Reddit Stories - My GUARDIANS perished in a VEHICULAR COLLISION, and my younger sibling lived through

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #vehicularcollision #guardians #familytragedy #survivor #griefSummary: My GUARDIANS perished in a VEHICULAR COLLISION, leaving me devastated. Miraculously, my younger sibling survived. The tragedy shattered our world, and now I must navigate life without our beloved guardians while supporting my sibling through this unimaginable loss.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, vehicularcollision, guardians, familytragedy, survivor, grief, tragedy, loss, support, siblings, coping, bereavement, emotionalpain, lifeafterloss, healing, love, familybondBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. My guardians perished in a vehicular collision, and my younger sibling lived through the ordeal. I decided to care for her, but my spouse labeled her repulsive and insisted that I place her in foster care. Care then said such cruel things while talking to her friends, so my sister ran away. I never imagined I'd be writing something like this. Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, I got a phone call from the police. They told me my parents had been in a car accident. They didn't make it.

Both of them were gone, just like that. My little sister, she's only ten years old, had been in the car too. She survived without any serious physical injuries, but she was traumatized and alone at the police station, waiting for someone to come get her. I don't even remember the drive there, I just know I dropped everything at work and raced to the station. When I arrived at the station, I found my sister curled up on a plastic chair in the corner of the lobby, eyes red and puffy. She looked so small and scared. As soon as she saw me, she ran over and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing into my shirt. She was the officers that were very kind. One had been sitting with her, trying to keep her calm. I signed some emergency custody paperwork they gave me, basically confirming that I would take

responsibility for her. The officers mentioned that a child protective services caseworker would follow up later, but in that moment I was solely focused on getting my sister somewhere safe and warm. I brought her home with me immediately. There was never a question in my mind, she's my sister, and now she is no one else. My wife was at home when we arrived. I had called her on the way to explain, as best I could in a two-minute phone call, what had happened. Maybe it didn't really sink in for her. We walked in the door and my sister was still clinging to my arm, silent except for the occasional sniffle. She was utterly in shock. My wife came out of the kitchen, took one look at us, and I saw her face twist in. Disgust. She muttered something under

her breath, I didn't catch it, and then, as I was gently guiding my sister to sit on the couch, my wife said loudly, God, that's disgusting. I immediately snapped, what? What is? She gestured at my sister, who had been crying so hard her nose was running in some snot was on her face. I can't. This is just gross, my wife said, scrunching up her nose. My sister heard that, buried her face in my side, and started quietly sobbing again, clearly embarrassed. I grabbed a box of tissues and wiped my sister's face, whispering to her that it was okay. Instead of coming over to comfort the terrified 10-year-old who had just lost her parents, my wife just grimaced and said, I need a minute, and walked upstairs to our bedroom. She didn't say a single word to my

sister. She didn't offer a hug, or even a hello. I was stunned and honestly furious at her reaction. Yes, this situation was sudden and tragic and none of it was in the plan for our lives, but my wife and I have been together for eight years, married for five. She knows my family. She spent holidays with us. I never in a million years would have expected such a cold response from her toward my sister in this moment. I tried to push my anger down and focused on taking care of my sister. I got her cleaned up, found one of my old t-shirts for her to wear as pajamas since we had no clothes for her yet, and let her choose a spot on the couch to curl up. She didn't want to be alone, so I sat with her and eventually just held her as she cried herself

to sleep. After she finally dozed off, I carried her to the guest bedroom and tucked her in. All this time, my wife stayed hidden in our bedroom, door shut. She never came back out to check on us. Once my sister was asleep, I finally went to talk to my wife. I found her line. I found her line, lying in bed, scrolling through her phone. I quietly closed the door and said, we need to talk. I kept my voice low, trying not to wake my sister in the next room. I asked her, what the hell was that? She's a little girl who just lost her mom and dad. Could you not show a little bit of basic compassion? My wife sat up and immediately went on the defensive. We agreed our life would never involve kids, we made that decision together, remember? No kids. Not yours, not mine,

not anyone's, I said, this is my sister. I can't just abandon her. She responded, we had an agreement. Being child-free was a core promise we made to each other. I'm sorry your parents died, I am, but that doesn't mean you can just upend our entire life and bring a child there are other options. I knew what she meant by other options, but I asked anyway, what other option? And she said, the foster system exists for a reason. People who are equipped to handle this sort of thing. You're not her only relative, isn't there an uncle or something? I was shocked.

I told her, she doesn't want to live with an uncle she barely knows. She wants to be with me. And I'm not going to abandon my sister. I can't believe you're even suggesting foster care right now. She let out an exasperated sigh and said, of course I'm suggesting it. Did you really think I'd be okay with this? You promised me, no kids. Zero.

That was the deal when we got married. You can't just break that because you feel guilty. She'll be fine in foster care for now, and maybe some nice family will adopt her. I asked her, how would you sleep at night, knowing we dumped my sister with strangers while she's grieving her parents? My wife's face was stone cold. I am not going to set myself on fire to keep someone else warm. She replied, I'm sorry your sister is in this situation, but she is not my responsibility. And she shouldn't be yours either, honestly. We have our own lives to live. We were happy before this, and I want that life back.

At that, I realized that maybe we weren't just on different pages. We were in completely I told her, my sister has no one else. I'm her family. I won't do that to her. My wife just shook her head and said, I'm not going to be a martyr for someone else's kid. If you want to ruin your life, go ahead,

but you can't expect me to stick around for it. I didn't respond to that. I just left the bedroom, because I could feel white-hot anger building up and I didn't want to explode and say something I couldn't take back. I spent the rest of the night on the couch outside the guest room. I eventually fell asleep. I have no idea what this is going to mean for my marriage. Less than 24 hours ago, I thought I had a clear picture of my life. A loving marriage, a stable routine. Now it all feels shattered. My wife is livid at me for bringing my sister home. and I'm furious at her for how she's reacting.

I'm posting this here because I genuinely don't know what to do. How do I even begin to get through to my wife on this? Is my marriage essentially over if I insist on keeping my sister? I feel like my whole world just flipped upside down in a day. I want to do right by my sister above all, but I'm afraid of the fallout. Any advice or perspective would be greatly appreciated. Update 1. It's been a few days since I last posted, and things have been, tense.

My parents' funeral was earlier this week, which was obviously an emotional hell for everyone, especially my little sister. I helped her put on a black dress and tied her hair back as best I could. She was quiet the whole day, holding my hand in a death grip through the service. My wife attended the funeral too, but kept her distance from us. She gave her condolences to a few of my relatives and mostly looked bored, scrolling through her phone when she thought no one was watching. I tried not to pay attention to her and instead focused on supporting my sister, who broke down crying multiple times during the service. Each time, I stepped aside with her, held her while she sobbed, and whispered that I'm here and she's not alone.

My wife never once came over to comfort either of us. After the funeral, as we were all leaving the grave site, my wife approached me. For a second I thought maybe she was going to ask how my sister was holding up or perhaps show some sympathy. Instead, she handed me a small stack of papers. It was a list of local foster care agencies and some printouts of emails. My wife had actually been contacting agencies to find a placement for my sister. She said quietly, I've done some research. These are some good options.

They said they could find her a home by next week. I stood there next to my parents' graves, holding my grieving sister's hand, while my wife was effectively telling me to give my sister up like an unwanted pet. I didn't want to cause a scene at the cemetery, so I just pocketed the papers and told my wife flatly that this discussion would have to wait. She rolled her eyes and muttered, fine, but we're talking about this tonight. We barely spoke on the drive home.

My sister was in the back seat, exhausted and numb. I don't think she picked up on the tension, she was so out of it. That evening, after I got my sister settled in her room with a movie and some headphones, so she wouldn't overhear us, I finally sat down with my wife for the talk that had been coming. It was just as awful as I expected. My wife reiterated that this living arrangement is not working for her at all. She said something like, I didn't sign up for this. You need to fix it, or I will.

She basically gave me an ultimatum. I had 48 hours to figure a way out of the situation. In other words, either I arranged to hand my sister over to someone else, or she was going to walk out of our marriage. I tried to stay calm and told her there was nothing to figure out, my sister needs me, end of story. I said, if you're asking me to choose between you and my sister, you're not going to like the answer.

She got angry and started ranting about how I was being unfair to her, how I was breaking the promise we made to each other about a child-free life. She said I was changing the rules on her and ruining both of our futures because you have a savior complex. Yes, she actually said I had a savior complex and was weaponizing my parents' death to get a kid in the house, as if I somehow wanted any of this to happen. At one point she actually said, this is exactly why the foster system exists, for situations like this.

She'll be fine with professionals. You and I can move on. Why can't you see I'm drawing a reasonable boundary? A reasonable boundary? Kicking my sister out of our home and our lives forever, how on earth is that a reasonable boundary? I told her I wasn't sending my sister away, no matter what. That I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror if I did something like that.

I also made it clear that I intended to file for, a permanent guardianship of my sister. That set her off even more. She said that if I went ahead with that, I'd be making a permanent decision without her consent and effectively ending our marriage. I responded quietly, if that's how you feel, then I guess that's where we're headed. She snapped back, don't try to paint me as the villain here. I have every right to stick to my boundaries. You're the one turning our life upside down. If you keep her, you're choosing to end this marriage. That's your choice, not mine. She was actually trying to cast herself as the victim, saying I was forcing her hand by not giving in. I was exhausted and just done at that

point. I said, I'm not sending her away. I've made my decision. You need to decide what you're going to do. That ended the conversation. My wife let out a noise of frustration, something like, unbelievable. Fine, have it your way. And then she stormed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door. Since then, we've been living under the same roof but barely speaking. She's been sleeping in the master bedroom, I've been in the guest room with my sister or on the couch. In the meantime, I quietly contacted a lawyer to start the process for permanent guardianship of my sister. I haven't told my wife yet, but I did inform the caseworker handling my sister's case that I'm pursuing full custody and that my home is her home now. Legally, the paperwork is underway. Emotionally, my wife is completely checked out. She's rarely in the same room as my sister, and when she is, she acts like my sister doesn't exist.

For example, just this morning I was making breakfast for the three of us. My sister was picking at her cereal, she doesn't have much of an appetite these days, which is understandable. My wife came into the kitchen, made herself a smoothie, and walked out without even acknowledging either of us. Not a good morning or even a glance in my sister's direction. My sister definitely noticed, she just stared down at her cereal looking sad. I squeezed her shoulder and changed the subject, asking if she wanted to go to the park later. Inside, I was boiling at how my wife could be so hateful, but I didn't want to show my sister that I was upset. I don't know what's going to happen in the next few days.

The tension in the house is through the roof. My wife's ultimatum deadline is basically here, and I suspect she's going to follow through on her threat. To be honest, part of me has already accepted that this marriage is likely over. It hurts, this isn't how I imagine my life would turn out, but when I look at it. look at my sister, I know that I can't do anything except put her first. I got a lot of supportive messages and advice after my first post, and I want to say, thank you. Some people thought my wife might come around with time, but that's looking less and less likely now. She's dug her heels in. I'll update again when I know more or if anything major happens. For now, I'm taking things

one day at a time, taking care of my sister and preparing myself for whatever comes next. Update 2. I wish I had better news, but the situation reached a breaking point in the worst way possible. About one week after my wife's ultimatum, I had no choice but to return to work. I'd taken a few days off to handle the funeral and the initial arrangements for my sister, but I was already pushing the limits of my leave. My sister was still not back in school, I planned to enroll her in my local school district, but I was waiting on some paperwork, which meant she'd be home during the day. My wife was off work that day as well. I was anxious about leaving them together, but I naively hoped that at the very worst they would just ignore each other

until I got home. I checked in via text a couple of times during the day, asking my wife if everything was okay at home. She replied only once with a short, everything's fine. I also texted my sister, I had gotten her a simple cell phone recently, just so she could reach me if she needed to. She didn't answer, but that wasn't too unusual, sometimes she falls asleep or forgets to check her phone. Still, I had a bad feeling I just couldn't shake. When I finally got home that evening, the house was eerily quiet. I called out my sister's name, I'll call her Emily here. Emily, I'm home. No answer. I checked her. bedroom, empty. Living room, backyard, no sign of her. Hanick started to set in. My wife was sitting on the

couch, scrolling on TikTok, acting almost bored. I asked, where's Emily? She barely looked up and just shrugged, I don't know. Not here, obviously. I felt a cold chill go through me. What do you mean you don't know. She was here when I left this morning, wasn't she? My wife rolled her eyes and said, I'm not her babysitter. She was around earlier, and now she's not. That's all I know. I was in full panic mode now. I raised my voice, why the hell didn't you call me when you realized she was gone? That finally made her put down her phone. She looked me straight in the eye with this irritated expression and said, look, she's been nothing but trouble. Honestly, it's better this way.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Better this way? Are you out of your mind? How is a 10-year-old missing better in any way? She responded with a sour little smirk, I'm saying that your little burden of a sister solved the problem for us. If she ran off, well, that's one less thing tying you and me down, isn't it? Maybe she went to someone who actually wants her.

This is probably for the best. Now we can finally get our lives back. I told my wife she was sick in the head if she thought a child running away was some kind of solution. She had the nerve to wave her hand and say I was overreacting, that kids run away all the time when they're upset. She'll turn up or someone else will take care of it. I realized I was wasting precious time arguing with her. I needed to find my sister immediately. I grabbed my keys and called a few friends and family members to help search.

Within minutes, we had a small search party mobilized, my best friend, a couple of neighbors, and a cousin all joined in. We fanned out across the neighborhood. I also called the police to report my sister missing and gave them her description. As I searched, I kept calling her cell phone over and over, but she didn't pick up. Those were the most terrifying hours of my life. We looked every place we could think of, the park, the route to her old school, the convenience store she likes, around my parents' old neighborhood, everywhere.

I was driving slowly with my hazard lights on, shouting her name out the window like a madman. My mind went to some dark places, I was imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to her. It was pure agony. Finally, around 3 a.m., my phone rang. It was my friend, let's call him Jake, who had been searching with us. I could hear the relief in his voice as he said, I found her. I almost collapsed hearing those words.

He gave me the location, behind a 24-hour Walmart about two miles from my house. I floored it over there. When I pulled up behind the store, I saw Jake kneeling next to a small figure curled up by back wall near the loading docks. It was Emily. She was shivering and crying, huddled in on herself with her arms around her knees. She looked absolutely terrified. The moment she saw me, she jumped up and ran to me. She practically knocked me over with the force of her hug, clinging to me and sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. I just held her, my heart-breaking and at the same time feeling immense relief. I kept telling her, I'm here. I've got you. You're safe now,

I promise. I was probably saying it as much to myself as to her. She was crying and also apologizing over and over. I was baffled as to why she thought she needed to apologize. I told her she had nothing to be sorry about, that I was the one who was sorry it took so long to find her. She just kept clinging to me and saying she didn't want to be a problem or ruin my life. That absolutely crushed me. Once she'd calmed down just a little, I gently asked her why she ran away, what had made her so scared that she felt like she had to leave. Through her sobs, and with a lot of hesitation, Emily told me what had happened after I left for work. She said my wife spent most of the day making phone calls to her friends, and she was deliberately talking loud

enough to be sure my sister overheard. According to my sister, my wife was saying horrible things. She called my sister a useless burden and an annoying orphan who ruined everything. She complained that she was stuck babysitting some brat and that she wished

the little problem would just disappear so she could have her old life back. My sister heard every word. She internalized it and genuinely believed she was destroying my marriage and my happiness by being there. She told me she ran away because she thought that if she was gone, it would fix everything.

In her mind, everyone, me, my wife, would be better off without her. I felt my heartbreak and my blood boil at the same time hearing that. I made sure to tell her right then and there that none of what my wife said was true. Not a single word. She is not a burden, she did not ruin anything. The tragedy that happened to us was not her fault in any way. I told her I loved her more than anything in the world, and the thought of losing her was terrifying. I said the only thing that would have made this situation truly unbearable is if something had happened to her.

I also reiterated my promise that she stuck with me forever because I will never, ever abandon her. She cried and held on to me even tighter, but I could sense that maybe she felt a tiny bit better after hearing me say all that. After a few more minutes, when she had calmed down a bit more, I carried her to my car. Jake had already called off the search with the others and informed the police that she'd been found, so thankfully no one was left wondering. It was close to 4 a.m. by the time I pulled into our driveway with my sister. I was beyond exhausted, but also still furious at my wife. When we walked into the house, I noticed the front door was still unlocked.

That infuriated me further, my wife hadn't even bothered to lock the door. I gently took my sister to the bathroom, helped her wash her face, and got her into fresh pajamas. She was so drained that she could barely keep her eyes open. I laid her down in her bed, and she fell asleep almost instantly. Once I was sure she was fast asleep, I decided it was time to confront my wife. My wife was actually asleep in our bedroom, believe it or not. The fact that she could just go to bed after all that had happened sent a new wave of anger

through me. I flipped on the bedroom light, jolting her awake. She sat up, disoriented, and I immediately said, get up. You need to leave. Now. She blinked at me in confusion and mumbled something about what time it was and why I was yelling. I didn't even let her finish that thought. out of this house, I snapped. I'm done. Pack your stuff and go. Today. That got her attention.

She was fully awake now and started freaking out, saying, are you crazy? It's the middle of the night. I'm not going anywhere at 4 a.m. I told her she absolutely was leaving, right now, and that I didn't want her under the same roof as my sister for another second. She got out of bed and started getting defensive, yelling, you can't just kick me out of my own house. I told her to watch me, because that's exactly what was happening. I warned her that if she didn't leave willingly, I would call her parents, her sister, anyone, to come get her right now, or I'd call the police and explain the situation. I was completely serious, and I think she knew it. She started crying, out of frustration and anger. She kept sputtering stuff like she didn't mean for it to go this

and that she was just venting on the phone. She actually tried to blame my sister, saying that if Emily hadn't been eavesdropping, none of this would have happened. She went on about how this kind of drama was exactly why she didn't want a kid in the house in the first place. I think at that point I just saw her for what she was. I told her that if my sister had been hurt, or God forbid, worse, last night, the blood would have been on her hands.

I told her she was cruel and heartless, and that I had zero intention of staying married to someone who could do what she did to a child. She started to say something about how I was choosing that child over me and throwing away our life or something along those lines. I didn't even let her finish the sentence. I told her, you're absolutely right, I'm choosing her over you. The fact that you even call my sister that child says it all. This is not even a choice for me. It's a no-brainer.

Then I pointed to the door and said, now get out. At this point, she realized I meant it. She threw some of her clothes and essentials into a duffel bag, all while cursing at me and yelling that I'd regret this, that I was blowing up our lives. I didn't engage with her insults. I just stood there in the hallway, arms folded, watching to make sure she actually left. She phoned her sister to come pick her up. The whole time she was ranting and crying angrily, but I just stayed silent. By around 5 a.m., she was finally gone.

I heard the car drive off and I closed and locked the front door behind her. The second I turned the lock, I just broke down. A few hours later, after I'd gotten maybe an hour of restless sleep, I got up and started making calls. I told my lawyer to proceed with filing for divorce immediately. I also updated the child services caseworker about what had happened, at least the broad strokes, and arranged to file for an emergency guardianship of my sister. Given the circumstances, they fast-tracked everything for me. There was absolutely no way I was risking my wife having any say or chance to interfere with

my sister's care after what she'd done. Believe it or not, later that day my wife actually had the gall to text me. It was a angry message basically placing all the blame on me. She wrote that if I had just listened to her from the start, none of this would have happened. That I brought this on myself by being stubborn. I didn't respond. There was no point. I think that was the last communication I had with her directly.

As far as I'm concerned, this marriage is over, and the only thing left to do is the paperwork. My sole focus now is my sister. Update 3, it's been about four months since my last update. A lot has happened, mostly positive, I'm relieved to report. First off, the legal front, the divorce is moving along smoothly. Surprisingly, my wife, well, ex-wife, isn't contesting anything. We had a pretty straightforward division of assets, and since we have no children together, and we both work, there wasn't much to haggle over.

She essentially went radio silent aside from signing the papers through her lawyer. I think she just wants to get it over with as much as I do. I've also been granted permanent legal guardianship of my sister. That became official last month. We had a court hearing that I attended with my sister and the caseworker. The judge was very kind and even spoke directly to my sister, asking if she felt okay living with me. She nodded and said yes, even managed at the same. tiny smile. It was a pretty good moment. I was so proud to officially be her guardian, but it was

bittersweet knowing why it had to happen this way. Emotionally, the past few months have been a healing journey for both of us. I arranged for my sister to see a counselor at her new school once a week, and that's been helping her work through the grief and trauma. In the beginning, she was understandably a wreck, nightmares, a lot of tears, and she rarely let me out of her sight when I was home. But little by little, I've seen improvements. She's smiling more often, she's made a couple of friends in her class, and she started to regain some of that carefree kid energy she had before. Our daily routine has completely changed, of course, I went from being a guy with a quiet, kid-free life to a single parent. It was overwhelming at first, but honestly, I think we're

both doing okay now. Mornings are busy with packing lunches and making sure she's got everything she needs for school. Evenings are homework time, I've had to brush up on fifth grade math, which is humbling, and then making dinner. Sometimes we cook together, she's better at following recipes than I am, to be honest. We've developed our own little traditions, like Sunday pancake breakfast, she's in charge of mixing the batter. It's a new life, but it feels right. One particular little milestone that stands out, I learned how to braid hair. The first time I tried to braid her hair for school, it was a complete mess. I'm talking uneven, loose, basically falling apart immediately.

When I showed it to her, she burst out laughing. It was the first genuine laugh I'd heard from her since the accident. I ended up laughing too. We redid the braid together, okay, I let her do most of it, and since then I've got in practicing. These days, I can manage a passable braid, though she still only gives me a C-plus grade for hairstyling. We'll call that progress. We also faced a tough task together, sorting through our parents' belongings. We left our parents' house untouched for a couple of months because neither of us was ready. But a few weeks ago, we decided to spend a weekend there to pack up

important items and mementos. Walking into that house was hard. It felt like mom and dad should have been there. There was still a half-finished crossword on the coffee table, stuff like that. We took our time and let ourselves feel whatever we felt. There were tears, for sure. In the end, we packed up personal items we wanted to keep. I took some of Dad's tools and his favorite watch. My sister took some of Mom's jewelry and a couple of her cozy sweaters that still faintly smell like her perfume.

We also gathered all the photo albums and framed family pictures. My ex-wife's presence in the house is completely gone now as well. She had already taken the items most important to her when she left, and a few weeks later she sent her sister over to pick up more of her stuff. Everything else she told me to just donate or throw away. So, I boxed up and donated what I could. Packing away eight years of marriage was something. I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me at all.

I found old photos of us, little souvenirs from trips we took, cards we gave each other. It was bittersweet to go through those. As for the social aspect of all this, well, word gets around. Once people found out why our marriage ended, the reaction was overwhelmingly supportive of me taking in my sister. I didn't broadcast the details publicly, but close friends and family knew the story, and I'm sure it spread through the grapevine. A lot of mutual friends reached out to check on me and my sister

and to express their disbelief at my ex's actions. The bottom line is, my sister and I are moving forward. Update 4. I wasn't originally sure if I should post this part, but I think it's worth mentioning how the outside perspective affected me. I ended up sharing my story on another online forum, basically looking for some validation or reassurance that I did the right thing. The majority of responses were extremely supportive.

Many people praised me for stepping up for my sister and said I was a good brother and guardian. Reading those supportive comments felt good and affirming. It reinforced that, despite the personal cost, I had made a compassionate choice. However, not all the feedback was positive. A handful of people were surprisingly critical. They argued that I had been selfish in a different way, that I had forced a child onto my unwilling spouse and made a unilateral decision that impacted her life without her consent. Some even said things like I weaponized the tragedy to get my way.

One comment that really stuck with me was along the lines of, if the genders were reversed and a wife suddenly took in her orphan sibling against her husband's wishes, everyone would vilify her. But because you're a man, people are congratulating you. Double standards. Ouch. That one made me sit and think hard. I honestly wasn't expecting to be accused of being the bad guy in this situation, so those comments caught me off guard and hit me hard. I started second guessing myself. I wondered if, in my desperation to protect my sister, I had steamrolled my wife's feelings entirely, though from my perspective, her stance was non-negotiable and cruel.

I lost a couple of night's sleep turning those thoughts over. I kept asking myself, did I handle it the best way I could? Should I have approached it differently? Was I wrong to not even entertain my wife's perspective? It was a real spiral of self-doubt. One evening, after my sister had gone to bed, I guess I was sitting on the couch looking as troubled as I felt. She ended up patting out of her room, saying she couldn't sleep and had gotten up for a glass of water. She saw me and asked if I was okay. I didn't go into the full details, but I told her that I had read some things online that made me worry I might have made the wrong decisions. She looked at me with these big concerned eyes and asked what I meant.

I told her that some people thought I had been unfair to my wife and that maybe I shouldn't have done what I did the way I did it. She was quiet for a moment, then she asked me, if you could go back in time, would you let them send me away so you could have stayed with your ex-wife? The question stunned me, and I answered immediately, no. Absolutely not. I would make the same choice every single time. She just nodded and said, then I don't think it matters what those people say. Then she hugged me and added, I'm really glad you're my brother. That pretty much snapped me out of my funk. She was right. Strangers on the Internet have no idea what our life is really like or what we went through. They see one snapshot and make judgments, but they didn't live it.

In that moment I also realized, I don't actually need validation from random people online to know I did write by my sister. The proof is right here in front of me, a little girl who has lost so much but is safe and loved and healing. I'd choose that over appeasing a million internet strangers every time. After that, I stopped torturing myself by reading the critical comments. I've made peace with my decision. I'm incredibly thankful for the overwhelming support we've received, both online and from friends and family in real life. It's heartening to know that most people understand why I did what I did.

But even if that weren't the case, I can go to sleep at night knowing my sister is under my roof and not somewhere she'd feel unwanted and unloved. This will probably be my last update. I just wanted to close the loop and let everyone know that we're doing all right. My sister is doing better each day, and I'm genuinely enjoying being her guardian, even when it's challenging. My marriage fell apart, yes, but in exchange I saved my family,

and I can live with that trait. Thank you to everyone who followed along with our story and offered words of support. It meant more than you, know. As for the people who didn't agree with my choices. Well, I wish them well, but I wouldn't change a thing. I'm going to focus on what's ahead, raising this amazing kid as best I can. Signing off.