did. Essentially, it just said that she wanted Harry to leave me because otherwise, she would write him out of her will and give it all away to other family members, her employees, and charity. It included a list of properties and assets that she had made, probably just to freak him out and make Harry think about what he was losing out on by staying with me. But he seemed unfazed, even while the lawyer was going through that list and it almost appeared like he was bored because he was fiddling

with the ring on my finger and not even paying attention to what was being read out. After the reading of the document was complete, Olivia stood there and asked Harry if he had given any thought to what he was going to do now. Because if he stayed with me, then he could say goodbye to her and his inheritance forever. And then the funniest thing happened. Harry stood up, walked towards his mother, and then gave her a big hug. And then he said, goodbye, Mom. It was hilarious when her face turned from triumphant to shocked and I couldn't stop giggling. So then, she finally acknowledged my existence and snapped at me. She told me to shut up and started throwing a temper tantrum by calling me several choice words that I will not be repeating here. I didn't even say anything to her

and pretended that I couldn't hear her because I knew that's what would piss her off the most. Even Harry didn't argue with her and after she started screaming at me, he said to me that it was time that we returned to our room because this could take a while since his mother was clearly going crazy. And he didn't want to stick around to witness more of her mental breakdown as it was quite embarrassing. Both of us were speaking to each other pretty normally, like she was not there in completely ignoring her wild screaming and cursing. Both of us got up to go back to our room to piss her off, but then she took it too far and started accusing me of being a gold digger. She said that she never should have approved of our marriage and that she should have no on that

I was only after Harry for his money probably since my dad was too much of a loser to earn some for himself that was out of line because she has no idea how hard my dad has worked for us and I'm not going to let anyone take that away from us. I didn't. Argue, but I just told her that my husband was literally rejecting her in spite of all her money today. So I was anything but a gold digger. I was a working woman, I didn't take any money from my husband and did everything on my own, so she had no idea what she was talking about. Then I told her to get out of my house before I called the police and had her escorted out. She finally left, but her visit had already left a bad taste in our mouths. It was an

unpleasant visit, but we got a lot of things out of the way and she knows not to pick on us, so hopefully she will keep that in mind and leave us alone. Update 3, Hey, guys. So I'm back here because Olivia did something really nasty and low and I can't believe that she thought she could get away with this. About two weeks have passed since she visited us and because she didn't do anything or try to talk to us after that, Harry and I assumed that this chapter was finally done with and we could resume our normal lives.

clearly not because I just got a call from my parents about an hour ago and they were telling me that Olivia had paid them a visit and it was not good. She barged into their house and insulted them, calling them terrible parents who raised a gold digging and conniving be word like me. She said a lot of other things as well about me, but that's not even what I'm offended about. She told my mother that if she had spent more time at home, actually raising us instead of running errands and trying to earn money, then maybe we would have turned out better. And of course, she did insult my dad about his profession, once again, and said that she never should have allowed her only son to marry into a family like ours. Knowing that my dad was so used to cleaning up other people's trash, it was no surprise that his own daughters were the filthiest. My parents were almost in tears when they were telling me about all the things that she had said and I just couldn't hold back my anger. I still can't, even thinking about her yelling at my parents and their house makes my blood boil.

I'm at work right now so I can't exactly do anything about it, but as soon as my work for the day is done, I'm heading over to Olivia's house and ripping her a new one because she definitely needs to be taken down. I texted Harry about it as soon as I got to know about what happened with my parents, but he is busy with work so he hasn't replied yet. I honestly don't want him to accompany me, but I have informed him, so it doesn't take him by surprise when Olivia calls him up, crying about all the things that I said to her. Update 4, Hi, so I'm currently at home. I came back from Olivia's house about three hours ago and I swear it was incredibly satisfying to shout at her and let her know exactly what I thought of her. She didn't seem surprised when I showed up at her place and opened the door herself. She was smirking at me and that's when I lost it. She didn't even have to say anything to make me mad because I was already fuming. I pushed her aside and went inside the house and then I asked her if she had paid my parents a visit and if she had

had indeed said all those horrible things to them. When she said yes, she sounded very pleased with herself and I wanted to wipe that smirk right off her face. So I screamed at her as loudly as I could and I swear I felt the house shake. I asked her how dare she and she was so taken aback by the sheer volume that she had to take a couple of steps back. It's quite comical now that I think about it but she was really shocked because I am generally a quiet and soft-spoken person and I try not to yell as much as I can. I even kind of surprised myself by how loudly I was screaming at her. I went on to call her a hypocrite and a sad excuse of a human being. I told her that she had completely failed at being a

mother because she couldn't even try to put Harry's happiness over her own, which is why she was going out of her way to break us apart. But unfortunately, that was not going to happen because Harry and I loved each other because we were capable of it. Unlike her, who didn't even know what that word meant. It was a low blow, but then I told her that I was glad that her husband passed away when Harry was little because he probably wouldn't have been able to survive. I called her worse than whatever disease that he had and that's when she started crying. But I wasn't about to stop just yet, so I went on yelling at her for quite a few more minutes. I didn't stop until I finally ran out of steam. By then, she was sobbing inconsolably and I was

quite happy about it because it was very satisfying for me to see her break down like that. She had made me feel bad about myself and my family and worst of all. She had insulted my parents for no fault of theirs. She deserved this. A few minutes after she started crying, I stormed out of the house and came back home. And about an hour after I came back, Harry also returned. He told me that he got off work earlier but he didn't come back home directly, since he thought that I would be at Olivia's house.

So he headed over there but when he reached, I had already left. I'd driven away just a couple of minutes before he got there. The door to his mother's house was already open and he knew that I had been there because when he walked in, Olivia was curled up on the couch and crying her heart out. I thought that Harry was going to be mad at me for making his mother cry like that since she never really expressed her emotions. Not by crying, at least. But he told me that he was proud of me for finally taking a stand for myself and he was happy that I wasn't letting anyone walk over me. He gave me a hug after that and apologized for whatever his mother had said to my parents.

And then he told me what he had talked to his mother about before he came back here. It was a short conversation but that was probably one of the last times that Harry was going to talk to Olivia because he told me that we were going to have no contact with her. And if she tries to mess with us again, then we are filing for a restraining order. Anyway, apparently when Harry asked her about what I had said to her, she repeated everything. including what I said about his father and Olivia expected him to defend her and finally say that he was going to leave me because I had taken things too far. But he disappointed his mom yet again and told her that even though it was his father that I was talking about, he didn't find it offensive because Olivia had said much worse things about my family.

So she kind of had this wand coming. Then he and Olivia got into a fight again where she accused him of not caring about her and taking my side just because I was pretending to be soft and innocent. But he told her that that was not the case at all and the only reason that he was on my side here was because I was right. I had never gone out of my way to hurt her or make her feel inferior. It was she who used to do that to me. And even when she was confronted about it and given a chance to improve, she didn't take it instead. She turned it around on me and tried to gaslight me. So now she couldn't complain because she had enough opportunities to make things right with me but she didn't.

And now that I was finally standing up for myself. there was no way that she could victimize herself and make me look like the villain. Then he walked out of his mother's house, even while she was screaming for him to come back, and demanded that he leave me. But he told me that he had made his choice and he didn't care about anything else. It was sweet and we had a cute little moment. We are still going to continue marriage counseling as it's going well. But now we know for sure that we have each other's backs forever and that's all I ever really wanted anyway. I hope you enjoy this story. I was not included in my daughter's marriage celebration because I was not deemed suitable,

so I revealed information about her spouse's relatives on the internet. As a result, their company is experiencing setbacks and the wedding has been called off. Greetings, all. I, 50, female, have a 26-year-old daughter, Megan, who is supposed to be getting married to her fiance, Reggie, in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately for me, Reggie comes from a very influential family, and they believe that I don't belong at their wedding, which is why even my daughter has turned against me. I have raised Megan all on my own ever since she was around 10 years old because my husband died in a road accident. I did have a couple of relationships in the last 16 years after my husband had passed away, but my main goal was always to make sure that Megan got the best of everything and that I was

able to give her the life that my husband would have wanted. I thought that I had done a good job raising her on my own but now, I'm not so confident about that anymore. A few days ago, she came to my house and told me that she had a discussion with the family, and all of them thought that it would be for the best if I stayed out of the wedding. Reggie comes from a pretty wealthy business family, and they own one of the biggest PR agencies in the country. So naturally, they do get to be in business with a lot of industry hotshots. When she visited me last, Megan told me that after speaking to her fiancé and his family,

all of them thought that I was just not going to fit in with the rest of them and not only would it be awkward for everyone else, but most of all, it would be awkward for me. So keeping that in mind, they had decided that they would have a private ceremony just for the family later on but at this wedding, where everyone was invited, I wouldn't be present there. Since somebody like me just wouldn't fit in at the actual wedding.

I couldn't even understand what on earth that was supposed to mean because it's not like I am some uncivilized gorilla who doesn't know how to behave in public and is going to embarrass them. So I knew that it had to be about my financial situation. I guess that Reggie's parents had probably wanted him to get married to somebody who belonged to the same tax bracket and were already disappointed enough that he had chosen Megan since she definitely did not belong to the same kind of financial background. They had made their peace with that somehow, but I guess they were just not ready to accept. that they would also become related to me after the marriage, and I should have guessed that this was going to happen right from the beginning. I told my daughter that I might not be as well off as them, but I made the best of my situation and I raised her completely by myself, so I would say that I'm just as great as them. And even if I don't have a huge business of my own, I'm content with what I have.

I've been a realtor for most of my life and have made a decent amount of money in my lifetime. And I still have a couple of good years left in me, so I have no intention of service. stopping so she should let them know, in case that's embarrassing them. I told Megan that I was a hardworking individual and I could see that she and her fiancé and his family had no respect for, me just because I was not earning as much as they were. And all of a sudden, just because I was not as rich as her fiancé and his family, even my own daughter refused to acknowledge my existence at her wedding. I was heartbroken, but I was not going to let go of my dignity, so I told her that I was not going to be attending the wedding if that's what she wanted.

She tried to talk to me after that and explained to me that this was not personal but I had no interest in hearing her out and I told her to leave because I just didn't even want to speak to her anymore. It had become very clear to me that in the last three years, that Megan had been dating Reggie, she had been completely brainwashed by him and his family and now, she believed that money was everything. I was very disappointed in her so I did something that now, in hindsight, I'm not sure was the right move. Anyway, the day that she visited me to tell me that I wasn't going to be invited to the wedding, I was very upset and disturbed, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything that day. But the next one I woke up, I decided

that something had to be done and that this kind of disrespect could not go unanswered. I decided to go online and post about what had happened on Facebook. I did not spare any details spoke quite freely about what had happened and about how I felt in the this situation. At the time, I didn't think I was doing anything wrong and I still don't really think that I screwed up, but maybe I shouldn't have acted so hastily. Anyway, after I made that post, I didn't actually expect anything to happen but I had tagged Reggie and his family members in the post. Now his family is quite well known, so when people saw that post, of course, they started gossiping because nobody expected them to act like this with the mother of the girl that their

son was marrying. After posting it, I didn't know. decided to go about my day as usual, and a couple of hours after that, I started receiving multiple messages and phone calls from Megan's father-in-law to be, and he had started begging me to delete that post and undo all the damage that I had caused to their reputation because people had started texting them to let them know. That they were very disappointed in their behavior, and they had expected them to turn out to be so elitist. I had only answered one of his phone calls, and before I could even say anything, he started begging me to take the post down because since he owns a PR firm.

His reputation is very important to him and his entire business would collapse if word got out that he had been treating people like this. But after hearing him out, I simply said nothing and hung up, yet he continued to message me. Some people had even said that they wouldn't be attending the wedding because they wanted to show their support for me

by doing so and when I opened Facebook, I saw that I had a bunch of comments and really supportive ones at that, from a lot of people who I didn't even know. I truly had not been expecting a reaction like that and it kind of validated my feelings. So I contacted Reggie's father and I told him that I would not be taking that post down because he and his family had brainwashed my daughter and they had really insulted me by telling me that I would not be invited to their wedding because they did not think.

That I would belong there. So now, somebody like me was going to show them their place. After that, I blocked the numbers he had been trying to contact me from and I didn't feel bad for him in the lightest. But then, Megan called me up and she was sobbing on the other end. Now, no matter how mad I am at her, I'm still her mother and I started feeling terrible because of how violently she was sobbing. I could tell that she was really distressed, and in spite of myself, I couldn't help but try to calm her down and console her. She told me that she knew that I was disappointed in her and that what she had done was not the right thing to do. But she was just in a very difficult

spot with Reggie and his family and she thought that I was going to understand. She kind of dropped a lot of hints that maybe Reggie's family had insisted on not inviting me to the ceremony and that's why she had been pushed into a corner. But still, being my daughter, I would have expected her to fight for me and I was upset that she had given up so easily. Anyway, after a point, she told me that now what was done could not be undone but the least that I could do was at least take that post down because it had created a lot of trouble in the family, and even though I was the one who had done it, everyone was pointing fingers at her. She tried to reason with me and told me that this power trip was eventually going to cost her

relationship and being her mother. Surely I would want to forgive her for her mistakes and not continue to take my anger out on her even after knowing what kind of difficult situation she was in. And at that moment, I had to make a decision and I decided that I was not going to take that post down because I was really hurt. I deserved to get my side of the story out there, so Reggie and his family would know that they couldn't treat people like crap and then get away with it. I tried to explain that to my daughter, but Megan started crying even more and said that she was exhausted from having to pull off this balancing act all the time. Because on one side, she had Reggie and his family and on the other side, she had me. Obviously, she wanted to

value all of us equally but no matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn't work out and she was just sick of it. So then, she told me that I was ruining her relationship just because I was I wanted to get back at Reggie's parents than she had nothing more to say to me and hung up. Now I feel really bad and I'm not sure about whether I should take that post down or not. So I'm here to ask you guys, Ida for making a post that exposed my daughter's fiancé's family for being elitist. Edit, all right, a lot of people seem to think that I was a bit all over the place in my original post and don't really understand exactly why Reggie's parents don't like me.

So I'm going to try and be as clear as possible in this edit and I'll also try to provide a little bit more context so people can come to a conclusion. Basically, since his parents are quite well off and are very class conscious, they never really liked me because I did not belong to the same tax bracket. Just to be clear, as I mentioned in my original post, it's not like I can't afford anything, but I lead a life like most normal people do. And I guess that they just can't stand the fact that in spite of being significantly below them in terms of my finances, I'm still not treating them like they're anything special. Megan had told me that at the beginning of their relationship, Reggie's parents had not even

liked her and had thought that she was a gold digger, but eventually, she had broken the ice with them. So I already had a fair idea of what kind of people they were, but nevertheless, when we met for the first time, I tried to be as cordial as possible, and I was my usual friendly self. But I guess I did not like that because later on, Megan told me that Reggie's parents had told him that I was a bit too frank for their taste and thought that I did not have any idea of how to conduct myself among people of their social class. I thought that it was a very unfair judgment because by then, Megan and Reggie had been together for almost two years and I thought it would

be nice to try and be friendly with them. Anyway, after that I realized that they probably expected me to treat them like royalty and I wasn't ready to do that. So whenever I would meet them after that, I would try to be civil to them, but I wouldn't speak to them much if I could avoid it. And so, the relationship between me and Reggie's parents had already been pretty strained. So that's why, in my original post, I said that I wasn't surprised and I should have seen this coming right from the beginning. Anyway, Reggie's parents and I have always had problems and even though I've always treated Reggie well, I don't think I can say the same for Megan's in-laws. They have always been kind of cold with my daughter, and even though that was in the beginning and she really wants me to believe that they have changed and have warmed up to her, I refuse to believe it because. because if they really had accepted her, then they wouldn't have forced her not to invite her own

mother to the wedding. Update 1. Hello, everyone. So I last spoke to Megan a couple of days ago and I had told her that I was not going to take that post on because I didn't think that it was necessary. The post had stayed up and the comments had continued to pour in. I was quite happy with what was happening because apparently, it was not just me that they had been treated terribly, but even some ex-employees had started commenting about how they had been treated while they had been working in Reggie's family business. So in a way, I think I had done a good thing by exposing them to the kind of people that they are. And even though I knew that Megan was really upset with me and would probably not speak to me, I decided not to give in to the pressure because even she had disappointed me

with her actions. It was a very tough call to make for me because after her father had passed away, it was just the two of us against the world, and she was the one person in my life that I never thought I would lose. But here we were, not speaking to each other, and I really didn't know what to do. I had pretty much made up my mind that I was not going to speak to her until she apologized, but I hadn't blocked her or anything because I wanted to keep that door open. And last night, Megan decided to text me and when I received that notification, I thought she was going to apologize. But she was only telling me that she and Reggie were considering postponing the wedding until all of this had blown over because my post had created quite a stir

and his family did not think that getting married right now would be the right move for their image. Apparently, Reggie's father was even planning on coming after me legally, even though he did not have a legal leg to stand on because this is technically not even defamation since this is something that actually had happened. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just texted her back saying, thank you for the heads up and I left at that. So then, she replied to me to ask if I really had nothing to say about the fact that she and Reggie might have to postpone the wedding, something that they had been looking forward to for the past couple of months, just because of my post. I started getting frustrated at that point because I felt like Megan was only thinking

about herself and Reggie, but not about me. And I know that at this point, I shouldn't even be surprised, but it still hurts. Anyway, I decided to ignore that message, but she texted me again and said that she needed an answer from me because after everything that had happened, the least that we could do was be honest with each other because I owed it to her since I was the reason that her wedding and even her relationship was at stake. That message really got under my skin because even after everything that happened, she believed that I was the one who owed her something. So I typed out a message in the most sarcastic tone possible that I was really sorry she wasn't so much trouble because of me since I should have known that she was a spineless puppet of her fiancé and his family,

and it was obviously not her fault that they had manipulated her into not inviting her own mother to the wedding. The same mother who had raised and supported her all on her own. It was obviously my fault that her fiancé and his family were terrible people and thought that I was beneath them just because I was a hardworking individual who had built a career for myself instead of just capitalizing on all the wealth that my family had already left me. Which is what Reggie's parents had done. It's obviously my fault that her grandparents were just common folk and not business tycoons. Had that been the case, I probably would have been invited to the wedding. Unfortunately for her, she got stuck with a commonplace mother and that was the root of all her troubles.

After that, I did not want to hear from her, so I muted her and decided that I was not going to speak to her until she apologized to me in person. Even if she does that, I'm not sure if I'll be able to go back to having a normal relationship with her since this is all just ridiculous. Update two so since I had muted Megan days back and had not been responding to her messages, Reggie decided to call me up today. He sounded very upset, but I tried not to feel too bad for them because when it had really come down to it, neither of them had defended me and stood up for me. And he had very obviously chosen his parents over me, so I had no reason to sympathize with them. Even then, I did answer the phone call because he called me about four times before I finally picked up. And I tried to be as civil as possible with him. He started off by telling me that he and Megan were really sorry that they had not been able to convince his parents.

to let me be present at the wedding and the most that they could do for their actions was apologize. But they couldn't exactly go back in time and change it. So, it would be pointless for me to keep that post up because now, the entire family was gossiping about them. And they were thinking about canceling the wedding entirely. He told me that I knew how much this wedding meant to Megan because right from her childhood, she had been crazy about weddings and would always dress up as a bride whenever she was playing. Even up until recently, she had been so excited to get married, but now, she was not even sure if that was going to happen anymore. The only solution to the problems would be for me to take that post down and then maybe his parents would take the initiative of speaking to me in person and try to sort things out with me.

But until I took that post down, nobody was going to back off, his dad had even started speaking to an attorney, and he asked me to delete it, just for my daughter's sake. Once again, it was very difficult for me, but I had to tell him that I was not going to do that because this had come to a point where if I took that post down, it would be admitting that I was giving up. It would be like admitting that I was going to let my daughter, him, and his parents walk all over me without any consequences. And worst of all, it might seem like me backing off, and I was not willing to do that. I didn't even care how petty or immature it seemed, but at this point, if his parents were not apologizing then I did not see the point of taking that post down. Reggie got a little worked up and he told me that there had been enough consequences of that post

and now, it was pretty pointless to let it stay up. I was only letting it stay up out of spite and nothing else and I agreed with him. I was keeping that post up because I wanted to teach his family a lesson and even though I had already accomplished that, I didn't think that it was going to mean anything until they had apologized. It was very little that I was asking for. and if he couldn't even get his parents to do that much, maybe they didn't love him as much as they thought. So instead of asking me to do certain things out of love for my daughter, maybe he should be asking his parents to do it for his sake. And I don't think he had expected me to turn the entire argument around on him. So he started to fumble his words and stuff and eventually, he just resorted to

emotional manipulation. He told me that he had always considered me as one of his parental figures, ever since he had come to know me, and even I had acknowledged the fact that he was like a son to me. So I should think about him and my daughter, and I should think about that happiness. It was really ironic to me that he was playing all these cards without actually thinking about what he was saying, because if he really had considered me a maternal figure and considered himself to be like my son, then he would have stood up to his parents when they had said that they did not want me at the wedding. Not even my daughter did that, let alone him. So if I couldn't even expect that much of them, it was ridiculous of him to expect such things from me.

And I told him that no matter what he said at this point, I was not backing down and I was going to make sure that I got the apology that I deserved. I also told him that instead of wasting his time arguing with me and trying to with me, he should probably be speaking to his parents because if this actually does go to court, they will be at a lot more trouble than me. I don't have any disgruntled ex-employees out to get me as well, but they do and they will definitely testify against his parents if I approach them and that means that their company will take an even greater hit than it already has. He tried to accuse me of blackmailing them, but I was only giving them a heads up. Anyway, after that, he was pretty much just grasping at straw,

so I hung up and I told him that I did not want him contacting me anymore after this unless it was to apologize sincerely, not these fake apologies where they would only say sorry because they expected me to take that post down and make it all right with his parents, just so that they could get married. Update 3, Hi, Everyone. It has been three weeks and I still have not taken that post down. And ever since I had that last conversation with Reggie, neither he nor Megan have tried to reach out to me either. And obviously, his parents have nothing to do with me. But today, I noticed that Reggie and Megan had posted that they were supposed to get married in two weeks, but unfortunately, that would not be taking place anymore and the wedding had been postponed indefinitely.

They said that they were still together and they were going to be together for the foreseeable future, but due to unavoidable circumstances, the wedding had to be postponed. I didn't know how people had reacted to that information because comments had been disabled on that post. If I'm being honest, I do feel kind of bad for them because even though they had treated me badly, I'm sure that it was very difficult for them to come to the decision to postpone the wedding as well. Although I'm not even sure how much of it was their decision, since I'm pretty sure that his father and his PR company had a lot to do with this move. They care a lot about their image and reputation and will do anything to protect it, so in all probability, that's a huge part of

the reason why they had to postpone the wedding at all. Anyway, over the past couple of weeks, I have received hundreds and hundreds of messages and emails from several people who have been treated badly by Reggie's parents, and to my surprise, it's not just ex-employees. They even cut ties with a bunch of their family members who did not fit into the image of a perfect aristocratic family. For instance, Reggie's father does not speak to his brother anymore because he has stepped away from corporate life and instead, he wanted to work on a farm and that's what he still does now. But unfortunately, Reggie's father does not think that his respectable work and so, they have not been in touch for several years. I didn't even know that the man had a brother, that's how they treat him. It's very strange to me that in spite of having grown up with money, they act like it's the only

thing that matters and are willing to cut people off if they don't fit in with the image they are trying to cultivate. I guess that on some levels, it makes a lot of sense that they own a PR company because they are so incredibly shallow that superficial appearances are all that they care about. Personally, I'm glad that they don't like me because I guess I'm too real for them. And I think my lucky star is that they hated me enough to completely ruin their relationship with me because now, I never have to talk to them again and even if my daughter does get married to their son, I'm going to make sure that I keep my distance from them. All of them, not just his parents'

update for, hey, everyone. So, several months have passed since I made that post against my daughter's future in-laws. And their business might have recovered, but unfortunately, it came at the cost of their relationship with the kids. As I had guessed already, the reason that they had to postpone the wedding was because Reggie's parents believed that it would be bad for their image to get married while they were in the middle of so much controversy. However, I guess they just got sick of waiting after about three weeks and they just did not want to be caught up in our fight anymore. So the two of them decided to elope and posted it online without letting anyone know. That was another controversy, and eventually, that ended with

Reggie's father disowning him. But I don't really think he cares because he and Megan have decided that they're going to start their own business and they might not make as much, but they're going to be happy. I know this because about a month ago, they came to my door to apologize to me. They told me that they had been antagonizing the wrong person and did not want me to feel like I was the villain anymore because I really wasn't. If anything, I was the only person who made sense and they were really sorry about everything that they had put me through. They confessed that they had been brainwashed and manipulated by Reggie's parents and he did not want to lose out on the fortune that his parents would leave for him as inheritance,

which kind of makes sense because I don't think I would have given that up if I ever had been in his place. But eventually, he realized that he was turning into his parents, and Megan also felt terrible about these things, so they had decided to try and make things right with me. They did not care about the inheritance anymore and all they wanted to do was repair their relationship with me and live life on their own terms

because they were sick of being Reggie's parents' puppets. It took me a while to forgive them, I did so because even when her dad had passed away, I did not have anybody other than my daughter and even today, I don't have anyone other than her. And this time, I felt like that apology was genuine, they did not expect anything from me. They didn't even expect me to forgive them, but I still did. We are trying to work on our relationship because obviously, there are a lot of cracks here, but I hope that we'll be able to make it work. I'm happy with the way things have turned out, and I'm hoping that they will get better in the future.

I hope you enjoy this story. I was not included in my daughter's marriage celebration because I did not meet their standards, so I revealed information about her spouse's relatives on the internet. As a result, their company is experiencing setbacks and the wedding has been called off. Greetings to all. I, 50, female, have a 26-year-old daughter, Megan, who is supposed to be getting married to her fiancé, Reggie, in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately for me, Reggie comes from a very influential family, and they believe that I don't

belong at their wedding, which is why even my daughter has turned against me. I have raised Megan all on my own ever since she was around 10 years old because my husband died in a road accident. I did have a couple of relationships in the last 16 years after my husband had passed away, but my main goal was always to make sure that Megan got the best of everything and that I was able to give her the life that my husband would have wanted. I thought that I had done a good job raising her on my own but now, I'm not so confident about that anymore. A few days ago, she came to my house and told me that she had a discussion with the family, and all of them thought that it would be for the best if I stayed out of the wedding. Reggie comes from a pretty

wealthy business family, and they own one of the biggest PR agencies in the country. So naturally, they do get to be in business with a lot of industry hotshots. When she visited me last, Megan told me that after speaking to her fiancé and his family, all of them thought that I was just not going to fit in with the rest of them and not only would it be awkward for everyone else, but most of all, it would be awkward for me. So keeping that in mind, they had decided that they would have a private ceremony just for the family later on but at this wedding, where everyone was invited, I wouldn't be present there. Since somebody like me just wouldn't fit in at the actual wedding. I couldn't even understand what on earth that was supposed to mean because it's not like I am some unsyceding. civilized gorilla who doesn't know how to behave in public and is going to embarrass them. So I knew that it had to be about my financial situation. I guess that Reggie's parents had probably wanted him to get married to somebody who belonged

to the same tax bracket and were already disappointed enough that he had chosen Megan since she definitely did not belong to the same kind of financial background. They had made their peace with that somehow, but I guess they were just not ready to accept that they would also become related to me after the marriage and I should have guessed that this was going to happen right from the beginning. I told my daughter that I might not be as well off as them, but I made the best of my situation and I raised her completely by myself, so I would say that I'm just as great as them. And even if I don't have a huge business of my own, I'm content with what I have. I've been a realtor for most of my life and have made a decent amount of money in my lifetime.

And I still have a couple of good years left in me, so I have no intention of stopping so she should let them know, in case that's embarrassing them. I told Megan that I was a hard-working individual and I could see that she and her fiancé and his family had no respect for me just because I was not earning as much as they were. And all of a sudden, just because I was not as rich as her fiancé and his family, even my own daughter refused to acknowledge my existence at her wedding. I was heartbroken, but I was not going to let go of my dignity, so I told her that I was not going to be attending the wedding if that's what she wanted. She tried to talk to me after that and explained to me that this was not personal but I had no interest in hearing her out and I told her to leave because I just didn't even want to speak to her anymore. It had become very clear to me that in the last three years, that Megan had been dating Reggie, she had been completely brainwashed by him and his family and now, she believed that money was everything. I was very disappointed in her so I did something that now, in hindsight, I'm not sure was the right move. Anyway, the day that she visited me to tell me that I wasn't going to be invited to the wedding,

I was very upset and disturbed, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything that day. But the next one I woke up, I decided that something had to be done and that this kind of disrespect could not go unanswered. I decided to go online and post about what had happened on Facebook. I did not spare any details spoke quite freely about what had happened and about how I felt in this situation. At the time, I didn't think I was doing anything. anything wrong and I still don't really think that I screwed up, but maybe I shouldn't have acted so hastily. Anyway, after I made that post, I didn't actually expect anything to happen but I had tagged Reggie and his family members in the post. Now his family is quite well known, so when people

saw that post, of course, they started gossiping because nobody expected them to act like this with the mother of the girl that their son was marrying. After posting it, I decided to go about my day as usual, and a couple of hours after that, I started receiving multiple messages and phone calls from Megan's father-in-law to be, and he had started begging me to delete that post and undo all the damage that I had caused to their reputation because people had started texting them to let them know. That they were very disappointed in their behavior, and they had expected them to turn out to be so elitist. I had only answered one of his phone calls, and before I could even say anything, he started begging me to take the post down because since he owns a PR firm. His reputation is very important

to him and his entire business would collapse if word got out that he had been treating people like this. But after hearing him out, I simply said nothing and hung up, yet he continued to message me. Some people had even said that they wouldn't be attending the wedding because they wanted to show their support for me by doing so. And when I opened Facebook, I saw that I had a bunch of comments and really supportive ones at that, from a lot of people who I didn't even know. I truly had not been expecting a reaction like that and it kind of validated my feelings. So I contacted Reggie's father and I told him that I would not be taking that post down because he and his family had brainwashed my daughter and they had really insulted me by telling me

that I would not be invited to their wedding because they did not think. That I would belong there. So now, somebody like me was going to show them their place. After that, I blocked the numbers he had been trying to contact me from, and I didn't feel bad for him in the slightest. But then, Megan called me up and she was sobbing on the other end. Now, no matter how mad I am at her, I'm still her mother and I started feeling terrible because of how violently she was sobbing. I could tell that she was really distressed, and in spite of myself, I couldn't help but try to calm her down and console her. She told me that she knew that I was disappointed in her and that what she had done was not the right thing to do, but she was just in a very difficult spot with Reggie and his family and she thought that I was going to understand.

She kind of dropped a lot of hints that maybe Reggie's family had insisted on not inviting me to the ceremony and that's why she had been pushed into a corner. But still, being my daughter, I would have expected her to fight for me and I was upset that she had given up so easily. Anyway, after a point, she told me that now what was done could not be undone but the least that I could do was at least take that post down because it had created a lot of trouble in the family, and even though I was the one who had done it, everyone was pointing fingers at her. She tried to reason with me and told me that this power trip was eventually going to cost her relationship and being her mother. Surely I would want to forgive her for her mistakes and not continue to take my anger out on her even after knowing what kind of difficult situation she was in.

And at that moment, I had to make a decision and I decided that I was not going to take that post down because I was really hurt. I deserve to get my side of the story out there, so Reggie and his family would know that they couldn't treat people like crap and then get away with it. I tried to explain that to my daughter, but Megan started crying even more and said that she was exhausted from having to pull off this balancing act all the time. Because on one side, she had Reggie and his family and on the other side, she had me. Obviously, she wanted to value all of us equally but no matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn't work out and she was just sick of it. So then, she told me that I was ruining her relationship just because I wanted to get back at Reggie's parents than she had nothing more to say to me and hung up.

Now I feel really bad and I'm not sure about whether I should take that post down or not. So I'm here to ask you guys, Ida for making a post that exposed my daughter's fiancé's family for being elitist. Edit, all right, a lot of people seem to think that I was a bit all over the place in my original post and don't really understand exactly why Reggie's parents don't like me. So I'm going to try and be as clear as possible in this edit and I'll also try to provide a little bit more context so people can come to a conclusion. Basically, since his parents are quite well off and are very class conscious, they never really liked me because I did not belong to the same tax bracket. Just to be clear, as I mentioned in my original post, it's not like, I feel like I can't afford anything, but I lead a life like most normal people do.

And I guess that they just can't stand the fact that in spite of being significantly below them in terms of my finances, I'm still not treating them like they're anything special. Megan had told me that at the beginning of their relationship, Reggie's parents had not even liked her and had thought that she was a gold digger, but eventually she had broken the ice with them. So I already had a fair idea of what kind of people they were, but nevertheless, when we met for the first time, I tried to be as cordial as possible, and I was my usual friendly self. But I guess I did not like that because later on, Megan told me that Reggie's parents had

told him that I was a bit too frank for their taste and thought that I did not have any idea of how to conduct myself among people of their social class. I thought that it was a very unfair judgment because by then, Megan and Reggie had been together for almost two years and I thought it would be nice to try and be friendly with them. Anyway, after that I realized that they probably expected me to treat them like royalty and I wasn't ready to do that. So whenever I would meet them after that, I would try to be civil to them, but I wouldn't speak to them much if I could avoid it. And so, the relationship between me and Reggie's parents had already been pretty strained. So that's why, in my original post, I said that I wasn't surprised and I should have seen this

coming right from the beginning. Anyway, Reggie's parents and I have always had problems and even though I've always treated Reggie well, I don't think I can say the same for Megan's in-laws. They have always been kind of cold with my daughter, and even though that was in the beginning and she really wants me to believe that they have changed and have warmed up to her, I refused to believe it because if they really had accepted her, then they wouldn't have forced her not to invite her own mother to the wedding. Update 1. Hello, everyone. So I last spoke to Megan a couple of days ago and I had told her that I was not going to

take that post on because I didn't think that it was necessary. The post had stayed up and the comments had continued to pour in. I was quite happy with what was happening because apparently, it was not just me that they had been treated terribly, but even some ex-employees had started commenting about how they had been treated while they had been working in Reggie's family business. So in a way, I think I had done a good thing by exposing them to the kind of people that they are. And even though I knew that Megan was really upset with me and would probably not speak to me, I decided not to give in to the pressure because even she had disappointed me with her actions. It was a very tough call to make for me

because after her father had passed away, it was just the two of us against the world, and she was the one person in my life that I never thought I would lose. But here we were, not speaking to each other, and I really didn't know what to do. I had pretty much made up my mind that I was not going to speak to her until she apologized, but I hadn't blocked her or anything because I wanted to keep that door open. And last night, Megan decided to text me and when I received that notification, I thought she was going to apologize. But she was only telling me that she and Reggie were considering postponing the wedding until all of this had blown over because my post had created quite a stir and his family did not think that getting married right now would be the right move for their image.

Apparently, Reggie's father was even planning on coming after me legally, even though he did not have a legal leg to stand on because this is technically not even defamation since this is something that actually had happened. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just texted her back saying, Thank you for the heads up and I left at that. So then, she replied to me to ask if I really had nothing to say about the fact that she and Reggie might have to postpone the wedding, something that they had been looking forward to for the past couple of months, just because of my post. I started getting frustrated at that point because I felt like Megan was only thinking about herself and Reggie, but not about me. And I know that at this point, I shouldn't even be

surprised, but it still hurts. Anyway, I decided to ignore that message, but she texted me again and said that she needed an answer from me because after everything that had happened, the least that we could do was be honest with each other because I owed it to her since I was the reason that her wedding and even her relationship was at stake. That message really got under my skin because even after everything that happened, she believed that I was the one who owed her something. So I typed out a message in the most sarcastic tone possible that I was really sorry she

wasn't so much trouble because of me since I should have known that she was a spineless puppet of her fiancé and his family, and it was obviously not her fault that they had manipulated her into not inviting her own mother to the wedding. The same mother who had raised and supported her all on her own. It was obviously my fault that her fiancé and his family were terrible people and thought that I was beneath them just because I was a hardworking individual who had built a career for myself instead of just capitalizing on all the wealth that my family had already left me, which is what Reggie's parents had done. It's obviously my fault that her grandparents were just common folk and not business tycoons.

Had that been the case, I probably would have been invited to the wedding. Unfortunately for her, she got stuck with a commonplace mother and that was the root of all her troubles. After that, I did not want to hear from her, so I muted her and decided that I was not going to speak to her until she apologized to me in person. Even if she does that, I'm not sure if I'll be able to go back to having a normal relationship with her since this is all just ridiculous. Update two so since I had muted Megan days back and had not been responding to her messages, Reggie decided to call me up today. He sounded very upset, but I tried not to feel too bad for them because when it had really come down to it, neither of them had defended me and stood up for me. And he had very obviously chosen his parents over me, so I had no reason to sympathize with them. Even then, I did answer the phone call because he called me about four times before I finally picked up.

And I tried to be as civil as possible with him. He started off by telling me that he and Megan were really sorry that they had not been able to convince his parents to let me be present at the wedding and the most that they could do for their actions was apologize. But they couldn't exactly go back in time and change it. So, it would be pointless for me to keep that post up because now, the entire family was gossiping about them. And they were thinking about canceling the wedding entirely. He told me that I knew how much this wedding meant to Megan because right from her childhood, she had been crazy about weddings and would always dress up as a bride whenever she was playing.

Even up until recently, she had been so excited to get married, but now, she was not even sure if that was going to happen anymore. The only solution to the problems would be for me to take that post down and then maybe his parents would take the initiative of speaking to me in person and try to sort things out with me. But until I took that post down, nobody was going to back off, his dad had even started speaking to an attorney, and he asked me to delete it, just for my daughter's sake. Once again, it was very difficult for me, but I had to tell him that I was not going to do that because this had come to a point where if I took that post down, it would be admitting that I was giving up. It would be like admitting that I was going to let my daughter, him, and his parents walk all over me without any consequences. and worst of all, it might seem like me backing off, and I was not willing to do that. I didn't even care how petty or immature it seemed, but at this point, if his parents were not apologizing then I did not see the point of taking that post down.

Reggie got a little worked up and he told me that there had been enough consequences of that post and now, it was pretty pointless to let it stay up. I was only letting it stay up out of spite and nothing else and I agreed with him. I was keeping that post up because I wanted to teach his family a lesson and even though I had already accomplished that, I didn't think that it was going to mean anything until they had apologized. It was very little that I was asking for, and if he couldn't even get his parents to do that much, maybe they didn't love him as much as they thought.

So instead of asking me to do certain things out of love for my daughter, maybe he should be asking his parents to do it for his sake. And I don't think he had expected me to turn the entire argument around on him. So he started to fumble his words and stuff and eventually, he just resorted to emotional manipulation. He told me that he had always considered me as one of his parental figures, ever since he had come to know me, and even I had acknowledged the fact that he was like a son to me. So I should think about him and my daughter, and I should think about that happiness. It was really ironic to me that he was playing all these cards without actually thinking about what he was saying,

because if he really had considered me a maternal figure and considered himself to be like my son, then he would have stood up to his parents when they had said that they did not want me at the wedding. Not even my daughter did that, let alone him. So if I couldn't even expect that much of them, it was ridiculous of him to expect such things from me. And I told him that no matter what he said at this point, I was not backing down and I was going to make sure that I got the apology that I deserved. I also told him that instead of wasting his time arguing with me and trying to with me, he should probably be speaking to his parents because if this actually does go to court, they will be at a lot more trouble than me.

I don't have any disgruntled ex-employees out to get me as well, but they do and they will definitely testify against his parents if I approach them and that means that their company will take an even greater hit than it already has. He tried to accuse me of blackmailing them, but I was only giving them a heads up. Anyway, after that, he was pretty much just grasping at straw, so I hung up and I told him that I did not want him contacting me anymore after this unless it was to apologize sincerely, not these fake apologies where they would only say sorry because they expected me to take that post down and make it all right with his parents. Just so that they could get married. Update 3, hi,

everyone. It has been three weeks and I still have not taken that post down. And ever since I had that last conversation with Reggie, neither he nor Megan have tried to reach out to me either. and obviously his parents have nothing to do with me. But today, I noticed that Reggie and Megan had posted that they were supposed to get married in two weeks, but unfortunately, that would not be taking place anymore and the wedding had been postponed indefinitely. They said that they were still together and they were going to be together for the foreseeable future, but due to unavoidable circumstances, the wedding had to be postponed. I didn't know how people had reacted to that information because comments had been disabled on that post.

If I'm being honest, I do feel kind of bad for them because even though they had treated me badly, I'm sure that it was very difficult for them to come to the decision to postpone the wedding as well. Although I'm not even sure how much of it was their decision, since I'm pretty sure that his father and his PR company had a lot to do with this move. They care a lot about their image and reputation and will do anything to protect it, so in all probability, that's a huge part of the reason why they had to postpone the wedding at all. Anyway, over the past couple of weeks, I have received hundreds and hundreds of messages and emails from several people who have been treated badly by Reggie's parents, and to my surprise, it's not just ex-employees. They even cut ties with a bunch of their family members who did not fit into the image of a perfect aristocratic family. For instance, Reggie's father does not speak to his brother anymore because he has stepped away from corporate life and instead, he wanted to work on a farm and that's what he still does now.

but unfortunately, Reggie's father does not think that his respectable work and so, they have not been in touch for several years. I didn't even know that the man had a brother, that's how they treat him. It's very strange to me that in spite of having grown up with money, they act like it's the only thing that matters and are willing to cut people off if they don't fit in with the image they are trying to cultivate. I guess that on some levels, it makes a lot of sense that they own a PR company because they are so incredibly shallow that superficial appearances are all that they care about. Personally, I'm glad that they don't like me because I guess I'm too real for them. And I think my lucky star is that they hated me enough to completely ruin their relationship with me

because now, I never have to talk to them again and even if my daughter does get married to their son, I'm going to make sure that I keep my distance from them. All of them, not just as parents update for, hey, everyone. So, several months have passed since I made that post against my daughter's future in-laws. And their business might have recovered, but unfortunately, it came at the cost of their relationship with the kids. As I had guessed already, the reason that they had to postpone the wedding was because Reggie's parents believed that it would be bad for their image to get married while they were in the middle of so much controversy. However, I guess they just got sick of waiting after about three weeks and they just did not want to be caught up in our fight anymore. So the two of them decided to elope and posted it online without letting anyone know.

That was another controversy, and eventually, that ended with Reggie's father disowning him. But I don't really think he cares because he and Megan have decided that they're going to start their own business and they might not make as much, but they're going to be happy. I know this because about a month ago, they came to my door to apologize to me. They told me that they had been antagonizing the wrong person and did not want me to feel like I was the villain anymore because I really wasn't. If anything, I was the only person who made sense and they were really sorry about everything that they had put me through. They confessed that they had been brainwashed and manipulated by Reggie's parents and he did not want to lose out on the

fortune that his parents would leave for him as inheritance, which kind of makes sense because I don't think I would have given that up if I ever had been in his place. But eventually, he realized that he was turning into his parents, and Megan also felt terrible about these things, so that they they had decided to try and make things right with me. They did not care about the inheritance anymore and all they wanted to do was repair their relationship with me and live life on their own terms because they were sick of being Reggie's parents' puppets. It took me a while to forgive them but eventually, I did so because even when her dad had passed away, I did not have anybody other than my daughter and even today, I don't have anyone other than her. And this time,

I felt like that apology was genuine. They did not expect anything from me. They did not expect anything from me. didn't even expect me to forgive them, but I still did. We are trying to work on our relationship because obviously, there are a lot of cracks here, but I hope that we'll be able to make it work. I'm happy with the way things have turned out, and I'm hoping that they will get better in the future. I hope you enjoy this story. Unintentionally stumbled upon my stepmom betraying my sibling with a different guy on my niece's device. She threatened to destroy my reputation if I revealed the truth. I, a 27-year-old woman, have an older brother, David, 33M, who is currently married to Suzanne, 35F. David and Suzanne have been together for the last four years and got married last year.

Their relationship was the typical story of work colleagues who eventually fell in love. They both had been working at the same company until David recently got offered a much better position in another company. Me and Suzanne have always had a cordial relationship. I am not crazy about her as I have always felt like something was off about her. Regardless of my feelings, I never tried to interfere in their relationship nor did I ever discourage my brother when he told me that he was going to marry her. Now coming on to the story, we have all come down to our parents' place to celebrate Thanksgiving together. We live in different cities, hence it feels good to see each other after a long time.

I arrived earlier than David and Suzanne as I had taken an extra two days off work so I could spend more time with my parents. David and Suzanne arrived later and were warmly greeted by us. When I hugged my brother, I noticed that he wasn't his usual friendly self and couldn't even smile properly. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he had not slept for a long time. He greeted us meekly and went upstairs with their luggage. I felt concerned for him but didn't want to say anything in front of everyone. I whispered to Suzanne if something was up with him and she just shrugged saying they had a long trip. I nodded and hugged my nephew, Daniel, who was now 11 years old and seemed to be growing up so fast. Throughout our Thanksgiving dinner, my brother

hardly interacted with us. Even when mom brought out his favorite pumpkin custard, he didn't even acknowledge it properly. By now, my parents were starting to get worried too. After our dinner, I was washing the utensils when my nephew came to talk to me. He excitedly told me how he had found a new that he absolutely loved to play. We always talked about games, so I asked him what the game was about. Daniel told me after I was done with my work, he would show me the game on his tablet. I was surprised to hear that he had a tablet of his own and asked him about it. He told me that Suzanne had given him her old tablet when she received a new one from work. He continued to tell me how he loved playing all these different games and I laughed seeing his excitement. As I finished

the last of the dishes, I dried my hands and followed him to his room, where he showed me the game and tried to convince me to download it on my tablet as well so we could play it together. His cheerful spirit was infectious, momentarily overshadowing the unease that lingered from my brother's strange behavior. We played the game for a while until Suzanne eventually came upstairs as it was time for him to go to bed. She took the tablet from him despite his protest telling him that he could have it the next day. She put him to bed and we both then head out of his room. I asked her if I could have his tablet so that I could continue playing the game and practice on his tablet as mine was lagging a bit. Suzanne hesitated, then with a faint smile,

handed over the tablet. Sure, just make sure he gets it back tomorrow morning, she told me. With the tablet in hand, I retreated to my room, determined to learn the intricacies of the game before the next round with my nephew. I was busy playing when suddenly there was a text message notification on the top. I couldn't help but glance at it. It was from someone named Chad who said, missing you already. I immediately froze in the middle of the game as the words sank in. I couldn't comprehend what I had just read. Why was my 11-year-old nephew getting texts like this from someone named Chad in the middle of the night? I immediately checked the message tab and quickly realized that the tablet was connected to Suzanne's cloud. That's when it hit me, she would have had her iPhone

synced with this tablet, hence the messages that were coming to her phone were also showing up here. She must have forgotten to log out of her iCloud account on this tab before giving it to my nephew today. Confusion etched my face as I tried to deduce why she was getting this kind of message. I opened the messages app with a baited breath and clicked on Chad's message. My mouth was wide open in shock as I scrolled through the message and I discovered a series of intimate conversations between Suzanne and Chad. I clicked on his contact picture and gasped in surprise realizing that he was my brother's neighbor. I had seen him a few times when I had visited my brother's place in the past. They were supposed to be just neighbors, but

clearly, their relationship had crossed into dangerous territory. Their messages were filled with details of all their meetings and plans. They had talked about Suzanne's relationship with my brother an excruciating detail where she had revealed how she didn't love my brother anymore but didn't want to be the one at fault for their relationship to break off. She mentioned how much she hated the fact that David didn't give her any attention because of his work and that she was glad to get it from Chad. Chad, in turn, had written how he loved being her neighbor so he could come over to visit her whenever he could. Their text messages were so graphic and disgusting to read that I wanted to puke in disgust. I couldn't believe that I had stumbled upon my SIL's

secret affair. It was a shocker, the kind that makes your heart race and your mind struggled to process the reality unfolding before you. I just didn't understand what to do and I wondered if my brother even had an inkling that Suzanne had an affair. My mind raced and I started taking photos on my phone of all their text messages. My hands shook and I was worried that Suzanne might knock on my bedroom door anytime demanding to have her tablet back. I didn't want my nephew to see these kinds of messages while playing. He might be a kid but he wasn't stupid. If he found out these names, messages, it wouldn't take him a long time to figure out the truth just like me. I didn't want

my nephew to find out about any of this because he was too young to go through this. After I had collected all the evidence, I unsinked and wiped the tablet clean knowing that Suzanne's phone would also have all these messages. The entire night I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. At 3 a.m., when I went downstairs to get water, I saw my brother sitting downstairs alone watching TV. I took out ice cream from the fridge and asked him if he wanted a bowl. He nodded and I sat down next to him, handing him the bowl. The glow of the TV flickered in the room as an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. I told him that I was always there for him and he could talk to me about anything that was

bothering him. Eventually, he spoke, sharing how stressed he was from work, but I could sense there was more. I hesitated but decided to take a leap of faith and address the elephant in the room. Is everything okay between you and Suzanne? I asked, trying not to sound accusatory. His eyes flickered with a mix of surprise and vulnerability. After a brief pause, he sighed and confessed that he had been feeling distant from Suzanne lately. I remained quiet as he went on to explain that he had no time to spend with his family when he was struggling to work two jobs every day.

I was shocked to hear this as he revealed that he had taken up an extra job so he could sustain their lifestyle as well as pay their house mortgage on time every month. I continued to listen to my brother as he talked about their marriage and said that they were probably having a bad phase in their marriage. At this point, I badly wanted to reveal what I had just found out about Suzanne, but I wasn't sure hearing his struggles how he would take it. The weight of the truth pressed on me, but I also didn't want to ruin my brother's marriage without confronting Suzanne first. You have to understand that my brother is six years older than me. I was afraid that he might not believe me despite the evidence or Suzanne could manipulate him by convincing him that I was wrong. I needed to be absolutely

sure that Suzanne was cheating on him. The next day, I offered to take her out for a relaxing spa day to which Suzanne immediately agreed. We had a great time and then I took her out for lunch. While we were eating, I decided to precariously ask her about Chad. Hearing his name, Suzanne immediately froze mid-eating and looked up at me. I didn't want her to play any games with me so I was transparent with her and let her know that I had seen all their messages. I told her that there was no reason for her to deny it as I had all the proof and just wanted her confirmation. To my surprise, Suzanne started yelling at me that this was her personal life and I shouldn't have invaded her personal life by going through her messages. I backtracked and let her know that I didn't invade

anyone's space and Chad's message just happened to show up when I was playing on my nephew's tablet. I told her how inappropriate her messages were with him and she should have never given her tablet to my nephew without checking the device first. Suzanne got wide-eyed and asked me if I had wiped the tablet clean and I nodded. She looked relieved, probably thinking that I had no proof left, and told me that I should learn to mind my own business. She started to threaten that if I ever told my brother about this then she would ruin my life. I looked at her blankly as I knew there was absolutely nothing that she could ever do to me.

Her words were starting to piss me off and I asked her why she was trying to defend her actions. She then tried to justify telling me that she deserved to have a little fun once in a while and Chad made her feel better about herself. Hearing the lack of regret in her voice, I told Suzanne firmly that she needed to come clean with my brother because this wasn't sitting right with me. She aggressively started to yell at me again, but I swiftly cut her off. I got up from my seat and asked her to find her way back home on her own. I didn't want to be in close proximity to her after seeing her bizarre behavior.

Suzanne kept yelling at me as I left her there and drove away. When I reached home, my mother who was waiting for us in the living room asked me if I had a good date together with Suzanne. I gave her a small nod trying not to make her suspicious and walked to my room quickly. I needed time to think after the way Suzanne had just behaved with me. This was totally out of character for her or maybe she had always been this nasty and had kept this side of her well hidden until now. The wheels were turning in my head as I went over our conversation word for word. Her threats didn't bother me and I knew that my brother and my nephew needed to be protected from her. They deserved to know the truth about this woman.

I decided to give her a few days to talk to my brother on her own. Hopefully, she would open up and confess. If she didn't do it by her birthday in four days, then I would tell him. I watched and waited for Suzanne to talk to David. Every time they spent time together, I hoped that she would do the right thing and tell him everything. But unfortunately true to her character, she never confessed to him and pretended that we never had this conversation. If I was ever alone with my brother, Suzanne would interrupt us for no reason, perhaps afraid that I would tell him something. I would also notice her getting frequent text messages throughout the day and from the way she smiled I knew it was Chad,

which meant that she was still in contact with him despite my warning. I know how much my brother loved and worked hard to provide for the family hence watching her continue to cheat on him even though I had respectfully asked her to stop and confess to him was a knife in my heart. With her birthday coming up the next day, I knew that I had to expose her. My brother and her would be flying out in the evening after celebrating her birthday so if there was ever a good time to talk to my brother, it needed to be before they flew back home. On her birthday, Suzanne was extra cheerful. It was as if she was rejoicing. that she could finally get away from me and thinking that she had successfully scared me into submission.

Little did she know what I had planned for her that day. My mother had lovingly prepared a grand meal for the birthday girl. We had invited a couple of our close family and friends to join us during the celebration. Suzanne loves being the center of attention and looks like she is having a good time throughout the day. When it was time to open the presents, she excitedly sat down with everyone to check them out. I watched her with a smirk as she kept going through the presence one by one. She was soaking up all the attention, clearly relishing being the center of it all. When she reached my gift, her curiosity was evident. It was a sizable package, and with excitement, she unwrapped it to find a photo album inside. The album started with a photo of her from her college

days at the very top. She smiled and inquired if I had assembled her childhood pictures in this album. Her eyes gleaming with the anticipation of a sentimental family memory collection. I smiled at her politely knowing that very soon her smile would turn to a frown. She thought that she could act all cute and innocent in front of everyone but oh boy, was she wrong? The instant she flipped the album open, her face was met with an a four-sized photo of her and Chad. She continued to flip to see there were multiple screenshots of her messages with Chad. My mother and my brother, who were sitting on either side of her, leaned in to read the contents. My mother gasped immediately realizing what this was, and my brother wore a look of confusion.

Suzanne hastily tried to close the album, but my brother was quick. He snatched the album from her hands and stood up to go through the pages. At this point, everyone knew that something was wrong and they kept exchanging glances. My dad, sensing something amiss, inquired loudly if there were. was a problem, and we watched as Suzanne's face turned 50 shades of pale realizing that she couldn't run away from the truth anymore. Her angered gaze met mine, but I maintained eye contact, conveying through my stare that I wasn't about to back down. I had carefully considered this course of action. Even if it seemed extreme, she was the one who had chosen unfaithfulness, and it was time

for her to face the consequences. After thoroughly flipping through the pages, my brother looked directly at me and asked if it was all true. I nodded in affirmation. Suzanne began to stammer out excuses, but the damage was done. My brother looked like he had been slapped with a brick of reality. Without uttering a single word, I had dropped the truth bomb, leaving the room in stunned silence. My brother then took Suzanne's phone from her hands probably to investigate further. My parents who were going through the album now looked visibly stressed. My mother asked me, how I had found out about all this and that's when I spilled the beans. I told them I stumbled upon it by accident while using my nephew's tablet, which was actually Suzanne's. She forgot to log out of her

account, so I saw all her messages with Chad and took screenshots. I went on to explain that I confronted Suzanne about it the next day, asking her to come clean with my brother, but she flat out refused. Instead, she tried to threaten me which is why I was forced to reveal her affair this way. My brother, having discovered the proof of Suzanne's chats with Chad on her phone and heard my side of the story, stormed out, probably needing time to process everything. My dad, who had kept silent throughout the whole mess, finally spoke up and asked Suzanne to get out of our house. Suzanne caught in her own web, tried to come up with feeble excuses, but no one was willing to listen. My dad sternly told her that what she had done was unforgivable and she should have told my brother about this instead of forcing me to expose her in this manner. It was a glorious downfall to see how Suzanne had been exposed and was left red-faced in

embarrassment. She started to cry and rushed upstairs in embarrassment. Since the incident, my brother hasn't flown back home with Suzanne. My nephew is staying with us and my brother has asked Suzanne to give him space despite her begging him to come back with her. My parents have talked to me more regarding this and they completely understand why I had to expose her this way. However, when I discussed the matter with my grandmother afterward, she expressed disapproval. According to her, I shouldn't have disrupted my brother's marriage by revealing Suzanne's secret. Given my deep respect and love for my grandmother, her perspective has left me contemplating if what I did was right. So Reddit am I the asshole for exposing my Sills affair when she didn't reveal anything to my brother?

Update 1. Thank you for everyone's honest opinion. While some of you think that I was indeed the asshole, I am glad to see that others seemed to agree with what I did. I would like to clarify yet again that I would have never done this had Suzanne decided to talk to my brother on her own. This is why I had confronted her before exposing the truth on her birthday. I wish she would have been a better person and broke the news to him on her own instead of trying to threaten me. As for my brother, he and I sat down to discuss everything in more detail. It was heartbreaking to see my brother break down in front of me while telling me that he had no idea that his wife had been doing all this behind his back.

He kept questioning if this had happened because he couldn't give her enough attention due to his two jobs. My heart went out to my brother, knowing how hard he worked to provide for his family. I told him that Suzanne's actions had nothing to do with him. He had always been an exemplary husband and father, and if Suzanne couldn't appreciate that, then she didn't deserve to be with him. Despite my attempts to console him, my brother remains deeply affected by the situation, repeatedly going through the photo album containing all of Suzanne's messages with Chad. I am uncertain when he plans to talk to Suzanne about it. I have decided to take a few more days off from work and consider working from my parents'

place to support my brother and help take care of my nephew during this challenging time. Update 2. For the last couple of days, Suzanne has been sending me messages that have slowly turned into more and more crazy threats. She continues to blame me for revealing her secret to my brother and the rest of the family without acknowledging any responsibility for cheating on my brother in the first place. At first, I brushed it off because it was understandable why she was angry at me but over time, her messages have become more and more graphic where she keeps threatening to physically harm me for what I have done to her. Her messages became so vile that I was forced to show them to my parents today. My mom and dad were immediately upset and furious to read her threats.

They urged me to show these messages to my brother. I hesitated, knowing he was already dealing with a lot and feeling down about the whole situation. However, when he saw what Suzanne had been sending me, he immediately switched to protective older brother mode. He assured me that he would handle the situation and told me to block her right away. He promised that she wouldn't bother me again and made it clear that he would take care of dealing with her behavior. It's been a priority for me to spend extra time with my nephew lately. With my brother and him set to fly back home in a couple of days, I want to make the most of our time together. Even though my nephew senses that something is off because Suzanne isn't

around, being a child, he easily gets absorbed in his games and toys. For the sake of my adorable nephew, I hope everything turns out okay. Following my brother's advice, I have blocked Suzanne, so hopefully, she won't be able to reach out to me anymore with her threats. I am focused on creating a more positive and comforting environment for my nephew during these uncertain times. Update 3. It's been four months since my last update. I know it's been quite some time before I updated the story, but a lot has happened since my last update, hence I wanted to take some time to process everything. After my brother and nephew flew back home, he confronted Suzanne about the situation. However, she continued to deny everything, despite the clear evidence we had.

Frustrated and determined to get the truth, my brother decided to have a direct conversation with Chad. In this conversation, Chad confessed to everything. Chad revealed that Suzanne had expressed her love for him, and he reciprocated those feelings. According to Chad, he had no reason to continue hiding their affair. To my brother's shock, Chad disclosed that they had been involved romantically for over a year. This new revelation led to a heated and intense confrontation between David and Suzanne. Later when my brother told us about his conversation with Chad, we were heartbroken for him as well. My dad urged my brother that it was high time for him to decide their marriage. My mother agreed and told my brother that no matter what he decided, we would all stand by him. I also remember that,

reminded him that he should keep my nephew's best interest at heart because it was unhealthy for a child to be exposed to such toxicity. Two months later, David made the difficult decision to file for separation from Suzanne. The continuous fights had taken a toll on their relationship, and he realized there was nothing left to salvage. Unable to forgive Suzanne for her actions, and with Suzanne unwilling to confront her mistakes, it became clear that the best course of action was to part ways. As the legal process is still ongoing, Suzanne has been compelled to move out of David's home. The weight of her actions bore heavy consequences, and she faced the reality of losing her marriage. Despite the challenges, my family has remained a united front for David and my nephew. The emotional toll on David is

visible, but he continues to exhibit strength and resilience, determined to provide a stable environment for his child, Daniel. Reflecting on the entire experience, I firmly believe that revealing Suzanne's affair was necessary for my brother's well-being and the protection of my nephew. The truth brought clarity and allowed my brother to realize that he was being deceived by Suzanne. I stand by my decision, and I will continue to stand by my brother and support him as much as I can in his journey to heal himself. I hope you enjoy this story. Mother secretly invited my sibling to my marriage ceremony, and during her address, she recounted an unpleasant occurrence from high school, prompting my spouse to escort

her out. Presently, my mother is feeling upset. Siding with the sister. I, 27F, got married to my boyfriend of seven years, Aaron, 27M, four days back. The wedding was great except for one part which was ruined by my mom, 52F, and my estranged sister, Monica, 25F. She had to be kicked out by Aaron after the speech that she made and my mother is going crazy about it because she thinks that Aaron was somehow in the wrong here. So, for context, Monica and I haven't spoken in almost four years because of an incident that took place at a Thanksgiving dinner that my parents were hosting. She'd been hitting on and subtly trying to flirt with Aaron throughout the evening, but I had somehow ignored it because I didn't want to ruin my parents' Thanksgiving dinner. But then after dinner was done with and we were all

just sitting around and chatting, Aaron came to me and told me that Monica was trying to come on to him and it was making him really uncomfortable. I lost my cool and confronted her in the living room, where everybody was sitting and it turned into a huge thing. She told me that it was all right because if Aaron had a problem with it, then he would have told her, which he didn't. But that was just because he was a generally quiet person

and didn't like confrontations, which is why he'd approached me to deal with the situation. Then she said that Aaron deserves better and that's why she was hitting on him because he should know what he deserves and not settle for me. My dad had to intervene and tell her that it was enough, so she got really annoyed and left. We hadn't seen or met each other since that day, which was a relief because Monica and I didn't really get along anyway.

Ever since we were kids, she'd always been fiercely competitive and even though I was older than her, she always tried to make me seem like the less competent and capable one. She was already my mother's favorite, but I guess she wanted to be my dad's favorite as well and couldn't stand the fact that he treated us both equally. Our relationship got even worse when both of us were in high school and by the time we graduated college, we were barely on speaking terms. We would meet on the holidays and would ignore each other there, but after that one incident, I decided that I wasn't going to be attending any events

that she would be there at. So I would ask my dad if she would be attending and if she was, then I wouldn't go and if she wasn't, then I would. It was the perfect system and it helped that my dad respected my best. boundaries. Unlike my mother, who always insisted that we patch things up despite how uncomfortable Aaron felt around her. Judging by that, I guess it's no surprise that she invited Monica to my wedding without even consulting with me first. I was pretty shocked when Monica showed up and after the ceremony was over, I instantly confronted my mother about it. And she told me that Monica

was the one who suggested it, duh, of course, she did, when she heard that I was getting married. So my mother thought that it'd be a good idea to invite her and we could finally patch things up and get along as sisters. I told her that it was a terrible idea and I wanted her to leave, but my mother said that nothing bad could come out of this, which she was really wrong about. While we were talking, Monica grabbed a mic and started off with her speech. I froze in my spot because I knew that she certainly wasn't going to say good things about me. It started off normally enough, where she made a toast to the new bride and groom and and then, she started talking about this one incident from high school which she'd always held a grudge against me for. So in high school, when I was a senior and she was in her sophomore year, there'd been

this guy in my grade. Chris was pretty much everybody's crush. But he and I were just really great friends and, of course, that led to a lot of people getting really mad at me for no reason. I knew Chris because he and I were in middle school together but then he'd left for like two years because his dad had moved out of state and now, he was finally back and a lot more attractive than he used to be. I never thought of him as anything more than a friend and neither did he, but in spite of that, people seem to hate me. But nobody hated me as much as Monica seemed to. I knew that she had a thing for Chris and couldn't stand the fact that he was so close to me. So she went crazy and decided to sabotage our friendship by spreading a rumor that apparently he and I were secretly dating and had

even been bragging about it to her at home. That wasn't the case and both Chris and I were aware of it. We also knew that this rumor was my sister's doing. So instead of giving in to her strategy to ruin our friendship, we decided to go along with it and started holding hands while strolling in the hallways and pretending that we were together, just so that Monica would feel jealous. We would even make a whole show out of it whenever she and her friends would walk past us and the anger on her face is what we got a kick out of. It got to a point where everybody was in on the joke and the plan had totally backfired because now, people were making fun of Monica for spreading such insane rumors about us. And high school kids can be pretty nasty when they want to be. So one day, when some kid was

making fun of her for lying, she decided that she was going to confront me in the cafeteria and give everyone a show. That didn't turn out too well for her because as soon as she approached me, Chris came to my defense and told her off. He told her that she had no right to come to me and berate me for anything because she was the one who'd started that stupid rumor just so we'd stop being friends. He called her crazy, insecure, and jealous and Monica got so mad that she started cursing at him. The language that she used was so terrible that Chris actually had to walk away because the words that she was using were actually so filthy. I couldn't stand it either and I told her to shut up, but she just went on swearing at us. So in the heat of the moment I grabbed

her by the hair and slapped her. It wasn't my proudest moment and both of us ended up getting in trouble for it. But to this day, she holds me responsible for ruining the next couple of years for her in high school because everybody just remembered her due to that one incident. I graduated, but she still had to spend the next two years in high school with the same people who had witnessed her first getting told off by the hottest guy in her senior year and then getting slapped by her own. own older sister in front of everybody. It can't have been easy for her, but she brought it on herself and I didn't think that it was my fault at all. But she narrated that entire incident in a way that made her seem like the victim and I came off pretty badly in her version of the story.

And then, in her speech, she started telling everyone how I'd not only ruined school for her, but I'd apparently also ruined her relationship with our father because now my dad would barely even speak to her. But she didn't even mention the incident that made him stop talking to her. So Aaron finally got up from his seat, grabbed the mic, and took it away from her. Then he caught her by the arm and started dragging her away towards the door and my mother tried to stop it. I just stood there, rooted to the spot, because I couldn't believe that this was all happening at my wedding. There was a bit of a fuss at the exit as my bridesmaids tried to push her out, but Monica and my mother fought with them. Eventually, both my mother and Monica ended up leaving the venue and I was so upset that I walked away and hid

in the restroom. I didn't even come out until Aaron came to me and reassured me that everything would be fine. And that all the guests would judge Monica and my mother, not me. It didn't make me feel any better, but I knew that Aaron, my father and everybody else was counting on me to stay strong so the event didn't end on a bad note. So I went back out there and tried to put on a brave face, so everybody else could forget about this. After the thing was over and everybody went back home, I talked to my dad about this and he told me that he was going to talk to my mother and make her apologize to me. I told him that that wouldn't be necessary because I didn't care if she apologized or not. And he seemed to understand what I meant. It's been a few days since and

my mother contacted me the day before yesterday and told me that I needed to leave my husband because apparently he was the crazy one here. She called me up a few days ago and I picked up the call because I assumed that she was going to apologize to me and I had a lot of things that I wanted to say to her. But as soon as I picked up, I regretted it because she wasn't apologizing. She just wanted to tell me that she believed that Aaron was crazy and that I needed to leave him and get the marriage in all-day sup. Her reason was that he'd physically tried to drag Monica away and if he could put his hands on a woman that had nothing to do with him, then he wouldn't hesitate in doing the same to me. I thought that it was a bit of a stretch to compare Monica to me.

because I hadn't tried to hit on someone and make someone uncomfortable and then started playing the blame game and pretending to be the victim. That was all Monica and Aaron wasn't going to let her ruin our wedding by making it all about herself, which is why he tried to drag her away and even in doing so, he'd been pretty respectful of her. What Monica had said was unforgivable and I told my mother that she should be glad that I didn't go up to her and slap her like I had all those years ago in the cafeteria. My mother started yelling at me and told me that both of us were the same and that Aaron and I needed help if we believed that violence was the answer to everything. She said that she knew that Monica was wrong for giving that speech and that she'd realized

that she probably shouldn't have invited her without asking me first, but insisted that both my husband and I were wrong for supporting physical violence. And Monica could even sue him if she wanted to, but she wasn't. Out of the goodness of her heart because she didn't want to create more trouble for us than she already had. My mother thinks that we need to apologize, but I don't understand if we should or To be honest, this post is more on my husband's behalf than for me. Is my husband T.A. for physically dragging my estranged sister away from the mic and kicking her out of the venue after she delivered a nasty speech about me at our wedding?

Update 1. It's been a week since I posted here, and most of the comments agree that my husband went a little too far in manhandling her, so we've decided that we're going to apologize to her for just that, but nothing else. Aaron has already crafted an apology letter that he's going to send to her personally and I'm just hoping that this comes to an end soon. My mother's really been after me, trying to convince me to apologize to Monica for what happened at the wedding. She hasn't apologized to us yet and neither do I hope for or expect one. Because she probably doesn't even think that she did anything wrong and her apology means nothing to me anyway. I just want my husband to apologize, so our conscience remains clear and

after that, if she wants to then she can apologize to us as well. And even if she's she doesn't, I'm okay with it because, like I said, her apology really means nothing to me. I know the truth and I know what kind of person she is so I don't want to waste any more of my time thinking about her or my mother. I'm going to block my mother as soon as we're done with this because I know she's just never going to see my side of things. Ever since Monica was born, she always had a favorite. But I never imagined that she would let her bias take over to an extent where she couldn't even tell a part right from wrong. I think everybody was. with even half a brain would be able to tell that Monica never had any good intentions when it came to me

and would think twice before inviting her to an event like a wedding, which was so important for the two of us. My mother's the one who's actually responsible for ruining everything and yet, she still feels that it's more important for Aaron and I to apologize than for Monica to apologize to us. At this point, I'm not even surprised because she always made sure that Monica never felt that she was even capable of making mistakes. To my mother, she'll always be just perfect and I'm sick and tired of trying to live up to her crazy standards, which she set specifically for me. I always have to be the one who makes all the sacrifices and does all the forgiving, even when people, mostly Monica, aren't even sorry for what they did. I've tried to maintain a good relationship with her,

in spite of her behavior, just because of my father. But now, I think my father knows that I'm done with her and I can't do this all my life. So after we send the apology, I'm going to send a copy of it to my mother and inform her that it's done now. Because she might doubt the truthfulness of what I'm saying. And then she's out of our lives. Update 2. So Aaron and I emailed the apology to Monica and we thought that it'd be enough and that she wouldn't drag this on. But I really underestimated exactly how much she hates me because she decided that it'd be a good idea to take a screenshot of that email and posted on her social media. So she could break about how she made us beg for forgiveness.

She put up a very ha ha-ha-gacha kind of post and said that she received an apology from us, even though she was the one who crashed our wedding and made a very humiliating speech just to insult me. It really made my blood boil and I found myself wishing there was a way to unsend emails after they'd already been sent or whatever. We don't follow each other on any platform so it was actually a cousin of mine who sent me that post, to tell me that. this is what was going on behind my back. It felt infuriating to know that she was using our

apology against the U.S. to insult us. Instead of going against her right away, I decided to call my mother and ask her what she felt about this. Luckily, I hadn't blocked her yet and when I called her to ask about the post, she already had an explanation ready and told me that she was working on it and trying to convince Monica to take down that post. She tried to downplay how insulting that was by telling me that it was just for being petty and it meant nothing. She even said that people probably hadn't even bothered to read it, so I had nothing to worry about, even as my relatives actively texted me to ask about that post and even some folks from high school were asking about it. I told her that she had half an hour to get that post taken down and if she couldn't do it,

then I would have to take matters into my own hands and it wouldn't be nice. I had a lot more dirt on Monica than my mother could even imagine, and I knew certain things about her that I hadn't mentioned in my post. If I put all that out on social media, then nobody would ever be able to see Monica the same way again. So if my mother didn't get Monica to take down that post, then things could get really ugly for her, and I didn't want to get into all of that drama either. So it would be in her best interest to take it down and hope that I wasn't feeling petty or vengeful. My mother promised me that she'd get it done but almost an hour passed, and the post still stayed up. So Aaron and I decided that it was time to finally expose Monica.

There was obviously the truth about how Monica had tried to hit on and come on to Aaron at the Thanksgiving party. And then there was the truth about the Chris incident. But there was also another thing that I didn't mention in my post because it wasn't exactly relevant there, but this time I decided to go all out and talk about how Monica had an affair with her best friend's husband a couple of years ago. Hardly anybody knows about it because she and that guy had done a really good job of hushing people and keeping it all really secretive. And of course, her best friend didn't want any of this news getting out because it was embarrassing for her. So she didn't tell many people about it either. But I knew all about it, even though Monica didn't want me to.

Her best friend also went to high school with us and made the mistake of confiding in a couple of her close friends, and one of those close friends talked to me about it because, after all, it involved my sister too. I hadn't told a soul about this affair that Monica had been a part of, out of respect for her ex-best friend. But now I don't care anymore. I went public with it to make sure that everybody from our high school got to know what kind of person Monica was. And the best part about all of this was that I didn't even have to resort to lies or half-truths like Monica. Everything that I said about her was 100% true. The like started pouring in as soon as I posted it because Monica had been pretty popular and

high school and through college. People were pretty scandalized and interested to know about that affair and also how Monica had tried to hit on my husband. Everyone knew that Monica had a cruel streak in her and my post was just proof that this wasn't anything new and that she'd just always been this way. My mother's encouragement only made her worse. After putting up that post, Aaron and I finally felt a little better because we'd done enough to get back at her. I didn't want to entertain any calls or texts from friends or relatives, and mostly my mother. So I switched my phone off and so did he. We decided not to look at our phones or any other electronic device for the next couple of hours

and went out for a walk instead. Once we came back home, we started packing for our honeymoon which we were supposed to leave for in a few days. By the time we finally got back to our phones, it was almost midnight. As soon as I turned it on, I almost had to shut it off again because, because there was just notification after notification from literally everyone I knew. I decided to check my mom's messages first and unsurprisingly, she was on Monica's side and was telling me that I'd taken things too far by talking about that affair, which Monica really regretted. She told me that Monica was very upset and couldn't stop crying when she talked to her,

as if that was supposed to make me feel bad for her. I really didn't, especially not after what she put me through. I didn't reply to my mother and went on to check the comments on. my post, which were all against Monica and that made me feel really vindicated. It's been one day since I put up that post and by now, pretty much all of my family and my entire high school population from when I was there has seen that post and has had something to say about Monica. I don't even feel bad about it because it was always her trying to get under my skin and I always tried to ignore her. But this time she deserves this.

So now the post is going to stay up for as long as I want and no matter how much she cries about it. I'm not taking it down and neither am I going to feel sorry about what I do. Update 3, Hi, Guys. It's been two weeks since I put up that post and I took it down yesterday because I think it's reached its target audience and I don't want it on my feet anymore. I blocked my mother and Monica a few days after that post because I really didn't want them to have any access to me. Like not even one bit. They've proved to me, time and again, that they don't deserve to be around me or even breathe the same air as me. My dad is completely on my side about this and thinks that I did the right thing,

even if I had to expose Monica's ex-best friend for it. I didn't name her so nobody really knows apart from the people who already knew who her best friend was. And that was pretty much our entire high school because the two of them had been quite thick ever since they were in their freshman year. But at least I didn't name her, so that's some consolation for both of us. and even if I did end up inadvertently exposing her, even that girl had been really mean to me because of Monica back then. So I don't feel particularly sorry about it. Aaron and I are finally enjoying our honeymoon and the only reason that I even remembered to post an update was because somebody DM'd me, asking about what became of Chris.

And I realized that I'd forgotten to tell you guys that we're still friends. He wasn't able to attend my wedding, unfortunately, because he was really down with a stomach flu. But we might meet in the next couple of weeks. And when we do, I'm going to make sure that I take a picture of us and post it for Monica to see. Also, my dad has been talking to me about my mother's irrational behavior when it comes to Monica and asked me if he should think about couples counseling or just straight up divorce. I was surprised to learn that my father was considering getting divorced from my mom after all these years that they'd spent together.

But he told me that he just wasn't feeling it anymore and it was becoming more difficult for him to deal with my mom every day because of how weird she was acting. She had even tried to talk him into disinheriting me and leaving all their property and money to Monica because apparently, I needed to be taught a lesson about family loyalty. My dad had to fight really hard for me and he says that he's just absolutely emotionally drained, trying to keep up with my mother. He said he's too old for this and needs a break. And honestly, I agree. I know that my mother can't be an easy person to live with. I didn't tell him what to do, but I told him that I would support him, regardless of what decision he makes. Even if he chooses to stay with my mom, I wouldn't mind it because that's what brings him joy.

As long as he's happy, I'm happy. That being said, I really do hope they look into couples counseling, at the very least. Because my mother definitely could do with therapy. In fact, I think therapy would do a world of good to both my mother and my sister. I hope you enjoy this story. Sibling repeatedly mentioned to all that her spouse despised our family gatherings. However, upon questioning him directly, he appeared confused and unaware of the situation. It was later disclosed that she had fabricated the entire scenario.

Up. Hello everyone. I, 26F, live in a small town with a lot of family. Ants, uncles, cousins, grandparents, basically everyone. related to me lives here. My sister Lilia, 28F, married her husband Sean, 31M, last year. I don't know him very well, but I don't have a problem with him either. Every other weekend, my mom will host a party-type thing for the whole family. There's food, decorations, music, etc. Everyone has a blast. A few months ago, my sister started acting kind of strange at these parties.

Her husband isn't a very social person from what I can tell. He usually stands off to the side, sometimes without food. Lillia started making comments, usually to our immediate family, but sometimes to anyone who'll listen. About how Sean thinks the decorations look tacky or Sean thinks the music is too loud. At first it was basically harmless, but the comments got worse and worse. She started saying things like that outside of family parties, too. The weekend before last, she made small talk for a while before saying, Hmm, Sean doesn't look like he's having a good time.

I don't think he likes the food very much. I can't really blame him, we don't usually eat at low-class restaurants like yours. Her comments always pissed me off, but this pushed me pretty hard. My mom works really hard to make delicious food for these parties. She's a chef at Olive Garden. I guess my mom could tell I was getting upset. So she pulled me aside and told me not say anything to Lilia, that it wasn't a big, stuff like that. I respected her wishes, even though I really wanted to stand up for her.

Last week, Lilia called and said Sean's best friend is getting married. I'm a wedding planner, and she wants me to plan the wedding. I said sure. This weekend, Sean's best friend and his fiancé had a joint bachelor and bachelorette party. Lilia is a bridesmaid. She invited me to come along so I could meet the bride and groom, and probably officially become their wedding planner. When I arrived at the club, Lillia immediately grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the bathroom. She said, Sean isn't happy.

No one will take you seriously as a wedding planner if you dress like a slut. You embarrassed him, and now, the groom will blame him for recommending a shitty planner. I had enough of her at that point. It felt like she was just using Sean as an excuse to voice her own opinions. I said, if Sean thinks I'm a shitty wedding planner for dressing normally for a damn club, he can get, the groom, a new wedding planner. I walked out and went home. Ada

Update 1, October 24th, 2024. Okay, here's the update. Thank you everyone for your great comments and advice. I ended up inviting Sean and Lillia, out to lunch. Lillia was still a little upset that I had dressed like a slut at the club, but mostly things went fine. Before we left, I asked Sean if he thought my outfit at the club was inappropriate. He said no. I asked if thought my mother's cooking was bad. He said no again, this time he looked more confused. Before I could ask him about another comment, Lillia grabbed

his arm and pulled him up. She said they had to go. Sean looked even. more confused and told Lillia he wanted to hear what I was going to ask next. She looked visibly angry, and after I asked him if he thought the decorations were tacky Lillia said, If you're not coming, I'm leaving without you. She ran to the car before either of us could stop her. Sean was really confused now and asked why I thought he didn't like the food, etc. I told him the whole story of how Lillia was telling me and my immediate family he was saying rude things. He looked completely shocked now. He said he never said any of those things, and that he thinks the parties are wonderful.

He explained he's just a little antisocial and gets nervous around people he doesn't know well, which I totally get. He apologized if anything he did was offensive, but I said there was no need for an apology. I gave him a ride home, Lillia took off with her car. When we got there, my sister's car wasn't in the driveway. I went to my mom's house next to drop off some stuff I had for her in the car. When I got there, Lillia's car was parked outside. She was sitting at the dining table crying, and my mom was doing her best comfort her.

When my sister saw me, she started crying even harder. I sat down and waited until she could calm down. When she finally did, I gently asked why she was saying all those things. Lillia said, I don't know. to make you hate him, I guess. My mom asked why she wanted us to hate him. She kept replying to our questions with I don't know's before admitting the truth. She said she'd been feeling jealous since our brother Eric got married.

She felt like he was getting all the attention, especially when his wife announced her pregnancy. She also said Eric was always the golden child growing up, and she wanted people to notice her just this once. I never thought he was the golden child. In fact, Lillia seemed to be favored over him, but maybe I was too wrapped up in my own stuff to notice. My sister decided to stir up some drama to get the attention back on her. She used Sean, because no one in the family knew him very well and it was easy because he doesn't interact with a lot of people. She claimed she wanted the attention so badly, even if it was negative.

She wanted to see how far we'd let her go before one of us snapped. After a long talk, she promised never to do anything. like this again, and admitted she mostly did all this out of resentment toward Eric for always stealing the spotlight. My mom promised to pay more attention to her, and she apologized if she ever made Lillia feel like Eric was better than her. We all hugged it out. Earlier tonight, Lillia called me and said she and she and she was going to try couples therapy, and she was going to get individual therapy for herself. I said I was happy for her and she can come to me if she ever needs anything. I guess that's it. I'll update again if anything else happens. Comments where O.P. has replied,

commenter one. Dang. Personally, I would never trust Lillia with anything ever again especially because she craved attention so much she didn't care if it made her partner, a man she supposedly loves, into the bad guy. What's stopping her from doing that to any one of you if she could do that to the man she made vows with? My mom promised to pay more attention to her, and and she apologized if she ever made Lillia feel like Eric was better than her. I don't really like this response to be honest. Lillia straight up admitted she wanted people to hate Sean for no reason and she gets rewarded with love and more attention.

Oop, my mom has stage four cancer, and we don't know how much longer she'll be here. I completely understand wanting this all to just be over and cherishing the time she has is left with her daughter. But in a different situation, I 100% agree that this wouldn't be a great respect. response. Commenter two. Is Lillia the middle child? Boop, no. She's the oldest. Eric is the middle child. Commenter three. Honestly, op, if I were you, I'd give your sister some L.C. space. Because she's acted horribly to all of you and at her poor husband's expense.

All because she didn't have enough attention. She needs help and you need to stay away from her for a bit. She's just drama at this point. You can still be there for your mom while keeping low contact with your sister. Stop making excuses for her. Oop, I would, but I think a lot of this was caused by mom's declining health. I want to be there for all of my family if the worst were to happen. My mom wants all of to be there for her as a family. If I went low contact, it would really hurt my mom and cause other damage to the family.

I also think this is just Lillia's way of dealing with the grief of possibly losing our mom. It doesn't excuse her behavior, of course, but I can't go low contact now when she needs me. Update 2. October 25, 2024. Hi again. I wanted to give a mini update and answer some questions I've seen in the comments. I am 26, Eric is 27, and Lillia is 28. I didn't end up planning Sean's best. friend's wedding. I found out the wedding is in two weeks, and they were scrambling to put everything together, confirm everything, even book some things last minute. So no, I didn't take that job. I am not trying to justify Lillia's actions in any way. I agree that she really needs therapy.

I'm just trying to help people understand why I'm not going no contact with her. First, there's our mom. If if I personally wanted to cut contact with her, our mom is cancer. She wants us to be together as a family for her, and I respect that. Also, I would love someone who's cut off a family member to comment and explain how it all went, especially someone who lives in the same town as a lot of family. My hunch is, it's not easy. I probably should have put this in the original post, but I'm saying it now. My father died when I was 19 in a bad car crash. Lillia was really close to him. My son, sister has been my best friend since I was born. That's not something I want to throw away over

one incident. Yes, it was wrong. Yes, I am angry at her. Yes, it will take a long time for me to trust her again, but I still love her. She's done so much for me. Punched someone who was bullying me in the face. Worked double shifts to help with my tuition. Never once left my side when I suspected my ex was stalking me. And that's just to name a few. I don't think she's a terrible person. I think she screwed up out of fear for our mom and the trauma of losing our dad.

The jealousy part could also be true. She's always been a very jealous person. It will take time for me to forgive her, but I think we can work things out. Now onto the mini update. I spoke with Mom today. She's also angry at Lillia, of course. but she wants to keep the peace at least until her time comes.

She said conspiratorially at the next party, Sean's going to pull a Lilia set on her. Half joking, though it would be funny if it really happens. I spoke to Sean too. He's the angriest out of us, but he said he loves her and is going to try to work things out. They start couples therapy on Saturday, and Lilia starts individual therapy tomorrow.

I wished him the best. Next story, family boycotted my wedding after my fiancé refused to ask my dad's permission to marry me. Now I'm pregnant with their first grandchild and they're making demands. Hi, guys. I've been with my boyfriend, M25, for three years. We both just finished school and are finally ready for marriage. He proposed last week and I happily said yes. I could not be happier.

I love him and he is going to be. be an awesome dad someday. But my BF is very new school and my dad is kind of old school. My dad was beyond mad that my boyfriend did not ask my dad for my hand before proposing. My dad said he was willing to hear my boyfriend's apology if my boyfriend formally asks for my hand at a dinner that my dad said he will pay for at the restaurant of my boyfriend's choosing. My dad feels like he is being very accommodating. He will bring my boyfriend's favorite wine to celebrate. I spoke to my boyfriend last night and he won't budge. He doesn't believe in that tradition.

My boyfriend showed me an article online where a Pakistani woman was stoned to death outside a courthouse because she married a man against her family's wishes. This just happened. My boyfriend who witnessed his father be abusive slash possessive with his mom as a child has always felt strongly that women are not property. He thinks the tradition of asking for her hat is repulsive. His point is that he's met my whole family and gotten to know them. He says they have always known his intentions and he never made it secret that he was in love

with me and wanted to marry me and have children. He feels he was done enough to announce his intentions and all of them seem to approve of him. He says that at this point he only needs my approval to marry him and nobody else's. So yesterday my mom told me that my dad who is not even speaking to me because I won't set my foot down with my boyfriend is calling the whole family and telling them to not attend my wedding. My mom says that my boyfriend is the one treating me like property by not letting me have a say in his decision to not observe a tradition that my two older sister's husbands observed. I told my mother that I understand where my boyfriend is coming from and

that I have decided to do away with the tradition of him asking for my hand. So my mother is obviously mad and said that I should be ready for serious consequences. I asked her what and she would not say. but from talking to my sister she said that they would blackball us from all family gatherings. My two sisters and my mom have told me my boyfriend is being selfish. The wedding is set for August 9th. I'm worried that nobody in my family will attend my wedding. Edit, I'm getting some comments about my boyfriend asking for my parents' blessing instead of permission, or hand. I just can't see the difference.

There might be one but I don't see it. Is there a big difference? comments? Comments where Op has replied, Boop, thanks for the congrats and comment. I was just thinking as I read some comments here. One comment said that my parents should not have staged the boycott either way. So maybe the boycott signals something more than just my father wanting to be included in some way. I don't know, I'm now worried that the boycott in calling all my relatives signals more controlling

issues that my dad has that I never noticed before. My two older sisters had no problems with their wife. because they did everything the way my dad liked. So, I'm scared now that maybe my boyfriend is right that it's not just a tradition. Tilda, deleted, my dad feels like he is being very accommodating. No, both he and your mother are being controlling. And they are attempting to make you choose between your fiancé and them. Choose your fiancé, otherwise you're setting precedent for this type of behavior slash interference for the rest of your marriage you, this is what I'm afraid of. My fiancé and I don't practice Catholic religion like my family does.

So I wonder what will happen when my kids aren't baptized and all that update. The wedding went on as planned. My parents stuck to their guns and boycotted. One of my two sisters attended and is now happily blacklisted from our family. Nobody else from my entire family showed up, including my two brothers. The wedding was a little unconventional. My sister walked my husband down the eye. and then his sister walked me down the aisle.

I wanted this because my still actually introduced us and helped me get my first date with him. There was no questioned about who gives away the bride or even about objections. It was normal other than that. There has been no contact between me and my family, other than my one sister. My mother has made it a point to send me a card every time that they have a family gathering for holidays or birthdays at their house to let me know that my father says I'm not invited. I get one almost every month. I don't even read them anymore. I just toss them. I don't why they keep sending them because I've made no effort to contact them and I live over three hours away so it's not like I will run into them by accident.

The reason I came back to post this here is because some people here made a prediction that came true, that they would come crawling back when we had children. I am now expecting our first child, a girl smile. She will be the first grandchild for my parents. My parents found out about the pregnancy a few months ago through a family friend. They didn't waste any time in making demands, not requests, demands. My boyfriend and I are not religious, but I had a Catholic upbringing. I don't practice at all by choice. My mother called me back in April telling me that my father wanted our daughter's middle name

to be his mother's first name. I said no. My father was listening and on speaker, so I went ahead and told them that they were officially un-invited from all birthdays, graduations, and any other important dates in her life. My father called me half an hour later crying and begging me to come stay with them for the birth so my mother could care for me. I said no. He also said that he had already made arrangements for his priest could baptize her at his church, but that I needed to agree to naming her after his mother if I wanted this to happen. He said he'd already planned a big celebration for the birth

and the baptism that he was paying for. I said no to all of them. I said no to all of them. it. He went from meekly trying to sweet talk me to raising his voice at me and I hung up. He called a couple of more times to apologize for losing his temper and again begged me to reconsider giving birth at a hospital near them so they could visit us. He denied having any knowledge of my mother sending me cards to un-invite us to any family functions and even said that he specifically asked her to invite us, but he was told I declined every time. He lets my mom do the dirty work so he can later hide behind her and deny he had any knowledge. He's done this since I was a little girl. He does this every time he wants to drop

the hammer on somebody but be the good cop also. He'll never change. He denied having any knowledge of why anybody in the family missed my wedding. I told him our daughter would not be baptized or Catholic at all, no offense to Catholics. I told him he was too manipulative and controlling and I didn't want my daughter exposed to that. He's too toxic and just venomous. Coincidentally, the day and for several days after that phone call I got tons of calls and emails from my brothers, their wives, my sister, and all my aunts. They all wanted to apologize for missing my wedding, and all had specific excuses, and wanted to make plans to be there for my daughter's birth. I banned them all from her life until she's old enough to decide for herself to let them in. My husband was a little surprised and not sure about banning everybody forever.

He's more leaning towards supervised visits if they want to drive to us. My dad has been calling him like crazy, but we are a united front. My husband is deferring to me but giving me ideas as to how I can give a little if I decide to. But with my family there's no giving a little. They want it all. For now, they're all banned. I will reconsider when the youngest of our children turns 18 smile. For now my dad will have to settle for sucking up to my husband.

husband while I stick to my guns. Unlike him, I don't mind owning my decisions even if it means I'm bad cop. I'm not ready to give up a relatively drama-free, stress-free life to allow my dad and all his sheep back into our lives. Comments where Op has replied, downvoted commenter, he should have just done such a small task and asked, like to make peace, geez, I mean really pushing your family away for such a stupid reason. On their side and yours. Oop, but that's the thing. After that one small task they would want to name my daughter, another small task, then they would ask I go have the baby near them, another small task, then have her baptized by their priest, then they pick her school, then they make life decisions for her like they tried with me and my siblings, all small tasks. Oop replying to a downvoted comment that things have gone too far and to make amends for their daughter, I guess I would tell you that not everything fits in the oversimplification in your comment. My daughter will be better off without a full family of manipulative, controlling, and abusive people, or people who condone such behavior.

After years of abuse, I was glad my husband decided my dad's demand that he asked permission to marry me was too antiquated. The original conflict that caused this rift was years of abuse and manipulation. I chose to burn bridges that needed to go. Otherwise, I would never be free to make my own decisions about my own live without consulting with my dad. at every turn. I hope you enjoy this story. My sibling referred to my foster child as an error during her pre-wedding celebration. Later, I discovered that she has been covertly harassing her and warning her that we will desert her once we have authentic obligations. Kids. Hi, guys. I, F-32, Deanna, and the eldest of five siblings, and I've taken on the role of the family

caretaker for as long as I can remember. I helped our parents. I helped our parents. until they're passing, and, frankly, it's exhausting. Dad died of brain cancer three years ago, and it was heartbreaking to watch him deteriorate over time, and Mom passed peacefully overnight after a long, hard battle with breast cancer earlier this year. So as the oldest, I just sort of became the de facto parent. I don't mind as I love my siblings, and it's kind of my thing to big sister friends and family a lot. I'm sort of Ships counselor, and I financially help out my family.

I don't mind, as I work in tech, have a side gig doing art, an inherited land and money from mom and dad all that to say it's no real loss. A few years ago, I adopted my cousin's Charlie M. 45 child who I will just use her nickname Decker. My baby loves kickboxing. After my cousin went to prison for murdering the Decker's mother in an alcohol and drug-fueled rage, which is too long a story to add here. It was a chaotic year of mourning, paperwork and court hearings. but the adoption was finalized when the Decker was five.

Now, she's a happy, healthy 13-year-old who calls me mom. She's in therapy, and has been since I legally could send her as she witnessed her mother's death, and I couldn't be prouder of how resilient she is. She's my girl, my rock star, my whole heart and I call her that, literally my heart. Fast forward to my sisters, Clara, F-30, upcoming wedding. I was thrilled for her at first, and she asked her, me to be M.O. I cried in joy and offered for my wife, Honey, because we like the incredible LOL F-40 and I to pay for it. Don't worry, I asked Honey first. But during a bachelorette dinner

I set up, she made a hurtful comment about my daughter, calling her a mistake and saying I shouldn't have taken her in. I stared at her and asked her what she meant and she said it wasn't like I was supposed to even have kids, as I am married to another woman, then said no hate or anything and laughed, but then she doubled down that Decker is likely damaged and a handful. Guys, Decker is the sweetest child alive. I mean she is a teen so yeah, sometimes she can get challenging or rebellious here or there, but when I say she is my whole heart, I mean it. She made us a family, and made our house a home. She smiles easy, cries openly and has the emotional intelligence I wish I had myself. She always asks, how are you doing? And she really means it,

willing to listen to people. But she's a damaged mistake. I felt like a character in a dark, twisted episode of a sci-fi show, defending my choice to adopt felt like fighting the Borg, like I just wouldn't assimilate. I didn't laugh it off with my sister and her friends. I just stared at her in pure disbelief. I think she knew I was hurt because she quickly changed the subject. I said I better get home, paid for everything in three more rounds and went home to my family. My sister came over the next day to yell at me for leaving and cutting them off after the three rounds I paid for. She said I owe her a do-over for ruining the whole weekend because I can't take a joke. Honey, who I of course told what happened, asked my sister to repeat exactly

what she said about our daughter. My sister refused and kept calling Decker Charlie's child and I just was holding back so many tears. I told my sister that I wouldn't be contributing a dime to her wedding expenses, that I won't stop helping her pay her rent up until she moves in with her husband, but I won't be in or pay for the wedding of a person who sees my child as a mistake. Honestly, I was ready to go full-on Jedi and sever that connection, but honey helped me temper myself. My sister lost it, through the can of soda water we gave her at me, screamed how am I supposed

to pay for this? And I said, you have over a... a year, you can save up. So left, showing honey out of the way in the process and blew up our sibling group chat. My other siblings are split. Some think I'm overreacting with cutting off funds for the wedding, while others agree that my sister crossed a line and needed the wake-up call. Now, I feel bad for my sister, I do love her and she is distressed by this, but I can't shake the feeling that standing up for my daughter is more important. I'd offer refusing to pay for her wedding after that. Edit, I've been working on my work project at a local brewery and have been silently sobbing and reading the comments.

Also, wow so many comments. I was trying to reply to everyone, but I honestly ran out of steam. I sent this post to my wife and also just bracing myself to talk to Decker tonight. We want to ask her if her aunt has done or said anything cruel to or about her. I am wishing hard that she's just confused by our questions and remain oblivious of this shitstorm. I love my heart. I want her to always remain the bright, fun, loving, encouraging person she is. I don't want her to know anything about what her aunt has said.

I texted my sister if she meant this, if she really sees me, my wife, and our daughter that way, or was she just drunk and stupid and doubled down an embarrassment. That said, I don't want her near Decker any time soon. I feel so lost. I wasn't planning on ever being a parent and there is a person. no fucking manual for this. What the fuck do I even do? Wish me luck for tonight. I will need it because if Decker tells us her aunt has been cruel to her face, I will have to hold my wife back from swinging on my sister. Update 1, September 29th, 2024. I am trying to keep this short.

Honey and I took Decker out to the local Octoberfest celebrations. She had a blast, did crafts, dance to music, had beer, it was not beer, in a pint glass, and generally had a great time. On the ride home my wife broached the long-awaited topic. We asked her how she felt about grandma's passing then went into how everyone handles things differently. We asked if Mama, me or Mommy, Honey, ever was hurtful and she named a couple moments we'd been snappy or wouldn't let her do things, like a party at 2 a.m.? But no nothing else. We asked about Clara and she got quiet. Honey just looked at me, but I was driving.

So I just said you can tell us anything, Goober, you know that and she clammed up. I got my girls home and hugged my heart slash Decker and went to the den. About two hours later my wife came downstairs to me and said Decker is in bed but Noah's and I should talk to her. I asked why and she simply said that Decker is willing to talk about it. I went up. Decker was ready for bed, in her PJs, reading. I just sat down on the side of the bed and asked her how she was. She just said,

Mom, told you, huh? I told her I didn't know anything and Decker then said that Clara makes her uncomfortable and said hurtful things. When my wife and I weren't around, Clara would call her the lost puppy or the stray and once Decker remembers her to have told her to her face you're not real family and that once honey and I get a real child we will dump her. I can't explain the rage. The absolute, total, and complete red I saw as my daughter broke down telling me that she behaves so well and is so obsessed with grades so she can prove she is worth loving, worth keeping. After calling my wife, we sat her down and told her that she is the best thing that ever happened to us and that even if we do have more children, she is our firstborn and our love.

I cried and held her telling her she was my whole heart and that nothing will ever change that. She saved us, and I am so proud of her and us and all we've grown to become. I can't ever stop loving her. Neither can her mom. We love her more than air. That will never change. Then I explained that Annie was wrong for this. Andy is jealous of her.

Jealous of how much we love her. Auntie needs help, but we can't give that help so she won't be around for a while. Decker asked us to stop talking to her. like a child, so I was blunt. She's my sister and I love her. You're my daughter and I love you more. I told her my sister was wrong and hateful. I'm sorry that she didn't feel she could come to her mom or I, but she can. Every time. Any time. We will choose her. Always. Decker asked me if it's her fault I hate Clara and I just hold her hate is a choice and I don't hate Clara. I do love her. But sometimes loving a person means you correct them. Actions have consequences.

My daughter got quiet and handed me her phone and Clara had been texting her awful things since she left my home. I can't even type them because I want to throw things but it's when I read my fucking sister texting my teenage daughter go tell your so-called mom like a snitch and prove me right I took a screenshot and texted it to myself. Decker fell asleep around midnight and my wife and I went to bed. I texted my sister the screenshot and said, You come into my home as my sister and treat my child like this? No.

Mom and dad would be ashamed of you. This is not how you treat any child, let alone your own niece. I have loved you since as long as I can remember. I know you were not raised to treat children so terribly. But as of now, you are not accepted in my home. You will not speak to or contact me, my wife, or my child. I will give you the money for October, Clara, but November on? That's your responsibility.

I am no longer going to help. I'm sorry. This breaks my heart. But you crossed a serious and unforgivable line. Decker is my daughter. I am her mom. Do not doubt me here, and I want to be clear, if you ever come sideways at my family again, or contact my daughter at all, I will take legal recourse.

From today on, we are low contact. If you try to make this into a bigger issue, it will be no contact. If you don't understand, here are resources to help spell it out. I Love You, D, Update 2, October 2, 2024. I kept my promise to my wife to wait before reacting. She knows me best and knew I was prepared to go nuclear. Turns out, I needn't help. bothered. Let me clear up a couple of small details and misconceptions I've read.

1. I am the eldest of the siblings. Mom and dad have been sick for years on and off. So to those who think I've just started taking over as some weird power trip or something, no. I've managed their finances, maintained their properties, and taken care of all their affairs before either of them passed. Dad simply wasn't mentally able after a while and mom never had a head for that sort of thing. Two, yes, I was mostly left in charge of my siblings growing up. Both my parents had businesses and worked often seven-day weeks. I cooked dinner and helped with homework and whatnot. I'm aware that's not very normal, and I already know some of you will call my parents terrible for this, but they simply didn't know better. I won't hate them for any of it

and as much as it caused me some negative effects. It also made my siblings feel safe. I'm proud of being able to protect them and be there for them when they were young so they didn't feel how I felt. And yes, I am also in therapy. Three, I was the sole caretaker of my parents when they passed. The reasons are complicated but the short of it is, Dad got verbally abusive towards the end and mom got severely depressed and blunt. They were a challenge to deal with on the best of days. I hold no ill will towards them, but there it is. My siblings didn't want to be around them. Dad was hurt and changed his will. Mom followed suit.

For those telling me I am rewarding Clara by paying for literally this month, and that I'm not a real mom or a bad mom by loving my daughter's tormentor, I'm envious your world is so black and white. Rent is literally due today and the money was already in transfer to her via auto banking. And Clara isn't getting rewarded, she is remaining housed. But from now on, she's on her own. 5. Clara and I used to be pretty close, but she did get distant around the time Decker was adopted. I didn't know exactly why, just that the new dynamic was a challenge for her.

I know she hates Charlie and considers him evil and irredeemable. She had a really hard time losing our cousin-in-law, Decker's biological mother, as they were very close, so I assume her issues stem from this. 6. I inherited the majority of everything though my siblings got sizable sums, three got all but one. one of the businesses my parents owned, and everyone got trusts. Clara spiraled after Mom passed and had a mental health crisis. Before we got her help, she traveled, drank, and gambled away her entire inheritance. Long story for another time. I didn't have a moment to cool down and wait until today to give myself a chance to make a

level-headed decision regarding my sister. Clara has spun the tale that I am jealous she found a loving man and am withholding mom and dad's money from her. She gave the perception that I was the one abusing Decker, putting her down, and telling her she isn't my real daughter. That shut down when I sent my text a couple days ago. Yesterday, Clara was on my doorstep. She was crying and begging for me to let her in, but my wife and her friends were inside and I made it clear I don't want her near my family as she emotionally abused my daughter and physically harmed my wife. I told her to leave where I would call the police to have her removed. I was going to call the police anyway because I told her never to come to our

home again and there she was. There's a reason I said this in text, so I could in an event like this show them clear as day that she would know she is welcome. Clara started to beg saying she will apologize to Decker and she was drunk and upset and made mistakes. I could tell she was drunk or hi or something. I told her it's not a simple mistake to bully a traumatized teen girl and make her feel unloved and unwanted by her own family and to text her that she is worthless and expendable. What the fuck? I got angry and just started to raise my voice. I don't know when I started to yell, but I did. I just, lost it. She's a cold-hearted, awful, self-serving brat. Spoiled beyond belief to being so delusional that this all would just go away, that she's

entitled to the money my wife and I make, that our parents gave us after all she did. She needs fucking help and I am done being the giving tree here. You don't ever hurt my child. She's lucky I have a head to keep my hands to myself and luckier still Honey isn't out here because she certainly would not so go the fuck home. Clara slapped me across the face and called me a bitch and a traitor that I choose that demon spawn of a child over her. That I love Decker more than my own real family and turn my back on her this way. Honey must have been right by the door because before I could make a very bad choice she had yanked me inside. Told my sister that she had 60 seconds to fuck off and slammed the door closed.

Clara left quickly but we still called the police and handed over the footage from our property cameras of what happened, as well as the texts from our phones. Clara went ballistic over text telling me awful things ending with her hoping I'd take my own life and she would celebrate. Absolutely unhinged awful shit like that. I blocked her, sent every piece. of footage in a Google Drive and dropped the link in the sibling group chat and sent it to Kevin her fiance. I then sat down and cried myself into a fit before Decker came home from practice. I put on my mom face for her and made sure she did her homework then I went to the den

and called my aunt, Decker's biological grandmother, and told her what happened. My aunt told me that Clara is renewing her conspiracy that I harming Decker and that I need to be careful because she suspects Clara is having some sort of mental break and might do something crazy. Honey and I have spent this whole day working on a request for a protective order from her. Making sure Decker's school knows no one is to pick her up but us and get a lawyer because I think legal action is needed here. I told my eldest of the brothers that Clara needs help and asked if he could check on her because she might be as much a danger to herself as she is now presenting to be to me and my family. He got quiet and said, can't you handle this? And said this drama was

too much and he's busy. I was so stunned I just blurted out, are you fucking kidding me right now? Before I just hung up. My other sister is now over, helping me deal with this. My other brother has gone to see after Clara, but says he will only make sure she hasn't hurt herself but beyond that she can get wrecked for what she's done. Kevin called me and said he went through the Google Drive and begged me not to call the police on Clara. He said that she has been having a really bad time, and has struggled with drinking and has been stealing his medications and he's trying to get her help. But if she gets arrested, he doesn't have the funds for bail PR and illegal help. I told him it's too late. The police have been called and he needs to get her into

some sort of rehab or something. He asked for our help to pay for a facility he was thinking of and I told him to keep her away from me and my family. He started to cry and told me I'm him awful sister. that I don't care about Clara and her struggles and that she's just lost in these underwater trying to keep her from going off a deep end. I didn't reply after that and have just been sitting around the house waiting for the police to call back, trying to get my crying out for the way before Decker comes home from school. I feel wretched and terrible because not matter what I do now, it will just never feel right. I was to look after them all and now my sister is this lunatic hellbent on burning my life down

and my brother is alarmingly just indifferent to it all. I am used to being the one that holds the family together and handle things. But I don't feel like I can handle anything anymore. WTF is my life? Comments where Op has replied, Peach is 728, you are in a tough situation. Someone will have hurt feelings no matter what choice you make. At the end of the day you must do what is best for your family, wife and child.

It's hard letting go of family. when you know they will flounder but you don't want to sink with them. I bet your parents wouldn't want you to either. Oop, oh, my mother would be furious with me right now. I can almost hear her berating me in the back of my skull telling me Kevin is right and I am supposed to take care of them not turn my back on any of them and to forgive because we are family and that's what family does. It's killing me, but it helps watching Decker.

She's out back in the pool now that her homework is done, and she's chatting away with honey while I work on dinner. I've been staring at Bell Peppers for like 15 minutes battling my mom in my head with but look at her, she's safe and happy, wouldn't you want that? Even spoonier, sounds like you're doing the right thing, but yikes. I'm not sure that helping pay for rehab is a bad idea, as long as it's an inpatient facility and there's a court order in place that will help govern when she can leave. The most important thing is keeping her away from your family. This would accomplish that while also allowing you to say that she needs help and you're helping her get it. And who knows? Maybe she'll actually get the help she needs.

Oop, I really hope she does get help, but right now, I am focused on my daughter WND wife. She was off the rails enough to strike me. It's not a full-on attack, but if she's capable of all of this, I don't know what she might do to my family and right now she's hyper-fixated on us and Decker in particular. She has my other siblings and her fiancée, so I will let them handle this for now. I am more concerned for the safety of my home. I know that sounds terrible and maybe I am, but I just don't have the extra space in my mind to deal with this. I hope you enjoy this story. My significant other was teasing my father with his buddies, so I informed them that his female siblings separated from her spouse for misappropriating funds for fertility treatment, and now his relatives are considering legal action against me.

For defamation. So I, 27F. have been with my boyfriend, 27M, for three years. We have been living together for the past six months and things have been good. We went out for dinner with a couple of his friends a few days ago, but there, he started making fun of my dad so I snapped at him and revealed something awful about his family in the heat of the moment. For context, my father, 58M, is a retired businessman and he's kind of eccentric. He handed over the reins to my older brother, 32M, a few months ago, so he was a few months ago so

could spend more time at home and since then, he has a lot of free time on his hands. He told me to create a YouTube channel for him so he could make commentary videos on current affairs and stuff and then he could show that to his friends. I did it for him and even taught him how to record videos and upload them so he would have an easier time doing it on his own. He posts videos almost every other weekend and he only has 12 subscribers. But it's really cute and it's not harming anyone. He usually only has funny takes on whatever's happening in the world right now and tries to put a funny spin on stuff.

It's harmless and fun and keeps him busy, so when my boyfriend and his friends were making fun of it, I really didn't find it funny. One of them was talking about starting a YouTube channel and my boyfriend started acting really snarky and said that my father was a budding YouTuber, so he would probably know more about it than all of them combined. And then he brought out his phone and started playing one of my dad's videos. He was showing it around to everyone at the table and all his friends were laughing like, but I didn't feel comfortable with it because I could tell that they were not laughing because of how funny my dad was, but they were laughing at him since they found it ridiculous. I tried to tell my boyfriend that this was enough and I wasn't okay with this by whispering to him, but he told me to stop being such a baby and loosen up a bit.

I got really pissed off by that because it felt like he didn't care about my feelings and only wanted validation from his friends. I also didn't appreciate him letting his friends make fun of my dad and laugh at his expense while I was sitting right there. So I said that since we were talking about family and the funny things that are families, then we should also discuss how his sister had to get divorced because she was caught embezzling money while working for her father-in-law. The entire table fell silent when I said that because nobody knew the real reason that my boyfriend's sister had to get divorced. Everybody thought that it happened due to compatibility issues. His sister had been married to her husband for just a year after dating for two.

Six months into their marriage, she quit her job and started working in her husband's family business instead. But then later she was caught embezzling money and she told them that she was doing it because she needed the money for personal expenses. By that, she meant IVF because she'd been struggling with getting pregnant but her husband wasn't ready to go for IVF and dip into their savings just yet, so she decided to steal money instead. It had been crazy and she almost got arrested but since it would create a stir and his family didn't want that negative rep. Her husband decided to quash the news and they ended it by just firing her and getting divorced. Since then, my boyfriend's sister has been living with her parents and has been unemployed for almost a year since the divorce. Nobody knew about this because my boyfriend and his family had been very careful about who they could trust. My boyfriend had gone against his parents' instructions and told me about this last year when it happened.

So I was one of the very few people who knew the truth and I had stayed quiet about it. But when he started making fun of my dad with his friends, I couldn't let it go and I just blurted it out, without thinking of the consequences. After a few minutes of silence, my boyfriend got up and left the table and I followed him a couple of seconds later. We had driven to the restaurant in my car so that's where I headed when I got to the parking lot but my boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. I waited for 15 minutes but then I decided to drive home instead because I didn't think he was going to show up. And I was right because I waited the entire night and he still didn't come back home. I even called a couple of his friends to find out where he was but none of them were answering the calls. I also called his parents but they didn't respond either.

I regretted saying what I said in the heat of the moment but I also didn't think that it was fair of him to make fun of my dad and expect me to be okay with it. The next day, I didn't go to work and waited for him to come back home instead. He finally came back home around the evening and he was in fresh clothes. So I knew that he hadn't just been wandering around aimlessly and had spent the night at either his parents' place or with one of his friends. He ignored me and pretended that I wasn't even sitting in the living room when he walked into the house.

He looked straight ahead and went to the bedroom and locked himself in. I waited for him to come out but when he didn't, I decided to go and go and. knock on the door of the bedroom. He still didn't respond to me, even as I kept knocking for almost five minutes. I started getting really annoyed, so I started banging on the door instead and told him to come out of the room. I had a lot of stuff in the room as well and it belonged to me just as much as it did to him. Instead of opening the door, he yelled at me from inside the room and told me to leave him alone, that I had lost the right to even speak to him after what I did the other day. I was getting extremely annoyed because he was acting as if I was the only one who

had said things that they shouldn't have and he was just completely innocent. So I told him that the only reason I had brought up his sister's divorce was because he was making fun of my dad right in front of me and allowing all his friends to laugh at his expense while telling me not to intervene. So he told me that what he did wasn't even meant to be insulting and I was taking it personally only because I was embarrassed of what my father was doing online. I honestly don't think that it's true because I have shown my dad's videos to lots of other people, like my friends and even some co-workers, and they have found it amusing. So his theory that I was embarrassed of what my father was doing and that's why I lashed out at him instead was invalid. But he insisted that he didn't

mean to make it seem like he was laughing at my dad's expense and said that he was appalled that I had such a low opinion of him. He reminded me that I had shown him my dad's videos several times before this, ever since he started posting it on YouTube and he had always been supportive of it. so it wouldn't make sense for him to make fun of it now. And then I explained to him that I thought he was showing it around to his friends and letting them laugh at my dad because he wanted their validation. He couldn't exactly blame me for thinking along those lines when that's exactly what it looked like.

He got even more defensive when I said that and told me that he was secure enough in himself and wasn't a teenage guy who needed his friends to laugh at his jokes just to feel vindicated. He then told me that even if that's exactly what he was doing and whatever I was saying was true, I still had no right to bring up something so personal just to get back at him. His sister's divorce had been a really bad time for him and his family and I had made a mockery of it by bringing it up in front of his friends. He said that I had humiliated him and his family and that could never face his friends again, thanks to me.

He didn't think that his making fun of my dad warranted such an extreme reaction. We kept going in circles until he finally opened the door of the bedroom and let me in. He seemed extremely upset and told me that, what I had said was a thousand times worse than what he had done and that there was just no comparison between the two. I told him that he hurt me when he was making fun of my dad and in the heat of the moment, I ended up saying something that I really shouldn't have and I did regret it. But if he continued to defend himself instead of just apologizing to me for hurting my feelings, then we would never reach a conclusion. He paused for a second and then told me that I still didn't

understand the gravity of what I had done. Then he informed me that his parents were planning on filing a defamation lawsuit against me for talking about his sister's divorce among his friends. I thought that he was joking but then he told me that he was quite serious. He had gone to his parents' house after dinner and had spent the night there. He had told them everything and they were very upset with me. My boyfriend told me that they now wanted me to apologize to him, his family, and most importantly, his sister. And they wanted a written apology or else they really would file a lawsuit against me. He said that the ball was in my court now and I could decide whether I wanted to apologize to them or deal with a lawsuit. I lost my temper and I instantly told him to get out

and go live with his parents, just like his sister was, because they were a family of a bunch of enablers and I never should have expected him to be any better. We got into a really nasty fight and took a lot of pot shots at each other and our families. It was really bad but at the end of it, he packed it in his bag. He packed his stuff and left. It has been a day since then and I have no idea how to go ahead now. I'm almost positive that they won't be able to file a lawsuit against me because they have no ground since I just said it in front of a bunch of his friends. And as far as I know, that hasn't exactly done any tangible real damage to her reputation. I also don't think that it's defamation if what I have said is true. So I'm not worried about a lawsuit but I also don't know if I

should be feeling bad about what I did. I'd have for telling my boyfriend's friends about the reason behind his sister's divorce because he made fun of my dad. In fact, in the first eight one, I decided that I had nothing to feel sorry about and that I was done with my boyfriend for good. I also haven't made up my mind about whether I'm going to refer to him as my boyfriend or my ex here, so please bear with me. It doesn't matter if I say boyfriend or ex, I mean to refer to the same person. But anyway, he can't just make a mockery out of my dad just to get a few laughs out of his friends and then expect me to be all right with it. That stuff's not going to slide with me and I am actually pretty relieved that he left before I had to kick him out. This just means less of a hassle for me since the trash took itself out.

Also, a lot of you had asked me the name of my dad's channel and as much as I would love to tell you guys, I can't because that would end up revealing my identity. I do hope you guys come across his channel organically at some point, but I'm afraid I can't exactly share it with you guys and I'm really sorry about that. I told my father about this incident a few days ago since it's been five days since my boyfriend left. And my dad seemed a little hurt because he liked my boyfriend and they used to really get along. I didn't intend on sharing it with him because I didn't want to hurt him but they were having

lunch together and he could tell that I was upset about something. So he kept asking me until I finally. finally told him the truth. He tried his best to brush it off and act like it didn't bother him, but I knew him just as well as he knew me so I could tell that it got to him that my boyfriend had been sitting around with his friends and making fun of him. I told him that I broke up with him over it. I skipped the part about me bringing up his sister's divorce to get back at him because I knew that my dad would not like that. He is a very passive guy who doesn't like getting into fights and has raised me to be the same way. So he wouldn't like the fact that I dealt such a low blow

to my boyfriend, even if it was for his sake. I haven't heard back from my ex yet and there has been no lawsuit so far. I'm guessing that was just a bluff to get me to apologize, which didn't work because I'm not scared of them. I know he's going to be back because there's still a lot of stuff that he left in my house and he will have to come back and get it. I just hope that it happens soon because I want to forget about him altogether. It's not going to be easy because we had been together for a really long time, but it's over now and there's no going back from what happened. Update 2, this morning, my ex texted me before work and told me that he would come by in the evening to pick up whatever he had left behind. This was the first text that I had received from him

after our breakup and it's been almost two weeks since that took place. All his friends have blocked me on social media and so has his sister. I have got to say, I did see that coming and I'm not surprised. He is the only one who hasn't removed me yet, but I think after today, he might too. I texted back that I would be home at six because I had to work overtime today and we decided that he would come by at seven, collect his things, and then leave. I was a nervous wreck once I got back home from work and the waiting was the worst part because I had nothing to do and my brain was in overdrive. I was dreading seeing him because it had been quite a while since we broke up and I had been avoiding even looking at his pictures since then.

I wish I could say that I have moved on completely, but I haven't and I still find myself missing him, despite myself. So before he came by, I had a few glasses of wine to calm my nerves and not act like a nervous mess when he finally came around. I left the bottle out on the coffee table, which turned out to be a mistake because when he came by and I opened the door to let him in. The first thing that he noticed was the bottle of wine and gave me a weird look. I wanted to explain to him that I hadn't turned into an alcoholic because I was missing him

but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to make it we're already was. We didn't say anything to each other and he just headed towards our room and started packing quietly. I decided to sit on the couch and stick to scrolling on my phone because I didn't know what to do with myself while he was there. After about 20 minutes, when he was done packing, he came back out into the living room and told me that he was leaving. I didn't know what to say, I just nodded and went back to my phone. So he asked me if I had nothing to say to him because this was probably going to be the last time that we saw each other. Truth be told, I had so much to say to him, but I didn't even know if it was worth it and that's what I told him. He just

sighed and said that he had talked his parents out of filing a lawsuit against me because he still loved me and then waited for me to react to that. If I'm being really honest, I don't think I loved him anymore. Not as much as I used to. But I couldn't say that to his face because it would be just incredibly hurtful. So instead I told him that I also would have loved to make things work, but after the last fight that we had, I couldn't bring myself to even consider continuing the relationship because he had been really disrespectful towards my father and the worst part was that he didn't even say anything wrong with it. He tried to argue and defend himself again, but I interrupted him and stopped him before he could say anything since I didn't want to get into it

once again. I knew that it would just lead nowhere and we would end up fighting again. I wanted things to end on a good note so I told him that arguing would be a waste of time. So he didn't say anything and told me that he would be waiting for my call in case I changed my mind. But I don't think that I will change my mind. I do miss him and I wish we could get back together and make things work. But there are certain things that are just too difficult for me to work past and insulting my father and then threatening to file a lawsuit against me were just a couple of things that I couldn't get over so easily. So no, I don't think I'll call him and it's going to break both our hearts, but it's for the best. I sincerely hope that he blocks me and moves on, that might

make everything a tad bit easier for both of us. Update 3. It has been three weeks since my ex last visited to grab his things from my house and yesterday I ran into a friend of his at the mall. This guy had been present at the dinner party on the day when the incident took place and I half expected him to run the other way when he saw me since he had also blocked me on social media. But to my surprise, he started walking right towards me instead and came up to me to talk to me. I hadn't been expecting that so I had been caught off guard. He greeted me and told me that he wanted to talk to me about what happened on the day of the party. I didn't know what this guy could possibly want to talk to me about, since the damage had already been done and it's not. not like they had any direct involvement in the incident.

So I told him to go on and I was quite shocked when he apologized to me for laughing at my dad's videos. I hadn't seen that coming at all and it took me a few seconds to realize that this guy was actually apologizing. Not even my ex had done, even though it was his fault. It took me a few seconds to process it, but then I told him that I forgave him and that I didn't really hold this against them. Because they were not my boyfriend, they didn't know what to meet to be nice.

It would have been great if they didn't laugh and ridicule my father, but I was honestly more disappointed in my ex than with them. He told me that he still wanted to apologize because clearly that had hit a nerve with me and they regretted it because eventually, that's what caused our breakup. So I told him to forget about it and that it was fine and expected the conversation to be over, but he still didn't walk away and said that he had a couple of more things to tell me. Now that really made me curious because I didn't think that we had anything more to discuss. He and I were not friends, we occasionally talked to each other whenever we met because of my ex, but apart from that, we didn't know each other personally. So I couldn't imagine what more he had to say to me, but I could tell that this could be important from the look on his face. And I ended up agreeing to hear him out and we went to the nearest

coffee shop, so he could say whatever it was that he had to tell me since it was apparently a long story. As soon as we had ordered coffee, he started off by saying that my ex had been in touch with them after he left the restaurant on the day of our fight. They had a group text together and he had been consistently whining there about how I was overreacting and that I had no right to say such things about his family. He was trying really hard to make it seem like I'd made that up about his sister's divorce and most of the guys in that group actually bought it, except for him. All the guys were actually egging him on to get me to apologize to him in writing and one of them even suggested that apologizing to him alone was not enough. I had to apologize to his family and

his sister as well. His friend told me that he hadn't actually left the restaurant to go to his parents' house like he had told me. But instead, he went to one of their friend's house, the one who was celebrating his birthday, and spent the night there. Soon after I had pulled out of the parking lot, the rest of them had also left the restaurant and they reunited with my boyfriend at their friend's house. They spent the night plotting against me and they came up with a plan to scare me into apologizing by saying that his parents are going to file a defamation lawsuit against me if I don't. My ex's friend who told me all of this told me that he wasn't comfortable with any of probably because he was the only one with a conscience, and so he stayed out of it and even tried to tell my

ex not to go through with that plan because it was stupid and it would most certainly end in a breakup. And then he recently found out that we had broken up. Even on the day that my ex had come by to pick up his stuff, he had texted his friends right after and told them that he had said that he loved me and he was very sure that I was going to call him back. Because he had noticed the very unfortunate bottle of wine on the coffee table and was pretty confident that I was miserable without him. And I was just trying to put on a strong front to make it seem like I was dealing with this better than I really was. So now my ex's friend was telling me all about the lengths that he had gone to and all the lies that he had told me post our breakup. My ex had never told

his parents the reason behind our breakup and they were never really going to come after me. He had made all of it up, just to scare me and intimidate me, so that I would apologize. It was a sick way of playing mind games for an ego boost and I was horrified when I learned the truth. His friend said that he felt like he had to come clean to me, just in case I was thinking about getting back together with my ex. He wanted me to know that it wasn't a good idea and even though this was none of his business, he felt like it was his duty to warn me when he saw me at the mall. I thanked him for being the only one in his friend's circle with a spine and a conscience and then came back home.

I had still been following my ex on social media, but I blocked him everywhere yesterday because he doesn't deserve to have access to me in any capacity whatsoever. I even had half a mind to tell his parents the real reason behind our breakup because I was sure that he hadn't told them the truth but then decided against it

because I didn't want to invite more trouble for myself. I just wish that I had never even met this guy because he turned out to be worse than trash. He was the kind of toxic trash that people shouldn't even be near, at the risk of contracting some disgusting disease. That's how he is and it's no surprise that his friends are just as bad as him, except the one guy from their circle who had the courtesy to tell me the truth. I pray that I never have to see him again because if I do, I might just get violent.

Update four, hey guys. So it's been almost one full year since I broke up with my ex and I just thought that I would give you guys a little update on how I'd been doing. things were rough in the first couple of months following our breakup and I had major trust issues, so naturally I didn't see any guys during that time. Also because I had just had a three-year-long relationship turned out to be one of the worst mistakes of my life, I wasn't looking to date either. Instead, I started working on myself and it made me a lot happier. I started going to therapy to process the breakup and deal with my emotions instead of running away from them and it really helped. A couple of months after our breakup, maybe just four months, I heard from a friend of mine that my ex was already seeing somebody new.

It was really difficult for me to come to terms with it at the time because it had just been four months since we broke up. And we had been together for three years, so it didn't make sense for him to move on so quickly. But I accepted the fact that this was out of my control so instead of mulling over it, I needed to just not hear about it again so I could fully focus on myself. I told all my friends that I never wanted to hear about my ex or what he was up to because it just didn't concern me anymore. And they respected it and stopped telling me about him. I don't know if he is still with that other girl or if he has broken up with her, but the last time that I heard from him was about a month ago. He had texted me from his new phone number

to let me know that he was moving to L.A. for work. That's all that he said to me and I didn't reply to it. Looking back on my old posts, I realized that I had come a long way. and I'm really proud of myself. It wasn't an easy process at all and there were super dark days when I didn't want to do anything but lay in bed and cry. But I powered through it

and now I'm living my best life. I wouldn't change a thing in the past, even if I had the choice to. Because at the end of the day, I'm happy with my life and how things worked out for me. So that's that and thank you guys so much for all the love and kind messages.

I hope you enjoy this story. partner proposed in front of my entire family, but I expressed that I wasn't ready for marriage at this time. As a result, they all harbor negative feelings towards me. My partner, Max, 33 years old, and I, 24F, have been dating for the past three years. We met over Bumble, and after going out on a few dates, we knew we had stumbled upon something extraordinary. Despite the significant age gap, our connection felt effortless. We bonded over our love for travel and adventure. From the very beginning of our relationship, I always made it very clear to Van that I was not ready to settle down anytime soon.

I cherished our adventures and the freedom to explore life without the commitment of marriage. Van always seemed understanding, assuring me that he valued our relationship and was in no rush for anything more. Three months ago, Van and I attended his friend's wedding. I met some of his college friends, and amidst the celebration, a few of them playfully teased us, wondering why we weren't married yet. I chuckled nervously, brushing off the question with a shy smile. After returning from the wedding, Van's behavior took an unexpected turn.

He began flooding me with social media posts that emphasized the importance of women getting married and having children before the age of 30. Initially, I found it a bit peculiar but didn't think much of it. However, his behavior escalated. He started asking his sister if we could babysit her kids on the weekends. Being a working professional, weekends were my time to unwind and enjoy some relaxation. Initially, I didn't mind having the kids over occasionally, but it soon became a regular occurrence, and I began feeling uneasy about the whole situation.

What annoyed me the most was how he would volunteer to babysit his sister's kids without even consulting me. I would make plans, even securing reservations for us to go out during the weekend, only for him to cancel them, citing the need to watch his sister's kids because she needed a break. I began to suspect that he was doing this intentionally, perhaps in his weird little way to prepare me for the future. What irked me even more was that every time we babysat those kids, I ended up being the one looking after them, while Van remained glued to the TV with them for the entire day. The situation not only disrupted my plans to relax but also left me feeling like I was shouldering the majority of the responsibility during these babysitting sessions.

When I realized that he wasn't going to stop this charade, I started to make plans to hang out with my friends without him. This really seemed to piss him off. He insisted that as a woman I should be looking after the kids and leave him alone with them. I told him that he was the one who was inviting them over every time without asking me, hence they were completely his responsibility. He started to protest if this was how I was going to treat our children one day. I was shocked to hear such a disgusting comment from him out of nowhere. I angrily reminded him that his sister's kids were not mine to look after so he couldn't force me to babysit them when all he did was drink beer and burp on the couch.

I went on to tell him that I was neither looking to settle down nor was I looking to have children any time soon. He later apologized to me for how he had spoken to me and I thought he had finally learned his lessons. Over the next few weeks, he didn't bring up the matter and we had a few great dates. Then, out of nowhere, when we were out on a date, I caught him staring at a family sitting nearby. He then turned to look at me and started to talk about how my biological clock was ticking already and we should get pregnant as soon as we can. His word started to scare me as I realized he was no longer playing around. Despite me saying I wasn't ready,

it seemed like Van wasn't listening. He was getting more and more obsessed with the idea of getting married. The pressure was getting too much, and I knew I had to talk about it before it messed up our relationship. One evening, after spending the day preparing a grand meal for us,

I decided to have a more open conversation regarding this so I could understand where he was coming from. As we sat down to eat, the aroma of the food couldn't mask the tension that lingered in the air. I took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts, and finally broached the subject. I looked at Van, my fork pausing Madre, and said, Van, we need to talk about something important. His eyes met mine, and I could sense a mix of anticipation and unease. I began by expressing my

feelings about marriage and how, at this point in my life being just 24 years old, I wasn't ready for such a commitment. I explained that I valued our relationship immensely. but needed time to grow individually before taking such a significant step. I told him that I did not want to be married for at least the next four years. Van, however, seemed taken aback. He tried to convince me with tales of happily married couples, the joy of raising children, and the security that a marriage could offer. His arguments were heartfelt, but I knew that they didn't align with the priorities I had set

for myself. As he continued to make his case, I stood my ground, emphasizing my doubt, emphasizing my desire for personal growth. I made it clear that I was not ready for marriage, let alone getting pregnant at such a young age. It became a challenging conversation, with both of us expressing our perspectives passionately. Despite Vann's attempts to sway my opinion, I remained firm in my stance. I explained that rushing into marriage wouldn't be fair to either of us and might jeopardize the very relationship we cherished. Hearing his continuous argument and feeling the weight of our differences, I took a deep breath and told,

Vann that if my reluctance to marry were a deal-breaker for him, perhaps it would be best for us to part ways. I saw a flicker of panic in his eyes. Van began to protest vehemently, his earlier conviction momentarily wavering. He backtracked, assuring me that our relationship meant more to him than any societal expectations or predefined timelines. He claimed that he just needed time to adjust his own perspective. He assured me that he would respect my choices from now on and give our relationship the space it needed to thrive. Although I wasn't fully convinced, I did observe the sincerity in his eyes. His reassurances held a promise that he had grasped the essence of my feelings and that the topic of marriage wouldn't loom over us like a storm cloud any longer. With a reluctant yet hopeful

nod, I agreed thinking that I would not have to worry about this again. After our serious chat, things chilled out. Van stopped bugging me about getting hitched, and we got back to our cool, adventure-filled groove. We continued to hike, explore, and enjoy life without any pressure. It felt like we had found our sweet spot again. My sister's birthday was coming up in a few weeks. I was delighted to be flying back home and meeting my family after a long time. On the days leading up to her birthday, I noticed that Van spent an unusual time on his phone. He would act a bit odd every time I walked into the room, and it made me wonder what was going on. I tried not to jump to conclusions, but the uneasy feeling lingered, like a storm brewing on the horizon.

I couldn't shake the thought that something was going on with him. When we flew back to my hometown for my sister's birthday, Vann's behavior became even more perplexing. He seemed overly invested in the preparations for her upcoming party, constantly checking his phone and excusing himself for mysterious calls. On the day of her birthday party, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I was catching up with my family, chatting with friends, savoring the delicious food, and soaking in the festive atmosphere. Laughter and music filled the air, creating a joyous backdrop to the celebration. Amidst the lively chatter and celebration, Van decided to call everyone's attention by clinking

his glass. His voice cut through the merriment and a hush fell over the crowd as all eyes turned toward him. I felt a knot form in my stomach, a sense of unease settling in as I tried to comprehend what he was trying to do. Van began talking about how his life had changed since the day he met me. He smiled and started describing how he never thought he would settle down until he met me. I was bewildered and confused about what he was doing. He walked up to me and suddenly got down on one knee. I gasped in shock as my family and friends erupted in a chorus of encouragement, cheering him on as he took out a ring.

He continued to say how he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with me and eventually start a family. Vann's eyes held a mixture of anticipation and hope, as he continued to hold out the ring awaiting my response. I was so shocked seeing what he had just done. He knew very well how much I didn't want to get married but there he was, a shiny ring in hand, asking me to say yes in front of everyone. In that charged moment, I grappled with conflicting emotions. The festive celebration had taken an unexpected turn, and I found myself standing at the center of attention. Panic set in. I looked around at all the familiar faces, my mother looked like I had just won the lottery,

my sister smiled at me mouthing me to say yes to Van, and all my cousins were giggling. I felt like a deer caught in headlights. My boyfriend had this hopeful look in his eyes like he just a math test and was waiting for a high-five. In the midst of my internal freak out, I shook my head. I can't, I finally uttered, the weight of those two words hanging in the air. Van's hopeful expression faltered, replaced by a mix of sadness and confusion. His disappointment was palpable, and I could sense a tinge of embarrassment in the silence that followed. My family members exchanged glances, their initial enthusiasm replaced by a hesitant awareness of the unfolding scene. Van stood up slowly, the glimmer of the ring now dimmed.

He attempted a strained smile, attempting to downplay the rejection. The atmosphere, once vibrant, now carried an awkward tension. I felt a mix of emotions regret for causing discomfort, and anger towards Van for putting me through this publicly. I announced to everyone that I needed to talk to Van in private. Frustration gripped me as I led him inside, away from the prying eyes of the guests in the backyard. As soon as the door closed behind us, I erupted in anger. I couldn't believe the audacity he had to pull a public proposal to pressure me into saying yes when he clearly knew that I wasn't looking to settle down any time soon.

Hearing my words, tears welled up in his eyes. His voice quivered as he expressed how I had shattered his dreams, claiming that proposing was the ultimate expression of his love and any other woman would have been excited to say yes to him. I angrily retorted that he should then go and propose to someone else because I can't be with him anymore. The scene quickly escalated, with Vans' tears turning into audible sobs. He started to accuse me that I had led him on all these years, playing with his emotions. I reminded him about our past conversation and how I never signed up for this emotional

roller coaster, so I didn't understand how I was suddenly the bad guy. The commotion caught the attention of my sister and mother, who rushed in with concern etched on their faces. Seeing his tear-stricken face, they started to implore me to reconsider his proposal, highlighting how it was time for me to grow up and settle down. I couldn't believe how my own family could force me to get married when I had already clearly expressed that I was not ready. My sister told me that I had no right to embarrass Van in front of everyone. I looked around and saw some of my friends giving me sympathetic glances, thinking I was

crushing my poor Van's dreams. overwhelmed by the embarrassment and the persistent opposition from my family, I couldn't bear the weight of the situation. I quietly walked out of the party leaving Van to continue his emotional display in front of everyone. Since the incident, the atmosphere at home remains charged. Van, overwhelmed by embarrassment and the aftermath of his heartfelt proposal gone awry, decided to fly back alone. I was a bit relieved as I knew that we needed space at this moment. Even though he is gone, the awkwardness continues to linger, with my family questioning my decision and attempting to sway me toward reconsidering his proposal.

Despite sticking to my guns about not wanting to get hitched, I find myself grappling with guilt. The image of Van's sad face keeps replaying in my mind. Did I break his heart? Maybe. But at least I didn't break my own in the process. So Reddemi the Asper's. for rejecting my boyfriend's proposal after clearly letting him know that I was not interested in marriage now? Update 1, in the aftermath, since I wrote this story, a lot has happened to my family.

My sister, Donna, and I have had a fighting match regarding what happened between me and Van. She revealed how Van had confided in her about his elaborate plan to propose, and she had known about this for weeks. In her mind, she believed it would be a wonderful surprise for her birthday celebration. The disappointment on her face was evident as she expressed how my rejection and my selfish nature had cast a shadow over what should have been otherwise a joyous occasion for everyone to celebrate. My mother tried to keep the peace between us, but I couldn't take my sister's accusations anymore. Amid star-heated exchange, I finally confessed to them that Van and I have had multiple conversations about marriage. I emphasized that I had consistently

communicated my reluctance to tie the knot so soon. Hearing this, my sister's expression shifted from anger to a mix of frustration and confusion. She asked me to elaborate more and I told her how I had communicated my priorities to Van clearly and Van had promised me that he would not be pressuring me to get married anymore. I asked her if Van had told her about our conversation and she shook her head no. It was clear that my sister had been unaware that I had expressed my feelings to Van long before he decided to publicly propose to me. Donna then questioned me why would Van purposefully propose to me if he knew that I wasn't going to get married.

I explained to her that despite our conversations, Van somehow might have thought that a grand gesture would somehow change my mind. It was as if he believed the public nature of the proposal could override the doubts I had expressed about settling down so soon. My dad who was hearing our conversation decided to speak up at this moment. He generally doesn't like to interfere in family matters and detest being around any drama. I braced myself thinking that he was going to reprimand me also like my sister was. But to my surprise, my dad told Donna to leave me alone. No one should feel forced into marriage, he remarked, his tone reflecting a stern yet understanding demeanor.

If Van truly cared about her, he would not have pressured her so publicly. Love should grow naturally, not be coerced with grand gestures and unnecessary drama. His words resonated in the room, causing a brief pause in the conversation. Donna, visibly conflicted, seemed to absorb the gravity of my dad's perspective. I couldn't help but feel a mix of gratitude and bewilderment towards my dad for having my back. Despite my sister temporarily shelving the conversation, there's an underlying skepticism lingering in the air. As for Van, he has been calling me nonstop after flying back home. I thought we could take a bit of space from each other, but he has been constantly texting how much he

loves me and misses me. He has sent me paragraph after paragraph about how he can't imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone except me. It's starting to make me feel suffocated. I have loved Van all these years but his refusal to accept my boundaries is making me question our relationship. I will update you once I fly back home and confront him. Update two, thank you for everyone's overwhelming support and interest in my story. To start with, when I returned back to the city, I didn't immediately go back home as I knew Van would be waiting for me. His constant calls and heartfelt messages had overwhelmed me and I didn't have the energy to confront him. I decided to stay at a nearby hotel for a few days while I went to work.

Despite my initial resolve to address the situation calmly, his relentless pursuit became overwhelming. Two weeks later, I decided it was time for a face-to-face confrontation. I invited Van out for lunch and he was excited to see me after so long. As I met him, the weight of unspoken words hung in the air. His eyes pleaded for reconciliation, but I knew deep down that our paths had diverged irreversibly. In a quiet corner of the restaurant, we laid bare our feelings. I recounted how the public proposal, despite his good intentions, had become an unforgivable moment.

I conveyed the embarrassment and discomfort that lingered in the aftermath, emphasizing the strain it had put on relationships within my family. His eyes mirrored a mix of regret and realization hearing my words. He then started to protest, insisting that everyone would forget about this incident once we got married. I sighed in exasperation, looking him in the eyes, and firmly conveyed that I didn't want to be with him anymore. His eyes grew wide in shock as I continued to explain that I didn't want to be married

to someone who would knowingly force me into a corner publicly. I stressed the importance of respecting each other's boundaries and choices, emphasizing that genuine love should be considerate and patient. He started to profess his love again, narrating how he wanted to grow old with me. Yet, I stood firm, reiterating that we clearly wanted different things in life and I was not going to change myself for him. Emotions ran high, tears flowed, and Van continued to plead. I empathized with his heartbreak but stood resolute, unwilling to compromise my own priorities. His initial shock started to turn into resentment, and his frustration began bubbling to the surface.

He began to accuse me of holding him back, even using derogatory words like Gold Digger. He argued that all his friends were settling down, building families, and here he was, trying to convince me to get married. He told me how he was the best thing to ever happen to me and I was a foolish girl if I decided to let him go. His words were laced with so much bitterness and desperation

that I couldn't help but laugh which stopped him mid-track. His claim of being the best thing to ever happen to me struck me as ironic. Considering the emotional turmoil his grand proposal had caused me the last few weeks. I told him that I had been feeling guilty a few days ago for rejecting his proposal but watching his reaction had solidified the fact that I was right not to marry him. Van, caught off guard by my response, seemed momentarily lost for words. I could see the realization dawning on him, even if reluctantly, that I was not going to listen to his. his demands. With a heavy sigh, I wished him luck for his future and told him to not bother me ever again. I also let him know that I would be coming by the next day to pick up my things

from our place so I could officially move out. Van reluctantly agreed, a mix of resentment and acceptance etched on his face. As we parted ways, I couldn't help but feel proud of myself for standing up for what I wanted. It wasn't about relishing in his disappointment. Instead, it was the importance of standing up for what I truly wanted, even if it meant disappointing someone else. Update 3. It's been about four months since I broke up with Van. My life has been going surprisingly well. After our breakup, I moved out from his place into a flat where I lived with a great roommate. It has been a bit daunting to adjust to a new space, but the clarity of newfound independence offered a glimmer of hope. It felt like shedding a weight I didn't realize I was carrying while dating Van.

In the days that followed, I faced my fair share of questions and raised eyebrows for my family. My sister, Donna, initially struggled to accept the situation, still holding onto the notion that I had let go of something good. Aware of the lingering concerns, I decided to invite Donna to visit me at my new place. The intention was to spend some one-on-one time with her, giving us the chance to have a heartfelt conversation, without the prying ears of our family members. When she visited me, we could finally talk about everything. I started by acknowledging her concerns, understanding that my decisions might have seemed sudden and unexpected to everyone as I had been with Van for a long time. I wanted to reassure her that my breakup with him wasn't about rejecting a good thing but about recognizing what truly made me happy. We delved into the dynamics of my relationship with Van, the pressures that had been building, and how his grand proposal had become the tipping point that eventually forced me to break up with him.

Donna, with a mix of curiosity and concern, asked about my emotional state during and after the breakup. I explained the relief that came with shedding the expectations that didn't align with my desires. We shared a few laughs about the awkwardness of the proposal incident, finding some humor in the chaos. The conversation then shifted to the positive changes in my life post-breakup. I highlighted the freedom I had now to make decisions in my life without the constant worry and pressure of what my partner would want and how I had been. been rediscovering myself. Donna listened, starting to understand my perspective. In the end, she assured me that if this was something that made me happy, then she didn't want to stand in my way. I felt relieved hearing her words. Our talk then transitioned from the heavy topics to more

lighthearted banner. Over the course of her stay with me, we had a great time and I took her around the city for sightseeing. Since my sister's visit, my mother has also started to see that I have been doing much better without Van. She has apologized to me over time for judging me that day and has assured me that I have the autonomy to decide when and if I ever want to get married. She emphasized that my happiness and well-being were her primary concerns and she would stand by my decision no matter what. Life has taken a turn for the better. The weekends are now mine to relax and enjoy without the stress of babysitting or unexpected marital discussions. I have rekindled old hobbies, taken spontaneous trips with strangers, and found solace in the simplicity of being true to myself.

As I reflect on these four months, I can't help but smile at the progress I have made. The breakup, once a source of guilt, has now become a pivotal point in my journey of self-discovery. I am forging ahead, embracing life on my terms, and relishing the freedom to grow at my own pace. My life isn't perfect, but it's filled with moments of contentment, laughter, and the simple joy of being free to write my own story. I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse desired to embark on a journey to Ibiza with my sister's spouse, which involved only male participants. When I declined, my partner insisted that all heterosexual males engage in such activities and accused me of being discriminatory. Not understanding. Hi there, I really wish I didn't have to make this post,

but, here goes. So me and my husband have been happily married for about six. 16 years give or take. We both have stable careers, good family life and are fairly fortunate despite the cost of living racking the UK right now. We have two boys, 15 and 10, and up until this Sunday, thought we had it pretty good. We argue sometimes, of course, but never gotten too bad and we have a pretty decent sex life with some exploration but I won't get into that. Long and short is, on Sunday, just after I dropped our boys off at their friends, my husband asked me if we had the house alone and more importantly, do I have a minute? I said yes and he sat me down then got out this printed poster for some sort of orgy and started explaining to me the

concept of a gacation. How it's where straight men go to somewhere with sun, sand and booze and become gay for the duration of the trip, but that's fine because it doesn't actually count because what happens on the gacation stays on the gacation. I was just completely silent and mortified, even more so when he said he was looking into booking a trip to e-bisa next year with his Bill, his sister's husband, to experience it for himself. When he finally let me speak, I just said, I need him to be clear with me, is he gay? Because if yes, that's okay, but we need to figure out what happens going forward. I didn't let myself get angry or upset, I was just, stunned. He swore up and down how he's not gay and he's 100% attracted to women and of course still loves me and our

boys. So I said, well, do you think you're by maybe and he got very defensive? saying how I need to drop the accusations and that this is the beauty of the gacation, it allows straight men to experience gayness without actually being gay and how it's like going to an aquarium? And again he was Adam and he doesn't find men's bodies or genitalia exciting at all, but he needs to experience this apparently. I said, well, I'm really not comfortable because even if he was by, this would be explicitly cheating on me and he got angry and reiterated he's not, because that's the beauty of the gacation, etc.

I just had enough and left the room. I ignored him for the rest of the day but we spoke a T where I again asked him, why does he want to do this so bad if he's not gay? He said how he's interested in how gay men's live differ to straight men's and that unfortunately, once the gaycation begins, it's simply impossible for a man to resist and he must surrender himself mind, body and soul to the gaycation or be destroyed. I really can't put into words how surreal it was, because he was speaking so matter of factly and he again insists this is a thing that straight men do all the time.

and how he's actually doing it a bit late. I just said to him if he has any love for me then he can't go ahead with this and if he does, the marriage will be dead. We didn't speak anymore after that. Since then he's mentioned no more of it but somehow, and this is what scares me a lot too, that decision genuinely seems to be tearing him up. He didn't go into work on Monday, and only went in half a day yesterday, because he told them he just felt too ill and he just looks distraught every time I see him. I really don't think he's wholly gay, though I can absolutely believe he's by, but I'd rather we talked about that in a healthy way rather than this incredibly weird denialism around going on a sex holiday to Ibiza.

Has anyone known straight guys to do this and come back and just go back to being straight? Like Shirley, that can't be a thing that happens. I'm so out of my depth here and I just don't know how to even initiate the conversation. For the record, I also haven't mentioned it to his sister yet. I don't know how I'd even break it to her. Thanks for any help, I just don't even want to think so being able to get this out there has helped even just a little bit. Edit, wow this blew up. This has been incredibly sobering and I think I've now confirmed what I already knew to be the case.

The marriage is dead, one way or another. In a way I was in denial myself about that. I have contacted my CIL and she initially screamed at me, calling me a liar and even insinuated I was trying to steal her husband. She rang me back shortly after, apologized and admitted she was in deep, deep shock. I have asked my parents to look after the boys and were going to meet tomorrow to discuss this deeper. I have also texted my husband and told him he will need to make alternative accommodation arrangements, but he will not be sleeping here tonight and a bag will be waiting for him. Not sure if the mods want to lock the post or not, but I think I've got my answers.

Thank you for all the kind words, especially Champion Flight who really gave me the good dose of reality I needed. Comments where OPP has replied, Commenter 1, Your husband isn't proposing a gacation, he's proposing cheating on you with men while using magical thinking to pretend it doesn't count. The fact that he's planning this with his sister's husband makes it even more disturbing. His bizarre explanation about surrendering mind, body and soul isn't straight man curiosity. It's someone desperately trying to justify exploring his sexuality while keeping his heterosexual marriage. His depression about not being able to go isn't about missing a vacation. It's about

being forced to confront his sexuality without his convenient what happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza excuse. His meltdown over not going shows how desperately he wants to avoid facing this reality. OPP, I read over this multiple times and I guess the worst part is I know you're completely right. OPP should consider about the divorce OPP, I wanted to avoid the divorce option but I guess it's the only option, isn't it? Commenter 2, so this is just a thought, but I'm wondering if he was really planning on doing the gaycation or if that was just a cover to try to get you to agree to it. What if the real plan was to get with women while he's down there? Oh, O-op, that, I hadn't really thought of that T-B-H. And now the thought terrifies me. From the way he was talking about men,

the fact he had a poster for a gay orgy, I mean it's one hell of a bluff, surely? Commenter 3. Tell him you're going to have a straight cat eye on while he's gone and you're going to surrender mind, body and soul to other men. Honest to God if my husband proposed this to me, I'd use his time away to pack up, move out and have divorce papers waiting for him. Update, November 28, 2024. So when I last posted, I'd contacted my husband to tell him he wouldn't be staying at home tonight and a bag would be waiting for him. As you can imagine we argued. quite badly. I won't go into the specific details but no I'm 100% on board with the fact that a minimum he's by might even be gay altogether. We've had arguments in the past but I've genuinely never seen him have such a childish tantrum before,

screaming about how I just don't understand the gaycation. Absolutely despise that phrase now, and insinuating I'm actually homophobic because I refuse to allow him to participate in this cultural exchange with the gay community. A lot of you said to ask him if it'd be acceptable if the roles were in reverse and I did say would it be acceptable if I went and slept with other guys during that week? Like fucking clockwork, he was very angry and offended. Saying it's completely different because a gacation means nothing and what happens on the gacation, stays on the gacation, etc., so doesn't actually count. Whereas I'd just be straight up cheating. Well, I turned it around on him. No, but you see what happens in Manchester stays in Manchester.

It doesn't mean anything, it doesn't count. It's like bird watching. And, I think it got through to him. He went all quiet and then started crying, admitting the thought of me sleeping with another man is destroying his heart but relationships need sacrifices so agreed, while in tears, that when he goes on the gacation. I'll get one week in Manchester to do whatever I want. He doesn't want me to, but that's fair in a twisted way he supposed. I told him to get out of my house. Thankfully he left without a fight. I know it's incredibly petty but I also drained the joint bank account, legal in the UK, so he couldn't try to use it against me. About an hour later, I got rang up by his mum, my mill, who just screamed and screamed at me about being a cheating

whore, how I was horrible, what about the kids, etc. When I finally got my composure back I just said ask your son about the gacation. Obviously at first she got angry but I said no just ask him about the gacation, he'll explain but she called me a fucking joke and hung up. Later on, getting into the evening, got underscore another underscore phone call from her in floods of tears, she was very apologetic and I told her she doesn't need to be the one to apologize. She was so upset she put Phil on the phone who while he sounded calm, I could just sort of tell he was on the warpath. Again, very apologetic and said he overheard that phrase. Asked my husband and husband initially said, no, it's nothing before it's.

explaining how it's a modern thing men to do, etc., and gave them the same spiel about how what happens on the gacation. Men cannot resist the gication. How a man must surrender to the gacation, etc., Phil just said they told him to leave or they'd call the police. Don't care where he goes, but he wasn't staying there. Husband tried to call me while I was on the phone, but I just ignored it and Phil just said he was so sorry for me and they have my corner in this so, that's one thing.

told them to be there for their daughter because it sounds like Bill is involved. Husband didn't tell them that and Phil just said he had to go because he was so, so, so angry. Got a text from my husband after the phone call which was all weirdly rambley, saying about how I'd abused the gacation to destroy underscore his underscore marriage and destroy underscore his underscore life and again insinuated I, and his parents, was homophobic for doing such a thing. Told him we'll talk when he grows up and blocked his number. I took a day off work myself to have the locks changed this morning so that's a 500 pounds gone but whatever, at least I know he won't be coming back. I'm going to look into how to proceed with the divorce and then we'll move from there.

Oh, of course, there's also the brother-in-law. So I haven't yet underscore met underscore with Sill. She was in such a state and has taken this far, far worse than I have for reasons that'll be clear soon. We're going to maybe try tomorrow but we did talk over the phone and I, eavesdropped on the conversation with her husband where she put her phone on speaker and I went on mute. Her husband got home earlier, she made him come home, told him there was an emergency, and just said to him, can you please explain what a gaycation is? She told me afterwards she was praying he'd look confused or just be like what? Or anything like that. But instead he just sat her down and explained

that a gaycation is a new thing where straight men go to gay hotspots and participate in gay sex acts but it doesn't count because there's no investment and because what happens on the Gakation stays on the Gacation. He said it's like writing down angry thoughts and putting them in a drawer. You never have to see them again. Whole time, Sill is in tears as he just calmly bats off the same points my husband did about how it doesn't count and he even did the whole it's impossible to resist. You must surrender or be destroyed shit. I seriously think they must be speaking to a dominatrix or something. Are there even male doms? Because Because surely neither of them are that into this to actually make that up on their own?

I really don't want to go into what was, disgust, for her sake, but it did become very apparent to me that the bill is into sissy hypnoporn and at times conflated that with the concept of a gacation. There was this utterly surreal moment where Sill is just trying to wrap her head around this while also in floods of tears and he explains, so genuinely, so matter-of-factly, that for most men. The gacation is either a one-time or annual thing but some men go on the gai-caution. for years and others simply never returned because they use hypnosis and mind control to be

totally feminized into a state of permanent pseudogainous. She said in disbelief surely if you're taking it up the arse willingly because you want to, that makes you gay, and he said no, because that's the beauty of the gaycation, you can do all this gay stuff but you don't interact with the wider gay life experience. She asked him if the sissy stuff is what he wanted and he said, not on a long-term basis and was adamant this is something all straight men do, but she wouldn't get it because she's a woman. Then there were more insinuations of homophobia. Well, that marriage is dead too, I suppose.

The whole ordeal ended when she said to him he has a choice to make and he said, no, he doesn't need to make this choice because the beauty of the gacation is that it allows him to keep his marriage because it doesn't count. She said that's not the choice. The choice is whether he's leaving the house that night or she is. Only good thing he did was leave. Me and Sil spoke about it after that and I'm just, still utterly stunned. I understand she's gone to her parents for the support what exactly did we do to have our

lives destroyed in such an abrupt, bizarre, embarrassing way. For some advice I'm going to look at devices and bank statements to see if I can find any definitive proof of cheating. After that, I suppose figure out how I tell the boys why their father won't be coming home. Eddett, spoke to other sill, my husband's family is older sister, him, younger sister slash original sill, and gave her a, skimmed down version of it. She asked her husband and thankfully he was deeply confused but then mentioned about two years ago at a birthday party, he was approached by my husband and Bill about signing up to some online boot camp around BDSM crowsdressing. He assumed they

were taking the piss out of him so told them to fuck off and never really thought of it again. The fact that this has been going on for that long is making me want to throw up. Next story, fiancé said my brother can only be a wedding guest, then revealed his plan to send my brother away after marriage. But I raised him since he was five when our parents passed away. I'm 30F, and I'm currently two months pregnant with my first child and engaged to my fiancé of three years James, 31, for little background when I was, 15, my parents had my baby brother, and five years after while I was, 20, and Matt was, five, my parents and Matt were driving home when they got into an accident resulting in my parents' death. After the accident I was completely

destroyed and devastated. But I had to pull myself together to be there for my brother and the following month I buried my parents and with the help of my aunt and uncle I applied for guardianship of my brother it took about seven months before I was approved. I had to get a stable job slash income which I did, proper housing for me and my brother which I did by using money from my inheritance to buy a house and other little things, but in the end I got my guardianship of my brother. It was hard at first working while looking after my brother it's easy now but there are still its ups and downs, but I would do it all over again for my brother. I met my fiancé when I was, 27, at a gathering, and we just clicked after three months of dating

he proposed to me at first I said no because I still have my brother to take care of but after thinking I said yes, and we agreed to wait until we were financially stable. In the beginning of this year we wanted to tie the knot since I was pregnant because I didn't want my baby to be born out of wedlock, and we started the preparations and the wedding is happening in October but from what happened last week Saturday night it looks like there isn't going to be a wedding. There were many issues where we fought and resolved. For example, the wedding date-to-date my fiancé wanted for the wedding was on my brother's birthday. I had a problem with that I wanted to throw my brother a big party because he is turning, 14, so I offered the week after in which we

argued, and he even ran to his mother to try to convince me, but I stood my ground stating my brother's birthday is important to me and him there was a little more fighting, but we end up coming to a resolved. Then there were the roles I wanted my brother to play in my wedding at first I offered my brother to be his best man, but he said he wanted his best friend, I said okay, then I said ring boy he would hold the rings on the little pillow and bring it up to us, but James said he wanted his nephew, I said okay and left it. Saturday morning I was watching this TikTok video where the bride asked her male best friend to her honor

and I thought it was sweet so I decided to bring it to him. When he came home, I was in the kitchen while my brother was at sleepover at his friend's house that's Saturday night. As he entered a sat, I said I have the perfect role for Matt. What is that? Him I thought he could be my man of honor and then both wedding parties then coming out as couples

they can come out as singles. Me what? him man of honor or i will call it my brother of honor it would be lovely me but i thought you wanted my sister to be your maid of honor so that can't work him i never agreed to this and what about my brother i want him to play some role in my wedding me i was thinking he could be a guest and sit in the rows him i was completely shocked like i wanted my brother to be in my wedding and not some side guest i didn't know what to say he wanted to put my brother on the sidelines his whole family was playing some of the wedding and most of my bridesmaids were his cousins only two was were close friends,

but this he couldn't grant me. I stopped what I was doing and told him no it was my wedding too, and I wanted my brother to be my man of honor, and he started that his sister was better, and my brother would be guessed, and he didn't want children in the wedding parties. I completely lost and started arguing with him from one thing to the next. Since Saturday, he hasn't come home, only sending his brother to pick up some of his stuff, and his mother and sister have been blowing up my phone, but I'm a selfish woman and so what if my brother is a guest? So the last time they called was Wednesday night

and I went bats hit crazy on both of them using language I'm not proud of, but I end the call with, yes, my brother is more important than him in this wedding if it's happening, and I will never put him in front of Matt, so I'm fkin sorry and to let James contact me to talk things out. Update, hello everyone, I'm very sorry I didn't get to update it due to me being busy with work and canceling every wedding preparation I made and preparing Matt for sports camp.

I would like everyone to know that I will not be marrying James, and we broke up, while on Friday the week after posting my original post I got a message from James asking to meet and talk which I only agreed to if I could pick the day that we can meet, in which he agreed to. After picking a day which was Sunday where I knew that Matt wouldn't be home all day and I notified James, and he came around the midday period with his mother, I was shocked when I opened the door letting them in. as they sat in my living room not saying a word for a few seconds which made the moment more awkward

than James stated that he was sorry for leaving and staying away because he needed to think. Then his mother started condemning me saying that I wasn't acting like a future wife and I should put my future husband's thoughts into consideration and a lot of other comments. My name I'm disappointed in you, you're getting married, and you need to stop acting like this to your future husband she said to me. I scoffed hearing that then turned to James asking what was his problem with my brother. and it has more to do with me showing attention to my brother than him. He sat there not saying a word for a while and the stated he wanted a life with me and the unborn

child but not with Matt. I felt utter disgust for him at that moment as he continued to say that after the wedding and having the baby he thought he would convince me that raising a baby and a teenager would be hard on both of us and it would be best for me to send Matt to live with my uncle and aunt, but he would allow me to still support Matt financially. I was completely shocked and before he uttered anything else I'd. told him sorry but no, isn't happening and my brother isn't going anywhere. I stood up and took off the ring handing it back to him and told him it was over after saying that both him and his mother

got up arguing that I didn't have to do that, and I will regret this, and he started to cry asking me to think about what I'm saying. I just walked over to the door opened it and gestured for them to leave a few minutes past then they headed through the door with James crying and pleading while his mother was calling me some nasty names. And later on into the evening his sister and mother rang down my phone cussing me out, but I only told them to let James come for his remaining stuff. There are a few things I would like to respond to. One, I saw many ask why didn't I chose Matt to walk me down the aisle. I gave my uncle, my father's older brother, the role because after the whole funeral he was

there helping me to acquire guardianship and just being there over the years for both me and Matt, too. Furthermore, I made a mistake in my original post-Mad is turning 15 this year I didn't see the typo, I'm truly sorry for that. Three. Many of you advise me to abort, so I wouldn't have any ties to James, but I'm sorry, I had to think, and I wouldn't do any abortion and I would carry the baby to full term. Four. As many of you stated I should sit down and talk to my brother and if James even mistreated him when I'm not around in which I did, but he said no that James mostly ignored him, and he does the same, plus I also told him the wedding is off. I hope you enjoy this story. Guardians neglected me during my youth due to my lack of intellect compared to my sibling,

but upon their attempt to reconcile many years later, I acquainted them with my current household and it didn't go well. So 10 years ago, when I was 12 years old, I was sent to live with my uncle, my dad's older brother, in the countryside by my parents because they did not feel like taking care of me anymore. They thought that I was a burden on them and they would much rather just have my twin to raise, whom they believed was far more capable than I was. and I don't deny it, she really was a lot more clever than me and unfortunately, I could not keep up. I was mostly just average but in a family of overachievers, average just doesn't cut it. My parents were both doctors and they had decided that my sister and I were also going to become

doctors, just like them. But if I'm being honest, I never really had any interest in academics and I was more inclined towards more creative endeavors, and that's what I really wanted to do with my life. They used to put me under tremendous pressure and I was not doing well at school. It did not help that my parents were not even trying to encourage me to do better. They were just insulting me and constantly comparing me with my twin sister. I was used to that sort of treatment from a very young age, but with time it just kept getting worse and I found it really difficult to concentrate on anything. By the time I was 12 and had hit middle school, I was doing so bad at everything that I was flunking out of most classes, and even though I was

trying my best, I was unable to score better. My teachers constantly complained about me because they did not know how things were at home for me, they just believed that I was lazy and was not willing to try hard enough to do better. And even people at school kept comparing me to my brilliant twin sister, who was doing so much better than I was. I was literally crying myself to sleep every night because every single day, my parents would make it a point to remind my sister how much they loved her and remind me how much of a disappointment I was being to them and that I needed to do better. One night, things got so bad because, at dinner, they insulted me about my grades once again, I lashed out at them, and they grounded me for the next two weeks. So I decided to run away from home,

not even knowing where I was going to go. Obviously, I couldn't get very far and I could only make my way to the park nearby where I sat by myself, all lonely and terrified, in the dark. They found me there at around five in the morning, they had to call the cops and find me. After they had brought me back home, and that was the day that they decided that they were going to ship me off to my uncle's house in the countryside, where I could grow up with him and his family. When I was told by my parents that they were sending me to live with my uncle and his family, I literally begged them so many times not to do that to me, that I would be better and I would not disappoint them ever again or try to run away. But they did not care about any of that.

They told me that I had let them down and that they couldn't deal with this anymore. They had another child to take care of, and they couldn't spend all their time taking care of somebody who had proven to be useless time and again. I don't even think that was true. They spent most of their time fawning over my sister. They barely even cared about me, unless it was time to make fun of me for how bad I was doing at school. Anyway, I kept begging them not to do that to me because I did not want to be away from them

and most importantly, I did not want to be separated from my sister, since she was literally the only person who was nice to me in that family. However, they did not listen to me and did what they had to. They made me say goodbye to my sister and then didn't even allow her to be there for me on the ride to my uncle's house. Once I was there, I literally could not stop crying for the next few weeks and I just wanted to go home. I kept trying to call my parents, and my uncle and aunt were really helpful and supportive during that time because they could understand what I was going through. But my parents did not pick up any of my calls and ignored me, and a few weeks later, I decided to accept my fate and just make peace with it. I did stay in touch with my sister, she was the only

person who would speak to me. But it had to be done in secret because she did not have a cell phone, so I had to call her from my uncle's phone on the home phone whenever my parents were away. Social media was just getting popular at the time, thankfully, so she would just be. use the computer to talk to me, and occasionally, whenever she would tell me that the coast was clear, I would call her and then, we would finally get to talk to each other. My sister and I are still in touch, we love each other and that's how it's always going to be. She has kept me updated on what has been going on with her and our parents for the past 10 years and has also told me that our parents were planning on reaching out to me a couple of weeks ago, which is how I was able

to prepare myself for that mentally. For the past 10 years, I have had absolutely no contact with my parents. Initially, it was because they had refused to get in touch with me or even speak to me after they had dropped me off at my uncle's house, and after I had spent a couple of years at my uncle's place, I was the one who was just not interested in reaching out to them ever again. They had abandoned me, that was the end of the story. And honestly, after I moved in with my uncle and aunt, I was having a much better life. They did not put me under the kind of pressure that my parents had and I started doing better at school. I was still average academically, I was not the straight student that my sister had always been, but at least I was not flunking out of all my

classes. My uncle and aunt also allowed me to take part in other activities, like school plays and sports, which my parents did not allow me to do because they thought that it would affect my grades badly. I was living my life to the fullest and I was very happy with them. When I was living with my parents, I was also forbidden from talking to boys because they thought it would distract me. My uncle and aunt, however, did not have any such ridiculous restrictions and allowed me to talk to whoever I wanted and I was allowed to bring friends home as well. Coincidentally, that was the reason why I was able to meet my husband, who has been there for me all along. We have been together for the past seven years, we got together in high school and have been inseparable since then and even attended the same college. I graduated from college last year, and one week after we had graduated together, we got married

in an intimate ceremony. And last month, I gave birth to our son. I don't live with my uncle and aunt anymore, my husband and I have a house a few streets away from them, but we do visit them quite frequently and so do they, to see our son. I'm on maternity leave right now, so I don't have to go back to work for another few weeks. My sister has openly been in touch with me for the past few years because after she turned 18, she decided that she did not feel the need to hide our bond from our parents because there was nothing they could do. She was the maid of honor at my wedding and is the godmother to my

child as well. And last week, while she was visiting us, she told me that our parents planned on paying me a visit. They still did not know that I was married and had a baby because everybody had pretty much stopped speaking to them after they had abandoned me because it was such a heartless thing to do. So they hadn't known anything about my life and my sister didn't think that it was necessary for her to talk to them about me, so she did not tell them anything even when they had asked. But after 10 years, they were finally feeling some sort of regret about what they had done all those years ago and were planning on reaching out to me. So she thought that it was her duty to tell me about it, so I could decide what I wanted to do and it would not come as a shock to me when they

contacted me, asking if they could visit me. A couple of days after her visit, my parents indeed reached out to me through social media, asking me if they could visit me. They did not apologize for anything, it was just a plain message with just the two of them asking if they could visit, nothing else. I was a little let down by that message because I had genuinely expected them to at least say that they were sorry for the way that they had treated me in the past. So for a little while, I was so pissed that I thought about not responding to that message at all. But then, I had a better idea, and I thought that I would invite them over and show them that place because now, I had a great life, and I thought that it would be an appropriate idea. to let them know how great I was doing without them. So I gave them my address and invited them over for dinner on the weekend.

I also invited my uncle, aunt and my sister. And obviously, my husband and my son were going to be there because that dinner was being hosted at my house. I did not tell my uncle and aunt that my parents were going to be there, so everybody was very surprised to see each other when they showed up at my house last weekend. This was three days ago, and I still don't know if I did the right thing or not. Anyway, once everybody was here, things were pretty awkward because obviously I had not seen my parents in 10 years and everybody in the family had cut them off. And that included my uncle and my aunt since they did not want anything to do with my parents either.

The reason behind that was that my parents had promised that not only would they support me financially for as long as I was living with my uncle, but they would also keep in touch so that I did not get lonely and make sure that my emotional needs were met as well. But they only lived up to half of that promise. They did send money every month, but they did not bother to keep in touch with me and were just glad to be rid of me. That's not the deal that my uncle had signed up for, and he was upset that my parents were abandoning me emotionally, but he did not mind taking care of me. So he was the one who had stood up for me and told the rest of the family what my dad was doing and everybody else cut my father off for that reason. So that led to a lot of bad blood between the two, but my dad still continued to send money until I turned 18. After that, there was no contact between them either. After greeting each other, we were supposed to have dinner together, but I decided to make a toast

before that. As if things were not awkward enough, I decided to lean into it and make it even worse because I wanted my parents to feel sorry and I wanted to make them feel bad. So I got up and started making a speech about how beautiful the last 10 years of my life had been, compared to the first 12. I made it out to be a speech to my uncle and my aunt because honestly, they had done a lot for me over the past decade and I don't think that I would have been able to make it this far in life without them. I also thank my husband for being there with me all along the way, and my sister, for never giving up on me, in spite of everything that was going on.

Very pointedly, I decided to snub my parents in my speech because I did not have anything to thank them for. And they noticed that because throughout my speech, they kept their eyes downcast and did not even say a word. And once I was done with my speech, I decided to rub it in even more and turn to my parents, and told them that I was finally ready to introduce them to my new family. They were shocked at the very core when I announced that because I didn't think they had been expecting me to say something like that. And as soon as I said that this was my new family, my mother burst into tears and literally made a run for it in the first place and all of us would have been much better without all this drama.

After they had left, we had a very awkward and quiet dinner together and nobody's stayed for dessert and I was glad for it because it was just really heavy. I did not like my parents, but I did not think that what I had done was right. I haven't had an opportunity to speak to my uncle and aunt yet, but my sister and my husband both think that I took things a little too far and that I shouldn't even have responded to my parents' messages if I did not want to interact with them. But insulting them like this was just unnecessary. Ida for inviting my parents over to dinner and then humiliating them? Update one, all right, so the comments so far have been pretty divisive about whether or not I should apologize to my parents.

But everyone agrees that I should talk to my uncle and aunt at the very least. So since the jury's still out on my parents, I decided to contact my uncle today. It's been a week since the family dinner that I hosted and we hadn't been able to talk much for the past couple of days because I was really busy and so were they. And I also think that the awkwardness was still there, so we did not speak to each other because we do not want to make things uncomfortable. But today, I addressed it by calling my uncle up, and before he could say anything,

I just told him that I was really sorry for inviting my parents to the dinner that day without even giving them a heads up about it. He told me that he was a little shocked that I had done that, but eventually, he got over it. He just hadn't reached out to me because he didn't know if I was feeling fine after that night, since I was pretty upset. And he agreed, things had gotten pretty awkward that day.

but he told me that it was all water under the bridge and it did not matter. Then, I called my aunt and apologized to her as well, and she had a similar reaction. So now that I have apologized to both of them, and that's out of the way, I don't feel that guilty anymore. Personally, I don't feel like I owe my parents an apology because, after everything that they put me through in my childhood, I really don't think anybody would feel sorry for behaving the way that I did. They haven't apologized to me yet. so I don't see a reason that I should. I spoke to my husband about it as well,

since he had said that I should apologize to them, and I explained to him that even though what I did at the dinner was uncalled for, the way that I had been treated in the past was also not acceptable. He seemed to understand where I was coming from, so he did not push it. I said the same thing to my sister as well, and she was kind of skeptical about it. But then, she told me that at the end of the day, it was my decision. I was the one who had been wronged.

So whatever I decided to do, it was fair enough. She hasn't been able to get in touch with our parents either for the past week, since they have been suspiciously quiet. But I'm guessing they are just laying low for the time being. They will definitely reach out to me again and demand an apology or try to create some drama. Update 2, hi, so I just wanted to get something out of the way. My sister is not trying to be diplomatic by having a good relationship with our parents. And even if she is, I am fine with that so it does not need to become such a big thing in the comments section, which I've been noticing.

She knows that what they did to me was very wrong, but she was also very young. It's not like she could have stood up for me and protested. She was against the idea at the time, but we were so little that our opinions didn't really matter. So, she couldn't have done anything. Anyway, she did her best and kept in touch with me so that's enough. Now, the reason that she is still in touch with our parents is because they're getting older and she doesn't want to abandon them because that would make her feel guilty. There's nothing more to it than that, it's not really that deep. So please don't accuse her of anything, it's completely unnecessary and we have a lot of love between each other, so we don't think that the comments being made about her are justified. Now, coming to what happened. So as I had mentioned in my last update, towards the very end, I was pretty sure that.

that my parents were not going to sit back down and take what I had done kindly. They are just not the kind of people who let things go easily, so I had been prepared for some sort of retaliation from their end. And it finally happened today, 10 days after the dinner that I had hosted. They decided to go public with the incident and actually posted all about it on social media. I thought that was pretty surprising because they don't really have a very active social media presence, but just for this one incident, they decided to post about it. And just as I had expected, it was a very one-sided post, where they only spoke about how hurt they were,

but they did not mention any of the things that they had done in the past. I honestly would not have cared about that post if it had been directed towards our family members, since nobody from my family likes my parents because of what they did in the past, by abandoning me and stuff. But they had been very clever about the entire thing and they had decided to go ahead and tag my co-workers and my husband's co-workers as well, even though he didn't even have anything to do with this entire fiasco. Obviously, my co-workers were not aware of my history with my parents and my strained relationship with them, so they were all pretty shocked when they got tagged in that post and they

started blowing up my phone almost immediately. I'm on maternity leave, so I obviously did not know what they had posted because I was not at work and I don't really check my social media that often because I'm usually busy with my son. But after they started sending me messages, telling me to check out what had happened online, I was shocked. I did not know how to react to that because I had not been expecting any of it. I was pretty sure that they had been able to find the account of my coworkers by stalking me online because I have quite a few pictures with them and I had tagged them in it. So that's probably what they had been doing in the past week, stalking me, trying to find out

who I was friends with at work so they could ruin my reputation. Anyway, I saw that post. I was shocked for a couple of minutes, but then I decided to comment and tell people the reality of the situation. I did not have anything to hide, I was the victim in the situation and what happened at the dinner, was uncalled for, but not unjustified. So I typed out the entire incident that had taken place, how they had dropped me off at my uncle's house all those years ago and then refused to keep in touch with me. And even when they had reached out to me, they had not apologized to me, and after they got to my place, they still hadn't apologized.

If they had done that, I might have reconsidered saying the things that I did. But anyway, in my opinion, what I did was not wrong. I also clarified the same to my friends at work, who had been tagged in the post. I apologized to them on my parents' behalf because they did not need or deserve to get caught up in our drama and it was really ridiculous of my parents to do something like this. I'm obviously pretty pissed off because they could have just targeted me and kept things clean, but dragging my coworkers into this, that's just below the belt and unacceptable. I have been waiting for my husband to get home.

I did not want to bother him at work with this today because he had told me that he had an important meeting with a client. Otherwise, I might have contacted him and told him about this, but honestly, this is just petty drama and I can deal with this on my own. And I have already spoken to my sister. She thinks that our parents are being crazy right now. They were probably just not able to take the disrespect and completely lost and I think that is exactly what has happened. But even then, nothing can ever justify this sort of behavior. I haven't even told my uncle or my aunt about this because I'm sure they're going to have very strong reactions to this and I don't want to trouble them with this right now because they're pretty busy at work.

Update 3. So, a couple of hours have passed since I posted my last update. It's 8 in the evening right now and everybody's at my house, my uncle, and aunt and my sister. My husband has also come back home from work and we are just trying to figure out. a way to deal with this situation. I don't want to go to a lawyer, like a lot of you suggested. I really don't have the time or energy to file a petition and then deal with that, it's just not necessary. I want to deal with it personally and keep lawyers out of this for as long as possible. Of course, if they refuse to take down that post, then I might have to get in touch with an attorney

and file a defamation lawsuit or whatever they deem appropriate. But until then, we are going to try our best to have them take it down. So far, everybody has texted them and told them to take it down, but they haven't cared about any of that. They haven't even responded to our messages, so I don't know what they are thinking. They haven't bothered to delete my comment either, so at least everybody who sees that post will get to know the truth. And the significant amount of people have seen that post, it's getting a lot of traction for some reason. And that's not good for me because I don't come off looking too good in that post. It's not just my co-workers who had been tagged who saw that post, but a couple of my acquaintances have seen that as well and are asking me about it.

I don't know how it popped up on their feed, probably because I had tagged in the post as well, but I have removed that tag, and it's still showing up on people's feeds. I figured that there must be some glitch with the app, but it's just not good for me. People are asking me about it and I'm just getting sick of answering their questions since they can just read my comment and call it a day, but for some reason, they feel they need to reach out to me personally and ask me about it again and again. It's getting really annoying and I just want this to blow over, honestly.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have to be contacted by HR, because that might spell trouble for me and I really don't want to ruin my reputation at work because of my parents. So as of now, my family and I are still trying to figure out a way to get them to take this down. but they are not responding to me. Tomorrow, my sister has told me that she is going to visit my parents and ask them to take it down in person, so that might work.

And if they still refuse to do so, we will be left with no other option but to go after them with an attorney. And I'm really hoping that it doesn't have to come to that because it's going to be a lot of work for me and right now, I just want to spend time with my son. That's what my maternity leave is for anyway. Not to deal with their stupid little shenanigans. Update 4. Hey, so my sister went to visit my parents today.

For an hour, I had no idea what was going on, but just half an hour ago, she told me that she had spoken to our parents and said that they were very upset, which is why they had made that post and tagged my co-workers. And my guess was correct, they had been able to find my coworkers and their social media accounts by stalking me online. That was pretty creepy of them, but whatever, that's literally the least of my concerns right now. Anyway, she told me that she had had a long discussion with them and they told me that they would gladly take the post down, but for that, I had to apologize to them first. I instantly told my sister that it was going to be a no for me because I did not do anything wrong and I'm going to stand by that. And thankfully, she knew that I was not going to apologize.

So she had told my parents that no matter what, I was not going to pretend that I was sorry for something that I didn't even do wrong. They could just save their time and energy and take that post down because otherwise, I was planning to come after them with a lawyer and that would not be too good for them. That discussion went on for almost one hour and in the end, they decided that they were going to take that post down and end it. But they have also told my sister to tell me that they are cutting me out of their lives and the inheritance as well. I really don't care about any of that, I just want that post to be taken down. They can keep their inheritance to themselves, if they are. It holds no importance to me. My husband and I are doing pretty well career-wise, and we know that we are going to be rich.

And even if we are not, I'm fine with that, at least I don't have to rely on them for money. And my sister told me that she told them the same thing, so at least they are aware of my feelings on this. Anyway, now that that is dealt with, I'm going to spend the rest of my time on maternity leave with my son and make the most of it before I have to go back to work. Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have shown me.